< *THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIBE
t. "ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIMET* _
VOL LXXVIH ~NO 11.816 JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY, MAY 22, 1051_MEMP.EU ASSOCIATED PRESS TRICE TEN CENTS
Allies Fighting to Stem Red Sweep in East
— ... .. — -- •
Illusionary Theories Are
Used for Alaska Sfaiehood
Declares Minority Report
- 1
By Alice Frein Johnson
WASHINGTON, May 17, — (By
Air Mail > —Arguments for granting
Alaska statehood are based on “ten
uous and illusionary theories”
which will not stand examination,
five members of the Senate Inter
ior and Insular Affairs Committee
stated in the minority report on
the statehood bill.
The report, issued today, was
signed by Senators Hugh Butler,
Nebraska; Arthur V.,Watkins, Utah,
and George W. Malone, Nevada, all
Republicans, and Russell B. Long,
Louisiana, and George A. Smath
ers, Florida, Democrats.
“The ^proposal of statehood is a
chimera, advanced not as a means
for speeding the Territory’s devel
opment, nor increasing its popula
tion, nor placing it on a sound ec
onomic footing as a member of the
Federal Union,” the report stated.
Because Alaska currently is suf
fering from grave economic ills,
the bill, which is not an economic
measure, will not solve any of the
Territory’s fundamental problems,
according to the minority’s opin
ion.
Alaska cannot afford statehood
at the present time, said the mi
nority, which is not a matter for
criticism of Territorial residents,
but, nevertheless remains "a cold
hard fact.”
“Alaskans cannot be held respon
sible for a situation which has as
its inherent qualities an almost
total lack of basic industries, stag
gering wage scales, long freight
hauls for all commodities, and the
cloud of Indian claims against Ter
ritorial lands as a further deter
rent to industrial development,*
the report stated.
"Federal spending in Alaska, in
cluding the multi-million dollar
projects for war and defense, is at
a peak. Aside from the salmon in
dustry, which is declining, federal
spending constitutes the Terri
tory’s main industry,” continued
toe report.
“When this bubble bursts, Alas
kans will be faced with extreme
economic hardship. The population
must decline without industries to
replace the government building
program. Beyond the conversation
of the bureaucrats, there are no
new industries in immediate pros
pect now. There have been none
added to the Territorial economy
in the past year, despite the loud
optimism expressed by the state
hood proponents before the Senate
Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs last April.
Agriculture Declines
“Agriculture itself, the basic in
dustry, has actually declined, not
increased, during the past decade.
Ten years ago there were 623 farms
(including fur farms i in the entire
Territory; now, there are exactly
525. Either figure is far less than
the number of farms in the aver
age county in the 48 states. Acreage
of land under cultivation likewise
decreased.
“This will mean that money will
be increasingly scarce for those who
remain in Alaska. Theirs will be
the job of continuing to support
the expensive Territorial Govern
ment that has been allowed to grow
during the lush years of federal
spending for defense. The resultant
peril of financial chaos and govern
mental bankruptcy would be multi
plied many times over by thrust
ing statehood or the Territory at
the present time, with the added
burden of supporting the new state
government now, and later when
the golden torrent of federal dol
lars has ended.”
The report pointed out that Al
aska now has almost every kind of
a tax to be found anywhere else
in the country, and, with new taxes
enacted by the last Territorial Leg
islature, it is estimated each man,
woman, and child in Alaska will
be taxed about $126 — a figure
higher than that of any state. Since
statehood is expected to double the
cost of government for residents of
Alaska, approximately $10,000,000
would be added to their annual tax
bill.
“Is this a proper burden with
which to saddle Alaskans so that
a handful of ambitious politicians
may realize their dteams of becom
ing senators, members of the House
of Representatives, judges and oth
er officials of the proposed new
state?” asked the minority.
"Out of the 108,000 inhabitants,”
►
stated the report, “aside from mil
itary and naval personnel, between
30,000 and 35,000 are natives who
are non-producing and who there
fore contribute little revenue to
the Territorial Government, so that
the effect would be to increase the
tax burden on .that segment of the
population which does produce.
The five senators who signed the
report concluded that "to grant
statehood at this tame would be to
fail utterly in our obligation to
guard the welfare of those who
have ventured to the Territory to
make their homes and who are
striving bravely to lead normal
lives there in the face of n harsh
combination of climatic and geo
graphical handicaps.”
Failure of Alaska to develop
more rapidly is attributed by the
minority report to a "gigantic
superstructure of stifling regula
tions and restrictions upon the use
of its resources by various bureaus
of the Federal Government."
“The nature of these restrictions
and their paralyzing effects upon
Alaskan progress were discussed in
detail in the minority views in
Senate Report 1929 on the state
hood legislation which was before
the 81st Congress. The present bill
has been amended to some extent
to meet some of the objections to
H. R. 331, the measure which was
before the Senate last year, but it
has not been changed in such a
way as to solye the basic problems
whicli were not voted in the earlier
lepoic."
Corrrcfivs, Mn ur»s
According to the signers of' the
minority report, “Congress best can
9id Alaska b,, undertaking a thor
ough Inquiry the many econ
omic problems, acu restrictive pol
icies now hampering the Territory,
and by adopting corrective meas- j
ures based on logic and reason.”
Such a move would be, according
to the senators, “ a departure from j
the emotional and highly colored;
approach to this matter which has j
marked all previous attempts to1
force the bill through the Congress.!
It would also be an act of simple
justice and common sense toward
these United States citizens who
are the most concerned, namely,
the Alaskans themselves.”
Changes accepted as amendments
to statehood legislation in virtual
ly every case came after the need
for them was pointed out by the
opponents of immediate statehood,
tn«J minority pointed out.
“Those who found flaws in the
proposed measures and had the
temerity to say so were subjected
to sharp criticism by the propon
ents, being denounced as obstruc
tionists and worse,” stated the re
port, which continues:
“In a number of cases, public
hearings were grudgingly allowed.
Authors and supporters of the bills
claimed them to be perfect and in
veighed against any delays in their
passage, even where necessary to
carry out the most ordinary demo
cratic processes of government.
Yet, when the hearings were held
and the failures of the bills were
pointed out, the proponents has
tened to adopt the suggested am
endments.”
Also stressed were the-facts that
nearly three years have passed since
any hearings on statehood have
been held in Alaska; nearly five
years have passed since the people
of the Territory have had a chance
to express themselves on statehood
at the polls; and that no public
hearings have been held on the bill
now before the Senate.
“The people of Alaska, as a
whole, should be permitted to ex
press themselves on whether they
want statehood under the terms of
this bill,” said the minority. “As
the discussion of this question has
proceeded, more and more people
in the Territory have come to real
ize the terrific financial burdens
that the measure automatically
would impose on them. There is no
precedent for forcing them to re
ma.n mute, thousands of miles
•from the national capital where
this legislation is being considered,
while a handful of political oppor-1
tunists appear before congressional |
committees in support of a legisla
tive step which will benefit them,
and them alone.”
Ruinous Dept. Int.
Constant references to the 1946
(Continued on Page Two) I
TRUMAN IS
NOT COMING
TO ALASKA
WASHINGTON, May 22 — IV —
The White House said today that
President Truman has no plans to
visit Alaska or to travel abroad this
summer.
Presidential Secretary Joseph
Short, asked about a published re
port that the President will visit
Detroit in July, then go to the West
Coast and Alaska in early August,
said:
“I never heard of any of it.”
Short also was asked about a
radio broadcast Sunday night that
the President planned a trip to
France this year.
“I never heard of it, either," he
told newsmen.
stilThope
FOR PEACE IN
KOREAN WAR
If Present Offensive Brok
en, Negotiations Pos
sible, Says Bradley
WASHINGTON, May 22 — l/W —
Gen. Omar Bradley said today that
U. S. military high command hopes
a Korean neace car be jv
U UN troops'' bump off" the present
Communist offensive.
Testifying at Senate hearings,
Bradley said that military men had
hoped in March that some peace
move could be made. He added:
"We still hope that we will be in
a position to again propose some
thing through the United Nations
which would end up in negotiations
and cessation of hostilities.”
. That Ultimatum
Bradley said that the March truce
effort had to be abandoned when
Gen. MacArthur served what Secre
tary of Defense Marshall described
as an “ultimatum” on the Chinese
commander in the field.
This was a MacArthur proposal
for a cease-fire which carried also
an implication the war might be
widened if the Chinese commander
did not accept it.
President Truman has said he
made up his mind to dismiss Mac
Arthur from the Far Eastern com
mands because of this move.
Spring Offensive
Bradley made it plain that Korean
strategy has been (keyed for weeks
now to the hope peace negotiations
might follow if the Communists’
spring offensive was met and broken.
Bradley told senators that as
early as February this possibility
was discussed by the military Joint
Chiefs of S^aff.
He related:
“At that time we were reasonably
sure a new attack would come some
time in the spring, and if you can
bump that off, as it were, you are in
a much better position to negotiate
than you would be if you couldn't
contain it.”
26 DISEMBARK
FROMBARANOF
Twenty six passengers arrived on
the Baranof Tuesday morning. The
ship is scheduled to sail for the
westward at 4 this afternoon. Mas
ter of theship is Capt. J. Ramsauer
with J. Vogler, chief purser.
Disembarking from Seattle: Ev
elyn P. Adams, Mrs. John Apland,
Miss Beverly Beanland, Richard
M. Beck, Mrs. Lenora Curry, Miss'
Betty French, Arthur A. Johnson,
Sr., Dolores Johnson, Arthur A.
Johnson, Jr.
Lt. Harry M. Kelsey, Mr. and
Mrs. W. S. Klockenteger and two
children; Robert W. Paul, Miss
Frances Reichmuth, Mrs. E. N.
Said and two children; James C.
Sanders, Miss Mabel Setterstrom,
Louis R. Wagner, Miss Ida Wick
strom, Mr. and Mrs. Doug Shep
pard and child.
Mabel Setterstrom of Butte, Mon
• tana is stopping at the Gastineau
I Hotel.
2 U S. SHIPS
HIT, SHORE
FIRE, KOREA
WASHINGTON, May 22 — (.TV—
The Battleship New Jersey and |he
Destroyer Brinkley Bass have Men
hit by Communist shore fire jbff
Korea with the loss of two dead aiid
12 wounded.
The Navy, in reporting this today,
said the New' Jersey was hit yes
terday by a shell which landed on
its No. 1 16-inch gun turret.
The Brinkley Bass was hit 'Sn
Sunday.
Both ships were at anchor while
bombarding the Communist-held
port of Wonsan on the East Coast
of Korea w'hen the enemy batter
ies opened up.
A Navy spokesman said the vessels
quickly slipped their anchors and
steamed out of range.
One man aboard the New Jersey
was killed and three others were
wounded slightly.
One man on the Brinkley Bass also
was fatally wounded. Nine others
were wounded. One of the wounded
was reported critically hurt, one
seriously wounded and the other
seven slightly wounded.
Names of the vacualties will be
announced after their next of kin
have been notified.
The New Jersey recently replaced
the Battleship Missouri as the larg
est unit of the U. S. Navy’s bom
bardment force on the East Coast
of Korea, The Missouri is now at
Norfolk, Va.
— ' : . * ’J, I
"DAMNED *
LIE," SAYS
SEN. WILEY
WASHINGTON, May 22 — (/W —
Senator Wiley (R-Wis) denounced
as a "damned lie” today reports that
he and other Republicans are out
to “get” Secretary of State Acheson
in the MacArthur inquiry.
Wiley’s outburst came when the
j Senate Armed Services and Foreign
1 Relations committees met to con
i tinue hearings on the ouster of Gen.
MacArthur.
Wiley told his colleagues there
had been “inspired newspaper re
ports” that, he and other Republi
cans were conniving on "a strategy
of getting some administration wit
ness.”
“I say that is a damned lie,” he
declared.
Although Wiley did not name
Acheson, the reports had been con
nected with Republican attacks on
the secretary of state.
NURSERY CLOSES
The AWVS cooperative nursery
closed last Friday and will remain
closed until fall, Mrs. George Rog
ers, chairman, announced today.
STEAMER MOVEMENTS
Baranof from Seattle in port and
scheduled to sail late this afternoon
for the westward.
Denali scheduled to sail from
Seattle Friday.
Princess Louise scheduled to sail
from Vancouver 8 p.m. Saturday.
WEATHER REPORT
Temperature tor 24-Hour Period
ending 6:20 o'clock this morning
In Juneau — Maximum,
52; minimum. 40,
At Airport — Maximum,
54; minimum, 41.
FORECAST
Mostly cloudy with light
rain and southeasterly winds
as high as 25 miles per
hour tonight and Wednes
day. Lowest temperature to
night near 42 degrees. High
est Wednesday near 50 deg.
PRECIPITATION
(Past 24 hours ending 7:30 a.m. today
City of Juneau — .01 inches;
Since May 1 — 3.28 inches:
Since July 1 — 71.33 inches.
At Airport — .12 inches;
Since May 1 — 1.93 inches:
Since July 1 — 41.20 inches.
Drowning Tragedy
Mrs. James Gorman watches firemen and policemen make a vain effort to revive her two sons. Denith,
8. and James, 7, after murky waters of flood control ditch in San Bernardino, Calif., had closed over
them. The older bov had fallen from raft (in background) and James plunged into water In effort to
rescue him. Their dog Blackie is at right. Garrv E. Parde, 19, San Bernardino reporter-photographer
for the Los Angeles Mirror who made this dramatic picture (above) was returning home after deliver
ing the picture to the Mirror when his car collided with a truck. lie died in a hospital at Fontana, Calif.,
of injuries suffered in the head-on accident. 0P> Wirephoto.
Commands "Roughnecks"
Maj. Gen. Clark Ruffner (right) Is the commander of the IJ. S.
Second Division which caught the brunt of the current Communist
offensive in Korea. The full stor.v of the latest performance of "Ruff
ner’s Roughnecks" has not yet been disclosed, but superior officers
have commended the division for its “superb performance” and
“magnificent” stand against overwhelming odds. Here Maj. Gen.
Ruffner is shown with Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway in Korea when
the latter was commander of the U. S. Eighth Army. UP) Wirephoto.
MEMBER OF JUNEAU
ELKS DIES jM SEATTLE
SEATTLE, May 22 — !£>— Elks
funeral service lor Capt. Roy Lee
Cole, 72. retired Seattle Port Cap
tain for the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, will be held here
tomorrow.
Captain Cole died Sunday at his
home.
He had lived in Seattle for 3f
years. He had been agent in charge
of the Cook Inlet district of Alaska
STOCK OUC'ATIOKS
NEW YORK. May 22 — Closing
quotation of Alaska Juneau mine
stock today is 2%, American Can
108%, American Tel. and Tel. 153%
Anaconda 41%, Douglas Aircraft
95%, General Electric 53%, General
Motors 49%. Goodyear 80%, Kenne
cott 73%, Libby, McNeill and Libby
8%, Northern Pacific 37%, Standard
Oil of California 45. Twentieth Cen
tury Fox 18%, U. S. Steel 41%,
Pound $2.80%, Canadian Exchange
93.68%.
Sales today were 1,440.000 shares.
Averages today were as follows:
Industrials 249.30, rails 78.10, utili
ties 42.03.
and master of the Fisheries Patrol
Boat Teal in Alaska. He retired as
port captain in 1948. He was with
the Fish and Wildlife Service 25
years.
Captain Cole was a member of
Juneau Elks lodge.
Surviving are his widow, a brother
and a sister.
GOVT. INJUNCTION
IN FISH TRAP CASE
DENIED BY COURT
•
Judge George W. Folta. in U. S.
District Court, has denied the gov
ernment’s application for a tempor
ary injunction, without prejudice,
to prevent Libby, McNeill and Libby
from operating a fish trap at Suk
wan, on the Hydaburg Indian Res
ervation. The judge’s decision was
based on the fact that the cannery
could not at present operate the
trap, due to the fact that the fish
ing season does not open until Aug.
6. He gave the parties until July 15
to bring the matter on whether
the trap is legal or illegal before the
court.
Ecuador has vast untapped Umber
resources.
GOV. WARREN
TALKS ABOUT
STATEHOOD
Gives Address at U of Al
aska Commencement
Twining Speaks
FAIRBANKS. Alaska. May 22 — i
i/Pi—Governor Earl Warren of Cali- 1
fornia said yesterday that statehood <
for Alaska would remove all doubts
as to whether the United States 1
intends to defend distant areas of
the Territory. 1
' He spoke at Commencement Exer- 1
cises at the University of Alaska.
"We are told,” said Gov. Warren,
"that Russia is building up her Arc- 1
tic and sub-Arctic territory and cit
ies, that Archangel, Murmansk and l
Igarka are becoming militarily and <
economically stronger by the hour
with population increases that would
dwarf the claims of the chamber of
commerce of our American cities.
“It is difficult to understand how
some members of Congress fail to
see the necessity of doing the same
thing on our side of the Interna
tional dateline.”
Also Boosts for Hawaii
Gov. Warren said he also urged
statehood for Hawaii because he .
does not believe there is a place
in the life of the nation for two [
kinds of citizenship.
California, he said, has a great
interest in the Alaska statehood
problem because the welfare of Cali
fornians is involved in w'hat hap
pens to Alaska.
"Like Alaska,” he said, "Cali
fornia was obliged to engage in a
political struggle in order to gain
admittance to the Union and there
by secure all the rights and bene
fits of first class citizenship. We.
too, were confronted by abysmal
ignorance throughout the nation
concerning our value to the nation
and our resources and our possibil
ities for development.”
Honorary Degree
Warren flew back to Seattle last
night for his return to California.
He was presented an honorary
degree of Doctor of Political Science
by Gov. Ernest Gruening of Alaska,
who praised Warren as "a friend of
the Territories and of their aspira
tion to the full equality of state
hood.”
Another honorary degree went to
Bradford Washburn, director of the
Boston Museum of Science and well
known explorer of Alaska mountains.
He was awarded an honorary Doctor
of Philosophy degree.
General Nnthan Twining, vice
(Continued on Page Two)
4 CHINESE
CORPS ARE
HACKED UP
Actions on Front Heavily
Censored But Show
down Battle Looms
By Associated Press
Allied troops advanced In Western
Korea today, probed an ominous
Chinese buildup on the East-Central
front, and fought to stem a Red
sweep In the east.
Infantry trqpps waged see-saw
battles in the eastern mountains 25
miles south of Parallel 38. Commun
ist troops were trying to expand a
wedge driven in South Korean lines
near Soksa.
Front line reports said South Kor
eans were forced to adjust their lines
for 25 miles eastward to the Sea of
Japan. All dispatches referring to
this action were heavily censored.
Hacked to Pieces
This fighting was on the Eastern
flank of the heroic U. S. Second
Division which hacked four Chinese
corps to pieces in a Red offensive
started last Wednesday.
Second Division patrols probed
northward Tuesday into a new force
of 130,000 Chinese reported massing
north of their lines for a new strike.
AP Correspondent William C. Bar
nard said the new Allied aggres
siveness and the enemy buildup in
dicated a showdown battle.
Small Groups Only
However, AP Correspondent Tom
Bradshaw reported scouts found no
sizable Chinese concentrations im
mediately in front of the Second
Division Tuesday afternoon. Only
small groups were spotted by planes
hunting through the clouds and two
tank patrols which reconnoitered
more than a mile into no-man’s
land.
Planes and artillery hacked at
Reds withdrawing on the West Cen
tral and Western fronts.
Slowdown Movement
One UN officer said he saw noth
in? "too significant” in this north
ward movement. He called it a slow
down. He said the Red offensive
"definitely petered out in the last
three days.”
"But.” this officer cautioned, "the
enemy is still capable of continuing
his advance.”
Stacks of Bead
UN patrols reported entering val
leys stacked with Chinese dead.
"We could hear the wounded
moaning as we approached,” a serg
eant said.
In the Far West a strong task
force stabbed deep into enemy ter
ritory and South Koreans pushed
within five miles of Parallel 38.
Casualties
In Washington, the Defense De
partment said Chinese and Korean
Reds lost an estimated 58,000 men
in dead and wounded in their five
day old offensive. UN losses this
time amounted to 1,618 dead and
wounded. This means that the Com
munists lost 36 times as many men
as the Allies during the renewed
drive, a department spokesman said.
Red Back Broken
Maj. Gen. Clark L. Ruffner said
his U. S. Second Division, which has
held the breach in many a tough
spot in the Korean war. has broken
the back of the second phase of
the Red offensive on the East-Cen
tral front.
Reds hurled four corps — 90,000
to 100,000 men — at the Americans
after breaking through South Kor
ean lines on their right flank. The
division not only stopped the Com
munists but plugged up the hole to
the east.
The hard-fighting Doughboys
knocked out about 40,000 Commun
ists in the blazing battle. Ruffner
said:
"The boys have stopped them
cold.”
FROM WRANGELL
Mrs. O. K. Rude and two child
ren from Wrangell are stopping at
the Hotel Juneau.
FROM BELLINGHAM
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Balch of Bell
ingham are registered at the Bar
anof Hotel.
FROM WALES
Mr. and Mrs. William Brown of
Wales, Alaska, are at the Baranof
Hotel.