m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LIX NO. 55 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1957 . Per Copy—15^
Eisenhower Starts
Personal Drive
For His Program
WASHINGTON, UP)—President
Eisenhower launched a personal
drive for his legislative program
today with the statement that
only a relaxation of world ten
sions will permit real cuts in
spending.
Eisenhower put up his budget
defense at a news conference at
which he also announced he plans
to make two radio-TV addresses
to back up his budget proposals
and other elements of his pro
gram.
Along with his general defense
of budget plans, Eisenhower
adopted as his own those fiscal
policies which Democrats have
assailed as a “tight money” pro
gram.
Eisenhower said the policies are
his own and no one under him is
going to change them.
Eisenhower said it will be pos
sible to make some minor reduc
tions in his $71.8 billion budget. It
would be strange, he said, if Con
gress with its experience could
not find some places to save.
But he was vigorous in contend
ing that deep cuts can be made
only if there is an easing of world
tensions. j
-:-r
Alaska Airlines President |
Nelson David Retires
SEATTLE, UP)—Nelson B. Da
vid’s resignation as president of
Alaska Airlines was reported here
today.
David, in confirming it, said he
has no immediate plans other
than to take some time off with
his family in the Seattle area.
David has 'been president of the
line since July 15, 1952. His resig
nation will be effective this
month.
Barrow Eskimos Have Narrow Escape
As Wind Piles Up Sliorebound Ice
BARROW, Alaska, M—D o g s
tents, supplies and whaling gear
—but luckily no humans—were
dumped into the Arctic Ocean
yesterday when a sudden warm
spring wind piled and broke up
the edges of shorebound ice.
Lots of open water had drawn
many whaling crews onto the ice,
awaiting the appearance of the
big mammals when the wind
sprang up. An airplane was dis
patched to warn of the storm
danger but for some it was too
late.
All of the men—more than 50
were believed on the ice at the
time—escaped to shore but at
least nine umiaks (open boats
about 30 feet long and eight feet
wide) were caught in the crush,
along with the dogs and supplies.
One group of men who believed
they were on a safe spot while
j American Legion
Convention May 22-23
i SKAGWAY, UP)—Persons at
tending the convention of the
Alaska department of the Ameri
can Legion at Skagway May 22
to May 25 have been promised a
train trip to Lake Bennett.
The scenic trip over the White
Pass and Yukon Railroad is one
of the attractions being boomed
by the convention sponsors as a
part of a program to make the
session the best ever held in the
territory.
Another attraction will be the
appearance of the national com
mander of the Legion, Dan Dan
iels, and the president of the Na
tional Legion Auxiliary, Mrs. Carl
Zeller.
HIGH-PERCHED RACOON
CAUSES POWER BLACKOUT
PORT HURON, Mich., UP—A
racoon perched atop a fire wall
near high tension wires of the
Detroit Edison Co.’s Marysville
plant caused a power blackout
yesterday.
Company officials feared the
| animal would jump or fall on the
wires and short out power to
Thumb area communities.
After waiting a few hours, the
company shut off power and had
the racoon shot.
Statehood Bill Amended to Exclude
Five Towns From Military Area
By FRANK W. VAILLE
WASHINGTON (flt—'The House
Territories Subcommittee today
amended the Alaska Statehood
Bill to exclude five communities
from the area ’which would be
subject to possible creation of
military reservations by the Pres
ident.
The communities are 'Bethel,
preparing some tea suddenly felt
the ice buckle and break beneath
them. As each man struggled for
footing, one older man Otis Akiv
gak, jumped into an umiak.
The ice under the umiak began
to rise, carrying the boat and
man with it. Akivgak apparently
thought he was safest in the boat
but another hunter, Warren Mu
tumeak, seeing the rapid rise of
the chunk and its precarious
twist, shouted for Akivgak to
jump. He did, just as the boat
flipped over and the churning ice
crushed it out of sight.
Some younger boys who had
ventured out to the whaling
camps the night before were
brought safely back by older
hunters altho they had to be put
in the umiaks and ferried across
openings as wide as 75 feet.
SEN. MIKE STEPOVICH TO BE
APPOINTED ALASKA GOVERNOR
Boy Scout
Council President
To Visit Nome
Kenneth Bechtel, president of j
the National Boy Scout Council,
the eighth man to hold this posi
tion but the first to visit Alaska,
will be in Nome on Sunday.
Bechtel begins his official Alas
ka trip Thursday at Fairbanks.
He is accompanied by O. D. j
Sharpe, Region 11 Scout director, i
and Norton Clapp of Tacoma, i
Wash., chairman of the board of!
Weyerhouse Timber Co. Clapp j
has been mentioned recently as a I
gubernatorial possibility for the1
territory, has several Alaskan in- i
terests.
The Rotary Club, sponsors of
scouting in Nome, has planned a
luncheon for the honored guests
during their three-hour stay and
an interesting program is being
planned for the occasios, stated
Bill Barber, active leader of
Scouting here.
Holy Cross, Tanana, Purgatory
and Beaver. Chairman O’Brien
(D-NY) said the action came with
the approval of an amendment by
Delegate Bartlett.
The administration proposal
would have given the President
authority to set up reservations
north and west of a line running
down the middle of the Porcupine
and Yukon Rivers and the right
bank of the Kuskokwim River.
The Bartlett proposal moved
the line five miles north and west
of the rivers’ right banks.
Another amendment under con
sideration when the session ended >
would require that duties within
reservations created by the Presi
dent, not otherwise reserved to
municipalities and local subdivi
sions, would be carried out by
civilians or agencies designated
by the President.
Meanwhile, a Senate subcom
mittee was told that administrat
tion proposals for Alaska state
hood “would in no way affect the
continued applicability of the Bill
of Rights and other constitutional
safeguards to persons and proper
ty located within the area.”
Hatfield Chilson, acting secre
tary of the Interior, wrote the
following in reply to a request
by Sen. Jackson for clarification
as to civil rights status:
“ ... It might be stated that
the only substantial change which
would result from the establisn
(Continued on Page Three)
U.S. Tanker Plane
Crashes in Pacific;
Two Survive
TOKYO, UR—A US. Air Force
tanker plane crashed into the Pa
cific 100 miles southwest of To
kyo today. The Air Force said
two crewmen were saved and six
are missing.
Both survivors were repofted
in good condition. They parachut
ed into Suruga Bay before the big
four-engine KB-50 went down
and were picked up by Japanese
fishing boats.
Air Force planes and U.S. and
Japanese ships were searching
the area.
Special Pay for
Armed Forces
Technicians Asked
WASHINGTON, UR—A $49 mil
lion “proficiency pay” raise for
certain - technicians in the armed
forces was recommended to Sec
retary of Defense Wilson today
by an advisory committee.
The Committee on Military
Manpower also proposed lump
sum bonuses for reserve officers
who stay on active service more
than two years.
The committee’s final report
also revealed a plan to make fur
ther reductions in armed forces
manpower, now about 2,790,000.
Military manpower has been re
duced steadily for about three
years.
There was no recommendation
for an across-the-board pay boost
for either officers or men.
The final report appeared to be
substantially less than the origin
al objectives. Since those objec
tives became known, federal
budget makers have rebuffed
Pentagon proposals for pay raises,
basing the objection on the dan
ger of inflationary trends.
ROCK 'N' ROLL BLAMED
FOR MIDDLE EAST TROUBLE
CAIRO, UR—The weekly news
paper A1 Tahir yesterday put its
finger on what it said was a cause
of Middle East trouble: rock ’n’
roll. The newspaper called it a
U.S. import which was “turning
out to be a political instrument to
corrupt the Middle East.”
THIRD WEDDING
AT PIONEER HOME
SITKA, UR—Wedding bells
pealed for the third time at the
Pioneer Home here Friday when
Mrs. Elizabeth Ashdown, 75, for
merly of Klawock, and Charles
Woods, 74, formerly of Juneau
and Chitna, were united in mar
riage by the Rev. William Gavin.
FAIRBANKS, (#)—Republican
National Committeeman Walter
Hickel of Anchorage says terri
torial Sen. Mike Stepovich will be
named governor of Alaska today.
Hickel said yesterday he re
ceived a telegram from the GOP
national committee in Washing
ton confirming the appointment
would be announced today.
Stepovich is in Washington.
Bom in Alaska
The 38-year-old Fairbanks at
torney would become the 15th
governor of the territory and the
first Alaska chief executive born
in the territory.
Stepovich would succeed B.
Frank Heintzleman, who resigned
Jan. 3 from the $19,000-a-year
post.
The appointment is made by
the President and is subject to
confirmation by the Senate.
President Eisenhower did not
say anything about the appoint
ment at his news conference to
day but Washington newsmen are
checking the report with other
sources.
Father of Seven
Stepovich, the father of seven
children, is now serving his sec
ond term as a territorial senator.
He has indicated he would ac
cept the appointment if it were
offered. He received strong sup
port from Republican leaders
throughout the territory.
Late in January Stepovich was
one of three men endorsed for the
position by the territorial GOP
Central Committee. The others
were Hickel and Dr. Paul Hagg
land, another territorial senator
from Fairbanks.
Hickel was considered the No. 1
choice of the Central Committee.
However, his chances were scut
tled by strong opposition from
First Division Republicans.
Stepovich was bom in Fair
banks and raised in Portland,
Oregon. He attended Portland and
Gonzaga Universities, and re
ceived his law degree from the
University of Notre Dame.
Anchorage Ties in
5,000-Mile Track Meet
ANCHORAGE, UP)—A postal
track meet between Anchorage
and Keene, New Hampshire, High
Schools, held 5,000 miles apart
wound up in a 62-62 tie, an un
usual finish in a 14-event dual
meet.
The meet was run off by
matching Anchorage’s perform
ances in a dual meet with neigh
boring Palmer against Keene’s
j efforts in a triangular meet with
j Brattleboro, Vermont, and Bel
lows Falls, Vermont.
JUNIOR-SENIOR PROM THEME: “STARDUST”
FRIDAY EVENING, 9 P.M. TO 1 A.M. Music by the Arctic Combo and The Six Stars Admission: $1 Single, $1.50 Couple