THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE
“ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME"
VOL. LXXIX., NO. 11,996
JUNEAU, ALASKA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20. 1951
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
' PRICE TEN CENTS
POW List
Is Nearly
Checked
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20—MPi—
The Defense Department still had
some last names to check today on
the Communist-supplied list of Am
ericah prisoners of war in Korea.
The Pentagon finished the first
phase of the huge job last night.
As of today about 3,000 names on
the full list of 3,198 had been iden
tified.
Telegrams making it a joyous
Cbrismas season for hundreds of
American families went out last
night to nearly all of the next
of kin of 2,940 men. But the sor
row deepened for the many more
whose sons were not listed.
About 75 soldiers on the ident
ified list named nearest relatives
at overseas addresses. Messages to
these kin are to be sent today.
Prisoners identified at the Pent
agon included 2,724 soldiers in ad
dition to the 75 with overseas next
of kin, eight Navy men, 58 Mar
ines and 76 Airmen.
The approximately 250 remaining
to be identified presented special
problems. The Pentagon decided
last night to tackle these today. At
that hour, the staff working on
the list had been on duty 26'i
, hours, ever since the names began
pouring in from Tokyo Tuesday
night.
They had been handed to United
Nations officers several haurs ear
lier at Panmunjom, Korea, the site
of the truce negotiations.
There are 11,051 Americans of
ficially listed as missing in action
in Korea, so the release of the
names meant tragedy in at least
two homes for every one where
it brought happiness.
President Truman joined high
military officials yesterday in em
phasing that the list is “complete
ly unverified.”
IDELLA MARSH TO
GIVE RADIO PROGRAM
The Columbia Lumber Company
is sponsoring Idella Marsh in two
Christmas radio programs over
KINY Saturday and Sunday. At 5:15
Saturday afternoon she will give
‘ The Christmas Necklace” and at
9:15 p.m. Sunday the “Lord Hand
maidens.” Both are monologues
written by her. She majored in dra
matics and writing at the University
of Arizona, at Tucson. She also stud
ied with Robert Penn Warren at the
University of Louisiana.
SNOW BLANKETS CITY
Snow hit Juneau yesterday at 3
p.m. and four hours later a blanket
of seven inches of the powdery stuff
had covered everything including
shovels.
Street crews were busy including
the detail on stairways leading to
the hills. Dixon Street was so heav
ily covered that the snow-plow crew
could not get the machine up the
hill.
Early this .morning, thawing tem
peratures put a glaze op the sncw
like frosting on a cake.
Intermittent snow is forecast for
tonight and Friday mixed with rain
Friday afternoon.
Auto service to the hills has been
off and Juneauites in those sec
tions have walked.
TheWashington
Merry-Go-Round
• Conyrlsht, 1951, by Bell Syndicate. Inc.)
By DREW PEARSON
»
(Ed. Note—This is another of
Drew Pearson’s penetrating col
umns on the subject uppermost
in the nation's minil—graft iij
the collection of income taxes.)
rr ASHINGTON— Almost every
administration when it'-first takes
office uses a new broom when it
comes to tax evasion. It cleans up
at the expense of the administra- i
tion which preceded it. Then it
leans on the broom.
Part of this broom-leaning, of
course, is because the graft it would
have to clean out later is its own-j
graft; and the clean-up would hurt
people in high places.
Thus, just as Roosevelt came in
to office, an important start was
made toward a tax-fraud clean-up.
Actually, it was started by Repub
lican Progressive Senators Blaine
of Wisconsin and Brookhart of
Iowa two months before Roosevelt
was inaugurated, but continued by
FDR with the prosecution of An
drew Mellon, man entrusted with
collecting taxes under. Hoover and
Coolidge; and of Charles E. Mit
chell, president of the National City
(Continued on Pag* 4)
Jet Ace
Maj. George A. Davis, Jr., of Lub
bock, Tex., added further strength
tc his title of world's toremost jet
ace in the big air battles over
North Korea. Davis shot down
four MIG-15s running his total
kill over MIG Alley to 12 planes.
He accounted for 2 MIGs in each
of 2 clashes between American
gafere Jet pilots and Communist
fliers, iff! Wirephoto.
Chamber is Asked
lo Participate in
Winter Carnival
i
Tom Stewart and Dean Williams, i
Juneau ski enthusiasts, pointed out
the possibilities of this area as a
winter sports region, when they
met with the Juneau Chamber of
Commerce at the Baranof Hotel
Thursday noon.
Stewart outlined the plans for
a winter carnival here in February
,,;, /ii.i'ii”'...,' vi*.iu.ia rc..c ^,
are being asked to participate. Her
bert S. Rowland, retiring Chamber
President, has agreed to head a
central committee to manage the
event which may become an an
nual affair.
The Kiwanis Club is to handle
a benefit ball. The Lions Club is
being asked to manage sled and
dogteam races for the kids and the
Rctary Club is being asked to
handle a Princess contest for four
and five-year-old girls. ,
The central committee will re
quest the cooperation of the city
in providing an ice rink for skat
ing events. Stewart asked that the
Chamber take care of prizes 'for
the various events.
The Chamber is to take action
on the matter next week.
Stewart said that there was a
geed possibility of bringing hockey
teams here from Whitehorse and
Big Dmta.
Pete Warner rose to point cut
the risk and questioned, “What if
it rains?”
The purpose of the carnival,
Stewart said, would be fund rais
ing and “iun raising." The funds
would go to pay for a Sno-Cat for
transportation to the Douglas Is
land ski area.
Williams pointed out that the
transportation feature was vital in
attracting stateside skiers. He said
that he had been approached by
skiers at the Northwest Skiers As
sociation meetings who were in
terested in seeing Alaska in win
ter and getting some winter sports
here.
Norman Banfield recalled that it
was the late Dan Moller of the For
est Service who pioneered skiing
in this area in 1936 and after whom
the ski trail to recreation bowl is
named. He said that Moller had
also been active in recreation fa- ]
cilities in Sitka where a Memorial
Park is being named for him.
Due to the absence of executive
board members Charles Burdick
and O. F. Beneeke, the election
of Chamber officers will be held
over until January 2, Rowland an
nounced.
Burton Countryman, Monroe,
Wash, builder, was a guest.
DIVORCE FILED
Emma Young seeks a divorce
from her husband James A. Young,
according to a petition filed in U.
S. District Court.
Ship Movements
Dena’i scheduled to sail from
Seattle Friday.
Baranof due to arrive southbound
Sunday.
Traffic
Deaths
Mount
By Associated Press
The nation’s traffic toll today
approached the 1.000,000 mark.
It reached 999,754 at 7:30 a.m.
P.S.T.
The county rose slowly this
morning. Widespread snow, sleet
and freezing rain in the north ap
parently limited driving.
The National Safety Council said
the grand total had risen to 999,
750 lasj midnight.
It added: •
"The remaining deaths are ex
pected to occur bv about noon
Saturday if the anticipated trav
el and accident pattern dors not
change.” \
But the Council also advised
driving and walking Americans
that “The millionth death can
still be postponed^, by improved
traffic behavior in Ihe final
hours.”
The statement was, in effect, the
flag signal for the final laps in a
race against death that began
Sept. 13, 1899.
That was the date of the first
known motor vehicle fatality in
the U. S. The victim was H. H.
Bliss. He stepped from a trolley
and was run over by a horseless
carriage in New York City.
Thereafter, the toll rose—slowly
at first and then with alarming
1 speed.
Fatalities reached a peak of 39,
969 in 1941. They slumped off dur
ing World War II, then rose to
the 1951 average of around 100 per
day.
Blast of Icy
Air Hits Greater
Part of Nation
By The Associated Press
The northern two-thirds of the
I nation, buffeted by snow and cold
I for a week, was struck by a fresh
] storm today. Behind the storm was
i a new blast of icy air.
At least 223 deaths have been
attributed to the severe weather of
the last week.
I The new storm whistled east
| ward, dumping tons of snow, sleet
! and freezing rain. Temperatures
tumbled along the route of the
storm, dipping far below zero in
many areas.
Freezing rain glazed thorough
l fares in the Kansas City area and
I created a hopeless traffic snarl.
Many schools and business houses
were closed.
The storm pelted the Rocky Moun
tain area first. Colorado had snow
and frigid temperature. Denver with
five inches of new snow, reported
a low of six below zero. Limon, Colo.,
had -11.
Then the storm spread over the
plains states, the upper Mississippi
Valley and the Great Lakes region.
It was expected to strike today in
Virginia, Maryland, western Penn
sylvania and most of West Virginia.
Colder weather headed into the
midwest behind the snow. New Eng
land and northern parts of New
York state had sub-zero readings.
Committee Approved
Tc Survey Germany
For Free Elections
PARIS, Dec. 20—M—'The UN Gen
eral Assembly approved today the
creation of a five-nation commit
tee to survey whether Germany is
ready for countrywide free elections.
This would be a first step toward
uniting that now divided country.
The Assembly vote was 46 to 6,
with eight abstentions. The action
was taken in the face of strong ob
jections from the Soviet bl<?c.
• WEATHER REPORT
• (U. S. WEATHER BUREAU)
• Temperatures for 24-Hour Period
• Ending at 4:30 A M. Today
• At Airport, Maximum, 23;
• minimum, 19.
•
• FORECAST
0 ■ (Juneau and Vicinity)
• Cloudy with intermittent
• snow tonight and Friday, ocas
o sionally mixed with rain Fri
• day afternoon. Low tonight
• near 25 degrees and high Fri
• day near 33 degrees.
•
• PRECIPITATION
• (Past 24 hour^endlnE 7:30 a m. today
• At Airport — .15 inches;
• since July—19.93 Inches.
• •••••••••
Congressmen
Blast Soviet
Spy Stories
PARIS, Dec. 20—tP—Two Con
gressmen today spearheaded the
U. S. counterattack against Soviet
spy charges. One pictured the whole
Soviet-dominated world as in the
grip of "spy mania.” The other
called Soviet Foreign Minister An
drei Y. Vishinsky “a venomous old
joat.”
Rep. Mike Mansfield (D-Mont)
told the (jnited Nations political
commit lee that four American
airmen whose unarmed transport
plane was forced down In Hun
gary Nov. 19 are victims of the
spy mania. Vishinsky yesterday
exprersed, in a violent speech the
hope that the four would be tried
by "our military and justice au
thorities.”
Rep. John M. Vorys (R-Ohio)
accused the Soviet delegate of try
ing to wreck “the two great for
ward steps taken by the United
Nations this week." Vorys addres
sed the weekly luncheon meeting of
the Amerioir. Club in Paris.
Vorys ( like Mansfield a member
of the House Foreign Affairs Com
mittee and a delegate to the U. N.
general assembly session here, de
livered a stinging attack on Vish
insky’s speech in the U. N. political
committee yesterday. He called it
“a matchless, putrid stream of vit
uperation."
“You often wonder how to
compete with the venomous old
goat, but you realize that there
are certain kinds of contests you
do not enter with a skunk," Vorys
I said.
The two great achievements of
the U. N. this week, despite furious
Soviet objections, were the estab
lishment of a Disarmament Com
mission and the establishment of,
a commission to study the possi
bility cf free elections in Germany, j
Vorys said
I
| Christmas Decoration
Contest to Be Judged
Dec. 23; Eight Prizes
I Originality stressing the spirit of
! Christmas will rate high in the
> judging of the best business dist
I rict Christinas window display, Mrs.
| Jessie McCrary, chairman cf the
j Chamber of Commerce civic affairs
| committee said today.
| Judging of both stores and iiomes
will take place December 23 be
tween 5 and 8 o’clock and fhe gift
certificates will be delivered to the
winners immediately afterward.
! Four awards will be made in each
1 classification. The certificates will
have values of $20, $15, $10 and $5
1 and will be honored at any store in
' Juneau.
: Arrangements to take a photo
| graph of the best store window
have been made.
| Mrs. McCrary stressed the im
portance of having well-lighted
displays.
PAA Men Stranded
In Fairbanks
The weather, the Pan American
ground crew strike, and the Christ
mas special have stranded Joe
Godding, PAA traffic manager from
Ketchikan, and Ken Alexander,
formerly of Juneau—now with the
San Francisco PAA.
During the strike, Godding and
Alexander took over steward’s du
ties and wound up in Fairbanks—
and there they are. There's no
room for their return because oi
the heavy Christmas southbound
traffic.
Pacific Northern’s flight from
Anchorage overheaded Cordova,
Yakutat and- Gustavus yesterday
and went on to Annette. PAA is
expecting three flights in this af
ternoon and PNA is due here from
Annette. Today’s flight from Anch
orage was cancelled.
Stock Quotations
NEW YORK, Dec. 20—7PI—Clos
ing quotation of American Can
stock today is 112, American To!,
and Tel. 155!i, Anaconda 50'i,
Douglas Aircraft 59%, General El
ectric 57 v i, General Motors 51' .
Goodyear 44%, Kennecott 86. Libby
McNeill and Libby 8%, No; hern
Pacific 66%, Standard Oil of Cal
ifornia 50%, Twentieth Century Fox
19V», U. S. Steel 39%, Pound $2.79,
Canadian Exchange 97.75.
Sales today were 1,340,000 -li.nv
Averages today were as follows:
industrials 267.45, rails 82.41. tr Vies
46.92.
Frigid Business
These firemen find their jobs a very cold business as they cn a hn;e during an early morning fire
which dro-.'e about 25C persons from the four-story Club Georgia Hotel at 47th and Stfktp streets on
the south side of Chicago (12-10). The firemen were coated with ire formed by fast freezing spray
as they fought the blaze in sub-zero temperatures. (IP) rVirephoto.
Greece Wins
UN Seat Over
White Russia
PARIS, Dec. 20—Ifll—American- 1
backed Greece won a seat on the i
United Nations Security Council
today, beating out White Russia on !
the 19th ballot.
The vote was 39 for Greece, and
10 for White Russia. j
A two-thirds majority of U. N. I
members present and voting in1
the general assembly test was re- j
quired for election.
The deadlock was the longest in
the history of U. N. elections.'
Greece thus will replace Yugo
slavia on the Security Council Jan.
1. Chile and Pakistan were elected
two weeks ago to fill vacancies
caused by the expiration of terms
of India and Ecuador.
.
White Russia, one of the con
stituent republics of the U.S.S.R.
was made a member of the United
Nations, along with the Ukraine,
under the Yalta agreement wtych
guaranteed Russia three .member
ships. Britain and ethers had
' Lacked White Russia for the Se
curity Council under a “gentleman’s
agreement" of 1946 which gave one
I seat to the Eastern European bloc
! of countries under 'Russia’s wing.
| The United States contended the
agreement was for only a year.
The Security Council is made up
of the big five permanent mem
bers—Britain, China, France, Rus
sia and the United States—and six
elected members who serve two-year
terms.
Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei
Y. Vishlnsky has violently denoun
ced American support for Greece
as a violation of so-called gentle
man’s agreement.
When the balloting began Brit
ain and France supported the So
viet choice because they did not
believe it worthwhile to irritate
Russia on what they considered a
minor issue. Informed sources said
these countries switched during the
afternoon’s balloting.
The U. S. view was that since
the new member will also sit on
the U. N. Disarmament Commis
sion it was vital to have a friend
ly country.
'Operation Snowliff'
Makes Deliveries to
Dakota Households
PIERRE. S. D„ Dec. 20—<>P)—An
other storm today hit central South
Dakota, which for two weeks has
been reeling under snow and wind.
Pilots flying emergency supplies for
livestock and in some instances coal
situation fast becoming as serious
at it was in 1949.
Severe storms that year required
liying in large quantities of relief
supplies in what was known as
operation snowlift.” This year’s
storms have a month’s earlier start.
Frank Root, manager of the Win
ner Airport, reported four prospec
tive mothers were flown to hospit
als.
Pierre, the State Capital city, is
under 26 inches of snow.
Juneau Marine Vet
Heading Home from
Action in Korea
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 20—IA>»—
Seme 4,000 Korean war veterans
were greeted with band music and
plinnes of water from a fireboat
as the transport General John Pope
docked.
The ship, second in a ‘'Home for
Christmas" parade of transports
irom the Far East, carried 2,900
combat leathernecks, 953 army men,
318 navy, 33 air force and 348 civ
ilians.
The arrivals included:
Gary R. Dodge, Sgt. USMC. Box
514, Fairbanks, Alaska; James A.1
MacDonald, Jr., Sgt. USMCR. C/O
General Delivery, Juneau, Alaska.
Flooded Oil Stove
Fire Destroys
Bar in Petersburg
PETERSBURG, Alaska, Dec. 20
—I.'P)—A flooded oil stove started a
fire which destroyed Jim Bren
nan's cocktail bar early yesterday.
The fire broke out again at 3
am., today, but was quelled after
j two hours by volunteer firemen.
Prompt work by the volunteer
j fire lintel's yesterday saved the
Alaska Communication System
building next door. Personnel
there had records ready to move
out.
Bill Douglas was burned slightly
by the explosion that launched the
first fire. Don MacKechnie and
Dave Ohmer was trapped and
slightly burned when a door slam
med shut as they tried to escape
from the building which had burst
into flames. They were wielding
| fire extinguishers at the time.
Alaska Plane
Makes Emergency
Seattle Landing
SEATTLE, Dec. 20—Itft—An in
bound Northwest Airlines DC-4
transport from Anchorage, Alaska,
made an emergency landing at Boe
ing Field last night after the plane’s
four engines cut out approaching
the airport. There were 45 passen
gers and three crewmen aboard.
The pilot, Capt. Pat Kelleher,
managed to get one engine started
near Seattle’s Elliott Bay and bring
the piano in for a landing.
Maintenance experts from North
west’s St. Paul headquarters were to
fly here today to examine the plane
and try to learn the cause of the
trouble.
TIDE TABLES
• December 21
•
• Low Tide 12:41 a.m. 3.3 ft.
• High Tide 7:14 a.m. 14.4 ft.
• Low Tide 1:39 p.m. 5.0 ft.
• High Tide 7:19 p.m. 12.2 ft.
« • » l f « « « » t
Staff Officers j
Have Session j
On Armistice
MUNSAN, Korea, Dec. 20—UR— j
Truce negotiators turned the prob- |
lem of how to supervise a Korean
armistice over to staff officers to
day in a “onc-shot effort” to break
the long deadlock. |
The staff officers met for two
hours at Panmunjom. Then they
adjourned until id oft. FTlciay. i
Thirc was no report of what hap- '
pened.
An official Allied spokesman
said U. N. subcommittee delegates1
suggested calling in the staff of- ,
ficers because there had been no1
progress for days.
“I give ycu my solemn word,"
said Brig. Gen. William P. Nuckols,
“The decision to appoint the staff
officers was because of the lack of
progress rather titan because of any
progress.”
Earlier in the dev the Commun
ists suggested their version of a
compromise.
They asked the Allies to (1)
permit construction of North Ko
rean airfields, (2) accept the Red
proposal for inspection by neu
tral teams at specified points and
(3) drop a demand for aerial ob
| servation over all Korea.
| in return, the Communists said
| they "might consider" the U. N.
| demand for unlimited rotation of
troops and replenishment of equip
ment and supplies.
The U. N. is represented at the
staff officers session by Air Force
Col. Don O. Darrow, Tacoma,
Wash., and Air Force Col. Andrew
j Kinney.
Three of Family
Missing in Plane;
Search Crews Out
PENDLETON, Ore., Dec. 20—(At—
Three members of a well-known
Walla Walla, Wash., family were
still missing this morning on a
flight from La Grande to Walla
Walla yesterday.
The plane carrying Stanley Lott,
president and general manager of
the Lott Supply Company and his
20-year-old daughter Rose and 10
year-old son Wallace, is believed
down some where in the Blue
Mountains southeast of Pendleton.
By 8 a.m. today, six crews of
about four men each were scour
ing the hills between Deadman’s
Pass on the Old Oregon Tra(l
Highway, (U. S. 30) and the head
waters of McKay Creek, south of
Pendleton.
An Air Rescue squadron B-17
from McChord Field, Wash., is
waiting at the Pendleton airport
for clearing weather.
The CAA said Lott stopped in
La Grande yesterday for gas on
a flight from Provo, Utah, to Wal
la Walla. He left the field early in
the afternoon.
—
FROM FAIRBANKS
Clyde Sherman of Fairbanks's is
; stopping at the Baranof Hotel.
Fear 11 Lost
As Ship Bums
Off Oregon
ASTORIA, Ore., Dec. 20-44'i—The
Coast Guard said today that eight
passengers and three crewmen "pos
sibly are missing” Irom the Dan
ish motorshlp Erria burning at the
mouth of the Columbia River.
The Coast Guard said 23 passen
i gers and 80 crew members had been
| accounted for. These estimates were
| based on the belief that 114 were
aboard the ship when it anchored
Just inside the mouth of the stream
to await clearing weather before
attempting to cross the bar. Crew
members were unable to say posi
tively how many passengers were
aboard.
2 Whitehorse Persons Aboard
In San Francisco, the East Asi
atic Lines also said that eight pass
engers and three crewmen were un
accounted for but emphasized that
hope had not been abandoned for
them.
Enst Asiatic officials identified the
missing passengers as:
Mr. and Mrs. Holst Andersen and
Mrs. A. Sorensen, of Copenhagen;
Dorothy Myers, G. F. Scott and
Mrs. C. M. Taylor, all of Vancouver,
B. C.; and Mrs. A. M. Brunlees and
daughter, Elizabeth, Whitehorse. Yt.
T.
Miss Myer was bound from Seattle
to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Scott
wns enroute from Vancouver to St.
Thomas and Mrs. Brunlees and her
daughter from Vancouver to New
York.
Missing Crewmen
The missing crewmen, all of Cop
i enhagen, are A. 8. Iversen, T. An
! cierson and L. A. Haase.
About 35 of the passengers were
'taken aboard'at Vancouver, B. C.,
crewmen said. Most of the passen
gers were on a pleasure cruise down
the west coast and through the Pan
ama Canal to New York.
| The Coast Guard reported one of
(four WfehAtl* launched! from the
1 Erria was missing and might have
i some of the 11 aboard. Planes went
up to hunt it.
; The commanding officer at the
Tongue Point Coaat Guard station,
; Paid the 103 were taken to the bar
racks there and then were moved
to the Astoria Hotel.
Into Icy Water
Early reports indicated that only
one of those aboard went into the
icy waters of the Columbia river.
He was Hugo Ray, Vancouver, B. C.,
a passenger, who grabbed a line
hanging over the side of the ship
when the fire broke out. The line
was unsecured and he plunged over
the side, but was quickly picked up
by a Coast Ouard vessel.
Ray’s 11-year-old son, Bill, suf
fered a burned heel in the fire and
was taken to a hospital here. Ray’s
wife and three-month-old son were
I safe.
Anchored At Fire Time
The Erria, bound from Portland,
Ore., to San Francisco, was burn
ing :>1 of a mile off the Coast Guard
station. She was at anchor, awaiting
clearing weather before crossing the
bar when the fire broke out.
Crew members said they believed
the fire started from a shorted cable.
It spread rapidly through the 400
foot vessel.
Blyth said the order to abandon
ship came five or six minutes after
the alarm. The Coast Guard arrived
quickly from its station with two
cutters and several lifeboats and be
gan taking off the passengers.
Flames Shot High
Watchers from the shore said the
flames shot high above the ship.
There was only a light breeze blow
ing.
By 5 a.m. (PST), about two and a
half hours after the ship caught fire
weird blue flames lighted it. Smoke
was pouring from below decks.
Most of the ship’s survivors left
all their belongings behind.
Skipper of the 8,786-ton vessel,
which left Portland Tuesday after
loading lumber, is Capt. M. Agge.
The vessel also loaded at Longview.
It was operated by the East Asiatic
Lines.
Plane Brake Inspected
As Possible Cause in
Second Worse Crash
ELIZABETH. N. J., Dec. 20—UB—
The right brake of the Florida
bound airliner that crashed with
the loss of 56 lives Sunday got a
thorough going over today by gov
ernment investigators.
Thff transcript of the Newark
airport tower’s conversation to the
pilot of the doomed plane indica
ted the right brake may have been
on fire when the heavily-loaded
C-40 took off, bound for Florida.