2£ NOME NUGGET
, • OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LV No. 15 NOME. ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1953 Per Copy—15^
House Rescinds
Bill In Conflict
With Organic Act
JUNEAU, (jP! — Because of an
apparent conflict with Alaska’s
Organic Act, the territorial House
did a quick about-face Tuesday
on a bill it adopted Monday to
give legislators immunity to any
calls into court as litigants or at
torneys during a legislative ses
sion.
The House rescinded passage
and pulled the bill back for study
by the judiciary committee.
The Organic Act, which is the
basic law under which Congress
set up the territorial government,
provides the legislature can not
pass legislation infringing on the
authority of district courts, which
are federal.
A bill was introduced in the
Senate to set license fees for non
resident fishermen at $10. Resi
dent fees are $5, and the previous
law provided for a $50 fee by
non-residents.
The federal courts have held,
however, the difference is so
great as to constitute illegal dis
crimination. Sen. Elton Engstrom
(R-Juneau) introduced the $10
proposal, which he said was de
signed to meet with court ap
proval and still set a higher fee
for non-residents.
Other measures introduced in
cluded a memorial to the Presi
dent and Congress by Rep. Waino'
Hendrickson (R-Juneau) asking
immediate legislation to prevent
labor disputes from tieing up
water transportation to Alaska. It
set forth the Territory’s griev
ances against shipping tieups.
Will Tell Longshore Union
To Purge Itself of Rackets
Or Get Out of The AFL
MIAMI BEACH, Fla., UP)—'The
executive council of the American
Federation of Labor Tuesday was
determined to' order its crime
infested Longshoremen’s Union to
purge itself of waterfront rackets
—or get out of the AFL.
This “either-or” edict was not
quite ready for public announce
ment but there was little doubt
that angered council members
meant business.
Some top AFL officials ex
pressed doubt privately whether
Joseph P. Ryan, Longeshoremen’s
president, would be able to
cleanse the New York and Jersey
waterfront of scandals and gang
ster tactics attributed to some of
ficials of his 60,000 - man union
before the annual AFL conven
tion next fall.
And in New York, an insurgent
group of longshore leaders made
it plain they would not be satis
fied with any “phony reform pro
g r a m by present bosses of
the International Longshoremen’s
Association.
The insurgents said in a tele
gram to George Meany, AFL
president, that “the present dis
credited ILA leadership” could
not be relied on to clean up
waterfront corruption. At the
same time they offered to turn
over additional information on
the dock situation to New York
investigators.
New Storms
Menace Britain
And Holland
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands
— Warnings of new gales and
high tides flashed fresh danger
to battered Britain and Holland
Wednesday as an international
armada of planes and boats
braved waves and near-freezing
weather to rescue survivors of the
continent’s most frightful flood
disaster since medieval times.
i
The unofficial death toll topped
1,600—including 1,053 in Holland
—but the Amsterdam newspaper
Het Vriji Volk indicated Wednes
day that more than 2,000 persons
may have lost their lives in the
Netherlands alone.
As thousands of workers raced
against time to shore up shattered
sea defenses in Britain and the
Netherlands some 2,000 vessels
and more than 125 planes rushed
the evacuation of thousands
numbed by cold and suffering
from three days of exposure in
isolated villages throughout the
stricken southwest Holland.
The new gale warning was an
nounced for the North Sea area.
Accompanying the grim forecast
was a British Air Ministry pre
diction that strong winds develop
ing further south during the day
will “tend to heighten the tides
on the east coast.”
Dulles Assures Britain
U.S. Will Not Expand
The War In Korea
LONDON, Iff) — Secretary of
State John Foster Dulles had
lunch today with Prime Minister
Churchill. Informed sources said
Dulles has been told Britain
strongly disapproves the United
States action de-neutralizing For
mosa.
Dulles met privately before the
luncheon with Foreign Secretary
Anthony Eden, who outlined to
Dulles Britain’s fears regarding
the move which leaves Chinese
Nationalists free to raid their
Communist-ruled homeland.
Dulles’ reply was not disclosed.
He was expected to assure the
British the new U.S. administra
tion has no intention to expand
the Korean war.
Convicted Communist
Deader Prefer Prison Here
To Banishment to Russia
NEW YORK, LSI—Seven Com
munist leaders Tuesday were sen
tenced to three years in prison—a
fate they preferred, over banish
ment to Russia.
They also were fined $6,000
each.
Five other convicted party lead
ers were sentenced to two years
in prison, and $4,000 fines each.
The other defendant got one year
in prison and a fine ef $2,000.
The 13 were convicted of con
spiring to" advocate violent revo
lution against the government.
Maximum sentence is five years
in prison and $10,000 fine.
STORM STRIKES SEATTLE
SEATTLE, LP) — An electrical
storm with gusts up to 76 miles
an hour, struck Seattle last night.
Repeal of Alaska
Property Tax Law
In Committee
JUNEAU, l#> — Legislation for
repeal of Alaska’s four-year-old
General Property Tax law took its
first forward stride in the Sen
ate Tuesday.
Sen. Elton Engstrom, chairman
of the taxation committee, said
it is being referred to the judici
ary committee for study on how
to attach provision for refuding
approximately $400,000 collected
by the territory in property taxes
before the law became involved
in the courts.
Eventual passage of the bill is
viewed as a certainty despite Gov
ernor Gruening’s admonition
against repeal in his message to
the legislature. Eleven senators
sponsoring the bill constitute a
bare two-thirds majority needed
to over-ride any veto.
The overwhelmingly Republi
can House is expected to pass a
repealer in just about the time it
would take to say “Gov. Gruen
ing doesn’t like it.”
Another Senate committee re
commended taking out what the
sponsor had described as teeth in
a bill against marring scenic high
ways with advertising signs. The
Gorsuch hill would include poli
tical advertising in the present
law against commercial signs and
increase the minimum penalty to
$250 from the present $50.
He contended the present pen
alty hasn’t done the job of stop
ping erection of signs and heavier
fines might be the deterrent.
Action is still pending in the
Senate on a House-approved mea
sure for session expenses of $157,
370, an increase of $20,000 includ
ing an increase in living expenses
f^r legislators to $20 a day from
the present $15.
In Korean War . . .
SEOUL, UP) — Allied fighter
bombers roared through overcast
skies and hammered a Red troop
concentration east of Kangdong in
northwest Korea today, the U.S.
Fifth Air Force reported.
Twelve Okinawa - based B-29
Superforts pounded a fog-obscur
ed, 45 - acre Red supply center
south of Sariwon in. northwest
Korea.
U.S. raiders — members of a
famed fighting outfit that cannot
be identified for security reasons
—wiped out an estimated 350 con
fused Chinese Reds in a hit-run
strike at a Red fortress hill on the
western front yesterday.
Lt. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor,
soon to take command of the
Eighth Army from retiring Gen.
James A. Van Fleet, arrived at
Taegu today on the first leg of
an inspection tour of South
Korea.
"MA" NALREN DIES AT 85
JUNEAU, UP)—Mrs. Hilma (Ma)
Nalren, a resident of Alaska for
54 years, died after a week’s ill- .
ness with pneumonia. She was 85.
Bom in Sweden in 1867, she
came to Alaska in 1899 with her
husband Gustaf, who' died in 1932.
For many years she worked as
a cook in road building and min
ing camps.
House Passes Bill Providing For
Popular Election Major Political
Party Committeemen In Alaska
-
Japanese Propose
$2,000,000 Sawmill
In Southern Alaska
VANCOUVER, B.C., UP) — Pros
pects are bright for a $2,000,000
J apanese financed sawmill in
southern Alaska with a $50,000,
000 pulp mill as a long - range
possibility, members of a Japa
nese mission reported here yester
day. ’ .
The eight Japanese came here
after a tour of Alaska’s Tongass
Forest reserve. They represent
Japan’s biggest pulp and lumber
industries.
British Columbia mills looked
“big” to the Japanese during a
tour of greater Vancouver mills.
“Too big for the Japanese,” said
spokesman Takuji Oshima, who
was impressed with the “big” ma
chines in the plants here.
In his country, he said, it took
five men to do the work accom
plished by one man and machine
here.
“Critics who talk of cheap labor
competition from Japan forget
that we must keep people em
ployed in an overcrowded coun
try,” he said. “The production
costs per unit are just as high or
higher than those of factories in
Canada.”
Alaska, he added, looked like
the best bet for a sawmill. The
mill would be financed by Japa
nese timber interests, but would
be staffed by Americans.
High labor costs in Alaska are
one of the biggest problems,” said
Oshiipa. “It would disappear if
the U.S. permitted import of Jap
anese loggers to Alaska, but of
course such a move is prohibited.”
St. Lawrence Dogs To Be
Quarantined To Prevent
Spread Parasitic Disease
JUNEAU, Ufy—U.S. and Alaska
health authorities plan to quar
antine all dogs on St. Lawrence
Island as the first step to stamp
out an obscure parasitic disease to
which man is susceptible. It is
already known to have caused one
human death.
Dr. Edward Bloomquist, head of
the Arctic Health Research Cen
ter at Anchorage, met with health
officials in Juneau this week to
discuss plans to combat it.
Dr. Bloomquist said the disease
is transmitted to dogs by voles,
a mouselike rodent, which the
dogs eat.
He explained the malady enters
a human body in its larval stage,
forming cysts which burst and
spread toxin and other cyst-pro
ducing parasites throughout the
system.
Boeing Field Accident Kills Man
SEATTLE, UP—A target revet
ment ceiling collapsed late yes
terday at Boeing Field, killing one
workman. Three others were in
jured, one seriously. A sand-cov
ered false ceiling of wood inside
the reinforced concrete revetment
fell about 35 feet to the floor.
> By JAMES HUTCHESON
JUNEAU, (#)—A bill for popu
lar election of major political
party committeemen sailed quick
ly Monday through the House,
where it often has run onto the
rocks of party politics in the past.
It went through so smoothly
on a 21-2 vote that no one even
took time to label it an “anti
White” bill, as legislators support
ing reasonable facsimiles of it in
past sessions of the Alaska leg
islature have done.
The measure aims at under
mining the strong influence of Al
bert White of Juneau, who long
has been a key figure in Repub
lican party machinery while car
rying the title of general counsel
of the Central Committee.
House Republicans held a cau
cus beforehand Monday, then
barreled the bill through the sec
ond and Third readings within an
hour under suspension of the
rules.
The bill was introduced by
Miss Dorothy Prior, Anchorage
Republican, and it now goes to
the Senate.
It provides for election of pre
cinct and national committeemen
and committeewomen. Voting on
them on separate ballots would be
restricted to voters declaring their
party affiliation.
Votes against the bill Monday
were cast by Rep. Wendell Kay,
Anchorage Democrat, and Rep.
Richard Greuel, Fairbanks Dem
ocrat.
Greuel said he favored the bill
but voted against it in protest
against the rush with which it
was put through. Kay argued that
it should only provide for election
of precinct committeemen, but
after the party then organized on
a popular basis the party organ
ization should choose the top
bracket national committeeman
and committeewoman.
Rep. Julian Hurley, Fairbanks
Republican, argued that Kay’s
(Continued on Page Two)
Reeve Favors Appointment
Newsman De Armond
Secretary of Alaska
ANCHORAGE, W—:Bob Reeve,
center of a political storm since
he was named by the Republican
Central Committee as its first
choice for Governor of Alaska,
said Tuesday he favors the ap
pointment of Bob De Armond of
Sitka as territorial secretary.
“De Armond has always been a
terrific fighter for the Republi
can party, is territorially well
known and respected, and will
contribute materially toward unit
ing the territory politically,”
Reeve declared.
He said De Armond’s advice is
“invaluable” with particular refer
ence to southeastern Alaska, add
ing “any team with De Armond
a member would put Alaska on
the map and hope to receive the
attention that is now going to
Hawaii.”
Reeve said “any popular Alas
kan with ability and integrity
that may be endorsed” would be
acceptable to him but reiterated
his first choice was De Armond.
/