m NOME NUGGET
> OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LV NO 59 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, MAY 18, 1953 • Per Copy—15^
W idespread TB In
Alaska Is Threat
To U.S. Health
LOS ANGELES, UPl — Wide
spread tuberculosis in Alaska and
other Pacific areas stands as an
indirect threat to the health of
people in the United States, a
leader in the fight against the
disease reported Monday.
Another cause for concern, Dr.
Howard W. Bosworth told the
National Tuberculosis Association,
is that the number of people who
contract the disease is not de
v creasing, even in the United
States itself.
Dr. Bosworth, who is medical
director of Bosworth Sanitarium,
Los Angeles, said the increasing
travel between the United States
proper and the tuberculosis-rid
den places such as Alaska, Japan,
Korea and the Philippines makes
people here subject to exposure
from without.
Dr. Edward T. Blomquist, of
the Public Health Service Arctic
Health Research Center at An
chorage called the TB problem in
Alaska tragic.
Among the natives the death
rate from TB is 600 for every
100,000 persons. Among the white
population here, only 37.2 per
100,000.
In sections where the native
* population is excusively Eskimo
one out of every 10 persons has
active or probably active tuber
culosis. At present there are only
600 hospital beds for tuberculosis
in the territory, but an increase to
900 beds is planned by 1954.
Fishermen Chop Ice From
Glaciers As Cold Storage
Men Go On Strike
L
JUNEAU, (J’l—When it comes to
choosing between the old and the
new—well, at least you can al
ways depend on the old. Especial
ly if the topic is old or new ice,
and the locale is Alaska.
Halibut fishermen hereabouts
have had trouble getting ice.
There’s a strike on at all cold
storage plants except the one in
Petersburg, some 120 miles south
east of here. And that seems like
a long detour for fishermen be
fore taking off for the halibut
banks.
So—like mariners did in Alaska
for decades before the invention
of ice-making machines—a num
ber of fishermen are using nat
ural ice from the northern gla
ciers.
Peter Hildre, pioneer Juneau
fisherman, put out for Taku In
let early and his crew spent the
day taking ice from icebergs
which float off the face of ancient
Taku Glacier, a dozen or so miles
east of here.
Other fishermen are hacking ice
from Mendenhall Glacier near the
Juneau outskirts and are hiring
trucks to haul it to the fishboat
landing at Auke Bay.
Three trollers tied up at the.
Juneau dock Saturday. But their
fish remained under hatches as
union workers stand by their re
fusal to ice and bait or unload
fishing vessels pending outcome
of now deadlocked negotiations.
! Sabres Shoot Down 35
MIGs In Six Days
SEOUL, UP — American Sabre
jet pilots reported destroying 12
Communist MIGs today as a slen
der California sharpshooter be
came the world’s first triple jet
ace.
It was the sixth straight day of
furious air battles over North
Korea. The Allied bag for that
period was reported by the U.S.
Air Force as 35 MIGs destroyed,
two probably downed and 17
damaged.
Capt. Joe McConnell, a soft
spoken, 140-pounder, reported
downing three of the Red jets—
his 14th, 15th and 16th.
And the Fifth Air Force re
moved McConnell’s' hottest com
petitor from combat by turning
down Capt. Manuel Fernandez’
request to fly 25 more missions.
Fernandez, of Miami, Fla., had
14 MIG kills, just one short of
triple ace-dom. He will leave for
home in a few days with 125
missions behind him — 25 more
than the 100 required for rota
tion.
Anti-American Incidents
Occur In Tehran, Iran
TEHRAN, Iran, UP—A U.S. In
formation Service official was
struck in the face and a U. S.
Point Four vehicle was rushed by
angry Leftist crowds in the latest
anti-American incidents reported
here today.
Jim Cook, director of the films
section of the U.S. Information
Service, was hit in the face by
members of a youth group yes
terday. Cook was on his way to
church and had stopped his car
at a busy corner. The crowd set
up a “Yankee, go home” chant.
This morning members and
sympathizers of the Tudeh party
rushed a Point Four station wagon
as it passed the justice ministry.
Some persons struck at two Am
ericans in the vehicle, but the
Iranian driver forced the car
through th.e crowd before anyone
was injured, eyewitnesses said.
While House Ceremony To
Accompany Signing Of
Submerged Lands Bill
WASHINGTON, UP)—The White
House will make a ceremony of
President Eisenhower’s signing of
a controversial bill to give coast
al state title to submerged lands
off their shores.
The signing, scheduled for Mon
day, was put off until an indef
inite date, probably later this
week. Plans were changed, the
White House disclosed, so that
arrangements could be made for
a number of interested persons to
attend.
Eisenhower Working On Radio
Speech For Tomorrow Nigh!
WASHINGTON, UP) — President
Eisenhower returned to Washing
ton today after a “grand ride”
aboard the presidential yacht
Williamsburg—the last he plan
ned to make aboard the ship.
At the White House, Eisen
hower settled down to work with
an administrative assistant, Em
met Hughes, on the radio address
he will deliver tomorrow night.
The speech, will outline Eisen
hower’s financial program.
Governor Urges
Removal Obstacles
To Investment
Capital In Alaska
TACOMA, Wash., Itf)—Removal
of obstacles to' investment capital
in Alaska is urgent for its future
development, Gov. B. Frank
Heintzleman, said in an address
Monday on opening sessions of
the Pacific Northwest Trade
Association.
His speech sounded the key
note of the two-day conference
here Monday and Tuesday. Aims
of the program are to present the
current and impending develop
ments in Alaska, the Yukon and
northern British Columbia and
their relation to the Pacific North
west states and provinces.
“Our northland,” Heintzleman
asserted, “has many resources
which the world needs.” But
they must be “evaluated proper
ly, brought to the attention of
prospective enterprises and the
way smoothed for their develop
ment by the removal of obstacles
to investment capital.”
“The economy of the territory
is presently far too dependent on
federal spending for defense to
be healthy, and we must bring
more of the natural resources into
use to take up the slack when
defense construction appropria
tions stop or are greatly cur
tailed.”
Heintzleman pointed to three
projects as outstanding for the
future of the northland. They
were the Kitimat aluminum proj
ect, the recently completed pulp
mill of the Celanese Company
‘near Prince Rupert and the
Ketchikan pulp mill sponsored by
the Puget Sound Pulp Company
and the American Viscose Com
pany, the latter the only one in
Alaska.
“These three plants,” he assert
ed, “Lead the list of new estab
lishments which give assurance
that the north country is now on
the march.” And he said the fact
that tljey were built with private
capital “is tangible evidence that
investment firms have confidence
in the soundness of large scale
industrial enterprises in the north
country.”
ARMY GETS BUTTER
BARGAIN—15^ PER LB.
WASHINGTON, —1The Army
has picked up a bargain in butter
—one million pounds at 15 cents
a pound.
It is part of the 190 million
pounds the government bought to
support prices. The Agriculture
Department announced the sale
to the Army yesterday, and said
the service had agreed to buy up
50 million pounds during the next
16 months if needs develop.
The butter was sold at about
the price the Army pays for mar
garine. The Agriculture Depart
ment specified the butter was to
be used in place of margarine and
other spreads, but not to displace
regular military buying of butter.
The department has also do
nated 74 mililon pounds to the
non-profit school lunch program.
The butter was bought origin
ally for about 67 cents a pound.
i First Alaska-to-St. Louis
Barge Starts On Return
ST. LOUIS, UP!—An ocean-going
barge Saturday began the return
leg of a trip opening direct barge
service between St. Louis and
Alaska.
The vessel, 204 feet long and
45 feet wide with a capacity of
2,400 measurement tons, is loaded
with government cargo. Nature o'f
the shipment was not revealed.
Owned by Alaska Freight Lines
the barge made the Alaska-to-St.
Louis trip in a little more than a
month. Government cargo alsp
was carried on the first leg of the
trip.
Miles W. Hoff, assistant operat
ing manager of the firm, said the
first round trip is “a trial ship
ment to show what we can do.”
The barge will be towed down
the Mississippi River to New Or
leans by a regular river towboat
firm. Towboats owned by the
Alaska Freight Lines will take
over for the rest of the trip.
Company officials have not yet
announced when they expect to
accept regular commercial ship
ments but have planned roundtrip
shipments between St. Louis and
Alaska once a month.
Burns Suffered When
Clothes Burst In FL?me
Fatal For Juneau Woman
JUNEAU, tfl — Burns suffered
Friday when her clothes burst
into flames as she lit a ciragette
proved fatal to Mrs. Earl Willett,
43, Sunday. She was burned al
most beyond recognition.
Only buttons and, metal fasten
ings were all that remained of
her clothing when her son, Jack,
17, rushed into the house to find
her lying on the hallway floor
enveloped in flames in their Auke
Bay home some 8 miles northwest
of here.
Son Jack grabbed a sink spray
attached to a hose extension in
the kitchen and put out the fire.
Jack, a Juneau High School
junior, ran to the next door
neighbor, Bert Lindgaard, who
drives the Auke Bay school bus.
While Lindaard raced seven miles
to the nearest telephone at the
Juneau Municipal Airport, Mrs.
Willett received first aid from
Mrs. Jesse Jones, another neigh
bor who formerly was a nurse.
Within an hour the woman who
had been a human torch had been
rushed 14 miles to St. Anne’s Hos
pital here in Juneau’s municipal
ambulance.
British Climbers Have Good
Weather For ML Everest Climb
KATMANDU, Nepal, UR — Re
ports reaching here today said a
British team of mountain climb
ers has begun its final assault on
unconquered Mount Everest to
try for the top of the 29,000-ioot
peak began under good weather
conditions, the report said.
The team headed by Col. John
Hunt established its base camp at
a 27,000-foot saddle on the world’s
highest peak. The group had plan
ned that two members of the
party would make the final try to
reach the top.
The latest reports said “no
earlier expedition had such fair
weather.”
Gen. Ridgway Tells
Congress of Need
For Continued Aid
WASHINGTON, tat—Gen. Mat
thew B. Ridgway told Congress
today that even if free Europe’s
forces are built up to planned
strength this year they still will
be too weak “to prevent serious
reverses in event of attack” by
the Communists.
The European defense com
mander, who is soon to become
U.S. Army chief of staff, testified
before the House Foreign Affairs
Committee in support of the ad
ministration’s request for $5,800,
000,000 of continued foreign aid
in the 12 months beginning July 1
Ridgeway gave the committee a
sober review of the European
military situation, and said con
tinuation of American aid “is es
sential to the security of the
United States as well as to all
the NATO nations.”
The European buildup has pro
gresed steadily from the “exposed
and almost defenseless condition”
of 1950, he said, but added:
“Our available land, air and
naval forces are still very inade
quate. There are not in existence
or in sight mobile land forces in
general reserve for inter-regional
use”’—that is, for example, to
back up a thrust against the
Middle East.
Ridgway said that “today,
a year ago, air power is still the
weakest link in our defense.”
Churchill Holds View U.S.
Should Continue Negotiations
With Reds at Panmunjom
LONDON, (A*) — Prime Minister
Churchill told the House of Com
mons today Britain and the
United States are having “constant
exchanges of view” on the Korean
truce talks.
Churchill said under question
ing he still holds the view that
the United States should continue
negotiations with the Reds at
Panmunjom on behalf of the
United Nations, although Britain
reserves the right to express its
opinion “frankly and plainly.”
Oatis Arrives In New York
NEW YORK, UP) — William N.
Oatis returned to the United
States and his wife’s arms today *
from more than two years in pri
son behind the Communist iron
curtain.
The Associated Press foreign
correspondent arrived aboard a
Pan American Airways plane
from Frankfurt, Germany.
Oatis spent 25 months in a
Prague prison. Czech authorities
held that he was a spy. Then,
suddenly they released him last
week.
SUNDAY SCORES
National League
Cincinnati 13-0—Brooklyn 5-10
New York 5—St. Louis 6
Chicago 6-7—Pittsburgh 2-3
American League
Chicago 7—Washington 3
New York 6—St. Louis 5
Cleveland 7-9—Philadelphia 2-1
Coast League
Portland 6-4—San Francisco 5-5
Los Angeles 6-1—San Diego 2-3
Seattle 5-0—Hollywood 1-2
Oakland 8-0—Sacramento 1-2