Daily Sit
Sentinel
Home-Owned Newspaper
and The ARROWHEAD PRESS
Member of The Associated Press
10c a Copy
VOLUME XVI
/Monday, November 14, 1955
NUMBER 236
Fuller Brushmim suicide in
hotel room; found today
Cecil A. Kidder
ends life witk one
$hot of 22 pistol
Cecil A. Kidder, who has
made his home in Sitka on and
oiif for the .past two years, was
found dead at noon in his down
town hoi.el room.
A coroner’s jury brought in
a verdict of suicide, finding
"the deceased died by a self
inflicted gunshot wound.”
IMr. Kidder was found sitting
in an easy chair with one (bul
let from a 22 automatic pistol
through his right temple. Time
or death was not pin-pointed,
as Dr. W. C. Charter is stated
he had died 24 hours or more
prior to his examination.
'Witnesses included the act
ing manager and two maids
from (the hotel. Mrs. Gertrude
Manley testified she had gone
to Mr. Kidder’s room at 12:15
p. ,m. (today, knocked but receiv
ed no answer ancf, seeing his
body skimped in a chair, return
ed to the desk to report the in
cident. She last Saw him alive
Friday at.ernoon at 1 p. m.
when he was in bed as she
brought clean towels to his
room. Also she related he had
talked df suicide when intoxi
cated about a year ago and al
ways seemed to be despondent
when drinking. Mr. Kidder had
told her of a woman friend who
he had planned to marry, but
their plans fell -through, stating
he had staken to drinking to
excess -alter this happened.
Mrs. Ann Jiackson, maid at
the hotel, told of looking into
Mr. Kidder’s room at 1 p. m.
Saturday and seeinlg him asleep
in a chair. She left clean linen
and departed. Marie Jurd, act
ing manager of the hotel, testi
fied every time Mr. Kidder be
came intoxicated he wanted to
kill himself. She had seen him
V eatchcombing
# Its been cool here buit just
think how the members of the
fifth division feel when they
find out how much colder they
are than we are in Sitka.
• That bandage Fan wearing
.covers utp a mark made when 1
fell Saturday. Could give a lot
df reasons for falling but you
just use your imagination foi
the real reason. Worse than the
bump was the fact that I smasl
ed my glasses and have to weai
dark specs as they are the onlj
ones I can see with — not t(
cover up a black eye.
-4—1—
• You wonder juSf what kinc
of man could kill 44 people ii
the hopes of collecting the in
surtance for the death of one o
them.
• The News^VDiner at Fair
banks is really showing how j
Associated Press paper help
out those needing inlformatioi
and pictures. Snedden and hi
paper have been outstanding ii
cooperating with the rest c
Alaska on the convention.
in the lobby at 6 ip. m. Saturday
and, though he had had a drink
he Was not intoxicated and said
he felt pretty good. She related
he had been drinking heavily
for about itwo weeks, was a lone
drinker in his roomis and not
given to having guests in to see
him.
Mr. Kidder had told her he
had been married once, 'but she
did not know if divorce or
* death had ended Ithe marriage.
He had lelft instructions not to
have the maids come to his
I room on Sundays, so no one had
gone to his room that day.
Members of the coroner’s
jury were Joe Appling, Ernie
Van Errnan, Dick Radach, Jim
Lantry Clell Bird and Wayne
Westover.
Cecil AlWin Kidder was 50
years of age, being born in Ore
gon on Dec. 17, 1950. He was a
member of the Elks Lodjge and
local union 2317 United Broth
erhood of Carpenters and Join
ers of Aberdeen, Washington.
A sider, Mrs. L. D. Keller,
910 W. Wisihkah, Aberdeen,
Washington, survives, as well
as other sisters whose names
and addresses are not known
lere.
The body is beinb held at Ml..
Edgeioumlbe hospital and fun
eral arrangements will be made
upon receipt of word from his
family.
Mr. Kidder was known to al
most every family in this area
for his solicitations for the Ful
ler Brush Co., of which he was
representative for Southeas
tern Alaska.
Delegates begin
actual work on
constitution
FAIRBANKS (/P) Delegates
to the Alaska constitutional con ,
vent ion will get down to the ac
tual task of writing their con
stitution today aif'ter the 14 com
mittee lists were filled Satur
day.
The committees cover the
subjects of style, rights, legis
lature, judiciary, finance, direct
legislation, ordinances, suffer
| age, executive, resources, local
government, resolutions, rules
i and administration.
I The convention president,
j William Egan of Valdez, ap
| pointed the delegates to the re
spective committees with ad
vise from a group of nine dele
1 gates.
Other action expected today
L will be same icfhange in the rule
• adopted last Friday to exclude
r the public from committee
> meetings. The rules committee
called in members of the press
who had protested Saturday,,
[land it Was agreed that the'
i rules will be altered today.
■ j Other action taken Saturday
l included approving Ithe salary
scale for the permanent help
hired by the convention. Posi
- tions open and the salaries are
i as follows: Three clerk typists
; at $21 per day each, one mimeo
1 grapher at $21 per day; messen
Jigeer at $18 per day: messenger
i center chief, $21 per day; re
f cordirtg clerk $25; and corabm
(continued on page four)
COLDEST SINCE 1950
THIS MONTH
Not since 1950 has Novem
ber been so cold or has snow
been recorded here, the Coast
and Geodetic Survey Station
reports.
A minimum of 12 above ze
ro was recorded here Thurs
day and Friday, for the record
low of the winter season. A
low of 15 and a minimum of
31 Sunday 'indicated the weath
er had warmed up somewhat
while 29 above was the temp
erature this morning.
According to weather rec
ords in 1950 4.2 inches of snow
were recorded in November,
while the record low was 7 a
bove.
So this has been unusual
weal her after all.
Reds, turn down
package deai on
JJ. N. memberships
GENEVA, (/P) Russia has
ilaltly refused a 4 to 13 pack
age deal on UN memberships,
western officials reported to
day. j
V. M. Molotov is insisting I
that Outer Monfgolia be includ-1
ed in communist countries (to ]
be admitted to the world or
ganisation, making iit a deal of
five Soviet satellites for 13
western sponsored nations —
18 in all, it was reported.
This would bring the U. N.’s
roll to 78 members.
The Soviet position was re
ported to have been made
clear in a two-hour talk yes
terday between Molotov and
U. S. secretary Dulles.
The western powers were
reported divided on these lines
1. The United States, Dulles
told Molotov, is prepared to
abstain from voting against
the admittance of If our com
munist states — Romania, Hun
gary, Bulgaria and Albania.
At first he strongly objected
to including Albania, but fin
ally gave way on that point.
Speaking of Outer Mongolia,
however, one American infor
mant said “How can they ex
ped. us (to accept as qualified
for U. N. membership a coun
try which doesn’t even seem
(to have an ambassador in Mos
cow?”
2. Britain is willing to ac
cept all five of the Soviet
candidates.
3. France considers tne
whole deal should be put on
' ihe shellf as long as the Al
gerian item is skill on the U.
N. general assembly's agenda.
She walked out of the assem
bly when the item was voted
onto the agenda.
I An announcement by Henry
Cabot Lodge Jr., chief U. S.
delegate to the U. N. in New
York yesterday i.hat the Uni
ted States had dropped its op
position to Alabama, Hungary
Romania and Bulgaria came a
bout 12 hours after Dulles com
pleted his talk with Molotov.
Lodge said the United States
would also abstain on Outer
Mongolia’s application, but
that he doubted that that coun
try would get Hhe necessary
seven votes on the security
council anyway.
He <acted more quickly than
U. S. officials here expected he
would — apparently to get the
American position on the re
cord before hhe Russians could
grab the play.
Admits planting dynamite
in plane which killed mother
23 year old father
of two signs
confession today
DENVER (A>) A 23 year old
Denver man signed a written
confession today he placed a
dynamite !bomib on a United
Air Lines plane that exploded
and carried bis mother and 43
other persons to death Nov. 1.
U. S. D'ils't. Atty. Donald E.
Kelley told newsmen John Gil
bert Graham admitted placing
the explosives on the plane that
burst into pieces in the air
near Longmont 11 minutes after
it took o3f from the Denver air
porlt.
The FBI accused Graham of;
placing aboard the plane ‘‘a num
ber of sticks of dynamite at
tached to a battery with a tim
inlg mechanism in the form of
a toomib.” Graham's arrest was
announced earlier today toy the
FBI.
Kelley I old reporters he in
tends to recommend state pro
secution of Graham on a mur
der charge because “at the
moment it doesn’t look like the
federal penalty is sufficient to
jus) ify prosecution.
The FBI said Graham, mar
ried and the father of two child
ren, took out an air flight in
surance policy ifor $37,500 on
his mother, Mrs. Daisy King,
at the Denver airport a short
time before she boarded the ill
fated plane on her way to An
chorage to visit a daughter,
Mrs. Helen Hablutzel.
But it was learned the pol
icy was not signed toy Mrs.
Kinlg and apparently was not
valid.
A reporter asked Kelley if
this “was a one-man joto or
were others involved.” Kelley
replied he had “no comment at
this time.”
Graham, a former construc
tion worker, had been helping
his mother run a drive-in res-j
taurant. He had been paying
for several years on $4,200 in;
checks he had forged in 1951.
He waived preliminary hear
ing when he was arraigned be
fore U. S. commissioner Harold
S. Oakes. Bond was seit at $100
000. Graham was unable to
provide the bond and was taken
to the Denver county jail.
Graham had worked in Spen
ard, Alaska.
Details df the sabotaging of
the plane were withheld by the
FBI. Graham in his construc
tion work had become familiar
with the handling of dynamite.
An authoril ative source said
Graham would bfe eligible for
one-fourth of his mother’s es
timated $150,000 estate in the
event of her dearth.
Civil Aeronautics Board in
vestigators have said the plane
exploded in a “bomb-like blast”
attributed to “foreign” matter
aboard the crafit.
Kelley said he would confer
later today with Marc Smith of
Greeley, Colo., state district at
torney for the area including
the crash sc?ne, and Bert Keat
mg, Denever district attorney.
Kelley said the prosecutors
[planned to research the law to
determine what other charges
! might be filed.
| The federal charge against
Grahlaim accused him under a
section which makes it a crime
to sabotage a national defense
facility or materials. The code
defines commercial airliners as
among such facilities,
j The maximum penalty for
conviction on this change is 10
I years’ imprisonment and a $10
; 000 fine.
I As /the change was read to
j Graham by the U. S. commas
j sioner, a Denver attorney. J.
R. Strickland, interrupted and
said he had (been retained by
Graham’s half-sister, Mrs. Ha
I bhutzel of Spennard. SI ridkland
conferred for a (few moments
with Graham and then told
Oakes his client would waive
the preliminary. Graham will
be called later before a U. S.
district judge here to enter a
plea to the charge.
The accused young man, who
sail with his head hung facing
the commissioner as /the charge
was read, said nothing audible.
The charge listed -the name
John Gilbert Graham and two
aliases. Jack Gilbert Graham
and Jack C. King.
W. A. Patterson, president of
United Air Lines, was present
for the hearing. Earlier he I old
newsmen he wanted to express
“my appreciation to those a
geneies who assisted in the in
vestigation of the cause olf this
accident, and particularly to
the EDI who did 9uch a remark
able jolb in solving this great
tragedy.”
Graham is dark haired, near
ly 6 feet tall and weighs 185 to
190 pounds. He and his wife
and two children lived dn a
West Denver dwelling with
his mother.
The mother had made the
down payment on the house
and Graham was making the
monthly payments.
Graham had been working at
a restaurant with his mother
to help pay off $4,200 in bogus
checks he had forged against a
Denver firm. He was convicted
i of forgery in 1951 and given a
5 year suspended sentence,
(continued on page four'
Advertising pays!
FAIRBANKS UP) Prompted
by an outbreak o»f holdups in
|this city, a liquor store insert
td the following advertisement
in the Friday edition of the
News-Miner.
! “Everybody loves the Big
Bend Liquor Store. No/body
robs us because we are straight
shooterts.”
On Sal urdlay afternoon at
4:30 p. m. two holdup men en
tersd the store and relieved
clerk Mary Kossoff of $5,000.
Marine forecast from Mon
day to Tuesday.
Outside waters Sitka to Ya
kutat easterly winds 10 to 20
mph.
Cloudy with occasional snow
Outside waiters Dixon En
trance to Sitka northeasterly
winds 10 to 16 mph.
Clear to partly cloudy.