NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
63rd Year No. 97
NO Ml.
U ASKA, WKDMNDAY, Al C,( > I
15. 1962
r-.T Gipy 15C
Bandits Take
$1.5 Million In
Mail Truck Hi-jack
3
RANDOLPH, Mass. L — The
Federal Reserve Bank nf Boston
reported the loss in hi-jacking of
a U S. mail truck in Randolph last
night totaled approximately $1.5
million. This exceeds the loss in
the nation’s previous biggest cash
haul, the Brink's job, in which
$1,219,000 was stolen in 1950.
Chief Postal Inspector William
White in Boston concurred in the
estimate.
An eight man gang armed with
sub-machine guns held up two
guards after one bandit dressed
as a police officer, signaled them
to halt.
Hours later police at the scene
were without clues to the robbers.
The Reserve Bank made it clear
the money stolen was the respon
sibility of the Reserve Bank and
that member banks shipping the
funds would stand no losses.
In addition to the $1.5 million
in cash, the 16 mail sacks taken
may have contained further valu
ables in the form of registered mail
sent by businesses and individuals
from Cape Cod post offices.
Although police had quickly
noted that the holdup technique
was similar to that used in the
New York holdups by Bobby Wil
eoxon of Duke. Okla., and Albert
Nussbaum of Buffalo, N.Y.,—two
of the FBI’s most wanted men—
a top investigating officer later
discounted a theory that they
might have been participants.
The two guards did not identify
pictures of Nussbaum and Wilcox
on as those they encountered.
The robbery was a professional
job executed with cool efficiency.
One holdup man wore a police uni
form. All wore white gloves. The
robbers blocked off a lane several
miles back with detour signs at
the nearest exit. This forestalled
some motorists from driving onto
the holdup scene.
Patrick Schena, one of the two
guards on the truck, gave this ac
count:
“They first stopped us on Route
3 near the bypass. A car went by
at 30 miles an hour. We were doing
about 45. We saw the car stop in
front of us and a man in a police
uniform got out and waved his
arms over his head to stop us. I
stopped the truck.
“The next thing I knew there
was a man coming on either side
of the truck, pointing what looked
like machine guns at us.”
U.S. Fighter Plane
Reported Shot Down
VIENTIANE, Laos (JP> — Interior
Minister Pheng Phongsavan said
today a jet fighter with U.S. Air
Force markings violated Laotian
air space Tuesday and was shot
down over the former stronghold
of Khang Khay.
The neutralist cabinet minister
said anti-aircraft batteries manned
by troops of Gen. Kong Le’s forces
brought down the fighter — an
F-101 type — in the Plaine Des
Jarres.
Asked of the fate of the pilot,
Pheng said: “We don’t know.”
U.S. Embassy officials here were
not available immediately for com
ment.
The United States has a fighter
squadron stationed in neighboring
Thailand.
Khang Khay is about 180 miles 1
from the Thai border. 1
Britisher Savs
Reds Have Military
Lead In Space
LONDON l/PI — Sir Bernard
Lovell, a leading British space au
thority said today the Russians
have established a dear military
lead in space.
He said the successful tandem
flight of astronauts: Andrian Niko
layev and Pavel Popovich had
shown the Russians could knock
down “Spy in the Sky” satellites ;
such as the American Midas experi- j
ment.
Lovell is director of the Jodrell
Bank Space Research Station i
whose giant radio telescope tracked
the two Soviet spaceships.
“The Russians have a clear space i
superiority in the military, if not
the scientific, sense,” he said.
“With this tremendous drama j
opening up of interesting peaceful,
scientific use of new develop
ments.” he continued, “I think one
must say that this Soviet exploit
has added a new and agonizing di
mension to the world’s troubles.
“I think I could best illustrate
this by saying that two years ago 1
the Soviets shot down a U-2 which I
led to a tremendous international
crisis.
“I can see no reason at all why ■
the Soviets should not now very
quickly be in a position to dis
patch American Spy satellites in
the same manner.”
Lovell urged that the United
States and Russia get together in
a joint attempt to conquer the
solar system with manned space
ships.
“More than ever,” he said, “one
is appalled by the foolishness of
these two countries attempting a
common problem in competition.”
A scientific writer for the British
Press Assn, speculated that the
next Soviet spectacular might be
a rocket to Venus. Last year the
Soviets sent a rocket to Venus i
which lost radio contact with the
earth while on its journey. The
United States hopes to try a Venus
shot next week.
The achievement of Maj. Andrian
Nikolayev and Lt. Col. Pavel Popo
vich was cheered in large head
lines in British afternoon papers.
“Nik and Pop come down to
earth,” said the Evening Stand
ard.
Soblen’s Deportation
May Take Another Month
LONDON UP — Two U.S. Mar
shals handed their revolvers to an
airplane pilot today and left for
New York without Robert Soblen,
the fugitive spy they had been
assigned to accompany back to the
United States.
An appeal to Britain’s high court
against a government deportation
order and other legal moves may
take a month or two to settle. Sob
len, now in the hospital wing of
Brixton Prison, will remain in
Britain.
Marshals Joseph McShane and
Joseph Waiseilewski traveled on a
regular commercial flight. They
gave the crew their sidearms for
safekeeping.
McShane was accompanying Sob
len aboard an Israeli El A1 air
liner July when the 61-year-old
psychiatrist cut himself with a
steak knife and was removed to
a London hospital for treatment.
Soblen is trying to keep from
being returned to the United States
to serve a life sentence for pass
ing wartime secrets to the Soviet
Union. He jumped $100,000 bail
and fled to Israel.
Soviet Spare Twins
Come Down \\ illi
Bullseve Landings
MOSCOW .¥ - The Soviet,
Union’s space twins came down
today with bull-eye landings hi
Kazakhstan after zipping around
the world in weightless orbit for
a total of almost three million
miles. The leader was aloft for
nearly four full days and his
flanker for nearly three.
Jubilant Russians hailed their
record-breaking feats as a great
stride toward manned shots at the
moon and other planets and toward
rocket transport within the 20th
Century for travelers on the shrink
ing earth.
“Cosmos! Cosmos! Cosmos! shout
ed young Russians in Moscow’s
Red Square. Waves of enthusiasm
swept the nation.
Maj. Andrian Nikolyev and Lt.
Col. Pavel Popovich, who were
shot aloft in separate satellites a
day apart last weekend, landed six
minutes apart in Kazakhstan, 1,500
miles southeast of Moscow, the
Soviet news agency Tass reported.
Radio Moscow said a special
team of experts, doctors, friends
and journalists welcomed them.
Baths and shaves appeared to be
their first needs.
(Continued on Page 2'
Males Aged 45-54 Die of
Heart Disease at High Rate
CLEVELAND, Ohio W — Amer
ican males aged 45-54 are dying
of heart disease at an alarming
rate. Scientists will study the diets
of 1.500 men over a period of
months to learn whether blood
cholesterol level is one of the causes
and to see whether people will
pass up some of their favorite
foods.
The Public Health Service an
nounced Tuesday initial grants
totalling $152,142 for a research
program. The study will be con
ducted in Baltimore, Boston, Chi
cago, Minneapolis and Oakland,
Calif., on 1,500 married males,
aged 45-54.
Alaska to Receive 81 0
Million In Highway Aid
WASHINGTON .•!' Tm gov
ernment uncorked $1.9 billion in
frozen highway fends today -hat
will see) into the eco.nony (Ccr
tf e next few months.
Secretary of O -n-rcv Luther
Hodges announced ihe allocation
to enable a speedup in federal
state road building programs.
By states, due money re’.ea >■ 1
included:
Alaska $10,368,000.
The money had been frozen it)
the highway trus*' fund since 1959
’o ( '.sure the fund’s solvency. The
fund fwaoee 1 from gasoline tax
receipts and other levies against
highway users.
ARSONIST ADMITS SETTING
BRUSH FIRE IN CALIFORNIA
CLAREMONT. Calif. 05* — An
arsonist-set brush fire which swept
over 1,750 acres of valuable water
shed and burned four buildings ;
blazed unchecked on its northeast
ern flank today.
And 95 miles northwest of here
at Ojai on the other side of Los
Angeles a second blaze had swept
over 750 acres. Its cause was no
determined.
Jerry Taylor, 30, an unemployed
truck driver of nearby LaVerne.
told investigators he started the ;
blaze because of an irresistible i
impulse.
BARROW CHARTER
FLIGHT EXPECTED
THIS EVENING
The special charter flight from
Barrow is expected to arrive about
7 o'clock this evening and will be
met by as many people who can
go to the airport to greet them.
Courtesy of Wien Airlines, they
will be given a tour of Nome and
a no-host dinner sponsored by the
Chamber of Commerce will be held
in the Seavicw Room this evening I
at 8. Arrangements are being made
by Frank Couch and Bob Har
wood.
The party will overnight and !
return to Barrow tomorrow.
It is reported that Gordon Os
borne. president of the Barrow
Chamber will be in the party.
Results of Primary Election in Nome
There were 541 ballots cast yesterday in Nome’s
two election precincts. Following are the results for
statewide and N.W. legislative contests:
For Governor
Democrats
Egan ...
Byer ...
Taylor
Boyer .
Wade
227
41
28
1
Stepovich
Pollock
Martin
Coghill
Fritz ....
Republicans
For Secretary of State
270
Ross .
Gilliland
71
62
42
38
7
137
47
Gruening
Veach .
Rivers
Foster .
Degnan .
Nusunginya
Walsh
Blodgett
For U.S. Senator
. 273 Stevens .
. 12 Cook .
For U.S. Representative
. 277 Thomas .
Pratt .
Senator at Large
. 239 Martin .
. 39 Frazier .
. 16
Senator District P
. 282 Mclver .
House of Representatives
Nome District 18
. 270 Johnson .
163
39
193
16
121
77
192
185
(h>\. I^an and
Slepovicli L<*ad
Respective Slates
By WARD SIMS
Associated Press Staff Writer
ANCHORAGE A- rWilliam
v. E"an nil■' < 11though
had a c-.ru v • u An- market,
ad an - v rennn::nation in his
•• 'k pocket ‘ -day and sot his
■gilts on the Nov. 6 general elec
tion.
Egan's total vote of lo,041. with
"f 339 precinct.- counted, came
:to equalling half the entire
vite for the eight other Candi
da’ s—three Democratic and five
Republican —in the gubernatorial
race in yesterday’s primary.
Mike Stepovich, Fairbanks at
torney and former territorial gov
ernor. appeared to have the best
chance of meeting head-on with
Egan when general election time
mil.- around, although State Sen.
Howard Pollock could not be
counted out of it .
With 205 precincts reporting,
Stepovich had 5305 votes to lead
the Republican candidates, while
Pollock was not too far off the
pace with 4.712.
Trailing Egan were George Byer
with 4.519; Warren A. Taylor with
1,812; and David Boyer with 430.
John Coghill from Nenana was
in third spot in the GOP race with
1,840 votes; Verne Martin had 1,229
and Dr. Fritz had 1.061.
To underscore Egan’s victory,
the state’s first elected governor
led in every major senatorial dis
trict. Stepovich led Republicans in
the Southeast and Central districts
while Pollock paced the GOP in
’he Northwest and Southcentral
districts.
The other Democratic incum
bents seeking office. Secretary (if
State Hugh Wade. U S. Sen.'Er
nest Gruening and U.S. Rep. Ralph
Rivers, all came through handily,
although there was a warning on
the general election wind for Riv
ers. the state’s lone representative
in Washington.
Rivers, unopposed in the pri
mary. picked up 15.211 votes in
205 precincts, and saw Republi
can Lowell Thomas snag 11,441.
Gruening easily knocked off his
Democratic opponent, R. L. Veach
14.225 to 2,392.
Ted Stevens, former legal chief
for the Department of the Interior
(Continued on Page 2>
I OTALS FOR 12 OF 40
PRFCINCTS IN N.W.
Unofficial returns from 12 of
the 40 precincts in the Northwest
ern District primary election give:
For Governor: Democrats, Egan
009. Taylor 122, Ever 111, Boyer 12.
Republicans: Stepovich 125, Pol
lock 125. Martin 102, Coghill 54,
Fritz 47.
For Secretary of State: Wade
70S. Republicans Ross 294. Gilli
land 85.
For US. Senator: Democrats,
Gruening 761, Veach 77. Republi
cans. Stevens 309, Cook 94.
F >• U. S. Representative: Riv
er- 809. Republicans, Thomas 388,
Pratt 33.
State Senator at Large: Demo
crats. Foster 436, Nusunginya 250,
Degnan 154. Republicans, Martin
266. Frazier 135.
Senator, District P: Walsh 494,
AleIver 306.
House of Representatives: Blod
gett 515; Johnson 306.
For the House of Representa
tives, Barrow-Kobuk, two of 13
precincts: Democrats. Stalker 193,
Fields 117. Republican Curtis 73.