m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LV No. 38 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, MARCH 30, 1953 Per Copy—15^
Eklutna Project
Practices Termed
Shocking, Stinking
By MORRIS CLEAVENGER
WASHINGTON, UP)—Chairman
Miller CR-Neb) of the House In
terior Committee terms Reclama
tion Bureau practices in building
the Eklutna power project near
Anchorage, “shocking, deplorable
and stinking.”
Miller said preliminary investi
gations show that former Secre
tary of Interior Oscar L. Chap
man, through the Reclamation
Bureau, “contracted for over 15
million dollars above the amount
appropriated by Congress for the
Eklutna project.
In his statement, Miller said
that if “private individuals did
what Chapman and Straus (for
mer Reclamation Commissioner)
did they would be tossed in jail.”
“The whole rotten deal is
downright shocking and deplor
able,” Miller added.
“You are sure that these stink
ing practices won’t be allowed as
long as I am chairman.”
In stating that the committee is
considering referring the matter
to the Attorney General, Miller
said:
“Of course this might be closing
the door after the horse is gone,
but it will certainly act as a
warning that practices such as
these will not be condoned or
whitewashed.”
An official memorandum pre
pared by the staff of the Interior
Committee and testimony given at
recent hearings show the face
value of contracts entered into by
the Reclamation Bureau on the
Eklutna project is below the
amount actually appropriated by
Congress.
At one time, however, the Bu
reau had awarded contracts with
a face value of about 3 million
dollars above the authorized ex
penditure for Eklutna. There were
revised downward last year after
an Interior Committee investiga
tion and on the basis of a ruling
from the Comptroller General.
Bohlen Confirmed As
Ambassador To Russia
WASHINGTON, OP)—State De
partment Security Officer R. W.
Scott McLeod, was the central
figure in the Senate fight over
confirmation of Charles (Chip)
Bohlen as ambassador to Moscow.
Bohlen won 74 to 13 approval
by the Senate Friday. Sen. Mc
Carran (D-Nev) had charged that
McLeod refused to give Bohlen a
security clearance and was over
ridden by Secretary of State
Dulles. Dulles denied this.
When reporters asked McLeod
if he considered Bohlen a good or
a bad security risk, he replied “no
, comment.”
FREIGHTER AFIRE OFF N.Y.
NEW YORK, UP)—1The freighter,
S.S. Henry Stevenson radioed in
distress today that it was afire in
the Atlantic Ocean about 530
miles east of New York. •
The Coast Guard, reporting the
call for help, said the French
liner lie de France and a Coast
Guard cutter were speeding to
ward the scene.
Heintzleman Says Alaska
Native Schools Will All
Be Closed By 1960
WASHINGTON, UPI — The new
governor of Alaska says the Bu
reau of Indian Affairs could pull
out of Alaska “in a very short
time” except for possible need
among the Eskimos.
B. Frank Heintzleman told
the Senate Interior Committee re
cently that Indian schools “are
fast being abolished and I think
the hospitals might well be taken
over by the Public Health Ser
vice.” His testimony has just been
made public by the committee.
He explained he has no close
personal knowledge of Eskimos
and therefore could not comment
on what possible need they might
have for continued service from
the bureau.
The incoming governor spoke
highly of the results of mixing
Indians and whites in Alaskan
schools. The program has been “a
decided success,” he said, adding
he understood that by 1960 there
will be no strictly native schools
left.
“Three or four of the school
superintendents told me,” he con
tinued, “when the Indian young
sters first came in they could
hardly look' the principal in the
eye. ‘But after six months they
come in and 'talk to me,’ one said,
‘just like the white . youngsters’.”
Sorry, It?s No Crime
WASHINGTON, UP)—Charles M.
Irelan, U.S. attorney for the Dis
trict of Columbia, says he expects
to take no further action in the
demand of a Wisconsin editor for
the arrest of Lady Astor.
Irelan said he mailed this reply
Friday night to John Chappie,
editor of the Ashland Daily Press.
The attorney said he was unable
to find that Lady Aston commit
ted any criminal offense.
Chappie had proposed jail for
the Virginia - born English vis
countess for her remark at a
Washington party Wednesday.
Watching Sen. McCarthy (R-Wisi
sip a drink, Lady Astor said: “Too
bad it isn’t poispn.”
S63 MILLION FOR DEFENSE
RELEASED FROM FREEZE
ANCHORAGE, WJ — Col. L. H.
Foote, district engineer of the
Alaska Corps of Engineers has an
nounced here that 68 million dol
lars in defense construction proj
ects have been released from the
freeze by the Bureau of Budget.
Featured in the list of 23 de
fense construction projects, Col.
Foote said, was the construction
of a complete power plant of six
boilers and three turbine gener
ators at Elmendorf.
CADET ESCAPES INJURY
IN CRASH OF LIGHT PLANE
SALINA, Kas., UP)—A St. John’s
Military School cadet escaped
with minor injuries Saturday in
the crash of a light plane while
he was making mock bombing
raids during military maneuvers
conducted by the school’s cadets.
He was Orin Seybert, 17, of
Pilot Point, Alaska. Seybert was
bombing the cadets with flour
filled sacks when the plane clip
ped a tree and crashed.
McCarthy Accused
“Undermining”
Exec. Agencies
WASHINGTON, —Harold E.
Stassen, Mutual Security director,
today accused Sen. MacCarthy (R
Wis) and the Senate investigations
subcommittee of “undermining”
the work of executive agencies
seeking to cut. off trade between
the west to Iron Curtain areas.
“You are in effect undermining
and harmful to our objective,”
Stassen told McCarthy to- his face
at a televised hearing of Mc
Carthy’s subcommittee.
There was a sharp edge in Stas
sen’s voice as he spoke.
Stassen was referring to Mc
Carthy’s announcement Saturday
that the subcommittee staff had
negotiated an agreement with
Greek owners of 242 ships that
they would break off all trade
with North Korea and Commun
ist China.
McCarthy’s move had raised a
constitutional question, since it is
the President who is charged with
the conduct of foreign affairs un
der, the Constitution!.' . .., .
It was not clear whether Mc
Carthy’s subcommittee,1 in by
passing . the .executive ‘.branch of
government to negotiate nn agree
ment with foreigners^ had in
fringed upon presidential prero
gative. ;>
The State Department announ
ced today that Greece already has
put into efect a new order pro
hibiting Greek flag ships from
trading with the Communists.
Beta Sigs Report
On School Hot
Lunch Program
The Beta Sigma Phi hot lunch
program for school children ended
last Friday after being operated
11 weeks during January, Febru
ary and March, continuing one
month longer than it did last
year.
During this period 4,526 chil
dren received servings of soup,
pilot bread and hot chocolate, at
a total expense of $892.25. The
average cc?st per meal per child
was 19% cents. The difference be
tween this and the 5 cents paid
by each child was covered by the
sorority and donations by inter
ested parties.
An average of 82 lunches per
day were served, with a high of
125 on March 9. Fewer children
were served during the early part
of February probably due to the
illness prevalent at that time.
This civic project was started
last year by the sorority and is
made possible by the cooperation
of the community. The sorority^s
most active member on the proj
ect has been Mrs. G. R. Jackson,
who as chairman, attended to all
arrangements, ordering, etc., and
personally managed the serving of
the lunches until the middle of
February. At that time Mrs. Steve
Anderson took over. Mrs. Ander
son did a very capable job and
the sorority wish to extend their
appreciation to her.
Helpful assistance was given
also by the following: Mrs. Boyd
(Continued on Page Two)
Seattle Firms Support
Application For Barge
Line to the Mississippi
SEATTLE!* (#)—Support for the
Alaska Freight Lines’ application
for a permit to open a barge ser
vice to the Midwest was given by
representatives of several Seattle
business firms Saturday at the
closing session of an Interstate
Commerce Commission hearing
here.
The Alaska Freight Lines pro
poses to open a service between
West Coast states and inland cities
on the Mississippi River and its
tributaries.
A second hearing is expected to
be held in New Orleans in about
60 days.
Fred H. Tolan, a traffic consult
ant appearing in behjjjf of the
Northwest Furniture Manufactur
ers’ Association and Van Waters
& Rogers, Inc., testified a barge
service would open up markets
which now are closed because of
transportation costs.
Tolan pointed out that the
Puget Sound region does not have
any ship service to or from the
Gulf of Mexico at present.
Marines Win Back Vegas
Outpost From Red
Spring Feeler Drive
SEOUL, W) — South Korean
troops threw back a Chinese Red
drive on Christmas Hill on the
eastern front in a driving snow
fall today as U.S. Marines dug in
firmly cm bloody outpost Vegas in
the west.
Entrenched Marines on smoul
dering Vegas had won back the
outpost at dawn Saturday after
being knocked off three times in
the Reds’ bloody spring feeler
drive on the western front last
week.
First Marine Division headquar
ters released these figures, giving
a picture of the intensity of the
Vegas fighting.
In the 24 hours beginning at 3
p.m. Saturday, 130 Marine ammu
nition depot personnel handled
2,841 tons of ammunition.
The commander of the depot de
clared, “Every one of my kids de
serves a letter of commendation
for the way they’ve been working.
They more than doubled the ton
nage the Army says a man can
handle in 24 hours.
EXPLODING AMMUNITION
LEAVES HAVOC IN TOWN
LEWUS, Ind., CD — Demolition
squads worked their way through
the desolation left in this little
coal mining town by a nightmare
of fire and flying shrapnel from
three freight car loads of explod
ing ammunition.
Scarcely a half dozen houses
remained habitable in this town
of 300 population after the five
hours of explosions touched off
by a train derailment Saturday
night, but no one was killed. Fif
teen persons were injured, but
only three went to hospitals.
YVONNE DE CARLO LOSES
$10,000 NECKLACE TO THIEF
LONDON, UP)—Hollywood act
ress Yvonne De Carlo says a
burglar took a $10,000 emerald
necklace, other jewels and travel
ers checks from her apartment
yesterday afternoon.
Premier of China
Offers Plan To
End Korean War
By JOHN RANDOLPH
TOKYO, (51—Premier Chou En
Lai of Communist China last night
offered a plan to end the war in
Korea similar to the Indian pro
posal before the United Nations
which Chou once coldly rejected.
It also resembled a plan ad
vanced by Allied negotiators at
Panmunjom last year.
Peiping broadcast a statement
by the Red premier—the second
apparently conciliatory move by
the Reds in four days — which
proposed:
1. Let all prisoners of war go
home who choose to return.
2. Turn over to a “neutral
state”—Chou did not name the
state—all prisoners who refuse to
go home.
3. The neutral state would al
low representatives of each side
to explain to the prisoners what
their decision would mean.
Like their agreement last week
to exchange sick and wounded
prisoners, this indicated a more
conciliatory attitude. But Chou
raised doubts as to whether the
Communists ever would accept
voluntary repatriation of prison
ers, the only issue blocking an
armistice.
Record of First -
GOP Legislature
In 20 Years
By JIM HUTCHESON
(AP Legislative Correspondent)
JUNEAU, (JV—Most of the mem
bers of Alaska’s first Republican
controlled legislature in 20 years
made their exit from Juneau over
the weekend. What kind of a
record did they leave behind for
the 60 days?
A review of the record shows
these session highlights:
Taxes—No new ones enacted.
Tax Reductions — Levies were
cut on canneries and gold mining
after both were described in floor
discussions as “sick” industries of
the territory.
The territorial general property
tax was repealed; the fishing boat
tax which some cities collected
under the territorial law was
slashed, and the non-resident fish
ermen’s license fee was cut from
$50 to $10 under court edict.
Appropriations — The general
appropriations bill of $23,594,992
is a record high. About 14V£ mil
lion of it is for education—in
support of public schools, the $600
teachers’ salary increase, $700,000
for rural school buildings and
nearly $3,000,000 for the Univer
sity. Indications were that appro
priations would run beyond reve
nues and the present surplus in
the treasury will come in handy
for a touch.
Law Enforcement — Created
new department of Territorial Po
lice; voted to double penalties
against traffickers in narcotics;
tightened penalties for car thefts.
Board Changes—Overrode Gov.
Gruening’s veto of bill to wipe
Employment Security Commis
sion slate clean and start over
(Continued on Page Three)