Daily Sitka Sentinel
Home-Owned Newspaper
and The ARROWHEAD PRESS
Member of The Associated Press
10c a Copy
VOLUME XVU
Thursday, December 22, 1955
NUMBER 9
Three counties hit hard by
floods along Pacific coast
Travelers stranded
as highways, rail
lines inundated
by The Associated Press
Swiftly rising rivers and
huge masses of mud and rock
cut scores Of highways from
Washington into California
Thursday, standing travelers
in scores of cities and driving
hundreds of persons from their
homes.
A state of emergency was de
dared in two California coun
ties and one in Oregon.
At least two persons were
dead.
In Grant Pass. Ore., the coun
ty civil defense director, Lloyd
Hiaynes, took charge and put
an emibargo on all non-essent
ial travel and on all phone calls
not connected with the emer
gency. Seven buses with 250
south-bound passengers were
stranded there when the Rogue
river buried the Pacific high
way 10 feet deep at Savage Ra
pids daim.
Whole communities were e
vacuated in northern California
where Ithe floods from torrent
ial rains and cascading snow
melt were hitting hardest. In
Oregon dozens of families were
evacuated as water from sur
face runoff and rising streams
lapped around their doors.
The Chehalas river in west
ern Washington was four feet
out of its -banks at Grand
Mound and two-Uhirds of the
side roads in that area were
under water. In central Wash
ington Satus creek was rising
six inches an hour and water
and mud ran over highways in
a dozen places. The eight inch
snownpack in northeastern
Washington all but disappeared
in the warming rain and Spok
V eafchcombing
• The weathermen in Wash
ington and Oregon who're al
ways talking about the cold
from Alaska will now have to
admit if we get snow and/rain
that it comes from stateside, j
• Only two more days left
until jolly St. Nick and Rud
olph with his red nose, rides
again.
• !Mr. Dulles has the nicest]
way of putting his big foot in,
his mouth — but then Nehru
is more for the communists than
for the Free world.
# I’ve been thinking and
thinking about what I want for
Christmas — but Santa only
gives presents to good boys and
girls, so I guess my stocking
will be empty ithis year.
(Proofreader’s note: That’s
the worst kind of negative
hinting.)
• And speaking of stockings
—- wouldn’t yoc know it, the
ladies always have had the
longest stockings and now they
come up with s-t-r-e-it-c-h
$tpcfcings.
ane street intersections were
three to four feet under water
in many parts of to*wn.
The only rail line between
Seattle and Portland was clos
ed by a massive earth slide 10
miles north of Vancouver. Bus
es took train passengers around
it. The Southern Pacific’s Port
land-San Francisco trains sim
ilarly were hai.ed by softened
roadSbed near Dunsmuir, Calif.
In northwestern California
the entire population of Klam
ath — some 300 persons — was
evacuated as the Klamath riv
er swirled over the land.
It was northern California’s
worst storm in 15 years and a
state of emergency was declsar
ed in the coastal counties of
Humbolt and Del Norte, both
of ‘them cut off from ground
travel.
Witnesses in
murder trial will
DENVER (TP) The greatest
number af witnesses ever call
ed in Colorado legal history is
expected for the murder trial
of John Gilbert Graham, accus
ed salbcl eur of a United Airlines
plane.
Seventy-nine persons were
endorsed as witnesses yester
day by l5ist. Atty. Bert Keat
ing, who earlier approved 16
others.
Keating said at least* 125 per
sons probably wiill be named
as prospective witnesses by the
time a trial date is set. The 23
year old defendant is charged
with murdering his mother.'
one of 44 persons who perished
in the northern Colorado plane
crash Nov. 1.
The new list of witnesses in .
dludes Webb W. Burke, agent;
in charge here for the FBI, and j
five Longmont, Colo., residents j
who saw the four engine air
liner crash in a beet field.
Graham has pleaded inno
cent and innocent by reason of
insanity.
He is under observation at
Colorado Psychopathic hospital
Ohio's governor
will seek bid to
U.S.senate
COLUMBUS, Ohio </P) Gov.
Frank J. Lausche has ended
speculation about his future
political plans. He announced
yesterday he will seek the
Democratic nomination for U.
S. senator from Ohio at the
May 8 primary election.
LauSche’s 23-word announce
ment was really no surprise.
Many had specula! ed on the
outcome of his decision. Re
cently, Lausche had said he
would 'be a candidate for sena
tor or seek a sixth term as
I governor.
1 The 60-year-old “wonder
bov” of Ohio politics — no
other governor has served
more than three terms in 'the
| state — told newsmen in mak
[ (continued on page lour)
Unique plea fails
to move judge
J'EFiFERiSON CITY, Mo.,
(/P) Cirtcuit judge Sam C. Blair
was surprised yesterday to re
ceive a Christmas card from
an inmate at the Missouri
State penitentiary.
A close look showed, Ithe
convict was at tempting to ap
peal to the compassionate side
of the law. J. Johnson, the pri
soner, had neatly penciled his
request for a writ of habeas
corpus on the back of the card
Judge Blair was untouched
by the sentiment. He denied
the writ.
$25,000 alloted to
Alaska for relief
of fishermen
WASHINGTON (/P) Presid
ent Eisenhower approved today
the allocation of $25,000 to the
federal civil defense administra
tion for relief of Indian and!
Eskimo commercial fishermen
in Alaska.
This is the second iikne in re
cent years the federal govern
ment has stepped in to help pro
vide disaster relief for Alas
kan commenoial fishermen
when fish became scarce .Al
location of $20,000 was approv
ed in Nov. 1954 when wide
spread malnutrition developed
developed in a number of local
ities where fishing is fhe pri
mary source of livelihood.
Winter starts off
in wet and chilly
mood today
by The Associated Press
Northern California’s heav
iest rain storms in 15 years
and bitter cold in the north
east got the winter season off
to a wet and chilly start today.
An unrelenting Pacific
storm, in California and Ore
gon. senlt hundreds olf families
fleeing from their flood-threat
ened homes, (blocked highways
and closed same schools.
Ten communities were evac
uated in northern California.
The entire (population of about
300 moved out of Klamath, at
'the mouth of the Klamath Riv
er. Others were Orick, Orleans
Myers Flat. Klamath Glen,
Hydesville, Weott, Fernbrilge,
Pepperwood and Carlotta.
A welb of swollen rivers and
streams cut the northwest cor
ner of California into sloshy
jigsaw pieces.
In Ithe north coast counties
of Humibolt and Del Norte,
civil defense director Allen
Ham declared a state of emer
gency. Both were out off from
grousd travel by Ithe storm.
The Arctic air covering the
northeast moderated somewhat
in most areas but was even
colder in others.
Masse nsa, in northern New
York, had an overnight low
otf -25 — 2 degrees below Ithe
preceding d'ay. Saranac Lake
had a -32, same as on Wednes
day. Rochester dropped from
2 above to zero today, Syra
cuse climbed from -20 to -2
and Albany rose from -17 to
-8.
Branehviile, N. J., had -7.
(continued on page four)
Israel warned by truce chief
against starting another war
Syria demands
punitive action
against Israel
UNITED NATION'S, N. Y.
(JP) Warned by its Palestine
trmce chief that more Israeli
reprisals could touch off an
other Holy Land war, the U.
N. security council turned to
day to Syrian demands for pun
itive action against the Jew
ish nation.
The council was to liaike uip
the explosive Aratnlsrael is
sue again this afternoon. Be
fore it was a report from the
scene by Canadian Maj. Gen.
E. L. M. Burns, the truce sup
ervisor, branding Israel’s Dec.
11 attack on Syrian 'gun posi
tions along the Sea of Galilee
a “deliberate” armistice viola
tion.
Chief Syrian delegate Ahm
ed Shu'kairy was expected to
make a new request that the
council apply economic sanc
tions againd Israel and even
oust her from the U. N. if nec
essary to prevent a repetition ’
of the raid.
Israel explained the attack
as she has a hers in the past
— that it was made in retali
ation for past Syrian attacks
and in an effort to prevent fu
ture ones. Israeli ambassador
Seven millions
in penalties given
shipping magnate
WASHINGTON (/P) For a
bout seven million dollars in
penalties, fines and other char
ges, Aristattle Socrates Onas
sis has settled govermmen
claims growing out of his pur
chase of surplus ships.
The companies the Greek
born shipping magnate now
controls were allowed to keep
the 23 Ships involved on con
dition that majority of the
stock in the firms be transfer
red to American citizens with
in ifour and one-half months.
Onassis himself may keep a
minority interest.
The settlement announced
by the justice department yes
terday differed in that respect
from one reached four months
ago with Onassis’ brother-in
law. Starvros Miarchos. Elev
en of the 19 vessels Miarchos
and his companies bought
were kept bv the U. S. gov
ernment,
Both men are aliens. They
and their companies were
charged with consipirinlg to de
fraud the United States in
buying the surplus ships in vi
olation of a law restricting the
sale of such Ships to American
citizens.
Six companies which Onas
sis controls pleaded guilty to
'the charges yesterday in U. S.
district court and were fined
a total of $160,000. Similar
charges against Onassis per
sonally and other individuals
associated with him were drop
ped by the govern merit, ^
Abba Eban circulated among
council members what his gov
eminent claims are photostjut
ic copies of Syrian army or
ders to fire on Israeli fishing
boats on the Sea of Galihie,
along which Jesus Christ
spent much of his life.
A Syrian army spokesman
in Damascus denied any such
instructions had been issued.
Israel claims all the water
area of the inland lake. Syr
ian territory begins only a
few miles back from the north
east shore and commands the
eastern part oif Ithe inland sea.
Nehru asks for
clarification of
Dulles statement
WASHINGTON (A>) The
state department has received
a strongly worded complaint
and request for clarification
from Indian prime minister
Nehru about a statement by
secretary Dulles concerning the
territory of Goa.
Nehru told parliament at
New Delihi today he had sent
a note on \he subject to Wash
ington. It was described as not
being a protest.
State department officials a
greed that it was not a protest
but the message was clearly re
garded here as a “hot temper
ed” statement of India’s resent
ment.
The whole incident grows
out of a visit to Washington a
round Dec. 1 by the Portuguese
foreign minister, Dr. Fauilo
Ounha.
Cunha and Dulles talked a
bout Indian demands for an
end to Portuguese rule over
the Goan territory.
Subsequently, in a commun
ique the State department an
nounced that the two had talk
ed about “/ he Portuguese pro
vinces in the Far East.”
That was on Dec. 2 four days
latter Dulles was asked at ,a
I news conference whether the
United States regards Goa as a
I Portuguese province. He .said
! it had been Portuguese for a
bout 400 years arid “es far as
I know, all the world regards
I it as a Portuguese province ”
The remark created public
resentment in India, which
wants to take over all Portu
guese territory in that country
On Dec. 13 Indian ambassa
dor G. L. Mehta called on asslt.
secretary of state George Al
len and asked for clarification.
Marine forecast from Thurs
day to Friday.
A strong pressure gradient
will cause 30 to 50 mph winds
over inside waters Petersburg
to Sfcagway today and tonight.
Outside waters Dixon En
trance to Yakutat easterly
{winds 15 to 25 mph.
Fair except for snow near
Dixon Entrance spreading slow
ly northward to Sitka tonight
. and northward aloa« coast Fri
lday.