OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LV No. 31 NOME. ALASKA, FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1953_ _ Per Copy—15^
British Demand Pi
Fliers Who Downed
Czechs Told U.S.
Will Take Action
To Prevent Attacks
WASHINGTON, UP) — The
United States told Communist
Czechoslovakia that American au
thorities in Germany “will take
the measures necessary” to pre
vent further border attacks by
Czech aircraft.
This notice was given in a sec
ond protest note demanding an
apology and compensation for the
shooting down of an American jet
plane last Thursday.
Two Communist MIG-15s, fly
ing out of Czechoslovakia, jump
ed the U.S. plane while it was on
a routine patrol flight.
The pilot parachuted to safety.
The note was delivered in
Prague by Ambassador George
Wadsworth.
It charged the Czechoslovak
' government with “falsification of
facts” in contending the U. S.
plane had violated Czech terri
tory.
Radar established beyond ques
tion, the U.S. note said, that the
American plane was shot down
well within the border of the
American Zone of Germany.
The note said that the Ameri
can jets were under U.S. radar
surveillance at all times and de
clared, “the American aircraft did
not cross the Czechoslovak bor
der at any time.”
British Say Red Attacks
On Planes Evidence Of
Jitters Behind “Curtain”
LONDON, iff)—British officials
said Friday Soviet attacks on
British and American planes were
evidence of post-Stalin jitters be
hind the iron curtain.
Highly-placed officials said they
believed the MIG fighter attacks
that cost Britain a Lincoln bomb
er and six lives near Hamburg,
Germany, Thursday was due less
to trigger happiness on the part
of the MIG crews than nervous
ness in higher echelons of the
Kremlin.
“Since the death of Stalin,” one
informant said, “the Communists
have become very jumpy indeed
about vigilance around their bor
ders. Fliers have probably been
told there is greater danger of at
tack from outside, now that Stalin
is dead, and they are taking it
seriously.”
Senate Overrides Veto
To Join House In Repeal
Alaska Property Tax Law
JUNEAU, MR—The Senate over
rode the Governor’s veto of the
bill to repeal the Territorial Gen
eral Property Tax Law Thursday.
The House voted overwhelmingly
Wednesday to override. The Sen
ate vote was 11 to 4.
Senator Engstrom switched to
give the repealers the 11th vote
necesary to override. He previous
ly had voted against repeal. Yes
terday he voted for overriding.
The vote was taken without a
word of debate to end one of the
most controversial issues before
the Senate.
misliment of Soviet
! 4-Motored Bomber
BONN, Germany, UP) — Britain
accused the Soviet Union Friday
of a deliberate and brutal act of
aggression involving murder in
the shooting down of a Royal Air
Force Lincoln bomber near Ham
burg Thursday.
This attack by Soviet MIGs cast
the lives of six British airmen
and wounded a seventh. It was
the second attack on Allied planes
by Communist planes in three
days and spread fear of an un
declared aerial war throughout
Western Europe.
The western world appeared to
be in for months of crisis and ten
sion while Soviet Prime Minister
Malenkov solidifies his position
in Moscow.
But the U.S. and British Air
Forces challenged the trigger
happy Communist fighters by fly
ing as usual along the iron cur
tain border Friday.
The American said they are
bringing in 25 F-86 Sabre jets—
their swiftest operational fighters
— to replace outmoded F - 84
Thunderjets in Germany.
The British directed RAF pilots
to be especially alert along the
East - West border where Soviet
fighters apparently have been or
dered to shoot on sight.
However, the second Allied
Tactical Air Force, a NATO unit,
ordered its planes not to fly with
in 10 miles of the iron curtain
border. British, Belgian and
Dutch squadrons make up the
Second Tactical Air Force.
A strong protest lodged with
the Russians Friday took no cog
nizance of a Russian anouncement
Thursday ' that the four - engined
British bomber had violated the
East German frontier and had
opened fire first on the much
faster and better equipped MIGs.
In tough words the British high
commissioner for Germany, Sir
Ivone Kirkpatrick, demanded
punishment of the Soviet fliers
and reparations for British lives
and lost property.
Six of the British plane’s seven
crewmen were killed in the attack
or died later of their wounds. The
Russians announced that they had
the seventh airman under treat
ment for injuries in a Soviet hos
pital in East Germany.
Soviet authorities here earlier
delivered to Kirkpatrick a note
from Gen. Vassily Chuikov accus
ing the British plane of violating
the East German frontier and of
opening fire on Russian jet fight
ers when they ordered it to land
at a Soviet airfield. Chuikov is
Soviet commander in East Ger
many.
COFFEE PRICE RISE SEEN
AS CONTROLS ARE LIFTED
RIO DE JANIERO, UP — Some
Brazilian coffee sources expect
coffee prices to rise immediately
—maybe violently—as a result of
lifting of price controls by the
United States, the industry’s big
ges; customer. •
“It can be predicted that the
rise of prices will continue reach
ing levels never before attained,”
said Salvio Pacheco de aa
Prado, director of the Federation
of Suo Paulo State Rural Associ
ations.
Report Says Alaska
Had Yellow Alert
Saturday Night
FAIRBANKS, UP) — The Fair
banks News-Miner reported Wed
nesday that a Yellow air attack
alert was called in Alaska Satur
day night at 10 o’clock from the
Aleutian Islands to Anchorage
and Fairbanks.
The paper said it was the first
alert since World War II that
“definitely was not a practice
alert.” The News-Miner added
that Civil Aeronautics Adminis
tration range stations were shut
down and that jet pilots on leave
were ordered back to their bases.
(In Washington, the Air Force
said it was notified that a Yellow
alert was called briefly but that
the alert was so brief and results
so negative that details were not
transmitted to Washington.)
The News-Miner said the Civil
Defense manual describes the
Yellow alert as confidential and
is “issued when an air attack on
the United States has been iden
tified but the general location of
the attack has not been deter
mined.”
Civil Defense, military, and
C.A.A. officials here declined
comment.
Alaska Senate Modifies
Petition Protesting Jap
Fishing In Alaska Waters
JUNEAU, UFi—Upon advice of
the federal fisheries head in Al
aska, the Senate Fisheries Com
mittee modified Thursday a peti
tion to the federal government
against allowing big Japanese
crab fishing expeditions into Bris
tol Bay.
Modification action was taken
after Clarence Rhode, regional di
rector of the U.S. Fish and Wild
life Service told the Senate that
waters ibeyond the three mile
limit are international waters,
not Alaskan; that the U.S. never
has claimed control beyond the
three mile limit except in waters
of the inlet type which'are con
sidered “historic waters” of ad
jacent land.
The memorial as approved by
the House, called the Japanese
expedition “a new and ominous
threat to fish resources in Alaska
waters,” and called for a revision
of the treaty which allows the
Japanese to come close to Alaska
shores for shellfish and bottom
fish but keeps them far out into
the Bering Sea for salmon and
halibut.
The Senate modification de
scribes it as a threat to the king
crab resources of Bristol Bay
waters instead of Alaskan waters,
and calls on the federal govern
ment to take two steps:
Authorize extensive research
and a management program for
Bristol Bay, and extend a con
gressional study of “historic
waters” to Alaska to clarify which
ones actually are Alaskan.
Rhode said that Japan, as a
sovereign nation, actually made a
concession to the U.S. by agree
ing not to fish for salmon or hali
but on the Alaska side of the
meridian just outside the Pribilof
Islunds or to fish for herring
o-th of the Aleutians.
Commiltee Orders
Investigation Into
Ammo Shortage
WASHINGTON, UR— The Senate
Armed Services Committee, con
vinced there has been an ammu
nition shortage in Korea, yester
day ordered an investigation into
who was responsible.
Chairman Saltonstall (R-Mass)
said the group decided that critic
al shortages charged by General
James A. Van Fleet, retiring Kor
ean army field commander, “have
been fully substantiated.”
The chairman was directed to
appoint a five-man subcommittee
to make an investigation.
Saltonstall said this inquiry will
try to “pin this responsibility on
people, on the law or on economic
conditions.”
A resolution ordering the in
quiry was offered by Sen. Byrd
(D-Va), who has declared that
persons responsible for what he
termed this “criminal negligence”
should be punished.
Saltonstall said he probably
would name the subcommittee
next week. “We want to learn if
the shortages resulted from too
much butter < and not enough
guns,” the chairman said.
WASHINGTON, UR—Sen. Byrd
said Friday all 13 members of
the Senate Armed Services Com
mittee agree that there have been
some shortages of ammunition in
Korea.
A full-dress inquiry into the
situation was voted unanimously
by the committee Thursday. It
will be conducted by a five-mem
ber subcommitee headed by Sen.
Margaret Chase Smith, the only
woman in the Senate.
Committeemen Legislation
Becomes Law Without
Governor’s Signature
By JIM HUTCHESON
JUNEAU, UP)—Governor Gruen
ing notified the (Legislature Thurs
day afternoon he was allowing the
bill for popular election of the
major political parties’ national
committeemen to become law
without his signature.
It was one half of the bill in
troduced in the House by Rep.
Dorothy Prior (R-Anchorage),
labeled the anti-White bill be
cause it was aimed at Albert
White’s longtime influence over
Alaska Republican affairs.
The Senate killed the other half
of the bill providing for election
of precinct committeemen.
The governor also sent the
names of five new appointees to
the lawmakers for confirmation.
The list was topped by J. C. Bos
well, Fairbanks, for the Univer
sity of Alaska board of regents.
It is for the seat now held by
former Rep. Essie Dale, Fair
banks, under interim appointment
to the vacancy. Republican legis
lators refused to confirm Mrs.
Dale.
SIN SEEN IN SIGN
INDIANAPOLIS, UP)—The man
ager of the Essex House, swank
downtown apartment building,
took a look at the neon sign over
the entrance and put in a rush
t.^11 tor an electrician. The first
two letters weren’t lighted.
U nemployment
Benefits Bill
Favors Alaskans
By JIM HUTCHESON
JUNEAU, [ff\—Revisions of the
labor benefit laws occupied both
Houses Thursday afternoon. The
House passed 21-1 a bill which
legislators said was designed to
reduce the drain on the unem
ployment compensation fund by
cutting payments to workers who
make big money in Alaska during
the construction season then go
outside to draw unemployment
benefits.
Sponsors said at the same time
it is cutting the over-all drain on
the fund, it will increase benefits
to year-around Alaskans. It would
benefit Alaskans by increasing
from $30 to $35 in maximum
weekly benefits for 26 weeks,
although at the lower end of the
scale the worker would need at
least $300 in a year’s wages to
qualify instead of the present
$150.
Sponsors explained the pay
ments to outsiders would be re
duced by making the base period,
against which benefits are fig
ured, the previous year, instead of
the previous quarter. That would
mean the outsiders’ annual earn
ings would figure in his benefit
formula instead of just the four
or five months he is making big
pay on Alaska construction jobs.
72-Year-Old Mushing To
Barrow Has To Pull Dog
When It Freezes Its Feet
ANCHORAGE, (A — Jesse
Stubbs, the 72-year-old man who
is “mushing” to Point Barrow to
plant a monument on the site
where his old friend Will Rogers
was killed in a plane crash in
1935, is over 300 miles from his
Anchorage starting point and has
run into trouble.
His faithful, four-year-old male
mute dog, Quiz, froze his feet in
the 36-below zero weather last
week so Stubbs is pulling the
loaded sled and the dog who is
riding on the sled.
Stubbs passed the halfway mark
between Anchorage and Fair
banks this week but is still only
about a sixth of the way along
to his destination.
When he arrives at Fairbanks
he will meet Mrs. Edith M. Clarke
52, of Anchorage, who has ob
tained Stubbs’ permission to con
tinue on to Barrow with him.
Senate Unanimously
Confirms Heintzleman
WASHINGTON, (A —The Sen
ate Interior Committee unani
mously approved the nomination
of B. Frank Heintzleman today as
Alaska governor after he told
the committee Alaska should
build up its industry before it is
granted statehood.
Heintzleman said he personally
believes statehood for the terri
tory is “premature,” but added he
is “very much interested in get
ting statehood for Alaska when
it can finance the services of state
government.”
“Alaska is fast reaching that
stage,” he added, “and I hope it
will come in the next few years.”