IS NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL LVI No. 18 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 10, 1954 Per Copy—15^
Luang Prabang Defenders
Brace For Red Attack
SAIGON, Indochina, —French
and Laotian defenders of Luang
Prabang braced Tuesday for an
“imminent” attack from the Com
munist-led Vietminh. The rebel
invaders were reported within 25
miles of the Royal Laotian capital
on the banks of the Mekong River.
Laos’ rheumatic old King Sisa
vang Vong vowed once more the
city of 142,000 would be defended
“until the end.” He made the same
pledge last spring when the Viet
minh invaded within 12 miles of |
Loang Prabang, then withdrew
without a major battle.
Pope's Condition Improved
VATICAN CITY, UV-'The Vati
can again today reported improve- I
ment in the condition of Pope
Pius XII, confined to his apart- j
ment tor the past 20 days with a |
serious stomach ailment.
—.—
Pan Am DC-6Bs
Set New Records
Alaska - Stales
SEATTLE, (if)—Pan American
World Airways reported two of its
DC-6B airliners broke four speed
records yesterday for commercial
aircraft operating between the
U.S. and Alaska.
One southbound flight covered
the 1,530 miles nonstop Fairbanks
to Seattle run in 4 hours, 5 min
utes, aided by tailwinds which
Capt. Jack M. Rusch of Seattle
said reached 110 miles an hour at
24,000 feet. Pan American said
the fastest previous time was 5
houi’s, 1 minute. Rusch averaged
383 miles an hour.
The airline reported other rec
ords set yesterday between Seattle
and Southeast Alaska points were:
Annette Island to Juneau, 1 hr.,
12 min.; Juneau to Annette south
bound, 1 hr., 1 min.; Annette to
Seattle, southbound, 650 miles,
2 hr, 2 min. Capt. Gordon Lang
ston of Seattle set the records for
the southeast runs.
Greek Tnwns Snowbound
ATHEN' , Greece, l#)—Greek air
force pla dropped emergency
food supp .es today to snowbound
villages in northern Greece.
Agriculture Secy. Decries
‘Wasteful And Ineffective’
Price Support Program
STILLWATER, Okla., Wl—Sec
retary of Agriculture Benson said
Tuesday the nation needs a new
farm program because “the re
sentment of 140 million non-farm
consumers is mounting against the
expensive, wasteful and ineffec
tive program of rigid price sup
ports.”
He urged farmer backing for a
new farm plan featuring variable
price supports which was ad
vanced last month by President
Eisenhower.
“The surest way for any group
in this country to commit suicide
is to forget the ultimate consum
er,” Benson said in a speech pre
pared for an agricultural day pro
gram at Oklahoma A. and M. Col
lege.
Molotov Plan For
Non-Aggression
Would End EDC
BERLIN, —Soviet Russia pro
posed today a non-aggression pact
among all the nations of Europe,
including both Communist East
Germany and the Bonn Republic.
It would annul the North Atlantic
Alliance.
Soviet Foreign Minister V. M.
Molotov laid the plan for “Euro
pean securtiy” before the Big
Four conference. It was his most
detailed effort to torpedo.the West
European Defense Community.
The proposed 50-year general
security treaty would bind all the
nations of Europe to “peace.” East
and West Germany were specific
ally listed as eligible as individual
powers until the nation eventually
is unified.
Molotov spelled out a treaty
that would bo open to all states
of Europe regardless of “their
j social systems.” He stated the
non-agression terms would be
carried out according to these
principles of the United Nations
charter:
Any attack against one nation
in Europe would be regarded as
an attack against the entire treaty
bloc. All parties would be bound
to come to the rescue of the nation
attacked, including the use of
armed forces.
The significant anti - European
Army clause in the Russian plan
read:
“The parties undertake not to j
enter any coalition or alliance or
conclude any agreement, the pur
pose of which would contradict
the purposes of the treaty on col
lective security in Europe.
U.N. Command Says Reds
Violate Armistice In
Korean Strength Buildup
TOKYO, UP)—The U.N. Com
mand Tuesday accused the Com
munists of bypassing authorized
ports of entry in North Korea to
reinforce their armies in violation
of the armistice.
The Allies charged the Reds
with moving warplanes and other
combat material into North Korea
despite an armistice clause ban
ning any buildup of combat
strength.
Maj. Gen. J. K. Lacey, senior
Allied member of the Joint Mili
tary Armistice Commission, de
manded a full-scale investigation
of the U.N. charges in letters to
the Communist High Command
made public here Tuesday.
Anchorage Area Grows
In Annexation Election
ANCHORAGE, UP)—1The City of
Anchorage “grew” 5.4 square
miles Tuesday as a result of an
annexation election.
Residents of Airport Heights,
Anchor Homes, City View and
Grandview Gardens voted 374 to
151 to join the city, and Anchor
age city voters approved the an
nexation 790 to 137. A simple
majority was needed.
The population of the annexed
area is about 3,500.
Giant B-36 Bombers Fly
Japan To Maine In 28 Hrs.
In “Jet Stream” Studies
l
I TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, UP)
J —Two giant B-36 bombers landed
I at Limestone Air Base, in northern
I Maine, early today after a 28-hour
1 nonstop flight from Japan, the
14th Air Division announced.
The planes, attached to the
Strategic Air Command, were
engaged in studies of the “jet
streams” in the upper atmosphere.
These are west-to-east wind cur
rents moving at high speed.
The bombers, from the 5th
Heavy Strategic Reconnaissance
Wing, stationed at Travis Field,
crossed the Pacific Ocean and the
North American Continent, a dis
tance of more than 8,700 miles,
without air refueling.
They left Yokota Air Base, near
Tokyo, Monday evening, U.S. time,
and arrived at Limestone shortly
before 3 a.m., EST, today.
California Woman
Adopts 17-Day-Old
Kotzebue Baby
PARAMOUNT, Calif., UP>—Alas
ka-born Ronald John Elkins, 17
days old, smiled from his warm
bag of white rabbit fur and wool
today and surveyed his new sur
roundings.
Ronald had just completed a
24-hour airplane trip from his
birthplace of Kotzebue, Alaska,
above the Arctic Circle on the
shores of the Bering Strait to his
new homo here.
The Rev. C. T. Buchanan, who
brought Ronald here, has served
the Pentacostal Evangels Church
in Alaska for 18 years. When it
developed that the baby’s mother
would be unable to care for her
child,' he arranged for his sister,
Mrs. John Elkins of Paramount,
to adopt it. He had promised Mrs.
Elkins, who is childless, that some
day he would find a baby for her.
With the help of Eskimo neigh
bors, Mr. Buchanan prepared the
baby for the flight south. The
temperature at take-off time was
25 degrees below zero.
“We just want to keep him, and
love him, and watch him grow,”
said Mrs. Elkins, childless for her
15V2 years of marriage.
Alaska Chamber Meeting
Called To Run From
March 25 Through 28
A meeting of the Alaska Cham
ber of Commerce has been called
to run from Thursday, March 25,
through Sunday, March 28, at Mt.
McKinley Hotel.
An interesting program is being
arranged. It is expected that Gov
ernor Langlie of the State of
Washington will be present as
well as other Western leaders.
Attempts to induce Secretary of
Interior McKay to be present so
far have not met with success.
Matters of major importance to
the territory will be considered,
including tax incentive programs
and transportation problems.
Keep in touch with your local
chamber of commerce for addi
tional information relative to this
Alaska Chamber of Commerce
meeting.
Eisenhower Urges Increased Federal
Expenditures For Road Construction
California Congressman
Indicted For Falsifying
His Office Payroll
WASHINGTON, LT)—U. S. Dis
trict Judge Walter M. Bastian de
nied Tuesday a defense motioik
for acquittal of Rep. Bramblett
(R-Calif) on all 18 charges against
him, but acquitted him on 11
charges.
Ramblett was charged in his
indictment with falsifying his of
fice payroll and receiving kick
backs from two women on his
office payroll.
The 11 counts on which the
judge acquitted Bramblett were
those concerning Mrs. Olga Hard
away.
He denied the refense motion
that Bramblett also be acquitted
of the seven counts involving Mrs.
Margaret Swanson.
Brambett will not be sentenced
until all motions have been dis
posed of. Each of the seven counts
on which he was convicted carries
a maximum penalty of five years
in prison and a fine of $10,000, but
the maximum is rarely imposed.
Conviction carries with it no re
quirement that Brambett give up
his House seat. Only the House
can decide the qualifications of its
members, and separate ouster pro
ceedings would have to be con
ducted there.
Defense Secy. Sees
Victory, Not Truce
In Indochina War
WASHINGTON, UP)—Secretary
of Defense Wilson said Tuesday
he thought a military victory,
rather than a negotiated peace,
“would be perhaps both possible
and probable” in the Indochina
War.
Wilson qualified his statement
by noting that of course it “always
depends on what the enemy does
and shows up as an enemy.”
Did that mean “if Red China
moves in,” a reporter asked. Wil
son replied that such an exventu
ality could mean “delay and a
different problem.”
He was asked at a news confer
ence whether he thought Indo
china might welcome another
Korea.
“I see no reason to think it
will,” Wilson replied. “The war
is going along fully as well as we
and the French expected it to at
this stage.”
He was asked whether he
thought aid to the French in Indo
china would have to be stepped
up above the present program.
Wilson replied that he thought
it was not necessary to “give aid
at any higher level” at this time.
There was a question then as
to whether help could include 280
millimeter atomic cannon or tacti
cal atomic bombs.
“That isn’t anything I would
advocate at this time. I don’t think
that is the kind of a place to use
them and the people there don’t
know how to use them.”
•> WASHINGTON, UP)— President
Eisenhower gave his personal
backing today to a proposal for
stepped up federal spending on
highway construction.
He announced to a news con
ference that the administration
wants federal aid to the states for
road building increased from 575
million dollars to 800 million.
Since this money must bo
matched by local and state con
tributions, it would be a sizeable
boost to construction.
A bill along this line was intro
duced in Congress yesterday by
Rep. McGregor (R-Ohio), chair
man of the House Roads Commit
tee. His measure would also auth
orize 64 Vi> million a year for solely
federal road construction.
At another point, Eisenhower
said he doubts that the country
could be scared into a major de
pression, but expressed the view
that the people could be misled
to such an extent that some sort
of recession would occur.
In other remarks, the President:
1. Declared that every move this
government makes with respect to
aid Indochina is carefully calcu
lated ' to keep the United States
from becoming involved in a hot
war there. Involvement anywhere
in an all-out war would be the
greatest possible tragedy for
America, Eisenhower added.
2. Asserted that the times are
too serious for extreme political
partisanship. He said he would
counsel members of his adminis
tration to avoid it and would ex
pect the Republican National
Committee to show similar toler
ance. These remarks were in re
sponse to questions about protests
by Democrats that some Republi
cans have been making “dastard
ly” attacks on their party, seeking
to link it to Communism.
3. Declared he has no intention
of going into individual states
during the coming Congressional
election campaign, and repeated
he has no intention of participat
ing in local contests. The Presi
dent’s remarks did not appear o
close the door, however, to . s
around the country in be’’ ! >f
the administration program
erally.
4. Disclosed that he hopes m
travel to south Georgia this week
end to get in some bird hunting
as the guest of Secretary of the
Treasury Humphrey.
Air Force To Build
Five New Bases And
Reopen Eight Others
WASHINGTON, —A n Air
Force plan to open 13 bases under
lines the Eisenhower Administra
tion’s new defense concept that
leans heavily on air power and
atomic weapons.
The Air Force announced Tues
day it will build five new bases
and reopen eight others in the
Midwest, Far West and the South
in the year that starts July 1. One
is planned for Klamath Falls, Ore.
The bases are needed, said the
Air Force, to support expansion
to 137 wings.