m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS _
VOL. LV No. 99 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1953 Per Copy—15^
Four Injured In
Plane Crash In
Brooks Mountains
FAIRBANKS, UP — A twin-en
gine Grumann amphibian plane
piloted by an Alaska bush pilot
crashed Tuesday on a 5,500 foot
peak in the Brooks mountain
range, injuring its four occu
pants.
The Air Force, reporting the
crash, said a helicopter was flown
to the scene Tuesday night to at
tempt to pick up the survivors.
A paramedic team radioed ear
lier two of the injured were in
serious condition, the Air Force
said.
The pilot of the crashed plane
was identified as Bud Branham,
owner of a lodge at Rainy Pass
and operator of an air service.
Identity of the three passengers
was not known here but they
were believed to be hunters en
route to the remote area for the
opening of hunting season Thurs
day.
The plane crashed early Tues
day about 80 miles north of Bet
ties, approximately 250 miles
northwest of here.
The wreckage was sighted
Tuesday afternoon after a search
by planes from the Tenth Air
Rescue Squadron at Ladd Air
Force base here.
CIO Unions Kick Off
Campaign to Elect
Pro-Labor Cdngress In ’54
WASHINGTON, UP)—CIO lead
ers bitterly attacked the Eisen
hower administration and the Re
publican controlled Congress
Wednesday as they kicked off a
campaign to elect a pro - labor
House and Senate in 1954.
President Walter Reuther of the
big labor organization set the tone
when he told the CIO Political
Action Committee that the ad
ministration’s domestic and for
eign records are both bad.
He said a “lack of decisive
leadership” and the activities of
Sen. McCarthy have sent this
country’s prestige in Europe
tumbling to an “all-time low.”
Reuther, who recently return
ed from Europe, said McCarthy
“divides, confuses and demoral
izes our friends and allies.”
Citizenship Will Be Conferred
On Fort Richardson Soldier
In Special Ceremony
ANCHORAGE, UP) — Federal
court will be convened on the
parade field at ,Fort Richardson
Wednesday by Judge Geo. Folta
to confer United States citizen
ship on Sgt. 1/c Hans Rolf Bauer,
a German.
The ceremony is believed to be
the first of its kind in the United
States • or its territories.
Bauer is a former soldier in the
Germany army. He joined the U.S.
Army after coming to this country
four years ago.
Statehood Party Will
Arrive Friday Evening
And Remain Overnight
•The Nome Republican Club has
received a wire from the Gover
nor’s office, stating that the sen
atorial party headed by Sen. Hugh
Butler will arrive here some time
Friday and remain overnight. The
wire states that “no hearing pres
ently scheduled for Nome but
plans may change.”
In addition to Sen. Butler the
committee members are:
Sens. Barrett (R-Wyo), Murray
iD-Mont), Clements (D-Ky), An
derson (D-NM) and Jackson ID
Wash).
The Chamber of Commerce and
the Republican Club are cooperat
ing in plans for the entertainment
of the group but their time of ar
rival has not been determined.
Should they arrive in time, it
is reported that a dinner will pro
bably be arranged and a meeting
following. All interested in at
tending the dinner or meeting
should get in touch with Cham
ber or Republican leaders, as it
will probably be too late to an
nounce completed plans.
Eisenhower Calls For
Concrete Action
Against Discrimination
NEW YORK, UP) — President
Eisenhower has called for “an ac
tion committee” to deal with the
problem of discrimination in em
ployment on government con
tracts, Vice President Richard
Nixon said Wednesday.
Seven members of the .govern
ment contract committee took the
oath in Eisenhower’s presence in
the Waldorf-Astoria hotel.
The President interrupted his
western vacation to fly here for a
busy day of government activity,
including the dedication of a 32
million dollar federal housing
project.
Nixon, chairman of the Gov
ernment Contract Committee, said
the Presiderit met with the com
mittee members and “gave' us his
concept of what the committee
should do and what he expected.”
Nixon said the President ex
pects concrete action on the prob
lems of discrimination. He said
the committee not only will study
the problem generally but will
receive and attempt to deal with
specific complaints.
Harvey Aluminum Has No
Comment on Projected Hydro
Plant On Copper River
LOS ANGELES, UP) — Officials
of the Harvey Aluminum Co. said
Tuesday they had decided against
any comment at present on the
possibilities for their proposed
Copper River hydroelectric proj
ect in Alaska.
The firm filed a preliminary
application Monday for a permit
for a hydroelectric project. There
has been no indication of its scope
if built.
Search Continues
For Airplane Of
Wealthy Oil Man
J ^
KETCHIKAN, (M — With no
clues to go on except a cold air
trail and thousands of miles to be
searched, planes of two nations
continued an international air
search Wednesday for a wealthy
family of four and their 17-year
o'ld passenger who vanished Mon
day night.
Nothing but negative reports
were received yesterday as, one
after another, two United States
Coast Guard planes and three
Canadian Air Forte bombers,
landed at Annette Island.
It was at Annette that Ellis
Hall, 54, New Mexico and Texas
oil man, his wife and two daugh
ters, and Patrick Hibben, son of
a University of New Mexico pro
fessor, last were seen.
They had stopped at Annette to
refuel on a flight from Juneau,
300 miles to the northwest, to
Bellingham, Wash., 700 miles
south of Annettee.
An official of one of the oil
companies owned by Hall said a
reward of $25,000 is offered for
information leading to the five
persons.
Country in which the plane
vanished is rugged and wooded,
with numerous islands in the sur
rounding waters. A light rain was
falling in the region Tuesday but
temperatures were mild enough
to offer no threat to survival of
the occupants of the plane suc
ceeded in landing safely.
Red Charges of Brutality ..
Met By Blunt U.N Denial
PANMUNJOM,-UP) — The U.N.
Command Wednesday bluntly
denied Communist charges that
prisoners have been brutally
treated. It told the Reds the phys
ical condition of repatriated POWs
proved the accusation was a “dis
tortion of the truth.”
The denial was made at a meet
ing of a POW Repatriation Com
mission and answered Communist
charges leveled last Friday.
Col. L. C. Friedersdorff, chief
Allied delegate, said the Red ac
cusations of brutality were “in
tended to discredit the U.N. Com
mand.” The Reds had charged the
allies with a multitude of in
humane acts — from using toxic
gas to food poisoning.
Friedersdorff also took a slap at
Communist Red Cross workers,
who reportedly have been acting
as propaganda agents for the
Reds.
“It is obvious from their actions
that some of them are attempting
to engage in activities exceeding
the purely humanitarian mission
with which they are charged,” he
declared. “We have no intention
of permitting them to engage in
such activities.” ,
Supporters of Statehood For Alaska
Say Mismanagement by Washington Is
Fast Depleting Territory’s Resources
- <s
JUNEAU, W*l — The Senate In
terior Committee group hearing
Alaskans on their attitude toward
statehood heard nine in favor of
giving the huge territory the
stature of a state Tuesday morn
ing and two who expressed oppo
sition to immediate statehood.
Carl Heinmiller of Chilkoot at
Haines, who- came north after
World War II, said the young peo
ple of the territory are willing to
take a chance on statehood and
its cost. He said, however, he fav
ored providing tax incentives for
industry.
John Doyle, an Alaska resi
dent for the past year who was
an aide to former Governor Er
nest Gruening, advocated state
hood but said he was opposed to
a proposal to elect a governor for
the territory. “This only a sop,”
he told the committee.
R. J. Sommers, longtime Alaska
resident and former highway en
gineer, spo'ke against statehood.
He said he doubted the ability of
the territory to pay its costs and
cited declining mining and fish
ing industries among his rea
sons.
Actually, there was little in the
way of new argument on either
side presented at the Tuesday
hearing.
Sen. Hugh Butler, the commit
tee chairman, said before the
hearing opened that he felt there
had not been any new testimony,
either for or against statehood,
at the Monday Ketchikan hearing,
either.
One fisherman testified that he
felt Alaska needed statehood to
“get out of control of the salmon
business and the Fish and Wildlife
Service.”
Business Enjoys Best
Summer On Record
WASHINGTON, UP) — Business
is enjoying its best summer ever,
the Department of Commerce
says.
A department report included
these figures:
Steel and automobile produc
tion were at near record rates in
July. A record for any three
month period of manufacturers’
sales was set when such sales in
June remained above the 26 bil
lion dollar level.
Unemployment in July was the
lowest for the month since World
War II—IV2 million persons.
However, the department also
said new orders continued to fall
off in June, to a level five bil
lins below last September’s.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Special meeting of Republican
Club tonight at 8:00 at City Hall
to discuss and make plans for re
ception of Congressional party.
Wallace Mclvor, Chairman
> JUNEAU, UP) — A Senate Inter
ior Committee group opened the
second phase of its “on the road’'
statehood hearing Here Tuesday
after statehood supporters out
numbered the opponents in testi
mony at Ketchikan Monday.
However, the committee chang
ed a rule to allow Mrs. Mildred
Hermann, secretary of the Alaska
Statehood Committee, to appear as
as a pro-statehood witness despite
her having appeared at statehood
hearings in Washington, D.C. The
committee agreed to hear her
testimony here on estimated costs
of statehood after questions of
the costs were raised in the
Ketchikan hearing.
Witnesses who testified at
Ketchikan against “statehood
now” said "they favored it after
the territory gains more new in
dustries.
Editor Emery F. Tobin of the
Alaska Sportsman magazine said
he feared the cost of statehood
reflected by taxes would deter
new industries.
Sen. Jackson (D-Wash) respond
ed that the record showed no in
dustries came to Alaska during the
period of few taxes and since
Alaska has no property tax, new
industries would pay chiefly on
profits, as they would in the
states.
Supporters of statehood said
chances for Alaska joining the
Union are being threatened by
mismanagement of resources, such
as fisheries which are fast being
depleted. Several declared local
control through statehood is the
only way to save them.
Merchant Harry Cowan asserted
the director of the Fish and Wild
life Service bypassed several hear
ings in Ketchikan while he was in
the area, indicating a lack of in
terest in conservation.
Mrs. Robert A. Ellis said her
great - grandfather fled Germany
to New York over a century ago
to escape taxation and conscrip
tion without representation. She
added although her grandfather
was the second man from New
York to join the Union Army;
her husband served four years in
the Navy in World War II and
her son is in the Navy now, she
is in the same predicament in
Alaska as was her great-grand
father in Germany.
Mrs. Ellis charged that fed
eral interest in Alaska prob
lems is on the wane, instead of
on the increase, citing a two
year pileup of court cases at
Anchorage which lacks a fed
eral judge.
A Ketchikan attorney, L. O.
Gore, opened testimony for the
bloc opposing statehood. Gore re
presents several Alaska salmon
(Continued on Page Two)
LWY Roller Skating Party
Tonight at the School From 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Special Games and Fun For All!
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