is NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. LX No. 15 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1958 Per Copy—15^
Van Housen Is Last Minute GO?
Candidate For Labor Commissioner
By WILLIAM J. TOBIN
JUNEAU, UP>—Republican John
Van Housen of Anchorage, a fa
vorite target of Democratic lashes
during the 1957 legislative ses
sion, filed as a candidate for La
bor Commissioner Saturday night
for the April primary election.
Van Housen’s late entry, filed
by telegram and delivered to the
Territorial Department of Fin
ance today, assured a GOP-Demo
vratic contest in the race for the
$10,000-a-year labor post in the
October general election.
Until receipt of Van Housen’s
candidacy, it had appeared the
Republican! party had written off
the Labor Commissioner’s job and
would let it go without contest to
one of three Democrats who have
filed for that party’s nomination
In Nome, Friday afternoon,
Keith Hedreen filed for the House
on the Democratic ticket.
The complete filing for the 2nd
Division—
Senate Republicans — Charles
Jones, Nome, and Carl Glavino
vich, Nome.
Senate Democrats—James von
•der Heydt, Nome, and William
Beltz, Unalakleet.
House Democrats — Eben Hop
son, Barrow; Les Bronson, Nome;
Frank Degnan, Unalakleet; and
Keith Hedreen, Nome.
House Republicans — Alfred
Mazonna, Nome; Clinton Gray,
Nome, and Art Johnson, Unala
kleet.
In our next issue the Nugget
will print the complete list of
primary candidates for the April
29 voting.
i in the primary.
Van Housen, former head of |
the Labor Department’s Anchor- i
age field office, lost that job when j
the Democratic-controlled legisla
ture last year cut off the apppro
priation for his office. Earlier, the
Territorial Federation of Labor
had blasted Van Housen’s position
on the Employment Security
Commission, and the legislature
refused to confirm him for a new
term on the commission.
Van Housen will succeed as the
Republican nominee for the Labor |
Commission the incumbent, Hen
ry Benson of Juneau, who last
week split with the GOP and said
he wouldn’t run again.
On the basis of filings received
so far—and the list was viewed as j
virtually complete with no other j
mail entries known about—there
will be a three-way Democratic
Continued on Page Three
Roy Campanella
Improving Slightly
GLEN COVE, UPl— Roy Campa
nella, Los Angeles Dodger catch
er, who suffered a broken neck
in an automobile accident last
Tuesday, continues to improve.
The latest report from the hos- |
pital said the popular catcher was
much better and is enjoying the
eating of strained foods.
The report said the lung infec
f tion which developed Thursday is
| almost cleared.
I Campanella was paralyzed
i from his chest down. The report
said his paralysis shows only
• slight improvement but he is
j gradually gaining more feeling in
! parts of his body.
Three Air Collisions Over Southern
California In As Many Days Brings
Demand For Stricter Traffic Control
LOS ANGELES, (^ — Collision
of two military planes over sub
urban Norwalk, killing 48 per
sons, brought a demand today for
immediate action on the part of
the Secretary of Defense.
County Supervisor Kenneth
Hahn, noting that the Norwalk
disaster was one of three aerial
collisions over Southern Califor
nia in as many days, said:
“I am sending a telegram to the
Secretary of Defense, asking that
he appoint a special investigating
court not merely to fix the blame
for the crash but to study the in
creasing problems of air traffic
in metropolitan areas.
“The court should be empow
ered to make new rules, if neces
sary, to protect the lives and pro
perty of our residents ...”
Gov. Goodwin J. Knight earlier
called for a full-scale congres
sional investigation of airway
traffic controls. He said, “Such
an investigation is long overdue.
The people of California are en
titled to some positive action.”
The tragic series—which took
a total of 55 lives—began Friday.
Two Air Force B-26 bombers
smashed together over the desert
east of Daggett, killing the two
man crew of one of them.
Saturday night over Norwalk a
C-118 Military Air Transport Ser
vice plane and a Navy Neptune
patrol bomber rammed together.
And yesterday, while investi
gators still were poking through
charred wreckage at Norwalk,
two civilian planes collided 30
miles east of here. All five occu
pants of the two craft died.
The Norwalk collision came on
a cloudless night at 2,500 feet
with a fiery explosion witnessed
by hundreds
The 4-engine MATS transport
hit one of the busiest sections of
Norwalk. By some miracle only
one of Norwalk’s 69,000 residents
died in the accident. She was a
23-year-old housewife, Mrs. Edith
Hernandez, decapitated by flying
plane parts. All 41 service person
nel and reservists aboard the
transport were killed.
The Navy bomber crashed and
missed blocks of homes by a few
hundred feet. Two survived of1
the eight reservists aboard on a
training flight. i
U. S. PUTS SATELLITE INTO SPACE
-
NAVY MAY TRY TO LAUNCH
VANGUARD MISSILE SOON
-<3
Russia Ready To
Discuss Control
Of Outer Space ^
By HAROLD K. MILLS
MOSCOW, UP)—The Soviet gov
ernment has notified President
Eisenhower officially that it will
discuss fully the control of outer
space as part of a package deal
including the abolition of nuclear
weapons and the reduction of
armed forces.
Premier Bulganin, in a com
munique delivered yesterday in
Washington, said the Soviet
Union accepted the idea of pre
paring for a summit conference
through normal diplomatic chan
nels but ruled out any prior for
eign ministers’ conference be
cause of Soviet opposition to Sec
retary of State Dulles.
Bulganin, replying to President
Eisenhower’s Jan. 12 letter, pro
posed a nine-point agenda tfor a
summit meeting of East and West
leaders.
Soviet Foreign Ministry spokes
man Leonid F. Ilyichev told a
news conference today the Soviet
government is ready to partici
pate in a summit meeting based
on either broad or restricted
representation.
Statehood Bill
May Pass Senate
Within 10 Days
By FRANK VAILLE
WASHINGTON, (51 — Alaskan
statehood advocates marked time
today almost impatiently, as they
waited the nod from congression
al leaders to bring their pet pro
posal before either House or Sen
ate.
Although some supporters, who
earlier had predicted January ac
tion on the bill, still say they
expect it to be brought up any
day.
Rep. O’Brien (D-NY) chairman
of $he House Territories subcom
mittee said last night he expects
the bill to be approved by the
Senate “within 10 days.”
Some course of action may be
charted this week when the Sen
ate Democratic Policy Committee
gathers to discuss scheduling of
legislation for Senate action. The
group usually meets on Tuesday.
A source close to Texas’ Sen.
Lyndon Johnson, the Senate’s
Democratic leader, said only he
expects the bill to be passed by
the Senate by April 1, but left
open the possibility of earlier
consideration.
The same source disclosed that
a recent poll taken at Johnson’s
instructions, showed the Alaskan
bill would receive at least 60
votes in the Senate.
By FRED S. HOFFMAN
WASHINGTON, W—The Navy,
beaten into space by the Army’s
Explorer satellite, was pushing
preparation today for another try
at getting its Vanguard vehicle
aloft.
The 72 - foot Vanguard rocket
was visible at its launching tower
at Gape Canaveral, Fla., pointing
to a possible early firing attempt.
But the Navy kept mum on its
plans.
And there was renewed talk of
sending a rocket to the moon as
the Explorer whirred through
space on its mission of collecting
and radioing back scientific in
formation.
Meanwhile, free world states
men welcomed America’s break
through which some of them said
should have a “favorable influ
ence” on finding a formula for
East-West peace.
Vice President Nixon said the
American achievement “should
have the effect of developing un
usual support in world opinion”
for President Eisenhower’s pro
posal to dedicate outer space to
peaceful uses.
Although there have been some
congratulatory comments from
Russian sources, one Soviet scien
tist noted that the 30.S pound Ex
plorer is much smaller than
either of the Russian satellites.
However, the scientist Kiril
Stanyukovich, voiced the hope in
a Moscow broadcast that “peace
ful competition of satellites in the
two countries will lead to en
richment of the world’s scientific
knowledge.”
Eisenhower .has said that all
data collected by the Explorer
will be shared freely with other
nations, including Russia.
The Explorer, six feet long and
shaped like a pointed tube, is
sending back coded radio signals
reporting on temperatures, cos
mic rays and meteorites it is
meeting in its 18,000-mile-an
hour journey.
Wire grids mounted here and
there on the outside of the satel
lite record any contact with small
meteorite particles—literally star
dust. Scientists report some of
these grids already have been
broken but they’re not sure yet
whether this resulted from con
tact with meteorites or merely
from the jarring the Explorer re
ceived in being pushed into space.
Moscow Paper Unlikely
To Print Explorer Story
MOSCOW, UPl — The editor of
the newspaper Evening Moscow,
the Soviet capital’s only after
noon newspaper, told Western
correspondents Saturday he had
been told the story about the
American satellite Explorer was
interesting. But, he added, the
newspaper was unlikely to print
it.
“We seem to have mislaid our
Tass dispatch on that subject,”
he said.
By BEN FUNK
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., I®—
The Army fired a tube of metal
more than six feet long into an
orbit around the earth Friday
night.
It was the Army’s Jupiter-C
missile that fired a 30.8-pound
“moon” aloft and recovered some
of the U. S. prestige lost when.
Russia boosted her two Sputniks
into space last fall.
With a huge burst of flame and
a thunderous roar that could be
heard for miles along Florida’s
east coast, the Jupiter blasted off
from this top-secret firing base.
About an hour and three-quar
ters later, its satellite had com
pleted its first journey around
the world and tracking stations
were receiving its radio signals.
It was so well established in
orbit, said Maj. Gen. John B.
Medaris, head of the Army’s mis
sile test program, that it will re
main aloft from 2 to 10 years.
It is unlikely the Army’s satel
lite will be visible to the naked
eye.
There are no living organisms
| in the satellite, the Army said.
| The Navy plans to put yeast cells
I in one or more of its satellites
; in an experiment to provide data
■ on the reaction of living matter
j to conditions outside the earth’s
j atmosphere.
Conflicting Data
There was confusion in early
reports about the altitude of the
satellite. Medaris said the dis
tance from the earth in its ellip
tical orbit would range between
185 and 1,230 miles. Dr. Werner
Von Braun, designer of the rocket
■ said it would swing as high as
j 2,000 miles and as low as 230.
Von Braun said the metal tube
j is circling the earth once every
113 minutes. Medaris said the
time is 106 minutes.
They disagreed also on the
baby moon’s speed. Von Braun
figured it at 19,400 mph; Med
aris said almost exactly 18,000.
The satellite — christened the
Explorer by its Army sponsors—
has the only radio voice coming
| to earth from out in space. Sput
nik I has disintegrated and the
I radio batteries of the dog-carry
ing Sputnik II have long been
dead.
Two hours after the firing,
Medaris told a news conference
that the Army “has been directed
Continued on Page Two
Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, chief of
research projects for the Army
Ballistic Missile agency at Hunts
ville, Ala., said it has been deter
mined tentatively that the Ex
plorer’s egg-shaped orbit carries
it to within 212 miles of the
earth and 1,800 miles at its outer
most point.
Stuhlinger also said the Ameri
can satellite is completing a trip
around the earth once every 115.1
| minutes.
The Army said a team of ob
j servers at Holloman Air Force
j Base, Alamogordo, N. M., had
j sighted the Explorer Saturday
j night. The New Mexico moon
watch team probably is the first
: to have spotted the Army satel
I lite.