VOL, LVII No. 10NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 1955Per Copy--15^
Opening of 22nd 1
By Harmony and L
By JAMES HUTCHESON
JUNEAU, (#>—Alaska’s legisla
tors spent a busy Sunday after
noon of conferences in prepara
tion for the curtain raising on the
22nd session of the territorial
legislature today.
The major activity was a
caucus of the Democratic sen
ators in an attempt to agree on
a majority choice for president
of the Senate. After a two hour
session, it was reported Senator
James Nolan of Wrangell had the
inside track for the post.
Nolan Edges Lyng
It was understood a poll dur
ing the caucus showed Nolan
drawing more support than Sen.
Howard Lyng of Nome, the
“dean” of the Senate.
House Democrats also held a
caucus and participants said later
it was marked by all-around har
mony and lack of factionalism.
Rep. Wendell Kay, Anchorage
attorney, whose selection had
been a foregone conclusion, was
the majority choice for Speaker.
Rep. Richard Greuel, second term
legislator from Fairbanks, was
chosen to serve as House major
ity leader.
The House Democrats also ap
proved a plan advanced by Greuel
for a reduction in the unwieldy
number of committees.
Only 12 House Committees
The dozen House committees
under the new plan will compare
with about 20 in previous ses
sions. The number of members on
each committee will also be re
duced in a move aimed at stream
lining them for greater efficiency.
Although there are only three
Republicans in the House, the
Democrats said they had decided
one Republican should be on each
committee. There are 21 % Demo
cratic members.
Meanwhile, Gov. Heintzleman
spent part of his Sunday work
ing on the final draft of the
message he will deliver to the
joint session of the two branches
after they are organized. It will
be the first message from a Re
publican governor in more than
20 years.
He said he had talked with a
number of Democratic leaders
and, commented “I am convinced
members of the legislature have
come here with a desire to act in
behalf of the welfare and ad
vancement of the Territory of
Alaska.”
Lyng Calls for Unity
A call for party unity was
sounded by Senator Lyng at a
Saturday night Democratic din
ner. The Nome legislator told the
group:
“We have had differences in
the past, but now is the time to
bury past differences on the basic
issues, so we can face them with
unanimity.”
Henry Roden had a word of
admonition for his successor as
Territorial Treasurer at the Dem
ocratic get-together.
In taking issue with criticism
by Senator Lyng of the state of
the territory’s affairs under Re
publican rule, a Democrat, who
has been treasurer several terms,
said:
“I hope Hugh ,Wade (who, inci
dentally, is also a Democrat) will
leave as much in the treasury
when he goes out of office as he
finds there wrhen he goes in.”
legislature Marked
ack of Factionalism
Uncertain Weather
Holds up Snowbird
Games At Galena
By ELTON FAY
GALENA, (A*» — Uncertain mid
winter Alaska weather was stud
ied today to decide whether a
mass drop of Air Force para
troopers will be attempted on an
“aggressor” force which has
“seized” this Yukon River air
base.
At his headquarters in the El
mendorf Air Force Base near An
chorage, Lt. Gen. J. H. Atkin
son, commander in chief of the
Alaska area, said late yesterday:
“The weather as it affects our
troops’ safety, is the deciding fac
tor in the schedule of ‘Exercise
Snowbird.’
“If it is not favorable for a
mass ‘attack’ on Galena Monday
this part of the exercise will be
cancelled and preparations start
ed for the Talkeetna maneuvers.”
Storms over Windy Pass, be
tween here and the Elmendorf
base, forced postponement of the
mass flight of half a hundred
C-119’s both Saturday and Sun
day. They were to fly 800 para
troopers, a battalion combat team
of the 503rd Regiment, 11th Air
borne Division, here for air drops.
“We could have carried out the
Galena drop on schedule, except
for the fact that we want to apply
the tactics of a mass drop,” Gen.
Atkinson said.
Drive Against TB In
Alaska Will Be Stepped
Up In Effort Reduce Toll
SEATTLE, (*> — The drive
against tuberculosis in Alaska
will be stepped up intensively in
an effort to whip the disease that
takes such a large toll in the
north.
Mrs. Francis Paul, executive di
rector of the Alaska Tuberculosis
Association said Saturday tuber
culosis is the major health prob
lem in Alaska with the death rate
303 per hundred thousand popula
tion or 25 times higher than the
rate in the United States.
She has been conferring with
Dr. Daniel W. Zahn, medical di
rector of Firland Sanatorium and
members of Firland ^taff to dis
cuss problems of Alaska patients
in the sanatorium.
She said that 90 per cent of
the children between 5 and 13 are
infected with tuberculosis. Teams
of Public Health workers will
visit every native village and give
tests to everyone.
Active cases will be hospital
ized or treated with drugs she
said.
Snow Falls In Deep South
Bleak frigid weather brought
snow and hard frost into the deep
south during the weekend and
left a dismal aftertaste of cold
rain in the southeast.
A hard freeze gripped Texas’
Rio Grande valley fruit and vege
table growing area early today.
Near and slightly below freezing
temperatures were reported over
the southern portion of Texas.
Most of the snow which fell in
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia
and Florida Sunday melted quick
ly but some stayed long enough
to provide children with winter
delights unusual in that section.
Chou Rejects Any
Cease-Fire In
Formosa Strait
TOKYO, UP)—Premier Chou En
Lai of Red China today rejected
any cease-fire in Formosa Strait
and accused the United States of
stepping up “military operations
to make war provocations.”
“The government of the Peo
ple’s Republic of China absolue
ly cannot agree to a so-called
cease-fire with the traitorous
Chiang Kai - Shek clique repudi
ated by the Chinese people,” he
declared.
Chou said his government “has
repeatedly and in solemn terms
declared to the world: The Chi
nese people are determined to lib
erate their own territory of Tai
wan.”
“Since the recent successful lib
eration of Yikiangshan Island by
the Chinese people,” Chou con
tinued, “the United States gov
ernment has, on the one hand,
stepped up its military operations
to make war provocations and
has, on the other hand, been en
gineering a conspiracy for a so
called cease-fire through the
United Nations to intervene in
the Chinese people’s liberation of
Taiwan.”
Tollefson Cites
MSTS For Hauling;
Private Autos
By FRANK W. VAILLE
WASHINGTON, Lf*)—Movement
of private automobiles by the
Military Sea Transport Service
cost the government more last
year than the total of operating
subsidies paid the entire U. S.
merchant marine, Rep. Tollefson
<R-Wash) said today.
Tollefson, ranking Republican
member of the House Merchant
Marine Committee, cited the
automobile shipments as an ex
ample of the government com
petition with commercial shipping
he hopes to correct through a bill
prepared for introduction today.
The bill is in the nature of a
policy statement and would di
rect the military to use privately
owned shipping to the extent such
shipping is available.
He said he believes present pol
icy and practice of MSTS “goes
beyond its stated principle” of
having under military control
sufficient vessels “to lift the mini
mum essentials of vital supplies,
equipment and personnel to the
armed forces in overseas areas.”
Asserting MSTS movement of
private automobiles for service
men and civilian government em
ployes overseas had increased
from 13,204 in 1948 to 71,667 in
1954, Tollefson said:
“This certainly does not fall
within the meaning of the term
“minimum essential of vital sup
splies, equipment and personnel.”
Tollefson cited as another ex
ample of MSTS competition with
private shipping the decision of
Alaska Steamship Co. last fall to
abandon its passenger service to
Alaska.
I’m not so sure but what Alaska
Steamship could have stayed in
the passenger business,” he said,
“had it been able to carry the
passengers moved on MSTS ves
sels to Alaska.” I
President Asks Congress To Declare
“Our Readiness To Fight” To Keep
Formosa Out Of Communists’ Hands
Lannen Persists in
His Request For
Recount of Votes
»
JUNEAU, iJV-One of the is
sues around which there is re
vived interest as Alaska’s legisla
tors prepare to open their new
session is the requested recount
of the votes cast for territorial
labor commissioner last fall.
H. J. Lannen, Cordova * Demo
crat who lost to incumbent Henry
Benson by 27 votes in the official
vote count, has posted $2,000 to
pay for a recount.
Members of the Democratic
Central Committee went along
with him at a weekend confer
ence with Gov. Heintzleman on,
the issue. ^
Lannen said the governor asked
that additional money be posted
to pay for the recount, but that
he, Lannen, figures the cost can
be kept down to the $2,000 figure
by having volunteers do the tally
ing, along with a paid supervisor
to be named by the governor.
The latest counter-offer from
Lannen and the Democratic Com
mittee leaders is for the recount
to proceed until the $2,000 is ex
pended. Then, Lannen says, he
will take the responsibility of
posting more money as needed.
The recount is expected to pro
ceed on that basis.
Lannen is asking a recount of
every ballot in about 3A of Alas
ka’s nearly 300 precincts. It is a
job that will probably take be-:
(Continued on Page Two*
I
Special House Meeting
Will Consider Statehood
Bills On Wednesday
By HARRISON HUMPHRIES
WASHINGTON, (*» — Chairman
Engle (D-Calif) today called a
special meeting of the House In
sular Affairs committee for Wed-1
nesday to consider Hawaii and'
Alaska statehood bills.
Engle predicted the committee
would act by the end of this week
on a combined measure for the
admission of both territories to
the union as states.
The chairman told his commit
tee at an organizational meeting
today that the 10 pending state
hood bills are among a score of
measures which are similar to
bills approved by the committee
and passed by the House in the
last Congress but which failed to j
become law.
Engle said he hoped the com- ;
mittee could act on all of these j
measures without referring them I
to subcommittees for hearings.
On the bulk of the measures,
Engle asked committee members
to review the record of the last
session and be ready to act at a
meeting on Feb. 1.
But for the statehood bills, he
set a special meeting for Jan. 26.
Asked by reporters if he ex
pected action on the statehood
bills at Wednesday’s meeting,
Engle said he doubted it.
“But by Thursday or Friday I
believe we can roll it out,” he
said. “We came back here to
legislate.”
* WASHINGTON, IA»>— President
Eisenhower today asked Congress
to declare “our readiness to fight”
to keep Formosa out of Red hands
and “to engage in whatever oper
ations may be required to carry
out that purpose.”
In a special message, the Presi
dent said “our purpose is peace”
but Red Chinese threats already
pose a serious danger to this
country’s security “and indeed to
the peace of the world.”
A declaration from Congress,
t Eisenhower said, “will reduce the
possibility that the Chinese Com
munists, misjudging our firm pur
pose and national unity, might be
disposed to challenge the position
of the United States and precipi
tate a major crisis which even
they would neither anticipate nor
desire.”
The President made it plain
that defense of Formosa might re
quire hitting the Red Chinese be
fore they left their home ports.
Eisenhower said the United
States and all free nations have
a common interest that Formosa
and the Pescadores Islands should
not fall into Communist hands.
He did not -say specifically
which other islands the United
States might defend, on the ibasis
of need to hold them for the de
fense of Formosa and the Pes
cadores, but he called the Que
moy Islands “one of the natural
approaches to Formosa.”
He suggested at one point that
he perhaps had inherent author
ity as commander-in-chief to take
most of the actions.
He told the lawmakers:
“Until Congress can act I would
not hesitate, so far as my con
stitutional powers extend, to
take whatever emergency action
might be forced upon us in order
to protect the rights and security
of the United States.”
But a congressional declaration,
he said, would make clear the
“unified serious intentions of our
government, our congress and our
people,” and perhaps deter the
Chinese Reds.
U.S. Carrier Task Force
Reported Formosa Bound
TAIPEH, Formosa, —A U.S.
rjTavy fast carrier task force left
Manila Bay early Saturday and
was reported—but not confirmed
officially — headed toward the
troubled Formosan waters which
swirled all week with hot air and
sea action and Red China’s big
gest amphibious invasion of the
civil war.
The 33,000-ton carriers Essex,
Yorktown and Kearsarge pulled
out of Manila Bay for what a
Navy spokesman there termed
exercises at a “regular operation
al area.”
Each of the ships carry a 100
plane striking force.
MRS. DWIGHT W. MORROW
DIES AT AGE OF 81
ENGLEWOOD, N.J., UP — Mrs.
Dwight W. Morrow, noted edu
cator and writer, is dead at 81.
She was the mother - in - law of
Charles A. Lindbergh.
The widow of the former am
bassador to Mexico and U.S. Sen
ator (tied at her home last night
with members of her family at
her bedside. She had been ill for
two months, but the family de
clined to give the cause of death.