m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVI NO. 63 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1954 Per Copy^46^
One Climber Dies
Another Stranded
On Mt. McKinley
FAIRBANKS, UP)—Two. bruised
and battered young climbers
brought a report last night from
high up on Mt. McKinley of “a
terrible spill” in which one com
panion was killed and another
was injured so badly he had to
be left at the 14,000-foot level.
The four - man expedition of
University of Alaska students or
ex-students went up the 20,300
foot mountain, highest on the
North American continent, April
17. They had been listed as over
due 10 days. A search had started
yesterday. They were found by
chance by an unidentified forest
ranger who was working on an
outlying road job in Mt. McKinley
Park.
A rescue party of experienced
climbers was organized today to
try to go by helicopter to the
8,000 or 9,000 foot level and then
hike to the gravely injured man,
George Argus.
Fragmentary reports said the
five-day food supply left him in
an improvised tent shelter would
run out today.
The man killed in the fall down
the sheer and icy slope was Elton
Thayer, a well known Alaska
climber.
Senator Urges Alaskans
Be Given Chance to Vote
Again On Statehood
WASHINGTON, UP—Sen. Mal
one (R-Nev) urged yesterday that
Alaska residents be given another
chance to vote on whether they
want statehood.
He presented the Senate a peti
tion he said was signed by 1491
Alaskan residents asking for such
a vote.
“Alaska has not had an oppor
tunity to vote on this question for
several years,” Malone told the
Senate. “This petition is signed
by 1491 persons who- want a vote
on the question. I think they
should have it.”
Cook Inlet Fishermen
Protest Low Prices By
Refusing To Go Fishing
ANCHORAGE, UP — Cook Inlet
fishermen stayed in port yester
day protesting lowered salmon
prices, but 35 boats from the Col
umbia River started operations,
giving rise to fear of possible vio
lence between the two groups.
The situation led Einar Mein
ing, busines agent of the Inde
pendent Alaska Fishermen’s
Union at Cook Inlet, to announce
he was resigning. He said he was
asking the Coast Guard at Ju
neau to sent a cutter to police the
situation.
The action idled about a thou
sand fishermen and these were
the men Meining said he was
afraid might react violently
against the “outside” boats.
His alarm was not shared by
the man he named as his suc
cessor, however. Poliak Ollestad
reported at Cook Inlet that all
was quiet and peaceful as usual
and he expected nothing would
develop.
Anti-Communists Reject
British Plan For Ending
War In Indochina
GENEVA, GP—A British plan to
open immediate military discus
sions here between rival military
commands on how to end the war
in Indochina has failed to win ap
proval from all the anti-Cccn
munist delegations.
This was disclosed today by a
conference source, who said the
delegations from Laos and Cam
bodia objected to a four - point
proposal made yesterday by Brit
ish Foreign Secretary Anthony
Eden. Delegates from these two
Indochina states feared the plan
might lead to partition of their
countries.
Pham Van Dong, the Vietminh
minister, put forward a plan yes
terday which emphasized earlier
Communist claims on parts of
Laos and Cambodia.
The Communists maintain the
two kingdoms are engaged in civil
war against “resistance govern
ments” composed of their own
citizens.
The governments of the two
kingdoms categorically reject this.
They say the Communists fight
ing in their territory are invaders
who should withdraw.
SAS Plane In Tokyo
TOKYO, CP) — A Scandinavian
Airlines DC-6B airliner arrived
Wednesday night from Shemya in
the Aleutian Islands, completing
its trail-blazing commercial flight
via the North Pole from Europe
to Tokyo.
The American-built four-engine
plane carrying a crew of ten and
40 relief personnel for the Nor
wegion field hospital in Korea
made the non-stop flight in less
than 11 hours.
The plane on its homeward j
flight will take the same course,
leaving Tokyo airport on the night
of May 28.
Geodetic Survey To Work
32-Man Crew In Alaska
SEATTLE, C/fi—The Coast and
Geodetic Survey’s major 1954 sur
vey party for western Alaska was
to leave aboard a Northwest
Orient Airlines plane today for
bases north of Bristol Bay.
The 32-man party will set up
preliminary markers for mapping
of the region along the 160th mer
idian from Bristol Bay north to
the Kuskokwim River. A second
survey party will operate north of
the Kuskokwim and a third north
of the Yukon River, traveling
through much of the bush coun
try in helicopters and light air
planes.
CANADIAN SHIP RIGHTS,
HAINES TO SKAGWAY, OK'd
WASHINGTON, (#)—The House
Merchant Marine Committee to
day approved a Senate-passed bill
to renew for one year the author
ity for Canadian ships to carry
passengers between Haines and
Skagway, and other points in Al
aska and foreign ports.
The legislation, first adopted in
1947, also permits Canadian ships
to carry passengers and freight to
or from Hyder, Alaska.
Nomeites Must Cart
Away Own Debris
Clean-up Week
The City Fathers have put the
community on its own this year
during Clean - Up Week, an
nounced for May 27 through
June 3.
Heretofore residents cleaned up
their winter accumulation of ref
use and placed it together for the
annual city pickup. This year they
will have to have it hauled away
at their own expense, it was de
cided at the last regular council
meeting Monday.
Street Committee Chairman Bill
Gillis reported the streets in gen
erally good condition and side
walks being repaired.
It was reported he has offered
his truck to the city so that oiling
may start as soon as possible.
Councilman Bob Lewis reported
that playfield repair parts had
been ordered and that the equip
ment would be put in order as
soon as possible.
To Study School Budget Increase
The school budget was present
ed. It showed a total estimated
cost of $145,535, the territory’s
share to be $99,685 and the City
of Nome’s share $45,916. This is
an increase of $2,822.50 over last
year, caused by the employment
of two extra teachers.
When questioned about the
large expenditure for the school,
Bob Baldwin stated that certain
standards must be met in having
good schools, and that one of
these is that the school should
have 25 teachers, due to the large
enrollment. The School Board is
asking for Only 20, due to limited
space but will ask for four more
when the new addition is added
next year.
As some of the council mem
bers had not had an opportunity
to examine the report it was ta
bled until the next regular meet
ing.
Traffic Laws To Be Enforced
It was announced that traffic
regulations within the city were
to be enforced more rigidly and
the military were to be cautioned
as to speed limits within the city.
The council stated that Clean-Up
Week was to be stressed and busi
ness houses and civic bodies
urged to bring it to the attention
of the community by advertising.
The matter of combining the
city Fire Department and Police
Department under one head who
might not be an approved firemen
under the Fire Underwriters was
tabled again pending information
from Gould & Gould Insurance
Agency concerning what happens
to the fire rates if this change
is made.
TUESDAY BASEBALL SCORES
National League
New York 21, Pitsburgh 4
St. Louis 9, Chicago 4
Milwaukee 3, Cincinnati 1
American League
Chicago 4, Cleveland 2
New York 9, Washington 3
Boston 3, Philadelphia 2
Detroit 5, Baltimore 4
Pacific Coast League
Hollywood 6, San Diego 1
Oakland 9, Sacramento 7
More Than A Hundred Men Killed
And 220 Injured In Explosion, Fire
Aboard U.S. Carrier Bennington
QUONSET, R.I., WV-The Navy<
suffered its worst peacetime dis
aster in history early today when
more than 100 men died and 220
were injured early today in two
explosions and a fire aboard the
aircraft carrier Bennington as she
cruised along the eastern shore
line.
The huge craft came into this
port shortly after noon today, her
decks lined with tired crewmen,
their faces blackened by smoke.
Ensign Robert Grant of Brook
lyn, N.Y., his own ankles bleed
ing, told newsmen “All I can say
is, God, I’m lucky to be alive.”
He was directing the evacuatiom
of the casualties as he spoke.
As the Essex-class craft, which
had an illustrious record in World
War II, came into this naval air
base, helicopters conducted a
shuttle service carrying injured
to the naval hospital in nearby
Newport.
Greatest previous loss of life
suffered by the Navy was 48
aboard the battleship Mississippi
off California in 1924.
The Bennington with a crew of
2,800 was engaged in what the
Navy called routine training when
the unexplained fire ‘occurred.
When the Bennington docked
crewmen relayed the information
that the fire started in the for
ward portion of the ship, appar
ently below decks. Twenty-four
ambulances including truck car
riers were standing by.
Meanwhile the White House an
nounced an immediate investiga
tion is being started by the Navy.
The Bennington is 27,100 tons
of the Essex class, the 11th of her
class built since Pearl Harbor. In
>
April 1953, while on a shakedown
cruise in Cuban waters 11 men
were killed in a boiler explosion.
The carrier participated in sink
ing an entire Japanese convoy off
Okinawa and shared credit in the
sinking of the* battleship Yama
moto.
During World War II action,
the Bennington escaped serious
damage but her flight deck was
buckled in a typhoon in 1945.
Big No. 5 Dredge
Badly Damaged By
Cave-in Saturday
The big dredge of the U.S.
Smelting Co., known as No. 5,
is closed for repairs following an
accident which occurred last Sat
urday afternoon at about 5:30.
A cave-in broke the huge dig
ging ladder while the dredge was
in operation. Considerable dam
age was caused, which will put
the dredge out of operation for
some time, although repairs were
started immediately.
Special tackle is being set up to
hoist the ladder into position for
the repair job.
Manager Carl Glavinovich stat
ed that it is too early to estimate
how long repairs will take but
that local crews would be used.
The company will be employ- ,
ing over 200 men this summer on
thawing projects for No. 5 and
No. 1 dredges. Thawing operations
will start at the Submarine area
preparatory to the anticipated
building of the new dredge there
next year.
GRADUATION EXERCISES
Nome High School
CLASS OF 1954
Thursday, May 27 — 8:00 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM
Processional.Carolyn Glavinovich
Triumphal March, Aida
Invocation .Rev. Neil Murphy, S.J.
Salutatory.Geraldine Fagerstrom
“Down in the Valley”.Kentucky Folk Tune
Mixed Chorus
Valedictory.LeRoy Reader
“Serenade”.. Schubert
Mary Jeanne Boucher acc. by Mrs. Emily Boucher
Graduation Address .... Hon. Walter H. Hodge
Judge, U.S. District Court
Presentation of Class, Presentation of
Diplomas and Special Awards . . . W. L. Angell
Superintendent
“Winter Lullaby”.Strickland
Girls’ Glee Club
Benediction.Rev. Neil Murphy, S.J.
Postlude.Carolyn Glavinovich
CLASS OF 1954
Geraldine Fagerstrom LeRoy P. Reader
Lola R. Ost Gordon A. Swanberg
Nancy M. Tripp