22 NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVII No. 37NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, MARCH 28, 1955Per Copy—15^
Three Men Survive 22 Hours In Below
■*
Zero Weather After Plane Breaks Thru
lee While Bear Hunting Off Pt. Hopei
KOTZEBUE, (iP)—Rescue planes^
from the 74th Air Rescue Squad
ron searched over the Arctic ice
pack yesterday for two missing
planes apparently lost on polar
bear hunts.
One small plane flown by a
pilot tenatively identified as Leon
Shellabarger, Anchorage, devel
oped engine trouble during a hunt
and apparently crash-landed on
tire ice.
Weak radio messages from the
plane asked for help. Shellabarger
had one passenger, not immedi
ately identified. The plane is be
lieved to be on an ice floe about
20 miles northwest of Kotzebue.
A second distress call was also
picked up from another unidenti
fied plane. It was believed to be
down on the ice 15 miles north-1
west of Kotzebue.
John Cross of Wien Alaska Air
lines, attempted unsuccessfully to
land on a ice floe north of Kot
zebue to pick up a lone man sight
ed on the ice. He had neither sup
plies nor shelter and must have
lost his boat somehow, Cross said.
The ice pack has begun break
ing up in this area, making it
hazardous for many polar bear
hunters using both airplanes and
skin boats to pursue the animals, j
Advices from Kotzebue today
state that Shellabarger was locat
>
ed and picked up yesterday by
John Swiss of Anchorage, another
bear hunter, in a privately-owned
plane. Swiss later was forced
down on the ice by engine trouble.
Another party piloted by
Tommy Richards, one of the best
of the bush pilots for Wien Air
lines, miraculously escaped with
their lives Saturday. The hunt
ers were John Osborne of Nome
and Richard Wilson of Inglewood,
California.
Richards had landed on the ice
when he had spotted a polar bear
when the ice gave way beneath
the plane and sank immediately
with all their gear and hunting
and survival equipment. The
three men swam to solid ice and
stayed on the ice for 22 hours
before being rescued by John
Cross, who found them in critical
condition from exposure.
Cross took Wilson and Osborne
to Pt. Hope, the nearest village,
and then took Tommy Richards
on to Kotzebue.
Osborne and Wilson came
to Nome today and it is reported
Osborne will be hospitalized here
and Wilson will be taken to Fair
banks, both suffering from ex
posure, but lucky to be alive as
the weather was about 10 degrees
below zero and their clothes soak
ing wet and frozen.
U.S.-Canadian Fleet Will
Move DEW Supplies Thru
Hudson Strait In July
’ WASHINGTON, UP) — A joint
United States-Canadian fleet of
ships will push into Arctic ice
this summer with men and equip
ment to build distant early warn
ing (DEW Line' radar stations
along the northern fringe of the
continent.
The Navy announced yesterday
that the Navy icebreaker Edisto,
the Coast Guard icebreakers East
wind and Westwind and the Can
* adian Arctic patrol ship Labora
dor will move into Hudson Strait
as early in July as ice conditions
permit.
They will clear the way for
. transport vessels carrying con
struction workers and material to
landing areas along the coasts of
Hudson Bay and in the high
north.
In a race to get DEW Line ex
tended across northern Canada
from existing stations in Alaska,
a big-scale airlift of men and
material already is under way.
Cargo carriers of the 18th Air
Force based at Greenville, S.C.,
are flying in tons of material to
points far beyond coastal areas,
using frozen lakes and streams
for landing fields.
Dan Sutherland, Former
Alaska Delegate, Dies
PHILADELPHIA, UP) — Dan A.
Sutherland, 86, of suburban Ry
dal, a pioneer in Alaska and for
mer president of the Alaska ter
ritorial senate, died at Abington
Memorial* hospital last Wednes
day.
He was a member of the Alaska
territorial senate for eight years
and was territorial delegate from
Alaska to the 67th and 70th con
gress from 1921 to 1929. He was
a member of the Pioneers of
Alaska.
Farm Family of Four
Found Slain and Their
Farm Animals Sold
ROCK ISLAND, Tenn., (jft — A
family of four was found slain on
their farm yesterday and officers
promptly accused Billy Gibbs, 23,
whom they already had in jail for
selling the family’s mules and
pigs. *
The victims were Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Bratcher, 44 and 42, their
daughter Lily May, 10, and their
motherless granddaughter, 20
months.
As Sheriff Eldridge Youngblood
explains it, this was the story:
Bratcher was shot to death, his
wife and daughter beaten to death
and the baby either drowned or
allowed to die of exposure last
Wednesday.
Thursday, Gibbs sold two
mules, a sow and some pigs from
Bratcher’s fa^m to livestock deal
ers, and warned one of them of
a vicious dog at the farm.
The sheriff filed a murder war
rant against Gibbs within two
hours. He said today Gibbs had
admitted the thefts but denied
the slayings.
C of C Tuesday Meeting
To Feature Tourists, And
Public Invited To Attend
The regular noon luncheon of
the Chamber of Commerce sched
uled for tomorrow at the Polaris,
is featuring tourists as its pro
gram and many of the business
people not usually in attendance
have been asked to participate.
The meeting is open to the
public, stated president F. Lang
sam, who is interested in the de
velopment of this important sum
mer activity which could become
a year-around industry if suf
ficient people in the community
are interested enough to give of
their time and ingenuity to make
the tours attractive to the travel
ing public.
Discussions Start
For Big 4 Meeting
W ith Soviet Russia
By ARTHUR GAVSHON
LONDON, I# — Foreign Secre
tary Sir Anthony Eden disclosed
today Britain, the United States
and France have already begun
discussing arrangements for a big
four meeting with Russia.
Eden told the House of Com
mons this country is ready and
eager to discuss the future of Ger
many and Austria, disarmament
problems and a European security
system with the Russians — now
that the French parliament has
approved the accords to free and
rearm West Germany.
Britain, he said proposed the
Allies should follow a procedure
of consultation that will include
meetings .of officials, then per
haps meetings of foreign minis
ters and, “if all goes well meet
ings probably at other levels
also.”
He did not elaborate on his
reference to meetings “at other
levels.” The implication was that
one would be “at the summit.”
It has long been the assump
tion here, although it has never
been officially stated that if and
when Eden takes over the na
tion’s leadership from Prime Min
ister Churchill he will quickly set
out to meet President Eisenhower.
Eden has long been the heir ap
parent to the leadership of the
Conservative government.
He reminded Parliament today
of a pledge he gave it on the
subject of a big four conference
only 14 days ago.
He said then, once the London
and Paris treaties freeing and re
arming the West Germans have
been ratified, Britain will want
to meet with the Soviets on the
main problems blocking a Euro
pean settlement between East and
West.
Demos Dispute Governor's Authority
To Limit Special Session to Three Days
By JIM HUTCHESON
JUNEAU, I#— A new inter
party controversy developed to
day as the lawmakers met for a
special legislation session.
Democratic leaders argued Gov.
Heintzleman had no authority to
restrict the deliberations to three
days. Once such a session has
been called, they contended, it
can continue for not to exceed
30 days, at its own pleasure.
I
The governor issued the call
under the Organic Act provision
for an extraordinary session in
the face of public danger and
necessity. The act carries the
phrasing that the governor can
call such a session “for a period”
not exceeding 30 days.
The governor was given the
legal advice, it was learned, that
“for a period” meant he could
call it for a specific period.
An opinion from Alaska Atty.
Gen. J. Gerald Williams Satur
day said the governor could not
restrict the field of legislation
which a special session could con
sider.
The governor specified three
subjects for attention, as follows:
First, a general appropriations
act to provide money to pay the
territory’s bills starting April 1,
for the new biennium.
Secondly, to consider a bill to
provide a five-member Employ
ment Security Commission to be
appointed by the governor, and
effective immediately upon en
actment.
Thirdly, to consider a bill to
authorize a loan of up to a million
dollars from the territorial trea
sury to tide over the unemploy
ment insurance fund, which ran
dry this weekend, except for
$650,000 that has to be held aside
under a court order because of
a suit that still is in the cqurts.
Some Democrats insisted that
three days is not enough be
cause they do not want to act
on Employment Security Commis
sion legislation without getting
help from a team of experts from
Washington, D.C.
The governor’s proclamation
indicated he thinks such action
is not necessary; that if the gdv
ernor can immediately appoint a
new five - man commission to
break the existing deadlock be
tween the two labor and twd
management members of the pre
sent Employment Security Com
mission, the existing act wquld
fill the bill. . .
There was another angle of
controversy over the three - day
specification for the session. It
was a contention by Democrats
that the time was set to avoid the
necessity of the governor submit
ting appointments for confirma
tion by the legislature.
Meanwhile, three legislators
went home Saturday for the
weekend. They were Rep. Hybert
Gilbert, Fairbanks; Rep. Russ
Young, Anchorage; and Sen. Jack
Werner, Seward.
Both houses will have to be or
ganized again, just as at the start
of the regular session, but the
routine is not expected to require
much time.
Four Perish When PA A Plane, Bound
For Hawaii, Ditches 25 Miles Off Coast
1 i
Sen. Byrd Calls Halt On
Cutting of Taxes Before
The Budget Is Balanced
WASHINGTON, <»—Sen. Byrd
(D-Va* hoisted a stop signal to
day to Democrats and Republi
cans bent on cutting taxes in
1956’s election year.
Byrd, who heads the tax-handl
ing Senate Finance Committee,
said in an interview he will fight
any tax cut—whether it is sug
gested by Democrats or Republi
cans— until the budget is bal
anced.
Moreover, the Virginia senator
said he won’t go along with the
idea expressed recently by Presi
dent Eisenhower that it might be
possible to cut levies next year
if budget balancing is in sight
but not actually achieved.
“I don't go for that idea at all,”
Byrd said. “The way to get a tax
cut is to reduce expenses so that
the budget actually is balanced.
Until it is balanced, I am not
willing to reduce taxes and bor
row the money to do it.”
WASHINGTON, UP — Cordell
Hull, 83-year-old former secre
tary of state, showed “a slight
improvement” overnight, physi
cians at Bethesda Naval Hospital
reported today.
He remained conscious but his
condition was still regarded as
critical.
By ELMER C. VOGEL
SEATTLE, UP)—The dry, choked
voice of Mrs. Emma Peterson
sounded far away as she told of
the crash-landing Saturday of the
big Pan-American World Airways
plane in the Pacific Ocean.
“I didn’t know it was John,”
she said in the voice of a person
who wants to but can’t cry. “I
just noticed that someone had
been dragged in all covered with
oil.
“I lifted his head up and laid
it in my lap so it would not lie
in the water on the bottom of
the life raft.
‘‘He opened his eyes and
smiled weakly, then said, *Oh, is
that you, Emma?’
‘‘Then he didn’t say anymore.
He groaned, became silent and I
died there—his head in my lap.”
John Peterson, 80, died. And so
did three others in the crash
landing of the Hawaii-bound
plane on a quiet sea 25 miles off
the Oregon coast. His 75-year
old wife survived, along with 18
other passengers and crew mem
bers.
Last night the survivors
brought back their recollections,
bitter and sweet, and the bodies
of the four who perished in cold,
cruel waters.
Three w^ere swept to their
deaths by a relentless current and
wind that drove them away from
(Continued on Page Three)
House Approval
For Nome P. O.
$200,000 Less
WASHINGTON, The House
Appropriations Committee Satur
day recommended a million dollar
appropriation to start construc
tion of a new U.S. post office and
court house building at Nome,
Alaska.
The request is $200,000 less than
asked by the General Services
Administration but the committee
report said the recommndation “is
to finance the entire construction
cost.”
The new building will replace
an existing structure which the
committee was told has become
“unsound because of subsoil con
dition caused by intermittent
thawing and freezing.”
Storm Prolongs Winter,
Leaves 36 Dead, Causes
$50 Million Crop Damage
(By the Associate.' Press)
A killing storm, the more dead
ly because it prolonged winter a
week beyond its calendar-sched
uled departure, moved back to
ward Canada today leaving in its
vast wake:
Thirty-six dead,
Crop destruction estimated in
excess of 50 million dollars,
A fresh blanket of snow over
much of northeastern United
States, and
Freezing temperatures reaching
as far south as the northern por
tion of the Gulf States.
The blizzard spearhead of the
weekend storm dumped heavy
falls of snow on upstate New
York Sunday—15 inches at Syra
cuse—and paralyzed transporta
tion.
Winds up to 55 miles an hour
whipped into drifts as deep as
12 feet and cut visibility to zero.
A hard freeze virtually wiped
out the peach crop in eight states.