SSI NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LIX NO. 66 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, JUNE 3, 1957 Per Copy—15^
Air Force Test Pilot Sets New
Record Balloon Altitude Record
New Manned-BaiJoon
Mark of 96,000 Feet
4 Miles Over Old Record
SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minn., UPi—
A daring Air Force test pilot,
sealed in a metal capsule attached
to a huge plastic balloon, rode to
a record-breaking 96,000 feet—
18 miles—yesterday in a flight he
said was “inspiring . . . the proud
est moment of my life.”
Capt. J. W. Kittinger Jr., 28,
bettered by nearly four miles the
previous manned-balloon altitude
mark of 76,000 feet, set over
Rapid City, S.D., by two Navy
commanders last November. He
described the trip, from takeoft
at 6:23 a.m. at Fleming Field here
to the landing near Weaver,
Minn., about 80 miles south at
12:57 p.m., as “completely suc
cessful.”
The flight was a forerunner to
another ascension set for some
time this summer. A manned bal
Von der Heydt Elected
Vice President of
Alaska Bar Assn.
Mr. and Mrs. Jim von der
Heydt returned from Anchorage
where Attorney von der Heydt
represented the Second Division
at a convention of the Alaska Bar
Assn, of which he is a member of
the Board of Governors.
Von der Heydt, who was elect
ed vice president of the organiza
tion, stated that it was a very in
teresting meeting with George
Martin of the Washington State
Bar Assn, and Marvin Belli, well
known trial lawyer, as speakers
for the occasion.
Pet Sea Lion Lost,
But Turns Up at
N.Y. Aquarium
NEW YORK, UPi—Sharkey, a
friendly sea lion that swam away
from home and startled Long Is
land boatmen and bathers for a
week, is back with her owner
again.
A1 Sheridan caught up with his
3-year-old pet yesterday at the
Coney Island Aquarium. It was
a happy reunion. Sharkey nuzzled
him and handed him a wet flip
per.
Sheridan said Sharkey swam
away from home at North Long
Beach, N.Y., May 5 in pursuit of
a school of fish.
Last week she popped up in
Shinnecock Bay, about 50 miles
from home. Saturday she ap
peared in Brooklyn’s Sheepshead
Bay and cavorted in and out of
fishing boats.
Police finally netted Sharkey
and placed her in the aquarium.
She soon stole the show with
tricks Sheridan had taught her.
Show business apparently ap
pealed to Sharkey. She refused
to enter a cage Sheridan brought
along, even when he dangled a
fish inside.
Finally, he shoved her into the
cage, put it on the back of his
auto and drove horned
%
loon is scheduled to be sent to an
altitude of more than 100,000 feet
for 24 hours.
The tests are being conducted
by the Holloman Air Develop
ment Center of Alamagordo, N.M.,
in cooperation with the Winzen
Research Corp., Minneapolis, the
maker of the balloon and gondola.
Col. John P. Stapp, chief of the
Holloman Aero - Medical Field
Laboratory, said the vanguard of
the Air Force group would re
turn to New Mexico today and
the remainder of the contingent
would follow tomorrow. Data as
sembled during the tests will be
studied by research personnel.
The Air Force has indicated
some of the findings may prove
valuable in rocket and possible
manned satellite flights of the
future.
Kittinger spent about 12 hours
in the cramped capsule, entering
| the craft five hours before take
off to begin instrument checks.
Asked if he suffered any feel
ing of claustrophobia, he replied:
“I’ve spent six days in that cap
sule and it feels just like home.”
As he faced a battery of press
and TV cameras during an inter
view he added: “Actually, the
capsule was more comfortable
than I am right now.”
Lots of Protests
i On Proposal To
License Firearms
WASHINGTON, UP) — Internal
Revenue Service spokesmen to
day said “an awful lot of protests,
including much misinformation”
have been received on a proposal
affecting the licensing and sale
of firearms and ammunitions.
Today was the final day of a
30-day period for individuals and
groups objecting to the proposal
to notify the department of their
opposition.
No date has been set for the
revised regulation to go into
effect. Before that can be done,
the agency must check through
and determine the validity of the
objections.
Oscar T. Neal, chief of the Al
cohol and Tobacco Tax unit’s fire
arms section, said it “might be
quite some time” before final ac
tion is taken on the proposal.
Included among the “misinfor
mation” which Neal said appar
ently stemmed from parties “who
didn’t read the proposed regula
tions.” is the belief that it would
require registration in person by
individuals buying rifle ammuni
tion.
Actually, only pistol and revol
ver ammunition is covered by the
proposal.
Neal said the bulk of criticism
of the regulation is directed at
registration and licensing pro
visions and the need for main
taining permanent records.
Actually, he said, the law now
provides for maintenance of per
manent records although the
practice has been to maintain
such files for only a six-year
period.
GABRIEL MAYAC VICTIM
j OF HIT AND RUN DRIVER
l Gabriel Mayac, 13-year-old son
of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mayac of
j King Island Village was struck by I
i a speeding car last evening near
| the city power plant.
, The oar did not stop, it is re
j ported, but the police department
[ are following up the description
of the car to apprehend the
; driver. Gabriel is in the hospital.
I
Supreme Court
Rules Du Pont
Violates Antitrust
WASHINGTON, UfT—The Su
preme Court ruled 4-2 today that
i the Du Pont Co. violates the anti
j trust laws by controlling General
j Motors Corp. thru 23 percent
I stock ownership.
Justice Brennan delivered the
court’s decision, to which Justices
Burton and Frankfurter dissent
ed. Justices Clark and Harlan dis
qualified themselves. And Justice
Whittaker took no part.
Today’s action came eight years
after the government first filed
its antitrust complaint against Du
Pont in Chicago.
The government contended the
power of Du Pont—‘.‘based on its
GM stock holdings, interlocking
directorate, and historic relation
ship”—to influence business judg
ments of GM amounted to a com
bination in restraint of trade.
U.S. District Judge Walter J.
Labuy in Chicago dismissed the
case after a seven-month trial
with a finding that the govern
ment had “failed to prove con
spiracy, monopolization, a re
straint of trade, or any reasonable
probability of a restraint.”
The government then appealed
directly to the Supreme Court to
reverse Labuy and order him to
grant “appropriate relief.” It did
not say how much GM stock Du
Pont should be ordered to sell or
give any indioation of what the
government would consider full
relief.
Tree Falls on Car
In Mt. Rainier Park,
Killing Three Occupants
ENUMCLAW, Wash., June 3,
—A 100-foot fir tree, its roots
loosened by water overflowing a
river bed, crashed across a high
way in Mt. Rainier National Park
yesterday and smashed an auto
mobile containing four persons.
Three died; an infant survived.
The big tree, 50 feet from the
Chinook Pass Highway, toppled
onto the moving automobile of
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Floe, both
58, of Yakima, Wash.
The Floes were killed outright.
Their granddaughter, Mrs. Clau
dette Bline, 20, of Seattle, died in
a hospital. Mrs. Bline’s daughter,
Kerri, 8 months old, was hurt.
State Patrolman Randy Jordon
said the White River, swollen by
melting snow from Mt. Rainier,
overflowed and loosened the roots
of the fir tree.
Another motorist, who saw the
tree falling, stopped 30 feet away.
Khrushchev Enters U.S. Homes
Through Medium of Television
20-Year-Old Eskimo j
Drowns in Canoe Mishap
In Fairbanks Pond
FAIRBANKS, UPi—A 20-year
old Eskimo who spent 18 years of
his life on the arctic coast
drowned yesterday in a small
water-filled gravel pit here.
Forrest Avakana was thrown
into the icy waters when a canoe
carrying him and two companions
upset. Avakan tried to make it to
shore, but he was unable to swim
and sank to the bottom.
His body was found half an
hour later in 35 feet of water.
Avakana had gone on many
whaling expeditions with his
family in small kayaks in the
Arctic Ocean.
One of his companions, Arctic
Ikalook, 16, was thrown in the
water a't the same time but swam
50 yards to shore.
The third occupant of the canoe
was John Avakana, 22. He was
able to steady the craft but could
n’t get near Forrest because he
had lost the canoe paddle.
The canoe tipped when Forrest
lost hold of the paddle and he
tried to reach for it.
More Floods in
Texas, Oklahoma
(By The Associated Press)
Torrential rains overnight have
brought new flooding and east
Texas today.
Rivers and streams were cn the
rise from the Oklahoma border to
the Rio Grande after torrential
weekend rains in both Oklahoma
and Texas. Several tornadoes
were reported but caused little or
no damage.
At least seven Texas deaths
were linked to the weather Sun
day. Five persons were killed in
a two-car collision in a rainstorm.
Two unidentified airmen from
Randolph air base were swept
down a raging creek at San An
tonio and were presumed dead.
The continuous turbulent weath
er was taking a heavy toll in
crops. Cotton and grains were
severely damaged, particularly in
north Texas. Hard rains have
fallen intermittently there for al
most a week.
Cloudbursts along the upper
Red River in Oklahoma sent tor
rents downstream toward Lake
Texoma cn the Texas-Oklahoma
border. The river was on one of
its greatest rises in history.
IHHBHBUiFiniCZ: '' 1 li" WW ————p
Meeting cf C'olthall
Enthusiasts Is Called
All persons interested in the
formation of a softball league for
the summer are invited to attend
a meeting Tuesday evening at 8
o’clock at the Bering Sea Club.
A playing field has been laid
out across Snake River on the
former site of AFRS. Volunteers
cleared the ground and hauled
gravel Last week and the field is
being leveled and graded today.
* Predicts Grandchildren
Will Live Under
Soviet-Like System
By WILLIAM L. RYAN
NEW YORK, Itf)—Nikita S
Khrushchev, top man of the So
viet Communist heirarchy, en
tered millions of American living
rooms Sunday through the medi
um of television.
Khrushchev exuded confidence
in ultimate world victory of the
Soviet system and predicted even
the grandchildren of his Ameri
can viewers would live under
such a system.
But, said the reigning world
Communist boss, the Soviet Union
does not want to go to war to op
pose its way. Instead, said Krush
chev in his world TV debut, the
U.S.S.R. wants to compete with
the United States economically
and ideologically.
Khrushchev’s appearance, his
tory-making in itself, added little
to the world’s knowledge of Sovi
I et aims. Most of what he said in
| an hour-long filmed interview for
the Columbia Breadcasting Sys
I tern’s “Face the Nation” program
I had been said before, either by
the party boss himself or other
Soviet leaders.
In Washington, Sen. Mansfield
(D-Mont), a Senate Foreign Rela
tions Committee member, told re
porters he saw no reason to ob
ject to Khrushchev’s TV appear
ance.
“We have nothing to be afraid
of,” Mansfield said. “We hope
that Americans of similar stature
would have the right to make
radio or TV broadcasts in the So
viet Union and that the Russian
people would have the same free
dom to listen.”
Mansfield, however, said that
Khrushchev stated “the exact op
posite of what is true” in predict
ing that the grandchildren of
present day Americans will be
living under socialism.
“I think that in time the people
of the Soviet Union will see the
light and come over more and
more to our side,” Mansfield said.
Khrushchev chatted amiably,
grinning at his own humorous
sallies. The Soviet interpreter,
translating Khrushchev’s words
as he spoke, talked in a mono
tone. But altho his own voice was
inaudible, Khrushchev’s gestures
and facial expression emphasized
his points as he grew serious.
The questions put to him were
unrehearsed, but the Soviet party
chief had been told beforehand of
the general subjects to be cov
ered. He was smooth in his eva
sions when unexpected questions
came up.
“Our most radical (disarma
ment) steps have been proposed,”
Khrushchev said. “ . . . We sug
gest that restrictions on trade be
discarded. We suggest that the
United States lower the iron cur
tain and start a widespread cul
tural exchange. ... If the Unite-1
States were to reciprocate in kind,
we would have great progress.”