22 NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
• VOL. LV No. 19 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, g? Per Copy—15^
Huge Metallurgical
Industry Planned
For B.C. - Yukon
VANCOUVER, B. C., — A
• huge hydro-electric development
on the British Columbia - Yukon
border, “the base of one of the
world’s largest metallurgical and
chemical industries,” was fore
cast Thursday by the Vancouver
Province. The paper said in a
newspage stcfry that the project
would dwarf the giant Aluminum
Company of Canada development
at Kitimat, 400 miles north of
here.
“This was learned following an
announcement from Thayer Lind
sley, president of Frobisher Ltd., J
big exploration and development:
company,” the Province said. |
The area concerned involves j
“the 17,000 - square - mile Atlin |
Lake, Taku Lake and Lake La- j
berge Basin which drains into the
Yukon River and holds a poten
tial of more than 5,000,000 horse
power.”
“Although aluminum and mag
nesium are reported to be im
portant in the new project, th?
company’s plans are said to in
volve a wide range of metals
which can be smelted by cheap
electricity.
“What is causing excitement in j
the industrial world is a report
that Quebec Metallurgical Indus- i
tries, a subsidiary of Frobisher, .
Ltd., has developed a revolution-1
ary method of smelting metals. I
“All negotiations up to now!
have been at a very high level |
with government officials at Ot-1
tawa,” the Province said and also |
that Frobishers, Ltd., has assured'
the government that it can raise [
the “billions of dollars” necessary j
for the project.
“The giant Monsanto Chemical
Co., is said to be interested in
the project.”
ALLIES REPULSE REDS IN
BLOODY FIGHTING ACROSS
150 - MILE BATTLE FRONT
SEOUL, UP) — Allied soldiers
hurled back seven Communist at
tacks and killed or wounded 200
Reds as bloody fighting erupted
across the 155-mile Korean battle
front Friday.
In the air, three B-29 Super
forts followed up a Navy strike
by dumping 30 tons of bombs on
a Red marshalling yard near
Wonsan, on the east coast.
U.S. Sabre jets streaked over
MIG alley in far northwest Korea
but flushed no Communist war
planes.
Allied infantry and artillery re
pulsed the Reds’ Friday the 13th
attacks along the front.
8 Killed in Rescue Plane Crash
TOKYO, UP) — An amphibious
air rescue plane crashed in south
. ern Japan Friday and all eight
Americans aboard were killed,
the Air Force said.
The dead included an Army
sergeant, his wife, a nurse and
five crew members.
Explosion At Hercules
Powder Plant Rocks
San Francisco Bay Area
RICHMOND, Calif., UP) — A
flicker of flame and a wisp of
smoke spurted from an explosive
mixing “dope house” at the Her
cules Powder Co., in nearby Pin
ole Thursday.
As workers rushed to fight the
fire, an explosion reduced the
brick building to rubble.
Twelve men were torn to bits.
Bodies and parts of bodies were
hurled as far as 250 feet.
The explosion shook four Bay
area counties. It even got a re
action on the University of Cali
fornia seismograph at Berkeley,
12 miles to the south. San Fran
cisco, 20 airline miles away, was
jolted.
An employee who declined to
give his name said the “dope
houses” were considered relative
ly safe from explosion. He said
three had burned in the past four
years without exploding.
Only two men were in the 25
by 50 foot brick building which
was used for mixing “dope” —
liquid ingredients of dynamite.
They presumably touched off the
plant fire whistle which brought
workers running. Then came the
blast which “almost knocked our
heads off,” said workers farthest
from the scene.
Those closer to the explosion
didn’t live. The FBI is investi
gating the possibility of sabotage.
Commerce Secy. Weeks
Says Washington “Mess”
Worse Than First Thought
BOSTON, OP) — Secretary of
Commerce Weeks says the “mess”
in Washington “is worse than the
public thought.”
“’Taxes are devouring business
profits and workers’ wages and
bureaucracy is regimenting free
men and women into wards or
victims of the state,” Weeks said
Thursday night at a Lincoln Day
dinner.
He added, however, that the
Eisenhower administration can
and will clean up the situation.
He said the first step will be
reorganization “for greater effec
tiveness in eliminating confusion,
waste and over-indulgent pater
nalism.”
Security Lid Clamped On
New Formosan Policy
WASHINGTON, UPi — A Senate
Foreign Relations subcommittee
today questioned Secretary of
State Dulles on the administra
tion’s new Formosan policy, and
sought to clamp on a tight lid of
secrecy.
Chairman Smith (R-NJ) gave
out a statement saying that there
would be no announcement as to
what took place at the closed door
meeting or at future similar meet
ings.
“The purpose of the consulta
tive subcommittees is to provide
a means for informal, off-the-rec
ord discussion between senators
and policy-making officials of the
executive branch.”
Martime Board
Told Alaska Trade
Depends on Ships
WASHINGTON, UPl — Keith, M.
Leish, Anchorage grocer and food
supplier, told Maritime Board Ex
aminer A. L. Jordan that last year
his firm did five million dollars
worth of business, but that its
success “is almost entirely de
pendent upon the even flow and
frequency of water transporta
tion.
He testified at a hearing on the
government's action of last Sep
tember in failing to renew char
ters to three ships held by Coast
wise Line. In a similar case, ex
pected to be heard next week, the
Alaska Steamship Line is seeking
to have the Maritime Board re
new charters to two ships.
Harold Say, Washington repre
sentative of the Portland, Ore.,
Chamber of Commerce, testified
that since inauguration of the
Coastwise Line service to Alaska,
trade between Portland and the
territory “has been- greatly de
veloped.”
The West Coast is “sorely in
need of vessels in the coastwise
trade,” Matthew Dushane, Wash
ington representative of the Sea
farers International Union of
North America, testified in sup
port of the Coastwise Line appli
cation.
He said he was informed by
West Coast officials of the union
that there are now only 17 Ameri
can flag ships in coastwise trade
there, where before World War
II there were more than 60. He
said the numbers did not include
vessels making Alaska runs.
New High Tides Threaten
Flooded Britain and
Low Countries
LONDON, MPi—A relentless tide
thundered against hastily-plugged
gaps in the sea walls of Britain,
the Netherlands and Belgium Fri
day, threatening a new loss of
life and property.
On both shores of the North Sea
the battle to hold back the waves
reached a new critical phase. The
fight, against the greatest ex
pected tides of the month, will
continue until Thursday.
Britain, aided by the United
States and eight continental
countries, got a sandbag airlift
underway. Millions of bags were
loaded into- planes and ships to
strengthen the battered levees on
England’s east coast.
British, Dutch and Belgian ser
vicemen and volunteers fought at
a new tempo to hold back the
sea. As new weaknesses appeared
in the dikes, fresh crews rushed
up to bolster the defense.
Britain and the Low Countries
counted more than 2,000 dead
from the storms and floods that
swept against their shores from
Jan. 31 to Feb. 2. All three coun
tries are better equipped now to
prevent more loss of life.
Dismantling of Production
and Material Controls
To Start Immediately
WASHINGTON, UR—'The Eisen
| hower administration—with price
| ceilings pried off thousands of
! items — is expected to make a
start immediately on the dis
mantling of production and ma
terial controls.
The Office of Defense Mobiliza
tion, it was learned, plans to an
nounce an easing of the controlled
materials plans—the basic system
for allocating steel, copper and
aluminum.
It is understood that the action,
to be effective at once, will permit
producers of the three defense
metals to sell freely any of their
output which is not claimed by
priority users.
Purchasers of the metal would
be free to use it as they chose.
And, with these moves toward
dismantling the controls system,
the government had tabbed some
2,000 price control workers for
dismissal.
Attempts to Amend
“Nest-Egg” Bill Fail
In Territorial Senate
By JIM HUTCHESON
JUNEAU, UP)—Senate critics of
a bill to create a $10 million nest
egg for a rainy day failed in at
tempts to get amendments into it
Thursday afternoon.
Main sally against the $10 mil
lion stabilization fund bill was
by Senator Paul Robinson (R
Anchorage). He labeled it a mea
sure to create a huge territorial
savings account. He proposed in
stead that it be turned into a
fund for industrial promotion and
development of Alaska’s natural
resources through exploratory ac
tivity.
He asserted, “I proposed that
for a rainy day we start a fund
for developing resources and
creating wealth. Then if the mili
tary projects taper off we would
n’t have to fall back on a savings
account and use it up.”
His amendment proposed turn
ing the fund over to the Alaska
Development Board instead of
the treasurer, but he said he
wasn’t carrying the torch for the
Development Board and possibly
a development bank would be
better.
Then Senator Mark Jensen (D
Douglas) offered an amendment
to put only $400,000 yearly into
the fund instead of two million.
He said the fund was a good idea
but “think it would be better
idea first to reduce taxes on such
ailing industries as mining and
salmon and provide incentive for
more industrial activity.”
Statehood Bills Introduced
In Senate Yesterday
WASHINGTON, UP)—Rep. Say
lor introduced statehood bills for
both ^Hawaii and Alaska yester
day. He heads the territories sub
committee which will consider
the statehood question. Similar
bills had been introduced earlier.j
Property Tax Law
Repeal Passes 23-4
In Alaska House
By JIM HUTCHESON
JUNEAU, un — The Republican
supported bill to repeal the terri
torial General Property Tax Law
passed the Alaska House of Rep
resentatives Wednesday 23 to 4.
The only votes against the re
peal bill were cast by the Demo
cratic Representatives Theodore
Duffield, Nome; Charles Fager
strom, Nome; Richard Greuel,
Fairbanks; and Wendell Kay, An
chorage.
Repeal of the General Property
Tax does not affect taxpayers in
side towns or school districts be
cause they have their own tax
and the territorial one was never
added in.
Main opponents in debate on
the repeal bill were Kay and Rep.
Julian Hurley (R-Fairbanks). Kay
contended the repealer should be
called a “bill to soak the poor”
as the main relief would be for
big canning and mining concerns
holding property outside towns
and school districts. Kay said the
tax tends to bring unused proper
ty back into circulation from big
holders who just let it stand un
used year after year, because of
no tax on it. ,
Hurley, speaking for repeal,
called the tax “the most vicious
and unjust tax ever imposed in
the territory . . . This was all
threshed out in the campaign.
That’s why we Republicans are
here in the majority now.”
Hurley contended that the tax *
is unfair to the little man who
goes out on mining development
gambles and has to pay the tax
without knowing whether there
will be any return for his effort.
He^ said that if the territory
wanted to tax the canneries and
mining firms it would be eaky by
raising the levies on salmon packs
or mine production.
Freeze On Construction
Will Not Slow Down,
Defense Congress Assured
WASHINGTON,. UR —Pentagon
leaders have assured key con
gressmen that a temporary freeze
on worldwide military construc
tion will not slow down the Am
erican buildup, informed sources
said Friday.
Some congressmen had express
ed concern that the defense effort
would be harmed by Secretary of
Defense Wilson’s order this week
suspending work on all projects
less than 20 per cent complete
and halting new contracts.
Involved are an estimated five
billion dollars worth of new air
fields and expanded military and
naval installations.
Roger M. Kyes, deputy Secre
tary of Defense, was quoted as
telling Rep. Short (R-Mo) yester
day that the' purpose was to
make sure each project is essen
tial before work continues.
VALENTINE DANCE tonight!
NOME HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM MUSIC BY “THE TRIO” SEMI-FORMAL 9:00 P.M. ADM. $1.00