SSI NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS__
VOL. LVI No 39 • NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 1954 Per Copy—15f
IF YOU CAN GET ANY COMFORT OUT OF THIS
U. S. Now Able Build H-Bomb Capable
Of Destroying Any City In The W orld
WASHINGTON, UP —Chairman
Lewis L. Strauss of the Atomic
Energy Commission said today a
hydrogen bomb big enough to
wipe any city in the world now
can be made.
Strauss made the statement at
President Eisenhower’s weekly
news conference. He attended the
conference to give the public a
partial report on the recent H
bomb tests in the far Pacific.
The AEC chairman said the
March 1 and March 26 tests “were
successful” and declared that “en
ormous potential has been added
to' our military posture.”
He denied reports that the first
blast, which exposed a number
of Americans, Japanese and Mar
shall Islanders far from the ex
plosion scene to “hot” ashes, went
out of control.
“It was a stupendous blast,”
Strauss said. “But at no time
was the testing out of control.”
He said the power of the ex
plosion was about twice what the
scientists had expected—a margin
of error not unusual, he added, in
testing “a totally new weapon.”
An unexpected shift in the
wind carried atomic particles to
the area where a Japanese fish
ing trawler was cruising, Strauss
added.
Strauss said the tests bring the
Commission “very much nearer”
to satisfying the requirements of
the armed forces and hasten the
day when the AEC can devote
more attention to’ developing
peacetime uses of atomic energy.
President Eisenhower listened
with keen attention as Strauss—
just back from the Pacific tests—
read a four-page statement and
then answered a few questions.
In reply to one question Strauss
said, without qualification, that
an H-bomb large enough to “take
out” a city can be made.
“How big a city?” he was asked.
“Any city,” Strauss replied.
“New York?” a reporter press
ed.
Strauss nodded and said, “The
metropolitan area.”
Senate V ote On Statehood Bill
Looked For Tomorrow Night
Flash—Man Bites
Strip Tease Dancer
LOS ANGELES, (/P)—A $25,000
suit for damages has been filed
against movie actor Sonny Tufts
by a strip tease dancer, Barbara
Gray Atkins, who accuses him of
biting her on the thigh.
Miss Atkins, 27, stated in her
complaint yesterday that she had
just finished cooking dinner on
March 13 for Tufts and two other
screen actor friends when Tufts
suddenly lunged at her and bit
her upper left thigh.
There was no provocation for
the act, she stated. She asked
$10,000 general and $15,000 puni
tive damages.
> WASHINGTON, UD—‘The Sen
ate headed into the final stages
of its statehood debate today with
predictions that a vote, possibly
tomorrow night, will send the
combined Hawaii-Alaska bill to
the House.
The Senate agreed yesterday to
limit debate tomorrow to 90 min
utes on each amendment or mo
tion and to one hour on the bill
itself. The time is to be divided
equally between proponents and
opponents.
Statehood opponents will seek
a vote on their proposal to sub
stitute commonwealth status for
statehood. If that fails, they will
try to send the legislation, back
to the Senate Interior Commit
! tee.
(Continued on Page 3)
Martha Stephenson
Conviction Is
Reversed by Court
In an opinion handed down
March 25, 1954, the Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals held that the
conviction of Martha Owen Ste
phenson of the crime of Receiving
Stolen Government Property
should be reversed.
The grounds for the reversal
was that the jury should have
been instructed that the testimony
of an accomplice should be viewed
with caution. Mrs. Stephenson
was convicted partly on the testi
mony of Josephus Tester, who ad
mittedly stole the government
property.
The trial judge had held that a
thief is not the accomplice of the
receiver of stolen property and
had not given the instruction. The
Appellate Court held that this
was error even though the de
fense attorney had not insisted on
the instruction to the jury.
Three possibilities are still open
to the government and are now
being considered:
It is possible to retry the case
again at Nome; a rehearing could
be requested of the Ninth Circuit;
or an appeal to the Supreme
Court could be made.
Barbara Dimock,
Delegate Candidate
To Meet Voters
Barbara Dimock, candidate for
Delegate to Congress on the Re
publican ticket arrived at noon
today from Fairbanks and plans
to remain in Nome until Friday.
She wants to meet all voters of
this area and learn their needs.
Friday she plans to make the
flight to Unalakleet with Alaska
Airlines.
A meeting has been called by
Republican leaders for Thursday
evening at 8 o’clock at the City
Hall. The meeting will be infor
mal so that anyone interested in
meeting Mrs. Dimock may attend.
Mrs. Dimock stated:
“I am anxious to meet with as
many people of Nome and sur
rounding areas as possible in or
der to better understand the needs
and problems of this area. I
would he glad to talk with anyone
at the Polaris Hotel where I am
staying. It has been many years
since I have seen Nome and I am
delighted with the wonderful
snow and sunshine.”
She is running against Bob Bart
lett, Ray Beach and Neil Moore
in the primaries and is the first
of the candidates to come to Nome
during this campaign.
An informal dinner for Mrs.
Dimock is planned for tonight at
the Polaris by Nome Republicans.
Stevenson To Speak Friday
SOUTHERN PINES, N.C., —
Democratic leader Adlai Steven
son went back to work today on
a major political address he will
make in Charlotte Friday after
three days in Duke Hospital at
Durham for treatment of a kid
ney ailment.
999 Million Dollar Sales Tax Cuts
On Many Consumer Items Seen As
Shot In Arm To National Economy
WASHINGTON, MWThe com-<
promise bill passed by Congress
yesterday is likely to cut more
than 20 excise taxes an estimated
999 million dollars a year.
Congressional GOP leaders
foresaw a shot in the arm foV the
national economy, currently un
dergoing a dip, from tax cuts on
stoves, refrigerators and other
household applicances, movie and
other admissions, furs, jewelry,
handbags and luggage, cosmetics,
sporting goods, passenger fares,
telephone bills, telegraph charges,
mechanical pens and pencils,
cameras and film, lighters, and
electric light bulbs.
Economists expect consumer
buying to be stimulated when the
price cuts show up on many of
these items in stores Thursday,
accompanying the tax reductions,
or shortly thereafter. One fairly
general exception to the probable
lowered prices may be movie
tickets.
The bill would also extend for
one year, to April 1, 1955, present
excise rates on cigarettes, auto
mobiles, gasoline, trucks, liquor,
beer and wine. Under the old law
these taxes would have dropped
by $1,077,000,000 a year starting
Thursday.
The tax on most household ap
pliances would be cut from 10
percent to 5 percent.
The bill does not affect the
present 10 percent tax on radio
and television sets, air condition
ers, musical instruments, business
machines, phonograph records;
the 13-cent tax on playing cards;
the ’ percent tax on freight ship
ments; the 10 percent tax on
wagers; other tobacco taxes or
various dealer and franchise taxes.
The legislation fixes a flat 10
per cent excise rate on a host
of consumer items, including cos
metics, furs, jewelry and luggage
which now range from 11 to 25
per cent. The levies on telephone
and telegraph tolls and on trans
portation tickets are also reduced
to 10 per cent.
Last-Minute Rush In
Filings For City Offices
A last minute rush on Tuesday
for filing of candidates in the
city election next Tuesday shows
the community to be more alert
to their duties in civic affaris
than they have been for many
years.
The present mayor, Steve An
dersen, is unopposed for re-elec
tion, Jack Reed is unopposed for
city treasurer and Bill Barber un
opposed for school board.
Running for the Utility Board
are Lester Bronson and Tom Mar
ton for the five year term; Bill
Haley for the four year term;
Dewey Goodrich for the three
year term; Nels Swanberg and
Clint Gray for the two year term,
and Pearse Walsh for the one
year term.
For City Clerk, Carrie McLain
and Vic Hansen.
For the two year term on the
City Council: Ernie Gustafson,
Keith Hedreen, Rose Silverman,
Bob Lewis.
For one-year City Council: Jim
Walsh, Chuck Reader, Rita Har
per, Robert Herman, Fred Bo'ck
man and Thomas Tungewenuk.
Wolf Hunters Bagging
Many Wolves In The North
Reports from the north brought
down this week tell fabulous
tales of wolf hunting exceeding
any other season known.
Bert Beltz has killed a total
of 58 to date and 15 wolverine.
On Saturday alone he killed 13
wolves and three wolverine it
was reported.
Gene Joiner has a total of 28
to his credit and on Sunday he
got three polar bear besides.
Everybody who is able is out
wolf hunting, even Dr. Rabeau
who has three wolves to his
credit.
Seven planes are at Pt. Hope
from Fairbanks and it is reported
that they have taken over 50
wolves so far.
Molotov Advances
Proposals For
European Security
MOSCOW, UP) — Foreign Min
ister V. M. Molotov called in the
ambassadors of the United States,
Britain and France today and
handed them a Soviet note con
taining proposals for European
security.
Contents of the note were not
disclosed by the ambassadors who
cabled the text to their respective
capitals.
Western embassy officials said
the Soviet note was 10 pages long.
The Molotov proposals appar
ently were intended as an ad
vance statement for the Geneva
conference of the Big Four with
Red China and other powers
opening April 26.
At the recent Berlin Big Four
conference Molotov proposed a
European security plan which re
jected the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the proposed
European Defense Community.
Molotov asserted that these
western plans divided Europe and
set one section of Europe against
another, thus threatening peace.
Since then, the Soviet Union
has sent a series of notes to The
Netherlands, Greece, Turkey and
Pakistan protesting the granting
of bases to the United States and
other cooperation with American
sponsored defense plans.
Sen. Douglas Calls For
Support of ‘United Action'
WASHINGTON, UP) — Senator
Douglas (D-Ill) asserted today
the United States ought to “get
ready for the worst” by enlist
ing forces of Pacific free nations
ter fight Communism in Indochina
if they are needed.
Douglas, a Marine officer in
World War II, called for support
of President Eisenhower and Sec
retary of State Dulles in seeking
what Dulles called “united action”
to prevent Communist conquest
in southeast Asia.