™i NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LV No. 45 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 1953 Per Copy—15^ '
19 Miraculously
Rescued From
Crash in Cascades
SEATTLE, GPI—Saved by a mir
acle of fate, pluck and courage,
19 persons were rescued in a day
long struggle against nature yes
terday after their air liner crash
ed into the Cascade Mountains,
killing the other six persons
aboard.
The slow and painful job of
bringing the injured out began
immediately after the plane’s
plucky stewardess, Mrs. Adra
Long of Berkeley, Calif., was spot
ted hobbling down the mountain
side, leaving a trail of blood in
the deep snow.
She was six miles from the
place where the plane, chartered
by the Army to fly servicemen
from Scranton, Pa., and Washing
ton, D.C., to Seattle, plunged into
snow-covered trees when one of
its two engines failed and ice
formed on its wings.
The trees broke the fall but
tore the wings from the craft.
The fuselage broke into two' parts,
the forward section badly smashed
and the rear half virtually un
touched.
The pilot, copilot and four of
the servicemen were fatally in
jured. Mrs. Long said she awoke
after the crash.
“I was still sitting in my chair,”
she told rescuers. “I had been
thrown clear of the plane.” This
was approximately 2:30 a.m., the
position 40 miles southeast of
Seattle at the 3,000 foot level.
Snow was five feet deep.
One of the survivors who spent
the day awaiting rescue was Pvt.
Howard Wormuth, 21, Gt Carbon
dale, Pa., who said the plane had
had engine trouble out of Chicago
and had to return there for servic
ing.
“This rescue operation was a
darn good job. When they carried
men out by stretcher from the
wreckage to the truck, the going
was really hazardous.
“I never saw such a steep
mountain in all my life.”
BIDS OPEN ON BIG DELTA
ARMY TRAINING PROJECT
SEATTLE, (if>—Army engineers
opened bids yesterday on the new
Big Delta Army training project,
which may prove the largest mili
tary construction job in Alaska.
It calls for an eventual expendi
ture of about $20,000,000.
Peter Kiewit Sons of Omaha
and the Fred J. Early, Jr., Co., of
San Francisco, in a joint venture
offer of $10,521,749 were apparent
low bidders. The Army fair cost
estimate was $11,850,802.
The project is a new Arctic
training and indoctrination cen
ter, about 150 miles southeast of
Fairbanks.
2 INCHES SNOW POSTPONES
RED SOX-SENATORS GAME
BOSTON, If)—Wet ground—ac
tually a couple of inches of snow
—forced postponement of the Bos
ton Red Sox’ baseball season open
er yesterday with the Washington
Senators.
The Red Sox management also
postponed today’s game when it
became evident the grounds could
not be put in shape in time.
12 Million Dollar Public
Works Program Proposed
For Alaska This Year
WASHINGTON, (A*)—A 17-proj
ect, 12 million dollar Alaska pub
lic works program is proposed by
the Department of Interior for the
12 months beginning this July.
Details of the program, which
reflect revisions made in the 15
million dollar request contained
in the budget sent to Congress by
former President Truman, were
disclosed today in testimony made
public by a House appropriation
committee.
The revision deleted four pre
viously proposed projects and
scaled down requests for advance
planning and administrative funds.
Deleted projects, according to a
statement given the committee by
the Office of Territories, were
territorial requests for schools at
Ruby and Fort Yukon, a school
proposed by the Fairbanks Inde
pendent School District, and street
improvements sought by Juneau.
The remaining 17 projects
would cost a total of $12,175,
000. All, the subcommittee was
told, have completed the neces
sary preliminaries which prompt
ed the House to slash similar fund
requests last year.
Dept, of Defense
Not Supporting
Alaska Statehood
WASHINGTON, UP — The Un
dersecretary of Air said Tuesday
the Defense Department is not
supporting statehood for Alaska.
James H. Douglas told a House
Interior subcommittee the Defense
Department feels that while state
hood might have a long range ad
vantage to the military it would
have no immediate benefit.
Douglas was the first witness as
the subcommittee opened a hear
ing on legislation to admit Alaska
to the Union.
“The Defense Department real
izes,” Douglas testified, “that over
a period of years, statehood may
provide a more sound political
and economic form of government,
and that this would be of benefit
to the armed fcrrces by providing
better communications and addi
tional interior security forces.
“However, the immediate im
pact from a national security
standpoint would be of no great
import because the military re
sponsibility remains’the same.”
Douglas testified only briefly,
discussing only the military ef
fects of statehood.
Asked if the Defense Depart
ment’s position on Alaska differed
from its view on Hawaii statehood
Douglas said he did not know.
The House recently passed a bill
to make Hawaii a state. This bill
is now before the Senate Interior
Committee. ^
AIR MAIL STAMP WILL
HONOR 50 YEARS OF FLIGHT
WASHINGTON, (ffl — The Post
Office Department’s new airmail
stamp, to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of flight, will go on
sale for the first time at Dayton,
Ohio, next May 29.
Dayton was the home of the
Wright brothers.
Wade of ANS Tells
Chamber Deer Will
Be Available Here
Hugh Wade, Alaskan head of
the Alaska Native Service from
Juneau, was speaker at the Cham
ber of Commerce luncheon yes
terday and gave a most interest
ing talk covering many of the
functions of the service which he
represents.
Mr. Wade gave a resume of the
background of the establishment
of the White Mountain School,
showing how it served its purpose
before the establishment of the
Mt. Edgecumbe School. It is now
found to be too expensive to op
erate in comparison with the larg
er and more accessible school.
He explained that the day
schools in the villages of the Sec
ond Division would have increased
teaching service to make it pos
sible for students to stay at home
until they completed the eighth
grade and then get their high
school education at Nome or Mt.
Edgecumbe.
Alaska Steam Not Interested
Mr. Wade discussed the critic
ism of the ANS being in the ship
ping business and stated that they
had negotiated with the Alaska
Steamship Co. He indicated that
Alaska Steam was not interested
in' calling at the small out-of
way villages where standby time
sometimes runs into many days.
He claimed that the MS North
Star saved the taxpayer’s money.
He stated the ASC wanted only
the cream.
Referring to the native coopera
tive stores, he stated that he could
see no reason why the natives
should not borrow from RFC, in
asmuch as loans were made to de
velop the tin mine at Lost River
as well as many buildings and
apartment houses in Fairbanks,
Ketchikan, Juneau and Anchorage
20.000 lbs. Deer Meat Next Fall
Wade announced that the North
Star will bring 10,000 pounds of
reindeer from Edgecumbe, where
it has been in cold storage since
last fall and sell it here at 45
cents per pound, boatside price,
and that 20,000 pounds would be
available this fall from Nunivak
Island, as the herd is being re
duced. The reindeer will be avail
able not only at Nome but at the
various villages on the North
Star’s itinerary north of Nome.
Consider Liquor Problem Grave
Discontinuing his remarks as an
ANS official and speaking as an
individual, Wade stated that he
considered the liquor question in
this area of grave importance and
unless something was done to curb
(Continued cm Page Two)
SUBJECT OF EISENHOWER
SPEECH: CHANCE FOR PEACE
AUGUSTA, Ga., I# — President
Eisenhower’s speech in Washing
ton tomorrow will deal with “the
chances for peace” for “all the
peoples of the world in 1953.”
James C. Hagerty, Eisenhower’s
press secretary, announced the
theme at the President’s vacation
headquarters here. The address at
a luncheon meeting of the Ameri
can Society of Newspaper Editors
will be televised and broadcast by
radio on all national networks.
Union Criticizes Military
Sea Transport Service for
Decimating Free Shipping
SAN FRANCISCO, (^—Exten
sion of the Pacific (Joast long
shore agreement beyond its ex
piration date of June 15, 1954, is
under consideration.
A coastwide caucus of longshore,
ship’s clerk and walking boss lo
cals of the International and
Warehousemen’s Union empow
ered its negotiating committee to
consider extension.
The contract was negotiated in
1951. A union spokesman said the
“main framework” of the agree
ment might be extended if there
were increased wages and social
gains.
The caucus severely criticized
the Military Sea Transport Ser
vice “for decimating both free en
terprise and the maritime unions.”
“Our government uses a short
sighted policy when it increases
the tonnage capacity that sails
under MSTS,” the report said.
“Both free enterprise and the
maritime unions are being deci
mated by the United States gov
ernment remaining in the shipping
business.
“In the interests of our country,
this work should revert to pri
vate American operators.”
Stubbs Will Fly
To Point Barrow;
Will Walk Back
FAIRBANKS, UP)—Jesse Stubbs,
71-year-old boyhood friend of Will
Rogers, left for Point Barrow yes
terday to erect a shrine to the
comedian—but he will no longer
be traveling on foot.
Friends finally persuaded him
to abandon his plans to trek near
ly 800 miles over some of the
roughest and little-mapped terrain
on the continent and he will ride
in a Wien-Alaska Airlines plane,
on a ticket paid for him. He re
cently arrived on foot from An
chorage, accompanied by his dog,
Quacco.
But Stubbs said he was deter
mined to walk back to Fairbanks
after he visits the spot where
Rogers and Wiley Post crashed to
their deaths in a plane. He expects
to- build a cement vault at the
scene.
Mrs. Edith Clark, middle-aged
out-of-doors enthusiast, an An
chorage engineers office employe,
gave up her plans to accompany
Stubbs to Point Barrow when he
said he would fly there.
From Point Barrow, Stubbs
must hike 36 miles to the crash
scene. He will take his dog with
him on the plane.
ANCHORAGE ROAD WORK
STARTS ON BYPASS TO CITY
ANCHORAGE, UP) — First road
work undertaken this spring in
the Anchorage area was started
this week by the Alaska Road
Commission. Crews resumed oper
ation on the bypass which will
route traffic from the military
reservation to the city and sub
urbs without congesting the post
roads.
The project was started last fall
and is expected to be completed
by mid-July.
Truck Convoys s
With UN Prisoners
Near Panmunjom
MUNSAN, —Allied planes to
day spotted two truck convoys
highballing sick and wounded
U.N. war prisoners toward the
gate to freedom at Panmunjom.
There was no report of a third
convoy the Reds said also is mov
ing south through North Korea.
The three convoys are carrying
part of 600 disabled U.N. troops to
be traded for 5,800 Red sick and
injured beginning Monday.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Command
said 930 Chinese prisoners are
being readied for exchange — 230
more than the 700 the Allies told
the Red liaison officers at Pan
munjom would be returned as sick
and wounded. ,
There was no immediate expla
nation for the higher figure.
Even as the announcement came
almost 750 Chinese Reds on the
first leg toward home rebelled
briefly against the U.N.
They refused for 2Vz hours to
leave a landing ship that took
them fi'om Cheju Island to the
South Korean mainland, but they
finally filed off after armed Allied
guards wearing gas masks came
aboard.
The Chinese all had asked for
return to their homeland.
There was no report here on
any further action toward revival
of the full scale armistice talks.
ADMINISTRATION TAKES
STAND AGAINST HOUSE
MOVE TO END RENT CONTROL
WASHINGTON, OP)—’The Eisen
hower administration took a stand
today against a hurry-up move in
the House to kill almost all re
maining federal rent controls on
April 30.
Defense Mobilization Director
Arthur S. Fleming urged the
House Banking Committee to con
tinue general rent controls over
some 5,550,000 housing units in 32
states until Oct. 1.
Fleming said this additional
time is needed to carry out a re
quest in President Eisenhower’s
state of the union message. He
quoted from the message that be
fore controls are removed, each
state legislature “should have full
opportunity to take over respon
sibility for this function.”
CAB TO HOLD HEARINGS ON
AIRLINE APPLICATION TO
OPERATE FROM ANCHORAGE
WASHINGTON, UR — The Civil
Aeronautics Board decided yester
day to hold a hearing on the ap
lication of Sea Airmotive, Inc., for
authority to fly persons and pro
perty within a radius of 200 miles
of Anchorage, on a non-scheduled
or charter basis, and to transport
mail and freight.
Two airlines—Northern Consol
idated and Cordova—objected that
the proposal would result in “un
necessary and uneconomic dupli
cation of services” in their areas.
The board decided the issues
raised shoud be resolved only
after a public hearing at a time
and place to be announced later.