22 NOME NUGGET
_ OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVI No, 38 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, MARCH 29, 1954 Per Copy—151
First Alaska Atom Power Plant
May Be Built Near Anchorage
McKinley park, up>—'t h e
first atomic power plant in Alaska
may be constructed in the An
chorage area by the Chugach
Electric Assn., All-Alaska Cham
ber erf Commerce members were
told Saturday.
Marlin Stewart, general mana
ger of the power cooperative, said
in a talk that “at this very mo
ment, engineers of Chugach Elec
tric Assn, are studying various
proposals which could lead to es
tablishment of Alaska’s first
atomic power plant in the greater
Anchorage area.”
Steward pointed to recent news
reports that’ construction of an
atomic power plant in the Arctic
is being considered.
“Not so well publicized has
been the interest of national REA
organizations in atomic power de
velopments and the cooperation
they have been receiving from the
Atomic Energy Commission,” said
Stewart in his address prepared
for delivery at the third annual
convention of the chamber.
He declined to make any fur
ther comment, saying that “for
the moment, this is all that can be
said. Details will be announced
when they can be made public.”
He said atomic power is one
of many sources of potential pow
er now being examined by the
Anchorage power cooperative.
Steward said biggest considera
tion is being given to water. Stud
ies indicated, he told the chamber,
“there is a potential within the
greater Anchorage and tributary
economic areas of more than 18
billion kilowatt hours of firm
energy annually.”
Biggest advantage to water
power, he pointed out, is that it
will “last for all time.”
Naguib Opposes
Continuation
Military Regime
CAIRO, UP)—Egypt’s military
government announced tonight
that all previous decisions to con
duct constituent assembly elec
tions and abolish the ruling Revo
lution Council in July have been
cancelled.
The announcement, which as
sured continuation of Egypt’s mil
itary regime despite the opposi
tion of President Mohamed Nag
uib, came after two days of heated
conflict in the cabinet and Revo
lution Council while Cairo surged
with Anti-Naguib demonstrations.
Instead of a constituent assem
bly previously promised by the
Revolution Council, it was decid
ed to establish an appointed “Na
tional Advisory Council” in which
various organizations and profes
sions would be represented.
This development came shortly
after the army rushed tanks and
steel-helmeted troops into Cairo
to preserve order after demon
strators attacked and beat Egypt’s
cnief justice.
An army officer 'old newsmen
the justice, Abdel Razzak San
honri, had drawn a pistol and
killed two demonstrators, but a
photographer who arrived during
the attack said two were wounded
and no one was killed.
The outbieak came while Nag
uib, who collapsed for a time this
morning, engaged in crucial con
versations with cabinet members
and his opponents of the Revolu
tion Council.
Alaska Chamber of Commerce Told
Heintzleman Has McKay’s Backing
New York Longshoremen
Picket The White House
Protesting Strike Handling
WASHINGTON, UP) — Long
shoremen estimated by police to
number around 1,500 picketed the
White House today in protest
against the government’s handling
of the bitter dock strike that has
tied up the Port of New York.
Metropolitan police said about
1,200 to 1,400 of the men had
come into the capital by bus and
other means, mainly from New
York but with their ranks swelled
by contingents picked up on the
way. They expected more.
The men represent the old In
ternational Longshoremen’s Assn.
SITKA WINS ALL-ALASKA
BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
SITKA, UR—Sitka won the Al
aska High School Basketball
Championship with a 50-48 vic
tory over Anchorage here Satur
day night. It was Sitka’s second
win in the three-game series.
It was $ victory for Sitka’s
race horse style of play over the
Anchorage ball control style.
> McKINLEY PARK, un—Alaska
must achieve a measure of unity
and harmony, the closing session
of the Alaska Chamber of Com
merce was told Saturday night.
The speaker was Raymond
Davis, assistant to Interior Sec
retary McKay. He told the group
that the Secretary—and not the
bureaus — was running the In
terior Department.
And he said Alaska’s Gov. B.
Frank Heintzleman has 100 per
cent backing from the depart
ment.
In a subsequent interview,
Davis said the department was
trying to generate harmony in
Alaska. He said Alaskans must
start seeking elsewhere for econ
omic aid besides the federal gov
ernment, and Alaskans, he said,
must begin to put back*into the
country some of the money they
made here.
Davis is no stranger to Alaska.
He once spent five months as
commissary chief at St. Michael
for river boats. After World War
I he was at Latouche for the Ken
necott Copper Co.
Another speaker, Alaska Rail
(Continued on Page 2)
Gov. and Interior
Officials for Alaska
Mental Health Bill
WASHINGTON — Governor B.
Frank Heintzleman, Department
of the Interior officials, and Dr.
Winfred Overholtzer, superitend
ent of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in
Washington, D.C., have testified
before a Senate committee in fa
vor of Senator Butler’s Alaska
Mental Health Bill. This bill is
substantially the same as the
model law prepared by the former
National Security Agency at the
request of the National Mental
Health Council, Gov. Heintzleman
told the Senate committee. He
said the legislation is urgent and
important to the people of Alaska
and will eliminate the present
archaic method of committing
mentally ill patients.
Interior Department officials,
referring to a bill previously in
troduced in the House by Dele
gate Bartlett, said that it falls
far short of providing a compre
hensive overall program of mental
health procedures. They said they
have been working for the past
year on the problem and have re
ceived the assistance of outstand
ing authorities on mental health
legislation. Senator Butler’s bill,
they said, is the result of this
cooperative effort
Dr. Overholtzer, who headed a
group which made a survey of
the mental health problems in
Alaska in 1949, urged committee
approval of the bill so it can re
ceive attention.
Gov. Heintzleman said he has
discussed the bill with officials of
the Bureau of the Budget and of
the Department of Health, Educa
tion and Welfare.
British Troopship
Burns at Sea After
Leaving Suez Canal
ALGIERS, Algeria, UP—A first
shipload of British soldiers, res
cued from the burning troopship
Empire Windrush, sailed for home
Monday thankful to be alive after
one of the most spectacular res
cues in naval history.
Some 1,500 Britons — among
them 277 women and children
and 17 invalid soldiers—calmly
and quickly abandoned the blaz
ing ship Sunday morning 20 miles
offshore in the Mediterranean
and were rescued safely.
Four of the crewmen of the
14,650-ton transport died when an
engine-room explosion sent fire
and choking smoke racing thru
the vessel.
London newspapers speculated
the ship had been sabotaged but
admiralty and transport ministry
authorities refused to comment
on this. The speculation was
heightened because she had just
been through the Suez Canal,
where the Egyptians are waging
a ceaseless campaign to force out
the 80,000 British troops stationed
there.
The burned-out hulk was re
ported still glowing Monday and
the admiralty said she would be
towed out of the sea lanes as
soon as personnel could be put
aboard. Inspected by a destroyer,
she did not appear to be leaking. '
Senate Debate On Statehood Bill
Resumes Today With Indications
Pointing Toward An Early Vote
-
McCarthy’s Done
More Harm Than
Good, Says Hall
OMAHA, Uft—Chairman Leon
ard W. Hall of the Republican
National Committee says Senator
McCarthy (R-Wis) “has done
more harm than good” in his
trade of verbal blows with top
Army officials.
As a result, said Hall, McCar
thy’s “Senate effectiveness has
diminished in the past few
weeks.”
Hall’s statement in an interview
Friday night came as one of the
strongest criticisms of the Wis
consin senator yet put out by a
high GOP official. Several weeks
ago Hall had described McCarthy
as an asset to the party.
Asked about the McCarthy
Army exchanges, Hall said “the
dispute has hurt. Any dispute
hurts.”
Newspaper Reports Red I
Agents Trying Steal Ashes
From Japanese Fishermen
TOKYO, (#) — The newspaper
Asahi asserted Monday the tiny
fishing port of Yaizu, 100 miles
southwest of here, has become the
scene of an atomic secret tug-of
war between Communist and
United States agents.
The report came as Deputy
Prime Minister Taketora Ogata
declared in the Diet that any
stockpiling of American atomic
weapons in this country is “not
a problem Japan ought to inter
fere with.”
Asahi said Red agents were try
ing to steal radioactive ashes and
clothing from the fishing boat
Lucky Dragon and her crewmen,
who were showered with contam
inated ash from the March 1 hy
drogen blast at Bikini. American
secret agents are out to stop them,
the newspaper said.
Earthquakes Felt
Round The World
HONOLULU, (IP—The U.S. Mag
netic Observatory at Barbers
Point registered a moderately
strong earthquake Sunday in the
Aleutians. A spokesman said it
was not strong enough to cause
a seismic wave.
* * *
CLEVELAND, Ohio, UP)—Seis
mographs at John Carrol Univer
sity recorded a strong earthquake
at 3:47:10 p.m. (EST) Sunday—at
computed distance of 4,450 miles
northwest of Cleveland.
That would put the quake in
the western tip of the Aleutian
Islands, jutting out from Alaska.
* * *
MADRID, Spain, UP—A strong
earthquake caused minor damage
throughout southern Spain today.
No casualties were reported,
however.
* * *
GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador, UP—A
strong earthqu&ke was felt here
today, but there were no reports
of damage.
WASHINGTON, UP) — The Sen
ate resumes debate on Hawaii
Alaska statehood legislation to
day with indications that both
sides are in the mood for an
early vote.
Sen. Smathers (D-Fla) predict
ed a vote tomorrow or Wednes
day on the proposal to grant tax
free commonwealth status to the
two territories in lieu of state
hood. Smathers is a leading op
ponent of the statehood bill.
Majority leader Knowland said
he could foresee a final Senate
decision by Wednesday on the
whole issue of what to do with
Hawaii and Alaska. The House
has approved statehood for Ha
waii only.
Smathers said that senators op
posing statehood bill will ham
mer away for the next day or
two on the advantages of com
monwealth status for Hawaii and
Alaska.
“An impartial and objective ap
praisal of what commonwealth
status offers has great appeal,” he
said. “It is a challenge to state
hood advocates that they don’t
want to meet.”
Delegates Farrington and Bart
lett both have asserted that the
people of their territories want no
part of commonwealth status.
Smathers said, however, that
reports coming to him from Ha
waii indicate the commonwealth *
idea “is creating quite a stir out
there.”
This, he added, is “despite the
fact that the newspapers out there
are so biased in favor of state
hood that they haven’t presented
the commonwealth proposal in its
proper light.”
Hawaii Atty. Gen. Says
Commonwealth Status
Is Unconstitutional
HONOLULU, (ff)—Any proposal
to give Hawaii and Alaska com
monwealth status instead of state
hood would be unconstitutional.
That’s what Hawaii’s attorney
general, Edward N. Sylva, stated
Saturday in an ill-page opinion.
Territorial Gov. Samuel W. King
released the brief. It states Ha
waii and Alaska are organized
territories incorporated into the
United States and cannot be dis
incorporated.
Sylva’s brief will be forwarded
to Hawaii Delegate Joseph R. Far
rington in Washington “for such
use as he may want to make of
it,” King said.
136 Register To Vote
In Coming City Election
136 Nomeites nave registered at
the city hall that they might be
eligible to vote in the forthcoming
City Council and Utility Board
election, set for April 6.
To date, Ernie Gustafscm, Rose
Silverman and Keith Hedreen.
have filed as candidates for the
City Council.
Nels Swanberg, Don Hurlbert
and Les Bronson have filed for
the Utility Board.