22 NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LV N*>. 28 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1953 Per Copy—15^
Party Lines Split As Senate Votes
10 - 6 For Repeal of Property Tax
Law After Five Hours Debate
JUNEAU, UP) — Alaska’s Senate
voted 10-6 Thursday night for re
peal of the territorial General
Property Tax law.
Party lines were split wide open
on the vote, which finally came at
6:45 p.m., after five straight hours
of testimony and debate.
The bill for repeal of the most
controversial tax law ever put on
the territorial books previously
passed the Honse by a 20-4 vote.
It now returns there for final leg
islative action on non-controver
sial amendments written into it
by the Senate.
The Senate action left as the
big issue what will happen if the
governor vetoes the measure, as
expected. He recommended strong
ly against repeal of the law in his
message to the legislature.
Six votes would be enough to
block a legislative attempt to over
ride a veto if the six lawmakers
voting against the repealer were
to hold firm.
Voting for repeal of the General
Property Tax were Republicans I
Doris Barnes of Wrangell; A. F.
Coble, W. L. Lhamon and Mike
Stepovich of Fairbanks; Paul Rob
ison and John Gorsuch of Anchor
age; Gerrit Snider of Wasilla; and
Charles Jones of Nome; and Demo
crats Mark Jensen of Douglas and
Howard 'Lyng of Nome.
Voting against repeal of the law
were Democrats William Beltz,
Haycock; William Egan of Valdez;
and James Nolan of Wrangell;
and Republicans John Butrovich
of Fairbanks; Elton Engstrom of
Juneau; and Percy Ipalook of Kot
zebue.
The repeal won’t make any dif
ference to residents of cities and
school districts which have been
the collection agents for the tax.
In effect, it has been their own
and they will continue to collect
it as their own.
The Senate echoed to oratory,
contradictory figures, pleas for
mining claim owners who were
required to pay a tax on non-pro
ductive holes in the ground and
pleas to hold up action on repeal
until the circuit court of appeals
in San Francisco returns a verdict
in a case challenging the validity
of the law. Attorney General Ger
ald Williams advised the senators
(Continued on Page Four)
Ambassador to Japan
WASHINGTON, UP\— President
Eisenhower Friday nominated
Career Diplomat John M. Allilbn
of Lincoln, Nebr., as U.S. ambas
sador to Japan.
The 47-year-old Allison would
succeed Robert D. Murphy, am
bassador to Tokyo since April,
1952.
Memorial O.K.’d
To Let Japan Cut
Timber in Alaska
By JIM HUTCHESON
JUNEAU, UP—The House com
pleted legislative action Thursday
afternoon on a petition to the fed
eral government to clear the way
for proposed timber cutting in
Southeastern Alaska for Japan.
The memorial, introduced by
Sens. Doris Barnes (R-Wrangell)
and James Nolan (D-Wrangell),
was previously approved by the
Senate.
It set forth, however, that cut
ting in the vast Tongass Forest
should be by an American-organ
ized firm employing American la
bor, on an open bid basis, with
initial processing of the lqgs in
the territory.
The memorial cited apparent
opposition from Pacific Northwest
timber operators and said the only
Alaska timber outlet appears to
be in the foreign market on a
competitive basis.
The House also passed Senate
approved memorials asking the
appointment of an Alaskan to the
proposed international North Pac
ific fisheries commission and for
abolishing fish traps in Alaska.
(Continued on Page Two)
PRICE CONTROLS LIFTED
WASHINGTON. MB—'The gov
srnment Thursday lifted price
controls from major household
-ppliances, bread and bakery
products, automobiles and laun
dry services.
Memorial in Favor of
School Bond Enabling Act
Introduced in Senate
JUNEAU, G?)—The school bond
issue enabling act issue on which
voters expressed opinion at the
polls in the general election made
its debut in the Alaska legislature
Thursday.
Sen. William Egan (D-Valdez)
introduced a memorial to Con
gress in the upper chamber asking
authority for the territory to issue
up to $12,500,000 in bonds for
school buildings.
The proposition has been men
tioned in debate on the Senate
floor but it was the first time the
measure had been introduced in
the legislature following the elec
tion referendum.
The memorial cites a popular
vote of nearly five to one in favor
of asking bond authority. Under
the Organic Act, the territory
can’t bond itself \yithout Congres
sional approval.
JOSEPH STALIN DIES
OF HEART ATTACK
Eisenhower Moves to Lift
100s of Policy-Making Johs
From Civil Service Class
WASHINGTON, (fl— President
Eisenhower has moved to lift sev
eral hundred policy-making jobs
out of the Civil Service class so
his administration can fill the
posts with new appointees.
A White House announcement
today said Eisenhower ordered the
drafting of a directive “to pro
vide the lieads of agencies with
greater freedom in determining”
who should occupy top jobs now
under Civil Service.
The announcement said the ac
tion “will not involve more than
several hundred positions.”
It was not clear how many per
sons will be fired outright, if any
are. Some affected — holdovers
from the Truman administration
— might revert to jobs they held
earlier under Civil Service or be
switched to other duties in the
government.
Senate Calls Pentagon to
Clear up Confused Reports
On Korea Ammo Supplies
WASHINGTON, W— The Senate
Armed Services Committee yes
terday called on top Pentagon of
ficials to clear up the “confusing
and conflicting” reports as to am
munition supplies for Korea.
From Gen. James A. Van Fleet
the committee heard there were
serious ammunition shortages—
even on hand grenades — during
the whole time he was in Korea.
But other military men depreca
ted both the extent and nature
at shortages.
In this situation, Chairman Sal
tonstall (R-Mass) announced that
the Armed Services Committee is
asking that Gen. J. Lawton Col
lins, Army chief of staff, and civ
ilian military chiefs come before
it next Tuesday.
In Seoul, Gen. Mark Clark, U.N.
Far East commander, said there
had always been enough ammuni
tion “whenever we needed to
shoot it—in any quantity.”
He said there had been “a ra
tioning of certain types of artill
ery ammunition” &nd observed
that “there is always a shortage
... in the minds of the people
who want to shoot it.”
The Eighth Army has enough
ammunition to stop any all-out
offensive by the enemy, he added.
SEATTLE, UPi — D. L. Cheney
has been re-elected president of
the Associated General Contrac
tors of America’s Alaska chapter
for the third year, the chapter
announced today.
Larry Moore of Anchorage was
reappointed chapter manager.
Georgi Malenkov
Succeeds Stalin as
Prime Minister
LONDON, (51 — Moscow radio
announced Georgi M. Malenkov
has been appointed chairman
(prime minister) of the council of
ministers of the Soviet Union.
This is the post that Stalin had
at the time of his death.
Moscow radio also announced
that Marshal Klementi Voroshilov
had been appointed chairman of
the Soivet presidium in place of
Nikolai Shvemik. This is equi
valent to the presidency of the
Soviet Union.
The broadcast added that L. P.
Beria, V. M. Molotov, Nikolai Bul
ganin and Lazar M. Kagonovich
have been appointed deputy chair
men of the council of ministers.
Beria also was named minister
of the interior, has been named
the USSR’s permanent U.N. rep
resentative, while Bulganin also
was named minister of war, the
broadcast added.
This means that Malenkov suc
ceeds Stalin in at least one of his
two main jobs. Stalin’s other big
job was as general secretary of
the Communist party of the So
viet Union.
Ike Willing to Meet
Stalin’s Successor
HalfWay to Moscow
WASHINGTON, CD— President
Eisenhower expressed willingness
Thursday to go half way to Mos
cow to meet whoever succeeds the
dying Joseph Stalin in Russia’s
seat of power. He attached the
same conditions he set out a week
ago forr a possible meeting with
Stalin.
In a news conference statement,
the President said he did not know
what might come from the im
pending shifts in Russia and de
scribed the United States attitude
of the moment as very definite
watchfulness.
In his third news conference as
President, Eisenhower also:
1. Said it is up to Congress now
to work out the wording of a
resolution condemning Russia for
enslaving free peoples.
2. Blasted the current wave of
anti-Semitism behind the Iron
Curtain as deplorable and heart
breaking.
3. Reaffirmed his stand in favor
of the states having full owner
ship of offshore lands within their
historic borders.
4. Expressed opposition to ex
tending the draft from the present
24 months to 30 or 36 months, as
suggested by Gen. James A. Van
Fleet.
> By EDDY GILMORE
and THOMAS P. WHITNEY
MOSCOW, Utl — The body of
Prime Minister Joseph V. Stalin,
felled by a stroke and heart fail
ure at 73, was removed to Mos
cow’s beautiful Hall of Columns
today to lie in state.
A funeral service befitting one
of the most powerful men in his
tory was in preparation.
The Soviet “man of steel,” who
ruled over a sixth erf the earth’s
surface and dominated a third of
its people, died Thursday night in
the Kremlin four days after being
stricken. Death came at 9:50 p.m.
(10:50 a.m. PST) and was an
nounced to the Russian people
eight hours later. Stalin lay para
lyzed and in deep coma at the end.
There was not a hint as to who
would succeed this man, who led
the Soviet Union’s 200 million
people for 29 years and called the
plays for Communists the world
over. But a joint statement from
the Communist Party and the
government called for continua
tion of such policies as strength
ening the nation’s armed forces,
increased vigilance at home and
tighter bonds with Communists
abroad.
At this stage there is no pros
pect of any change in the policies
Stalin pursued.
Friday afternoon a motor hearse
left the St. Spassky gate in the
Kremlin. While thousands assem
bled on Red Square to see it, the
hearse moved slowly from the
Kremlin to the Hall of Columns,
bearing Stalin’s coffin.
Immense heaps of flowers and
wreaths surrounded it.
Russians began filing past to
gaze for the last time at the man
who led them to victory over Nazi
Germany. Thousands were in line
when the doors opened.
The processions for those wish
ing to say “Svidaniya” (goodbye)
will continue day and night until
the funeral. A commission headed
by Nikita Kruschev is now work
ing on funeral plans. No date has
been announced for the final ser
vices nor has there been any word
where Stalin is to be buried.
As the doors of the hall opened,
the waiting thousands began mov
ing two abreast through a corri
dor and up a wide stairway to
ward the center of the great room
where Stalin’s body lay, surroun
ded by flowers. His head rested
upon a pillow in the coffin.
Soberly, men, women and chil
dren filed past, hesitating ever so
slightly as they looked at the dead
leaders face — a face known
around the world.
I 7:30 Saturday Night
Kg JL METHODIST CHURJH
W M ■ Jg Tg O VERN RIMLING, Speaker
■■ Mh IgA ll — SPECIAL MUSIC —