22i NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LI. No~ 57._NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1949 _ Per Copy—15c
NEWS IN BRIEF
MIAMI, Fla. (/P)—The Swedish
tanker S. Atlanta was reported on
fire in the Caribbean yesterday
and planes and surface craft were
rushing to her assistance, the coast
guard said:
The 9,683-ton vessel sent out
SOS signals at 1:35 a.m.
The distress messages said all
crew members have taken to life
boats except the captain and the
radio operators.
Coast guard air sea rescue head
quarters said the ship, owned by
Otto Kihlstrom of Goeteborg,
Sweden, was approximately 540
miles northeast of Trinidad.
NEW YORK, (TP) — Drums of
chemicals exploded on a truck in
the Holland Tunnel today, filling
the underwater highway with car
bon disulphide fumes. Thirty per
sons, including 20 firemen* were
overcome.
The explosions, touched off
when the truck caught fire, oc
curred in the tunnel’s east bound
tube at 7:55 a.m. at the height of
the heavy morning traffic. The
tube links Jersey City with Man
hattan.
The drums began exploding
while the truck was near the Jer
sey City side of the tunnel.
The blast disrupted cable and
telephone channels from New
York to the west.
The countrywide Associ a t e d
Press wires to radio stations were
out approximately two hours.
SEATTLE, 4/P)-An NLRB trial
examiner’s report recommended
today that the Douglas Canning
Co. of Douglas, Alaska, shall stop
recognizing the Food, Tobacco,
Agricultural and Allied Workers
union <CIO> as the bargaining
agent for its employees. The re
port also recommended that the
company should do nothing to de
ter its employees from joining the (
rival United Alaska Fishermen
and Cannery Workers union
<AFL>.
SEATTLE, (/P)—Seamen of the
steamships Baranof and Abigail
Adams turned into firemen yes- j
terday afternoon when a blaze
broke out on the northwest cor- j
ner of Pier 42 of the Alaska
Steamship company.
The crews of the two ships pull
ed their vessels away from the
ier and played water onto the fire
from their own fire fighting
equipment.
Before city firemen arrived on
the scene, the fire was out.
Cause of the fire was undeter
mined and loss was termed negli
gible.
ANCHORAGE, (/P)—Lt. Kelsey
O. Wynns, 64th fighter squadron
pilot from Oklahoma City, Okla.,
was knocked momentarily uncon
scious yesterday after hearing a
“big explosion” as he flew a jet
plane through a training flight
out of Elmendorf Field.
Recovering, he started to bail
out but reconsidered when he
found the plane’s motor still
working. Instead he returned to
the field and landed.
Inspection of the plane showed
the explosion was caused by part
of a goose breaking through the
Communist Eisler ,
Escapes From
Stowaway
WASHINGTON, (^—Immigra
tion commissioner Watson Miller
said yesterday a stowaway aboard
a Polish ship at sea has been “pos
itively” identified as Gearhart
Eisler, missing alien communist.
The 53-year-old Eisler, who is
facing two possible jail sentences
in this country, disappeared last
week from his home in New York, i
He was free on $23,000 bail.
The liner Botary, which sailed
from New York six days ago, later
radioed that a German stowaway
aboard identified himself as Eis
ler. The ship, owned by Gydnia
American Shipping Lines, Ltd., is
due at Southampton, England, on
Saturday.
Miller told reporters “we have a
positive identification.”
' When newsmen asked whether
he had any information as to how
Eisler got aboard the ship, Miller
, said:
l “It’s a strange procedure. One
(Continued on Page Five)
News of the World
At A Glance —
(By The Associated Press)
Russia and the western powers
argued today over whether all the
barriers in the Berlin blockade
havg been lifted.
The Russians charged the west
with “evading the lifting of their
restrictions under invalid pre
texts." A western spokes man
promptly labelled the charge a
“lot of nonsense."
The Russians incurred western
wrath yesterday by refusing to al
low trucks from West Berlin to
travel to the western occupation
zones without obtaining permits
from the Soviet military or the
Russian-backed German economic
commission.
Early today, however, West Ber
lin police said they understood |
such trucks now need only an or- 1
der from the West Berlin govern-1
ment.
Western observers saw a veiled j
Soviet threat to renew tVie block
ade in a Russian press statement
that “the (blockade) agreement
cannot be fulfilled by the Soviet
side alone."
Any such step, however, would
(Continued on Page Three)
1 " ' ' ~
cockpit and coming through the j
left side of the windshield, making
a hole big enough to stick a foot
through.
A 10-inch hole was in the right
wing. Another goose broke
through the gun camera. Ten
pounds of meat and feathers were
inside a duct chamber.
COLFAX, Wash. (/P) — Dan
Bracy, 35-year-old sign painter
and part-time stuntman, jumped
from an airplane at 15,000 feet
yesterday. A borrowed parachute
failed to open. His body was
found in a wheat field.
Flying with him was Oscar
Murray of 'Hood River, Ore.
Charge Olson With
Embezzlement
(Special to The Nugget*
JUNEAU, (/P)—Charges of em
bezzlement today were filed
against former Territorial treas
urer Oscar G. Olson for over
twenty-three thousand five hun
dred dollars by U. S. attorney Pat
rick J. Gilmore, Jr., covering a
period from December 31, 1946 to,
March 31, 1949.
Olson was taken before U. S.
Commissioner Gray in a prelimin
ary hearing. Hearing is set for
Thursday, May 19. Olson was re
leased on a ten thousand dollar
bond provided by two Juneau cit
izens.
It is understood that Olson made
a confession, to Filmore and thit
an audit will be extended to back
j dates.
—
i Work Round The
Clock Fighting
Idaho Flood Threat
l
BONNERS FERRY, Idaho, i/Pj—
Dike workers were on a 24-hour
basis today to keep the swelling
Kootenai river off 30,000 acres of
rich farm land and out of this
northern Idaho town.
Late last night the river stood
slightly above 26-feet—five feet
below flood stage. A succession of
hot days has melted mountain
snow packs and is driving the
river upward at the rate of three
and one-half feet a day.
Farms on the valley floor were
most seriously threatened. The
flood of 1948 ripped huge roles in
the dikes and workers are strug
' gling to strengthen patches and
bring the levees to a safe height.
Heavy equipment and 160 men
dispatched by the corps of army
engineers at Seattle were expect
ed here to help in the emergency
work.
Dikes around the town will be
raised to the 37-foot level, almost
two feet above the peak of last
year’s flood.
The flood picture in the rest of
the northwest was dangerous in
certain localities but gave no in
dication of a major Columbia ,
River flood.
Papers Carrying
Ice Pool Stories
Barred From Mails
ANCHORAGE. (JP) —Anchorage
newspapers of Wednesday were
barred from the mails by Postmas
ter Herbert Brown pending a rul
ing by postal authorities on whe
ther they are mailable under pos
tal rules.
The papers carried stories on
the ice breakup in the Chena
River, at Fairbanks, and the $6,800
guessing prize won by Max Wil
lard of Anchorage.
The postmaster’s action poses a
problem for newspapers in con
nection with the guessing contest
payoff in connection with the im
pending Tanana River ice move
ment at Nenana.
The postmaster said he forward
er Continued on Page Six)
Berlin Blockade
Lifted With I
Hollywood Fanfare
■■ —— ■
(By Daniel De Luce)
BERLIN, (i^P) — The Russi a n s
pulled up their German iron cur
tain yesterday, ending their 327
day old Berlin blockade, major
sore spot of the cold war.
Ground traffic flowed on through
the day, by rail and by highway,
pouring supplies and passengers
into the long-besieged old capital
city from the west for the first
time in nearly 11 months.
The blockade-lifting had all the
fanfare of a Hollywood movie pre
miere, and the people, convinced
that at last this phase of the cold
war was ended, whooped it up in
the flag-bedecked city.
The Russian and western allied
military outdid each other in cour
jtesy as the barricades went down
i ending the blockade, and the al
lied counterblockade. There was a
general display of good will and
smiling readiness to cut red tape.
But the western allies were tak
ing nothing for granted. Their air
(Continued on Page Six;
TRUMAN NEWS
CONFERENCE
WASHINGTON, (/P)—President
Truman told his news conference
yesterday he still sees a need for
a $4,000,000,000 increase in taxes
to avoid a deficit and retire part
of the public debt.
He believes in and has been
practicing rigid government econ
omy, he said.
He wants to apply between two
billion and five billion dollars
toward the public debt.
Answering reporters who asked
whether he still felt a four billion
dollar increase is necessary, the1
President said that would be
worked out when the amount of
the deficit is determined. Later he
said he did not expect any change
in the tax program he proposed
last January.
The last estimate of a deficit for
the fiscal year ending June 30 !
placed it at between $600,000,000
and $700,000,000. , ’
The discussion came when a re
porter asked whether Mr. Tru
'Gontinued on Page Seven*
Jury Deliberate
Juneau Spruce Co.
Damage Suit
JUNEAU, UP) — The J u n e a o
Spruce corporation's $1,025,000
damage action was in the hands <»1
the jury today.
The case, brought by the com
pany against the international
longshoremen’s and warehouse
men’s union and its Juneau local,
was given to the jury yesterday
afternoon.
As quickly as the jury began
deliberations, Samuel Ross, attor
ney for the national labor relations
board, filed papers with the court
clerk asking an injunction against
further picketing of the company.
Judge George W. Folta was ex
pected to consider the injunction
today.
Approximately 15 men were or
(Continued on Page Eight)
Fly Anti-Rabies
Serum To Ship
In Mid-Pacific
-
SEATTLE, (/P)—A radioed plea
for an anti-rabies vaccine was re
l ceived from the army transport
General Walker in mid-Pacific
last night, the coast guard report
ed.
The message said that a soldier
I aboard the transport had been bit
[ ten by a dog that later developed
: rabies.
The coast guard said here that
a B-17 took off from Adak in the
outer Aleutians to rendezvous
with the General Walker, 650
miles south of Adak, but was
turned back when the Hawaiian
Sea Frontier said it would send a
navy patrol bomber to the scene.
Reason for the change in plans
was given as the PBY’s greater
cruising range.
The transport, en route from
San Francisco to Yokohama, was
instructed to proceed toward Mid
way to meet the navy plane, the
coast guard said.
• At Anchorage, Alaska, it was
reported that a B-17 from the
Tenth Rescue Squadron at Elmen
dorf Field also was sent out with
serum and expected to reach the
transport about 10 p.m. last night.
The coast guard, however, said it
had no word of that plane making
the flight.)
“I Am An American Day'*
In accord with Congress P.R. 67, approved May
3, 1940, the day of Sunday, May 15, 1949, has been
set aside by President Truman as “I Am An Ameri
can Day.”
It is a day on which Americans should reaffirm
their faith in the principles and ideals to which this
nation is dedicated and more firmly believe and re
solve to discharge in full the solemn obligations of
their citizenship. Americans everywhere should
dedicate themselves to the pursuit of peace, secur
ity, and happiness for all peoples of the earth.
I therefore urge each and every citizen of Nome,
Alaska to give sincere thought to the day and dedi
cate himself to the full meaning of his world citi
zenship.
STEVE ANDERSON, Mayor of Nome, Alaska.