as NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LV No. 114 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1953 Per Copy—15^
“Explanations” To
Prisoners of War
Are Postponed
By ROBERT B. TUCKMAN
PANMUNJOM, UF>—'The Korean
Repatriation Commission, appar
ently wrangling over rules Friday
postponed until as late as next
Thursday the start of Allied and
Red efforts to coax home prison
ers refusing repatriation.
No specific new date was set
for the start of prisoner inter
views, a phase of the truce which
the Allied spokesman called “the
psychological battle of our time.”
It was not clear whether the
neutral commission -agreed to an
Allied demand that the delay be
deducted from the 90-day inter
view period, which the U.N. Com
mand said must be counted from
the time all unrepatriated prison
ers are in neutral custody.
During the interview period,
22,600 former prisoners of the
U.N. and 359 prisoners captured
by the Reds—including 23 Ameri
cans — are to be questioned by
their original side.
The commission reportedly has
been trying to reconcile widely
different recommendations sub
mitted by the Allies and Reds on
rules to govern the operation.
These are the main points of
conflict between the Allied and
Communist views:
1. The Communists insist on in
terviews with individual prison
ers; the Allies demand groups of
25.
2. The U.N. Command wants
the prisoners to have the right to
refuse to listen to the explana
tion; the Communists demand that
all prisoners listen.
The Allies object to individual
interviews on the belief that a
prisoner appearing before Red
explainers might be intimidated
by threat of reprisal and other
means.
Communist newsman Wilfred
Burchett once more Friday admit
ted there may be some American
prisoners held in Red Manchuria.
Report U.S. Plans To Give
Reds Choice of Free Korea
Or Occupation by Troops
NEW YORK, UP) — The New
York Times said today U.S. gov
ernment officials are planning to
give the Communists at the Ko
rean peace conference a choice
between agreeing to an indepen
dent Korea under international
guarantee or facing the continued
presence of American troops in
the war-torn peninsula.
In a dispatch from United Na
tions headquarters, the Times
added, however, that the plan
has not yet received final ap
proval from the National Secur
ity Council or President Eisen
hower, although its basic prin
ciples have been disclosed to
representatives of at least two of
the 15 other U.N. members with
fighting forces in Korea.
“There is no doubt,” the Times
declared, “that the policy re
flects the belief in the State De
partment that it offers the only
hope that a permanent settlement
of the Korean question can be
reached in the foreseeable future.”
Colonel Williams
Honored At
Wednesday Dinner
Tribute was paid Col. Harold
I. Williams, commanding officer
of Nome Field at a banquet Wed
nesday .evening sponsored by the
City of Nome and the Chamber of
Commerce with George Goshaw
as chairman, assisted by Capt.
Stan Morgan. The dinner culmin
ated a day of special observance
by the community in his honor.
Letters and wires were read by
Mayor Steve Andersen from:
Gen. Matthew B. Ridgeway,
chief of the staff of the U.S. Army
extending his best wishes for
“Col. Wiliams Day”;
Gov. Frank Heintzleman, who
said in part, “This spirit of co
operation will do much to streng
then the position of Alaskans now
and in the future”;
Gen. Nathan F. Twining, chief
of staff, U.S. Air Force, “My
heartiest congratulations to the of
ficers and men stationed at Nome
on their fine spirit of cooperation
which has earned them this spe
cial recognition by the mayor and
citizens of Nome”;
Lt. Gen. J. H. Atkinson, Com
mander in Chief of the Alaskan
Command, “This action is indica
tive of cooperation and friendly
relations for which we strive in
dealing with our local communi
ties.”
Letters were also received from
Maj. Gen. W. M. Miley, Com
manding General of the U. S.
Army in Alaska and Brig. Gen.
Donald B. Smith, commander of
Ladd Air Force Base.
Toastmaster Ralph Lomen call
ed on representatives of several
organizations to express appreci
tion and fitting remarks for the
occasion. Responses were made by
Mayor Andersen; Dewey Good
rich, president of N.W.A. Cham
ber of Commerce; Boyd Harwood,
Rotary Club; Maj. John Cooley,
Alaska National Guard and the
Alaska Road Commission; Capt.
Stan Morgan, A.C.S.; William
Barber, C.A.A.; William Angell,
(Continued on Page Two)
Oveta Culp Hobby Calls
For Concerted Effort Fight
Juvenile Delinquency
CHICAGO, uei — Oveta Culp
Hobby, Secretary of Health, Edu
cation and Welfare, called today
for a concerted effort to halt an
“alarming rise” in juvenile de
linquency in America.
She said parents, churches,
schools and civic groups must
see to it that every child learns
the difference between right and
wrong and learns it early.
“And every child, regardless of
race, creed or economic circum
stances must be insured a fair
chance in the world,” she said in
a statement released by the Na
tional Council of Church of Christ
in the U.S.A.
The statement was issued in
connection with Christian Educa
tion Week which opens Sept. 27
under sponsorship of the Council
with 40 denominations cooperat
ing. There will be special services
in thousands of the nation’s
churches.
Pan American Airways Protests
Exclusion From “Great Circle”
Route Across Pacific to Tokyo
France Offers To
Negotiate Peace
In Indochina
By STANLEY JOHNSON
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., LD —
France today offered to negotiate
with the Communists for peace in
embattled Indochina and sug
gested that the projected Korean
political conference be broadened
to take on the task.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mau
rice Schumann also told the U.N.’s
60-nation General Assembly that
France would do all in its power
to have the conference invite In
dia to join in its work. ,
Schumann said that if the Kor
ean conference didn’t get around
to the Indochinese problem, it
might be taken up on a diplo
matic level afterwards.
The French diplomat said he
had heard “unofficial declara
tions” from the “two powers
which inspire and arm the Viet
minh rebels” that they were op
posed to negotiate an end to the
war.
This was a clear reference to
the Soviet Union and Communist
China. He then declared that “it
remains for them to prove that
these ambiguous hints are not
mere propaganda” and suggested
that the peace talks begin during
or immediately after the Korean
conference.
As for the Korean aspects of
the conference, Schumann said
France felt that India — which
failed in a British and Russian
backed bid for a conference in
vitation—could give “useful ad
vice.”
Schumann, making France’s
major foreign policy declaration
of 1953 at the Assembly, defined
his country’s goals as “to unite
Europe and seek a lasting under
standing among the great pow
ers.”
He told chief Soviet delegate
Andrei Vishinsky directly that a
united European defense com
munity — which, in the natural
course of events, would mean a
European defense army — pre
sented no threat to Russia but
would rather guarantee her secur
ity.
National Commander of
American Legion To
Visit Far East Countries
KANSAS CITY, UB—First-hand
information on conditions in the
Far East will be sought by Wayne
E. Richards of Arkansas City,
Kas., national commander of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Richards arranged to fly from
Kansas City today on the first leg
of a trip that will take him via
Anchorage to Japan, Korea, Hong
Kong, the Philippines, Guam and
Hawaii.
He will present VFW citations
to President Syngman Rhee of
Korea and Generalissimo Chiang
Kai Shek of Nationalist China
during the trip.
WASHINGTON, UP) — Pan Am
erican Airways complained today
it has been forced to detour 1,000
to 2,000 miles through the mid
Pacific for the “feather-bedding”
of Northwest Airlines.
It said in a brief filed with
the Civil Aeronautics Board
(CAB) that barring Pan Ameri
can from the northern or great
circle route flown by Northwest—
“The most direct and economical
route to Tokyo” — costs United
States taxpayers $220 for every
passenger required to make this
longer trip.
The brief was filed in a board
proceeding to determine trans
pacific and Far Eastern routes of
U.S. flag airlines.
Henry J. Friendly, general
counsel of Pan American, said this
figure on costs to the taxpayers
was based on the added subsidy
requirement for flights over the
longer routes.
“We say that Northwest does
not need this artificial assistance,”
Friendly declared.
“We say further that if North
west does not need this artificial
assistance, there is no proper basis
for Northwest’s recertification at
all.”
Northwest has proposed that its
route be extended to Calcutta for
a junction with TWA, Transworld
Airlines. This would provide a
round-the-world service to com
pete against Pan American.
Friendly said that although
Northwest has had the shortest
route to the Orient, it has failed
to develop its commercial reve
nues to reduce dependence on
government support.
He added that Northwest gave
preference to its domestic service
and failed to match Pan Ameri
can’s Pacific service with pressur
ized, high speed airplanes hnd fre
quent schedules.
“After five years of operation,
Northwest’s carrying between the
United States and the Orient
amounted to only 5,802 passen
gers,” Friendly said.
“This is about eight round trip
passengers a day.
‘'If Northwest had not operated
west of Anchorage in 1952, the
government would have saved in
the neighborhood of $4,500,000.
“Applying Northwest’s 1952
trans-Pacific passengers against
this figure means an added cost
to the government of $775 for
each passenger.”
Alaska Fishermen's Union Is
Non-Resident Bargaining Agent
SEATTLE, iff) — The Alaska
Fishermen’s Union (Ind) has been
recognized as the chief bargain
ing power for 5,000 non-resident
fishermen in Bristol Bay, south
eastern and westward Alaska
areas.
The National Labor Relations
Board conducted elections among
the fishermen and found a con
test only in the Bristol Bay area.
There 1,613 voted for the AFU
and 55 for the Bering Sea Fisher
men’s Union.
250 Firms Get
Specifications Of
Haines Pipeline
ANCHORAGE, UP)—'The Alaska
District Army Corps of Engineers
said today that an unprecedented
interest has been shown by pros
pective bidders in the proposed
615-mile Haines to Fairbanks
pipeline.
The contract section of the En
gineer District said approximately
250 sets of plans and specifica
tions have been issued by the
district’s offices in Anchorage and
Seattle. The requests have come
from throughout the United States
and Canada.
A $200 deposit is required for
each complete set which includes
approximately 800 pages of plans
and 400 pages of specifications
covering the pipeline construc
tion.
In addition to requests for the
plans, the district ist receiving a
large number for information
from contractors, manufacturers,
suppliers, bonding and insurance
companies, truckers, airlines and
railroads.
Included in the project with the
laying of the 8% inch welded steel
pipeline is the construction of a
pumping station, terminal and
takeoff facilities, tank farms, fam
ily housing and utilities.
Bids will be opened Oct. 14 in
Seattle with a pre-bid conference
between bidders and engineer
representatives on Oct. 1.
U.S. Offers To Return MIG
TO “Righful Owner” And
Withdraws $50,000 Offer
WASHINGTON, UP)— The United
States Thursday offered to return
to its “rightful owner” the MIG 15
jet plane flown into American
lines by a North Korean pilot.
At the same time, the Far East
Command withdrew for the dura
tion of peace talks the offer to
pay $50,000 for MIGs delivered to
the West.
The statement by Gen. Mark
W. Clark, U.N. commander, had
nothing to say directly about pay
ment to the Korean pilot who de
livered the first MIG last week.
Pentagon officials, however, no
ted that there was nothing in the
Clark statement to" make it retro
active. On that basis the Korean
would get his money—$50,000 for
the plane plus another $50,000
bonus as the first to take up the
U.N. offer.
ITALIAN WORKERS STAGE
ONE-DAY GENERAL STRIKE
ROME, (S)—Millions of Italian
industrial workers trooped back
to work today after a 24 - hour
general strike that shut down the
nation’s production facilities tight
er than any walkout since 1948.
Their return left observers with
some tough questions to ponder.
Both Commuillst and non-Com
munist unions joined in the walk
out, a sure indication that it
stemmed from something besides
politics or the Reds’ anti-NATO
campaign.
From the Alps to fruit - rich
Sicily, 75 to 90 per cent of the
nation’s production machinery
lay idle yesterday.