m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVI No. 29 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY. MARCH 8, 1954 Per Copy—15f
House Members
Poke Fun at Selves
AftermathSliooting
WASHINGTON, 1-Pi — House
members were able to poke some
fun at themselves a week after
they were targets of a wild fusil
lade from the pistols of a four
Puerto Rican fanatics.
Congressional jokesters made
attempts to play down their basic
view of the shooting as a tragic
affair, but humor is a favorite
means of lightening the legislative
grind, and with all five injured
congressmen apparently recover
ing, House humor began to re
assert itself.
Some gags revolved around the
plentiful news accounts of mem
bers standing near or giving aid
to one or another of the wounded.
Said one: “With that mob
around them, how did a bullet
ever get through?”
Other jests stemmed from the
many reports of people who
shared in capturing the attackers.
Reps. Wolcott (R-Mich) and Clar
ence J. Brown (R-Ohioi offered a
make-believe award to any mem
ber who could prove he did not
take part in the capture.
Rep. Vinson of Georgia, senior
Democrat on the Armed Services
Committee, wasn’t at the scene
himself, but he- suggested legis
lation to set up three types of pay
for those who were under fire:
1. Combat pay—for those who
stood up under fire.
2. Flight pay — for those who
fled the chamber.
3. Submarine pay — for those
who dived under their seats.
President Hopes
To Reduce Cuts
In Sales Tax Bill
WASHINGTON, UP) — Republi
can congressional leaders said at
the White House today that Presi
dent Eisenhower feels that a
House bill to cut excise taxes
nearly a billion dollars “goes a
little too far.”
House Speaker Martin iR-Mass)
"Iking to newsmen after the lead
rs’ regular Monday morning con
erenee with the President, said
the adminstration hopes to get the
proposed reduction figure pared
down some when the measure
reaches the Senate.
Martin added, however, that
neither the administration nor
GOP House leaders will make
any effort to reduce the proposed
cut in the House.
The measure, in addition to cut
ting many excise taxes, would
continue beyond April pre
sent excise or sales levies on a
number of items, including liquor,
tobacco, gasoline and automobiles.
On other items the existing ex
cise rate above 10 per cent would
be cut back to that level.
At his news conference last
weak, Eisenhower indicated he
might have to accept some reduc
tion in excises even though he
has spoken out against them at
this time. The President said it
sometimes is necessary to swallow
some castor oil along with the
sugar coating.
Red Commandos
Hit Field Where
U.S.A.F. Men Work
HAIPHONG, Indochina, Uf) —
French military authorities en
forced a state of emergency in
this vital seaport Monday follow
ing a Vietminh commando raid on
a nearby landing field where Am
erican air technicians service
U.S.-supplied transport planes for
the French war against the Com
munist-led rebels.
Reports circulated that the
Vietminh had declared they plan
ned to attack every area whore
America^ personnel work. The
Vietminh radio recently accused
the United States of intervening
in the Indochinese war.
None of the 44 U.S. Air Force
personnel stationed at the field,
Catbi, three miles from Haiphong,
was on the airfield when the com
mandos attacked before dawm
Sunday.
The French announced the
seizure of 74 men suspected of
aiding the Vietminh in the Catbi
raid. The military said five of
the raiders were killed, “several”
taken prisoner and three high ex
plosive charges had been seized.
The French said “several
planes” were destroyed but that
these were light aircraft parked
along the rim of the airport. A
spokesman said airport troop pa
trols drove off the raiders before
they could reach American-made
flying boxcars and bombers lined
up in the center of the field.
Northwest Stratocruiser
Rides Jet Stream To Set
Tokyo-to-Seattle Record
SEATTLE, L® — A Northwest
Orient Airlines Stratocruiser set
a commercial speed record for a
trans-Pacific flight Sunday, the
company announced, by flying
from Tokyo to Seattle - Tacoma
airport in 16 hours and 48 min
utes.
The company said the former
record by a Statocruiser on Feb.
15, 1953, was 16 hours, 54 min
utes. The distance is about 5,000
miles.
The pilots reported they rode
“jet streams” all the way from
Tokyo to Middleton Island, a
checkpoint south of Anchorage in
the Gulf of Alaska. They said
winds ranged as high as 160 miles
an hour.
Will Hays, Of Movies'
Office, Dies at Age 74
SULLIVAN, Ind., Will H.
Hays, 74, who led a pre-depres
sion cleanup of movie morals after
uniting the Republican party be
hind President Harding, will be
buried in his beloved home town
Wednesday.
The man who served 24 years
as so-called czar of the motion
picture industry died in the quiet
of his home Here Sunday noon.
Once a Republican National
Chairman before he was 40, he
kept an interest in politics till
death, though a heart ailment had
made him an invalid since Oc
tober. Only in the last week did
his condition become critical.
\
v
Galena Team Races
70 Miles In 4:52:33
In FairbanksDerby
FAIRBANKS, UP) — A slender
Indian from the Yukon River
community of Galena, who ran,
not rode, most of the 70 mile race
here, was crowned the champion
dog musher of the North Ameri
can continent Sunday night.
Raymond Paul mushed his
malemutes across the finish line
in the third and final lap Sunday
to edge out Dan Snyder of Kot
zebue by a slim four minutes at
the conclusion of four days of
racing.
Paul covered the 70 miles in
three laps with a total elapsed
time of four hours, 52 minutes
and 33 seconds. Snyder’s team re
corded a time of 4:56:29.
In third place was Andy Kok
rines of Fairbanks, with a time
of 5:01:07, although he had two
dogs quit on him durnig the final
lap and crossed the finish line
with the two exhausted dogs
riding on his sled and only four
pulling.
Paul won approximately $2,500
for his victory, while Snyder
pocketed about $1,500.
Paul placed sixth in the first
lap of the derby and then adopted
new tactics for the last 50 miles
of the race.
He never rode the sled except
when it was going down hill and
the dogs had an easy pull. In the
gruelling 30-mile race Sunday he
ran with the dogs, pushing on the
sled handles to make their bur
den easier.
The Indian, in superb physical
condition, ran most of the 30
miles with his dogs and the team
averaged just a shade less than
15 miles an hour for the long race.
40 Year Romance
Ends In Marriage
For GermanCouple
ANCHORAGE, UP)—A romance
that began in Germany and did
not cool in 40 years of hardship
and separation was culminated
Saturday in the marraige of Miss
Charlotte Staudte, 54, and Eric
Tobehn, 56.
Tobehn lost trace of Miss Stau
dto shortly after he went to war
in Germany in 1914. All efforts
to find each other failed until he
took out his American citizenship
papers, when Miss Staudte ob
tained his address in Alaska froih
a German consulate.
Their correspondence was re
newed and eventually Tobehn
made arrangements for Miss
Staudte to come here. She ar
rived a few days ago and the
wedding ceremony was quickly
arranged.
The wedding, read in the Ger
man language, was performed in
the Anchorage Lutheran Church.
The bride wore a white satin wed
ding gown, the veil of which be
longed to her mother, and used
her mother’s wedding band in the
double-ring ceremony.
The bridal gown, carefully
packed, was smuggled out of the
Russian occupation zone of Ger
many shortly before Miss Staudte
escaped over the border to the
Western Zone.
Partisan Tussles Shape Up In Congress
On Taxes and Statehood For Hawaii
New Alaska Mental
Health Bill Seems
Sure of Enactment
WASHINGTON—A Washington
source expressed confidence Fri
day that Congress will enact this
session the new Alaskan mental
health bill introduced jointly in
the House and Senate by Rep.
John P. Saylor (R-Pa), chairman
of the House subcommittee on ter
ritories and insular affairs, and
Sen. Hugh Butler (R-Neb>, chair
man of the Senate Interior Com
mittee.
Gov. Heintzleman has made no
secret of his keen interest in the
enactment of a sound mental
health law. Although the Interior
Department has expressed no offi
cial opinion on the bill, observers
point out it is unlikely that Re
publican Congressional leaders
would work for weeks perfecting
a new Alaskan mental health bill
not in accord with administration
views. ,
Experts worked on the new
measure some time before it was
introduced. The bill would, pro
vide greater administrative con
trol in Alaska for a humane men
tal health program. Because much
funds would be required coming
from the federal government, the
new bill requires the approval of
the secretary of the interior.
In some respects, sponsors point
out however, under the new pro
posed law administration of the
bill would be largely in the hands
of Alaskans through the govern
or’s office in Juneau.
The new bill incorporates all
the provisions of the model men
tal health law approved by the
Mental Health Association. These
provisions were also in the old bill
which the Butler-Saylor bill sup
plants.
Pope Pius Steadily Recovering
VATICAN CITY, UP) — Pope
Pius’ slow but steady recovery
from a dangerous gastric ailment
was reported continuing Monday.
Dulles Tells
Guatemala Facts
Of Red Movement
CARACAS, Venezuela, UP) —
John Foster Dulles opened the
10th Inter-American Conference’s
debate on Communism today,
reading out to alleged pro-Com
munist Guatemala the “establish
ed facts” about the international
Communist movement.
Although the U.S. Secretary of
State emphasized that he was not
accusing “any government or any
individual of being either plotters
or dupes of plotters,” he referred
pointedly to Guatemala.
Recalling that Guatemalan For
eign Minister Guillermo Toreillo
asked during last week’s debate
“What is international Commun
ism,” Dulles said:
“I thought that by now every
foreign • minister of the world
'.Continued on Page Five)
A" ■
■
r By HARRISON HUMPHRIES
WASHINGTON, Wl — Party
| leaders tightened their lines to
| day for Republican - Democratic
; tussles in Congress on two issues:
taxes and statehood for Hawaii.
Senate Democrats have been
summoned to their first caucus of
the year tomorrow to discuss a
campaign to tie an Alaskan state
hood amendment to the Hawaii
bill which the Senate has been
debating since last Thursday. The
Republican leadership opposes the
move.
The House on Wednesday is
scheduled to take up the first big
tax bill of the year, a measure to
cut many excise or sales taxes,
and there may be some prelim
inary skirmishing preparatory to
a bigger battle a week later over
reducing personal income taxes.
In the Senate, Democratic lead
ers are seeking unanimous sup
port for a proposal by Sen. An
j derson (D-NH) to add Alaska to
the Hawaiian statehood bill.
Republicans are striving to
keep the bills separate, arguing
that the addition of Alaska might
sink the statehood ambitions of
Hawaii as well as Alaska.
Republican leader Knowland of
California has promised that a
separate bill for Alaska will be
considered by the Senate later
this year. Some Democrats ob
jected that there is no guarantee
such a bill would be considered
by the House, which passed the
Hawaii bill last year, or that it
would be signed by President
Eisenhower.
Knowland said he personally
favors statehood for Alaska, but
believes Hawaii and Alaska state
hood measures should be consid
ered seprately. A combined bill,
he said might jeopardize the
chances of both.
Wildcat Strike Continues
On New York Waterfront
NEW YORK, UP) — Dissatisfied
longshoremen continued a “wild
cat” strike on the New York
waterfront today despite a pre
vious prediction by their union
leader that the work stoppage
would end.
Members of the Independent
International Longshoremen’s As
sociation, gathered at several
piers but refused to heed the calls
of hiring agents. Immediately af
fected was the transatlantic liner
Maurentania, arriving from Eu
rope.
Nome High School
Basketball Teams
Leave for Fairbanks
The Nome High basketball
teams left for Fairbanks yesterday
morning at 9 o’clock with Wien
Airlines. They planned to be there
in time for the big parade sched
uled for Sunday afternoon.
Those going for the tournament
were Sam Atuk, Dave Bell, Ver
non Carlson, Chuck Fagerstrom,
George Kost, Sam Mogg Jr., Jack
Muller, Gordon Swanberg, Rob
ert Herman, LeRoy Reader, Rob
ert Summers, Donna Lyle, Nancy
Tripp, Herb Williams and Sam
Mogg Sr.