CHE
OLDEST NEWSPA?
IN ALASKA—ME.'IIIEIi ASSOCIATED PRESS
63rd Year
No. 132
nom: .
\LASKA, MONDAY, DliC
mhi:r 21 19"2
Per 0>nv i SC
Christians Pay
Homage to the
Prince of Peace
Christians the world over turned
today on the eve of Christ’s birth
to pay homage to the Prince of
Peace.
In the year 1962 — torn by
anxieties and armed conflict in
parts of the world — the spirit
of hope and compassion that has
carried down through the centuries
prevailed.
It was the same story in the
rice paddies and jungles of South
Viet Nam. along the tense armistice
line in bleak Korea and in the
uneasy Holy Land.
Pilgrims from the far corners of
the earth thronged the birthplace
of Jesus in Bethlehem. Jordan of
ficials said, however, there were
40 per cent fewer from the West
than in recent years.
Uneasiness on the fringes of the
Holy Land — arising from Arab
rivalries over the revolution in
Yemen—kept many visitors away.
The Ancient Mandelbaum Gate
was opened as it is every Christ
mas to allow thousands of Israeli
Arabs cross the no man’s land to
visit relatives in the Jordanian
sector of Jerusalem.
U.S. soldiers in South Viet Nam,
serving as advisers to President
Ngo Dinh Diem’s government
fighting the Communists, had no
time out for Christmas celebra
tions.
Francis Cardinal Spellman, Ro
man Catholic Vicar of U.S. armed
forces, was in South Viet Nam
with troops in the field—as he is
every year.
Pope John XXIII, recovering
from a serious illness, began a busy
Christmas schedule with special at
tention to the infirm and aged.
For the 12th straight year Ameri
can GIs spent a white Christmas
in Korea’s snow-covered rugged
mountains and hills.
The troops manned guard posts
along the 155-mile-long armistice
line—a remnant of a bloody war
that has not yet formally ended.
Soldiers — thousands of miles
from home — played Santa Claus
for the thousands of Korean chil
dren left orphans by the war.
Comedian Bob Hope led a
troupe of stars to entertain the
soldiers in Korea.
The Christmas atmosphere was
broken when a Communist naval
craft fired on a South Korean
patrol ship, killing two Korean
sailors and wounding four others.
Chinese friends joined with the
big American colony of 10,000 on
Formosa to celebrate even though
Christmas has no significance for
most Chinese.
Most of Europe looked forward
to a white Christmas —and a cold
one. All Sweden and Norway were
under blankets of snow, so was
much of West Germany, and north
ern Scotland. Belgium, Holland
and southern England shivered
under a pale sunshine.
Ground Fire Downs
Vietnamese Spotter Plane
SAIGON, Viet Nam OP — Com
munist ground fire shot down a
Vietnamese Air Force spotter
plane today—the fifth government
aircraft downed in two days.
A U.S. Air Force captain flying
as an observer in the L-19 suf
fered two bullet wounds and a
broken arm. The Vietnamese pilot
escaped injury. Fighter planes
covered the rescue of the two
airmen bv helicopters deep in
guerrilla territory 140 miles south
west of Saigon.
]
Pilgrims Flock to
’"he Holy Land
BETHLEHEM Ut—Pilgrims from
the far corners of the earth throng
ed the place of Christ’s birth today,
but Jordanian officials said there
were 40 per cent fewer from the
West than usual.
Officials blamed the drop in
Western visitors on the revolu
tion in Yemen, which has split this
part of the Arab world and inten
sified the rivalry between Jordan
and Saudi Arabia on one side and
President Nesser’s United Arab
Republic on the other.
Despite overtones of trouble, de
vout Pilgrims wearing the dress of
India, Japan, Arabia, Africa, or the
West rubbed shoulders in Chris
tian brotherhood along Jerusalem’s
narrow streets or walked to holy
sites in the brown Judean hills.
Longshoremen Strike
NEW YORK — A strike of
longshoremen began to spread
paralysis today along docks from
Maine to Texas.
The International Longshore
men’s Association reported that in
New York alone it had immobil
ized 72 vessels.
Pickets began marching in a
dozen or more Atlantic and Gulf
Coast ports, but the union said
full picketing would not start un
til after Christmas.
The walkout began at 5 p. m.
Sunday on the expiration of an in
junction that had halted a similar
walkout in October. A last-min
ute appeal by President Kennedy
for a postponement was rejected
by the union.
Key issue is the ship owners’ de
mand that longeshoremen cut
their work gangs from 20 to 17
men, saying a larger number is
“feather-bedding.”
Joseph Kennedy’s Fortune
Valued At $300 Million
NEW YORK —Fortune maga- i
zine estimates the fortune of
Joseph Kennedy — the President’s
father—at $300 million.
The Kennedy fortune, the maga
zine says, is about one-half tied
up in trust funds for Kennedy
children and grandchildren.
One-quarter of the money is in
real estate, much of it invested in
ventures after the second World
War.
The magazine says the elder
Kennedy has broken many friend
ships in proportion to the money
he made. It says: Any man who
makes a great deal of money can
not help making enemies.
POET ROBERT FROST
UNDERGOES SURGERY
BOSTON (.4V-Pnet Robert Frost,
88, was listed in “hopeful” condi
tion following surgery in Peter 1
Bent Brighharn Hospital.
Frost underwent surgery for an ;
undisclosed ailment. Dr. Lloyd j
Mussells said Sunday night Frost’s
operation was completely success- |
"ul and doctors “regard his chances
For recovery as hopeful.”
Soviets Touch Off Two Blasts
STOCKHOLM, Sweden CP>—'Two
strong nuclear blasts were regis- i
:ered today, from the Soviet test
irea, the Seismological Institute of j
Jppsala University reported. A j
bird test also may have been set '
iff. ‘ :
The strength of the first was set j
it 8 megatons — or 8 million tons 11
if TNT. The second measured 19 j 1
negatons. Both took place in the j i
tfovaya Zemlya area in the Arctic. 1
justice Dept.
Fails Again to Shit
Iloffa Behind Bars
NASHVILLE, Term. (/Pt — The
Justice Department has failed
again—for the fourth time in five
years—to put James Hoffa behind
bars.
The $1-million conspiracy trial
of the Teamsters Union president
wound up with a hung jury Sun
day. After the judge declared a
mistrail, several jurors said the
vote was 7 to 5 for acquittal.
Hoffa was accused of conspiring
with a Michigan car-hauling firm
to violate the Taft-Hartley Act’s
ban against payoffs from employ
ers to union officials. The complex
trial began Oct. 22.
As he released the jurors, U S.
Judge Wm. Miller ordered an in
vestigation into heretofore secret
FBI testimony that two Hoffa as
sociates tampered with or tried
to influence two members of the
jury.
The two jurors were replaced
by alternates earlier this month.
The jury received the case Fri
day and deliberated 17 hours, in
cluding three hours Sunday. Upon
receiving the jury’s fourth report
that it was hopelessly deadlocked,
the judge dismissed the panel.
Hoffa said he was disappointed
he was not acquitted but gratified
he wasn’t convicted.
In the five years since he be
came president of the 1.5 million
member Teamsters Union, Hoffa
has spent much of his time in legal
scraps with the federal govern
ment.
The stocky labor boss was ac
quitted by a Washington, D.C.,
jury in 1957 of conspiring to bribe
a McClellan committee investiga
tor. Later that year he was in
dicted in New York on wiretap
conspiracy charges. The first trial
ended in a hung jury. Hoffa was
acquitted on a retrial the next
year.
Hoffa charged the Kennedy Ad
ministration, particularly A 11 y.
Gen. Kennedy, was out to get him.
Before boarding a chartered
plane for Detroit, Hoffa fired a
parting shot.
“Verdicts by the Attorney Gen
eral must cease,” he said. “We
have a right to believe that every
man should be treated equally.”
ALASKA FLIGHTS
BACK ON SCHEDULE
SEATTLE Ufi — Alaska flights
were on regular schedule today
after fog at the Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport disrupted
service Saturday night and early
Sunday.
Pacific Northern Airlines and
Northwest Orient Airlines each
canceled a flight out of Anchor
age Saturday because all fields in
the Seattle area were “socked in."
Regular Sunday morning de
partures for Anchorage also had <
to be suspended by the two lines.
Pan American World Airways
and Alaska Airlines maintained
their schedules. 1
EDITORIAL WRITER,
ARTHUR SMITH, PASSES
ROMEO, Mich. I#l — Arthur M.
Smith, 91, longtime editorial writer
for the old Detroit Journal and
the Detroit News, died here today.
Smith suffered a heart attack 1
Tuesday while shoveling snow at (
his home in Romeo.
An editorial writer from 1919-49,
Smith wrote a book about a trip
to Alaska in 1937, one of several \
pieces he wrote about his expedi- c
tions to various parts of the world. I
Katanga - I.W. Forces
Fight Hot Engagement
ELISABETH VII.LE. KMai-a .P
— Katanga and U.N. Congo com
mand forces fought a short but
j hot engagement today on the out
skirts of Elisabethville. One U.N.
soldier was reported killed in the
outbreak.
Each side blamed the other for
starting the shooting, which spread
panic through this capital of seces
sionist Katanga Province.
Katangans shot down a U.N.
helicopter that flew in low over
their lines and captured the 11
aboard—three Swedes, six Indians
and two Irishmen. Doctors said
one of the Indian soldiers was shot
in the stomach and died in a hos
pital. The other 10 were injured
slightly. The Katangans said they
thought the helicopter was being
used to establish a position behind
them.
Castro Tosses In
Christmas Bonus,
Frees Relatives
HAVANA tJt— James B. Dono
van said Monday the way has been
cleared for more than 1,000 im
mediate relatives of the newly
liberated Bay of Pigs prisoners to
follow them to the United States.
The chief negotiator for the ran
som of invasion prisoners said that
Prime Minister Fidel Castro has
thrown in a “Christmas bonus’’ in
the deal by argeeing to let mo
thers, fathers, wives and children
of the released captives leave.
Donovan said:
“I spoke yesterday morning with
Fidel about the fact that we had
the African Pilot going back light.
I asked him if he would object to
hearing a petition of the prisoners’
mothers to get on the freighter.
Fidel consented, and told me he
was giving me a bonus.”
The first of the families may sail
I in 48 hours aboard the 10,000-ton
American freighter which was
chartered to deliver $11 million in
food, medicine and drugs as a
down payment on $53 million ran
som for the 1,113 prisoners.
The African Pilot will carry a
load of passengers to Port Ever
glades, Fla., pick up a second load
of ransom supplies and return to
Cuba.
Castro made the offer while in •
an expansive mood as he jestingly
proclaimed a 24 - hour “state of ! ■
peace” with the United States. j j
Castro went to the docks to | (
watch the unloading of medicines |
and food.
About $10 million worth of!
goods was landed within 24 hours. . ;
Cuban longshoremen and Red j -
Cross crews worked side by side; ,
to speed the unloading.
Castro said the relatives could f
leave even if they didn’t have a
visa but he reminded them “of
difficulties” they’d have with the'
Kennedy government. : ,
As d'e swan of invasion can- j -
i\u > fair food and mrd|< ino began
Sunday, C'-nro d>'>vr uirnnoun- '
•cd to the dock where the African
Pilot was unloading.
Tile bearded Cuban leader show
ed only casual interest in the food
and medicine, but he declared the!
one-day “state of peace” in good- ;
natured jesting with the skipper i
of the vessel and personally es- j j
sorted a group of Americans on a •
our of Havana. .
Sgt. O. H. Bergerson arrived this
veek to replace Sgt. A1 McIntyre
>n the U.S. Army Advisory Group
le will be located at Ft. Riley, Kan.
1
1
5
Lihrmlr?! Luhans
By Loved
{)m\s In Miami
MIAMI. Fla — A Ch-istmas
; K\'e mercy airlift torlay poured
hundreds more liberatf'd prisoners
| into the United States and the
l arms < f loved ones they had not.
. 'reon since they tried to free their
island ration from Castro Commu
nism in the Ray of Pigs invasion
20 months ago.
It was a day of wildly happy
, “ahrazos" — Latin bear-hug em
braces — and tears of sheer toy
as Operation Ransom roared into
i high gear in a determined effort
to have all 1.113 invasion prisoners
on free soil well in time for Christ
i mas.
Some of the tension built up
through the long vigil of Sundav bv
a nine-hour delay in the arrival of
the first prisoners of war had
eased by midday this Christmas
Eve. Perhaps this was because of
knowledge that the big propeller
driven DC-6s were arriving almost
on schedule and hopes were high
for a happy end to the vigil.
But the scene of the arrivals,
Homestead Air Force Base south
of Miami, was still packed with
emotion.
Moart-rpnHin 0 cnonor
peated over and over at the re
ceiving center for the men coming
I in from the air base. Men pale
from long months of confinement
1 and inadequate diet wept openly
as they showered wives, children
fathers and mothers with kisses.
Men stared happily at infant
sons and daughters they had never
seen before. Mothers, tears stream
ing down their faces, gave shrill
I shouts of joy at the sight of their
j sons miraculously free from Com
| munist prisons.
J Operation Ransom brought in
I 425 men Sunday to similar emo
I tion-charged scenes.
Today the spectacular shuttle,
exchanged men for $53 million
worth of the food and medicines
of which Red-ruled Cuba is dan
gerously short, got into operation
early.
Pan American Airways made
six DC-6s available for the job,
which called for flying seven se
parate human cargoes to Florida.
By noon, two flights had arrived
with 217 men, bringing the total
to that moment to 643 safely on
U.S. soil.
The Cuban Families Committee,
whose efforts made the foods-for
men exchange deal with Fidel
Castro’s regime possible, planned
a sort of combination Thanks
giving and Christmas celebration
narking the liberation operation
although the time element would
or event it from being held Christ
nas day.
traffic* I)»'Mhs
Pa' s the 300 Mark
The nation's traffic death toll
nssed the 300 mark in the first
'! days of the long C r t:nas
.veekcnd, a pace far he!;.-' pro
aoliday i stimates by 0x
“If the present trerstl t •■•hates,
this will be the safest Christinas
holiday on record,” said H iward
Pyle, president of the Nat's .rial
Safety Council.
The council, based on previous
lolidavs and the record traffic
toll for the past year, had esti
mated 650 to 750 deaths on the
lighwavs during the long holiday
period.
‘‘If the trend holds,” Pyle said,
the final toll could be as low as
50.”