™E NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVIII No. 145 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1956 . Per Copy—15*
RUNAWAY U.S. MISSILE
BELIEVED LOST
IN BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
WASHINGTON, UP'—'The Air
Force said today a runaway guid
ed missile is presumed to have
landed somewhere in the Brazil
ian jungle, possibly in the area of
the Amazon River.
The missile, understood to have
been a Snark, was launched from
Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., on
Wednesday and was set for a total
flight distance of about 3000 miles.
The course was supposed to
have been a closed circuit over
■the Atlantic but the missile failed
to go into the intended turn. It
was under radar surveillance as
far as the coast of South America.
An Air Force spokesman said
that because no reports of the
U.S. Senator Sees
Red Conspiracy
In Hawaiian Is.
HONOLULU, Iff*—Senate inves
tigators ended their hearings on
Communism in Hawaii yesterday
with at least one subcommittee
member concluding that a “Com
munist conspiracy exists in the
islands.”
“The over-all picture here has
convinced me there is still a con
tinuing Communist conspiracy in
the islands,” said Sen. Watkins,
a Utah Republican.
The Senate Internal Security
Subcommittee heard 30 witnesses
in six days. Twenty witnesses
pleaded the Fifth Amendment
when asked about Communist
activity.
Among those refusing to answer
on grounds of possible self-in
crimination were officials of Har
ry Bridges’ International Long
shoremen’s and Warehousemen’s
Union.
Atty. William Stephenson, the
chairman of the Territorial Sub
versive Activities Commission,
was the last witness. He said the
ILWU leaders "are still following
a continuous course of action
against the government.”
Wayward Missile May
Affect U.S. Negotiations
With Brazil on Sites
RIO DE JANEIRO, UP>—Brazil
ian officials started a check in
northern Brazil today following
reports that a runaway guided
missile may have crashed in the
Brazilian jungle.
So far, there has beqp no pub
lic reaction. The incident may
have a bearing, however, on ne
gotiations started by the US. for
five missile-tracking stations it
wants to set up on Brazilian land.
Brazil has been loathe to grant
the U.S. request and negotiations
t have been proceeding slowly.
missile’s landing had been re
ceived, it is probable that it came
to earth in some remote, uninhab
ited jungle area.
Probably Lost Forever
If this is the case, the wreckage
of the missile probably will never
be found. The jungle is so dense
and so vast that even airplanes
have disappeared and never been
found.
There was no indication the
missile carried a warhead or ex
plosives.
For this flight, it was adjusted
to make a gradual landing rather
than a “terminal dive.” However,
in soaring into the top of jungle
forests, the missile presumably
would trip on the trees and dive
vertically out of sight.
There was no immediate word
as to why the missile failed to go
into its scheduled turn.
New Record
There have been a number of
previous test flights, all of which
have been successful and have
been according to plans, the Air
Force spokesman said.
The apparent 3,000-mile flight
may have set a record. Previous
unofficial reports have said that
Snark missiles have flown only
“over” 2,000 miles.
The .Snark is a “star-tracker”
missile, guiding itself automatic
ally by celestial navigation to
keep it on course.
The Snark is manufactured by
Northrop Aircraft Inc. It is not a
ballistic-type missile but a winged
pilotless bomber, powered by an
Allison J-71 engine. Thus it is an
air-breathing missile of sub-sonic
speed. It weighs about eight tons.
FEDERAL WORKERS
WILL GET FOUR-DAY
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY
Federal employees in Alaska
and throughout the nation will
enjoy a four-day holiday at this
Christmas time by executive or
der of President Eisenhower.
Federal offices will be closed
from the end of the business day
on Friday, Dec. 21, until Wednes
day morning, Dec. 26.
The President also instructed
federal executives to adopt “a
liberal policy ior the granting of
annual leave” during the holiday
season. The White House said this
means that employes who desire
a similar long time off the follow
ing weekend should be accommo
dated if they wish to take leave
on Monday, Dec. 31, New Year’s
Eve.
TERRITORY TOO
Following the lead of federal
agencies, territorial offices are
expected to close on Dec. 24.
Director of Finance John Kin
ney has notified other agencies
that his department wil be closed.
New Principle Meridean Established for Northwest
Alaska Because of Increase of Mineral Activity
PEARL HARBOR DAY
PHILADELPHIA MV—The U.S.S.
California and the U.S.S. Tennes
see, two of eight battleships at
tacked at Pearl Harbor 15 years
ago, sat at anchor and "moth
balled” today at the Philadelphia
Naval Base.
The California was sunk, with
a loss of 53 men, in the Japanese
attack and was later raised. The
Tennessee was put out of action
but stayed afloat. Both ships par
ticipated in the American victory
in the Battle of Surigao Straits
near Leyte on Oct. 25, 1944.
Psychiatrist, Born in
Nome, Dies in States
SEATTLE UFi—Dr. Louis H. Bas
set, 48, psychiatrist at the mental
hygiene clinic of the Veterans
Administration regional office
here, died Saturday at the home
of a brother, Roy, at Shelton,
Wash.
At his request no funeral ser
vices were arranged.
He was bom as Nome, Alaska,
but brought up at Shelton. He
attended the University of Wash
ington and Rush Medical College
in Illinois. He was in private prac
tice in Detroit before joining the
VA staff a year ago.
Two brothers, S. Clarke Bassett
of Seattle, and G. E. Bassett, Kar
achi, Pakistan, survive.
» WASHINGTON (JP—The Bureau
of Land Management has estab
lished a new principal meridian
to provide basic geodetic control
for public land surveys in Alaska
—the first new principal meridian
established by the government
since 1911.
It’s known as the Kateel River
Principal Meridian.
It will govern future surveys of
public lands in northwest Alaska
between the 63rd and 68th paral
lels and west of the 153rd merid
ian.
Geographically, the Kateel River
Meridian Survey area is bordered
on the east by the 153rd meridian
extending southward from the
Endicott Mountain portion of the
Brooks Range to a point near
Mount McKinley.
The border on the south is the
63rd parallel extending west from
the 153rd meridian thru points
near McGrath, Dikeman and Pos
Soviet Paper Warns
Of Attack on Russia
MOSCOW, —The army news
paper Red Star warned that the
forces of “imperialist reaction”
might launch a sudden attack
against the Soviet Union. .
The paper was calling for mili
tary preparedness on the 15th an
niversary of the Soviet victory
over Germany at the gates of
Moscow—which the West notes
as the anniversary of the attack
on Pearl Harbor.
NEW GENERAL STRIKE
THREATENS HUNGARY
By ENDRE MARTIN
BUDAPEST, Hungary, W—A
new general strike and bloodshed
in Hungary was threatened today.
The Central Workers Council
issued a proclamation warning the
Soviet - imposed government of
Premier Janos Kadar that contin
uation of its tactics against elect
ed worker representatives would
result in “a general strike, blood
shed and a new national tragedy.”
The Central Workers Council
has gradually emerged as the
leadership of Hungarian anti-Ka
dar, anti-Soviet feeling.
Kadar's Support Shaky
Kadar has so far turned down
every demand of the council on
behalf of the people and workers,
but his own popular support has
been so shaky that he has not
dared openly to withdraw his
recognition of the body as the
negotiating agency for Budapest
workers.
The Hungarian people appeared
to have recovered from the first
shock of the smashing onslaught
of Russian tanks of Nov. 4, and
to be coming back strongly.
The Council’s warning was
voiced as a result of the arrest of
many members of factory worker
councils. Several more members
were arrested last night.
Yesterday, after about 50 mem
bers had been arrested, workers
at several plants went on sponta
neous strike. At one factory, 600
workers successfully defied So
viet tank and Hungarian militia
and police and prevented the
arrest of three more council mem
bers.
Council Seeks Authority
The central Council yesterday
advised against sporadic strikes
in the plants. It said such strikes
would serve the interest of the
government because they would
indicate the Council was not the
master of the situation in the
factories.
Today it sent a three-member
delegation to Kadar “to protest
against the violation of the law
and to warn that if such arrests
continue the anger of the world
would be roused against it (the
government).”
Two of the delegates were na
tionally known writers, Peter
Veres and Aron Tammassy.
I tolik to the Bering Sea.
On the north, the border is the
63th parallel extending west from
the 153rd meridian thru the Noa
tak River valley past Mt. Jarvis
to the Chukchi Sea near Cape
Seppings.
Director Edward Woozley of the
bureau said the increased mineral
activity in the vast unsurveyed
area of northwestern Alaska has
prompted the action. He said the
immediate need in providing legal
descriptions for oil and gas leas
ing was a means of showing in
what townships and sections the
leases lie.
31 Principle Meridians in U.S.
Other principal meridians in
Alaska are the Fairbanks Merid
ian established in 1910 and the
Copper River Meridian estab
lished in 1905.
In the continental United States
there are 31 principal meridians
to govern public land surveys. The
last of them to be established was
the Cimmaron Meridian, Okla.,
created in 1881.
Principle MeTidian Defined
Cadastral engineers define a
“principle meridian” as a line
which runs in a north-south direc
tion from an initial point and
from which are initiated other
lines for the cadastral survey of
the public lands within a specified
area. Each principal meridian has
a correlated base line that runs
thru the same initial point.
A triangulation station of the
Coast and Geodetic Survey was
adopted as the initial point of the
Kateel River Meridian. This point,
which will also serve as the start
ing point for the baseline of the
new meridian, is located 46 miles
northwest of Koyokuk.
Hungarian Athletes
Not Aboard
Plane for Home
MELBOURNE GW—Eighty-three
grim-faced Hungarian athletes
and officials flew out of Mel
bourne and the Olympic games
tonight aboard a giant French
airliner.
Empty seats in the plane bore
silent witness to the Hungarian
tragedy.
Originally the passenger list had
called for 91 members of the team,
but an undetermined number—■
possibly 40 or more—had chosen
to cut their ties with their Soviet
ravaged homeland and seek free
dom in Australia or the U.S.
A second plane with a sched
uled passenger list of 60 flies out
tomorrow. Then the full extent
of the defections from Hungary
will become clearer.
Left behind were such noted
Hungarian sports figures as the
famed running coach Mihaily Ig
loi and four-minute-miler Laszlo
Tabori.
.. ...
Don’t Miss The Fun II rt P T\ SATURDAY NIGHT
I | I | 1 || School Auditorium
BIG STAGE SHOW K I I ► I I Doorg Open 7 p.n,.
“Pioneer Memories” 11 tt I |J The Show Starts at J*
i