[S?EL] THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE !■”'
“ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME" _
» -■ - — —-- —
VOL. LXXV., NO. 11,579
JUNEAU, ALASKA, SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 1950
MKMP.KK ASSOCIATED TRESS
PK1CE TEN CENTS
. .1
Vital Air Strip on Korean Front in UN Hands
ANCHORAGE
PLUMBERS
MAKE KICK
- I
Masters Incensed at Exclu
sion Big Meet-Protests
Are Dispatched
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Aug. 12
Anchorage Master Plumbers, in- |
censed at being excluded from a
Seattle meeting called to deal with
the 18-day-old Anchorage plumbers'
strike, protested last night to Pres
ident Truman.
Telegrams were sent to Mr. Tru
man, Defense Secretary Johnson,
Alaska Delegate E. L. Bartlett and
Cyrus Ching, director of the Fed- |
eral Conciliation Service.
Johnson said this week with tlie
President's concurrence that the
strike is endangering national sec- j
urity.
Ching yesterday scheduled an i
Aug. 15 meeting in Seattle. Invited
were representatives of the AFL!
Plumbers Union, Local 367, and of |
eight contractor^ working on Al- j
aska defense projects. They will |
huddle with a panel of three con- i
ciliators.
Plumbers in the Anchorage local I
have been on strike since July 26.
seeking a wage increase of 50 cents
an hour. Present rates are $3 an
hour within the city and $2.50 an
hour with room and board outside
Anchorage.
Master Plumbers, representing
the plumbing shop owners, ticked
off a handful of objections in their
telegrams. They said:
1. The Seattle meeting may set
wage scales for plumbers that will
have to be paid by residents of the
Territory "from now on” and can
very well "sound the death knell
for all private building and indus
try in Alaska.”
2. If the plumbers gain a wage
increase, the way is open for every
other building trade to get the
same raise. <A spokesman added
that "there just isn’t any end to !
this vicious circle; it has got to ;
stop somewhere.")
3. As representative Alaskans, .
Washington bureaucrats trying to!
run our affairs by remote control j
from offices outside the Territory.” j
4. They insist that Ching invite j
them to participate in the Seattle
meeting, but “propose to have their
representative present in any
event.”
In an earlier message to the con
ciliation service director they de
manded that the session be trans
ferred to Anchorage.
Ching yesterday appealed to the ,
"good citizenship;’ of labor arid j
management to settle the wage dis- j
pute and not embarrass their |
country.
The Washington
Merry-Go-Round
By TOM McNAMARA and
JACK ANDERSON
■Copyright, im. m Mil Syndictte, lne.1
(Ed. Note—While Drew Pear
son is on a brief vacation, his
column will be written by mem
bers of his staff).
"Washington _ story behind
the President’s announcement that
he is considering sending a diplo
matic minister to the Vatican is
that it took him three weeks to
make up his mind. Oddly enough,
if he goes through with the plan,
it- will be against the advice of
(Catholic leaders close to him.
One top Congressional leader, a
devout Catholic, strongly urged
that if the President wanted to
re-establish relations with Rome it
would be better to do so informally,
by naming a successor to Myron
Taylor, former White Huse repre
sentative at the Vatican.
This wouldn’t require Senate con
firmation, since Taylor was a per
sonal representative of the Pres
ident.
“If you ask for the re-establis!i
ment of permanent diplomatic re
lations with Rome, you may touch
off a religious debate in the Sen
ate that would do more harm than
good,” Truman was warned. “This
is a time when all faiths should
be working together for the war
effort, instead of displaying dis
unity.”
The President replied that he
(Continued on Page Four)
Where Reds Threaten Pohang
Dark arrows on east coast show Red thrusts southward against South
Korean defenders (open arrows'! in threat to Pohang. North Koreans
were past Kirye with an advance patrol astride Yongchon-Pohang
supply route east of Angang. Blackened is area retaken by 1). S.
forces in Ohinju section, t). S. patrols arc two miles from the city.
Along Naktong River U. S. and South Korean troops contained or
isolated bridgeheads northwest and southwest of Taegu. (PI Wire
photo Map.
CITATIONS
MADE FOR
CONTEMPTS
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12—W—The
House today dispatched to two U.S.
District Attorneys for possible pros
ecution contempt of Congress cita
tions against 56 witnesses who ue- !
fied the un-Amc/roan Activities
Committee.
Prosecutors here and in Honolulu
will decide whether the cases shall
be placed before grand juries.
Capito* Hill veterans said they
coulff recall no previous occasion on
Wi..cn either branch of Congress
voted so many citations in so short
a period.
In a matter of about an hour the
House yesterday adopted 54 con
tempt recommendations of the un
American Activities Committee.
Two citations had been voted t"*e
previous day.
Thirty-nine of the citations were
referred to the U. S. District At
torney in Honolulu. Those • cited
were witnesses who appeared Ijefore
the committee when it went to
Hawaii last April to investigate
Communism.
The other 17 go to the district
attorney here. These witnesses
testified in Washington.
• •••••••••a
a a
a WEATHER REPORT a
a a
a In Juneau—Maximum, 77; •
a minimum, 52. a
a At Airport—Maximum, 77; •
a minimum, 53. •
a •
a FORECAST •
a (Juneau and Vicinity) a
a Continued fair tonight and a
a Sunday, except for some a
a early morning cloudiness. •
a Low tonight about 50, high •
a Sunday near 72. •
• •
a PRECIPITATION a
a (Past 24 hours ending 7:30 a m. today a
a City of Juneau — Trace; a
a since August 1—1.14 inches; a
a since July 1—11.07 inches. •
a At Airport — Trace; •
a since August 1—0.82 inches; •
a since July 1—7.86 inches. •
aaaaaaaaaaa
The Oberammergau passion plan
has been' presented with only a
few lapses since 1634.
LONE STAND OF
24TH DIVISION
IN KOREA TOLD
CHICAGO. Aug. 12 — (A’l — The
“agonizing story” of the 24th Divi
sion’s lone stand in the first 19 days
of the Korean war was told today
by the Chicago Tribune.
In a dispatch from Eighth Army
headquarters in Korea, Walter Sim
mons, Tribune correspondent, said
growing American strength in Ko
l rea made possible the lifting of
j voluntary censorship on the story of
the division.
The Division was commanded by
Maj. Gen. William Dean of Carlyle,
111., Who is missing in action.
Simmons said the 24th landed in
Korea with only 12,500 of the 18,000
officers and men normally in an
Infantry Division. He said its battle
losses were nearly 30 percent—94
men killed in action, 901 recovered
wounded, and 2;562 missing.
He said the Division lost 80 of its
two and a half ton trucks, one
third of its jeeps, one-fourth of its
three-fourth ton trucks, and large
quantities of weapons and supplies.
The Division was ordered to leave
Japan June 30. Simmons said:
“Three days later it had advanced
leading elements 200 miles withiri
Korea and made the first major
contact with the enemy. This is be
lieved to be the fastest such move
in American military history.”
RUSSIA PROMISES
REPLY TO U. S. ON
LEND-LEASE ACCT.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 — OP) —
Russia has promised to reply to a
new demand from the United States
for settlement of Moscow’s long
overdue lend-lease account.
Andrei Gromyko, Soviet Deputy
Foreign Minister, gave the pledge
in Moscow this week to American
Ambassador Alan Kirk.
Officials here gave no indication
as to when the Russian reply may
be expected. It was generally anti
cipated that Soviet officials would
be slow to make any acceptable offer
for clearing the books of the nearly
$11,000,000,000 American claim.
However, there was some hope
that the reply will provide definite
information of the whereabouts of
100 small naval craft whose return
the United States has been demand
ing for the past three years.
BEARDED, BURNED,
LOWELL THOMAS IS
BACK FROM ICE CAP
Prevented by soft snow condi
I tions from taking off yesterday,
| and running close to the end of
! the jato supply after unsuccessful
tries, the ski-equipped 047 of the
10th Air Rescue Squadron lifted
from the Juneau Ice Cap early
this morning for the return to
Juneau.
At dawn, a B-17 had flown over
I the glacier icefield, dropping j/to
bottles which were easily spotted
i by their vivid red and blue para
chutes.
Scarcely identifiable as the pas
sengers who went to the Ice Cap
last Saturday famed Lowell Thomas
came back on the ski-plane. He is
bearded, and his lips are so burned
and swollen from the sun's power
in that world of white that he
says there can be no broadcasting
for a while.
Thomas and his cameraman, John
Roberts, have spent the week at
| several of the 16 Ice Cap bases of
the Juneau Icefield Research Pro
] ject < JIRP t, primarily sponsored by
1 the American Geographical Society.
Both have gathered a wealth of
material, and are greatly impressed
with the high calibre of the scien
tific- group, and of the importance
of their work.
Fortunately, the JIRP personnel
includes a doctor this year (for the
first time i—fortunate^, because
there have been several accidents.
These, said Thomas, are of the
kind that might be considered in
cidental elsewhere, but could well
prove serious in such isolation,
without treatment,
j Anders K. Anderson, diamond
drill expert, who is drilling into the
glacier to obtain an ice core, is
hobbling around on one leg. The
injured leg was caught by a large
whirling wrench.
"No complaints from Andy,
though,” Thomas reports. ' He con
tinues to be the champion yarn
spinner of an evening. My, that
man has drilled all over the world."
There was a near-accident when
two men fell into a crevasse—how
ever, they were extricated, unin
jured, and continued their work.
Lowell Thomas, noted global ex
I plorer and commentator, says his
j immediate plans are uncertain,
I even as to whether his next travels
i will be farther into Alaska or to
ward New York. He and Roberts
are again at the Baranof Hotel
Fred Milan of the JIRP party
also returned today.
Maj. Robert Ackerly captained the
crew which made the glacier land
ing and take-off this week.
Lt. Victor W. Rudd, Jr., who had
flown the twin-engine ship to the
Ice Cap a week ago, arrived yes
terday on the B-17 which made the
early-morning drops today.
PILOT IS KILLED IN
CRASH; ANOTHER IS
SERIOUSLY BURNED
VICTORVILLE, Calif., Aug. 12—
(£1—One Air Force reserve pilot was
killed and another was seriously
burned when their B-26 light
bomber crashed and exploded yes
terday returning from a routine
| training mission.
Dead is 2nd Lt. John T. Vesser.
| of North Hollywood. The pilot,
j Capt. Robert D. Clark, 30, Santa
j Monica, is in March Air Force Base
I Hospital.
NO BUSSES, NO
STREET CARS
IN ST. LOUIS
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 12—Itf)—Resi
! dents of St. Louis, the nation’s
, eighth largest city, had no bus or
j streetcar service today.
The state-seized public, transit
I system was forced to discontinue
! operation last night because of a
j wildcat strike by union operators
'seeking higher wages.
Ironically, the strike was started
despite use of a state law passed
three years ago to prevent disrup
tion of public utility services.
It also was staged in defiance
of Gov. Forrest Smith and leaders
of the union, an AFL Street and
Railway Motor Coach Union, rep
resenting some 3,100 workers.
The tieup paralyzed the city.
DEATH COMES TO
HARRY SPERLING,
A CIVIC LEADER
Harry Sperling, Forest Service ad
ministrative officer and active com
munity leader, died at 7:40 last
levelling in St. Ann's Hospital after
two months’ illness. He was 55.
j Mr. Sperling was born in Grodno,
i Russia, and came to the United
i States with his parents at an early
| age. He attended high school and
j business college in Minneapolis,
| Minn. During World War I he
| served 18 months with the American
Expeditionary Force in France.
He joined the Forest Service as
forest clerk in 1921, and came to
Alaska the same year.
"The Forest Service has lost an
S extremely valuable officer and the
j city and Territory an unusually
! public-spirited citizen,” B. Frank
| Heintzleman, regional forester, said
j :oday.
I "I know of no one who through
j out the years has given of his time
i and abilities more devotedly than
j Harry Sperling,” he said.
Mr. Sperling was a member of the
! Juneau Elks Lodge, past Exalted
1 Ruler of the Juneau lodge, and past
j district deputy of the organization
for Alaska.
‘‘In his younger days, he was
1 quite an amateur athlete and actor,
'and participated in many benefits
; for worthy community projects such
j as boxing and wrestling bouts, bas
1 ketball and baseball games, and
■ musical shows," Heintzleman said.
As a leader in the Juneau Lions
I Club, Mr. Sperling was active in
! promoting the Gold Medal Basket
I ball Tournaments, one of Southeast
! Alaska’s outstanding sporting
i events.
He was also active in the affairs
1 of the Juneau Chamber of Com
| merce and the National Federation
i of Federal Employees. Many of the
: Chamber of Commerce’s publications
I bear witness to his proficiency as
1 a writer.
i At the time he was stricken, he
! was not only President of the Ju
| neau Parent-Teacher Association
| but also actively engaged in cancer
I control work in the Territory, as
j well as aiding in the drive for
j Memorial Library funds as a mem
I ber of the many organizations with
j which he worked.
! Funeral arrangements are pending
I word from his eldest son, Harry,
j jr., co-owner of the halibut vessel
j Sitka now in southern waters fish
; ing tuna.
Mr. Sperling is survived by one
i daughter, Mrs. E. W. (Mary) Ely;
three sons. Harry, David, a U. S.
Naval Academy cadet, ahd William;
'and a sister, Mrs. Agnes Gordon,
who resides in Juneau.
SENATE WILL
PASS CONTROL
BILL IS BELIEF
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 — Wl —
Senate administration leaders said
| today support by Republican Sen
ator Ives virtually clinches passage
of a bill giving President Truman
authority to invoke wage-price con
! trols and rationing, when he sees
! fit.
Administration leaders said they
! believe Ives already has spiked a
! move by some- of his Republican
1 colleagues to whittle down the
! broad powers the bill would confer
[on Mr. Truman.
| The House on Thursday passed a
j similar measure by a whopping
majority—383 to 12.
j STEAMER MOVEMENTS
_
Princess Nor an from Vancouver
| due at 3:30 this afternoon and sails
| for Skagway at 11:30 tonight.
Aleutian from Seattle due Tues
day.
Chilcotin from Vancouver due to
arrive Sunday evening.
Freighter Ring Splice due to ar
' rive at 1 a.m. Monday.
Princess Louise scheduled to sail
; from Vancouver tonight.
Alaska from west is scheduled
southbound at 6:30'o'clock tonight.
Baranof from west scheduled
southbound at 4 p.m. Sunday.
DOUGLAS 4-H MEETING
Members of Douglas 4-H will
! meet Monday afternoon at 1 o’clock
at the residence of Mrs. Rex Her
mann. The members will make
muffins.
Heat Winner?
Gerald Taylor, Alaskan Soap Box Derby Champion, feels right at
home as he rests on a cake of ice after his arrival in Akron for the
All-American Soap Box Derby Sunday. Taylor was the first out-of
town champion to arrive for the big race.
The above was air mailed to The Empire and received last night.
I The cut appeared in the regular issue of the Akron Beacon Journal.
A dispatch to The Empire from Milt Daniel, who accompanied
Taylor to Akron, was received late yesterday. The dispatch stated
Taylor had a successful trial run Friday and his car is in tip-top
shape. Taylor will race in heal 45 Sunday against Howard Sweitzer,
of Hagertown, Maryland, and Richard Long of White Plains, N. Y.
Daniel stated the weather was very mild.
Ball of Fire in
NW Sky Cause
Wild Furore
SEATTLE, Aug. 12—Ufl—A fiery
object that spill into three bill- j
liant segments, then vanished, I
whipped across the sky last night,
creating consternation in many
parts of the northwest.
But experts said it probably Was j
a fireball—the popular name for j
a large meteor which is character- ;
.zed by the intensity of the light
i it displays and its size.
I
Untrained observers came up :
with theories ranging from Hying
saucers to secret weapons or men
from Mars.
Telephone calls flooded news
paper switchboards at Portland,
Seattle and Tacoma. The Van
couver, Wash., police station was
swamped with inquiries. A num
ber of Salem, Ore., residents re
ported sighting the bright greenish
object, as did a few sky-watchers
in Yakima and other central War h
ington citeis.
By plotting the reports, it ap
peared the strange object passed
overhead between Seattle and Port
land about 8:30 p.m. <PDT), head
ing west.
A prominent Seattle astronomer,
Mrs. Bror Grondal, pegged the
"whatzit" as a fireball, which she
said is a “lone traveler In space”
that often explodes with a great
light.
15 Lives Lost in
Floods at Luzon
MANILA, Aug. 12—UP)—At least
15 people drowned in floods that
have swept central Luzon Island
for ten days, the Red Cross re
ported today.
HUMPYRUN
EXPECTED,
KETCHIKAN
—
Roundup of Various Areas
Given-Season Opens
Next Tuesday
PETERSBURG, Alaska, Aug. 12—
(if)—Pre-season indications show that
the Ketchikan area will be nearest
; the big humpback salmon run when
the season opens Tuesday in South
east Alaska for purse seiners.
The enly large run of salmon to
date has been west of Prince of
Wales Island.
Since early Juiy, thousands of
i silver salmon have been caught by
trollers near Coronation Island, and
now fishermen are landing many
humpies. Farther north, at Point
Baker, king salmon are being
caught with trolling gear and in
Clarence Straits, several large
j schools of humpies have been
sighted.
At Petersburg, no favorable signs
have been reported. However, purse
seiners here are busy scouting the
waters with seaplanes and small
boats in an effort to locate the
humpies by the season’s opening.
Last year Petersburg packed
213,191 cases of salmon during the
25-day season, the largest pack
since 1941.
“WALLY” READ LEAVES
William W. “Wally" Read left
by Pan American Airways today for
Seattle where he is assistant field
director of the Veterans’ Claims
Service of the Red Cross. He has
been handling 500 claims in Alaska.
This is his last monthly trip as he
expects to be transferred to an
other Pacific Coast station. It is
not known at this time who his
successor will be.
«
SITUATION
IS BETTER,
IS REPORT
Reds Massing Reinforce
ments at Naktong River
-B29s Blast Port
By RUSSELL BRINES
TOKYO. Sunday, Aug. 13——
North Korean Reds poured heavy
reinforcements across the Naktong
river Saturday on the central front
of the Korean battle line.
A communique from General
MacArthur’s headquarters early to
day said a North Korean prisoner
of war reported three regiments of
the Red Fourth Division had
streamed across the river in the
Changnyong and Waegwan sectors
! —in the middle of the central front.
The general situation in the Ko
rean front Is reported better.
To meet the mounting Red threat,
j units of the U S. 26th Division
j rolled northward from the southern
I front.
Two Comm'"iiat roadblocks near
j Miryang, 16 miles east of Chang
: nyong, hampered American vehicle
and wire communication, the com
munique said.
Airfield Is Held
The battle for Pohang, eastern
anchor of the AYied line, was quieter
Saturday night. Allied forces still
held the vital airfield six miles
southeast of the port town and
; American planes were using it.
Far to . the, north. B-29’s from
Okinawa and Japan plastered Ma
Jin, North Korean port city only
17 miles from Russian territory.
Striking through clouds they drop
ped 500 tons of bombs by radar.
! Pilots of the Fifth Air Force re
] ported they knocked out six Red
tanks, damaged 12 others, and
wrecked much equipment in 200
sorties Saturday along the battle
front.
Saturday’s strikes covered the
j length of the front, from the Yong
dok area in the northeast to the
i Chinju area of the southwest.
Flaming “No-Man's Land"
Pohang itself appeared to be half
j in Red hands and half a flaming
“no-man’s land.” Correspondent
Leif Erickson reported from Eighth
Army headquarters that American
officers were confident of holding
the airfield and recapturing Po
hang.
Associated Press Photographer
Max Desfor reported from Pohang
that American tanks led a South
Korean patrol into the center of
the city without drawing serious
fire. A few enemy troops quickly
disappeared, Desfor said. He re
ported there was no Communist fire
hitting the airstrip.
On another part of the front,
troopers of the First Cavalry Divi
sion, bayonets flashing, thrust back
an attempted river crossing at
Kaepo.
Reds Cross River
Correspondent Erickson said the
Reds in “battalion strength” crossed
the river in darkness and tried to
set up a foothold beneath close
range supporting artillery fire. Of
this force, 150 were killed and the
other thrown back by late afternoon.
First Cavalry headquarters said
the (forth Koreans crossed at a
wrecked bridge near Tuksong.
A part of the Communist force
Infiltrated lines of the Seventh Re
giment and took up positions behind
the Americans. Then other Red In
fantry launched a frontal attack
and the First Cavalry met it with
bayonets. A force in the rear came
out of hiding simultaneously,
j Other elements of the American
l Division were rushed in to protect
the rear of the Seventh. Both Red
forces were routed and as they ran
back toward the river American ar
tillery zeroed in on the bridge.
NORWAY TO PLACE
SHIP AT DISPOSAL
OF UN IN KOREA
OSLO, Norway, Aug. 12—(jP)—Nor
way announced today she will place
a 10,000-ton ship at the disposal
of the United Nations joint com
mand in Korea. The government
made the decision after surveying
the U. N. need for shipping ton
nage.