Oldest Newspaper in Alaska. Member of 1 la* Associated !Yess
DEVOTED TO THE BUILDING OF A BE TTER NOME AND THE SECOND !H\ ISION.
NOME IS THE STRATEGIC WORLD FLIGHT AIR PASF- ESPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR COMMERCIAL AND MILITARY l.VIAT;;'
THE NOME DAILY NUGGET
VOL. 37. No. 122 NOME. ALASKA, Saturday, Mav 23, 1936 Per Copy Ten Cents
Colonial Secretary G. B. Resigned
THEY ADMIT TOWNSEND IS IN CONTEMPT
Three Prisoners Are Hanged San Quentin Today
COLONIAL SECT’Y J
THOMAS RESIGNED
POST UNDER FIRE
Resigned One Month After A Budget
Leak Caused Premature Rush Thru
England Insurance Higher "Faxes
(By The Associated Press)
LONDON, England, May 23, — James E. Thomas,
who rose from errand boy and engine wiper to a high
position in the British cabinet,, quit under fire last
night, exactly one month after the budget leak sensa
tion broke over Great Britain.
He held the post of Colonial Secretary. The bud
get leak was centered around the escape of supposed
ly secret news that income tea taxes were being rais
ed. ‘leading to a premature rush for insurance against
higher taxes.
LONDON, May 23, —The resignation of Colonial
Secretary Thomas last night raised the probability of
a major shakeup in the ministry. Premier Baldwin is
pondering residence chequers over the week-end.
Political sources predicted that Sir Samuel Hoare,
former Foreign Secretary who resigned under fire as
the scapegoat of the Italo-Ethiopian crisis, and who is
now hailed as a “farseeing prophet” for wanting peace
and giving Italy half of Ethiopia, may be returned to
the cabinet.
Viscount Monsel, First Lord of the Admiralty is
reported to be anxious to retire. Meanwhile the gigan
tic rearmament program entered the production phase,
as the Imperial Defense Committee, after two months
of work has now undertaken immediate allocation of
contracts for machined tools, guages, etc., needed to
speed up the supplies.__ _
Three Prisoners
San Quentin Are
Hanged in Calif.
(By The Associated Press)
SAN QUENTIN PRISON, Cal
ifornia, May 23, —California to
day exacted the death penalty
from three prisoners for crimes
of murder and kidnaping.
Alexander MacKay, 29, a Brit
ish subject, and Joseph Kristy 27
dropped through the gallows to
gether here at 10:05 a.m., and
were pronounced dead ten minut
es later.
Earl Kimball was hanged at
Folsom for the killing of James
Kennett. retired Chicago con
tractor.
The British government failed
in its efforts to save MacKay de
spite a last minute appeal from
Anthony Eden, British Foreign
Minister. The two were convict
ed for the kidnaping of warden
James Holohan and members of
the prison board, in an escape at
tempt a year ago The three
prisoners died smilling.
Youthful Pilot
Sets new Record
Small Planes
(By Tne Associated Press)
AGUA CALIENTE, Mexico,
May 23, —Peter Dana, 20, of Hoi
derness, New Hampshire, arrived
here Friday evening from Van
couver, B. C. in 12 hours and 34
minutes elapsed time or an act
ual flying time of 11 hours and
6 minutes, breaking the record
of thirteen hours and forty-sev
en minutes set last year for the
125 horsepower motor by Frank
Kurtz, former University of Sou
them California athlete.
Dana refueled at Seattle. Eug
ene, Oregon, Redding, Fresno,
and Los Angeles, California.
It is understood that the coun
cil meeting next Monday night
will have several very interesting
items of business to consider, in
cluding re-licensing of beverage
and retail liquor establishments
in Nome, fire department equip
ment. etc.
Councilmen say “Don’t miss it.”
HAZARDOUS TRIP ON BERING
SEA TOLD BY HARVEY
SULLIVAN VALDEZ
Editor's Note—The following
story is reprinted from the Val
dez Miner where Mr. Sullivan
now resides, and is an authentic
description of this famed early
day story of ar. incident which
happened at Nome, it was first
printed in the Nome Nugget in
1905 and has since been repub
l'shed in the Pathfinder and num
emus other publications Due to
the fact that the fire of 1934 wip
ed out the treasured files of the
Nome Nugget wo are republish
ing this important bit of history,
which no doubt many old timers,
as well as the editor of the Nug
get will recall the hair-raising
excitement of those days, and it
will be well for those of the
younger generation to clip this
article out and keep it for pos
terity, as this is probably the last
time it will ever be published.
Many oldtimers who were in
and around Nome in the spring
of 1905 will remember the Capt.
Storey party that were blown
out to sea on a launch and lost
for several days.
We are printing a few extracts
from a letter written by Harvey
P. Sullivan, formerly of Nome,
but now a resident of Valdez, to
his brother George H. Sullivan
about the trip. Harvey Sullivan
was a passenger on tiie bruit and
among other things he wrote wu
• ; it., i r i ’ .
"First and foremost I came up
to Nome in February, and bought
an interest in a lease on Dry
Creek. You know N.P.R. Hatch?
Well, it was on his ground and I
worked there until the latter
part of April and then quit.
“Spring had started in early;
the water was running on the
hillsides; the ice had broken a
way from the shore in Bering
Sea. and we had already started
(o look for boats from the Out
side. We were ready to welcome
the coming summer. I wanted
to get back to BlufT. and that is
60 miles away, and start ground
sluicing on Ryan creek. The
trails were pretty well broken
up, but the ice in the rivers was
still intact. Water was flowing
on top of the ice some two or
three feet deop and it was mean
to travel. As I said, the ice had
left Bering Sea and the North
Coast Lighterage Company fixed
up a kerosene launch named the
North Coast, with the intention
of carrying passengers & freight
up and down the coast. They
advertised the boat would leave
May 26 for Solomon and Bluff.
I thought this a better chance
to go to Bluff than on the trail,
so I secured passage. It was a
warm, fine day and not a ripple
on the water. Joe came down
to see me off, and as I was gett
ing into the dory to go out to
the launch, he threw his overcoat,
which he was carrying on his
arm into the dory. He said:
“You can never tell, it may
come in handy, and if it doesn’t
it will do no harm, anyway.”
‘I will always be glad that I
took that coat. Joe did not want
me to go. It did not look good
for sme reason, but I assured
him that everything would be all
right and we would be in Bluff
in eight or ten hours. Then 1
remarked that if anything did
happen we had plenty of provi
sions aboard. I thought we had,
but I was mistaken as I found
out later.
"We started the engine and all
went pretty well until we ar
rived off of Hastings creek, ten
miles from Nome. Anyone that
has had any experience with a
gasoline or kerosene engine will
know that they are pretty con
trary when they take a notion
to be Like an Irish pig, you
can't drive nor lead them. We
would get started, run a minute
or two, and then stop. In this
way we worked our way around
Cape Nome. About 11 p.m. we
anchored. It was getting fairly!
dark by this time, and the wind
was blowing a pretty stiff breeze1
offshore. About 1:30 p.m. we got
started again, and for the next
five or six miles we were break- j
ing down continually.
“It was getting cold—so cold
that it was disagreeable, and we
were drifting out to sea_ But we
kept on thinking that the next
time the engine started it would
take us out of danger. The engi
neer would loosen up a bolt and
tighten up a screw and then turn
the flywheel, to be rewarded
with a puli' or two, or a few re
volutions of the wheel: but more
often no results at all. Of cour
se I was only a passenger, but
I was called on to crank the fly
wheel and do other things; and.
of course, I did as I was told.
What I don’t know about mach
inery would make a large book.,
“All day we worked and all j
day we go farther and farther
from shore. I wanted to quit then
and go ashore in the dory that
we had in tow. The captain and
the engineer refused to listen to
me; they seeming to think the
boat would get going and keep
going. Genre Greenwood, the oth
er passenger, would take the
dory and go ashore fearing that
something would happen and we
would always be very sorry. So
we stayed and kept plugging aw
ay.
“We had no accomodations—
that is, no cabin, no stove, no
place to sleep or lie down. It
was an open launch. Finally the
engineer said that the engine was I
dead—and it had died a hard j
death, too. We arranged a tar- j
paulin around the engine and
crawled under it. Than with
two gasoline torches that had
been used to heat the bulb of
the engine, we tried to keep
warm. The engine was suppos
ed to burn kerosene. We would ,
play the flame of the torches ag
ainst the side of the engine and
try to keep warm enuf so that .
(Continued on Page Two)
HOUSE COMMITTEE
UNDECIDED HOW TO
HANDLE TOWNSEND
Townsend Ordered Other Leaders Not
To Answer (Questions. Bvrus Savs
He is (dearlv In Contempt House
(By The Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, D. C.. May 23 — Contending the
activities of the investigating committee is "a dagger
held at the heart of democratic government, Town
send directed other leaders of the old age pension move
ment not to answer the committee’s questions, and “he
is an unworthy citizen who would not follow this or
der.”
Speaker Byrns of the House said that Townsend's
walkout, “was a plain case of contempt, and 1 expect
the House to take whatever action the committee re
commends.”
The committee first talked of arrest which Town
send said would be welcome, and then tentatively de
cided to refer the question to the U. S. Attorney’s office.
WASHINGTON, D. C., May 23. —The II use Com
mittee is deadlocked over the Townsend walkout pro
blem. Most of them .ire agreed that he should be cited
.or contempt, but are divided whether to tu n him ox
er to the bar of the house, or the courts.
A rush for an early adjournment of congress is be
ing considered, inasmuch as the action might tie the
house up for days.
Group Is For
Landing Fields
In Territory
(By The Associated Press)
PORTLAND. May 23. — Dr.
Raymond Staub, acting chair
man of the Oregon State Board
if Aeronautics said that a dis
cussion of recommendations for
the establishing of 169 airport,
n Alaska, at an estimated cost
ttf two million, nine hundred
thousand dollars, will be one of
he major objectives of the Nor
hwest Aviation Planning Confer
cnce to meet at Spokane May 28
tnd 29.
The program also calls for the
liscussion of plans to ask the
government for a minimum of 65
WPA airports in Oregon and
Washington.
WPA Appointment
(By The Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, D. C., May 23
—Schwellenhach announced to
lay that Hopkins had named
Donald G. Abel of Chehalis,
Washingiton, the WPA Admini
ttrator succeeding Gannon re
iigned. 1
h ‘uses Dismiss
Sk,i!ie Features
Divorce Case
!U The -t -fn• Iut< i1 Press)
SPOK ANF. May 21, —Super
ior Judge Fred Witt refused to
eliminate from the Dill livorce
suit against his wif ', charges
which her attorney argued were
t' iv; l uch us burif.d dead dogs
in the yard, stingy del ngs with
the help, and of dressing care*
lo ly, all of which is paving the
way for an interesting court fight
late in June.
Baseball Scores
(By The Associated Press)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 15 New York 0
St. Louis ll Pittsburg 4
Boston 3 Brooklyn 4-llinnings
Only games scheduled
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Detroit 13 Cleveland 10
St. Louis 3 Chicago 5
COAST LEAGUE
Seattle 5 Los Angeles 8
San Diego 11 Sacramento 3
Portland 11 San Francisco 2
Missions 7 Oakland 5