THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE
‘'ALL THE HEWS ALL THE TIME"
VOL. LXXIX., NO. 11,999
JUNEAU, ALASKA, MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1951
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
PRICE TEN CENTS
$60,000 Fire
Levels Wildes
HomeSaturdaf
A spectacular fire Saturday night
completely destroyed the Keith
Wildes home on the Douglas high
way, causing losses which are esti
mated at over $60,000.
No fire equipment was available
and hundreds watched helplessly
while the nearly new, ultra-modern
residence crumpled in the mass ot
high-soaring flames.
The origin of the fire was not
exactly determined, but it was
thought to have started from an
electrical device which heated and
melted snow from the driveway
leading to the attached garage.
Mrs. Wildes’ mother, Mrs. Alma
Hendrickson, was in her apartment
in the semi-basement of the home
when the fire started, but was un
aware the house was burning until
she heard a noice, rushed upstairs
and found a passer-by, Herman
‘ Porter, and others, pounding on
the door. The telephone was still
in order, and the alarm was given
from the burning home.
Watch Home Burn
Mr. and Mrs. Wildes were at a
dinner party when informed of the
fire. They rushed home through
the piled up traffic, but were able
to do little but watch as their new
heme was destroyed. Mrs. Hendrick
son's personal effects were nearly
the only things saved from the
flames.
With its metal glowing a dull red
from the heat, the new Chevrolet
of Mrs. Wildes stood in its place
in the garage. The fire evidently
started near or in the garage and
passers-by were unable to save
the car.
The Wildes’ dog died in the burn
ing house. It had been put into Us
bed earlier by Mrs. Hendrickson,
and could not be found and aid
not come cut of the flaming home
later when called in an effort to
save it
Fire Ilcat intense
The heat from the fire was in
tense, driving onlookers back to
the highway. Flames twisted and
roared as sparks flew hundreds of
feet in the snow-filled air. Sitting
on the Channel front, the burn
ing house was visible for miles.
The torch-like flames brought a
mass of spectators who caused a
(Continued on Page’3)
TheWashinglon
Merry-Go-Round
<Conyr:eht, 1851. by Bell Syndicate, Inc.)
By DREW PEARSON
(Ed. Note — Today, in Drew
Pearson's scries of columns on
corruption in government, he
contrasts the problems of the
little taxpayer with the wire-pul
ler.)
rf ASHINGTON. — Here are a
few illustrations of how tax injus
tice operates under the present
system whereby the wire-pullers
settle their tax-fraud cases with
out going to Jail, while the little
fellows with no pull go to jail or
suffer severe hardship.
It's this kind of tax injustice
that undermines democracy and
in Europe has led to Communism.
Ilustration No. 1—Is that of
Francis J. Massey, a warehouse
worker for a Washington depart
ment store who was charged by
treasury agents with having re
ceived $150 in dividends from stock
in the Washington Gas Light Co.
Massey was able to show, through
an affidavit from the gas com
pany that he never owned the
stock, that it was owned by his
late father. However, the Internal
Revenue office demanded that he
pay just the same. Though his sal
ary was only $28 a week and he
had a wife and two small children
to support, he proceeded to pay up
at the rate of $2 a week to a total
of $18.92.
This, however, was not fast
enough for the treasury, and a lien
was slapped on his salary for the
remaining $15.59. This got him into
trouble with his employer who
didn’t want to -be harboring a tax
dodger and he was fired.
He was unable to find full-time
work, his youngest child became
ill, the family doctor had not been
(Continued on Page 4)
Leave for Home
T.ic time baby sitters from Nahant, Mass., who made headlines
last October when they came to New York cn a spr'es w;t!i 818,000
cf someone clse’s money leave police statie.n for LaGuardia cield
and their return to Massachusetts. Left to ri£ht: Eil'aen Jeffrey,
Marilyn Curry and Roberta McCauly. They will face charges in
connection with the theft cf S18.000 from the heme of Dr. Albert H.
Govner, who later committed suicid'd. i/PI Wirephoto.
M ®r Mere Are.
Victims e?
TIA JUANA, Mexico., Dec. 24—iff)
—Screams of riyL : children and
wotr.cn left this city gripped today
in the horror of a Christmas party
' 1. ■ ,hr took a toll officially estf
J mated at 41 or more lives.
Burned and broken remains were,
still being examined in an effort t |
! complete an accurate count. There |
, were unofficial estimates ranging j
: up to 90 or more.
Dist Atiy. Francisco Gastanon,
; Jr., who announced the official
I estimate, said he believed it was 1
The highest toll of deaths in a
| single fire in the history of Me.xi
! Eighty-eight who escaped from
| the burning, three-story building,
. downstairs to a single doorway, were i
! tree for burns at the Miguelj
' Aleman hospital. Officials said the j
j only fire escape was not only locked
; but boarded up.
The annual party for needy child- I
i ren was in full swing when its joy
j was turned to terror at 11:15 o'clock
Saturday night.
There v.ere different accounts
of how the fire started. Everyone
agreed the flames spread with ter
rible speed from near the location
cf the Christmas tree.
As panic took hold among the
300 or 400 people in the third floor
hall of the old Coliseum building,
three blocks from Tia Juana’s gay i
Main Street, the lights went out.!
"Then all was madness,” said Luis j
Alarid, 34, radio station announcer.
‘A lot of people were trampled tc
! death before they were burned.”
:
i
| Moscow Sends 0
Up Ladder So Job
t Vke Premier
LONDON, Dec. 24—W)—One of
Moscow's trusted Czech adminis
| trators, Dr. Jaromir Dolansky, was
I named a vice premier today in a
new reshuffle of Czechoslovakia’s
Communist government.
Dolansky got the political hot
spot seat left vacant by the arrest |
last month of a once-trusted
Kremlin henchman, red-haired Ru
dolph Slansky—now accused as a
traitor and awaiting trial.
Frague radio announced that
Dolansky was sworn in this morn
ing with three others who moved
j up the ladder in the CzechoslJ
' vakian Communist hierarchy.
Dolansky, a 56 year-old lawyer,
I became secretary of the Commun- ]
ist party in Czechoslovakia in 1945 |
after spending most of World War
II in Nazi concentration camps.
He had batted just under Slansky
in the Qzech Communist lineup
until Slansky was ousted in dis
grace as a Trotskyite.
Dolansky moved up quickly in
the postwar organization. He be
came vice president of the Nation
al Assembly in 1946 and finance
minister in that same year.
He was named chairman of the
otate planning office in 1949, a
post he relinquished today to move
up to the vice premier's spot.
Dean Saved Bullet
For Himself Rather
PANMUNJOM, Korea, Dec. 24—
CD—Maj. Gen William F. Dean, long
missing commander of the U. S. 24th
Division, iold a Communist corres
pondent he saved his last bullet to
kill himself rather than be captured
—but that the Reds caught him
through a ruse.
The correspondent, Wilfred Bur
chett, 40, of the Paris newspaper
Ce Soil', said he interviewed D"’'>
uiits days ago in a prison camp
near Pyongyang, Korean Red cap
ital.
Dean, a Congressional Medal of
Honor winner, was listed as missing
fcr 17 months before his name ap
peared on the Communist war pris
oner list.
Burchett gave this account of his
interview with Doan:
Dean wandered for a month in
the hills—without food for 20 days.
Injured anu sick, he ’ost 60 pounds.
Dean was surrounded six times, but
each time eluded the Reds.
During those agonizing days, he
saved and carefully polished his last
i2 bullets. Burchett quoted him:
“I was absolutely determined never
to become a prisoner of war. I was
determined to kill 11 North Koreans.
The 12th bullet was for me."
But near Chinan, some 30 miles
from Taejon, Dean was sheltered
and fed by two Koreans. They be
trayed him when North Korean
soldiers closed in. Dean drew his gun,
but one of his ‘ friends” grabbed his
arm before he could shoot.
Aliled Soldiers
In Korea Pray for
Peace, But Fight
By Associated Press
Allied soldiers in Korea today
prayed for peace but fought scat
tered skirmishes on the frosty Ko
rean battle front.
There was plenty of Christmas
spirit along the 145-mile front.
United' Nations troops had relig
ious services, wrapped gifts for Ko
rean orphans, gathered around
trees decorated with home-made
baubles and opened packages from
home.
Francis Cardinal Speliman, arch
bishop of New York, celebrated
his first wartime mass in Korea
this morning with 600 soldiers. The
white-haired cardinal , dressed in
army winter clothing, was on a
flying tour of front line units.
But, for many a soldier, the day
before Christmas meant "business
as' usual.” With the mercury around
the freezing level, U. N. forces re
pulsed a series of small Commun
ist probing attacks early today.
The heavfest action of the 24
hour period ending at midnight
Sunday was a stiff two-hour fight
between an Allied tank-infantry
raiding party and Chinese Reds
southwest cf Chrowon in West
central Korea.
The Allied armored column rum
bled about 2,000 yards into Red
1! 9 Miners
km Killed
In Blast
WEST FRANKFORT, 111., Dec.24
—GiPI—One miner was rescued from
a 56-hour entombment today after
the nation's worst mine tragedy
in 23 years claimed 119 lives.
Taken from the shaft 550 feet
below the surface was Cecil San
ders, 44, of Benton, 111. He was
taken to the United Mine Workers
Hospital in serious condition.
Shortly after Sandeis was brought
to the surface, mine superintend
ent John R. Foster said:
“There are five men down there
—no more alive. We believe that
is all.”
The discovery of the last of the
119 bodies followed rescue work
that has been in progress day and
night since the violent explosion
shattered the Orient No. 2 mine
Friday night.
Farewell Note
Morgue attendants reported one
of the six todies found early today
still was warm. Found on the body
cf B. R. Williams, about 40, of
West Frankfort, was this final
message scrawled on the inside of
a cigarette package and addressed
to his widow, Laura:
“I lbve you all the way. I go to
night with Christ. I love him too.”
All but five of the bodies have
been recovered from the debris
littered shafts. One miner died last
night in a hospital of injuries re
ceived in the explosion. He was
Ralph Kent of Marion, 111.
Severe Disaster
It was the worst mine disaster
in Illinois sine" 1909 and the worst
in the nation rn.'c 1923. The Cher
ry mine blast in on Nov.
13, 1909 claimed 209 lives. An un
derground explosion at Mather,
Pa., in 1928, killed 193 miners. In
l£47, 111 miners were killed in a
blast at Centralia, 111.
The blast ripped through the
[tunnels at 8:33 p.m. (EST) Fri
day. It occurred about two miles
back from the shaft. And it shat
tered timbers for three miles in
the sprawling mine which covers a
12 mile area.
“Miracle” of Survival
Sanders’ wife and his 23-year-old
eon, Paul, were waiting at the hos
| pital when the survivor was brought
I in. She talked briefly with her
husband.
"Oh, my God, we’ve prayed and
prayed for. this,” she muttered over
and over. She referred repeatedly
to the “miracle" cf her husband's
survival.
Grave concern over the blast
was shown in the flight here from
Washington of Oscar Chapman,
Secretary of the Interior, John L.
Lewis, United Mine Workers pres
ident, and John Forbes, director
of the U. S. Bureau of Mines.
The three men went below the
surface with rescue workers yes
terday for a brief personal inspec
tion of the damaged sections.
Chapman ordered a dozen feder
al mine inspectors to open an in
vestigation into the tragedy.
FROM SITKA
James Young and daughter from
Sitka are stopping at the Gastin
eau Hotel.
JUNEAU BOY PROMOTED
Richard Dundas, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Frank Dundas, of Jfmeau, has j
been appointed corporal of the Shat
tuck Corps of Cadets at Shattuck
school, Faribault, Minn.
TIDE TABLES [ !
•
• December 25
• Low Tide 4:36 a.m. 5.1 ft.
• High Tide 10:49 a.m. 17:2 ft.
• Low Tide 5:41 p.m. -0.5 ft.
• December 26
• High Tide 12:07 a.m. 14.1 f
• Low Tide 5:34 a.m. 4.G f •
• High Tide 11:42 a.m. 18.2 1
• Low Tide 6:32 p.m. -2.0 1
territory, looking for targets. The
Reds opened with a hail of small
arm3 fire. When they added mortar
-and artillery fire, the raiding par
ty withdrew.
In the air, F-86 sabre jets swept
“MIG alley” throughout the da/
without spotting a Communist jet.
Ransom Is
Demanded, 4
0. S. Fliers
By The Associated Press
United States officials, from the
President down, are puzzled by the
ransom demand of Communist
Hungary for four fliers forced down
in their unarmed cargo plane and
convicted in a swift trial. They
were accused of violating the Hun
garian L'j.der.
The situation seems to be un
puralled in history. U. S. officials
both in Washington and in Buda
pest moved cautiously, aware that
the Hungarian move was one cal
culated to humiliate the United
States before the world, and re
membering that premature specu- j
lotion in the jailing of American
businessman Robert Vogeler by
Hungary delayed his release from
prison.
A military court, acting with as
tonishing speed, convicted the four
fliers in Budapest yesterday of vio
lating the border with the intention
of aiding spies and subversive ele
ments. The four were fined the;
equivalent of $30,000 each and the
plane, a C-47, was ordered confis
cated.
Only a week before, Soviet For
eign Minister Andrei Y. Vishinsky
referred to the four fliers in a speech
i as having violated “Soviet Territory” !
and expressed the hope that they'
would be dealt with by "our" mill-!
:ary and justice authorities. .
The fliers are Capt. John J. Swift
of Glen Falls, N. Y.; Capt. Dave
H. Henderson of Shawnee, 0!'.la.;T
Sgt. Jes ; A Duff of Spokane, Wash.,
and fsgt. Ivar-'h. SUaa oi Ktagi- (
I laud, Ark. Their plane,"off its course i
on a flight from west Germany to
Belgrade Yugoslavia, strayed across
the Hungarian border Nov. 19 and j
was forced down by Soviet fighters.
, The news that the sentcaca was
a fine—or three months imprison
ment of the fine was not paid—re
lieved relatives of the fliers. They
bad expected worse.
The U. S. legation in Budapest
remained uncommunicative today on
it - plans to free the fliers. In Wash
ington, President Truman indicated
the U. S. government still was puzz
led about how to proceed. At the
airport, before leaving for Christ
mas at home in Missouri, the Pre
sident was asked whether he planned
any move today. He said "no."
I
Inspection of
Prison Camps
Is Rejected
By GEORGE A. McARTHUR
MUNSAN, Korea, Dec. 24—(#1—
The Communist high command to
day rejected Gen. Matthew B. -Ridg
way's appeal to permit Red Cross
inspection of North Korean prison
camps.
The Peiping radio said North
Korean Premier Kim Iy Sung and
Chinese General Peng Teh-Huai
told the United Nations supreme
commander that inspections were
unnecessary because of the “hu
raanitarianism” shown allied pri
soners in Red Camps.
The Communist broadcast the text
of a letter to Ridgway delivered
Monday to UN truce negotiators at
Panmunjom.
The Red commanders declared
that early agreement on an armistice
will permit all prisoners to return
quickly to their homes.
They added:
“Several Important questions in
the armistice negotiations are now
on the point of being settled. The
only thing holding up agreement.
. . .is your side’s continuous and
persistent sidetracking and unrea
sonable demands which are creat
ed to delay the negotiations.’’
A strongly hopeful note was
sounded at Panmunjom Monday by
North Korean Maj. Gen. Lee San Jo.
After listening to Rear Adm. R.
E. Libby ask again whether the
Reds would permit an immediate
exchange of sick and wounded pri
soners, Lee declared:
"We hope we are trying to reach
an agreement before the 27th‘ of
December. Of course we will give pri
ority to the sick and wounded. As
the 27 is not far off, we don’t know
why there is such a hurry.” |
First Nighters
Joyce Matthews, twice-divorced wife of comedian Milton Berle, is
squired by theatrical producer Billy Rose as they attend th\; opening
of Laurence Oliviers ‘Caesar and Cleopatra” at the Zicgfcld Theatre
in New York (12-19). Miss Mattli'ews was in the news a few months
ago when she slashed her wrist:; in Rol'j’s apartment In the same
theatre building. Rose presently is separated fiom his wife E.Vanor
Holm. UP) Wirephoto.
Charges of <
Are
False, Hanford |
i
George N. Apostol was removed
from his position as enforcement di- .
rector for the Alaska district Office
of Price Stabilization because he was
unqualified for the job, Fred G.
Hanford, territorial OPS director,'
said today.
Hanford’s statement came after
he read Apostol’s charges in Sat-j
urday's Empire.
‘‘I noted particularly,” Hanford |
said, "that Apostol’s statement, pub-;
lished in the Empire, failed to men
lion that he had been discharged i
three d«ys before. I discharged him \
last Wednesday and it would there- j
fore appear that his charges were
based more on vindictiveness than ■
fact. They are, of course, untrue and
ridiculous.”
Apostol was hired by Hanford in
October and approved by the CPS |
regional office in Washington, a. [
are all positions of this grade.
"When it became apparent that i
Apostol was not the man for the '
job, I reluctantly discharged hint
last Wednesday,” Hanford said. T
have notified the Washington office'
and they are in full accord with my j
action.”
Hanford added that Apostol wa -1
advised several weeks ago that his \
handling of the position was unsat- [
isfactory.
Cutter Storis Pinch
Hits tor Sania Claus
The U. S.' Coast Guard cutter;
Storis, pinch hitted over the week- i
end for the Jolly old gentleman who ’
travels around with a big sack oi j
gifts on his back this time of year.
Regular transportation has been un- i
able to operate due to bad weather.
At the request of the Post Office 1
here the Storis was dispatched with'
6,000 pounds of mail for Skagway |
and Haines. She left at 2 o’clock
yesterday morning and returned at j
10 o'clock last night after delivering
the mail; picking up Mrs. Daisy W. j
Phillips, a stretcher case at Haines; ;
and stopping at lighthouse stations
on the return trip.
SHOPPING DAY
TO CHRISTMAS
Steel Workers j
Are Called to
Meet Ikrsday
PITTSBURGH, Dea. 24— <jH —‘i
President Philip Murray of the CIO j
United Steelworkers today called his
’.'aion’s top policy makers into see- |
slon here Thursday but declined to |
: :iy the purpose of the meeting.
The USW executive board will j
meet at 10 a.m. (EST) followed by
a session of the wage policy commit- I
tee—the ratifying body—at 2 p.m. I
Th summons was the only public
answer to a nation awaiting Ids re
sponse to President Truman’s appeal
to the union and the steel industry
to continue production of vitally
needed steel past the midnight Dec
ember 31 strike deadline.
The steel industry has accepted
the President’s request but Murray
lias given no indication of his future
plans.
Since the 38-man USW executive
board makes all the union’s import
ant decisions, steel sources immed
iately speculated that Murray might,
bo calling the group together to
consider one of the following po?lo
ilities:
1. Extend the union contracts with
industry so that the men in the
mills will continue producing steel
after Dec. 31 while the Wage Stab
ilization Board studies the contro
versy and prepares a recommended
solution.
2. Give Murray the union leaders’
guidance whether he should stand
firm on his "no contract, no work"
policy.
3. Consider some possible undls-1
closed solution which could conceiv
ably have been worked out In meet
ings between the government, in
dustry and union.
There was absolutely no elabora
tion from any union source on Mur
ray’s announcement of the Thursday
meetings. Murray himself declined
.0 talk to reporters.
REGULAR HOURS AT
rOST OFFICE TODAY
Regular hours will prevail at the
postoffice today and Juneauites
were urged to pick up accumulated
Christmas mail.
No windows will be open Christ
mas day.
• ••••••£•••
• WEATHER REPORT •
• (U. 8. WEATHER BUREAU) •
• Temperatures tor 24-’!i.ar Period •
• Ending at 4:30 A M Today •
• At Airport— Maximum, 32; •
• Minimum, 26. •
• FORECAST •
• (Juneau and Vicinity) •
• Fair and cold tonight and •
• Tuesday. Low temperature to- •
• night 15 degrees in Juneau and •
• a slow as zero in outlying areas. •
• High Tuesday around 20 de- •
• grees.. •
• PRECIPITATION •
• (Past 24 bours ending 7:30 a m today •
• At Airport — .11 inches; •
• since July—20.41 inches. •
• ••••••••••
8 Americans
Victims of
Plane Crash
TEHRAN, Iran, Dec. 24—Ir
an’s American colony was in mourn
ing today for Dr. Henry O. Bennett,
; U. S. Point Four program director,
and seven other Americans who per
ished Saturday night in a plane
crash which claimed 21 lives. '
The crash came when the big
four-engined plane, owned by Eg
ypt’s MISR Airlines, tried to grope
through a blinding snowstorm an#
hurtled into the base of a 10,000
foot granite range north of Tehran.
No one survived the disaster, worst
in Iran's air history.
Among the victims was Bennett’s
wife, who had accompanied him to
Tehran for an official five-day visit
in connection with the Point Four
program of technical aid to under
developed countries.
In Washington, President Tru
man paid tribute to Bennett.as a
“great teacher of the simple ideas
of cooperation and brotherhood.”
Mr. Truman spoke ol another of
the victims, Benjamin H. Hardy,
chief public affairs officer of the
program, as one of the creators
of the idea of helping underdevelop
ed areas.
Other Americans aboard the plane
were James T. Mitchell, audlo-viaual
specialist; A. C. Crilley, Bennett’s
special assistant; Louis Hendrik Jor
dal, University of Michigan bot
anist believed to have been on a
mission for the United Nations food
and agricultural organization (FAO)
Josse Lee Smith, Columbus, Qa.. rep
re«er. ,'ng the Or mntaJ Cotton 0.“v
Company, and Mrs. Emijoao Bbnaei
desaat. (Address unknown).
The other victims were six Iran
ians, and five Egyptian crewmen.
Bodies of Ten
Recovered from
Burning Ship
ASTORIA, Ore., Dec. 24—Of)—The
b'dies of 10 persons, missing since
1 hursday when fire flashed
through the Danish ship Erria,
were recovered yesterday.
The lifeless body oi Elizabeth
Brunlecs, 6, was still seated on the
lap of her dead mother. Five other
todies were found seated in lounge
chairs. Another was sprawled on
the floor.
Coroner Raymond O. Luce said
ill apparently died of suffocation
and that death had come quickly.
The todies found in the lounge
were identified as those of Mrs. C.
M. Taylor; C. O. Scott and Dor
othy Myers, all of Vancouver, B. C.;
Mr .and Mrs. Holst Andersen and
Mrs. A. Sorenson, Copenhagen, and
Mrs. Brunlees and her daughter.
Two other bodies were found on
the floor of a companion way. They
were those of Thorn Andersen and
Lilly Haase, both of Copenhagen,
laundresses on the ship.
A. S. Iversen, Copenhagen, a
steward, still is missing. Luce said
his body probably was on a lower,
deck where fire still is raging.
The ships crew reported that the
fire started early Thursday morn
ing from sparks from a shorted
cable. It spread rapidly, trapping
the eight passengers and three crew
members.
The remaining 103 aboard—23
..a sengers and 80 crew members—
were saved. Among the survivors
are Angus Brunlees of Whitehorse,
y. T.—whose wife and daughter
were found in the lounge—and his
11 year old son, Williams.
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
CLOSED WEDNESDAY A.M.
City Clerk C. L. Popejoy announ
ced today that his office would be
closed the Wednesday morning, but
would be open for business between
1 and 4:30 o’clock in the afternoon.
Ship Movements
Denali scheduled to arrive from
Seattle at 6 p.m. today westbound.
Baranof scheduled to sail from
Seattle Friday.
Freighter Yukon Princess sched
uled to arrive from Vancouver on
Dec. 26.