Soprano Scores
Success at Met
On Short Notice
NEW YORK, UP)—A petite,
•blonde coloratura soprano from
Allentown, Pa., scored a triumph
Friday night in the Metropolitan
Opera’s offering of Offenbach’s
“La Perichole” after being given
only 24 hours to assume the title
role.
Laurel Hurley, 29, who has
been with the Met two years, was
asked Thursday_jiight to replace
Patrice Munsel when the Met star
reported she was ill. The nature
of Miss Munsel’s illness was not
disclosed.
Miss Hurley rehearsed the vo
cal part of the light opera' in a
studio Friday. She did not have a
chance to rehearse on stage with
the “Perichole” company. It was
her first attempt at publicly sing
ing the role of a Peruvian street
singer of the 1860s.
Both the audience and the crit
ics warmly applauded Miss Hur
ley. Said one critic: “A fresh
success . . . assured and perfectly
controlled . . . easy in flow and
clear in sound.”
Marie McDonald Is in
Seclusion After Relapse
ENCINO, Calif., Ofl-^-The where
abouts of- Marie McDonald was
her secret today.
Her physician said she had suf
fered a relapse and that he or
dered her into strict seclusion.
Miss McDonald’s story of being
kidnaped in her home the night
of Jan. 3 by two men and of be
ing held captive 24 hours before
being pushed out of their car is
being investigated by police.
*
CONCLUSIVE TESTIMONY
LOS ANGELES OP)—Mrs. Annie
E. Harris, 32, says that as she and
salesman Louis C. Harris, 35,
were driving away from their
church wedding last October “he
started hitting me.”
She said he threw the wedding
bouquet in her face.
Later in the month, she told
superior court Friday in asking
for an annulment, “he fractured
my nose and a bone in my chest.
He blacked both eyes and hit my
foot with a chair so that I could
hardly walk.
“I knew then,” she testified,
“the marriage was over.” »
The annulment was granted.
Navy Developing
Polaris Missile?
Without Army Aid
WASHINGTON, OR—The Pen
tagon announced Saturday the
Navy is developing its own inter
mediate range ballistic: missile
(IRBM)—which means the Navy
is severing its collaboration with
the Army on- such a project.
Lockheed Aircraft Co , of Van
Nuys, Calif., is the major con
tractor in development of the
“Polaris,” the name assigned to
the new weapon.
The announcement said this
missile “joins: the Unihxl States
family of ballistic missiles.”
Others currently being devel
oped or produced include the 200
mile-range Redstone of the Army,
such intermediate-range missiles
as the Army’s Jupiter, and the
Air Force’s Thor—each with a
designed range of about 1,500
miles—and the two interconti
nental-range ballistics missiles
(ICBM) projects of the Air Force,
the Atlas and the Titan.
Thirty-four of the 56 signers of
the Declaration of Independence
were lawyers.
SCORCHY SMITH__
HALF ACRE CASTLE
I'M GLAD I CONVINCED STEVE ToV
TAKE UP FAINTING AS A HOBBY / )
HE'LL BREAK DOWN IF HE GOES t
ON WORKING AS HARD AS HE ^
DOES WITHOUT SOME J I_
FORM OF RELAXATION/ Cl
/ I CALL IT "5UGA1S. BOWL \
v. IN A ROCKING CHAIR "/)
OH, PEAR... I WON PER IF ^ J
" ~'1
spy, STEVE..THIS OIL PAINTING
H068Y GINNY ANP JAN HAVE
BEEN TRYING TO SELL US IS
WORKING OUT TERRIFIC j b |
I TOLD GINNV I'D iq
PAINT IF -SHE LET ME
TRV DOING A
nr PdDtCAIT
Asst. Defense Secretary Ross Takes
Voluntary Leave Pending Completion
Of Investigation of Army Contract
By ELTON C. FAY
WASHINGTON, UP>—Asst. Sec
retary of Defense Robert Tripp
Ross Saturday began a self-im
I>osed leave of absence pending
completion of congressional in
vestigations of an Army contract
held by a firm headed by his wife.
Ross is the husband of Mrs.
Claire Wynn Ross, president of
Wynn Enterprises Inc., Knoxville
Tenn. Last Nov. 13, this firm was
awarded an $834,150 Army con
tract for 249,000 pairs of cotton
trousers.
Letter to a Senator
The Senate and House Govern
ment Operations Committees be
gan inquiries when details of the
contract were published.
Friday night, Ross made public
a letter to Sen. McClellan (D
Ark), chairman of the Senate
committee. Ross’ letter said “a
complete documentation of the
! facts” would show the contract
award “was made in accordance
| with normal procurement pro
cedures.”
Ross has been handling Defense
Department liaison with Congress
and directing the department’s
public relations policy. He for
merly was vice president of Wynn
Enterprises and an official of
Southern Athletic Co., also of
Knoxville.
Elected From New York
Defense Department records
show that since 1951 government
contracts totaling more than $7,
700,000 have been awarded to
Wynn Enterprises Inc. and with
Southern Athletic and other af
filiated firms.
In his letter to McClellan, Ross
said that he “severed all connec
tions” with these firms. That, as
he has said before, was after his
election to Congress, as a Repub
lican, from a New York district. ^
“I do not own any stock in any
of these companies, nor have I
ever owned any stock in them,*’
Ross said.
Received No Compensation
Since becoming a defense offi
cial in March 1954, Ross said, “I
have not interested myself in any
manner whatsoever in any bids
or contracts involving” Wynn En
terprises or Southern Athletic.
He added that since severing
connections with those firms, “I
have not received any compensa
tion or remuneration of any kind
from them.”
The Nashville Tennessean re
ported Wednesday that Ross was
listed as a vice president of
Southern Athletic in its annual
report, to the Tennessee secretary
of state dated June 24, 1955—
three years after he said he had
resigned.
Tell-Tale Report
H. D. Wynn, president of the
company and Ross’ brother-in
law, said the continued listing of
Ross was “a terrible error” not
discovered until less than a year
ago. He said it was “an auditor’s
mistake.”
Wynn had signed the report to
the state officials.
WEATHERMAN GOOFS
DETROIT tffi—Even the experts
sometimes goof.
W. W. Oak, chief meteorologist
at the U.S. Weather Bureau office
here, was'two hours late for work
yesterday because he hadn’t ex
pected a nine-inch snowfall.
Nome Directory
NOME ROTARY CLUB
Dewey Goodrich
President
W. Mecklenburg
Secretary
Wednesday Luncheon
Northwestern Alaska
Chamber of Commerce
Meets Every Tuesday Noon
STAN MORGAN, President
ALASKA CHAPTER I I. 1
Or tier of Eastern Star
Meet* 1st k 3rd Monday of each
Betty Edwards
Worthy Matron
Helen Dunbar
□ Secretary
—
ANVIL LODGE
No. 140
Robt. K. Lewis, W.M.
Nervln W. Lewis, Sec.
I KmA 1st and 3rd Thursday each month
.