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OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS _
VOL. LIII No. 50 • NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1951 _ Per Copy—15^
Billion Dollar
Civil Defense
Bill Pending |
WASHINGTON, (/P>—A Senate
armed services subcommittee was
told today that 67 per cent of
Alaska’s population lives in criti
cal target areas and the Territoryj
should be exempted from provid
ing its own civil defense.
The testimony was given in sup
port of legislation that : would
exempt Alaska from contributing
to civil defense in the same de
gree that the States must.
Gov. Ernest Gruening, Delegate
Bartlett, and civil defense of
ficials all joined in urging prompt
action by the committee.
Disclosure at the hearing in
cluded:
Plans call for spending $1 bil
lions on military construction in
the territory during the coming
year.
Contemplated building of large
\ underground shelters designed to
accommodate 22,000 persons in an
emergency and do double duty as
hospitals.
Samuel H. Sabin, Civil Detense
Administration’s general counsel,
said Alaska's legislature had ap
propriated $400,000 for civil de
fense. This Sabin said, amounted
to about $5.50 for each of the
territory’s 127,000 residents and is
“substantially larger” on a per
capita basis than appropriations
by any other state or territory.
“However, he added, “additional
funds must be made available if
an adequate system of shelters is
to be provided for the people of
Alaska.’
Hugh, Gallagher, also of CDA,
said he did not believe a prospec
tive enemy would drop atomic
bombs on Alaska. Such a power
ful destructive force would not
be needed, he said, because of the
light construction o*f most Alaskan
buildings.
He said Nome could be reached
by Russian bombers in 12 min
utes and that Fairbanks and An
chorage are only “a few hours”
from the home bases of Soviet
planes.
AIRLINER AND NAVY
TRAINER COLLIDE
KILLING 43 PERSONS
KEY WEST, Fla.’ UP) — Grim
Navy divers recovered more
wreckage and mangled bodies
from the shattered sections of a
Cuban airliner and a Navy trainer
plane which collided and killed
43 persons.
Forty-two bodies have been lo
cated by 19 divers working in re
lays, two at a time, over the
smashed pieces of the four
engined transport.
The transport, carrying 34 pas
sengers and five crewmen, and
the Navy plane, a two-motored
Beachcraft with four aboard, col
lided with a noise like a bomb
blast over Key West shortly be
fore noon Wednesday.. Then, in
full view of hundreds of shocked
sunbathers and residents, the air
liner power-dived into the ocean
at a speed estimated at 600 miles
an hour. The Navy craft, disinte
grating as it fell crashed two
miles from the transport.
ALASKA VISITOR’S
ASSN. PRESIDENT
TO VISIT NOME
t * i
Bob Ellis, president of the
Alaska Visitor’s Association, is
scheduled to arrive here tomor-.
row with Wien Airlines, on a
campaign trip for membership and
funds for this organization for
which the legislature has already
appropriated' $40,000.
The AVA, which is patterned
after the Hawaii Visitor Associa
tion, hopes to build tourism into
Alaska’s No. 1 industry, as Hawaii
; has done. Money spent in travel j
stimulates all business in the,
community and creates new busi
ness.
Ellis is president of the Ellis
Airlines of Ketchikan, Alaska, and
will be here until Sunday. An an
! nouncement appears in this issue
; of the meeting to be held with
him. Honorary members of AVA
! Board include: A. Polet, J. J.
j Dillon, Larry Galvin, Dewey
! Goodrich and Grant Jackson.
.
__
Asserts Production
Miracles Can
/
Achieve Peace
NEW YORK, (/P) — Defense
: mobilizer Charles E. Wilson says
the production “m i r a c 1 e s” of
World War II can now be doubled
! and that in three years America’s
! industrial machine can achieve
peace.
If war is averted, he says, the
increased productive capacity can
be used for a better standard of
living.
Warning that inflation could
! ruin the defense program, Wilson
calls for “toil and sweat” to avert
“blood and tears.”
He says the U. S. production
I machinery is now running so fast
! that any aggressor — specifically
i “a certain mustachioed gentleman
! from Moscow” would be “crazy”
to “tangle” with this nation after
1953.
Chicago Greets
Gen. MacArthur
CHICAGO, (/P)—Today, Thurs
day, was Gen. MacArthur day in
Chicago and the nation’s second
largest city was ready to greet the
the five-star general with a huge,
demonstration.
The city’s millions and thous
ands from nearby cities were ex
pected to join in the 10-hour civic
tribute to the general. The cele
bration, shaping up as the biggest
in the city’s history, was expected
to draw some 3,000,000 spectators.
AMERICAN TROOPS LAND
IN NORTH AFRICA TO MAN
AIR BASES IN MOROCCO
CASABLANCA (/P)—The big
gest contingent orf American troops
to land in North Africa since the
war arrived aboard the transport
Henry Gibbins. The Americans,
1,000 strong, will man the new
American air bases in Morocco.
TELEPHONE EXCHANGE
BUILDING FOR EIELSON
ANCHORAGE, (JP) United
Contractors, of Fairbanks, was
low bidder for construction of a
telephone exchange building at
Eielson Air Force Base.
B-36 and F-51
Collide In Air
13 Crewman Die
• %
CARNEY, Okla., (/P)—A B-36,
the world’s largest bomber and a
F-51 fighter plane collided near
here. The State Highway Patrol
said at least 13 airmen died in
the crash.
Chena River Ice
Goes Out Wed. a.m.
FAIRBANKS, (/P) —- The Chena
River ice went out here at 5:31
a.m. Wednesday.
To oldtime Alaskans, it was a
signal that the Nenana River ice
will start moving within two or
three days. That is the breakup
that is awaited throughout the
Territory.
I
Czechs Announce Arrest
Prague Correspondent
William N. Oatis of AP
FRANKFURT, Germany, OP)—
Communist Czechoslovakia an
nounced it has arrested Associ
ated Press correspondent William
N. Oatis and hinted he would be
tried for “activities hostile to the
state.”
Oatis, chief of the AP’s Prague
bureau vanished Monday «*— the
fifth employe of the AP Prague
bureau to disappear three
weeks. Government statements
seemed to indicate the other em
ployes, all Czech nationals, would
be presented in the role of - wit
nesses against Oatis.
U. S. Embassy Counselor Tyler
Thompson said the Foreign Min
istry told him Oatis was arrested
on three charges:
“1. Activities hostile to the
state.
“2. Gathering and disseminat
ing information considered secret
by Czechoslovakia.
“3. Spreading malicious infor
mation regarding the Czech state
through illegal news organs, for
which purpose he misused Czech
citizens.”
Weather Grounds Planes
Searching for Bethel
Teacher and Children
ANCHORAGE, (£>) — Unfavor
able weather Thursday grounded
planes again in the search o*f a
small plane which vanished Sun
day with a school teacher and
two children.
Bert Gann of Bethel flew the
plane from McGrath Sunday with
his six-year-old daughter and an
other 14-year-old. They were en
route to Anchorage.
GOVERNMENT CONTROLS
"DANGER TO OUR FREEDOM"
—WHOLESALE GROCERS
MIAMI BEACH, Fla% (IP) —
Long-range government' controls
are a “danger to our freedom,”
the U. S. Wholesale Grocers Asso
ciation said yesterday in a resolu
tion passed at the closing session
of its annual meeting. ^
J. B. Gottstein of Anchorage,
Alaska, was one of ten vice presi
dents elected.
ANTI-TRUST TRIAL OF
ANCHORAGE LIQUOR
DEALERS STARTS
ANCHORAGE, (#) — The anti
trust trial of Anchorage retail
liquor dealers started Wednesday
in Third. District Courtr with the
government and five defense at
torneys presenting opening argu-'
ments to the jury; v
The five - woman, seven - man
jury was selected after more than
two days. Four alternate jurors
also were selected.
Fifty - three defendants ai*e
charged - with a conspiracy " to
raise, fix and maintain prices of
bottled alcoholic beverages. in
Anchorage and vicinity.
In outlining the government’s
case, chief government attorney
Isador Cohen emphasized “this is
-not a monopoly case, but a price
fixing case.”
Truman Says
Spread of War
Is Up To Russia
WASHINGTON, (;P) — President
Truman said it is up to Russia
whether the war in Korea spreads.
He told a news conference that
American foreign policy was out
lined in his radio speech to the
nation April 11.
Mr. Truman said, too, that he is
very well satisfied with Secretary
of State Acheson.
'Mr. Truman’s April 11 speech
♦ •
was the one in which he gave the
reasons why he said he felt im
pelled to remove Gen. MacArthur
from his Far Eastern commands.
In that speech, Mr. Truman said
“the Communist side must now
choose its course of action.”
Similarly, Mr. Truman told this
news conference that the Commun
ists may act to spread the conflict,
but that they have the choice of a
peaceful settlement.
- . - . -
CHURCHILL CANCELS j
TRIP TO UNITED STATES
LONDON, (JP) — Winston Chur
chill cancelled a planned trip to
the United States today because
of the British government crisis.
' I
FIRST SHIP OF NEW ALASKA
SERVICE, OCEAN TOW, INC.,
NOW ENROUTE. WHITTIER
SEATTLE, (/P) — The freighter
Alaska Cedar, first ship in the
new Puget Sound-Alaska service
of Ocean Tow, Inc., now enroute
from the East Coast, will go di
rectly to Whittier, Alaska, before
calling at Seattle.
Meanwhile the Alaska Spruce,
second ship for the service, was
being reconditioned at Brooklyn,
N. Y. and is scheduled to sail for
the Pacific Coast about May 10.
FIRES BURN 2 MILLION ACRES i
IN ALASKA LAST YEAR
Special to the Associated Press
WASHINGTON, (JP) — Secre
tary of the Interior Chapman
said that forest and brush fires
burned 2,262,528 acres of lands
under the Interior Department’s
jurisdiction last year. He said the
major damage was in Alaska,
where a combination of belcrw
normal rainfall and inadequate
fire control forces resulted in fires
over 2,057,817 acres.
' %, t
Non-skeds On Way
Out Is Boast Of
CAB Official
Sally Carrighar Testifies
Before Senate Committee
tv ■* •' ,r . r -
WASHINGTON, <£>)—A Senate
comtnittee was told that a GAB
• • . «... ^ t
official in Alaska has “boasted”
that non-scheduled air carriers
there are “on the way ::out.” 'The
testimony was- given- by Sajly
Carrighar, JSTome naturalist and
writer, before the Small Business
subcommittee investigating the
effect of the Board’s regulations
on irregular1 carriers.
She said “Robert Kinsey,- re
gional director at Anchorage*
boasted to me that he had re
duced the number of non-skeds
from 28 to 4 and that they are
on the way out.
Miss Carrighar, Gov. Gruening
and Clifford Goodman, Seattle
wholesaler, all told the committee
that air service between Alaska
and the United States was inade
quate.
Cost of Living
Alaska Prices
Half Again Those
Of Stateside
Special to the Associated Press
WASHINGTON, (/P) — A labor
department survey today showed
that living costs in major Alaska
cities were almost half again as
high as in Seattle. 1 '
The survey showed that prices
of food -and services, including
| rent were 40 per cent higher in
Anchorage and 47 per cent higher
in Fairbanks th^n in Seattle in
February, 1951. ?
Using Seattle costs as 100, the
Labor Department estimated these
major budget items costs in the
two Alaska cities: .
Anchorage—food 137; apparel
119; housing 213; other services
such as medical care, transporta
tion and recreation 125; all items
140; all items except housing 129.
Fairbanks — Food 147; apparel
125; housing 217; other services
130; all items 147; all items ex
cept housing 136.
At A Glance ....
Korean War Situation
(By the Associated Press)
UNDATED—Allied troops with
drew in the east and west of a
100-mile front.They fell back from
Uijongbu, 11 miles north of Seoul.
The fall of the ancient capital ap
pears imminent.
In the east, U.N. troops aban
doned Yanggu and dropped below
the 38th parallel. The U.N. Com
mand says 35,000 Reds were killed
in four and a half days of the
spring offensive. Allied losses are
said to be light: Most of the trap
ped U.N. units fought clear. The
British Royal Gloucestershire
First Regiment suffered heavy
losses.
Lt. Gen. Van Fleet says the
Allies can stop the Red advance
on the Han River, south of Seoul.