SSI NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. LVIII No. 9 _- NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 1956 Per Copy—15/
Recommended U.S.
Should Stop Exchange of
Delegations With Russia
NEW YORK UP)—The New York
Herald Tribune said today the
National Security Council has re
ceived recommendations from top
government officials that a vir
tual halt should be called to fur
ther exchanges of delegations
with the Soviet Union.
The recommendations were
made, the story said, “because of
security factors and because the
Russians obtain almost all the ad
vantages in these exchanges, par
ticularly in the commercial and
scientific fields.”
A Washington dispatch to the
Herald Tribune by Marguerite
Higgins said this development
had been learned exclusively.
The story said in part:
“The great debate at high lev
els on this matter finds the De
partment of Commerce and the
Department of Justice joining in
the point of view that under
present circumstances exchanges
of delegations should be highly
restricted, whereas the majority
of the Department of State, with
the exception of a few officials
such as Under Secretary Hoover,
and the Pentagon feel that the
exchanges should continue as long
as they are carefully controlled.
Senator Takes
Issue With Dulles
On ‘Brink’ Story
WASHINGTON, UPV—Rep. Mc
* Cormack of Massachusetts, the
House Democratic leader, said
yesterday congressional leaders
advised caution on a plan for U.S.
participation in the Indochina
War in 1954.
McCormack thus took indirect
issue with the claim attributed to
Secretary of State Dulles, in a
controversy stirring article in
Life magazine, that “strong ac
tion” by the Eisenhower Admin
istration had prevented U.S. in
volvement in Indochina and in
two other crises.
Life Editor-in-Chief Henry R.
Luce, in a statement Saturday,
said that “if anything in our ac
count of the secretary’s position
caused any misunderstanding
among our readers or the public,
we heartily regret it.”
McCormack, on a filmed TV
interview with Rep. Keating <R
NY) Sunday, said the United
States “would have been over the
brink and into war” if congres
sional leaders had not applied the
brakes.
He said that at a meeting in
Dulles’ office in April 1954 there
was talk of “a mass air attack
upon the Communists, who were
besieging Dien Bien Phu,” the
French fortress whose subsequent
fall presaged the end of the war
in Indochina.
McCormack told a reporter
Adm. Arthur W. Radford, chair
man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
favored U.S. intervention on the
side of the French.
McCormack said “this brink
stuff is a joke to me,” and Sen.
Douglas (D-Ill), on an NBC TV
program, termed it “dangerous
for a secretary of state to give
inspired articles” to any one writ
er or publication.
Alaska Airlines Employes
Give Farvvell Party
For Margaret Heller
A farewell party was given to
Margaret Heller, departing Alas
ka Airlines manager by her Nome
crew at the Polaris Hotel last Sat
urday evening.
Since Miss Heller’s arrival here
the local A.A. station has become
a most important link in the
transportation system of northern
Alaska with an average of more
than one flight a day. It has been
a tremendous task which has
earned Margaret Heller a reputa
tion for outstanding leadership
and led to her work being fea
tured by Fortune Magazine last
year.
Members of the farewell party
included Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gold
en of Florida, who are to replace
Miss Heller, Mr. and Mrs. Bob
Jacobs, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Scott,
Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Lenert, Mr.
and Mrs. Bob Schick, Mr. and
Mrs. Louis Kost, Arnie Castell,
Margie Castell Hay, Mr. and
Mrs. Jim Bergamaschi, and Fred
Kraum.
A specially prepared cake by
North Star Bakery was decorated
with a miniature Alaska Airlines
plane complete with runway and
rosebud runway lights. She was
presented with a Samsonite four
nighter.
The staff of the Polaris Hotel
joined in the farewell party and
presented Miss Heller with a
matching piece of luggage.
In her farewell remarks Miss
Heller said that she leaves the
“finest crew of all Alaska to her
successor.”
She has no definite plans be
yond a well-earned rest, as she
has been putting in long hours
seven days %a week for many
months. She plans to remain in
Anchorage for a while as she has
a home there.
Torch for Olympics
To Be Relayed by Runners
From Venice to Cortina
ROME, Iff*—The torch that will
burn during the 7th winter Olym
pic games left today on a military
plane for Venice, from where it
will be rushed to Cortina D-Am
pezzo’s $2,000,000 ice stadium for
the opening ceremonies Thursday.
The torch was lighted Sunday
by Rome Mayor Rebecchini at
the city hall, where the ancient
Temple of Jupiter is located.
Italian National Olympic Com
mittee officials said it has been
arranged that the torch be re
layed in one-day stages from
Venice to Cortina by runners.
Goose Bay Air Base
Gets Record 36-In. Snow
ST. JOHN'S, Nfld., (JP>—Five
thousand American and Canadian
airmen at the Goose Bay air base
in Labrador are still digging out
after the worst blizzard in the
history of the base.
Thirty-six inches of snow fell
there Jan. 13-<19, bringing the to
tal for January so far to a record
58 inches. The previous high
mark—56 inches for all January
—was recorded in 1952.
Winds piled drifts 15 feet high
across the 10,000-foot runways.
An emergency strip was kept
open but only one plane flew in
during the storm.
Voodoo Reported
To Have Flown
Over 1,000 M.P.H.
WASHINGTON, OR—The Mc
Donnell F-101 Voodoo, probably
the biggest, heaviest and longest
ranged fighter in the world, is
reported to have flown faster than
1.000 miles an hour a number of
times.
It is also believed to be super
sonic in climbing as well as in
level flight. The voodoo has two
Pratt and Whitney J-57 engines.
It is known that a number of
Voodoos are in operation. Esti
mates of the number that have
flown range between 20 and 30.
They are said to have performed
impressively at altitudes up to
50.000 feet and above.
The Air Force maintains a
strict lid on information about
the plane, destined for duty with
the Strategic Air Command as a
long range bomber escort.
Nor will the manufacturer, Mc
Donnell Aircraft Corp., of St.
Louis, discuss its product. The
company refers all queries to the
Air Force!
Only one official world super
sonic speed record ever has been
set. Air Force Col. Horace Hanes
flew 822 miles an hour in a North
American F-100C Super Sabre
last Aug. 20.
Catholic Church
Rated High in
Management Study
NEW YORK, UPV—'The Roman
Catholic Church has received a
'better than excellent rating in a
management study made by the
American Institute of Manage
ment.
The church is as “efficient as
any nonprofit organization in the
world,” said Jackson Martindell,
president of the institute, at a
news conference in connection
with the release of the manage
ment report Sunday.
Martindell said the year-long
study of the church and its world
wide operations “represents the
opinions of hundreds of people
and statistics gathered by hun
dreds of people.”
The institute is a nonprofit or
ganization with more than 15,000
members, including 5,000 com
pany presidents in the U.S. and
Canada. It is devoted to improve
ment of management practices by
comparative appraisals.
The Roman Catholic Church
rating was based on operations
over the past 50 years and had
“nothing to do with dogma,” said
Martindell.
He said he could not tell why
the church audit was undertaken
except that after an audience in
1948 with the Pope he felt “as a
human being"'in society it became
important for me to know more
about he Catholic Church.”
Martindell volunteered that he
is not a Catholic and had “no in
tention of becoming one.”
The report described Pope Pius
XII as “the world’s hardest work
ing ruler.” • Apparently being
groomed to succeed him is Arch
bishop Giovanni Battista Montini
of Milan, the report said.
30 Killed, 90 Injured as Two Cars
Of Santa Fe Overturn on Curve
LOS ANGELES, UR—A two-car,
Santa Fe diesel train, its engineer |
apparently blacked out, rounded
a curve too fast last night and ;
careened over, killing an estimat- j
ed 29 persons and injuring at least!
90 in one of California’s worst
railroad disasters.
Bodies were so badly mangled
and dismembered—some were de
capitated—that the coroner’s of
fice had difficulty identifying
them and determining exactly
how many were in the morgue.
At least two were children.
The highest rail death toll in
this state was 32 in 1907.
The train last night was en
route to San Diego—125 miles
south of here—with 161 passen
gers, about '" percent of them j
servicemen : l ruing to their has-|
es. The two cars overturned on
their left sides a lew minutes
after leaving the station here at
5:30 p.m. It was dark.
“The people sitting on the left
side were sucked right out of the
window and caught on the ties
when the train crashed on its
side,” said flagman Bill Hines,
one of the crew of five. “Those
people didn’t have a chance.”
Sparks showered as both over
turned cars skidded along with a
deathly screeching sound for
about 20 feet on the outside of the
curve. Each car contained a diesel
unit and room for 88 passengers.
The accident happened inside the
city limits, about four miles from
Union Depot.
Thousands of homebound mo
torists, hearing of the wreck on
their car radios, drove to the
scene, creating a serious traffic
jam and delaying some ambu
lances.
Stunned, injured survivors lay,
sat or stood along the ground.
Some searched for missing rela
tives. Many of the badly injured
screamed in pain and panic.
Santa Fe president Fred G.
Gurley said in Chicago: “All in
dications are the accident was
caused by undue speed.”
Raymond D. Shelton, general
manager for Santa Fe’s coast
lines, said, “Engineer Frank Par
rish estimated his speed at the
time of the derailment at 50 miles
an hour. I think this curve would
take about 40 miles an hour.”
Parrish, 61, of San Bernadino,
Calif., who has been with the
railroad 37 years, said he had
slowed the train after passing a
35 mph. marker and apparently
blacked out. The next thing he
remembered, the engineer said,
was the train beginning to tip
over.
Firemen used axes and sledges
to smash into the cars-for victims
still inside. Heavy cranes later
righted the cars.
When it brough up one, the
assembled crowd gasped. A body
hung out a jagged window. At the
rear door were parts of two or
three other bodies.
Rescue Ship Approaches
Ice-Bound Research
Ship in Antarctic
LONDON, UP)—The minelayer
Protector radioed today she had
blasted her way to within 50
miles of Britain’s ice-trapped Ant
arctic exploration ship Theron.
The Theron, carrying top Brit
ish sciehtists, has been caught for
three weeks in a grinding waste
of pack ice in the Wedell Sea.
Her crew of 30 has been fighting
wiih icepacks and dynamite to
cut their way through to clearer
waters.
HMS Protector, from the Falk
land islands fleet, is rushing two
helicopters to the Theron to use
tor spotting a way through the
ice. The rescue ship was 700 miles
from the Theron Saturday.
Barely six weeks remain for
the British advance team aboard
the Theron to reach the Antarctic
coast, set up a base, and hurry
out into warm water again before
the winter ice packs clamp down.
Dr. Vivian Fuchs, leader of the
British Commonwealth expedi
tion, radioed the Theron was hav
ing to men her way backwards
through the two-foot-thick ice,
with her Antarctic destination 700
mnes away. Fuch’s ultimate goal
is Vahsel Bay, where a prelimin
ary base will be set up to receive
the mam expedition next year.
From that base, British explor
ation teams will attempt to cross
the great subcontinent by land—a
2,000-mile trek through uncharted
icelands.
NAVY BALLOON
CROSSES PACIFIC
IN 52 HOURS
OPPAMA, Japan, UR—A U.S.
Navy weather balloon launched
here Saturday passed above the
U.S. coast at the Califomia-Ore
gon state line about 6 p.m. Sun
day, the Navy said today.
The balloon crossed the Pacific
in less than 52 hours, taking much
the same path used by Japanese
balloon fire bombs in World War
II.
It reported in by its automatic
radio and was well on its way
toward Salt Lake City at 200
miles an hour. The balloon was
drifting at 30,000 feet.
The . balloon, helium-filled and
40 feet in diameter, is sending
regular weather reports by radio
transmitter.
A similar launching earlier last
week misfired when an automatic
trigger released the weather
equipment into the sea.
Engineer Killed as Engine
And Four Cars Derail
WILLIAMSON, W. Va., <JV
The engine and four cars of the
Norfolk & Western Railway’s
westbound passenger train de
railed on a curve east of this
West Virginia - Kentucky border
city today, killing the engineer
and injuring at least 27 persons.
The steam locomotive, tender
and three cars of the Norfolk-to
Cincinnati train, the Pocahontas,
tore across the eastbound tracks
and plunged over a 40-foot em
bankment. The cause of the de
railment was not known.