THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE
*ALL TIIE NEWS ALL THE TIME”
VOL. LXXVI., NO. 11,757_JUNEAU, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1951_ MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_PRICE TEN CENTS
Millions Terrified by Mysterious Shuddering
PROPERTY TAX
REPEAL BILL
PASSES HOUSE
By BOB DE ARMOXD
The Alaska Property Tax repeal
bill one of the most voted on meas
ures of the present session, passed
the House of Representatives late
yesterday afternoon by a 14-10 vote.
The bill failed to pass last Satur
day, On Monday the House rescind
ed this vote but the bill was held
over another day by Rep. McCut
cheon’s notice of intention to re
consider his vote on indefinitely
postponing the bill.
The measure now goes to the
Senate, which may not receive it.
It is expected that the two-thirds
rule will be invoked there and 11
votes will be required to receive
the bill.
Also passed by the House yester
day afternoon was the $18,319,558.50
general appropriations bill, which
went through without amendment.
A motion by Rep. Miscovich to
strike the $90,000 appropriation for
the Alaska Development Board lost
by a 6-17 vote and another motion
to reduce the appropriation to $40,
000 lost on a voice vote.
Rep. Metcalfe objected to a cut
of $39,700 from the appropriation
request of the National Guard, but
was unsuccessful in amending the
appropriation upward.
An amendment offerd by Rep.
Laws to forbid the spending of any
of the Governor’s $6,000 entertain
ment appropriation for liquor was
voted down.
Memorial Troubles
The House spent much of its aft
ernoon session generating a high
head of steam, as it has several
times in the past, over a memorial.
House Memorial No. 36. asking that
Congress provide for the election of
the Governor of Alaska, sent the
gauges soaring when an amendment
was offered by Rep. Kay.
' The amendment, finally votfcd
down 11-13, provided an additional
request that Alaska be allowed to
draft and amend her own consti
tution to replace the Organic Act.
"It looks, I am sorry to say, as
though statehood will be delayed at
least two years and perhaps longer,”
said Rep. Kay. "Meanwhile, Con
gress may accept the election of the
governor as an adequate substitute
for statehood. I think it would be
a mistake not to drive as hard a bar
gain as we can. We should ask for a
constitution, control of our lands
and control of our fisheries as well
as an elective governor.”
Too Many Subjects
Rep. Franklin objected to the
amendment and other proposed
amendments on the grounds that
the memorial would cover too many
subjects.
Rep. Stepovich, one of the au
thors of the memorial also objected.
“This is not a complicated memor
ial and the amendment, which is not
germane to the subject of the me
morial, would only confuse the
issue,” he said.
“This whole memorial is designed
to confuse the issue,” contended
Rep. Scavenius. “Senator Butler’s
bill for the election of a governor
was a sidetrack to statehood.”
“We have repeatedly been ig
nored by Congress, and Senator
Butler is the biggest traitor we the
people of Alaska have ever had.”
added Rep. McCutcheon. “He has
done everything possible to knife
the people of Alaska in the back
and he is now waiting back there
to get his hands on this memorial
so he can wave it around to show
that Alaska will take an elective
governor instead of statehood.”
Picked Side Issues
Senator Butler, McCutcheon as
serted, had picked side issues to de
feat statehood. “He took up the
Palmer airport and used an hour
of the valuable time of the U. S.
Senate to make false charges. He
charged me with forging the name
of Rolland Snodgrass to a docu
ment when he had a written state
ment from Snodgrass that refuted
the charge,” McCutcheon said.
“I don’t see what Mr. McCut
cheon’s feud with Senator Butler
has to do with the subject of this
amendment,” broke in Rep. Misco
vich.
“I don’t believe Senator Butler
wrote the bill for the election of a
governor,” said Rep. Metcalfe. I
see in it the fine hand of some of
the vested interests." He cited a re
port of the Interior and Insular
(Continued on Page Two)
Alaska Railroad Is Taking
High Toll of Moose; Can't
Budge Animals on Tracks
-A
PROPERTY
TAX REPEAL
BILL DEAD
By JIM HUTCHESON
A bill to repeal the 1949 Alaska
general property tax law died today
without ever getting through the
Senate door.
The bill that had been killed, res
cinded. resurrected and reconsider
ed, to earn the title of "most voted
on" bill of 1951 in the House, was
rejected 10 to 6 by the Senate.
A two-thirds vote of the Senate
would have been required to receive
the bill. That meant 11 votes would
have been required, and it only
polled six — Butrovich, Coble, Enge
breth, Engstrom, Lhamon and Sni
der. The two-thirds is necessary to
suspend the rules for receipt of any
thing but appropriations or reve
nue-raising measures from the
other House after the 50th day.
This is the 52nd.
The Senate had a number of
flurries during the morning.
It voted 14 to 2 to ask Lt. Gen.
William Kepner, commanding gen
eral of Alaska, to appear before the
Senate on civilian defense needs
and problems. The invitation was
proposed by Sen. Frank Barr, who
introduced the $1,100,000 civilian
defense bill which has not yet been
acted upon by either House.
Barr said he was certain Kepner
would come if invited.
The votes against inviting rum
were by Sens. Joe Coble and Heinie
Snider. They contended his appear
ance would be a lobbying move for
the civilian defense bill.
Opposing the general’s appearance
before the lawmakers, Snider de
clared: “that’s the way they do it
in the old country.”
Senate Furore
A bill by Sen. Anita Garnick to
increase Territorial officials’ and
employes' salaries caused one Vief
furore before it was delayed further
by referral to the engrossment com
mittee. It failed to poll the needed
two-thirds vote to suspend the rules
and put it up for a final vote.
Sen. Elton Engstrom proposed an
amendment to eliminate the follow
ing lines:
“Deputy auditor .$7,500
“Deputy Labor
Commissioner $7,500”
Senator Garnick retorted hotly
that "Senator Engstrom is trying to
take out his spite on my brother.”
Ed Garnick is the deputy labor
commissioner.
The Senate voted 13 to 3 for a
bill by eight senators for $100,000
aid for community health facilities
< while the House was tabling a sim
ilar measure for $40,000 this morn
ing after having previously voted
down one for $150,000).
It also passed unanimously a bill
authorizing the micrfilming of Ter
ritorial Health Department vital
statistics records. It has a $16,400
appropriation.
Some Clashes '
The discussion over the health
facilities aid measure brought some
clashes over the Territory’s financial
status.
Sen. Gunnard Engebreth. one of
the eight sponsors, started off with
the comment:
“These facilities are so sorely
needed in the isolated spots in the
Territory I don’t see how anyone
could be against it."
Sen. Howard Lyng noted that
the House already had killed such
a measure, and added: “I think it is
bad practice to introduce a bill in
one House when it already has been
beaten in the other.”
Sen. John Butrovich declared:
“I just don’t believe in writing
any more bum checks. I voted for
a $200,000 appropriation last session
t for hospital aid, but we’ve got to
face hard financial facts.” The
money, he insisted, just isn’t there.
He cited the commissioner's of
ficial estimate, before the session, of
anticipated revenue of $18,000,000
for the general fund. He noted that
(Continued on Page Two)
ANCHORAGE, March 14.—(>Pt—
Faster traveling passenger and
freight traihs are taking a new
high toll of moose this winter
despite all efforts of the Alaska
Railroad to keep the animals off
the tracks.
In the past two winters approx
imately 320 moose lost their lives.
No official count lias been annuon
ced but the moose toll this waiter
Is certain to set a new record. Six
moose were killed on one trip
alone.
How to keep the moose off the
tracks is the big problem to the
railroad.
Trainmen have tried everything
from throwing snowballs to build
ing “parking lots” for the animals.
The latter are large 45-degree
turnouts which the railroad hopes
will be used by the moose as their
exercise area, rather than the
tracks.
One engineer tried to persuade
a group of moose to leave the
tracks by throwing snow-balls. How
ever, one stubborn animal charged
the locomotive and broke his neck.
Deep snows, escpecially between
Houston, mile 174, Curry and mile
248, lead the moose to use the
tracks rather than try to break
through the drifts.
Oscillating lights, piercing whis
tles, fuses, steam and snowballs all
failed to budge the moose.
Moose killed on the railroad are
immediately dressed by the train
crew. The meat is given to the Fish
and Wildlife Service for distribu
tion to charitable groups, and to
schools for cafeteria meals.
MEDIATION
POSTPONES
PAA STRIKE
NEW YORK, March 14 —iff)—A
threatened strike of port stewards
against Pan American World Air
ways has been postponed for 10
days to allow more time for media
tion of a wage dispute.
The port stewards, members of
the CIO Transport Workers Union,
had set the strike for midnight to
night.
The union, announcing the post
ponement last night, told the Na
tional Mediation Board in a tele
gram that the action was taken “in
view of the present national emerg
ency and in recognition of your
invaluable expert services . . . j
Involved in the dispute are a
small number of workers in New
York, Miami, San Francisco, Seat
tle and Brownsville, Tex.
The main demand of the stewards
is for an increase of 16 cents an
hour. Their pay now ranges from
$1.25 to $1.91 an hour.
GORDON SMITH HERE
Gordon Smith of Lions Interna
tional from Seattle is in Juneau
at the Baranof Hotel. He plans to
join the Juneau Lions and go to
Sitka for the Alaska convention
this weekend.
WEATHER REPORT
Temperature for 24-Hour Period
ending 6:20 o’clock this morning
In Juneau — Maximum,
33; minimum, 26.
At Airport — Maximum,
32; minimum, 22.
FORECAST
Snow tonight and Thurs
day. Easterly winds 15 to 25
miles per hour decreasing
Thursday. Low temperature
tonight near 28 and high
Thursday near 34.
PRECIPITATION
(Past 24 hours ending 7:30 a m. today
City of Juneau — .10 inchej;
Since March 1 — 1.06 inches;
Since July 1 — 61.95 inches.
At Airport — .01 inches;
Since March 1 —.81 inches;
Since July 1 — 33.19 inches.
• ••••••••
ALLIES ARE
AGAIN BACK
IN SEOUL
Bitter Fighting Gives Way
to Sudden Ominous
Quiet on Front
By Associated Press
Five South Korean patrols enter
ed Seoul tonight and raised the
Republican flag over the old capitol
building.
The Eighth Army said they met
no opposition.
“They will stay there if they can,”
an Eighth Army spokesman said.
Communist forces for the past
three days have been reported mys
teriously withdrawing all along 70
miles of the Korean front.
Enter Fourth Time
If the Allies stay in Seoul, this
will be the fourth time the old
South Korean capital has changed
hands since the Korean Reds
stormed across the border last June.
The Eighth Army said patrols of
the ROK First Division raised the
flag Wednesday afternoon. How
ever, a dispatch from AP corre
spondent Jim Becker said the west
gate was not reached until 7 p.m.
Happy Again
The capitol building is in the
northern section of the city.
"I am very happy to be entering
Seoul again,” said Gen. Paik Sun
Yup, commander of the ROK Di
vision.
U. S. 25th Division troops ea.N.
of the city had crossed the, Han
one week ago and driven 10 miles
northward against steadily weaken- J
ing Communist opposition. These.
forces already were northeast of
the city.
Rear Guard Actions
Elsewhere the Reds Wednesday
fought rear-guard delaying actions
on the East-Central front but con
tinued their mysterious withdrawal
in other sectors.
For two hours they held up U. S.
Second Division infantrymen ad
vancing up the mountainous spine
of the peninsula. The Doughboys
met intense small arms fire from
about 150 Re<|s dug in one mile
north of Yudong.
Reds Blasted
The Reds were blasted by air and
artillery fire. Shortly after noon the
Americans were able to move north
ward again.
All along the 70-mile front Al
lied patrols were seeking the re
treating Reds. The Chinese and
North Koreans had fled so fast,
from most sectors that UN troops
lost almost all contact with them.
Operations of the Eighth U. S.
Army forces were cloaked by a se-,
curity blackout.
Bombardments
At sea, the U. S. Battleship Mis-'
souri returned to action with a
heavy bombardment of the Chong
Jin area on the North Korean east
coast. The “Big Mo” had been in
Tokyo Bay for maintenance work.
The east coast port city of Won
san was also bombarded — for the
26th day.
ARCTIC WORK
LED BY REDS
SAYS ARMY
ST. LOUIS, March 14 —UP1— An
instructor at the Industrial College
of the Armed Forces says Russia is
outspending the United States and
Canada ten to one for Arctic ex
plorations.
Col. Frederic G. Bryan yesterday
told 300 civilians and reservists en
rolled in an economic mobilization
course here that the Russians know
the Arctic “and, in many cases,
like it.”
Bryan said Russian bases would
probably give' the Soviets the first
round in a fight with the United
States
"Some bases are only 180 miles
from Attu,” Bryan said. “The hub
of their bases is believed to be at
Tiksi, 400 miles from Nome.”
FROM SPENARD
J. B. and C. P. Steward of Spen
ard are at the Gastlneau Hotel.
Wounded Marine Treated
Medics complete first aid treatment of wounded marine as they await stretcher bearers after moving him
down the slope from hilltop where he was hit by machlnegun fire. Action took placenorth of Iloensong.
Leathernecks in background rest after heavy fire forced withdrawal. This is a picture by John Randolp,
Associated Press correspondent. IP) Wirephoto.
SEATTLE LUMBER
CO. WILL BUILD
MILL IN SE ALASKA
Construction of a swamill with
annual capacity of 25 million board
feet is to be built in Southeast
Alaska, possibly in the Juneau area
by the Nettleton Lumber Company
of Seattle, it was revealed here this
morning by M. L. Nelson, mechan
ical superintendent of the company.
Nelson is in Juneau this week to
look over possible local sites suit
able for establishing a mill.
In Southeast Alaska with Nelson
is Benjamin Gardner, company
secretary, who is now looking over
possible sites for a mill in the
southern districts. He is accompan
ied by Charles Burdick, assistant
regional forester of the U. S. For
est Service.
Nelson is conferring with Forest
Service officials today and is con
tinuing Investigations of possible
sites for a mill on Gastineau Chan
nel.
Nelson said the sawmill will be
an entirely modern electrically pow
ered type with the newest labor
saving devices for employes. The
company will install a log boom and
cargo dock facilities.
A total of at least 70 persons will
be employed in the mill and office.
It is expected the mill will main
tain a year-rounc’. operation.
Nelson said the company will buy
logs on the open market from inde
pendent loggers.
The Nettleton Lumber Company’s
president, Walter B. Nettleton, is
a pioneer sawmill operator on Puget
Sound and his company has oper
ated the big mill at West Seattle
the past 41 years. It is now oper
ating at a production level of 40
million board feet annually.
During World War II the Net
tletoi: Lumber Company was the
larges!; of nine contractors cooper
ating with the Forest Service in
the Alaska spruce log program for
airplane construction.
Forest officials in Juneau today
said the company has an excellent
rating and the Service is glad to
see companies of its type expand
operations to Alaska.
OPS REGULATION 9
AVAILABLE HERE NOW
Fred Hanford, OPS director for
Alaska plans to leave next Monday
on trip through Southeast Alaska
towns in connection with price
stabilization duties.
Hanford announced today that
■ Price Regulation No. 9, dated
March 7. was being mailed out to
I all Alaskan merchants carrying
business licenses. Anyone else de
siring a copy may obtain one at
the OPS office in the Valentine
Bldg. This regulation concerns the
territories and possessions.
Enemy Might Set Forests of
Nation Afire, Asserts Expert;
Control Program for Alaska
—- 4
WASHINGTON, March 14 —(/PI—
An enemy attacking the United
States might try to set the nation's
richest forest' afire, a government
fire expert says.
Such a fit* would be aimed not
merely at destroying timber or ham
pering defense movements but at
providing a smoke screen for the
advance of enemy forces, said Vance j
Tribbett, chief of forest protection
DEMOCRATS
BLOCK GOP
RFC SWAT
WASHINGTON, March 14.——
Truman Democrats, rallying sup
port from the southern wing of the
party, turned back in the house
today a Republican effort to block
an RFC reorganization.
A roll call brought 200 votes to
disapprove the reorganization pro
posal submitted by President Tru
man and 196 for the plan. But the
issue came before the house in
a way that required a constitutional
majority—218 votes—to kill the pro
posal.
The President’s plan is to replace
the RPC’s present five-man board
of directors with a single admini
strator.
On tfoe senate side of the Capitol,
there was a move to pin down Rep.
Hays (D-Ohioi on what he knows
to substantiate his charge that two
senators influenced an RFC loan to
(Continued on Page Two)
I —____
STOCK QUOTATIONS
•
NEW YORK, March 14 CloKing
■quotation of Alaska Juneau mine
stock today is 3%. American Can
104 >i, American Tel. and Tel. 153,
Anaconda 39Douglas Aircraft
94%, General Electric 53%. General
Motors 51%, Goodyear 71, Kennecott
71%, Libby, McNeil and Libby 9'A.
Northern Pacific 32%. Standard
Oil of California 44Vi, Twentieth
Century Fox 21%, U. S. Steel 41%,
Pound $2.80, Canadian Exchange
95.56.
Sales today were 2,110,000 shares.
Averages today were as follows:
Industrials 243.97, rails 80.84, utili
ties 42.56.
for the bureau of land management.
For that reason, Tribbett told a
reporter, civil defense planning Is
taking the potential threat of in
cendiary forest fires very much into
account.
Fire-Controlled Programs
The Land Management Bureau,
an Interior Department agency, re
cently has been given responsibility
for coordinating fire-control pro
grams for the forest and range land
of Alaska. The bureau administers
80 per cent of the land in the terri
tory.
“We are operating on the possi
bility that enemy bombers would try
to set Alaska’s forests on fire,"
Tribbett said.
“We also are mindful of the pos
sibility of sabotage — of fires being
set on the ground.
“An enemy might thus set up a
smoke screen to delay detection, and
to allow him to move in. And if wf
didn’t stop him in Alaska, he could
go on down the Pacific Coast.”
Smoke Pall
Tribbett pointed out that last
year, when lightning-set, wind
whipped fires burned over more
than 2,000,000 acres in Alaska, the
smoke pall extended to a height oi
11,000 feet.
He said the smoke was so thick
in the Fairbanks and Anchorage
area that commercial planes were
grounded and military aircraft had
to fly by instrument.
The condition was not relieved
until the weather changed and
rain came.
"Enough fires could be set to
hamper military movement and pre
vent air interception,” Tribbett .said.
"The same thing could happen
in the Pacific Northwest—in Wash
ington, Western Oregon, Western
Montana, Northern Idaho and parts
of California — our main sources
of timber.”
Tribbett said Alaska’s fire control
and fire prevention forces should be
doubled in order to provide ade
quate civil defense.
Tribbett said plans for forest fire
control in the Pacific Northwest
are to be completed by May 1.
STEAMER MOVEMENTS
Princess Norah scheduled to sail
from Vancouver 8 tonight.
Denali scheduled to sail from
Seattle 4 p.m. Friday.
Basanof scheduled to arrive Sun
day a. m. southbound.
Mr. and Mrs. L. M. Lucas of Ket
chikan are at the Baranof Hotel.
I
NORTHERN
EUROPE IS
SHAKEN UP
Tremor Severest Ever Re
corded-Was it Quake or
Atomic Explosion?
LONDON, March 14—(HV-Millions
of persons In Northern Europe were
terrified today by a violent shudder
ing of the earth’s crust which some
thought might have been caused by
an atomic-sized explosion inside
Eastern Oermany,
The tremor, one of the severest
ever recorded in Oermany, was fol
lowed in some sections there by a
giant blast of wind. The shock and
wind rattled windows, shook down
war ruins, and tossed pictures off
the walls of many homes. No ex
tensive damage was reported.
Seismologists speculated that the
epicenter was either in the Eifel
mountains of West Germany or in
Thuringia, in the eastern zone of
Soviet-occupied Germany.
The terrestial convulsion, which
lasted from five to six seconds with
“echoes” of 15 minutes duration,
was felt in varying degrees in a
wide arc including 3elgium, Hol
land, Northern and Eastern France,
Denmark and Sweden.
Beside the earthquake, temptes
tuosu gales and heavy rains com
bined to give Europe one of her
wildest 24 hours of the winter.
In Nev; York, the Rev. Joseph
Lynch, dilator of the Fordham
University observatory said the
estimated 'ocation of the center
definitely indicated an earthquake
of the "resettlement" pattern com
mon in certain areas.
Prof. Friedrich Becker, directot
of the Bonn, Germany, observatory,
said the atomic explanation had not
been entirely eliminated, but the
western scientists trying to run
down the origin and cause of the
shock were handicapped for lack of
definite information from behind
the Iron Curtain. Given sufficient
information in such occurrences,
scientists would be able to pinpoint
the source.
Earth tremors, however, are fairly
frequent in the area of the West
German volcanic range, the Eifel
mountains.
By telephone. Prof. Friedrich
Gerecke of the Soviet-controlled
Earthquake Research Institute at
Jena in East Germany said the
quake was one of the strongest ever
registered there. But he ruled out
the possibility of an explosion. He
did not give any reasons for this
j view.
j Officials at Stuttgart University
j scotched reports an explosion of
: atomic intensity might have been
j the cause of the shock.
I Prof. Wilhelm Hiller said after a
i careful dheck of records an earth
| quake whose epicenter was near
I Euskirchen in the Rhineland caused
j the tremors.
! “We are absolutely sure the cen
I ter was not in East Germany,” he
j added.
BILL FOR
ELECTION,
GOVERNOR
i ' _
WASHINGTON, March 14 —UH—
Bills to provide lor the election of
the governors of Alaska and Hawaii
by residents of the Territories were
' introduced by Rep. A. L. Miller (R
Neb), yesterday.
The governors now are appointed
by the President.
MARRIAGE APPLICATION
Donald Jerome Kane. U. S. Coast
Guard. Juneau and Anna Josephine
Nielspn of Juneau have filed an
i application for a marriage license
j in the office of the U. S. Com
I missloner.
FROM PETERSBI'RG
i Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Jones of Pe
tersburg are registered at the Bar
anof Hotel.
L