m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA— MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LIX No. 32 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1957 — Per Copy—15^
Statehood Hearing Gets Views of
Mining Head on Resources Laws
By FRANK W. VAILLE
WASHINGTON, (A — Condi
tions imposed on the disposition
of mineral land in proposed Alas
ka statehood bills “would irre
parably damage the development
of Alaska’s mineral resources,” an
industry spokesman said today.
The contention was voiced by
Glen D. Franklin, chairman of
the Alaska Miners Assn, legislative
committee, in a statement pre
pared for a House territories sub
committee hearing on statehood.
Enactment of mineral provi
sions of the bills, the former
Fairbanks legislator said, "would
for many years reduce tax re
ceipts and other stale revenue
bills from the mineral indus
try."
Present bills before the commit
tee would permit Alaska to select
as a tax base 103,350,000 acres of
lands not already reserved by the
(federal government for other pur
poses. It could dispose of mineral
rights conveyed in the bill only
by lease.
Franklin said the bill also pro
vides that no disposition of the
mineral rights or the land may
take place until outside peri
meters of the selected tracts
have been surveyed.
He said these provisions should
be changed to permit the proposed
state to decide in what manner it
wished to dispose of mineral rights ;
to conform with its adopted con- j
stitution, and to permit it to dis
pose of selected lands without
waiting the completion of perime
tre surveys.
Franklin said it would be pos
sible for any qualified mining en
gineer with Alaska experience “in
the space of a few hours” to out
line a 50 million to 60 million
acre area “that would include all
the known and probable major
mineralized areas in Alaska.”
"This simple act of claiming."
he said, "would effectively close
down this area to any prospect
ing and development."
He said the required surveys by
“very conservative estimate”
would require 15 to 20 years to
complete.
r—
Wien Places Two
Bush Planes Into
Service at Nome
Wien Airlines have placed two
bush planes back in Nome for
service to the community. It’s
been about two years that
this station has been without a
small Wien plane.
One plane -is a two engine
Beechcraft, capable of carrying
seven passnegers plus baggage and
freight. This plane will cruise
at approximately 175 knots per
hour, and is available for charter
work to any point desired.
The other plane is a Cessna 180,
I which will be used for the Tues
j day Flight 541 mail and passenger
j schedule, Nome, Deering, Candle,
| Kotzebue and return. In past years
; Nome was the origin of Plight
541, then it was transferred to
Kotzebue, and ran to Nome and
back. Now it will be Nome again
and will leave at 8:30 a. m. on
Tuesdays. This plane' is also avail
able for charter work.
Tommy Thompson, Wien pilot,
has been stationed here in Nome
to operate the bush planes. Tom
my has lots of experience with
many types of planes and has
flown in many parts of the world.
He has had a lot of experience
flying with the U. S. Army. Tom
my plans to bring his family here
from Yakima, Wash., about the
first of June.
Celebrants’ Shootng in
Amman Arouse Police Ire
AMMAN, Jordan, (£1 — There
was so much wild shooting in cele
bration of the ending of the Brit
ish-Jordanian treaty here today
that police warned firearms will
be fconfiscated if it doesn’t stop.
Thousands of demonstrators
surged through the streets carry
ing national flags and banners de
manding unity with Egypt and
Syria and rejection of the Eisen
hower Middle East doctrine.
No One Left ;n Charge
WASHINGTON, (m — Dwighi
D. Eisenhower tools the Presi
dency right along with him
when he sailed out of the coun
try last night.
With the President, Vice
President Nixon and Secretary
of State Dulles all out of the
country, the question arose:
who was left in charge?
The answer: nobody.
With Eisenhower headed for
Bermuda by way of tropical
waters, Nixon is touring Africa
and Dulles is not yet back from
a Southeast Asia Treaty meet
ing in Australia.
Honeymooners Leave
After Surprse Wedding
Mr. and Mrs. Nels Swanberg
Jr. were scheduled to leave' at
noon today on a honeymoon trip.
They surprised their many
friends by being married this
morning by Rev. Willard Meck
lenburg at the Methodist parson
age, with only members of the
family present, including Mr. and
Mrs. Axel Edmam and Mary Jo
Swanberg.
Mrs. Swanberg is the former
Margaret MacDonald, the public
health and school nurse. Mr.
Swanberg is employed by the U.S.
Smelting Co. at the power house.
The happy couple thought they
could get married and slip away
on the plane today, but the news
got around rapidly and many
friends had rice for the sendoff.
Pilot Olson Has Busy Time
Helping in Emergencies
The life of a bush pilot is never
monotonous, and Martin Olson,
pilot for Mimz Airlines, who as
sisted in a rescue last week of a
hunter on Bering Sea, did it again
yesterday.
This time he picked up an
emergency call from Wales en
route from Diomede Island to
Nome, and stopped at Wales to
pick up Martha Ahunugasuk for
hospitalization.
It is reported that he arrived
at the airport at 4:45 p. m. At five
minutes past five twins were born
to Mrs. Ahunugasuk at the hospi
tal. The first pair of twins for
1957 were both girls; and weighed
four pounds, seven ounces, and
four pounds, thirteen ounces.
IN THE ALASKA
SENATE YESTERDAY:
MENTAL HEALTH
JUNEAU, UPi — The important
mental health commitment bill
was passed by the Senate again
yesterday for the 3rd time this
session. It is enroute at last to the
governor’s office for signature.
The bill, revived after the House
originally refused to accept Sen
ate amendments, outline proce
dures for the commitment of pa
tients to mental hospitals.
DISMISSING TEACHERS
The Senate also passed another
House bill relating to the dismis
sal of school teachers.' The bill
provides that teachers who are
not being rehired for the next
school year must be notified in
writing before March 15. If the
notification is not given, the teach
er’s contract automatically is re
newed.
WEDLOCK BIRTHS
The Senate passed and sent to
the House yesterday a bill provid
ing new methods for courts to
declare legitimate some children
bom out of wedlock. The bill
would broaden present statutes,
and permit courts to order new
birth certificates for children
whose fathers admit parenthood.
Sportsman Realizes 30-Year Goal
Getting Polar Bear Hide Trophy
Charles H. Stoll, of Hicksville,
N. Y., is the possessor of a beau
tiful polar bear hide which he
waited about thirty years to ob
tain first hand.
“I don’t believe I have ever
experienced such a thrill,” Mr.
Stoll related. “That polar bear
■charged us from 24 paces and we
have movies to prove it!”
Stoll, who is past president of
the Camp Fire Club of America,
an association of sportsmen, did
his hunting accompanied by Gene
Joiner, well known bear hunter
of the Arctic, and had the whole
hunt filmed by Steve McCutcheon
of Anchorage who flew in another
plane, following every action of
the hunters.
Stoll was also initiated into wolf
hunting by Joiner and has two
beautiful black wolf trophies to
take home.
Charles Stoll, a man of about 70
years, first came to Nome in 1923,
in charge of the Stoll-McCracken
Expedition for the American Mu
seum of Natural History. That
trip was made on the MS Morris
sey with Capt. Bob Bartlett as
skipper. The purpose was to ob
tain walrus for the museum and
no polar bear were taken, but at
that time Stoll promised himself
that someday he would return and
get a bear.
Enroute from Kotzebue to Nome
Joiner stopped at Shishmaref and
Teller, which were points of call
of the Morrissey during the ex
pedition in 1928.
During the stay in Nome, Stoll
visited with many of the older
residents who remembered the ex
pedition. Meta Muller of Polet’s
Store not only remembered the
expedition, but thrilled the visitor
with a newspaper clipping from
the Seattle Times under the date
of December, 1923, with a whole
page- of pictures of Stoll, other
members of the party including
his wife, as well as a picture of
Miss Muller as “Miss Arctic.”
“I have enjoyed a great deal
of satisfaction in completing in
such a thrilling fashion the am
ambition of 30 years,” Stoll said.
“Joiner is not only a skillful pilot
and guide, but an excellent com
panion for such an undertaking.”
Seaton in Hospital; Contemplates
Choice of New Governor for Alaska
-i
Midwest U. S. Hit
By Heavy Blizzards
(By the Associated Press'
Blizzards whippd across north
ern midwest areas today, isolating
scores of communities, as other
violent mid-March storms swept
sections in the central part of the
country.
A destructive snowstorm lev
eled fresh blows at Minnesota in
the form of winds up to 50 miles
an hour with hundreds of per
sons already stranded and scores
of schools shut down.
A 100-mile-wide strip from
Sioux Falls, S. D., to Duluth,
Minn., lay under an average of
six to eight inches of new snow.
Hibbing in northern Minnesota
was totally snowed in. Mail and
milk deliveries were cancelled.
Cars were unable to move.
Scores of travelers also were
reported snowed in in southwest
ern Minnesota, which took the
brunt of the storm yesterday.
At least a dozen small towns in
northwestern Iowa were isolated
when communications were
knocked out.
About 300 of the 500 persons at
tending a high school district
basketball tournament at Rolfe,
Iowa, were forced to spend the
night in the school gymnasium
because of snow-blocked and icy
highways.
The cold air dipped as far south
as Oklahoma. Chicago felt the
sting of the icy air as the mercury
dropped from a high of 71 yes
terday to below freezing this
morning.
U. S. Forces in
W. Germany Have
Atom Weapons
BONN, Germany, UP) — The De
fense Ministry today confirmed
that American forces in West Ger
many are armed with atomic
weapons.
A spokesman for the West Ger
man ministry said the A-wbapons
include projectiles, rockets and
bombs.
British Air Marshal the Earl of
Brandon told reporters yesterday
that the American Air Force in
south Germany “has had atom
bombs and atom bomb carriers for
some time.”
This appeared to be the first
public admission by an Allied
leader that A-weapons were in
Germany.
The Earl of Bandon added that
his own NATO command, the Brit
ish-Belgian-Dutch 2nd Allied Tac
tical Air Force, now had the ca
pacity to deliver atomic weapons
j but did not yet possess any. He
refused to say when atomic weap
ons would be supplied for his
Canberra jet bombers.
Egyptian Forces at Gaza
CAIRO, UP) — The might of
Egypt was represented in the
Gaza Strip today by a major gen
eral designated governor, 50 mili
tary policemen, 10 officers and 12
civilian officials.
Otherwise, 2,600 U. N. troops
still were the major military force
in the disputed aea following the
arival in Gaza City yesterday of
the group sent by President Nas
ser to-resume civilian control for
Egypt.
> WASHINGTON, (JV-Secretary
of the Interior Seaton says he
hopes to make a recommendation
soon for a new governor for
Alaska.
The secretary’s recommendation
is made to the White House. The
actual appointment is made by
President Eisenhower.
Seaton did not elaborate on what
length of time “soon” might mean.
Waino Hendrickson, secretary
of Alaska, has been acting gover
nor since the resignation of Gov.
B. Frank Heintzleman before the
opening of the Legislature at
Juneau.
Seaton, on a recent trip to
Alaska, looked over the field of
candidates for the highest post in
the territory, but he has given no
clue to any conclusions he may
have drawn.
The apponitment, when made,
will be subject to confirmation by
the Senate.
Secretary Seaton also reiterated
at a hospital news conference that
“I completely support Alaska and
Hawaii statehood.”
He said he hopes “both will be
granted statehood this year.”
On another subject discussed at
the news conference, Seaton said
applications under the new fish
ery loan program for the nation
have reached about four million
dollars. Up to yesterday 150 loans
had been approved, totaling lVfe
million. The loans are made to
qualified commercial fishermen
who cannot obtain credit else
where to provide for refinancing,
vessel repairs or rehabilitation and
gear replacement.
Seaton is planning a trip to
Guam and the pacific trust terri
tory this summer even though he
is now hospitalized for treatment
of a back ailment.
Seaton told newsmen at Walter
Reed Hospital that he hopes to
complete an inspection trip to Ha
waii, interrupted by his illness,
and also to visit other Pacific
areas under his department’s jur
isdiction.
Looking well but obviously in
pain at times, Seaton said he un
derstood a decision probably
would be reached Sunday as to
whether he must have an opera
tion.
He said the doctors diagnose
his trouble as “acute redicular
neuritis of the lower extremity.”
That, he explained, means about
the same as what used to be re
ferred to as “sciatica.”
Freight Train Hits Truck
While Driver Frantically
Honks at Slow Traffic
LOS ANGELES, tfl — While
George John Ward honked and
honked his horn, hoping to get the
motorist ahead to turn around and
size up the situation, a Southern
Pacific freight train bore down on
Ward’s truck and trailer, demol
ishing them.
Ward told police he couldn’t get
off the tracks because the motor
ist in front of him calmly waited
for a traffic signal to change. He
paid no attention to Ward’s horn
and shouts. When the signal
changed, the unidentified moto
ist ahead drove away as if nothing
had happened.
Ward was treated yesterday for
nothing worse than head cuts, al
though he was in the cab when
the locomotive splintered the
freight rig and sent the remains
whistling by him.