™£ NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVI No. 84 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, JULY 19, 1954~~ ~ Per Copy—15^
Interior Sec. McKay Tells Alaskans
Territory Must Work Toward Tull
Development of Civilian Economy’
ANCHORAGE, lift—Secretary oU
the Interior McKay continued his
whirlwind tour of Alaska today,
scheduling a visit to nearby El
mendorf Air Force Base and a
flight to Cordova and Valdez.
The secretary, making his first
official inspection of the territory,
arrived here Saturday night for
the first of a series of addresses to
be made throughout Alaska.
After a chamber of commerce
meeting here yesterday, he went
to Whittier and Seward, where he
made an informal talk, returning
here last night. The tour will take
him north to Point Barrow and
Nome and to southeastern Alaska
before he flies back to the States
July 27.
In talks here and at Seward,
the Cabinet member outlined ad
ministration plans for develop
ment of Alaska.
McKay told the Seward cham
ber Sunday: “Alaska is in a better
position than ever (before to dem
onstrate her ability to take her
rightful, eventual place as a state
in our great Union.”
He cautioned at Anchorage Sat
urday night, however, this cannot
come about until Alaskans assume
(Continued on Page Two)
‘Peace or Resign’ Deadline
Nears for French Premier
In Indochina Conference
By EDDY GILMORE
GENEVA, UP)—French Premier
Pierre Mendes-France, with little
more than 24 hours to go before
his “peace or resign” deadline,
said today things were going “all
right” and he hoped peace was in
sight.
The French Premier, who said
a month ago he would quit if he
could not bring peace to Indochina
by midnight July 20, spoke to
reporters as he came out of a
2 hour and 17 minute meeting
with U.S. Undersecretary of State
Walter Bedell Smith.
“How are things going?” he
was asked.
“All right,” the Premier replied
in English.
“Is peace in sight?”
“I hope so.”
Mendes-France looked tired as
he came out of U.S. delegation
headquarters. He would not dis
cuss the subject of his talks with
Smith, who was too. ill with lum
bago to leave his room. American
officials also declined comment. It
was learned, however, that a call
to Washington from delegation
headquarters was placed immedi
ately after the meeting.
Earlier today a British spokes
man said Mendes-France had “a
chance, that’s all” to make his
deadline.
>_
A ^ & T Plans
Underwater Phone
Lines to Alaska
NEW YORK, UP)—The American
Telephone & Telegraph Co. an
nounced today it planned to con
struct an underwater telephone
cable system linking all 48 states
with Alaska.
The proposed system will
stretch 800 nautical miles between
Port Angeles, Wash., and Ketchi
kan, Alaska. American Telephone
said the project should be com
pleted by 1956. It will provide, for
both public and defense purposes,
“a speedier means of telephone
communications between Alaska
and the United States proper,” the
company’s statement said.
Telephone service between Al
aska and the U. S. mainland is
now provided over 13 radio and
land line circuits which the com
pany said were inadequate to
handle equipment and estimated
future business.
The company said it had filed
an application with the Federal
Communications Commission in
Washington covering the plans.
The project will provide 36
circuits and will be constructed
at an estimated cost of 14 million
dollars, said A T & T’s long lines
department.
The new cable to Alaska and a
similar one now under construc
tion to Europe will use under
water amplifiers or repeaters
spaced about 40 miles apart.
The new project also calls for
a radio relay route to carry the
circuits from Port Angeles to Se
attle, Wash., on microwave radio
beams relayed between towers.
At Seattle, the circuits will be
connected with the regular United
States network of long distance
facilities.
SUNDAY BASEBALL RESULTS
American League
New York 6-6, Detroit 0-8
Washington 8-4, Cleveland 3-7
Chicago 10-6, Philadelphia 2-3
2d game called end 7th, crfw.
Boston 4-1, Baltimore 0-4
National League
Brooklyn 12, Chicago 6
Cincinnati 14-1, New York 4-3
Milwaukee 4-5, Pittsburgh 1-7
Philadelphia 22-9, St. Louis 10-0
(1st game 10 innings; 2d game
forfeited to Philadelphia 9-0
toy umpires with 2 out in 1st
half of 5th inning).
Pacific Coast League
Hollywood 6-5, Oakland 0-1
Portland 5-0, S. Diego 13-3
Seattle 1-13, Sacramento 0-3
Shortage of Funds
May Force Closure
Of AN§ Hospital
JUNEAU, UPt^Unless additional
funds can be secured from the
new Congress-approved hospital
budget, Juneau’s Alaska Native
Service .hospital will be one of
two which probably will have to
be closed, ANS Area Director
William Olsen said Saturady.
Olsen said the Congress-ap
proved appropriation Of $4,364,058
will fall short of the needs of the
ANS by $821,450.
He said that besides the closure
of two hospitals—he did not indi
cate the second one to be closed—
the service will have to decrease
its patient load considerably in
the others. The service now oper
ates nine hospitals in the territory.
Olsen said he had scheduled
meetings with George Rogers, ter
ritorial economist, in an effort to
map a plan for applying for a
supplemental appropriation. He
said there were two methods of
securing the required additional
funds: by supplemental appro
priation or by the use of Indian
Bureau monies.
In Washington Friday, the
House Appropriations Committee
recommehded providing $1,180,
000 to provied 400 beds in Wash
ington State sanitoria for Alaska
natives who are tuberculosis pa
tients.
Corn Threatened
As Hot Spell in
States Continues
(By the Associated Press)
A 12-day hot spell simmered
anew today in the Midwest and
plains, and a freak cloudburst
sloshed an engulfing flash flood
over Ridgewood, W. Va.
The midnight thunderstorm
spread waters of the Cherry River
an estimated 10 to 20 feet deep
over parts of the town of 5,300,
marooning many residents atop
their houses. At least one person
died.
The mid-continent hot spell
moved eastward. No relief was in
sight.
The mercury remained above
100 degrees over much of the
plains, the Midwest, and interior
Southwest areas. Kansas City got
no cooler than 85 degrees during
the night.
A federal crop official said that
another week of blistering heat
might cause serious com damage
in Illinois.
The toll of the extended heat
wave, which had only a brief res
pite, had reached 237 lives Sun
day, when temperatures from cen
tral Texas and northern Louisiana
to southwestern North Dakota
climbed generally into 100-plus
figures.
The day’s peak was 116 at Fort
Scott, Kansas.
Alaska Steam to Discontinue Its
Alaska Passenger Service Due to
Steady Rise of Operating Costs
---«
Fairbanks’ Golden
Week Starts As
Stevenson Arrives
FAIRBANKS, OP)—Adlai Stev
enson and the “Week of Golden
Days” will reach Fairbanks si
multaneously today—more by co
incidence than design.
The Democratic leader will ar
rive at 1 p.m. by plane from Ju
neau, where he spent the weekend
on his combined Alaskan vacation
and political tour.
Stevenson will help open the
week-long celebration commem
orating the discovery of gold in
this area 52 years ago,- and will
ride in today’s military and circus
parade.
On Tuesday, he will fly to Fort
Yukon, above the Arctic Circle,
and that night will return here to
be honored guest at a Democratic
picnic at the Tanana Valley fair
grounds.
Stevenson will leave Wednes
day for Mt. McKinley National
Park—crossing the path of Secre
tary of Interior McKay enroute
here from the park to dedicate a
new Alaska Communications Sys
tem toll building. The toll center
will be named in honor of the late
Gen. Billy Mitchell, who was a
Signal Corps lieutenant in Alaska
50 years ago.
McKay, who leaves Thursday,
will be the last of the celebrities
here during the Golden Days
week.
Eskimo street dances, blanket
tossing and pioneer activities will
highlight the final days of the
celebration.
House Group Okays Bill
To Give Federal Surplus
Property to Alaska
WASHINGTON, Wi—The House
Territories subcommittee today
approved a bill to authorize trans
fer of federal surplus property In
Alaska to the territory without
charge after the property first has
been offered to the public.
The subcommittee also approved
another bill to authorize Alaska,
with the approval of its governor,
to issue up to $200,000 in emer
gency short term notes during in
tervals when the legislature is not
in session.
ALASKA CARPENTERS GET
PAY RAISE TO $3.69 AN HOUR
ANCHORAGE, (jP)—A 1 a s k a’s
3,000 carpenters Saturday were
working under a new contract
which raised their pay scale to
$3.69 an hour in westward Alaska
and $3.57V& in the southeast areas.
> SEATTLE, (A*)—Operation of
passenger ships to Alaska will be
discontinued at the end of the
1954 summer season, the Alaska
Steamship Co. announced today.
Cargo and mail operations to the
territory will not be affected.
In 'a 2-page statement, Presi
dent D. E. Skinner said:
“It has now been clearly dem
onstrated that it is economically
unsound to maintain a passenger
fleet for 12 months to operate for
only a three-month tourist season.
Efforts to lengthen the season
have not been successful.”
The last passenger ship to sail
from Seattle will be the Denali, on
Sept. 24. With the return of the
Denali to Seattle the last Ameri
can passenger ship service to Al
aska will end.
Explaining the reasons for the
discontinuance of passenger ser
vice, Skinner said a “single fac
tor” had forced the decision, the
“continued, constant increases in
all operating costs.”
He said they had gone “far
beyond the point where (they)
could be matched by increases in
fares or traffic.
“Since the end of the war the
number of passengers carried per
voyage has been roughly equal to
pre-war figures,” he continued.
“But costs have increased to such
a point that heavy losses have
been incurred.
“These losses on passenger ships
by years since the ships were re
turned from government wartime
control to company operation are:
1949, $273,439; 1950, $147,204;
1951, $82,167; 1952, $593,752; 1953,
$420,637. Total, $1,517,209.”
Skinner also announced that
plans are being worked out to
speed up and improve the com
pany’s cargo service. He said the
“unitized cargo” program which
has been “so successful” in south
eastern Alaska is being extended
to southwestern ports, the interior
and as far north as Nome.
“Through van service to inter
ior points is being augmented by
additional units, and studies are
(Continued on Page Three)
Defer Censure of Sen. McCarthy
WASHINGTON, UP)—Sen. Flan
ders (R-Vt) announced today he
will defer until July 30 the motion
he had planned for tomorrow ask
ing the Senate to censure Senator
McCarthy (R-Wis).
200 Tons of Tin Loaded
On MV Square Knot
The first shipment of tin ore
will be loaded on the MV Square
Knot today.
It is reported that the first ship
ment this season will be about
200 tons.