THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE
1 ! UALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME"
* _ ' __ _- ' " " .. ...... .... i — 1 1 '■ ■■ - ;■! ■■ — "**■•"—
VOL LXXVI-NO. 11,692 JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY. DECEMBER 26, 1950_ MEMBER ASSOCIATED TRESS_PRICE TEN CENTS^
Big Chinese Red Offensive Developes in Korea
AIR FORCE
STRENGTH
* TO BOOM
Emergency Mobilization
Program Announced
Four Fold Size Goal
WASHINGTON, Dec, 26 — —
I The Air Force is gearing its emer
gency mobilization program to a
, strength four times as powerful as
that on hand before Korea.
Undersecretary John A. McCone
said today in an interview that this
applies clear across the Pacific—to
aircraft production, training of
men, and bases for men and equip
ment.
I The four-fold size goal could be
reached by late 1953 if ordered. The
* immediate program, to be com
pleted in fwo years, calls for roughly
doubling the number of Air Force
/„roups, the number of men, and the
number of bases in the United
States.
The move toward the doubled Air
Force already is obvious in plane
orders; in putting World War II
plane plants back into production;
in reopening 25 bases since June,
i , and disclosure that Air Force per
sonnel soon will be more than
■ double the pre-Korea strength of
412.000.
Output of Air Force combat type
planes already has risen to a rate
of more than 150 a month from the
pre-Korea rate of 110 a month and
will be doubled by next December.
But that is only a part of the
program. The expansion is being
handled in a way that it can be
doubled again later on.
So far as aircraft and equipment
is concerned, McCone said, this
t means tooling plants to produce for
a volume well in excess of quantities
, now on order.
When the North Korean Reds in
vaded last June, the Air Force had
48 groups. The program has already
been increased to 84 groups.
And there are indications the Air
Force sights have been raised to al
most 100 groups within two years to
,- keep the air balance under a total
,of 3,500,000 Americans under arms.
i ■ _
ONE CHRISTMAS WINDOW THE
EMPIRE MISSED —BILL RAY’S
There are probably other Christ
mas windows that were missed by
The Empire reporter in Saturday’s
listing of Christmas decorations, but
Bill Ray’s Liquor Store in the <
* George Brothers building on South
Franklin street was missed. Ray has
a very handsome Santa Claus in
his Christmasy window.
ANDY BARLOW RETURNS
Andy Barlow, executive secretary
of the United Trollers of Alaska, re
turned to his headquarters here
today. He spent Christmas at Wran
gell.
YOUNG FAMILY HERE
> Mr. and Mrs. Frank C. Young
and family of Haines are stopping
1 at the Baranof Hotel.
The Washington
Merry-Go-Round
Coprrlibt, 1MC. by BeU Brcalew*. Ine.t
< By DREW PEARSON
(The Empire did not . mblish
, yesterday (Monday, Cl® istmas
day) but here is the Washington
Merry-Go-Round for relate on
that day as it is pertine t, we
are printing it.—Editor). j
l^ASHINGTON—About two years j
ago I published "'A G.I's plea for
f peace” written by John Crown, a
paralyzed war veteran. The letter
attracted so much attention that
August Dietz of Richmond, Va.,
geenrously printed several thousa'nd
copies and this letter became a
source of inspiration to many Am
ericans.
Last spring John Crown’s tor
tured body gave up the battle for
life, and I should like to republish
his letter on this Christmas Day
when we are trying to dedicate
ourselves to the things Christ
taught us. It follows:
“My name is John Crown. I am
a paraplegic at Halloran General
Hospital. My physical wounds are
(Continued on Page Four)
Fantastic Kidnap Plot
Gambler Harold Smith, owner of Reno, Nev. nationally-known
Harold's Club and police inspect dummy lumber truck which authori
ties say was to be used in a fantastic plot to kidnap one of the
wealthy Smith family children. Smith pushes on planks that reveal
concealed opening to hollowed interior of load of lumber, iff) Wire
photo.
_ *__
President to
Get Busy On
His Messages
One to Congress Will Be
on State of the Union
Requests Coming Up
WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 — tiTI —
President Truman’s opening mes
sage to the new Congress may hang
an emergency label on some “fair
deal” proposals but lawmaker
friends generally hope it will stick
to international issues.
The President returns from Inde
pendence to get down to work on
his state of the union message, and
two other messages to the 82nd Con
gress.
The President is due back late
today, a day earlier than planned.
After conferences with his Defense
chiefs, Mr. Truman is to start
drafting his program for the legis
lators.
His state of the union message
probably will deal at length with
the situation in Korea and efforts to
help Western Europe rearm.
But lawmakers won’t be surprised
if the President dusts off parts of
the program he has recommended
to Congress before and suggests
they are needed to strengthen the
nation’s defenses.
One Senator said, for instance,
that Mr. Truman might ask again
for action on the controversial Fair
Employment Practices Commission
(FEPC) issue, on the grounds that
racial discrimination weakens the
defense production effort.
The President is almost certain to
recommend again statehood for
Alaska and Hawaii, as defense out
posts. Passed by the House, the
statehood bills will die for lack of
Senate action when the present
Congress ends.
Much more likely to get immedi
ate attention from the new Con
gress will be Mr. Truman’s expected
requests for huge military outlays
at home and abroad, revision of the
draft law, higher taxes, authority
to set up emergency agencies and
extension of the rent control law.
These and other emergency
spawned issues are expected to take
up the opening months of Congress.
STEAMER MOVEMENTS
Baranof scheduled to sail from
Seattle Friday p.m.
Princess Norah scheduled to sail
from Vancouver December 30.
Denali scheduled to arrive from
West Sunday southbound.
Mass Prayer
Day Called
On New Year
(By the Associated Press)
A call for mass prayer on the
eve of a new half century spread
today across a troubled United
States.
With the nation caught in the
tightening coils of world conflict,
hundreds of thousands of Americans
planned to begin the New Year with
an invocation rather than revelry.
To them, Dec. 31, 1950, will be a
day of prayer.
The National Council of Churches
of Christ of America, representing
more than 31,000,000 members in 29
orthodox and Protestant denomina
tions, said yesterday that its call
for the special prayer day has
brought nationwide response.
“At the same time," said the Rt.
Rev. Henry Knox Sherrill, Council
President, “spontaneous movements
for daily prayer are developing in
al^ parts of the country and reflect
a recognition of the need of man
kind for God’s guidance.”
RUSSIAN PEACE
PRIZE COMING UP
MOSCOW, Dec. 26—M—'The Pre
sidium of the Supreme Soviet (Par
liament) announced today the ap
pointment of a 12-man committee
to award the first annual interna
tional Stalin peace prizes "for
strengthening the peace among
peoples.”
The announcement did not say
when the committee, made up of
three Russians and delegates from
nine other nations including China,
would meet to choose their candi
dates for the 100,000-Ruble ($25,000
at Russian evaluation) prize.
The Stalin peace prize was set
up by decree of the Presidium on
the Soviet Prime Minister’s 70th
birthday last year. At that time
it was declared the 1950 prize
would be awarded on Stalin’s 71st
birthday Dec. 21. But on that day,
no mention was made of the prize,
no possible candidates had been
suggested and no committee had
yet been named. There was no
explanation of the delay.
KODIAK MAYOR NORTH
Lee Bettinger, mayor of Kodiak,
visited briefly in Juneau over the
weekend. He came in Saturday from
the south and left on the Pacific
Northern Airlines plane for Anchor
age enroute to Kodiak.
COLD, SNOW
WAVE HITS
U. S. AREAS
i
—
(By Associated Press)
Snow piled up across the north
j ern half of the nation today and
some eastern points shivered Jn
the coldest weather of the season
i Subzero cold hit several localit
ies along the northern tier of states
while chilly readings were take!;
as far south as Texas.
Snow whitened New York City
, three years to the day after a re
1 cord 25.8 inch fall tied the meti'o
i politan area in knots.
Chicago awakened to knee-deep
! drifts and found more snow fall
| mg. Palls ranged from four to seven
inches in other areas of a snow
belt from the Dakotas to the east
ern seaboard.
Upstate New York had the cold
est weather of the season, with a
reading of 22 degrees below zero at
Newton Falls in the northern part
of the state.
Other overnight low temperatures
included 24 below at Bismarck, N.
D.; 19 below at Duluth, Minn.; 28
below at International Falls, Minn.;
, and five below at Minneapolis-St.
! Paul, Minn.
Jacksonville, Fla., gateway to the
winter resort land, had 37 above,
while Miami, Fla., reported 56.
Other parts of the country enjoy
ed fair weather. A reading of 76
at Phoenix, Ariz., yesterday tied
the previous high marks on Christ
mas Day in 1919 and 1933.
DEATHTOLL
OF HOLIDAY
MOUNTS UP
(By Associated Press)
The nation counted a staggering
death toll ol 664 today from violent
accidents over thj; three-day
Christmas holiday.
Traffic fatalities soared to above
500, the highest since the all-time
record of 555 in 1936. Mishaps of
the highways—many ice-coated and
others made slippery by freshly
fallen snow—killed 515 persons.
That was more than 100 above
| the 1949 Christmas holiday toll.
Accidents from miscellaneous
causes—fires, drownings, falls, etc.,
took an additional 149 lives. The
grim total,one of the largest for
any three day holiday period, cover
ed the 78 hours from 6 p.m. Friday
to last midnight. Last year’s total
for the Christmas holiday was 580,
including 167 in a variety of acci
dents.
The traffic toil was far above
the National Safety Council's es
timate of 440, which was the high
est it ever had predicted for the
extended Christmas holiday. It more
than doubled the number killed
in motor accidents over a similar
period Dec. 8 to 11.
CHICAOO, Dec. 26—Ofi—Tabula
tion late this afternoon by the Asso
ciated Press Increases the holiday
death toll to 676, instead of 664;
traffic fatalities to 523 instead of
515 and miscellaneous accidents to
153 instead of 149.
• •••••••••a
• •
• WEATHER REPORT •
• Temperatures lor 34-Hour Period ■
• ending 6:30 o'clock this morning •
• In Juneau—Maximum, 36; •
• minimum, 33. •
• At Airport—Maximum, 38; •
• minimum, 32. •
• •
• forecast •
• (Juneau and Vicinity) •
• Continued cloudy with in- •
• termittent light rain tonight •
• and Wednesday. Lowest tern- •
• perature tonight near 40 de- •
• grees. Highest Wednesday •
• about 35. •
• •
• PRECIPITATION •
• (Past 34 hours ending 7 30 a m. today •
• City of Juneau—0 08 inches; •
• since Dec. 1 — 3.50 inches; •
• since July 1—36.74 inches. •
• At Airport — 0.02 inches; •
• since Dec. 1 — 2.81 inches; •
• since July 1—25.92 inches. •
• •••••••••a
Blizzard Stalls Traffic
Buses and ears sit motionless at Euclid Avenue and East 77th Street, one of Cleveland’s (Ohio) busiest
intersections, as the city struggled through one of Its worst blizzards in history. The scene was dupli
cated throughout the city. The storm dumped a 12 to 28 Inch thick comforter of snow on Ohio.
The State counted seven dead. OP) Wirephoto.
War-Menaced World Observes
Christmas in Many Different
Ways; Fervent Hope for Peace
TENDERMEN'S UNION
IN ALASKA IS TO
GET BOOST, WAGES
SEATTLE, Dec. 26—W—Members
of the Cannery Tenderman’s Union
(AFL) of Kodiak and Southeast
Alaska districts will receive a 12*i
percent wage increase under an
agreement announced today with
the Alaska Salmon Industry.
About half a dozen other unions
have announced similar contracts
with the Alaska Fishing Industry.
GENERAL AIRWAYS
OF PORTLAND PUTS
UP ROUTING FIGHT
"PORTLAND. Ore., Dec. 26—<#l—
Oeneral Airways, non-scheduled
Portland to Anchorage air carrier
In operation the last three years,
announced yesterday it would fight
for the right to stay operating.
Gus Callas, pilot-president of the
Portland firm, said his attorneys
have petitioned the Civil Aeronau
tics Board to reconsider an order
rejecting the firm’s bid to continue
operating.
Callas said the CAB claimed the
airline was offering a “route type"
service competing with regularly
scheduled airlines. The company
now has two DC-3 type aircraft. It
was the first Portland airline to
begin flying fresh foodstuffs and
other cargo into Alaska from Port
land in the post-war years. It is the
only Portland firm now flying non
schedule to Alaskan cities.
PILOT, CO-PILOT
KILLED IN CRASH;
16 EVACUATED
PENTICTON, B.C., Dec. 26—<>P)—
The bodies of a pilot and co-pilot,
fatally injured in last Friday’s crash
of an airliner on snowy Mount
Okanogan, were brought back here
late Sunday.
Sixteen survivors — 10 of them
women—had been evacuated earlier
from the crash scene 20 miles north
of this interior British Columbia
town. None was injured.
The two airmen—y lot C f t. Quin
ton Moore and CO' pilot jto Dou
cette. both of Vance aver, L.C.—died
of injuries suffered when they pan
caked the Canadian Pacific Airlines
DC-3 into a small pine-circled en
closure.
Cause of the crash, which occur
red as the plane flew en route from
Vancouver to Calgary, still was un
known officially.
Two Royal Canadian Mounted
Police remained at the wreck scene
over Christmas day awaiting the
arrival of investigators.
HOLIDAY BINGE IN
LOS ANGELES PUTS
OVER \M IN JAIL
LOS ANGELES. Dec. 26—«*—An
alcoholic haze over Los Angeles
cleared today, the morning after
three days of Christmas celebrat
ing.
Veteran police officials said they
had never seen anything like the
holiday binge in the metropolitan
area. It occurred despite days of
pre-Christmas warnings and
doubled lew enfo- cement crews try
ing to keep t' i holiday safe and
sober.
The drab hangover is a record of
11 traffic deaths, 362 persons fac
ing drunk driving charges and a
grand total of 1,222 arrests for
drunkenness.
Korean War
Af a Glance
(By the Associated Press)
Fighting Front — South Ko
rean military headquarters an
nounces Chinese Communist in
creasing their pressure along Allied
lines south of 38th parallel.
Red China’s military leader, Chu
Teh demands U.N. forces get out
of Korea, threatens new offensive.
MacArthur announces 10th Corps
placed under single unified com
mand of regrouped Eighth Army. Lt.
Gen. Matthew B. Ridgeway assumes
command.
STOCK QUOTATIONS '
NEW YORK. Dec. 26 — Closing
quotation of Alaska Juneau mine
stuck today is 2%, American Can
92’i, American Tel. and Tel. 150,
Anaconda 38%, Douglas Aircraft 92.
General Electric 47%, General Mo
tors 46%, Goodyear 64%, Kenne
cott 74%, Libby McNeill and Libby
8%, Northern Pacific 31%, Standard
Oil of California 85, Twentieth Cen
tury Fox 20%, U. S. Steel 10%,
Pound $2.80, Canadian Exchange
94.62.
Sales today were 2,600,000 shares.
Averages today are as follows: in
dustrials 229.65, rails 75.62. utilities
40.12.
FROM FAIRBANKS
John L. Cole of Fairbanks is
staying at the Gastineau Hotel.
I
(By the Associated Press)
Christians throughout a war
menaced world observed Christmas
yesterday (Monday) with a fervent
hope for peace—or at least survival
—in the year to come.
The Red clouds swirling out of
ravaged Korea cast their shadows
over Yuletide celebrations in free
dom-loving lands the world over.
The worried solemnity of this
year’s celebration of the Birth of
Christ was reflected in religious
services, in the messages of church
and state leaders and in gatherings
about the family hearth.
In many homes the customary re
joicing was muted by the knowledge
that sons, husbands or 'athers —'
fallen before the adv* ,cing Com
munist host ir Korea -would never
return.
For others, however, tnere was a'
measure of cheer in the announce
ment that more than 100,000 men
fighting with the U.N. forces had
been brought out successfully Christ
mas Eve from a Red trap in north
east Korea.
President Truman voiced the gen
eral feeling in a brief statement
from his home in Independence, Mo.,
where he celebrated the holiday
quietly with his family.
“This saving of our men in this
isolated beachhead is the best
Christmas message I ever had,” the
President said.
King's Message
The general spirit of solemnity
was mirrored in the annual Christ
mas message of King George VI,
broadcasting to Britons all over the
world.
“If our world is to survive in any
sense that makes survival worth
while,” the ruler said, “it must
learn to love, not to hate, to create,
not to destroy."
Pope's Plea
Pope Pius XII underlined his
Christmas plea for peace by extend
ing Holy Year indulgences through
out the Catholic World in 1951. He
called for a year of prayer, penance
and peace.
The Pontiff, who closed the Holy
Year celebration in ceremonies at
midnight Monday at Vatican City,
thus gave all Catholics a chance to
gain spiritual advantages for which
some 4,000,000 pilgrims travelled to
Rome in the past year.
Courageous Letter
In Communist-ruled Warsaw, Po
land’s primate, Archbishop Stafan
Wyszynski issued a courageous pas
toral letter read in all churches
and calling on the faithful to be
devoted first to God and not to
party or worldly things.
Western Europe, fearful that it
might be the scene of the next act
of Red aggression, shared the gen
eral anxiety.
. i
U. N.FORCES
NOW FACING
NEW ATTACK
Enemy Contacting All
Along Line - Beachhead
Successfully Evacuated
(By Associated Press)
Communist forces were reported
today to be developing their long
expected massive offensive against
United Nations troops holding the
line north of Seoul.
Republic of Korea military head
quarters said enemy contact all
along the front lines was being in
tensified. The Communist Chinese
were said to be concentrating near
Yonchon, 40 miles Yiorth of the
South Korean capital.
The U. S. Eighth Army was re
grouped for action Just south of the
38th parallel and defense lines
were holding firmly, reports said.
Gen. MacArthur had said earlier
a massive Communist offensive was
expected. The UN commander
stated the enemy had massed
troops, supplies and artillery await
ing only a signal for a big push.
He announced the U.S. 10th Corps,
evacuated from Hungnam has been
placed under a single unified com
mand of the Eighth Army. This re
shuffling reportedly affects a revit
alized 10th Corps of 105,000 men.
Push Against “Invaders”
Chu Teh, commander-in-chief of
Red China’s army, said in a broad
cast that the , Chinese and Korean
Reds were "driving southward in
pursuit of the American invaders.”
He demanded that "all foreign
troops” pull out of Korea and that
"U. S. aggressive forces" leave For
mosa.
MacArthur, in a special com
munique, declared the withdrawal
of the U. S'. 10th Corps from Hung
nam beachhead completed a re
1 shuffling of UN forces as required
by Red China’s entry into the
Korean war.
The Corps commander, MaJ. Gen.
Edward M. Almond, disclosed his
troops landed in the Pusan-Pohang
area of southeast Korea. The skill
ful withrawal from the blazing
Hungnam beachhead was completed
Sunday. The troops were saved
from possible total destruction by
an overwhelmingly large force of
Chinese Reds and are now ready
to fight again.
New Command Formed
’ The 10th Corps, which formerly
was virtually a separate army, has
now been added to the Eighth
Army under a new commander, Lt.
Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, World
War Airborne Division commander.
He has replaced Lt. Gen. Walton H.
Walker who was killed in a Jeep
accident near the front lines Sat
urday. The Eighth Army, fighting
south of Seoul now has three corps
—the First, Ninth and 10th.
MacArthur said the 10th Corps
had made a “Juncture" with the
Eighth but did not elaborate.
Reds Blasted From Air
Ideal flying weather permitted
Allied planes to turn out in force
to blast Red troops and supplies
throughout North Korea. B-29 Sup
erforts dropped 176 tons of bombs
t Continued on Page Six)
FIERCE
ATTACK
IS MADE
<By Associated Press)
Communist Chinese troops fierce
ly attacked South Korean troops 28
miles northwest of Seoul today
while the South Korean capital was
being emptied of citizens fleeing
to the south.
Republic of Korea military head
quarters said the battle was raging
in the Korangpo area, east of Kae
song. It said enemy contact all
along the front lines south of the
38th parallel was being Intensified.
The U. S. Eighth Army, guarding
the western end of United Rations
defense positions, reported Com
munist patrols were probing the
area to determine UN strength.