Home-Owned Newspaper
VOLUME XVI
and The ARROWHEAD PRESS
Member of The Associated Press
10c a Copy
Tuesday. November 15, 1955
NUMBER 237
Engineer would like to find
out what type plant needed
Beck & Associates
present plans to
city-SPU
Members of it he city council
and SPU board heard a repres
entative of Beck & Associates,
consulting engineers, propose
the city employ them to make a
“feasibility survey” of the
needs of iihe city for electrical
energy.
H. C. Westfall of Beck and
Associates, presented the pro
position, pointing out that there
were three melt hods of gener
ating electricity — hydroelec
trie, diesel and steam. He stat
ed that a steam plank in his es
timation was not feasible. This
left the two other methods.
But i.he question was which was
feasible for Sitka, and how big
a diesel plant was necessary, if
that method was chosen.
“It is entirely a policy mat
ter” whether a hydro or diesel
filjantt is chosen — “all we would
do is present the feasibility of
each and the city government
and SPU board would have to'
make the decision,” he Said. !
He pointed out 'that a diesel i
plant could be installed by Sep\
t ember and a hydro installa
tion .would take three years.
But he stated with the Siitka
Cold Storage machine, the SPU
diesel and a “high speed” con
truction diesel, power could be
obtained for the construction
period.
Citing figures “off 'the cuftf”
he estimated that a diesel plant
for Sitka would cost in the
neighborhood of $500,000 to
$750,000 and that, a hydro
plant would cost about $5,000
aoo.
Members Of the board called
to his attention the fact 'that a
water survey made by his com
pany early thlis spring had been
promised the SPU board by a
Mr. Wallace of Beck and As
sociates., and Harold D. Cavin
of the Alaska Lumber & Pulp
Co. The board had neither seen
this report or heard from the
two gentlemen. The SPU, in
years past, had spent money toi
get surveys and that now they
find these were not good — the
V eotchcombing
• After listening for hours
last night — I'm glad that I <
don’t have to make the deci
sion on hydro vs. diesel.
I
• Nothing would .please me
more than to get rid of this
sore nose. But no matter what
you heard — I still fell flat on
my face. i
9 I hear thalt since doe sea
son has opened ‘everyone’ is
out looking for something to
shoot. Be careifiul and at least
SEE the animal before you pull
the ;rigger. Personally all I
fyyanit is “a little dear.
so-called experts were not ex
pert. Board members declined
to commit themselves as to
what action they would take.
Tom Bullock of Fairbanks
Morse Diesel Co. was present
and highly recommended Beck
& Associates.
Proposal presented by Mr.
Westfall started with the (feas
ibility and carried on to com
pletion of any proposed instal
lation, with a stop (work clause
in the contract.
He recommended that the
city determine what assid:ance
could be obtained from the
Housing and Home Finance ag
ency in planning for the devel
opment.
He said it would take from
30 to 60 days to prepare the re
port — with 45 days expected.
If his firm is employed, he was
sure the reports could be in the
hand's of the city immediately
aller the opening of timber j
bids in January. Mr. Bullock
said his company or others
could furnish diesel equipment
in from 90 to 1(20 days instal
led, so the delay would not af
fect the September date
Mayor Shenneti: suggested
the proposal be studied by the
city council and SPU board and
Mr. Westfall would be inform
ed of their decision within 30
days, instead of the 60 days
mentioned in the proposal.
Gruening on stand
in libel suit
| KETCHIKAN (/P) Former
I governor Ernest Gruening, one
| of the three plaintiffs in a $400
I 000 libel suit against the Jun
| eau Emipire wtas the first wit
ness to take the stand in the
ease in district court this morn
ing after opening statefents
by both slides.
| Gruening briefly outlined his
career before being appointed
(governor in 1939. He also gave
testimony establishing the his
tory of the Chikoot ferry fund
by the torrij.orial'board of road
commissioners in 1952 before
curt recessed at noon.
Stevenson will run
for Democratic
nomination
CHICAGO (/P) Adlai E. Stev
enson .oday announced he will
seek the Democratic president
ial nomination and will work
for “a better Amerioa and a
better world.”
He also called for steps to
“outlaw the very means of war
in this atomic age.”
The man who gathered 27
million votes in a losing cam
paign for the White House is
1952 said in a statement:
“I shall be a candidate for
he Democratic nomination for
president next year.”
Stevenson, the first declared
icontinued on page four,'
After six day, convention
gets to work on constitution
Robertson-Smith
bring first question
before delegates
FAIRBANKS (/P) After six
days of tiring detail work, de
legates to the Alaska constitu
tional convention today were
scheduled to get down to the
task Of actually framing the
constitution for the proposed
state of Alaska.
The first issue dealing with
the constitution itself was bro
ught to the floor yesterday af
ternoon by delegate R. E. Rob
ertson of Juneau. He moved
that the intent of the conven
tion be that the constitution be
a document of fundamental
principles of basic law and con
tain only the framework for
state government with all de
tails to be ordained at the dis
cression of future legislatures.
During the discussion over
the motion, delegate Victor
Rivers said the intent was good
to confine the constitution to
fundamentals, but he feared
such an action at this time
might profe too limiting later
on the powers of the convention
The motion was referred to
the resolutions committee with
out cibjed ion from Robertson.
One mild debate centered a
*ound an amendment offered
by delegate W. O. Smith of
Ketchikan. He proposed that
“every provision of the consti
tution shall be open ;o amend- (
ment in substance until such'
I time as the convention shall
I have agreed upon the final form j
! of the constitution, provided j
hat any amendment provision
shall be referred to the com- j
mittee on style and drafting'
for proper wording. Smith and
his supporters felt the delegates
should have the right, by sim
ple majority vote, to change
any section of the document
alter the whole document has
been framed. j
j Opponents said a constitu
1 tion could never be framed if
| amendments could be made in
I such a manner,
i “This amendment would be
tanl,(amount to putting the en
tire document in second read
ing,” Ralph Rivers objected.
Delegate Yule Kilcher of Ho
mer declared he wanted the 50
per cent majority right to cha
nge the document at any time.
“Shall we assume the com
mittees are inifallible?” asked
Kilcher.
Delegate Geoitge Sundfoorg
| told the convention “when a
: proposal is resolved, it should
1 not be open to jeopardy. May
be some logrolling would occur
in the intervening time.
“Under such circumstances
(continued on page four)
Graham turned over to state
to be tried for mother's death
I
Colorado will ask
charge of murder
be brought
DENVER (/P) The federal
government decided today to
turn over to Colorado prosecu
tion of John Gilibert; Graham,
confessed saboteur of the Un
ited Air Lines plane which
crashed Nov. 1 with the loss of
44 lives, including Graham’s
mother.
State dist. attorney Bert M.
Keating announced he would
brinjg a charge of murder again
st Graham, 23, in the death of
his mother. Mrs. Daisie E.
King.
The tall, crew-cut Graham
look out an insurance policy
for $37,500 on his 55 year oln
mother just before she took oflf j
with a bomib in her luggage on •
what was to have been a flight
to Alaska.
DENVER (JP) Mrs. Daisie E.
King, 54 year old grandmother,
paid the freight for her death
and those of 43 other persons
aboard a United Air Lines
plane that exploded and crash
ed Nov. 1 near Longmont, Colo
Records* disclosed Ithat her
suitcase, weighed down by a
dynamiite time bomib rigged by
her son, wlas 37 pounds over
weight when checked by UAL
at Denver Stapleton airfield.
She paid $27 for the addition
al weight.
Graham was arrested yester
day by the FBI on a “peace
time sabotage” charge which
West turns down
Soviet proposal to
cut troop strength
GENEVA (/P) The west ern
powers late today turned down
Soviet proposals to slash for
eign troops strength in Ger
many and to make a nomaggres
si on treaty between it he east &
west mlilitary alliances in Eur
ope.
In a |ast moving debate con
firming the failure of the Big
Four to ajg’ree here on :he solu
tion of any major problems.
Soviet foreign minister V. M.
Molotov accused the western
powers of having put up a num ]
ber of propositions because
they did not want ‘to achieve
an agreement.”
“I wouldn’t like to offend j
anyone,” Molotov said sharply
, iqbu’t facts are facts.”
In an earlier session today,'
; the four had failed Ito agree on!
I any specific steps for improv
; inig east-west relations by re
laxing restrictions on travel,
trade or the exchange of ideas.
U. S. secretary of state Dul
les.. British foreign secretary t
j MacMillan and French foreign
minister Antoine Pinay in that
(continued on page four) j
carries a maximum penalty of
ten years in prison and a fine
of $10,000.
First degree murder in Colo
rado is punishable by death in
the gas chamber.
Graham related Monday ni
ght, without emotion, how he
rigged 25 sticks of dynamite to
[explode aboard the airliner,
which crashed near Longmont,
Colo., 11 minutes after it had
left Denver.
Graham said in his signed
statement, it was learnel, that
he had set the mechanism to
detonate the bomb 90 minutes
alter he placed it in his .moth
er’s suitcase at 5:53 p.m. the
night of the crash.
The plane wias delayed 35
minutes in takeoff from Den
ver the night of nhe crash
which occurred about 7:0*3 p.m.
Had :he plane left on schedule
officials said , the explosion
probably would not have come
until the liner was over moun
tain country in Wyoming.
Another UAL plane crashed
against a southern Wyoming
mountain Oct. 6, killing 66 per
sons in l.he worst disaster in
the nation’s commercial airline
hstory.
Wiliam A. Patterson, UAL
president, told reporters that
company investigal ors knew
“within 10 hours” alfter the
Nov. 1 crash that an internal
explosion in flight caused the
tragedy.
He said investigators kept
finding a film of “grey stuff”
on parte of the plane that “in
dicated dynamite.”
Graham did not reply when
asked whether he felt remorse
over (‘.he deaths. He said he us
ed 25 sticks of dynamite in the
lethal weapon.
U. S. Atty. Donald G. Kelley
said the young Denver constru
ction and real aurant worker
signed a “written admission”
earlier that he killed his moth
er, Mrs. Daisie E. King, 54. to
collect her $37,500 air flgiht
insurance.
Ironically, the insurance was
invalid because his mother had
failed to sign it before she left
Denver’s SI aipleton airfield for
Spenard, Alaska, and a visit
with her daughter, Helen Ruth
HabluJ zel. The policies were
taken out at the airport by
Graham.
Marine forecast from Tues
day to Wednesday.
STORM WARNING
An intense Storm 200 miles
southwest of Yiakotat moving
northeast 20 mph will turn east
and be centered 100 miles south
of Yakutat !by 6 p. m. Tuesday
and then turn southeast and
weaken and be centered near
Sitka by Wednesday morning.
Storm will cause winds of
25 to 40. miph with very strong
guds today and tonight over
outside waters Dixon Entrance
to Yakutat.
Snow today and tonight.