3S NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN AIJlRgA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
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VOL. LXI No. 27 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1959 Per Com— 15c
“59ers,” Kenai Homestead Pioneers,
Set Out on Long Trek from Michigan
on the 500-mile journey.
They plan to arrive in Anchor
age March 22.
Washington State Families
Begin Kenai Migration
SNOHOMISH, Wash., OP) — Two
families planning to homestead in
Alaska began a 2,900-mile trip to
the Kenai Peninsula today in two
i trucks that carried four adults,
11 children and assorted livestock
and equipment.
The families of Mr. and Mrs.
Edmund Meyer and Mr. and Mrs.
LeRoy H. McDonald expect to
reach Kenai in about 12 days.
“I’ve always wanted to farm,”
says Meyer, 33, a construction
worker. “Here, if you want to get
any kind of farm, you have to pay
a high price for it.”
Meyer and McDonald, 34, a
truck driver, went to Alaska last
fall and each filed on 160 acres
near the town of Kenai.
“We think that two families go
ing together like we are and help
ing each other will make it much
easier,” said McDonald. “We’ll
share expenses and we’ll share
the work.”
DETROIT, UPt — Twenty fam
ilies who call themselves “The
59ers” will set out at dawn to
morrow in a motor caravan to
pioneer new homes in the 49th
State — Alaska.
The men, who have grown
beards to dramatize their deter
mination to make good as home
steaders, planned to finish pack
ing trucks and trailers today with
a year’s food supply. They’ve
heard prices are sky high in Alas
ka and a hamburger sells for $1.85
along the route.
The modern-day pioneers vowed
they won’t shave until they’ve
cleared at least 20 acres of the
160 acres of land each family is
staking out on Alaska’s Kenai
Peninsula.
A dozen children, from one to
14 years old, will accompany their
parents.
The caravan will include family
cars and trailers, several bor
rowed station wagons and small
trucks, and a moving van.
Ronald Jacobowitz, a leader of
the expedition, said the 1936 van
is a gift from the Allied Moving
Co. It has a 1946 engine. The van’s
top speed is 45 m.p.h., and that
will set the pace of the motorcade
‘Futile’ To Stand
Mobilized, Says
U. S. President
WASHINGTON, UP) — President
Eisenhower said today it would
not only be futile but disastrous
for the free world to have gen
eral mozilization against possible
attack.
Eisenhower told his news con
ference that the present 15-min
ute alert maintained by the Stra
tegic Air Command is completely
appropriate for world conditions.
The President was asked if he
believes the strategic bombing
force should be put on an air
alert with part of its planes air
borne at all times.
He replied airbirne bombers
would be worse than useless
against bombing attacks — that
they are better off on the ground.
But he said the day probably will
come when it will be necessary
to have some planes airborne at
all times to counter possible mis
sile attacks.
Eisenhower also was asked if
he believes mobilization of NATO
forces should be one of the steps
to be taken to insure maintaining
the Western world’s access to
Berlin.
He replied that general mobili
zation would mean that each na
tion in the free world would be
come a garrison state. Such mobil
ization would mean keeping each
nation on a basis of readiness all
the time. This, he said, would
drain civilian resources.
It not only would be futile, but
the most disastrous thing we could
do.
A reporter asked the President
if there was any change in the
tradition that the United States
never strikes the first blow in
warfare.
Replying in the negative, the
President said, however, that the
matter of self-preservation comes
into this picture. He said that if
we know we are under the threat
of attack from missiles or planes
coming in our direction we will
act as quickly as is humanly
possible.
Education Board President
Says No Action Needed
JUNEAU, (P) — President A. H.
Ziegler of the Alaska Board of
Education says he believes ho im
mediate action to designate an
acting commissioner of education
is necessary.
By the time Don Dafoe, who re
signed Monday, leaves on April 3,
the reorganization of state gov
ernments will likely be completed,
Ziegler said.
A new board and a new com
missioner will also probably be
appointed by that time, he added.
LEGISLATIVE COMBAT . . ,
LITTLE ROOK, Ark., IP) — An
Arkansas legislator challenged a
colleague to a duel Tuesday.
“I’ll meet you any time with
any weapons of your choice, in
cluding fists,” Rep. W. L. Ward,
78, told Rep. A. M. Ledbetter, 62,
in an argument over a bill by
Ledbetter.
Later, both men cooled down,
apologized to each other and to
the House, and the challenge was
withdrawn.
U. S. Space Probe Passing Close To
Moon In Flight Toward Solar Orbit
WASHINGTON, Of) — Pioneer
IV streaked close to the level of
the moon today in America’s most
successful probe into the myster
ies of the farther reaches of space.
The tracking station at Gold
stone Dry Lake in the Mojave
Desert re-established radio con
tact and reported the gold-plated
cone 192,000 miles out, with its
speed down to 4,775 miles an hour.
Later, new contacts showed a
distance of 198,323 miles and a
speed of 4,742 miles an hour.
The probe was still on its near
miss course past the moon toward
a predicted orbit abound the sun
where the Soviet Union claims it
already has a satellite.
Revised calculations indicated
the space traveler would make its
closest approach to the moon at
5:24 pun., or about 37,000 iniles
away. Scientists gave themselves
a plus-or-minus allowance of
Council Ponders
Paying for Planned
Front St. Paving
The Nome City Council met in
special session yesterday to de
termine how the city can pay it§
share of the paving of Front Street
next summer on such short notice.
Frank Metcalf, Highway Com
missioner, notified the city last
week that Nome would have to
pay 10 per cent of the paving cost
within city limits. This was the
first notification that the city had
received officially that they were
obligated.
Due to the fact that they were
not notified earlier, and funds
were not allocated for this work
during the present council year..
The council has proposed that they
would meet 50 per cent of the es
timated cost to the city, or $6,650
on July 31, 1059.
The balance of the required 10
per cent of the actual cost of the
project is planned for payment on
July 31, 1960.
Contracts are to be let very
soon, and a decision had to be
made immediately if the paving
is to be done this year.
Eisenhower Optimistic In
Light Of Soviet Note,
Agreeing To Conference
By MARVIN L. ARROWSMITH
WASHINGTON, UP) — President
Eisenhower said today Russia’s
latest note on Germany indicates
a lessening of rigidity of the So
viet position.
The President told a news con
ference the U. S. government is
taking as optimistic a view as pos
sible of the outlook in the light
of the Soviet note.
In that note, delivered to the
Western Allies earlier this week,
Russia reluctantly agreed to a
foreign ministers conference on
the Berlin problem. But the Krem
lin specified its own terms regard
ing what is to be included in the
discussions.
Eisenhower said, as he has be
fore, that this country always is
willing to negotiate when there
is evidence the other side is
ready to bargain in good faith.
As for Soviet propaganda, Eis
enhower cautioned Americans
against being taken in whenever
the Kremlin cries wolf. We must
not allow ourselves to get fright
ened when the Russian leaders
make propaganda threats, he
■added.
2,000 miles on the distance compu
tation.
At that time the Pioneer should
be 239,000 miles from earth. That
is more than the distance to the
moon itself because of the slight
error in flight angle which will
carry the Pioneer farther to one
side of the moon than the scien
tists at the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration had
hoped. They had aimed at some
thing inside of 10,000 miles.
Pioneer IV, whose gold plate
provides an antenna to relay ra
dio instrumentation back to earth,
is 20 inches long and weighs 13
pounds.
Powered by a four-stage Juno
II rocket, the probe was hurtled
aloft from Cape Canaveral, Fla.,
lOVfe minutes after midnight, Mon
day, in a launching described “as
near perfect as could be deter
mined.”
| Legislature Passes Judiciary Bill,
Assuring N.W. Alaska Court at Nome
JUNEAU, M — Two key pro
posals before the Legislature
were headed for House action to
day.
The 22-page “State Organization
Act of 1959,” proposing 11 depart
ments, with introduced in the
House only yesterday. It was due
for prompt consideration with
the session moving toward its
closing days.
A motion yesterday by Rep.
John Curtis of Kotzebue put over
until today final action on the
court bill. An amendment by Rep.
John Rader to raise the proposed
pay of the eight superior court
judges to $21,500 from the $19,000
in the Senate bill, passed 19 to 18.
Then after a recess, Curtis, who
had voted for the raise, moved for
a reconsideration, setting the stage
for another roll call today.
By narrow votes, proposals to
lower the pay approved by the
Senate for supreme court justices
by $1,000 were rejected.
The Senate passd the bill Sat
urday. The House has made minor
technical changes.
Acting Governor Wade was not
happy about all provisions of the
Lou Costello,
Famed Comic, Dies
Of Heart Attack
By JAMES BACON
A-P Motion Picture Writer
HOLLYWOOD, GW—Death called
the final cue for chubby comedian
Lou Costello while by coincidence,
Bud Abbott watched a TV movie
of the team’s famed “Who’s on
First?” routine.
“Tell me, why was I watching
that picture at that particular
time? I never watch it. After all,
I’ve seen it a thousand times.”
Abbott, who had seen little of
his old sidekick since their split
up in 1957, cried as he told how
he received the news of Costel
lo’s death at 53.
A heart attack — his second
within a week — took Costello’s
life only minutes after he had
sent his wife home from the hos
pital with a wisecrack to cook
dinner for the couple’s youngest
child.
He turned to a nurse and said
he wanted to be rolled over on
his side.
“I think I’ll be more comfort
able,” were his final words.
Thus ended the comedy career
of a modern day Pagliacci who
clowned through a personal life
filled with illness and tragedy.
In the decade from 1943 to 1953,
Costello suffered six serious ill
nesses — four of them rheumatic
fever attacks — and the tragic
drowning of his only son, infant
Lou Costello Jr.
Abbott and Costello performed
their famous “who’s on first ”
baseball routine five times for the
late President Franklin Roosevelt,
who told them it was his all-time
comedy favorite.
Costello, who was bom in Pat
erson, N. J., was a burlesque com
ic when he teamed up with Ab
bott in 1930. Abbott was drafted
from the cashier’s office when
Costello’s straight-man failed to
show up.
WEATHER FORECAST
Fair and colder tonight and to
morrow. Lowest temperature ex
pected tonight -20, the high to
morrow -5.
government reorganization bill, al
though he described it as a “fair
compromise” and said it “gen
erally follows what I consider to
be the spirit of the Constitution.”
In a letter to the Senate presi
dent and speaker of the House,
he said his main objection was to
the proposal to combine the pres
ent Departments of Labor and Em
ployment Security with Com
merce and related activities.
“Labor will undoubtedly be the
greatest loser in this telescoping
of the three departments into
one,” he said.
Separation of those activities in
to three departments had been the
“expressed viewpoint and desire
of Governor Egan,” he added.
Sen. Lester Bronson phoned
from Juneau this morning advis
ing that the judiciary bill, which
had already passed the Senate,
and which provides for a court
at Nome, passed the House un
animously, 40 to 0.
It is also reported that this
bill, as amended, leaves the Sec
ond Division court district about
the same as it is at present.
Nome High Hoopsters
En Route to Valdez Play
The Nome High School basket
ball team left yesterday by Alaska
Airlines plane for Valdez to take
part in the Class B High School
Basketball Tournament which is
to start Thursday.
They were to spent Tuesday
night in Anchorage and either
drive or fly to Valdez today and
will play their first game on
Thursday.
Members of the team are: Joe
Senungetuk, Chuck Fagerstrom,
Eddie Maloney, Fred Kungesuk,
Gabe Wilkalkia, Gerald Trigg,
Clifford Steele, Fritz Chambers,
Earl Towner, and Reggie Okitkon.
Coach Bill Ullrich and manager
Rod Boucher accompanied the
team.
j Legislature Asked To
| Back Fairbanks Airport
Expansion Program
JUNEAU, Wi—Alaska state par
ticipation, to the extent of 4Vfe
million dollars, in lengthening the
International Airport landing fa
cilities at Fairbanks, was asked
of the Legislature yesterday.
A resolution sponsored by Dem
ocratic Sen. McNealy, Fairbanks,
said the airport should be pre
pared for the coming of jet air
transportation to Alaska. It
should be able to handle the larg
est military and civilian airplanes,
he said.
It is anticipated, McNealy said,
that Congress will provide lOVfe
million dollars for airport con
struction in the new state this
next fiscal year. Part of this, he
said, should be allocated to the
Fairbanks field to make it an al
ternate field for all types of air
craft.
District Attorney To Appear In
San Francisco Circuit Court Trial
Russell Hermann, U.S. District
Attorney, departed this week for
I San Francisco to appear before
the U.S. Circuit Court on an
appealed case. Fred Crane of Kot
zebue is attorney for the plain
tiff, Lee Andrew Williams, of
Barrow, who was convicted here
last year on charges of rape and
influencing a witness.