2S NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS .
VOL. LIX No. 102 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 1957Per Copy—15#
SURGEON GENERAL PREDICTS
ASIATIC FLU EPIDEMIC IN U.S.
WASHINGTON, MV—Dr. LeRoy
E. Burney, U.S. Surgeon General,
said today the presence of Asiatic
flu in this country is not the start
of germ warfare by the Commu
nists.
Burney estimated there are now
*20,000 to 25,000 cases in the Unit
ed States and that between 25 to
34 million persons ultimately may
be affected.
“Is there any possibility that
the Communists have planted
these germs?” Burney Was asked
in a copyrighted interview in U.S.
News and World Report, a week
ly news magazine.
“No,” he replied. “I don’t be
lieve that is a possibility. We have
epidemics occasionally and have
had them in the past.”
“Could the entry of Asian flu
into the United States have been
prevented?” he was asked.
“No,” Burney replied. “In the
first place, there are many unap
parent infections. In other words,
you may have the influenza virus
—carrying it around here now,
and I couldn’t detect it in you.
That’s No. 1.
“No. 2—There are about 1,800
people who disembark on the
West Coast from the Pacific areas
every day from planes, ships and
otherwise. You can carry the
virus and there’s no way of de
tecting who has it and who does
U.S. Intelligence
Works Far Better
Than Russians
WASHINGTON Ufl—Boris Mor
ros, who served as a counterspy
for the United States, says Amer
ican intelligence work is far bet
ter than that of the Russians.
“There is no comparison,” said
Morros yesterday in a TV-radio
interview (CBS:Face the Nation
interview (CBS—Face the Na
tion).
Morros, Hollywood composer
director, recently disclosed that
for years he had been an agent
for the FBI even while the Rus
sians believed he was spying for
them. Morros said yesterday he
began his dual role in 1947, two
years after the Russians first ap
proached him.
Morros told his interviewrs he
knows of several Americans, em
ployed by the government, who
he says are spies for the Soviets.
He said they are overseas and
are under surveillance by Ameri
can officials.
Morros did not identify these
alleged spies, but described them
as scientists’ and engineer and as
relatives of prominent and rich
persons in Europe.
n’t have it.”
Burney, asked whether he was
quite certain the disease was go
ing to come in epidemic propor
tions in this country, said:
“Yes, on the basis of experi
ences with past epidemics and
with its tremendous spread thus
far thruout the world.”
* * *
LONDON, (jP>—An epidemic of
suspected Asiatic flu has hit U.S.
air bases in Britain. More than
500 American servicemen were
reported in hospitals today.
The Air Force announced plans
to fly an American devised anti
flu vaccine here on Oct. 1.
“All American military person
nel in Britain will be compulsor
ily vaccinated against Asiatic flu,”
an Air Force spokesman said.
20 Norwegians
Stranded on Ice
Near Greenland
COPENHAGEN, WV-The Dan
ish naval ship Teisen today came
to a point within 40 miles of 20
Norwegian seamen stranded on
an ice pack above the Arctic Cir
cle off east Greenland.
The seamen abandoned their
ship, the 292-ton Polarbjoern, af
ter ice had partly crushed her
port side. The ship’s captain ra
dioed the Norwegian Polar Insti
tute “only the pressure of the ice
keeps the vessel floating.”
The Danish naval vessel, stand
ing by at the edge of the ice pack,
is too small to go thru the ice but
can be of help if the ice breaks
apart.
U.S. and Danish planes flew
over the stranded men yesterday
and dropped supplies. The pilots
reported the men appeared to be
preparing to fight their way over
the ice to the desolate Greenland
coast if their ship sinks.
Heavy Rains in Northeast
Bring Some Relief to
Drought-Stricken Areas
(By The Associated Press)
Rain diminished in most of the
northeastern part of the country
today after the heaviest falls of
the summer in some areas.
The heavy intermittent rains
yesterday and last night brought
some relief to drought-stricken
areas. However, they were de
scribed by the Weather Bureau as
not enough to end the drought
which has caused extensive dam
age to crops this summer.
Falls up to two inches were re
ported in some areas, the heaviest
in months. Amounts measured
more than IVz inches in the New
York City area, Philadelphia and
j Baltimore. The wet belt extended
* from Maine to Florida.
Alaska Covenant
Churches Plan
Conference Here
This year the Alaska Covenant
Churches will hold their first La
bor Day or summer conference,
to be held alternately at- Nome
and Unalakleet.
A special invitation has been
given the churches in the Norton
Bay area to attend the conference
which will begin with the Festi
val of Singing Saturday night.
It was 70 years ago this season
that the first missionary for the
Covenant Mission landed at Una
lakleet. A. E. Karlson and his as
sociates were on their way from
Sweden to fio missionary work in
Siberia.
The great need and friendly
welcome of the Unalakleet ®6ki
mos waylaid their original plan
and hence the Covenant Mission
in the Norton Sound area.
The Alaska Covenant Churches,
the sponsoring group of these
conferences, is a representative
group of the Covenant churches
in Alaska.
"A HECKUVA PROGRAM"
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., (#>—“A
Heckuva Program,” the Ribault
drive-in movie said in advertising
a quadruple feature it lined up
for Saturday.
The pictures are “Hell’s Half
Acre,” Hell’s Crossroads,” “Hell’s
Outpost” and “Hell Fire.”
Chinese Reds Demand Reciprocal
Admission of Reporters To U.S.
By JOHN RODERICK,
HONGKONG, <#>—Plans to send
American newsmen into Commu
nist China appeared stalemated
today by a Peiping 'demand for
reciprocal U-S. admission of Red
Chinese reporters. The State De
partment promptly rejected the
Communist demand.
Radio Peiping announced last
night that the State Department’s
decision to allow 24 U.S. reporters
to work in Red China for six
months “is completely unaccept
able to the Chinese people.”
The Chinese government “ex
pects Chinese correspondents to
be given reciprocal treatment to
go to America to report,” said the
broadcast commentary from the
official Peiping People’s Daily.
Secretary of State Dulles’ an
nouncement in Washington last
Thursday permitting American
newsmen in Communist China
for the first time in eight years
said the United States “will not
accord reciprocal visas to Chi
nese bearing passports issued by
the Chinee Communist regime.”
State Department officials said
after the Peiping broadcast this
stand will not be changed and
they are not interested in negoti
ating a deal with the Reds.
The broadcast said the State
Department is trying to “send
people into our country to search
out opportunities to create trou
ble . . . the wrecking activities of
the U.S. government will come to
nothing and will never be toler
ated by the people of China.”
Eleven of the 24 Americans
were waiting here for answers to
visa applications when the Pei
ping broadcast threw cold water
on hopes of getting into Red Chi
na soon. Their passports were
altered by the U.S. consulate to
remove the standard State De
partment restriction against trav
el in China.
The broadcast did not say spe
cifically no visas would be issued
until the State Department had
changed its stand, but that ap
peared to be its implication.
However, one correspondent
said Red Chinese Premier Chou
Ei-lai on two occasions promised
to grant him visas as soon as his
passport was changed.
Army Specialist Girard Denies
Luring Japanese Woman to Death
In Foreign Trial of American GI
By KAY TATEISHI
MAEBASHI, Japan, (JV-Wil
liam S. Girard denied Japanese
charges that he lured a woman
brass scavenger to her death on a
U.S. fimg range.
Japanese prosecutors entered a
new accusation that the Army
specialist from Ottawa, 111., shot
at four other Japanese before an
empty cartridge case fired from
his grenade launcher killed Mrs.
Naka Sakai on Jan. 30.
"The facts in the indictment
are not correct," the 22-year
old GI told the three black
robed judges as his trial on a
manslaughter charge opened in
the Japanese district court here.
In a brief statement Girard
told the court Mrs. Sakai’s death
“was an accident as far as I’m
concerned and I’m sorry it hap
pened.” The prosecution charged
that he threw out empty shell
casings to entice the scavengers
onto the firing range, then shot
at them.
Moving that the indictment be
dismissed, the soldier’s chief Jap
anese attorney, Itsuro Hayashi,
renewed the claim that Girard
was carrying out his official duty
and therefore is not subject to
Japanese jurisdiction.
This argument orignally had
set off considerable congres
sional and press criticism in the I
United States of the Army's de
cision to let apan try Girard.
The U.S. Supreme Court final
ly upheld the Army action, rul
ing that a Japanese trial would
not violate the soldier's consti
tutional rights.
Presidng Judge Yuzo Kawachi
said he would not rule on the
jurisdiction issue until all evi
dence in the case is heard and
“the final decision is given.” This
is expected to be in late October
or November. Hayashi said this
was agreeable to him.
In accordance with the Japan
ese custom of extended recesses
between sessions, the trial was
adjourned after today’s hearing
until Sept. 6. It will move then to
the Somagahara firing range,
where the fatal shooting occurred.
The trial opened in a steam
ing hot little courtroom into
which were jammed more
90 people, including 35 specta
tors chosen by lot and 42 re
porters. Heavy curtains were
drawn across the closed win
dows to prevent photographing
into the courtroom.
More than 1,000 Japanese and
about 250 newsmen, photograph
ers, newsreel and television men
milled around outside the court
house. Some of the Japanese car
ried such slogans as “Keep Girard
Under Japanese Custody,” “Show
the World—Give Girard a Strictly
Fair Trial,” and “Judge! Don’t
Disgrace the Pride of the Japan
ese People.”
Farmers in Siberia
Urged to Speed Up
Harvest of Grain
MOSCOW, ifft—Pravda has
■called on farmers in Siberia to
speed up the grain harvest.
The Communist Party newspa
per said yesterday only 8 to 16
percent of the crops were in by
Aug. 20 in some areas. It blamed
late ripening of crops and poor
use of machinery.
Grain harvests on Aug. 20 were
..2,355,000 acres ahead of last year
outside of Siberia, the paper re
ported. It did not mention crop
yields but said nearly 152 million
acres had been harvested.
Increased agricultural produc
tion is being pushed by Commu
nist party boss Nikita Khrush
chev. On Saturday a new Presid
ium member, Nikolai I. Belyayev,
in a full-page Pravda article
called for increased cultivation of
virgin lands.
11 i^—————I
See MID-CENTURY MARTYRS In Color
Tonight at Nome Gospel Home 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Assembly of God 7:30 p.m.
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