UIHKAKY
WASHINGTON, D. O.
r
THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE
“ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME"
VOL. LXXIX., NO. 12,002
JUNEAU, ALASKA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1951
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
PRICE TEN CENTS
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More Deaths
, Reported in
Prison Camps
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By George A. McArthur
MUNSAN, Korea, Dec. 28—(AP)—
The U. N. Command said Friday
at least 450 American soldiers have
died in North Korean prison
camps.
An official communique said that
is 77 per cent of United Nations
troops known to have been impris
oned in rear areas and not accoun
ted for in lasf week’s list of liv
ing prisoners.
Simultaneously the Communists
indicated a complete list of living
U. N. prisoners already is in Al
lied hands.
The 450 soldiers were not among
those listed on the Communist
roster of 11,559 prisoners. They
apparently were among 571 Amer
icans the Reds' said Wednesday
had died of disease or were killed
by Allied air raids or artillery fire.
The U. N. Command said its
announcement was based on a
study of the Reds’ Wednesday re
port.
Died In Camps
“We must presume they died in
prison camps,” said Brig. Gen. Wil
liam P. Nuckols, official U .N.
spokesman. “This is the first time
we have had knowledge of any
deaths in prison camps.”
North Korean Maj. Gen. Lee
Sang Cho hinted Friday at Pan
munjom that the Reds would re
port that many other Americans,
not yet accounted for, had died of
disease or exposure in prison
camps.
Aside from hinting at the fate
of American prisoners whose
names failed to appear on the
Red roster, Communist negotia
tors offered no further accounting
of some 50,000 captured soldiers
the U. N. says have not been
listed
V. N. itc&oiiuiuia iu A alUuUiljOlU
again accused the Reds of insin
cerity and stalling the truce talks.
The Communists, in turn, de
clared that Allied insistence on
banning a Red air buildup during
an armistice runs the “risk of
throwing overboard completely the
whole basis" of negotiations.
Red China's Peiping radio quo
ted a Communist negotiator as
telling U. N. delegates at Pan
munjom: “If you want the ne
gotiations to continue, I must
ask you not to repeat such state
ments.”
Meanwhile the war of words
raged on without letup. There was
no indication that the Korean
battle front was about to explode
into action even though the 30
day cease-fire line agreement had
expired Thursday midnight.
The truce subcommittee discuss
ing prisoner exchange continued
its wrangling over prisoner lists
but reported no progress. The del
egates didn’t even hold an after
noon session. They scheduled an
other meeting for 11 a.m. Satur
day (1 p.m. PST Friday).
TheWashington
Merry-Go-Round
■Copyright, 1951, by Bell Syndicate, Inc.)
’* By DREW PEARSON
(Ed. Note—This is another in
Drew Pearson’s series of columns
on the cause of corruption in
government and its cure.)
rfASHINGTON.—In every ad
ministration, whether Democrat or
Republican, the cue for clean gov
ernment is set right at the top.
Basically the fault lies with the
» President of the United States.
This was true of Warren G. Hard
ing, who, though personally hon
est, spent so much time playing
poker at the little green house on
K Street that the boys below and
around him felt that they could in
dulge their own personal pleasures,
too. Result was one of the worst
eras of government graft.
This is also true, in a different
way, of Harry Truman, who is not
only honest personally, but had a
well-publicized record in the Senattf
for exposing inefficiency and cor
ruption.
Though President Truman also
goes in for occasional poker parties
with stakes so high that speaker
Saga Rayburn goes to bed; and
though the President also has oc
casional conferences with I. W.
Harper; the cue for influence
peddling is set not by him person
ally but by those around him. It is
done in two ways:
I. By the fact that the White
House staff accepts personal favors
(Continued on Page 4)
Traffic Paralyzed
2V*cm‘ \
That Whits Christmas dream turned into a nightmare tor Chicago
motorists as more than eight inches of snow arrived overnight to
bring the December total to 33 inches. Photo above was made on
the North Side and was typical of the entire city as traffic came to
a standstill. I IP) W’irephoto.
Believe U. S.
Radar Sight
Still Secret
i
WIESBADEN, Germany, Dec. 28—
I i,P)—Is America’s super-secret radar
I gunsight for jet fighters in Rus
I sian hands?
! Nobody knows for sure.
I If it is, America has lost ouc of
|i ndga. in aula! combat
i against Russian made jets in Korea,
j Some officers at this big U. S.
! air base in we&t Germany think
| the secret is still safe. The closest
. they come to talking about its prin
I ciples is to say that “it does every
thing but call the pilot for break
| fast.”
: * • - i
i It is assumed the radar sight has
j been used in combat by F-86 Sabre
[ jets in Korea, although no one will
say so officially. Some Sabre jets
have been lost in combat but Air
Force officers hope the Russian’s
haven’t got the sight.
“Each one of those things has a
special detonating device," one high
officer explained. “A pilot whose
plane has been disabled just touches
a button and ‘bang’ no more sight.
Since it is fairly rare for a pilot to
be killed outright, we think no
sights have fallen into Russian
hands.
“If,” he added guardedly, “they are
in use in Korea.”
There has been no chance for the
Russians to get their hands on a
radar gunsight in Europe. No U. S.
Air Force planes are equipped with
them.
Pronounced Dead,
Widow Revives,
Now Brings Suit
I SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 28——
A 60-year-old widow is seeking dam
ages from the hospital where she
revived after having been pronounc
ed dead.
Mrs. Theresa K. Butler filed a
$533.70 claim against the city Thurs
day. She said staff members at
Harbor Emergency Hospital “used
excessive heat without proper tem
pertyre control. . .and burned my
back, right arm and leg and abdo
men to bring me back to conscious
ness.”
She said the $533.70 represented
doctor bills for treatments.
Mrs. Butler was found unconscious
in her apartment Nov. 8, pronounced
dead by a doctor of an overdose of
sleeping pills, and sent to a morgue.
An attendant noticed a faint pulse
and sent her to a hospital. Even
tually she regained her faculties and
departed to complete writing a book.
TIDE TABLES
• December 29 •
• •
• High Tide 2:34 a.m., 16.6 ft.# •
• Low Tide 8:12 a.m., 2.6 ft. *
• High Tide 14:14 p.m., 20.1 ft. •
• Low Tide 20:55 p.m. -3.9 ft. •
Believed Soviet
Atomic Scientist
Fled to U. S.
LONDON, Dec. 28—The Lon
don Daily Express said Friday the
toss of Russian uranium mining in
East Germany—a key man in So
viet atomic works—may have been
taken to Washington after he fled
to the West six weeks ago.
He was identified as Lt. Col.
Fedya Astrachov, whose scientific
achievements once were honored
coveted Std:in prfcc.
The express said American In
telligence agents were reported
questioning a senior officer of the
Russian army shortly after Astra
chov reportedly fled the Reds.
It also linked him with a recent
trip to Germany by four leading
American atomic scientists—Dr. J.
Robert Oppenheimer, director of
the Institute for Advanced Study at
Princeton, N. J.; Dr. Walter F.
Whitman of the U. S. Atomic En
ergy Commission; Dr. Lee A. Du
bridge president of California In
stitute of Technology, and Dr.
Charles G. Lauristen, a rocket ex
pert from CIT.
“It is now believed that the
scientists . . . were called in to
size up the facts given to intelli
gence by Astrachov,” the Express
said, adding:
“An Allied official guessed to
night that Astrachov has reached
Washington.”
In Washington, the Justice De
partment declined comment.
Mother, 3 Kiddies
Perish in Fire
At Pt. Barrow
FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Dec. 28—
—A mother and three children
perished in a fire which destroyed
a house in five minutes during an
85-mile an hour gale at Point Bar
row, Alaska, Thursday.
■ Alaska Communications System
officials said the house was in the
native village and the victims were
Mrs. Ethel Olemaun and three of
her children identified as Thomas,
Lottie and Kathleen Ruth. Their
ages were not learned.
The father, Corp. Nathaniel Ole
maun, ACS station operator in Bar
row native village, and three sons
escaped with shock and burns.
Three Sons Escape With Father
The bodies of all but Kathleen
Ruth, an infant, have been recover
ed from the ruins.
The gale was part of heavy winds
which swept Alaska from Point Bar
row to Fairbanks and the Big Delta
country. Most plane traffic through
out the interior was grounded and
some highways and roads blocked by
snow drifts.
The wind reached 56 miles an
hour in Fairbanks.
FRONT STREET TO
BE CLEARED OF SNOW
City snow removal equipment will
begin clearing Front Street between
Main and Franklin early tomorrow
morning, Ray Hagerup, street fore
man announced today. He reques
ted that all parked cars be moved.
Otherwise the crews will have to
move them or push them around at
the owner’s risk.
Stassen Will
Again Seek
Nomination
By LEE LINDER
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 28— UFl —
Harold E .Stassen, former governor
of Minnesota, Is going to make a
second attempt to win the Republi
can nomination for President of the
United States.
Stassen, now President of the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania, Thursday
night Joined two other seasoned
GOP campaigners in the nomination
fight—U. S. Senator Robert A. Taft
of Ohio and Gov. Earl Warren of
California.
There was immediate specula
tion that Stassen's dcrlaration
would slow down the drive of a
number of Republicans who have
teen campaigning tQ get Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower into the
field. However, backers of the gen
| eral discounted such speculation.
Stassen said some time ago he
| would endorse the general’s nomin
ation—if Taft would do the same.’
j In fact, the Minnesotan recently
! asked Taft publicly to quit the race
and support, with Stassen, the Eis
enhower campaign.
But Thursday night, before ad
dressing millions of Americans on
a nationwide radio and television
simulcast, Stassen disavowed the
offer and said "it is all off now.”
“I am in the race without a com
mitment to any other person,” he
declared.
He did admit, however, in a hastily
called news conference in Washing
ton—where he flew three hours be
fore making his address here—that
he decided to seek the Presidency i
after speaking with Eisenhower in I
Paris earlier this month.
I Attacking the present adminis-1
tration’s foreign and domestic polic- !
ies as "failures" and "disastrous,” j
Stassen said he would offer a “hu- |
manitarian and liberal program" to j
the American people.
Stassen’s Platform
j 1. A new American foreign policy
that Would defeat Communism with- i
i out war, and give freedom to all
j peoples' of the world.
I 2. High moral standard in Wash- ,
j ington "with plain honesty in pub
lie employees.”
; 3. A modern gold standard, with!
| a “solid dollar,” to prevent inf la- I
I lion.
■ 4. "Full employment, excellent i
farm income, conservation of natur- I
al resources and a balanced budget.”
GnmewaM Was
Once in Good
Govt. Position
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28—<A>)—
Henry (The Dutchman) Grunewald
somewhat mysterious Washington
figure whose name cropped up in
House tax scandal hearings, once
worked for the Justice Department
and later for the Republican Na
tional Committee, Attorney General
McGrath said Thursday.
McGrath chided Senator Wiler
(R-Wisc) because he said the Sen
ator had given the impression in
a statement last Monday that
Grunewald once held "tremendous
power” in the office of the alien
property custodian.
It is true, McGrath wrote Wiley,
that Grunewald once was employed
in the Alien Property office, for
merly an independent agency and
now an arm of the Justice Depart
ment.
McGrath said that Grunewald
was carried on the Alien Proper
ty payroll as a special assistant
from Sept. 12, 1942, until Feb. 27,
1943, at a salary of $22.22 a day
when actually working. But he
worked only 10 days on one special
assignment, McGrath said, and had
been paid $222.20.
{Last Services Are
Held at Kodiak for
Former Priest
KODIAK, Alaska, Dec. 28——
Services were held here yesterday
for Father C. R. King, former priest
of the Russsian Orthodox Church.
The 73-year-old patriarch died on
Monday. Children In Seattle and
Kodiak survive him.
Ship Movements
Freighter Square Knot from Seat
tle in port and scheduled to sail
sometime Saturday.
Baranof scheduled to sail from
Seattle today.
Denali from west scheduled south
bound at 4 a an. Sunday.
Firemen Fall
mmmmMm i
Fighting a Soulh hide lire In Icc and snow, three Chicago firemen
were injured when thfe extension ladder on which they were working
broke dropping them 40 feet. Charles Dunnling, an amateur, made
this picture, showing two of the failing firemen (arrows). The fire
rrnu'j CO persons homeless, iff! Wire photo.
Red Jet Is
Shot Out
Of Air
By'SAM SUMMERLIN
SEOUL, Korea, Dec. 28—Out
numbered American Sabre jets shot
a Red jet out of Korean skies Fri
day while Allied infantrymen recap
tured Christmas Hill on the .‘■now
covered batilefront.
The Fifth Air Force said U. S.
Sabres came out unscathed from
their 20 minute dogfight. The bat
tle was between 24 Sabres and more
than 70 MIG-15s. Another high
flying 60 MIGs in the same area did
not get mixed up in the fight.
Down In Flames
One Red jet was sent tumbling
down in flaming pieces by the same
flight of Sabres that killed two and
damaged one Thursday.
The fight for Christmas Hill, scene
nf the fiercest fighting in 31 days ol
twilight war on the Korean front
was the only sizeable ground action
reported.
Hill Change's Hands
The Hill, towering beside Mun
dung Valley not far from Heart
break Ridge, is just an outpost on
the eastern front. But it has changed
bands repeatedly since Christmas
Day.
The U. S. Eighth Army reported
-he rest of the front remained coldly
luiet in the first day after a 30
day agreement on a tentative cease
fire line expired Thursday mid
night.
Off both coasts UN warships con
tinued their blockade of the freez
ing coasts of North Korea.
Jury Award, Labor
Case at Anchorage,
!s Set Aside
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec. 28—
/Pi— An $8,000 jury award to an
Anchorage teamster who was un
iblo to find work after l^ing kicked
Jut of the AFL Teamster’s Union
nas been set aside by Federal
Judge Anthony Dimond.
The judge ruled that the verdict
;ould not stand because the court
rnd jury was without jurisdiction
m the case. He emphasized that
'he award to Ralph Born was dis
missed solely because “of lack Of
jurisdiction of this court."
The judge’s ruling agreed with a
defense attorney’s. contention that
‘it has been proved that a case
exists similar to those in which
the Supreme Court has ruled that
exclusive Jurisdiction belongs to the
National Labor Relations Board.”
Born had charged he was de
prived of his livelihood when
George Cease, an official of the
union, had issued him a with
drawal card and later refused tc
| Steel
Strike
Delayed
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 28—VP)—1The
nation will escape a crippling steel
strike on New Year’s Day—but will
have to face the threat again on
Jan. 3.
The wage-policy committee of the
CIO United Steelworkers voted to
! defer a work stoppage for at least
three days. That gives the specia
USW convention in Atlantic City
the final say on calling a strike.
The convention also will make the
union’s formal answer to President
Truman’s appeal to avert a strike
and submit the steel contract dispute
to the Wage Stabilization Board.
The steel companies already have
agreed to the President’s proposal.
I The action of the wage policy
committee had been widely pre
dicted. Mr. Truman, who says
there must not be a steel strike in
view of the National Defense em
ergency, has declared he will use
every law on the books to prevent
a nationwide steel walkout.
If the convention accepts the Pre
sident’s plan, the Wage Stabilization
Board will study arguments of both
sides and outline recommendations.
These will not be binding on either
1 side.
| An entire new contract between
the big union and the country’s
steel companies is at stake.
The union 22 demands are topped
by a call for an 18’.£• cent hourly
wage increase. Murray also wants a
guaranteed annual wage, union shop
and other concessions for the men
in the mills .He says higher living
costs and industry profits justify a
substantial wage increase.
The 650,000 USW members em
ployed in the industry now average
slightly less than $2 an hour.
Orders Are Given
Regarding Smoking
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 28—OP)—Los
Angeles school teachers will have to
continue doing their smoking “off
campus.”
The school board voted down yes
terday a proposal to allow teachers
to smoke in rest rooms in school
buildings.
Board President Paul Burke cast
the only affirmative vote. He ar
gued that teachfers should be grant
i ed personal freedom “within the j
bounds of good order and profes- i
sional decorum.”
However, Burke admitted the pub-!
lie generally opposed the proposal |
for smoking.
reinstate him.
1 Born’s counsel indicated the case
would- be appealed to the Ninth
Circuit Court.
Hungarian
Consulates
Ire Closed
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28—OF The
State Department Friday banned
American travel in Hungary, and
ordered Hungarian consulates in
Cleveland and New York closed.
Secretary Acheson announced the
action. It was retaliation for Hun
gary's detention of the four U. S
Airforce fliers who were released Fri
day after the U. S. paid $120,000 in
lines.
In a statement, Acheson said:
“The American people are right
fully Indignant. Because we value
the welfare of the Individual above
all else,'we have paid the so-called
fines’."
He warned at the same time that
"our patience is not inexhaustable.’
Acheson charged also that the
Communist Budapest regime has
ignored the basic rules of long-es
t&Llished international conduct."
"Repeated requests were made
to the Hungarian authorities to
permit American officials to visit
the airmen,” Acheson said. “No
such access was allowed either
before trial or subsequently when
the request was renewed.
"In the circumstances, in view of
the refusal of the Hungarian auth
orities' to permit American officials
to exercise this normal right, which
is basic to the extension of custom
ary consular protection to Ameri
can citizens abroad, the United
States government will no longer
validate the passports of American
citizens for travel in Hungary.
"Furthermore, since the recipro
cal basis of the exchange of con
sular privileges has been nullified
by Hungary, this government is also
notifying the Hungarian legation in
Washington that the Hungarian
consulates in this country, which are I
located in Cleveland and New York, i
should be closed immediately."
Civil Defense Council
Discusses Program
The Alaska Civil Defense Council i
net this morning In the governor’s j
iffice to discuss tentative overall I
dans to be adopted in c^se of an j
mergency and to designate what J
he various responsibilities would j
ie.
Taking part in the conference
jvere: Gov. Ernest Gru: .ling, Col.
lames C. Crockett, acting director
of the Department of Civil Defense,
Dr. C. E. Albrecht, director of the
health department; Tony
Scliwamm; and Col. L. L. John
on, adjutant general.
Frank Metcalf, highway engin
eer and Tom Dyer, member-at
arge, were absent from the mect
'ng.
Funeral Saturday
For Prather Baby
Funeral services for baby Ernest
Prather, who died last night at 10
o'clock at St. Ann’s hospital, will
re held at 10 o’clock Saturday
morning in the Catholic church.
The child was born Nov. 34, 1951.
He was the son of Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Prather, of Juneau. Burial
will be in the Catholic plot in Ev
ergreen cemetery.
RAINBOW GIRLS TO
HOLD HOLIDAY FORMAL
The Rainbow Girls are holding
their annual holiday formal brfll
at 9:30 tonight in the Scottish
Rite Temple.
HUGH WADE CRACKS ANKLE
Hugh Wade slipped and fell by
the Seward Street entrance to the
Federal Building Wednesday morn
ing. Examination revealed that he
had cracked bones in his ankle*,
which will be in a cast for the
next six weeks.
• WEATHER REPORT •
• (U. S. WEATHER BUREAU) •
• Temperature! (or 24-Hour Period •
• Ending at 4:30 AM. Today •
• At Airport—Maximum, 28; •
• Minimum, 0. •
• •
• FORECAST •
• (Juneau and Vicinity) •
• Fair and cold with occasion- •
• ally gusty northeasterly winds •
• tonight and Saturday. Low to- •
• night 15 in town and 5 in outly- •
• ing areas. High Saturday near •
• 23. •
• •
• PRECIPITATION •
• (Past 24 hours ending 7:10 a m. today •
• At Airport — .02 Inches; •
• since July 1—20.47 Inches. •
• ••••••••••
4 U. S. Fliers
Held by Reds
Free and Safe
Released on Agreement
By U. S, to Pay Ransom
Demanded by Commies
By CURT HAMPE
NICKELSDORF, Austria. Dec. 28
——The (our American airmen
Jailed by Communist Hungary for
40 days came back to freedom
Thursday.
The fliers crossed the Hungarian
frontier into Austria at 6:01 p.m.
17 a.m. PST). Within a few min
utes they were sped on their way
back to their base at Erdlng. Oer
many.
U. S. officials at the border kept
the four men under wraps, but as
they were starting to drive to Tu
lin Air Base, outside Vienna, one
of them was asked by a reporter
how he was treated in Hungary.
"All right" was all that Jess Duff,
of Spokane, Wash., replied. He was
the mechanic aboard the C-47 trans
port forced down on Hungarian soil
by Soviet fighter planes Nov. 19.
Look Tired
The four men appeared through
the mist of the raw, damp evening,
looking tired. They were hustled
into a room of the Austrian border
police building. Eagerly they drunk
the coffee and ate the sandwiches
provided by the welcoming party.
Two stiff Russian officers and the
American party Joined in the snack.
Walter J. Donnelly, the U. 8. Am
bassador in Vienna, came to the
Austrian frontier to greet the fliers.
The U. S. had agreed to pay $120,
000 in fines levied against the men
on a charge of violating the Hun
garian border, provided the men
were promptly released.
Donnelly announced in Vienna
earlier Thursday that the fliers
would be released at 4 p.m. (7 a.m.
PST). He then sped U> the frontier,
but it Was ftot itatll 4:3# o'clock lie
received Soviet permission to cross
through the frontier barrier past
Soviet guards.
Met By Officer
The fliers were accompanied
across the border by Lt. Col. William
Alden Somerby,- U. 8. Air Attache
in the American legation at Buda
pest.
Immediately upon reaching the
Austrian side of the frontier, the
filers went into a police post build
ing, accompanied by High Com
missioner Donnelly and Col. John
Oulllett, commander of the U. 8.
Air Force base at Tulin, along with
other members of the American wel
coming party.
In Uniforms
The airmen wore their Air Force
uniforms.
The fliers are:
Cnpt. John J. Swift of Glens Falls,
N. Y., pilot.
Capt. Dave H. Henderson of
Shawnee, Okla., co-pilot.
T-Sgt. Jess A. Duff of Spokane,
Wash., mechanic.
Sgt. James A. Elam of King$land,
Ark., radio man.
They were forced down near Papa,
Hungary, Nov. 19 by Soviet fighter
planes stationed In Communist
ruled Hungary under the World
War II peace treaty. In a twin
engine C-47 they were enroute from
Erdlng, Germany, to Belgrade, Yu
goslavia ,on a routine delivery of
supplies, when they reported them
elvcs lost.
(apt. H. F. Rapp
Dies in Seattle
SEATTLE, Dec. 28—Ofl—Funeral
services for Henry (Harry) F. Rapp,
retired sea captain and salmon can
nery operator, will be held here
Saturday. He died Wednesday at
.he age of 84. \
He took part in the Alaska gold
rush, operated ships in Alaska waters
and ran canneries in Alaska and
Monterey, Calif. Two daughters and
four sons survive him.
Stock Quotations
NEW YORK, Dec. 28—OfV—Clos
ing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine
stock today is 2%, American Can 112,
American Tel. and Tel. 156%, Ana
conda 50%, Douglas Aircraft 58,
| General Electric 88%, General Mo
tors 51%, Goodyear 43%, Kenne
cott 87, Libby, McNeill and Libby
8%, Northern Pacific*68%, Stand
ard Oil of California 50%, Twen
tieth Century Fox 18%, U. 8. Steel
40%, Pound 2.78, Canadian Ex
change 98.06.
8ales today were 1,470,000 shares.
Averages today are as follows:
Industrials 268.18, rails 82.11, uUl
, lties 47.11,