’OlfC liKSSION Al.
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'-■> iNUl'CN, D c.
THE DAILY
A LA SKA EMPIRE
“ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME”
N _
*
VOL. LXXIX., NO. 11.993
JUNEAU. ALASKA. MONDAY. DECEMBER 17. 1951
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
PRICE TEN CENTS
OF BIG AIRPLANE
(old Wave
Takes Lives,
121 Persons
\ •
By the Asso/ctated Press
The cold wave which has taken
at least 121 lives in the last four
days drove the mercury' to new
seasonal record lows in the east to
day.
It was 30 degrees below zero in
Houlton, Me., in (he early morning.
Sub-zero minimum temperature.
were reported from the Rocky
* Mountains to New England. There
were scattered below zero readings
in the Appalachian Mountains. »
Some moderation was reported in
the southeast after temperatures
went as low as 5 above zero in the
North Carolina mountains and 25
degrees on the seaboard in South
Carolina.
Temperatures went upward some
what in Pennsylvania and from the
Ohio valley, south; and it was
milder in the west gulf and central
plains regions.
But a new storm was developing
just east of the Rockies. It was
expected to bring new snow eas-t
ward and draw a new wave of In
tense cold southward from Canada.
The bitter weather took a heavy
toll of suffering, damage, and
myriad minor troubles for indi
viduals among the millions in the
► nation’s eastern half. It forced
overtaxing of heating systems, with
hundreds of resulting fires. Over
worked firemen faced heroic dif
ficulties skidding to blazes, battling
ice formation from their hose
streams, and enduring added risks
and exertion.
Alaska Housing
Scarce Jor Armed
■ Forces Families
WASHINGTON. Dec. 17 — —
Armed forces dependents planning
to join husbands or fathers serv
ing in Alaska must wait one year
for government housing, the armed
forces reported today. Four months
is the average wait for civilian
housing, the report said.
The survey showed this compared
. with a wait of 2 to 12 months for
dependents going to Germany; 6
to 12 months to Austria; 10 weeks
to Paris; 100 days to England; 19
months to Okinawa, and 15 months
to Japan. ,
The armed force? report esti
mated 6700 dependents embark each
month from the United States for
military posts around the world.
Ship Movements
Denali scheduled to sail from
Seattle Friday.
Baranof due to arrive from Se
attle Tuesday at 7 a.m.
Freighter Yukon Princess sched
uler to sail from Vancouver Dec. 19.
The Washington
Merry-Go-Round
iCouyrlght, 1951. by Bell Syndicate, Inc.)
By DREW PEARSON
PV ASHINGTON — Most of the
world was intrigued over Presi
dent Truman's much - publicized
meeting with the joint chiefs of
staff following his return from Key
West. However, it turned out to be
pretty much routine after all. High
light of the meeting was an optim
istic assurance from Gen. Omar
Bradley that a cease-fire could be
worked out in Korea.
The nation’s highest diplomatic
and military chiefs were waiting in
the cabinet room when President
Truman strode in. He was grinning
broadly. Shaking hands with ev
eryone around the conference table,
he reported that it was “good to be
back,” and asked how they, liked
his sun tan.
After that, he let the joint chiefs
of staff do most of the talking, and
here is a brief, chronological ac
count of what happened at the
meeting which caused so much
world-wide speculation:
The President sat baefc, listened
intently and called for everyone's
(Continued on Page 4)
mail of the Year
Marguerite Iliggir(above), his bt'en named “IVcman of the Year”
hy American newspaperwomen. Vacationing at the heme of her
parents in Oakland, Calif,, she »s shown with the famous photo
rraph taken at the Korean war front. Her coverage of the Korean
war brought her both national headlines and a Pulitzer prize. UP)
Wircphoto.
I
Hujp'if to
Ferret Oul
Wrongdoers
.
NEW YORK, Dec. 17—UPI—-Fed
eral Judge Thomas F, Murphy, an j
old hand at investigations, has ac- j
cepted an assignment from Presi- j
dent Truman to sweep wrongdoers j
out of government.
The jurist, who prosecuted the j
government's perjury case against |
Alger Hiss, will direct a non-part- |
isan commi.'. ior. designed to take
action against public officials who
bcirav their trusts.
Protections for honest office hold
ers also will be set up by the com- <
mission.
Murphy, a Democrat, will be given
a free hand to direct the job as
he sees fit. He will be responsible
only to the chief executive.
No formal announcement of the
judge's selection has been made
by the White House in Washing
ton. However, it was learned here
last night that. Murphy will take
j the job.
The source of the information on
I Murphy’s acceptance could not be
I disclosed.
I
In Washington, report; persisted
that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoo
ver would play a key role, along
with Murphy,
Mr. Truman conferred with Hoo
ver and with Attorney General Mc
Grath soon after returning from hjs
Key West, Fla., “work vacation,”
last week.
Mr. Truman told reporters later
[ that Hoover would continue in his
present job as "this country's chief
law enforcement officer,” thus
strengthening expectations that the
FBI itself, in collaboration with
other agencies, would have a great I
deal to do with whatever investi
gation is conducted.
' President Truman and Murphy
met twice in Washington Saturday,
apparently to discuss the new job.
Stock Quotations
NEW YORK, Dec. 17—iffi—Clos
ing quotation of Alaska Juneau
mine stock today is 3, American
Can 109 i, American Tel. and Tel.
156'«, Anaconda 51. Douglas' Air
craft 5D'j, General Ejectric 57%,
General Motors 50 a, Goodyear 43%,
Kennecott 86%, Libby McNeill and
Libby 8%, Northern Pacific 66%,
Standard Oil of California 50, Twen
tieth Century Fox 19%, U.S. Steel
39%, Pound $2.80%, Canadian Ex
change 97.93 a.
Sales today were 1,220,000 shares.
Averages today were as follows:
industrials 265.79, rail§ 82.08, util
ities 46.87.
tort fe Says
o' to Demos,
'Yes' lo GOPs
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17—UP)—'U.
S. News and WTorld Report said to
day Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
has said a final “no” to offers of
the Democratic nomination for Pre
sident, and "yes” to Republicans
who want to put his nanie before
the GOP nominating convention.
The magazine added it cannot
establish that President Truman
had any part, direct or indirect, in
the purported Democratic proposals.
But it said Eisenhower himself had
no doubt his callers “could deliver
the nomination.”
The article quotes no individual
sources by name but says the facts
have been established through a
canvass of various persons who have
had first-hand knowledge on the
subject both before and since the
General’s visit to the United States
last month.
Information on the turn-down of
“the administration’s proffer” of th*
Democratic nomination, the article
says, came from two separate and
unrelated sources.
It says they are different from the
source Arthur Krock, Washington
correspondent of the New York
Times, credited in his story of Nov
ember 8 to the effect that Eisen
hower did not accept an offer by
President Truman of the Democrat
ic nomination. Krock’s story said
the exchange '-“presumably” took
place at the private luncheon shar
ed by Mr. Truman and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization com
mander here.
The W’hite House and Eisenhow
er’s headquarters denied the Krock
story.
U. S. News and World Report
says it has “come to the conclusion,
from information obtainable in
Washington and New York” that
Associate Justice William O. Doug
las of the Supreme Court was
Krock’s source.
FROM SITKA
M. C. Humphrey of Sitka is here
for a CIO meeting. He is stopping
at the Gastineau Hotel.
TIDE TABLES
• DECEMBER 18
•
• High tide 5:09 a.m., 14.4 ft.
• Low tide 10:5^a.m., 5.6 ft.
• High tide 4:35 p.m., 14.9 ft.
• Low tide 11:18 p.m., 1.3 ft.
fax Probe
Centers in
New York
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 — M —
The government has 63 special
agents investigating reports of big
tax “shakedowns” and other irreg
ularities in New York state. The
inquiry centers in New York City
where wealthy individuals and cor
poratipns pay billions to the fed
eral treasury every year.
John R. Dunlap, commissioner
ef Internal Revenue, told a news
conference today of the inquiry.
He would not give any details as
to the charges and reports which
led to it.
At the White House, there was
no indication when President Tru
man would announce the “drastic
action” which he hinted last Thurs
day he was about ready to make
against wrong-doers in govern
ment.
“I haven’t anything to tell you
about that,” Joseph Short, the
presidential press secretary, told re
porters.
Short would r.ot even confirm
what reporters had learned else
where that U.S. Judge Thomas F.
Murphy of New York has accepted
Mr. Truman’s assignment of di
recting a clean up commission.
Murphy, a Democrat, is nn old hai^d
at investigations.
There were reports, not con
firmed, that John A. Carroll of
Denver, a former Democratic
Congress member and once a
crime-busting District attorney,
might be given a role in the In
r ‘-y, an f. Edgar Hoevpr
head of the FBI, would have a
key one.
One government official — Jess
Larson, head of the General Serv
ices Administration — put out word
he had got rid of his “modest oil
activities.”
A spokesman said Larson did so
because of Mr. Truman’s declara
tion that government officials
should not have outside activities
which might lead to conflict with
official duties. He also said Larson
had had a private telephone re
moved from his office.
Loyalty
Checking
Reopened
*
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 — Cffl —
The loyalty review board today re
j opened the cases of 565 federal em
ployees for a recheck under the new
rule that a ‘reasonable doubt" of
1 loyalty is sufficient to bar employ
ment.
That is the rule under which John
S. Service, veteran diplomaf' who
had been cleared repeatedly under
former procedures, was fired by the
State Department last week after
an adverse finding by the review
board.
Until President Truman revised
the rules last spring a showing of
actual disloyalty was required for
discharge.
In Service's own case the review
board emphasized that there was
no finding of disloyalty — only
“reasonable doubt.” On that ground
it reversed findings of the State
i Department’s own loyalty and se
i curity board.
Announcement of the reopening
J of the 565 cases was made by the
! review board after it had taken a
I new look at 8,889 cases. It said those
v'ere “all that could possibly have
| been affected by the new loyalty
! standard that went into effect last
i May 1 by order of President Tru
j man.”
SHOPPING DAYS'
TO CHRISTMAS
5
Sudden
Strike
OnPAA
NEW YORK. Dec. 17—I*— Pan
American World Airways reported
today its operations were 91 percent
normal despite a sudden strike of
CIO ground and flight service em
ployees over wage demands.
rTlie airways said its Latin Amer- ;
inn flights operating from Miami
a$<l its Pacific services were unaf- !
flirted by the walkout during the i
Weekend.
Pilots are not involved in the
(trike. Supervisory personnel have
taken over the struck ground and
Steward posts.
Ilhe company said early today It
hjid operated 80 flights on world
wide routes since the strike began
S&turday midnight.
/Since G p.m. (EST) yesterday, six
Pan-American flights left on sched
ule from Idlewild and LaGuardia
fhhlds in New York, five were de
lftyad and two cancelled, the com
pany said. It announced cancella
tion of three flights today, one each j
to Buenos Aires, Nice and Ber-1
muda .
Officials of the CIO Transport
Workers Union (TWO originally
set the strike for 12:01 a.m. (EST)
today, hut the walkout started
suddenly at that hour yesterday.
A union spokesman called the
strike “illegal.”
New Yj.k’s Idlewild and La
Gdarriiu airports were hit firtt.
Schedules at Idlewild were the
most disrupted.
But the strike also affected Pan
.* c*ericnn’s terminals at Miami, San
Francisco, Seattle, Brownsville, Tex.,
and Honolulu.
Reports from London said a
small number of Americans em
ployed there by Pan American join
ed in the strike, but that trans
Atlantic flights were continuing
without interruption.
A company spokesman there said
88 percent of Pan American’s
ground staff outside of America
consisted of nationals of countries
m which the company operates.
Pickets marched outside Pan Am- |
erican installations at Idlewild.
Union Demands
They said the union was demand-1
ing a $40 a month increase for |
flight stewards and pursers, an
18-eent-an-hour increase for port^
.stewards and mechanics and a re
duction in work hours f:r flight
service personnel. Present rates
and hours were not available.
In the initial stages of the strike,
seme 750 passengers were delayed j
up to 22 hours in New York.
The New York airports appeared :
hardest hit by the strike.
PLANES FLY NORTH
SEATTLE, Dac. 17—Of)—Pan Am- |
erican World Airways reported all
three of its scheduled flights to
Alaska were made from here today
despite the Transport Workers’ Un
ion (CIO) strike.
They were at 12:15 a.m., 7 a.m.
and mid-morning. There were a
few pickets at Boeing Field. Super
visory employees filled out the gaps
in the ground and flight crews.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT
Jerome D. Fenton, assistant vice
president industrial relations for
Pan American World Airways,
today issued the following statement
on the .illegal surprise strike called
by the leadership of the Transport
W'orkers union, (CIO) notwith- j
standing the offer of an additional;
ten cents an hour over and above
....
(Continued on Page Two)
WEATHER REPORT •
(U. k. WEATHER BUREAU) •
Temperatures (or 24-Hour rcrlod •
Ending at 4:30 A M Today •
At Airport: Maximum, 20; •
Minimum, 5. •
•
FORECAST •
(Juneau and Vicinity) •
Continued fair and cold with •
strong gusty northeasterly •
winds tonight and Tuesday. •
Lowest temperature tonight •
near 15 in town and as low as •
zero in outlying areas. High •
Tuesday around 20. •
•
PRECIPITATION •
IF:.it 21 hours endin:: 7:30 a m today • j
At Airport — Trace; •
since July 1—19.91 inches. • (
Rose Tourney Queen
"T
Nancy True Thorne, 17-year-old hlue-eycd blonde, will lie quern of
the 1932 Tournament of Roses at I’asadena, Calif. As such she’ll
preside over the New Year's Kay activities to he ellmaVed by the
Rose ilowl game between Illinois and Stanford. '/D Wirephoto.
J. J. Connors, 75,
Pioneer Alaskan,
Dies in Seattle
Word was received in Juneau this
morning that J. J. Connors, 75, well
known in Juneau and throughout
Alaska, died Sunday morning at
Sunset Manor in Seattle.
Mr. Connors had been hospital
ized since suffering a stroke March
21, 1950. He was at St. Ann’s hos
pital in Juneau until the first part
of November when he was taken
to Seattle for treatment.
For many years the Democratic
party chairman in Alaska, Mr. Con
nors was also Collector of Customs
for many years and the founder of
the Connors Motor Co. He was a
member of the Elks Club for 30
years and was a trustee of that
organization for many year.;. He
was a former mnyor and council
man.
Mr. Connors was born in Halifax,^
Nova Scotia, April 27, 1876. He
was employed as a telephone com
pany lineman in Massachusetts be
fore he came to Alaska as a young
man shortly after the gold rush. He
engaged in mining activities and
ran a hotel in Council, near Nome.
He came to Juneau about 1915
and operated the Connors Motor
Co. until his appointment as Col
lector of Customs for Alaska by
President Roosevelt July 12, 1933.
He held this position until formally
resigning June 30, 1951, while con
fined to the hospital.
After his appointment to Collec
tor of Customs, his son, J. J. Con
nors, Jr., took over the operation
of the automobile company. The
company is still a well-known Ju
neau firm.
The time of Mr. Connors death
was at 9:50 a.m., yesterday. His
wife and other family members
were in Seattle at the time of his
death.
He ic survived by his wife Kath
erine; their son James J., Jr.; his
stepson, Capt. Leo J. Collins, of the
Alaska Fish and Wildlife Service
in Seattle; his stepdaughter Mr.-.
Minard Mill; grandchildren. Mi
Kenneth Kihlman, of Seattle, and
Joe and Patsy Connors, children
of James J., Jr,; and two grand
children, Larry and Denny, children
of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Kihlman.
Mr. and Mrs. Minard Mill went
to Seattle shortly before the death
of Mr. Connors.
Rosary will be said at 8 p.m., to
morrow in the Green Lake Funeral
Home in Seatle. Requiem mass will
be at 9 a.m., Wednesday in St. Ben
edict's church. Burial will be at
Calvary cemetery, Seattle.
MRS. DAVIS GOING
ON TRIP TO DETROIT
Carol Beery Davis is leaving next
Sunday on a three-weeks trip to the
States. She plans to go to Detroit
where she will visit her daughter,
Mrs. Connie Itavinet.
E. W. Bargen of Ketchikan is
registered at the Baranof Hotel.
Two Emergency
Landings Made
Safely by Planes...
By Ass Jdlated Press
Two planes carrying a total of 76
passengers made safe landings with
out Injury to any one In widely
separated mishaps within hours of
yesterday’s 1UN1 plane disaster at
Elizabeth, N. J.
At Amarillo, Tex., a TWA Con
. tcllatton loaded with 56 passengers
made an emergency landing last
night but narrowly avoided collid
ing with a speeding train. The
plane's nose stopped only 50 feet
from a railroad track, and about
two minutes later a freight train
passed. The pilot said he landed
jecause the instruments showed a
possibility of fire. No fire was found
after the plane landed.
At Miami (Fla> International’Air
port, a DC-4 skidded to a landing
with its 20 passengers safe yester
day. The plane had cricled the
airport for an hour with nose wheel
stuck. The plane, which was from
New York, is owned by Colonial
Airlines and was chartered by East
ern Air Lines.
'No Progress'
Now on Korea
Truce Talks
MUNSAN, Korea, Dec. 17——
Truce negotiators haggled over
i prisoner exchange and armistice
j supervision again today. A United
! Nations spokesman said results were
j “absolutely negative."
I “No progress,” said the U.N. com
1 munique.
i Only 10 days remain before the
i provisional cease-fire line across
Korea expires.
■trig. Gen. William I*. Nuekols,
U.N. spokesman, said the Reds
have not asked for an extension
beyond the Dec. 27 deadline.
Neither have the Allies.
“There is no question of extension
f any time limit or anything,”
Nuekols said. ‘‘This was a 30-day
trial offer, you might say.”
Nuekols said the time limit was
proposed by the United Nations
Command to hasten agreement on
a truce, but “if the progress made
this far is an indication of the
effectlvene-s of the incentive, then
I don’t think the incentive provided
very much incentive.”
Under terms of the agreement
a provisional 145-mile eeasc-flre
line across Korea Would become
the center of a 2'i mile wide
buffer zone if an armistice were
signed by Dec. 27. "if no agree
ment is reached before the dead
line, the negotiations and the
(.Continued on I’agc 5)
Crippled Ship
Barely Misses
Midlown Crash
Second Worst Airline
Disaster in History
ot Commercial Flying
ELIZABETH, N.J.. Dec. 17—(.'PI—A
flaming Florida-bound airliner — its
pilot battling it to the end — missed
a midtown crash by yards yester
day, then smashed Into a river
bank fringed with buildings, All
56 persons aboard perished.
It was the nation's second worst
commercial airline disaster, top
ped In horror only by the death
of art persons June 14, 1950, In the
Lake Michigan crash of a New
York to Minneapolis plane.
The 56th and last broken, charred
body was dragged from the nose of
the smashed plane this morning.
Police believed it was the body of
either the pilot or one of the co
pilots. Rescue workers halted op
erations after midnight and resumed
when daylight came.
But onlookers called it a miracle
that hundreds didn't die as the two
engined plane rattled windows and
shook the very earth in its death
plunge. Terrified, screaming child
ren fled its path.
Clips Home
It crashed in the only fairly open
space for a mile around. Even then
it clipped a vacant home and
smashed an unused water pumping
station, slightly injuring one man.
“I kind of think he hit the spot
Intentionally to save us,” a resi
dent said of the pilot, Albert C.
Lyons of Miaini.
Aucl another spectator of the
grim drama as Lyons fought the
burning, sinking plane, parking
lot operator J. P. Ward, added:
“The pilot ought to have a
place in heaven for trying to
save It.”
The nonscheduled C-46 plane
took off from nearby Newark air
port at 3:02 p.m. (EST). It crashed
seven minutes later. It was headed
for Tampa and Miami, with 48
adult passengers, four children, a
three-man crew and a stewardess.
Just Taken Off
It was a scant three miles from
the airport when it came down in
this city of more than 100,000 popu
lation. Elizabeth is about 10 miles
from New York City.
It was the first crash in 22 months
of a non-scheduled airliner — one
that takes off on an irregular sched
ule, usually when it has a full load.
The plane was operated by Miami
Airline, Inc. The line has been in
operation since March, 1946, and
its five planes have flown more than
100,000,000 passenger miles.
The ill-fated plane seemed to
be in trouble even before It cleared
the ground in its takeoff. Its
right engine was smoking badly
and emergency crews had sprung
to an alert.
State and federal officials began
an immediate probe into the tra
gedy, goaded by the white-hot
anger of townspeople who long have
complained of the shuddering, ter
rifying thunder of plane takeoffs.
Only a few weeks ago, residents
of Elizabeth threatened to block
Newark airport runways with their
bodies to end takeoffs over their
homes. As a result, the Port of New
York Authority — which operates
Newark airport — undertook to
build a new runway pointing to the
sea instead of Newark and Eliza
beth.
Hundreds Endangered
Said State Sen. Kenneth C. Hand,
who cn|led the protest meeting and
was on the scene of yesterday’s
crash:
*'It was only a miracle that hun
dreds of people weren't killed. Ap
parently the plane missed apart
ment houses by a small fraction.
‘ Maybe this will make the Civil
I Aeronautics Authority realize that
you can't have airports so close to
heavily congested cities.”
Besides Lyons, the plane carried
two co-pilots, J. R. Mason and Ed
ward Lily, both of Miami. The
stewardess, Doris Helms, also was
from Miami. Lyons, who learned to
fly when he was 16, was an instruc
tor at Riddle Airfield near Clewiston,
Fla., during the Second World War.
Most of the passengers were from
New Jersey and New York. A few
were from New England, as far
north as Maine. Some were return
ing to their homes in Florida.
AT HOTEL JUNEAU
Mr. and Mrs. E. R. Ebona of
Sitka arc at the Hotel Juneau.