m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVI1 No. 9 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1955 Per Copy—15<t
Red China Invites
Relatives To Visit
Airmen In Prison
UNITED NATIONS, UP> — Red
China announced today that the
relatives of 17 Americans held in
Chinese jails are welcome to visit
the prisoners.
The United States, however
does not extend diplomatic recog
nition to Red China and the*e
was no indication the State Dept,
would provide passports good for
travel tflere—even in the event
any of the relatives should de
sire to go.' Mrs. Edwin Heller,
wife of a lieutenant colonel held
in China, said in Philadelphia she
had been advised the United
. States could extend her no pro
tection. She added she did not
believe her husband would want
her to go, anyway.
The Red China bid for rela
tives’ visits was announced simul
taneously in Peiping and at the
United Nations today.
There was no„ indication from
any U.N. official today whether
any progress had been made to
ward releasing the prisoners or
commuting their sentences. How
ever the feeling among U.N. of
ficials concerned with these long
distance talks is that the prison
ers eventually will be freed. An
eastern European source said
earlier this week that he believed
also the prisoners would be liber
ated at a later date.
Knowland Says
Reds Hold Over
800 GIs In Prison
CHICAGO, iffy—Sen. Knowland
(R-Calif) says he believes Red
China holds “something over 800
other GIs” *in prison besides the
15 American airmen they ac
knowledge holding.”
I The Senate minority leader said
in a speech last night: “We have
strong reason to believe they hold
j more than the 15 they acknowl
I edge holding.”
The men showed up neither in
i the little or big switch prisoner
: exchange following the Korean
truce in 1953, Knowland said.
Names of the imprisoned Ameri
cans, he said, were learned from
Red propaganda broadcasts, other
released POWs, and Pentagon re
ports.
Knowland said a compilation of
the various reports led him to
the strong belief the Red Chinese
held “several hundred other GIs
in prison enclosures.” He later set
the figure as “something over
850.”
He said the Reds hold four
“fighter airmen” plus the 11 the
U.S. airmen already sentenced to
4 to 10 year prison terms on
trumped up spy charges. Another
32 civilians, including clergymen,
businessmen and students, also
are illegally imprisoned, the Cali
fornia Republican said.
Knowland declared the United
Nations should, within a “short
time,” tell the world what it is
prepared to do if the men are
j not released.
Cecil Elingnak
Confesses Killing
Ben Aleosiek
Ben Aleosiek was shot and
killed early this morning, about
4 a.m. by Cecil Elingnak, who
reported the killing and turned
himself over to Marshal B. B.
Mozee.
Both men were staying at the
Ahsaruk residence on Second
Ave. between C and D Streets.
Police reported that there was
evidence that the men had been
drinking.
Aleosiek was a man about 40
years of age and had a peniten
tiary record. Elingnak is a young
er man and claims that they were
arguing and that Aleosiek threat
ened him several times before he
took up the gun and fired in
self defense.
A coroner’s jury is reporting on
the killing at 2:30 this afternoon.
Nationalists, Fearful Of
Invasion, Heavily Attack
Shipping On Red Coast
TAIPEH, Formosa, (A*» — The
Chinese Nationalists, fearful of
new Red invasion moves after
the fall of Yikiangshan, attacked
shipping along the Red China
coast with waves of planes today,
claiming at least 21 small craft
sunk, another possibly sunk and
more than 12 damaged.
Report by Nationalist air force
headquarters of the new blows
came after the defense ministry
conceded that all resistance by
720 Nationalist guerrilla^ on Yik
iangshan had been wiped out.
This opened the way for the Reds
to possibly strike at the nearby
Tachens 200 miles north of For
mosa.
The defense ministry said Na
tionalist defenders of Yikiang
shan fought until the last man
died.
Big Hurdle of Democratic Controlled
Legislature Seen As Mustering Votes
To Override The Governor’s Veto
Ike Answers Tot’s
Complaint Of
TV Interference
CHICAGO, (tf>—Renee Denicola,
who is 8 years old, has learned
early in life than when you have
a complaint, it’s a good idea to
take it to the top for prompt
action.
When a “ham” radio operator
interferred with her favorite tele
vision programs, Rene wrote a
letter to President Eisenhower.
“I am 8 years old and I wish
you would help me,” she wrote.
“I am having so much trouble
with a ham station intereferring
with my TV programs. I can’t
get any pictures and all I hear
is CJ, CQ. He’s always on.
“You’re the best president we
ever had. I love you very much.”
Renee’s mother, Mrs. Giard
Denicola, yesterday commented
on her daughter’s letter:
“Of course we thought nothing
would come of it. But imagine
our surprise when a few days
later a letter arrived addressed
to Renee. It was signed by a sec
retary of President Eisenhower.
It thanked her for reporting the
matter and said her letter had
been referred to the Federal Com
munications Commission.”
The FCC investigated and
found the “ham” was Anthony
Shragal, inspection foreman for
a radio and television manufac
turer, whose hobby is operating
Station W9SEF.
“I didn’t know my CQs (calling
other ‘hams’) were being heard on
anyone’s TV set,” Shragal ex
plained. “But as soon as I learned
of it I sent my son, Robert, over
to show them how to eliminate
the interference.”
“Who would have thought the
President of the United States
would answer a little girl’s let
ter,” mused Mrs. Denicola.
“It was nice of him,” said
Renee.
Senate Bars One-Man
Hearings From Taking
Of Testimony
WASHINGTON, UP)—1The Sen
ate Judiciary Committee has
barred one-man hearings for the
taking of sworn testimony by its
investigating units, except on a
two-thirds vote of the members.
This action, taken at a closed
door meeting yesterday and not
announced, came to light today
through interviews with .several
members of the committee.
A resolution to require that at
least two members of investigat
ing subcommittees be present
when testimony is received under
oath was offered by Sen. East
land (D-Miss).
f> By JIM HUTCHESON
AP Legislative Correspondent
When the legislature swings
open the doors at Juneau Mon
day, the Democratic majority will
be holding the whiphand but not
all the whips.
There’s one joker in the Demo
cratic woodpile: the strong pos
sibility of vetoes by the Repub
lican governor being upheld in
the Senate.
The control machinery should
be well oiled in the House, where
there are 21 Democrats and a
lonely 3 Republicans. That’s even
more one-sided than the Repub
licans’ 20-4 margin in the last
legislature.
But the Senate offers a horse
race of a different color. On the
face of it, with 12 Democrats and
only 4 holdover Republicans, it
would sound like the Democrats
should have the machinery run
ning smoothly there, too, but in
actuality there’s a liklihood of
some bipartisan grinding of the
gears. •
The big hurdle for the Demo
cratic majority will come on any
vetoes which may come from
Gov. Heintzleman’s office up
stairs. Eleven votes are needed
to override. That means six votes
in the Senate can sustain a veto.
Two Democratic senators’ votes,
with the four Republicans, will
be enough.
There no doubt will be a good
many issues on which more than
two Democratic senators may be
found on the same side of the
rollcall with the Republicans.
And, of course, there are likely
to be some on which a Republican
vote or two may go with the
Democratic majority.
But generally the Republican
(Continued on Page Two)
Predict U.S. Air and Sea
Forces Will Assist Any
Nationalist Evacuation
. WASHINGTON, UR — Sen. H.
Alexander Smith (R-NH) pre
dicted today Congress would ap
prove any request by President
Eisenhower for authority to use
U.S. air and sea power to assist
in the possible evacuation of
some Chinese Nationalist islands.
Eisenhower was reported last
night to be considering a request
for such authority in the event
Red Chinese, pressure should
force evacuation of troops from
the offshore islands.
The Reds this week captured
the island of Yikiangshan, which
had been held by a small garri
son, and they have stepped up
attacks on the Tachen gorup, on
which Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nation
alists have some 20,000 men.
One factor in administration
thinking was said to be a belief
by some American military men
that if Nationalist forces were
withdrawn from some of the scat
tered offshore outposts, they
might profitably be deployed
elsewhere for the defense of For
mosa.
OCCTJAPTION TITLE FITS
DETROIT, (£1 — “What do you
do for a living?” Federal Judge
Frank Picard asked Miller Sum
merour, 42, of Detroit after Sum
merour pleaded guilty yesterday
to a charge of bootlegging.
“I’m a plasterer your honor,”
replied Summerour.
“You certainly are,” snapped
Judge Picard.
December Living Costs At
Lowest Since May, 1953
WASHINGTON, — The gov
ernment reported today that low
er food prices in December
brought the nation’s living costs
to their lowest level since May,
1953.
The report showed prices of
living cost items at the end of
the year 1954 were one-half of
one per cent below the level at
the year’s start. It was the. first
time since 1948 that the govern
ment living cost index showed an
over-the-year decline.
Substantially lower prices for
eggs, pork chops and poultry led
the December decline.
The index kept by the Labor
Department’s Bureau of Labor
Statistics droped three-tenths of
one per cent to 114.3 per cent of
the 1947-49 base period average.
BILL WOULD BAR SMALL
TYPE FROM POLICIES
PROVIDENCE, R. I. UPl —
There’d be no more small type in
insurance policies under a bill
introduced in the Rhode Island
legislature yesterday.
The measure, filed by Demo
cratic'Reps. Michael Mahoney of
Woonsocket and Samuel Azzinaro
of Westerly, would force insur
ance companies to write policies
in type no smaller than the capi
tal letters of a standard type
' writer.
—
Israeli Buyers Look Over
Surplus Construction
Equipment At Kitimat
VANCOUVER, B.C., lto — Two
bargain hunters from the Israeli
government are here to look over
24 million dollars worth of con
struction equipment declared sur*
plus by the Aluminum Co. of
Canada.
The equipment was used in Al
can’s three-year project building
a smelter - powerhouse develop
ment at Kitimat and Kemano, B.
C., 400 miles north of here.
Chanan Yavor, delegate of the
ministry of agriculture and Maj.
Aron Leshen of the public works
dept., will fly north to Kitimat
Friday.
They said their country needs
everything they’ve seen of the
equipment so far, and would like
to buy it all “if the price is right.”
“If it’s suitable,” Major Leshen
said, “we might take most of it.”
The machinery is needed in
Israel’s expansion projects, a pro
gram that has entailed expendi
ture of 350 million dollars in the
last five years.
Oregon Rep. Says Air
Service To Alaska Is
Essential to Defense
WASHINGTON, WP>—Rep. Edith
Green (D-Ore) says air service be
tween Portland and Alaska is es
sential to national defense and
economic requirements of the ter
ritory.
She said today she stressed this
in a letter to chairman Chan
Gurney of the Civil Aeronautics
I Board urging renewal of operat
ing authority for Pacific Northern
and Alaska Airlines which now
operate over the Portland-Alaska
route.
The Board has been reported
ready to recommend elimination
of these two carriers from Port
land to Alaska service and to
provide flights to Alaska only
! from Seattle.
Mrs. Green, who joined with
other members of the Oregon
delegation in an appeal to the
board and to President Eisen
hower, set forth her views in a
separate letter.