THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 P.O. Box 618
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
E. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at the
postoffice at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
PRACTICE SWINGS
NO REAL SHAKEUP
Despite the popular notion, a relatively small per
centage of federal jobholders are to be displaced as a
result of the election. It is estimated that at least 95
percent of the approximately 2,600,000 civilian em
ployes of the executive branch are secure in their pres
ent jobs, barring drastic payroll cuts.
Practically all of these employes are protected by
Civil Service laws, providing procedural safeguards
against arbitrary dismissals. The other five percent,
which generally takes in most of the top policy-making
force, comes in for different consideration. This policy
making group always changes considerably with each
new administration.
Perhaps the total of important posts to be filled by
the new administration will number as many as 2,000,
though some estimates place the figure much higher.
Topping the list will be the nine cabinet members,
all under - secretaries, assistant - secretaries and other
top bureau officials. The largest group in this category
is the bureau chiefs, whose jobs are not "necessarily
secure, though most of them are likely to stay on. Some
have Civil Service status.
Subject to removal are some 58 ambassadors and
25 ministers, half of them career men in the foreign
service, who would probably be transferred, although
not dismissed.
Postmasters, who have traditionally been displaced
by changes in administrations, are now under Civil
Service.
New President Can Hire
And Fire Only About 2,500
Of 2V2 Million Employes
WASHINGTON, (/P) — Robert
Ramspeck, Civil Service Commis
sion chairman, says a new presi
dent can hire and fire only about
one-half of one per cent of all
federal workers.
1
Ramspeck said that this amount
ed to approximately 2,500 out of
inore than 2Vz million federal em
ployes.
However, he estimated a new
administration can change be
tween 12,000 and 25,000 jobs, ap
parently counting assistants and 1
deputies not appointed directly by
the President but by officials un- ;
der him.
Stevenson Will do His Best
To Make Democratic Party
Useful Instrument to U.S.
TUCSON, Ariz., (/P)—Gov. Ad
lai Stevenson says he hopes the
Democratic Party' can be a “posi
tive and intelligent opposition,”
and that he will do all in his
power to make it a useful instru
ment to the nation.
“To the extent that I can help
... I will be glad to do so,” he
said as he relaxed on an Arizona
cattle ranch. t
The defeated Democratic candi
date for President, who' is vaca
tioning at the De la Osa (she-bear)
Ranch 60 miles south of here, de
clined to be specific about his
plans for the future, or the role
he might play in the party.
Gruening Predicts
Alaska Population
300,000 i>y I960
LONGVIEW, Wash., (#>)—Gov.
Ernest Gruening of Alaska pre
dicts the territory’s population
v/ill to.ul 300,000 “conservatively”
by 1960.
He estimated Alaska’s present
population at 160,000.
Gruening made these comments
in a speech here last week at the
Lower Columbia Junior College
Community Forum, before he left
for Washington, D.C. Advocating
statehood for Alaska, he said:
“We can support a good state
amply. Alaska has far more re
sources than many states. We are
just tapping our abundant resour
ces.”
Gruening said Alaska’s fisheries
program is below par because
“Congress does not appropriate
enough money—We would.”
The governor accused industry
of “cleaning up” in Alaska and
leaving little money behind to de
velop the territory.
He said he worked eight years
to develop a tax system so Alaska
“could share in the profits.”
ALCOA Plans
Doubling Capacity
Of Skagway Plant
FAIRBANKS, UP)—The Alumi
num Company of America’s pro
posed aluminum plant near Skag
way will be much bigger than
first announced, an Alaska official
reported here this week.
George Sundborg, manager of
the Alaska Development Board,
said ALCOA is planning on doub
ling the capacity of the Taiya
aluminum smelter project as soon
•as the first unit is completed in
1958.
This would bring the cost of
the plant to $700,000,000 and the
capacity to 400,000 . tons of ingot
aluminum yearly. The original in
stallation is to cost $400,000,000.
Sundborg reported progress has
been made on the two major ob
stacles in the Skagway project.
He said informal discussions
have been held in the Canadian
government to acquire the needed
water for power. And he reported
a congressional subcommittee
which was in Alaska last month
looked favorably on the proposal
to let ALCOA acquire 20,000 acres
of land for the power plants,
smelter site and townsite.
Sundborg said ALCOA officials
were hopeful construction could
begin in 1953. It is expected to
take five years to build the dams,
tunnels, power plant, smelter and
town.
ANCHORAGE ATTORNEY
RELEASED ON $1,000 BAIL
ANCHORAGE, (/P)—An Anchor
age attorney arrested on charges
of tampering with a government
witness has issued a statement
saying “the whole thing resulted
from bitter feeling” between Fed
eral Judge George W. Folta and
the lawyer.
The attorney arrested is Bailey
E. Bell, 60. He was arrested under
a secret indictment returned by
the current grand jury, and was
released after posting $1,000 bail.
Bell’s statement said he “did
no wrong.”
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Arctic Sanitary Service
Phone RED 1 81
Eight Seattle Children
Orphaned When Auto
Kills Their Parents
SEATTLE, UP) — Eight Seattle
children were left orphans today
by the death of their father and
mother. And a 16-year-old girl
left as nominal head of the fam
ily was trying to make plans to
keep the family under one roof.
The parents, Haildor A. Byron,
38, a longshoreman and his wife,
Josephine, 35,- were killed by an
automobile early Sunday as they
walked alopg a North End Seattle
road.
The surviving children are Bev
erly 16, and Robert, 17, who left
home Friday night for San Diego
to receive boot training in the
Navy, and these younger children:
Harry, 14; Darrell, 13; Flora,
12; Keith, 11; Jonny 6, and Vickie,
5.
Coroner John P. Brill said a
chaplain at San Diego said he
would aid in getting a leave or
discharge for Robert.
Meanwhile, assured of aid by
relatives, Beverly said she hopes
to keep the family together. How
she will go about, she didn’t
know.
21st U.S. Jet Ace In Korea
SEOUL, UP) — U.S. Sabre jets
Monday shot down at least five
Communist MIG - 15s over North
west Korea, the U.S. Fifth Air
Force reported. The series of air
battles produced the 21st Ameri
can ace of the Korean war.
He is Col. Royal Baker of Mc
Kinney, Tex. He got one MIG
Monday to raise his total to four
MIGs and one LA-9 propellor
driven fighter destroyed.
Along the ground, Red Chinese
artillery threw a thunderous
hours-long barrage at blood-soak
ed Pinpoint Hill and Rocky Point.
It may have been a prelude to an
after-dark Communist infantry
assault.
Allied artillery roared in an
swer as United Nations forces
sought out the big Red guns which
were dropping a hail of exploding
steel on Allied positions in the
Sniper Ridge sector of the central
front.
Transport Clashes,
Killing 44 Men on
Way Back to Korea
By ROBERT TUCKMAN
SEOUL, (/P) — An Air Force
transport plane, flying American
soldiers back to the Korean War
; after brief rest leaves in Japan,
plowed into a Korean mountain
Friday. Fourty-four men were
killed.
An Air Force spokesman said
the C-119 Flying Boxcar carried
37 U.S. soldiers and seven Ameri
can Air Force crewmen. There
were no survivors.
Highest ranking soldier aboard
was a warrant officer, the highest
i-anking airman a captain, the Air
Force said.
A reporter who accompanied a
search party to the scene said*
most of the bodies strewn about
the mountainside were horribly
mangled or charred. Four men
had partially opened parachutes,
indicating .they tried in vain to
bail out before the crash.
Christmas packages purchased
in Japan were among the wreck
age.
It was the first crash of a trans
port flying soldiers back from rec
reation leaves, the spokesman
said, “and to my knowledge, it is
the worst trarlsport disaster in
this theater since the war began.”
It smashed into a ‘V’-shaped
junction of two mountain ridges
about 2,200 feet high. The -area, «.
20 miles east of Seoul, is so rough
that helicopters cannot land.
—
NOME CAB
— NEW OWNERS —
Art Monroe - Clair Sears
■
COFFEE
SHOP
NOW t<
OPEN
■
Plione Main 141
■ —.-. .
SCHEDULE
•
Monday — Wednesday — Friday
FAIRBANKS • - NOME - - KOTZEBUE - - FAIRBANKS
| 1
Arrive Nome 10:00 a.m. — Depart 10:30 a.m. j
. . ^ : .
I S i
Sunday — Tuesday — Thursday — Saturday
FAIRBANKS - - KOTZEBUE - - NOME - - FAIRBANKS f
Arrive Nome 11:40 a.m. — Depart 12:10 p.m.
FLIGHTS CONNECT DAILY
IN FAIRBANKS
WITH j
Alaska Airlines or Pan American
; ■ 'to
Seattle and Portland