Pioneer Aviator Bernt
Balchen Will Retire
From U.S. Air Force
WASHINGTON, WV—Col. Bernt
Balchen, Norwegian-born pioneer
aviator and the first man to fly
an airplane over the South Pole,
is retiring from the U.S. Air Force
at the end of this month.
In announcing this the Air
Force also said it will award Bal
chen a Distinguished Service
Medal for “firm leadership . . .
selfless devotion to duty . . . un
derstanding of the intricate arctic
conditions and the zeal with
which he overcame the challenges
of his numerous responsibiltiies.”
Balchen, who will be 57 on
Tuesday, is now serving at Pep
prell Air Force Base in New
foundland.
He was the chief pilot for Adm.
Richard E. Byrd during Antarctic
expeditions from 1928 to 1930. On
Nov. 29, 1929, Balchen flew Byrd
across the South Pole.
During World War II, Balchen,
operating from Sweden, organ
ized an escape route that took
more than 5,000 Norwegians from
Nazi-occupied Norway to Eng
land. He also worked with the
underground in Norway. .
TV Comedian Silvers
Marries for Second Time
NEW YORK W—Comedian Phil
Silvers, the fast-talking “Sgt.
Bilko” of television, was married
yesterday to the girl who gives
the commercials on “The $64,000
. Question" TV show.
Silvers, 44, and his blonde bride
Evelyn Patrick, 24, were married
in New Haven, Conn.
The marriage is the first for
Miss Patrick and the second for
Silvers. His first wife was Jo Car
ol Dennison, Miss America of
1941. Their marriage ended in di
vorce.
Anchorage Is One of
22 Finalists for
All-America Cities Award
NEW YORK, UP>—Anchorage is
one of 22 cities in the United
States and Alaska selected as fi
nalists in the “All-America Cities"
award competition sponsored by
Look magazine and the National
Municipal League.
Other cities reaching the finals
include Tacoma, Wash., and Oak
land and Torrance, Calif.
The awards are made yearly
"for intelligent and concerted cit
izen action leading to some major
accomplishment or the solution of
some tough civic problem of com
munity-wide significance.”
The finalists will be invited to
send representatives to plead
their “cases” before a jury at the
62nd annual National Conference
on Government of the Municipal
League. This will be held in Mem
phis, Tenn., Nov. 11-14. The jury
will select 1*1 city winners.
*%
Growing Optimism Expressed for
Chances of Statehood in Next Two
r
Years for Alaska and Hawaii
By Harrison Humphries
WASHINGTIN. iff*—Advocates
of statehood for Hawaii and Alas
ka expressed growing optimism
today that the next two years will
see the addition of two new stars
in the United States flag.
Despite the continued opposi
tion of several leaders in Congress
proponents of statehood for the
two territories have made impor
tant gains since the 84th Congress
turned down the latest in a long
series of statehood bills.
The 1956 platforms of the Dem
ocratic and Republican Parties
pledge, for the first time, ‘‘imme
diate statehood" for both Hawaii
and Alaska.
The Eisenhower Administration
—slow to embrace Alaska state
hood—is now committed, if re
elected, so send Congress next
year specific conditions under
which the admission of Alaska
would be acceptable.
Adlai Stevenson, the Democrat
ic presidential nominee, has given
an unqualified pledge to- use the
full power of the presidency to
assist the territories to achieve
statehood.
The Democratic Party has made
the “immediate statehood” pledge
twice before. The Republican con
vention in 1952 came out for “im
mediate statehood” for Hawaii,
but qualified its endorsement* of
Alaska statehood with a require
ment that it be admitted under
an unexplained “equitable en
abling act.”
The only qualification in the
new Republican platform is the
recognition “that adequate pro
vision for defense requirements
must be made” in the admission
of Alaska.
Secretary of the Interior Sea
ton, who first advocated Alaska
statehood four years ago when he |
was a member of the Senate, has
made two recent public state
ments to the effect that terms and
conditions acceptable to the ld
ministration will be proposed to
the next Congress for the admis
sion of Alaska.
In Congress, however, statehood
advocates from one or both terri
tories still lack the support of
such leaders as House Speaker
Sam Rayburn, Republican House
Leader Joseph Martin, House
Rules Committee Chairman How
ard Smith <D-Va>, and Senate Ma
jority Leader Lyndon Johnson
(D-Tex).
As to them, Ernest Gruening,
former Alaska governor, said in
an interview that “time ^changes
all things.”
“The United States has taken a
stand against colonialism thruout
the world,” he said. “I cannot see
how the people of Alaska and
Hawaii can be held any longer in
the status of second class citi
zens.”
Gruening was one of two provi
sional “senators” elected in Alas
ka this year to take office in
Washington as soon as the terri
tory is admitted to statehood.
In readiness for admission, both
Hawaii and Alaska have held
state constitutional conventions,
drafted and adopted their pro
posed state constitutions.
The Alaska step of electing two
senators and one House memoer
and sending them to Washington
in advance of statehood was first
adopted by Tennessee in 1796 pri
or to its admission to the Union.
The plan subsequently was fol
lowed by Michigan, California,
Oregon and Kansas.
"It has never failed yet," said
Gruening, “and we see no reason
for it to fail this time.”
Modern Laundry & Dry Cleaners
FIRST AVE. A LANES WAY PHONE MAIN 113
EIGHT-HOUR SERVICE
♦
SPECIALISTS IN
COLD
WEATHER
CLOTHING
FUR PARKAS
AS LOW AS $69.50
Visiting Wildlife Officials
Warn Against Fishing
With Net at Salmon Lake
Stan Fredericksen, U.S. game
management agent for the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, accom
panied by Jim King, was here
last week from their headquar
ters in Fairbanks, although their
work covers all of the northern
part of Alaska.
They are particularly concerned
with information that there is net
fishing at Salmon Lake. With the
road being opened in that area
they are anxious that local people
be informed that no net fishing is
allowed there for game fish,
namely, greyling and trout, and
those caught will be prosecuted.
They hope to set up a signboard
next season explaining how and
where fishing is legal.
Mr. Fredericksen also reported
that a salmon which had been
tagged way out in the ocean some
where had found its way up the
Koyuk River and has been re
ported. All tagged fish are of in
terest to this department.
Japanese Government
Begins Its First Uranium
Mining Operation
OKAYAMA, Japan, The
Japanese government began its
first uranium mining operation
Saturday.
Matsutaro Shoriki, chairman of
the Japan atomic energy commi
sion, touched off a charge of dy
namite that officially opened
work on developing deposits dis
covered here last year.
The government’s atomic fuel
corporation will conduct the
work.
Japan hopes to conclude agree
ments on purchasing atomic pow
er reactors from tooth Britain and
the United States.
Known uranium deposits exist
both in Oyama in western Honshu
and in nearby Tottori prefecture.
ARCTIC SANITARY
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