— NOME NUGGET
__OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LIX NO. 56 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1957 Per Copy—15^
Eisenhower Names
Mike Stepovich
Alaska Governor
WASHINGTON, UP)—President
Eisenhower Thursday nominated
Michael Stepovich of Fairbanks
to be governor of Alaska.
At the same time the President
appointed Waino Hendrickson for
a new term as secretary of the
territory.
Stepovich, a 38-year-old Re
publican, now is a member of the
Alaska territorial Senate. He was
named to succeed B. Frank Heint
zleman, who resigned as governor
early this year.
A native of Fairbanks, Stepo
vich served in 1951 as a member
of the Alaska House of Represen
tatives. He was Fairbanks city at
torney from 1949 to 1952.
His nomination, which is sub
ject to Senate confirmation, is for
a four-year term. The governor’s
salary is $19,000 a year.
Hendrickson has been secretary
of the territory since 1953. A Re
publican, he is a former mayor of
Juneau.
U.S. AIRMEN RESCUED
FROM TANKER PLANE
DITCHED IN ATLANTIC
LONDON, UP—Pulled from a
liferaft “in excellent condition”
several hours after their plane
belly-landed in rough Atlantic
seas, seven U.S. fliers were en
route to Gibraltar today by ship.
Three of the four engines of
their giant U.S. Air Force tanker
plane sputtered out 200 miles off
the Azores yesterday on a flight
from Europe to home base at
Lockbourne, Ohio.
The pilot landed the limping
Boeing KC-97 plane on the sea.
The crew transferred to the
rubber raft while U.S. air bases
in Europe, North Africa and the
Azores responded to S-O-S sig
nals hammered out while the
tanker plane was still aloft.
Search aircraft quickly located
the raft. The Norwegian tanker
Sandefjord took aboard the sur
vivors and headed for Gibraltar.
37 Die In Spain’s
Worst Air Disaster
MADRID UP—A passenger plane
crashed in flames last night in
front of a row of farm houses at
the edge of Madrid’s Barajas Air
port, killing all 37 persons aboard.
It was, Spain’s worst plane
disaster.
Rescue workers dug through
the still smoking debris this
morning for the bodies of 32 pas
sengers and 5 crewmen aboard
the two-engine Bristol 170, a
plane of British manufacture.
The plane of the Spanish air
line Aviacion y Commercio was
coming into Madrid from Santi
ago de Compostella in north
ern Spain.
Airport officials said the plane
was turning into a sharp bank
for the north-south runway at an
altitude of 500 feet. Witnesses
said it was caught in a strong gust
of wind.
The plane burst into flames
when it hit the ground, spraying
burning gasoline up to the front
doors of the farm houses.
MMM Hospital Gets
New Machine For Use
During Heart Surgery
The Nugget had a “preview”
and demonstration of the new
Caria Monitor which Dr. Fred
Langsam has just received for the
hospital.
The cardiac monitor was pur
chased with funds contributed to
| the hospital through efforts of the
i civic-minded management of The
' Theater, Willie and Virginia
j Brown, who organized an Easter
style show hospital benefit.
This instrument, explained Dr.
Langsam, is used during surgery
to aid the doctor in keeping an
! accurate check on the condition
| of the patient’s heart. As the doc
tor has many things, to check dur
ing an operation, this will be a i
great aid, he stated.
-v
Don Hungerford
Buys Hite Property
_ Don Hungerford announced to
day the purchase of the George
I Hite property here.
It is reported the property in
cludes about 33 houses as well as
motor vehicles, building supplies
and many other items.
Mr. Hungerford said he plans
to start immediately to rehabili
tate several of the houses which
are now vacant, which will help
materially to deviate the housing
shortage which is now so acute.
More Testimony
Of Beck Profiting
On Union Funds
WASHINGTON, UPt— Senate
rackets investigators developed
testimony today that teamsters j
boss Dave Beck and a mortgage |
banker split $11,585 derived from!
handling a fund raised by unions I
for the widow of Back’s “best and
closest friend.”
The Seattle mortgage banker,
Donol Hedlund, said Beck han
dled the transaction for Mrs. Ray
Leheney, widow of the man Hed
lund said was Beck’s best friend.
It was testified Beck handled
the deal as trustee for “the Ray i
Leheney Memorial Fund,” about
$80,000 which had been collected
from unions after the death of1
Leheney.
Hedlund’s story capped earlier
testimony that Beck collected a
one-third share of something over
$20,000 in brokerage fees on the j
investment of union funds in the !
mortgage market.
Sen. McClellan, chairman of
the committee, spoke of the pay
ments to Beck as a “kickback.”
Beck himself was absent as the
Senate investigators added to the
mounting web of testimony link
ing the 62-year-old union chief
tain with personal profiting from
his handling of his union’s funds.
They expect to recall Beck next
week for questioning about these
matters and about his relations
with a St. Louis brewery which
J gave a beer distributorship to a
Seattle company in which Dave
Beck Jr. held an interest.
There is scant prospect, how
ever, that they will get any an
swers of substance from Beck. He
has invoked the Fifth Amendment j
an even 150 times in previous ap- j
pearances before the committee. !
Boy Scout Officials
Embark On Trip
Through Alaska
SEATTLE, Lf)—A party of offi
cials of the Boy Scouts of Ameri
ca, including the national presi
dent, flew to Anchorage yester
day on a Pacific Northern Air
lines plane.
The group will visit Anchorage,
Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan
and Nome while in the territory.
It is the first time such a delega
tion has visited Alaska.
The group of Scout executives
is scheduled to arrive in Nome
Sunday morning.
Local Scout leaders and Boy
Scouts will meet at the Polaris
Hotel at 11 a.m. where bus ac
commodations have been ar
ranged to meet the party.
The Nome Rotary Club will
be host to the guests and Scout
leaders and representatives of
the several Scout groups at I
12:15 at the Eiering Sea Club. !
The party will leave Nome j
some time in the afternoon.
Included in the party are K. |
K. Bechtel, San Francisco, nation
al president; Edward Mathews,
San Francisco, assistant to Bech
tel; N. H. Gellert, Seattle, region
al executive committee; R. J.
Lloyd, Tacoma, regional commit
tee; Capt. A. Leppoluoto, Vancou
ver, Wash., regional executive
committee; and H. C. Rolfe, Seat
tle, vice president of the national
council.
_l
Meeting With Seaton To
Discuss Suspension of
Land Office Manager
WASHINGTON, UP)—Rep. Pelly]
(R-Wash) disclosed today he has'
asked an appointment with Sec- j
retary of Interior Seaton to dis- j
cuss the possible suspension of!
Virgil Seiser, manager of the An- :
chorage office of the Bureau of I
Land Management.
Felly’s office said additional in
formation he received involved
complaints from persons in An
chorage, Fairbanks and Seattle in
connection with oil leases.
“The least serious of these pro
tests,” said Pelly last week, “al
lege an arrogant assumption of
authority above and beyond the
purview of his office.”
FLU EPIDEMIC
RUNNING RAMPANT
IN EAST ASIA
SINGAPORE, UP)—'The biggest
influenza epidemic in years is
sweeping east Asia. Countless
thousands have been laid low by
the malady in the past week.
No deaths have been reported,
however.
In Singapore, more than 1,000
persons, including many school
children, are down with the ail
ment. Formosa has reported 150,
000 ill. Scattered cases have
turned up in Hong Kong, Saigon,
Bangkok and in the mainland
federation of Malaya.
Health authorities in Perth,
Australia, are keeping a close
check on all air passengers from
Singapore, hoping to prevent the
spread of the epidemic to Aus
tralia.
Floodtide of Opposition
Ousts Colombians Dictator
/
Formosa Frog Makes
Long Hop To U.S. For
International Contest
TAIPEH, (/PI—A Formosa frog
was put aboard a plane in Taipeh
today on the first lap of a journey
to Angels Camp, Calif., to take
part in the International Frog
Oympics opening May 16.
The frog, Won Long Hop. is
making the long hop to California
under the sponsorship of public
ity minded Civil Air Transport,
the airline founded by retired
Maj. Gen Claire L. Chennault of
Flying Tiger fame.
Won Long Hop is said to have i
jumped six feet in one leap.
The record is held by Lucky, an
American frog credited with
jumping 16 feet 10 inches in three
leaps in 1954. The contest is in
spired by Mark Twain’s classic,
“The Jumping Frog of Calaveras
County.”
All 10 Crewmen
Rescued From
Downed Bomber
HONOLULU, liP)—A burning
Navy PV-2 Neptune bomber was
forced down on the Pacific Ocean
last night 170 miles southwest of
Honolulu and a rescuing subma
rine pulled the 10 unharmed
crewmen off a raft bobbing in the
flare-lit sea.
The rescue came after the air- j
men had been adrift four hours.
A terse message from the sub
marine Bream said all 10 fliers
were “uninjured and in good con
dition.”
The Neptune’s pilot ditched the
plane at 8:40 p.m. when its star
board engine caught fire. Crew
men said there was no time for
the plane to send out distress sig
nals before it went down.
The Navy praised pilot and
crew for a “specatcular job” in
the emergency action.
Another Neptune bomber, on a
training flight with the downed
craft, spotted the raft about 10
p.m., after dropping flares. The
rescue plane was led to the raft
by distress signals.
Two four-engined transports
from the 7th Air Rescue Squad
ron at Hikam Air Force Base
joined the Neptune, dropping
flares to guide the submarine to
the scene.
The Bream arrived at the raft
at 1:04 a.m. and seven minutes
later had the men aboard.
Nome High School Baccalaureate
May 12, 1957, 8:00 P.M., School Auditorium
Prelude . F. J. Gorman
Invocation . Rev. H. R. Amundson
“Tribute to Romberg” . MacLean
Vocal Ensemble
Baccalaureate Address. Rev. Lawrence A. Nevue, S.J.
“Air and March” . Purcell
Festival Ensemble
Benediction . Rev. H. R. Amundson
Postlude . F. J. Gorman
BOGOTA, Colombia, (tf)—A
floodtide of opposition swept Gus
tavo Rojas Pinilla from the dic
tatorship of Colombia today.
Death rode with him even as he
fell. Soldiers backed by tanks
moved into a jubilant crowd and
left 30 persons dead outside the
capitol.
That made the toll at least
130 for a week of rioting and
demonstrations brought on by
Rojas' determination to hang on
to his power.
The word that Rojas was step
ping down in favor of a military
junta came early in the morning,
and thousands crowded the capi
tol plaza.
Then an officer gave an order
to clear the plaza. The result was
panic.
Rojas was overthrown by a
flood of opposition from the Ro
man Catholic Church, the busi
ness community and the people.
He declared in a broadcast
from San Carlos Palace at 9:30
a.m.: “It would toe impossible that
I, who gave the country peace,
should cause the country useless
bloodshed.”
Crowds began to assemble in
the capital in anticipation of the
announcement. They jammed the
streets and Plaza Bolivar in front
| of the capitol building.
Only two days ago Rojas had
maneuvered himself info a sec
ond term as President, due fo
siari next year. This action
crystalized the opposition.
The news that he was quitting
the presidency became known just
before dawn. Colombians ran thru
the streets, shouting the news.
Then autos filled with youths
began circulating, sounding three
short horn blasts followed by the
shout of “Liberty !”
Chas. E. Willis Probably
Will Be New President
Of Alaska Airlines, Inc.
WASHINGTON, Uto—An avia
tion industry publication said to
day Charles E. Willis, former
White House aide, probably will
be elected president of Alaska
Airlines, at a board meeting next
Tuesday.
American Aviation Daily News
said Willis, 38, will take over the
post to be vacated by Nelson B.
David, whose resignation "becomes
effective Wednesday.
Willis was assistant to Presi
dential Assistant Sherman Adams
from early 1953 through June 30,
1955.
JUNIOR-SENIOR PROM THEME: “STARDUST”
FRIDAY EVENING, 9 P.M. TO 1 A.M. Music by the Arctic Combo and The Six Stars Admission: $1 Single, $1.50 Couple