THE
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
64th Year No. 50
NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 1963
Per Copy 15£
Reporter Claims He Was Aboard
Plane That Dropped Bombs on Cuba
WASHINGTON — Alexander
Rorke told an anti-Communist
meeting today he was aboard a
plane that dropped “five defensive
bombs” on refineries in Havana
last night.
Rorke, listed on the program
as a television reporter-photo
grapher, did not explain what he
meant by “defensive bombs” but
presumably it was a play on words
on the contentions by the Rus
sians that they have only defensive
weapons in Cuba.
“The bombs went off, but the
tanks did not blow,” he said.
He added “we made two passes
—they can’t deny it.”
At the White House, president
ial press secretary Pierre Salin
gtr declined to commet on Rorke’s
story. “I have no information on
the matter at the present time,”
he said.
The State Department said it
had no report of the raid and noted
that the Havana radio apparently
has not broadcast anything con
cerning it.
Rorke told newsmen he expected
no difficulty from the U.S. gov
ernment over the matter.
“We didn’t break any laws. The
plane did not come from the United
States,” he said. “I’m a reporter,
and reporters are allowed to go
along on any kind of flight.”
The National Broadcasting Co.,
said in New York that it knew
Rorke, 36, “only as a free-lance
newsreel cameraman, that he had
not served as an NBC representa
tive and NBC had no knowledge
of his flight to Cuba.”
Rorke spoke to a meeting bill
ed as an anti-Communist liaison
seminar.
Later, Rorke told a reporter he
was from New York City and had
been a reporter for National
Sen. Morton Says
Kennedy Is Playing
Politics Over Cuba
WASHINGTON <*> — Republi
can Sen. Thruston Morton of Ken
tucky has charged President Ken
nedy with playing politics over
Cuba.
There are “distinct political
overtones,” Morton told the Sen
ate yesterday, to Kennedy’s sug
gestion at a news conference Wed
nesday that Fidel Castro might not
be a problem now if the Eisen
hower administration had taken
action.
“During the 1950s there were
few, if any, Republican voices
raised in support of Castro and
there were few, if any, Demo
cratic voices raised in condemna
tion of Castro,” Morton declared.
■“This record is clear.”
The Kentuckian, a former Re
publican National Chairman, said
the Eisenhower administration
took steps in March 1960 to train
and equip an expeditionary force
of Cuban exiles to invade Cuba.
“For various reasons, including
the difficulty of finding proper
leadership,” Morton continued, the
plan could not be implemented
during the administration’s re
maining 10 months in power.
When the invasion was attempt
ed under the Kennedy administra
tion in April 1961 at the Bay of
Pigs it failed, Morton added.
The Senator said Kennedy had
showed bold initiative during the
missile showdown last fall, but
now is pursuing “a wishy-washy
policy of backing and stalling.”
Broadcasting Co. in Cuba and was
imprisoned there when Fidel
Castro came to power. He said also
it was his boat, Violynn II, which
was taken by the British.
Rorke introduced a man to the
assembly as Laureano Batista, and
said, “he won’t say he did it, and
I won’t say he did it.” This was
in reference to any role in last
night’s operation.
Rorke said that “as to where
we (the plane) left from,” he could
say that “it was a small land
mass of the Eurasian continent.”
He called the operation “a de
fensive mission in a defensive
plane.”
He said not one single shot was
fired at them.
He said “there were four people
aboard the plane,” including an
American student from the Massa
chusetts Institute of Technology
who was on his way to Boston.
He said they were over the
Havana area, just east of Morro
Castle, for 4 minutes and 40 sec
onds.
Bathyscape Will Search
For Submarine Thresher
NORFOLK, Va. (*» — Atlantic
fleet headquarters said the Navy’s
deep-diving bathyscape Trieste
arrived today at the Boston, Mass.,
Naval Shipyard to aid in the in
vestigation of the sinking of the
atomic submarine Thresher.
The Trieste, an odd-shaped 50
foot craft capable of dropping to
37,500 feet, arrived aboard the
USS Point Defiance after a trip
from San Diego, Calif., via the
Panama Canal.
The Navy said it is anticipated
the Trieste will be ready Tues
day morning to make a test dive
along the dock in Boston.
Wednesday, the Trieste’s escort
vessel, the survey ship Prevail, is
expected to start towing the bathy
scape to about 54 miles east of Bos
ton in the Atlantic for a test dive
in about 600 feet of water.
The Thresher mysteriously sank
April 10 in 8,400 feet of water
with 129 men aboard.
Sondra Powell Is Juneau’s
Pick for Miss Alaska Ferry
JUNEAU ^ — Sondra Gale
Powell, a 22-year-old secretary with
brown hair and blue eyes, was
named Juneau’s entry in the ‘‘Miss
Alaska Ferry” contest Wednesday
night.
Sondra, a native of South Caro
lina, will enter the Ferry Queen
contest as “Miss KJNO-Juneau.”
She is a secretary to State Labor
Commissioner Gil Johnson.
In the vital statistics depart
ment, the Juneau girl is 5 feet
3 l/z inches tall, weighs 122 pounds
and shapes up at 34-22-34.
She will compete for the Alaska
Ferry Queen title during the for
mal inaugural trip of the state
ferry Malaspina this weekend.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
American League
Los Angeles 7, Detroit 5
Minnesota 3, Washington 0
Baltimore 3, Kansas City 2
National League
New York 3, Chicago 2
San Francisco 8, St. Louis 4
Houston 7, Milwaukee 5
Los Angeles 7, Cincinnati 1
Pacific Coast League
Seattle 9, Denver 5
Hawaii 9, San Diego 5
MV Taku Ordered
Into Drydock from
Damage Suffered
JUNEAU — The Coast Guard,
in effect, today ordered the state
ferry Taku into drydock for re
pair of damage suffered yesterday
morning when she scraped bottom
while approaching Petersburg.
The Coast Guard said it had
“temporarily removed” the Taku’s
certificate of inspection to carry
passengers and cargo and had is
sued a permit for the vessel to pro
ceed to Seattle for drydocking and
repairs.
An area on the Taku’s hull
about 70 feet long and 8 feet wide
was pushed in when she hit bot
tom between Buoy 60 and Day
beacon 61 while approaching
Petersburg on a southbound run.
A1 Ritchey, traffic manager for
the State Division of Marine Trans
portation, said an examination of
the damage indicated that the hull
had been fractured slightly, al
lowing water to seep into the
Taku’s heavy fuel tanks.
Despite the accident, the Taku
continued her southbound run to
Ketchikan, via Wrangel, at her
normal cruising speed of 18 knots.
Ritchey said the Taku would
be put up on the ways as soon
as she reaches Seattle and would
probably be out of service for
about one week.
He said the formal inaugura'
voyage of the Taku’s sister ship
the Malaspina, would continue a:
scheduled this weekend.
The Malspina is to carry some
125 travel writers and top govern
ment officials, from Alaska, British
Columbia and the Yukon, on th(
formal inaugural run, starting to
morrow in Prince Rupert and
ending May 2 in Juneau.
All Because of Ben
By the Associated Press
Some 113.3 million Americans
will lose an hour apiece Sunday—
all because of Ben Franklin.
When he was Ambassador to
France almost 200 years ago,
thrifty Ben awoke unusually early
one morning and found daylight
streaming through his window
while most citizens of the city
still slept.
Frugal Ben worried about the
“wasted” daylight and conceived
a plan to conserve the daylight
by advancing clocks one hour.
This was the germ of Daylight
Saving Time, which becomes ef
fective generally at 2 a.m. Sun
day in more than half the states,
all or in part, and the District of
Columbia.
The millions who lose an hour
each when clocks are set ahead to
comply with the new schedule will
regain it when the clocks are
turned back an hour in the fall.
FROM "A" TO "Z"
SEATTLE UP) — The Alaska
Steamship Co. has gone from A to
Z for new members of its board
of directors.
J. F. Zumdieck, vice president
and general manager, and E. W.
Andrews, controller of the Skin
ner Corp., were elected to the
board at its annual meeting yes
terday.
Zumdieck has worked his way
up from seaman in a 29-year ca
reer with Alaska Steam. He be
came vice president and general
manager last year. Andrews has
been controller of the Skinner
Corp. and such associate com
panies as Alaska Steam since 1961.
Anchorage Girl Wins
State Spelling Bee
ANCHORAGE — Ruth Avery,
14-year-old eighth grader at Cen
tral Junior High School in An
chorage, has been crowned Alaska
spelling bee champion.
The youngster, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Willis B. Avery, gained
the title in the 20th round of the
bee last night as her 14-year-old
rival in the final round doubled
the “t” in requital.
The second place honors in the
fifth annual Alaska spelling bee,
sponsored by the Anchorage Times
went to Charles Campbell, an
eighth grader at Chugiak School.
Young Miss Avery, whose fa
ther is president of the Anchorage
Independent School District, will
represent the state in the national
spelling bee June 10-15 in Wash
ington, D.C.
A total of 65 were entered in
the contest, but only 61 competed.
Representatives of four schools
were unable to make the state
finals.
On the way to her title Miss
Avery correctly spelled requital,
the word that eliminated Camp
bell, and then clinched the crown
by correctly spelling labyrinth.
April In New York
NEW YORK UP) — April finally
arrived today for 9-year-old James
Michael Grady III of Brooklyn.
April has nothing much to dc
with the calendar—its a friskj
white-faced Alaskan husky puppj
. that the lad wanted for his grand
> father.
The boy had written Sen. E. L
‘ Bartlett asking for a dog to re
place a husky, also named April
The dog disappeared two month:
: ago from the Brooklyn home o:
his grandfather, James Hume.
“We can’t get one here becaus<
they don’t make them,” Jimmy’:
letter said. “My grandfather misse:
the dog so much you could cry.”
He asked the senator to send
the dog in time for his grand
father’s 56th birthday on April 29.
Bartlett relayed the letter to the
Fairbanks News-Miner, and the
newspaper’s editor and staff went
to work. They finally obtained
the 4-month old female pup from
Kotzebue.
The dog was shipped to Anchor
age, then put aboard a plane for
New York.
It arrived at Idlewild Airport,
well-fed, and just itching to romp
about the terminal. In the midst
of its scamperings, Jimmy arrived
with his parents and grandfather
to claim the new pet.
The looks on the faces of all
concerned told the rest of the story.
Faulty Change Making Machine
WICHITA, Kan. U) — City ac
countant Ben Witherspoon recent
ly ran a routine aduit of 13 places
which handle municiple cash.
Books balanced at 12 places
where employes handle the money.
It’s a change making machine
at a city parking lot.
The Press Will Conquer
Government-Managed News
NEW YORK — The new
president of the American Society
of Newspaper Editors said yester
day the press has the weapon to
conquer government-managed news
—competent reporters backed by
their newspapers.
The editor, Herbert Bruckner of
the Hartford (Conn.), Courant, said
also that the press must “keep on
shouting” for the right to know.
Bruckner spoke at the closing
general session of the convention
of the American Newspaper Pub
lishers Assn.
misscnau, wno is director of the
South African Reserve Bank as
well as chairman of one of the
principal South African mining
companies, said the various coun
tries should act together in cutting
the theoretical gold content of
r their money. This would have the
. effect of increasing the price of
gold but leaving the exchange rates
between countries unchanged.
And at the same time currency
should once again be exchange
; able for gold, he said. It would
■ be a full return to the gold stand
ard, abandoned by this country in
» 1933 and by Great Britain in 1931.
; The price of gold has been
i pegged at $35 an ounce since 1934
and 73 national currencies use the
United States gold dollar as the
standard of exchange. Only Con
gress can change its value from
the $35 base.
Busschau saw this price at the
bottom of the balance-of-payments
problem that the United States
has had in in recent years — a
problem marked by a flow of gold
reserves out of this country.
What has been happening, Buss
chau said, is that the $35 price
has kept the reserves of other
countries too low in terms of dol
lars. This in turn has forced the
United States “through a process
of international inflation, to pro
vide the other nations with dollars
via loans or gifts.” As a result,
he said, “the position of the free
woxdd has improved and that of
the United States has deteriorated.”
Some who oppose re-evaluation
of gold, he said, have suggested
dangerous experiments with cur
rency. If carried out, he said, the
Soviet bloc, using a convertible
gold currency, might lure enough
uncommitteed nations into a sub
stitution of rubles for dollars to
make Russia the world’s banker.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
Partly cloudy today with winds
15 to 25 mph diminishing this
afternoon. Low tonight 26, high
tomorrow 34. In the last 24 hours:
High of 37, low of 33. Max. wind
35 mph from the NE. Sunrise at
3:49 a.m., sunset at 8:12 p.m.
Temps, a year ago today: High
of 30, low of 15. Extremes on this
date since 1907: High of 52 in
1940, low of -13 in 1924.
In Nenana today the tempera
ture rose to 43 and there were
scattered clouds.
South African
Says Price of Gold
Should be Doubled
PORTLAND W — The price of
gold ought to be doubled, a South
African gold expert says.
He said the pegged $35-an-ounce
price was causing instability of
the international money system.
And, he cautioned here yester
day currency tinkering by the
United States might “give the So
viet bloc a wonderful opportunity
to taking over the role of the
world’s chief international banker.’’
W. J. Busschau, chairman of the
Gold Fields of Africa Ltd., protested
that it has been difficult to get a
good discussion of his views in
this country because talk of re
valuation of gold has been tabbed
“as a kind of unpatriotic assault
on American integrity.”
His audience here had a built
in sympathetic view. It was the
gold and money session of the
Pacific Northwest Metals and
Minerals Conference; a conference
that annually attracts miners and
metals industry men concerned
with the falling-off of domestic
mining.