THE
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS _
62nd Year No. 19 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1961_Per Copy 15<r
U. S. F igure Skating Team Perish in
Fiery Air Crash in Brussel’s Outskirts
By Fred Cheval
BRUSSELS, Belgium UP> —
Fifty-four Americans, including
the entire U. S. figure skating
team perished today in the flam
ing crash of a Sabena Belgian
Airlines jet. In all, the crash of
the American-built Boeing 707
brought death to 73 persons.
Disaster struck at 10:25 a. m.
as the $5-million plane, its en
gines suddenly sounding odd,
sought a landing in bright sun
shine after a flight from New
York.
The huge plane slammed to
earth beside a woods three miles
north of Brussels International
Airport and went up in flames
fed by fuel oil as the tanks ex
ploded one by one.
All 61 passengers and the crew
of 11 died. A Belgian farmer till
ing his cabbage patch was struck
and killed.
5th Sports Group Wiped Out
The team is the fifth major
sports group wiped out by plane
crashes in a dozen years, includ
ing soccer teams of Italy, Britain
and Denmark. Sixteen members
of the California Poly football
team were killed in the crackup
of a chartered plane last Oct. 29
at Toledo, Ohio.
The Boeing crashed in a small
pond and started burning almost
at once. Fire engines previously
alerted because of its erratic be
havior screamed toward the
scene, but arrived only in time
to check the spread of fire.
The nightmare evolved from
Sabena’s Flight 548 from New
York. Residents of the seacoast
village of Berg figured something
might be wrong when the air
liner sped over them for its ap
proach to the airport. The engine
roar changed oddly and the flight
pattern looked erratic.
The plane circled the field a
time or two. It lowered the under
Seward and Kodiak Cop
Wins in the First Sessions
Of Basketball Tournament
The Western Alaska Class B
Basketball Tournament opened
last night with Seward winning
over Homer in the first game
51-28 and Kodiak beating Nome
50-55.
The Seward team had the lead
throughout the game with Mur- i
kowski netting 15 points and j
Stanton 14. Sentman was high
with 9 for Homer.
In the second game Nome was
leading at the end of the first
quarter 11-6 and still in the lead
at the half with a score of 27-16.
At the end of the third quarter
the score was 39-31 in favor of
Nome, but in the last quarter Ko
diak got busy and became the
victors with Danny Olson scoring
8 of the last quarter’s points. High
scorer for Kodiak was Carl Elli
son with 15 and Dan Olson with
14.
Gordon Brown of Nome was
high with 21 points.
This morning Eielson played
Seward with a 71-47 victory for
Seward.
THE WEATHER
Cloudy with occasional snow
showers. Low tonight -5, high to
morrow 10 to 15. In the last 24
hours: High of 13, low of -3.
Sunrise at 7:59 a. m., sunset 4:34
p. m.
Temperatures a year ago today:
High of 7, low of -23. Extremes
on this date since 1907: High of
35 in 1941, low of -37 in 1957.
carriage, retracted it, turned again
and fell.
“Suddenly the plane fell in a
series of spins,” an airport offi
cial said. “It literally disinte
grated.”
There was a tremendous ex
plosion.
Boeing, the plane’s builders,
said this was the first 707 crash
involving passenger fatalities
among 12.12 million passengers
carried.
Sabena Belgian Airlines, owned
by the government, is one of sev
eral European lines that operate
American-built jets.
Would Exempt More
Occupations From
Overtime Provisions
JUNEAU (iPt — Legislation in
creasing the number of occupa
tions which would be exempt from
the overtime provisions of the
State Wages and Hours Act was
introduced in the House today
at the request of Gov. Egan.
Workers who wpuld be exempt
in the future under the terms of
the measure, submitted by the
House Rules Committee, includes:
Employes of a firm employing
less than two persons in the regu
lar course of business; outside
salesmen; agricultural employes;
persons employed in the publica
j tion of a weekly, semi-weekly or
daily newspaper with a circula
tion of 1,000; switchboard opera
tors employed in a public tele
phone exchange which has fewer
than 750 stations; taxi drivers;
seamen; loggers and lumbermen
in operations where the number
of persons employed does not ex
ceed six; an outside buyer of
dairy products.
Udall Would Like to
Climb Mountains in Alaska
WASHINGTON LP) — Secretary
of Interior Udall told Rep. Ralph
Rivers today that he hopes to
visit Alaska and “perhaps climb
some of the smaller mountains
your have there.”
Violent Demonstrations Disrupt
U. N. Security Council Meeting
By Max Harrelson
UNITED NATIONS, N. Y. UP>—
U. S. Ambassador Adlai Steven
son today denounced the Soviet
Union’s latest Congo move as a
“declaration of war against the
United Nations.”
The United States, he said, does
not intend to stand by idly while
others cause trouble in the Congo.
Stevenson addressed a tense
meeting of the U. N. Security
Council which was disrupted by
the worst public demonstration in
the history of the world organiza
tion. It took 15 minutes to clear
the public galleries and restore
order.
Soviet delegate Valerian A.
Zorin replied he failed to find in
Stevenson’s speech any indica
tion that the Kennedy Adminis
tration had changed the U. S.
attitude on the Congo. President
Kennedy, Zorin said, seemed to
be following the policies which
had brought about dire conse
quences in the strife-torn African
country.
The demonstrators, about 10
Negro supporters of slain Congo
lese leader Patrice Lumumba,
forced their way into the galleries
through a back door and inter
Would Provide $4'0,000
For Alaska Participation
In Century 21 Exposition
JUNEAU, UP—An act to appro- !
priate $450,000 for Alaska’s par- !
ticipation in the Century 21 Ex
position in Seattle next year was
introduced in the Senate today.
The sponsors were Sens. George
McNabb, A1 Owen and Eben Hop
son.
“It is generally agreed,” Mc
Nabb said, “that the tourist in
dustry is one of our great untap
ped resources. To this date, with
the exception of authorizing the
appointment of a tourist advisory
board of 25 members, we have
done nothing.
“Though the governor has re
peatedly mentioned participation
in Century 21 with apparent ap
proval, he made no provision for
it in his budget request nor has
he introduced a separate bill call
ing for the appropriation of the
necessary funds.
“If it is the desire of the exec
utive that someone else carry this
ball, his wish has been fulfilled.”
In his state of the state speech
| on Jan. 24, Egan told the legisla
ture he was not including Century
i 21 in his budget.
I “Participation in Century 21
will cost money and the decision
must be yours,” Egan said.
“ . . . Personally, I favor Al
aska’s participation, yet obviously
that is not one of our real neces
sities.”
160 Travel Agents To
Tour Alaska In May
SEATTLE, UP — Approximately
160 travel agents will be making
Alaska tours after a western con
ference of the American Society
of Travel Agents at Harrison Hot
Spring, B.C. This was announced
today by Charles B. West, tour
chairman and Alaska tour oper
ator.
Beginning May 2, four itiner
aries are scheduled covering Ket
chikan, Juneau, Valdez, Skagway,
Whitehorse, Fairbanks, Nome,
Kotzebue, and Anchorage. This
will be the largest travel agent
group ever to visit Alaska.
rupted Stevenson’s speech with
shouts of “Vive Lumumba.”
Fighting broke out when the
guards tried to expel the demon
strators.
Stevenson spoke out firmly
against a Soviet resolution call
ing for the withdrawal of U. N.
forces from the Congo within one
month. The Security Council, he
said, must rally its strength be
hind Secretary-General Dag Ham
marskjold to prevent any weak
ening of the U. N. role.
“Does this council favor aban
doning security for insecurity and
anarchy?” he asked. “Does the
Soviet government really want
Africans to kill Africans? The
United States does not and it de
voutly hopes the Soviet Union
does not.”
The disorder was the worst in
the 16-year-old history of the
United Nations.
Guards tangled with the demon
strators and three or four fights
erupted in the gallery.
The fighting continued outside
the Security Council galleries in
a third-floor corridor.
“Don’t shoot me,” one demon
strator shouted as he was hustled !
to an elevator. I
Egan Promotes Carroll
To Brigadier General
JUNEAU, —The promotion of
Thomas P. Carroll, Alaska's ad
jutant general, to the grade of
major general in the Alaska Na
tional Guard was announced to
day iby Gov. Egan.
Egan, who made the promotion
in his role as commander in chief
of the state’s military arm, said
that “under Carroll’s dedicated
leadership, the Alaska National
Guard has achieved status equal
to that of any similar organization
in the nation.”
Carroll has been a resident of
Alaska since 1946, and a member
of the Alaska National Guard
since its inception in 1950. He has
served as adjutant general since
November 1957, achieving the
rank of brigadier general a year
later.
For his service in the European
theater of operations during
World War II, he was awarded
the Silver Star, Bronze Star with
Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple
Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the
Combat Infantry Badge, French
Fourragere, and Distinguished
Unit Citation.
PROPOSE RECREATION
SITE AT SALMON LAKE
JUNEAU UP> — Four Northwest
District Senators today intro
duced a resolution in the Senate
calling on the Department of
Natural Resources to construct a
recreation area near Salmon Lake,
in the Nome Area.
The measure was submitted by
Sens. Lester Bronson, Eben Hop
son, John McNees and Pearse
Walsh.
Frank Peratrovich Will
Head Legislative Council
For the Next Two Years
JUNEAU U' — Senate Presi
dent Frank Peratrovich has been
elected Chairman of the Legisla
tive Council for the next two
years.
House Speaker Warren A. Tay
lor was named Vice Chairman of
the Interim Study Group.
House members of the commit
tee are Reps. Robert Blodgett,
Frank Chapados, John Hellenthal
and John Longworth.
Senate members include Sens.
George McNabb, John McNees,
Howard Pollock and W. O. Smith.
Human Life Valued at $1,666
TOKYO, —The Japanese na
tional police agency puts the value
of a human life at $1,666. A bill
being drafted for parliament sets
a compensation scale equivalent
to 1,000 times a person’s average
daily wage—with a maximum of
$1,666—'for anyone killed trying
to rescue another from drowning,
fire or other catastrophe.
Nome’s Land Office
Closure Draws Strong
Protests from the Ice Bloc
JUNEAU tR — Strong protests
to the closure of the Nome Land
Office by the Bureau of Land
Management were wired to In
terior Secretary Udall today by
members of the Legislature’s
“Ice Bloc.”
The ice bloc is composed of all
members of the Legislature from
the Northwestern District.
The BLM opened the Nome
Land Office last year. The BLM
announced Monday that it was
closing the Nome office insofar
as a full-time operation was con
cerned, but would have a land
office representative visit Nome
from time to time.
Chinese Celebrate
New Year 1659
NEW YORK UP — “Kung-ho
shin-nien.”
Or a Happy New Year to you.
Have a cup of “Dragon’s Eye”
tea.
But is it the year of the ox or
the year of the cow?
The Chinese can’t agree. .Any
way,, it’s a great day today in
Chinatown — the start of the
year 4659 by the Chinese Lunar
calendar.
Ox or cow — the celebration
started last night with dancing
lions and costumed paraders jam
ming the narrow streets to the
accompaniment of firecrackers.
Dragons and unicorns will join
the festivities today.
‘ Chinese tradition has 12 ani
mals taking turns ruling the lives
: of the believing — the rat, tiger,
rabbit, snake, horse, goat, monkey,
I cock, dog, pig and cow or ox.
One celebrating group says it
1 is “going all out for the cow.” But
a spokesman for the Chinese Con
solidated Benevolent Assn, de
clares it is the year of the ox.
It doesn’t make much diference,
says Chinese Consul Gen. K. W.
Yu. He says the Chinese have the
same character for both sexes.
The year of the horse might also
| be the year of the mare, and so
! on. The general practice, he
added, is to use the male of the
species to designate the new year.
So — happy ox to you.
ANOTHER THREE YEAR
WAIT FOR A VENUS TRIP
WASHINGTON UP — The Ci
vilian Space Agency’s propulsion
expert says the United States
won’t be able to launch a Venus
probe for about three years.
“No amount of straining, push
ing and yelling would enable us
to put more than 1,000 pounds
into the vicinity of Venus sooner,”
Kurt Stehling of the National
Aeronautics and Space Adminis
tration told the National Rocket
Club Tuesday.
Senate Reconsiders Bill
For Regulation of Opticians
JUNEAU UP — The Senate Tues
day reconsidered its action last
week in passing a bill which pro
vides for the licensing and regu
lation of opticians and voted to
return the bill to the Health and
Welfare and Education Commit
tee.
The motion for reconsideration
was made by Sen. Eben Hopson of
Barrow. The motion passed, then
Hopson moved that the bill be re
turned to the Health, Welfare and
Education Committee.
Letters and telegrams contain
ing the names 151 persons were
read to the Senate when it open
ed its session, all protesting the
passage of the measure, spon
sored by Sen. Howard Pollock
of Anchorage.
World Day of Prayer
Services to be Held Friday
The Nome Ministerial Assn, has
announced that there will be
noon services for the World Day
of Prayer which is Friday, from
12 until 1 o’clock at the Naza
rene Church. During this hour
most of the ministers in the or
ganization will participate brief
ly with a message and music. Any
one is welcome to come and medi
tate at any time during the hour
as the program is continuous. The
theme is “The Savior Went
Forth.”