SONUKES8IOrtAL
LIBRARY
THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE
■allrut uwwsallthe jimp
VOL. LXXVIII., NO. 11,822
JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 1951
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
PRICE TEN CENTS
NORTH POLE
AIR FLIGHT
UNDERWAY
Capf. Blair Flying from
Oslo with Fairbanks
as Destination
• --
OSLO, Norway, May 29 —(AV—Air
liner Cap.t Charles Blair set out for
a planned non-stop solo flight over
the North Pole today in the con
verted P-51 Mustang Fighter in
which he set the non-stop New York
to London record last January 31.
Fairbanks, Alaska, is his destina
tion.
Carrying the first polar airmail—
3,000 letters — Blair took off from
Oslo’s Gardermoen Air Base. He
planned to land at Bardu, in north
ern Norway, for refueling this after
noon, then leave immediately on the
non-stop hop of 3,300 miles across
the top of the world.
Blair, 41-year-old Pan American
Airways veteran from Port Wash
ington, N. Y., again is flying the
Excalibur III, the single seated
fighter in which four months ago
he crossed the Atlantic in seven
hours and 48 minutes. That hop
smashed all records for the New
York to London crossing.
The letters he carried today will
be auctioned in New York for the
benefit of the Damon Runyon Can
cer fund.
Fairbanks to N.Y.
From Fairbanks, Blair plans to
fly non-stop to New York.
Blair took off from Oslo at 10:19
a.m. (2:19 a.m. PDT) and was due,
to leave Bardu at 3:30 p.m. (7.30
a.m., PDT).
He said he expected to make the
hop to Fairbanks in 10 hours. Due
to international time changes, that
would make his watch read an hour
earlier on landing than it does on
the Bardu takeoff — 2:30 p.m. Alas
ka time (5:30 p.m. PDT).
Blair plans to cross the North
Pole at an altitude of 25,000 feet.
Just before leaving Oslo, he said
he had a revolver and some food
in case he had to make an emerg
ency landing in the Polar region.
No Contact—7 Hours
He will be out of radio contact
with the world for about seven
hours.
Blair, tall, dark and married, has
been flying for nearly a quarter of
a century since he learned the ai t
of jockeying a fighter plane in the
U. S. Navy in 1928. He has 17,500
hours to his credit and has flown
more than 3,000,000 miles.
His fire engine red fighter has
been dubbed the “Flying Gas Tank.
He bought it after the war and had
extra tanks installed in the wings
and body so it holds 865 gallons of
high octane fuel. Blair said he spent
$25,000 buying and modifying the
plane.
V -Type Engine
The Excalibur is powered by a
12 cylinder V-type engine built by
Packard from Rolls Royce designs.
The engine is liquid cooled and de
velops about 1,700 horsepower. It
saw much service in both British
and American warplanes during
World War II.
In his solo flight over the At
lantic last January Blair, pushed by
(Continued on Page Two)
The Washington
Merry-Go-Round
By DREW PEARSON
(Coprrtfht. 1»51. or Bell Smote, te. Inc..
(Editor’s note—Today Drew Pear
son writes another column on an
amazing scandal inside the RtC.)
"Washington. — it has been
kept under lock and key for foui
years, but a Senate report has been
suppressed that would have blown
the lid off the politics-ridden Re
construction Finance Corporation
in July, 1947. Ironically, the Sen
ators who bottled up this sensa
tional report are the same ones who
are now crying loudest against the
RFC.
This column has now obtained
a secret copy of the long-suppressed
report. It tells how the great Bal
timore & Ohio railroad system bor
rowed $87,'000,000 from the govern
ment and, instead of paying it
(Continued on Page Four)
In Memoriam
Light and shadow play an important role as two soldiers kneel to
place wreath on J^omb of the I'nknown Soldier in Arlington National
Cemetery, Va„ fof Memorial Day, 1951. (Department of Defense photo
via IffI Wirephoto.)
LAST UNCLIMBED
MOUNTAIN PEAK
FINALLY SCALED
FAIRBANKS, Alaska, May 29 —
Iff)— Five University of Alaska stu
dents have conquered one of Alas
ka’s last unclimbed mountain peaks.
Dr. Terris Moore, University presi
dent, says the successful assault on
12,300-foot Mount Hess' overlooking
Tanana Valley near Fairbanks was
made last week.
It took the students 18 hours to
reach the summit of the mountain,
frequently described as Alaska's
Matterhorn, but weather conditions
on the steep slopes delayed their
return for two days, Dr. Moore said.
The University president brought
back news of the climb from the
base camp at Portage Creek, where
he landed in his own plane.
He said the mountain-tamers
were Russell Paige, 22, Grand Junc
tion, Colo.; Edgar Huizar, 27, Peters
burg, Alaska; Howard Bowman, 23.
Lake Clark, Alaska; Richard Hol
dren, Jr., 29, Mendota, HI., and Elton
Thayer, 23, Fairbanks.
SCHOOL, CITY BANDS
TO PRACTICE TONIGHT
FOR MEMORIAL DAY
A quick call has been Issued to
members of the Juneau Public
school band and City Band for a
practice tonight at 7:30 o’clock in
the Grade School auditorium. The
call is made to ascertain if a large
delegation of musicians can be
formed to play for the Memorial
day parade and services at the dock
and cemetery.
The practice tonight will be a
short one and only marches will be
played. It is the belief that the
musicians of both organizations will
show up tonight for the brief prac
tice and then make appearance to
morrow in the Memorial Day par- \
ade.
Bandsmen of both organizations
who because of the sudden call
have made previous engagements
for tonight are asked to be at the
grade school auditorium Wednes
day morning not later than 10:15
o’clock. Bandsmen are asked to wear
their uniforms but those who have
none are to show up anyway.
Joyce Hope is in charge of the
arrangements and she will have
her majorettes also ready for the
parade.
TO ANCHORAGE
Ernest Lincoln, director of the
Veterans Administration here, left
Sunday for Anchorage on a routine
field inspection trip. He expects to
be gone three or four days.
NO EMPIRE WEDNESDAY
The Empire will not publish to
morrow, Memorial Day, but any
world events of importance will be
bulletined.
FANNY BRICE
ANSWERS LAST
CURTAIN CALL
HOLLYWOOD, May 29 —(>P)—
Comecliexrne Fanny Brice died at
11:15 a.m., PST, today, five days
after suffering a cerebral hemor
rhage.
Miss Brice, born Fannie Borach
on New York’s East Side, was 59.
The end came a few hours after
Miss Brice, the “Baby Snooks” of
radio, took a turn for the worse
last night. She had been in a coma
and under an oxygen tent most of
the time since suffering the hem
orrhage at her home last Thursday.
Miss Brice’s two children. William
Brice and Frances Stark, were at
her bedside when she died.
Miss Brice hit fame and fortune
twice in her long comic career. She
was a big hit in the Ziegfield Fol
lies of the 1920s. Then, after one
not so successful fling at radio, she
began the “Baby Snooks” charac
ter in 1936. It had been a radjo
comedy standby ever since.
SPORTSMEN INC. WILL
CONTINUE GRAYLING
PLANTINGPROJECT
A grayling transplanting project
started last wall by the Territorial
Sportsmen, Inc., will be continued
early next month, it was decided at
a meeting of the board of directors
at the home of Simpson MacKinnon
Monday evening. The organization
originally appropriated $2,500, of
which only $500 has been used.
Through the cooperation of the
Alaska Department of Fisheries and
the Fish and Wildlife Service the
project was successfully launched
last fall. C. L. Anderson, director
of the ADF. was present and a dis
cussion of lakes to be planted took
place. Kathleen and Upper Golding
Lakes were believed to be barren
and satisfactory for the grayling.
It was decided to investigate sev
eral other lakes also.
Henry Harmon was elected to
represent the Sportsmen on the ex
pedition.
Kid Trout Derby
It was announced that arrange
ments had been made with the
Juneau Young and the Thomas
Hardware stores to handle the
weighing-in of the trout for the
junior trout derby for youngsters
which will be sponsored by the
Sportsmen. The derby is to begin
July 1 and suitable awards have
been arranged for the skillful ang
lers.
Each contestant is to receive a
brassard when he or she signs up
for the event. Registration books
will be at the*two hardware stores
the last week in June.
OBSERVATION OF
MEMORIAL DAY4Y
TALK, CEREMONIES
Final plans for the Memorial Day
parade tomorrow are announced
with dock-side and grave-sideytere
monies in honor of those whq gave
their lives to keep America f#|e
The high school and city Rands
are to report to the grade school
gym tonight at 7:30 for a practice
before the parade.
The parade forms at the subport
tomorrow morning at 10:4S With
ceremonies starting at 11. Jim Bru
nette, commander of the Veterans
of Foreign Wars, will initiate the
ceremonies with a short talk fol
lowed by a prayer by Rev. Walter
Soboleff, A wreath of flowers will
be placed on the water by "Butch
Suhrbier. A volley Is to be fired by
the National Guard drill team, then
taps will be sounded.
Following taps, the parade leaves
the subport area going over Wil
loughby to Seward and up Fourth
street to halt at the Federal build
ing. The band will play two marches.
J. Simpson MacKinnon will de
liver a Memorial Day address at the
Federal building. The parade then
proceeds along Calhoun avenue to
Evergreen cemetery for grave-siie
ceremonies. At the cemetery, Major
Eric Nwbould, Salvation Army, will
give a prayer in the grave-side ob
servations. The National Guard dr’ll
team will fire a volley followed with
a wreath placed on a grave. This
will be sounded and the parade win
be dismissed.
Units in the order of their marc -
ing in the parade are- National
Guard drill team; band; Headquar t
ers, Headquarters and Service C >.,
208th Infantry Battalion, Aiasia
Nation?! Guard; Headquarters
Headquarters Detachment, AlalSu
National Guard; massed colors of
the veterans organizations; Veterans
of Foreign Wars; American Legion
posts of Juneau and Auk Bay; Wo
men of the Moose drill team; Fili
pino Community and the Girl
| Scouts.
79 MINERS
ENTOMBED;
EXPLOSION
EASINGTON, England, May 29—
lypi_a violent explosion entombed 79
miners early today deep in the Eas
ington coal pit. Hours later rescuers
recovered eight bodies and brought
one injured man to the surface.
Teams of rescuers toiled in non
stop shifts to move tons of rocks
and debris shaken loose by the blast
900 feet underground in hopes of
rescuing alive the 70 men still
trapped.
By ear*y afternoon rescue parties
had driven through more than 300
yards of debris. Mining officials said
the coal face, where it is believed
the majority of men are trapped,
was another 700 yards away.
Fresh air was being forced thru
neighboring seams in hopes it would
filter through to the men.
The violent blast blew two men
clear of the tumbling debris. One
said he was lifted and tossed 60
yards down the tunnel. Another
said he was thrown 20 to 30 yards.
The explosion caught the mine ■
just as the day shift was relieving
night workers about a mile and one
quarter from the bottom of the pit
hoisting shaft.
„ f 0 • w •
• WEATHER REPORT
• Temperature lor 24-Hour Period
• ending 6.20 o clock this morning
• In Juneau — Maximum,
• 63; minimnm, 43.
• At Airport — Maximum,
• 63; minimum. 39.
• forecast
• Mostly cloudy tonight with
• lowest temperature near 45
• deg., becoming partly cloudy
• with highest temperature
• near 58 deg., Wednesday.
• PRECIPITATION
• IPast 24 hours ending 7:30 a m. today
• City of Juneau — None;
• Since May 1 — 381 inches’
» Since July 1-7186 inches.
• At Airport — Trace;
• Since May 1 — 214 inches,
• Since July 1 — 41 41 inches.
#•••••••••
4
MEMORIAL DAY
■L
URGES SENATE
RESTORE CUT
ALASKA FUND
WASHINGTON, May 29 —. W —
Senator Magnuson (D-Wash) said
today he has urged the Senate Ap
propriations committee to approve
the full $10,000,000 requested by the
Interior Department to carry Out
a public works program in Alaska.
He told a reporter he had ap
peared before the Senate committee
to urge reinstatement of $3,000,000
cut from th public works item by
the House.
The $10,000,000 allocation for
matching funds is decidedly neces
sary, the senator said, if housing
and other facilities Are to be pro
vided for personnel needed in con
nection with Alaska's defense proj
ects.
Buildup Slowed
“The buildup in population in
Alaska is being slowed and health
is being endangered in many in
stances.” Magnuson said, “because
suitable public utilities are not
available.
“We all know we can’t have hous
ing without light, water and sew
age disposal. And yet we are ex
pecting the cities and communities
of Alaska to provide housing for
soldiers and airmen, and defense
workmen, when the utilities are just
not available because money is not
available.”
He said Fairbanks was one of
“many examples” where builders
lack the utilities needed for any
housing development.
Minimum Requirement
Referring to the $10,000,000 as a
“minimum" requirement, Magnuson
asserted: “Any reduction even
though seemingly small results in
one or two fewer schools, one or
two towns without a safe water
supply.”
The House, in slashing the $3,
000,000 from the appropriation, ac
cepted its committee recommenda
tion that the program be held to
only those projects in which the
sponsors have qualified and have
participating funds ready to put the
project in effect.
WILLIAM L TARR
PASSES ON TODAY
William E. Tarr, 71, died in his
room i nthe apartments over Swan
son’s Store early this morning. He
had been in ill health for a number
of years. The remains are at the
Carter mortuary pending funeral
arrangements.
Tarr was a veteran of the Spanish
: American war and Tom Mix of the
movies was his sergeant. Tarr came
! to Alaska about 45 years ago and
has been a resident of Juneau for
40 years.
Survivors are sons Woodrow and
Eugene, of Juneau; Edgar in Los
Angeles; ■ three daughters, Dolores
i in Kenneydale, Wash.; Gloria in
Portland, Ore., and Ruth Hill in
Los Angeles.
C. A. Bower of Pelican is at the
| Baranof Hotel.
ROBERTA RICH OF
KETCHIKAN IS
BPWC PRESIDENT
Territorial Biennial Con
vention Ends Sessions
Here with Installation
MRS. CECELIA GALEY
Installing Officer at BPWC Meet
Here
Roberta Rich, Ketchikan, is the
new President of the Alaska Fed
eration of Business and Professional
Women’s Clubs, elected by delegates
from all Alaska clubs at a conven
tion meeting in the Baranof hotel
Monday afternoon.
Mrs. Rich succeeds Miss Ruth
McGrew of Anchorage, who has
completed her two-year term of
office.
Other officers elected for the
coming biennium were Lucille
Johnson, Juneau, First Vice Presi
dent; Esther Gustaffson, Fairbanks,
Second Vice President; Miriam
McKechnle, Petersburg, Treasurer
ami Teresa Cordell, Ketchikan,
Secretary.
Mrs. Galey Installs
The new officers were installed
Monday night at a banquet at the
Country Club, with Mrs. Cecelia P.
Galey, Sweet Home, Ore., National
Legislative Chairman, as installing
officer.
Miss McGrew presided at the
banquet Monday and introduced Dr.
Grace Field, speaker of the even
ing, whose talk, of course, had to
do with women and their place in
the world.
"If our own community is not a
safe place to live in, then the
world cannot be safe,” said Dr.
Field.
She told the story of the woman
in politics who returned home after
an absence and bragged to her
husband that "our party is sweep
ing the country." Only to be asked
by her husband, "Why not start
oy sweeping the dining room.”
Women “Too Smart"
Fighting crime is a woman’s bus
' iness; building a community in
which homes can carry out their
responsibility of character building,
is also a woman's business, she
said, and quoted, also, "Sure its a
man's world. The women are too
smart to want it.”
As the banquet ended gifts of
ivory were presented to Mrs. Galey,
(Continued on Page Two)
VANDENBERG
IS UNDER FIRE
OF SENATOR
Hickenlooper Accuses
General of Criticising
Korean War Policy
WASHINGTON. May 29 — 1*1 —
Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, testify
ing in the Senate’s MacArthur in
quiry, came under sharp fire today
from Senator Hickenlooper (R-Ia)
who declared that Vandenberg has
been just as critical of Korean pol
icy as Gen. Douglas MacArthur ever
was. Hickenlooper said it raised the
question whether Vandenberg should
resign or be removed as Air Force
Chief of Staff.
Vandenberg in return denied that
he had disagreed with any United
Nations policy as to Korea.
He acknowledged writing in a
magazine article last March that U.
S. air power was made Just about
useless “when the UN in an effort
to avoid a diplomatic rupture with
the Chinese Communists halted of
fensive action at the Yalu river.”
But he told Hickenlooper:
"I was explaining a result from
military action. I was not advocat
ing it.”
Says Comments Critical
Hickenlooper contended that Van
denberg’s comments, published in
“Air Force” magazine, together
with other statements he said he
would produce later, were "Just as
critical of UN policy ... as anything
that General MacArthur ever said.”
On yesterday. Vandenberg said
that as a member of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff he concurred in the
decision that MacArthur should be
relieved.
Defends Statement
Vandenberg said his published
statement “is factual when you con
sider the point of time of which I
was talking.”
"At that time.” he said, “the UN
forces were up close to the Yalu.
There was very little distance be
tween the Yalu and the front line
where air power could operate
against them, and I was simply
making a factual statement that
when that condition occurs, your
air power is relatively ineffective."
Earlier, Vandenberg had testified
it was made clear to MacArthur that
a Joint Chiefs of Staff study last
January — embracing some points
of MacArthur’s proposed Korean
strategy — was only a tentative
thing. He said that as he recalls he
and Gen. J. Lawton Collins, Army
Chief of Staff, made that clear on
a visit to Tokyo.
Maintain Air Force
• Gen. Vandenberg ais odeclared the
United States must maintain an
Air Force able to destroy Russia’s
air power “and destroy It promptly.”
He described the U. S. Air Force
as the “big stick,” or at least the
“fairly large club” guarding the
world against a new global war.
But he said the present force may
become only a "willow wand” as
(Continued on Page Two)
REDS ARE
FIGHTING
BITTERLY
Stubborn Battles Rage
North of Parallel
Allies Stalled
By Associated Press
South Korean troops stabbed for
ward a dozen miles Tuesday against
little or no opposition to seize the
east coast port of Kansong, 26 miles
inside North Korea.
Other UN forces on the Central
front gained control of an import
ant ridge overlooking the escape
route for thousands of Korean and
Chinese Reds at the eastern end
of the Hwachon Reservoir.
The Allies were within four miles
southeast of Yanggu on the last
ridgeline leading to that strategic
town.
The Rty^ fought bitterly to delay
thtf Allied troops on the mountain
ous Central front but gains of as
much as 4,600 yards (almost three
miles) were scored by powerful Al
lied tank and artillery-supported
task forces.
Division Wiped Out
Two Chinese divisions were wiped
out in a four-day battle in the Cen
tral front, south of the 38th Par
allel. The U. S. 8th Army said the
Chinese lost 18,000 men -- killed,
wounded or captured — in the single •
battle.
omaner, out equally omjuuwh
tights raged across Korea north
of 38. Allied * tfoops wt(n held to
limited gains. Stlffest action was
In the center of the peninsula where
UN troops tried to seal off all
Hwachon Reservoir.
South Korean troops were strung
along the south bank of the reser
voir about four miles east of the
damsite. U. S. Marines were on the
western end. American infantrymen
fighting through strong opposition
gained one mile Tuesday in their
drive to reach its eastern end.
A delayed and heavily censored
dispatch from AP Correspondent
Tom Bradshaw said a powerful UN
task force bogged down Monday
northeast, of Inje.
Smell of Dead Flesh
“Allied casualties in Inje itself
were heavy,” Bradshaw reported.
Reds poured sporadic fire from the
surrounding hills into the town —
"a leveled area of mud huts Inter
spersed with dead Chinese and
horses.”
“The ungodly smell of dead flesh”
hung over Inje. “And along the
streets of the town lay bodies of
Chinese Communists so battered by
the passing vehicles thaAhey could
hardly be recognized as human
beings.”
Bradshaw reported the task force
had rumbled across the bodies in
the night “with a dull crunching of
human bones.”
In two costly spring offenses that
have failed, the Chinese have paid
the price of 150,000 casmUties. The
Allied forces have won back most
of the territory taken in the Reds'
I second smash southward.
STOCK QUOTATIONS
NEW YORK. May 20 — Closing
quotation of Alaska Juneau mine
stock today Is 2%, American Can
110%, American Tel. and Tel. 155%,
Anaconda 42%, Douglas Aircraft
48%, General Electric 53%, General
Motors 49%, Goodyear 78%, Kenne
cott 73%. Libby. McNeill and Libby
874, Northern Pacific 40%, Standard
Oil of California 45, Twentieth Cen
tury Fox 19, U. 8. Steel 41, Pound
$2.80, Canadian Exchange 93.75.
Sales today were 1,190,000 shares.
Averages today were as follows:
Industrials 248.72, rails 79.02, utilities
42.25.
STEAMER MOVEMENTS
Prince George with Portland Jour
nal tour party aboard scheduled to
arrive at 4:16 this afternoon.
Princess Louise from Vancouver
scheduled to arrive at 7:30 tonight,
sailing at 11:45 for Skagway and
returning southbound Friday.
Baranof scheduled to sail from
Seattle Friday.
Denali scheduled to arrive Sunday
southbound. _