OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
63rd Year
No. 145
NOMH, ALASKA, FRIDAY, DFCFMRLR 7, 1962
Per Copv 1
Gen. Mundy:
Alaska Missile
Bases Would
Prove Effective
ANCHORAGE (4** — Surveys
now under way show the waste
lands of the 49th State have de
finite advantages as missile launch
ing sites, a top Air Force general
said yesterday.
“They would cost more than
sites in the south 48 states,” said
Lt. Gen. George Mundy, head of
Joint Alaskan Command, “but the
benefits might well outweigh the
extra cost.
“From Alaska sites we could hit
targets that can’t be reached from
our present bases — or we could
use smaller and cheaper missiles
to hit the same targets.”
Gen. Mundy told a news con
ference the surveys showed missile
site construction costs would run
about 1V& times more in the south
ern Anchorage area and four
times more in the northern Point
Barrow region.
From either location, he pointed
out, all the world’s major capitals,
including Moscow and Peking,
would be less than 4,500 miles dis
tant. Current U.S. Intercontinental
Ballistic Missiles have a raner> r»f
more than 6,000 miles.
Gen. Mu^idy said he did not
know when a decision on Alaskan
missile bases would be reached.
He declined to comment on
whether Russia has or plans mis
sile bases on its Siberian Penin
sula just across the Bering Sea
from Alaska.
The general said he has informa
tion that Russia is building up its
military establishment in Siberia
but would give no details.
“I don’t believe, however, that
they would attempt an invasion
of Alaska,” he said. “This would
trigger a war, and they probably
wouldn’t try it except as part of
an all-out nuclear attack.
“We pick up Russian aircraft
on our radar frequently but they
always maintain the legal distance.
There have been no penetrations
of our border since I came here.”
Gen. Mundy assumed command
of the Alaskan theater in August,
1961.
RED ADAIR SNUFFS OUT
ANOTHER GAS WELL FIRE
MEDICINE HAT, Alta. UP) —
A roaring natural gas well fire
was snuffed out Thursday when
Texas firefighter Paul (Red) Adair
exploded a 150-pound charge of
explosives inches above the heart
of the blaze.
Flames which had shot 100
feet into the prairie sky since last
Friday were choked off in the
vacuum created by the blast.
Tommy Nelson Takes Own Life
Tommy Nelson, 23, took his own
life last evening with a self
inflicted gunshot with a 12-gauge
shotgun.
The shooting took place in the
home of Nelson’s sister, Mrs. Elsie
Ball, where the young man, who
recently completed military duty
left a suicide note indicating des
pondency. He was found dead by
a member of the family.
A coroner’s inquest has been
scheduled for this afternoon.
i Sulphurous Smog
Lifts In London, 106
Left Dead from Effects
LONDON OF1 — A gentle south
wind tonight freed London from
, the cltuches of a poisonous smog
which all but paralyzed the capital
for four days and left 106 known
dead and more than 1,000 in hos
pitals.
In the nation's worst fog foul
up since 1952 only the criminaL
had a carnival. For the smash
and-grab boys it was easy. No one
could see and almost everyone—
innocent and guilty—was wearing
a mask. Raiders got away with
thousands of pounds worth ol
jewelry, furs and radios.
Government weathermen warn
ed patches of fog may come down
again during the night but pre
dicted most of England should be
clear soon after dawn tomorrow.
But despite Friday’s blue skies
in central London, smoke in tht
air at noon was still six times
higher than normal and the sul
phur dioxide content seven times
higher.
Old people and those with res
piratory ailments were the hard
est h i t. Hospitals throughou'
southern England kept hundred:
of beds ready for additional cases
Road, rail, air and waterborm
traffic began to speed up. A:
Thames shipping began movin;
again four vessels were in colli
sion in the Estuary. No one wa
hurt.
The Automobile Assn, reports
it dealt with 20,000 breakdowi
j calls during the long blackout.
.
North Star Buffeted
With Four Stormy
Months In Alaska Waters
SEATTLE UP> — The North Star
III, buffeted and worn by four
stormy months in Alaska waters,
came home today.
Capt. Charles Salenjus eased the
Bureau of Indian Affairs supply
ship into Pier 39 21 days behind
schedule.
“This makes 27 trips I’ve made
to Point Barrow and this one was
the worst,” Salenjus said after
lines were secured and wives and
children had trooped aboard to
greet crew members.
The North Star III, a diesel
powered Liberty ship, left Seattle
August 15.
She encountered snow August
28 and lived with it until Wed
nesday.
Winds and stormy seas harassed
the ship nearly every day.
The North Star III carried win
ter supplies to Indian villages in
Alaska. Cargo was transferred
ashore in landing craft and opera
tions frequently were delayed for
days by four weather.
“We made 44 stops and were
held up in all but three,” Salcn
jus said.
Temperatures dropped as low as
ten degrees.
Hooper Bay wore a sheet of ice
when the North Star III arrived
and the vessel sailed on by —
leaving the supply job to aircraft.
Salenjus saw several Russian
fishing craft.
“But this was one trip we saw
no ice — and as a result it was
rough everywhere,” Salenjus said,
U.S. Expects
Russ to Withdraw
Troops from Cuba
WASHINGTON UP) — U.S. au
thorities expect the Soviet Union
! to withdraw thousands of troops
from Cuba now that Red bombers
and missiles have been pulled
from the island.
American intelligence sources
estimate there are 9,000 to 15,000
Soviet troops in Cuba. Many were
assigned to install and man the
offensive weapons.
The Pentagon said yesterday
Navy patrol planes had counted I
; 42 bombers aboard Soviet ships
outbound from Cuba. This is the !
number of bombers the Soviets j
told U.S. officials they had in
Cuba — somewhat more than
American experts had estimated.
] This apparently completes the
removal of Soviet offensive weap
ons from Cuba.
Nearly a month ago, the U.S.
i Navy counted 42 Soviet missiles
on their way out. U.S. authorities
said they know of none remaining
in Cuba.
They said U.S. negotiators will
; press in discussions with Soviet
. representatives in New York for
> removal of the Soviet troops. The
; Soviet Union, the authorities said,
< is expected to pull the men out.
It was understood Premier
; i Khrushchev informed President
Kennedy last month that Russian
j ground troops associated with the
! I weapons would be withdrawn.
( At his last news conference,
j Nov. 20, Kennedy said “a number
I of Soviet ground combat units”
1 were in Cuba. “We are informed,”
he added, “that these and other
! Soviet units were associated with
' the protection of offensive weapons
| systems and will also be with
; drawn in due course.”
Government Employes
Complain of Pressure
To Buy Dinner Tickets
WASHINGTON OP — The Wash- |
ington Evening Star reports some ,
government career employes are <
complaining of not-too-subtle pres- :
sure on them to buy tickets to a
Democratic dinner.
Tickets for the Jan. 18 dinner, ]
sponsored by the Democratic Na
tional Committee, cost $100 apiece.
Proceeds from the affair, honoring
President and Mrs. Kennedy and 1
i Vice President and Mrs. Lyndon
i Johnson, will go to the commit
tee’s campaign fund.
The Star said yesterday that
employes in the upper Civil Serv
ice grades in many departments
and agencies have received letters
from the committee at their homes
asking for “the pleasure of your
company’’ at the dinner.
Some of the government work
j ers, the Star said, view the invi
! tations as pressure to purchase
tickets if they want to remain in
' their bosses’ good graces and hang
| on to their jobs or receive promo
tions.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
Continued fair and warmer.
Low tonight -15, high tomorrow
-5. In the last 24 hours: High of
-9, low of -22. Sunrise at 9:41
a.m., sunset at 2:05 p.m.
McFarland Says We
Followed the Election Code
JUNEAU t/P — When asked to
comment on a statement made yes -
terday by Lewis Dischner regard
ing provisions of the election code
concerning erasures and correc
tions, Election Supervisor J a c k
MacFarland said: ‘’The contention
of Mr, Dischner on corrections on
ballots is based on the old law,
but we were bound by the amend
ment which reversed the previous
proviso.”
McFarland added, "I feel it is
unfortunate that these ballots had
to be thrown out, but we had to
follow the election code as
amended in 1962.”
The earlier statute said that
“erasures and corrections do not
invalidate the ballot.” But the
amended version passed by the
legislature this year states: “Eras
ures and corrections shall invali
date the ballot.”
“A memorandum from the At
torney General’s Office does not
feel the clear and unambiguous
wording of the above language
leaves room for interpretation. Bal
lots containing erasures or correc
tions, by legislative direction, are
invalidated and should n o t be
; counted in the official recount.”
1 Dischner said he would urge
i Robert Sheldon of Fairbanks tc
j seek certification from the Houst
I of Representatives because in th<
1 recount of over 9,000 votes cast ir
District 16, more than 60 conteste<
votes were thrown out. Dischnei
who was Sheldon’s representativ
I for the recount argued, if thes
I votes were counted as the voter
| intended there would be a widi
I majority for Democrat Sheldor
i over GOP winner John Holm.
—
Gen. Wheeler Observes
Operation Arctic Shore III
Gen. L. L. Wheeler, Commanding
Officer of Fort Wainwright, ar
rived yesterday to observe Opera
tion Arctic Shore III and remain
ed overnight. He is scheduled to
depart today for Fairbanks head
quarters.
Two officers of the 1st Battle
Group, 9th Infantry will have
special reason to remember the
foothills of Nome in minus 20 de
cree weather as they are receiving
promotions while on this operation.
2nd Lt. Francis Sisk will get
lis 1st Lieutenant bars today and
2nd Lt. Peter Bankson will receive
iis tomorrow.
Blasts from the fighting area
which shook the community dur
ing the past two days were not
to rout the enemy but to take care
of the garbage dump, it is reported.
Warfare ceased late this after
noon and the troops will visit
town tonight and tomorrow eve
ning. Gift shops are cooperating
by remaining open for them.
The Chamber of Commerce is
also participating by having a no
host dinner for the officers in
charge of the operation, at the Sea
view Dining Room Saturday eve
ning from to 7 to 9.
Aware of the treelessness of this
coastal area, the visitors thought
fully brought with them Christmas
trees from Fairbanks which have
been distributed around town.
On Sunday both U S. forces and
completed and both U.S. forces and
aggressors will return to Fort
Wainwright.
-:-TJ*
* r jt
.15 v-T5 *ar»v
*Dav of Infainv’"
Marked Quietly
I At Pearl Harbor
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii T —
The ‘‘Day of Infamy” was marked
quietly and without ceremony to
day while the Navy at Pearl Har
bor turned its attention to sports.
On Ford Island, less than a mile
from the black-scarred coast where
the Japanese attack of Dec. 7,
1941. was centered, a nine-hole
golf course was dedicated. A box
ing program at Block Gymnasium,
acres sthe water from the sunken
hulk of the USS Arizona, featured
five amateur Japanese fighters.
There was no official recogni
tion of the 21st anniversary of
the darkest moment in U.S. Naval
history.
A small boat shuttled between
the shore and the memorial, as it
”as done daily since last Memorial
Day when the shrine was com
pleted. A Navy official said larger
than-usual crowds were expected
to make the trip. Otherwise ac
tivity in the busy harbor was
normal.
Veterans groups, other patriotic
organizations and individuals plan
ned to take flowers to honor the
1.102 men entombed in the Ari
, zona.
i Although it has done so in other
l years, the Navy scheduled no
, speeches or ceremonies above the
3 battleship. A new policy of the
e Navy Department specifies that
s tributes to the dead of battle may
? be held only on Memorial Day.
i The American flag was raised
over the Arizona at dawn—a daily
ritual. The Arizona is considered
! still in commission by the Navy
j because her crew is aboard. Giant
aircraft carriers, nuclear sub
marines and other modern war
ships pipe a salute as they move
by her “berth.”
Kennedy Gets First-Hand
Look At America's
Nuclear Nerve Center
OMAHA >JP) — President Ken
nedy got a first-hand look at the
never center of America's nuclear
punch on this Pearl Harbor anni
versary, then honored the Stra
tegic Air Command for its per
formance in the Cuban crisis.
He said the performance of
SAC was “unparalleled in the his
tory of airpower.”
Before leaving SAC headquar
ters at Offutt Air Force Base to
continue a cross-country tour of
military and nuclear bases, Ken
nedy said SAC's emergency de
ployment during the touch-and-go
Cuban quarantine “provided a
strategic posture under which
every United States force could
operate with relative freedom of
action.”
The Chief Executive presented
Gen. Thomas Power, SAC Com
mander, with a special plaque,
commending the vast bomber force
for flying 20 million miles without
a single accident during the 30
day Cuban aKrt.
Kennedy then boarded his jt t
transport to continue on to atomic
installations at Los Alamos and
Albuquerque, N.M.
Ns S ' ^ ^ ^ -.* * ^ t^>. * ‘ i Y^N, V * N.
v-., v» v. :^\r.
ANNUAL
CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Saturday, Dec. 8, Methodist Fellowship Hall, Doors Open 4 p.m.
HOMEMADE CHILI and CHOICE OF PIE will be served THROUGHOUT THE DINNER HOUR — Sponsored by W. S. C. S. of the Methodist Church