sas NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LV No. 126 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1953 Per Copy—15^
Bridges Declares
Shipping Needs
Federal Aid
SAN FRANCISCO, UP) — Harry
Bridges declared Thursday that
more federal funds are needed to
bring “strength and stability” to
the shipping industry and called
for the re-opening of trade with
Red China and eastern Europe to
help stimulate the American mer
chant marine.
The powerful president of the
International Longshoremen’s and
Warehousemen’s Union gave his
views at a hearing by a Senate
subcommittee on maritime sub
sidies.
Bridges’ plea for renewed trade
with Communist and satellite na
tions brought general disagree
ment from the congressional
probers.
“Until those countries stop
being our enemy and stop killing
our kids, we shouldn’t even send
them a piece of cotton,” snorted
Sen. Magnuson (D-Wash).
“I disagree with Mr. Bridges’
conclusions too,” said the chair
man, Sen. Potter (R-Mich).
'* Bridges shot back: “You’ve
asked me to talk about economic
problems in the maritime indus
try but now you’re bringing up
political problems.”
Other witnesses Thursday call
ed for stand-by subsidies to ship
builders as a means of preserving
the industry for emergency needs.
Bridges said a decline in the
coastwise and inter-coastal ship
ping “largely accounts for the
problems besetting the West Coast
industry.
Bridges’ suggestion of govern
ment assistance in the shipping
industry — also voiced by ship
owners, builders and cargo for
warders—surprised the senators.
“You mean then, Mr. Bridges,
that you want to see a healthy
free enterprise situation for the
shipping industry?”
Smiling, the union chief said:
“I know ships are run for pro
fit and they don’t run unless they
make a profit and we want to
see the ships run. Now anyone
can put that together the way
they like.”
Harry Lundeberg leader of the
AFL Sailors Union of the Pacific
and a longtime enemy of Bridges,
listened to the ILWU leader’s tes
timony and declared:
“He spoke just like an employ
er. He’s the best spokesman they
have.”
No Trouble At All
GILMER, Tex., UR — President
Eisenhower was not a trouble
some guest, Gov. Allan Shivers
has indicated.
“The only request the President
made of me,” Shivers told the
East Texas Jamboree Thursday,
“was to be permitted to attend
.church on Sunday.” . **
The President was a house
guest of Shivers at the latter’s
estate near Mission, Tex., last Sat
urday and Sunday.
Sunday the President and Shiv
ers attended the Presbyterian
Church at Mission.
New Developments In
The Cecil Wells Murder
FAIRBANKS — The six-man
coroner’s jury investigating the
murder of Cecil M. Wells has re
cessed until next week while law
enforcement agencies searched for
additional information.
In unprecedented action by a
jury of this type in Fairbanks, the
jurors: George Sullivan, Charles
Awe, Gene Immel, Ken Bell, Joe
Simpson and Floyd A. Nebel,
asked for a recess until next Wed
nesday morning at 10 a.m. after
hearing testimony for two days
on the slaying of Wells.
A former wife of Cecil Wells,
Mrs. Ethel Granite, threw a bomb
shell into the inquest hearing here
when she testified that the de
ceased had beaten her during their
married life.
She said that at one time, when
Wells had been drinking, he
knocked her down in front of St.
Joseph’s Hospital where she had
been attending a relative.
She stated that Wells was a
“jealous type of person” who be
came very violent on occasions. *
Final Korean War
Casualty Figures
Show 3 Million Toll
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., Mi
Final casualty figures for the Ko
rean war, still clouded by uncer
tainty over the fate of thousands
of missing who may be dead, in
dicated Friday that both sides
suffered a toll of more than three
million.
Based on figures from official
and U.N. delegation sources, total
casualties for the U.N. side are
figured at 1,474,269 of which the
Republic of Korea total is 1,312,
836; the United States total is
144,173; including 25,604 dead and
7,955 more missing and presumed
dead; and the total for the 15
U.N. allies 17,260.
Pentagon sources in Washing
ton basing their figures on a
roundup they made in July, esti
mated Communist casualties,
killed and wounded, at 1,420,000
and prisoners at another 120,0000
for a total of 1,540,000 — scaled
down from an estimate last April
of 1,876,000.
Along with almost complete
casualty tolls delegation sources
have revealed that the U.N. Allies
actually put onto the front thou
sands more men through rotation
and replacement, then the stand
ard size of the unit. From three
to six times the strength of the
unit finally served on the front.
Turkey, for example, with a
uAit of 5,000 men, had personnel
numbering 29,882 during the three
years Turkish troops were on the
front.
The Pentagon estimates put the
Chinese Communist dead and
wounded at 900,000, the North
Korean figure at 520,000.
« .
New P.O. Address For L.A.
LOS ANGELES, Ml—David O.
Gwinn, a deputy in the Los An
geles tax collector’s office, re
ceived a letter from his niece in
Washington, D.C., Thursday. It
was addressed to 419 Grandview
St., Smogtown, 57, Calif.
28.000 Sabre Jet
Workers Strike
For More Money
LOS ANGELES, UD—More than
28.000 men and women who build
some of the nation’s best known
jet planes went on strike Friday
at North American Aviation Co.
plants here'and in Columbus, O.
The walkout and the picketing
were orderly.
The union wants a wage in
crease of 23.4 cents an hour plus
severance pay, a pension program
and other benefits. Pay now
ranges from $1.42 to $2.32 hour
ly. The company has offered a
4 per cent general increase, plus
an additional 4 to 5 cents hourly
for top workers.
The strike threatened the pro
duction of F-100 Super Sabres,
F-86F Sabre jets and T-28D Navy
trainers. The company said it
would keep the plants open and
try to continue making planes.
The picketing recalled the tur
bulent days of 1941 when federal
troops took over the North Am
erican plant here' temporarily
during a strike.
Some 12,500 workers struck last
midnight at Columbus. Nearly
16.000 walked out here.
_
Gas Truck Drivers Strike
Threatens Paralysis Of
London’s Motor Transport
LONDON, (yR—The government
called in troops Friday to avoid
paralysis of London transport and
industry resulting from a wildcat
strike of gasoline truck drivers,
which a high official said may be
Red-inspired.
Labor Minister Sir Walter
Monckton told the House of
Commons the troops were arriv
ing and would arrange for distri
bution of gasoline beginning Sat
urday morning.
Monckton emphasized the 2,600
strikers had ignored his appeal
and the call of their union to go
back to work and let the estab
lished conciliation machinery
function.
The government stepped in as
the strike of 2,600 truck drivers
entered its fifth day. The walk
out threatened a complete shut
down of private and public road
transport in the London area.
The opposition Labor Party an
nounced its approval of the cabi
net’s action.
Air Secretary Talbot Says
Nation’s Radar Defenses
May Be Valueless
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., <£>—Air
Force Secretary Harold E. Talbot
says the nation’s radar defense
screen may be valueless because
methods are available for ap
proaching aircraft to block it out
completely.
He declared in a letter to C.R.
Huebner, New York State Civil
Defense Director, it might be ne
cessary to rely entirely on ground
observers to identify approaching
aircraft.
Huebner sent a copy of the let
ter to the regional Civil Defense
office here to stress the need of
developing the Ground Observer
Corps. . ^
U.S. Army Unveils Its
Atomic Cannon To Europe
MAINZ, Germany, UR — The
U. S. Army gave its awesome
atomic cannon their first public
showing in Germany Friday. East
German Communists immediately
accused the Americans of placing
the lives of Germans in ^“utmost
danger.”
A non-firing demonstration of
the 280-mm ;(11-inch) cannon at
the army ordnance depot here
placed emphasis on the gun’s
mobility in a seeming answer to
critics who contend it is too un
wieldy and could be captured
easily.
The American command has
not divulged where it will sta
tion the six atomic guns which
arrived earlier this month, with a
specially trained 900 - man field
artillery battalion.
American officers said only
conventional shells would be used
in practice firing.
False Radio Report Sends
Air-Sea Rescue Planes
On Wild Goose Chase
SAN FRANCISCO, UP)—A false
radio report that an airliner
carrying 64 persons had crash
landed on the Pacific touched off
an extensive hour-long search by
air-sea rescue agencies thruout
the north Pacific Thursday.
The message was written as
part of a drill aboard the Coast
Guard Cutter Winnebago, tied to
a pier at Honolulu.
Somehow it was broadcast on
the cutter’s radio transmitter, was
picked up by a plane circling over
Honolulu and within seconds the
search was underway.
Rescue planes roared out from
San Francisco and other points
toward a spot pinpointed by the
radio message as 600 miles west
of San Francisco. Ships changed
course and raced toward the
scene.
The search was hastily called
off when red-faced officials dis
covered the error.
U.S. ANNOUNCES FIRST
TRY TO TAME ATOM
POWER FOR PEACE
CHICAGO, m — The United
States today announced the first
full scale attempt to tame atomic
power for peace—a move billed
as “America’s answer” to Soviet
claims of mastery over dread new
nuclear weapons of war. /
Thomas E. Murray, a member,
said the Atomic Energy Commis
sion will build an industrial pow
er reactor producing at least
60,000 kilowatts of electrical en
ergy — enough to run a city of
50,000.
He said the project will cost
“many tens of millions of dollars”
and that the AEC hopes to have
an operating plant in three to four
years.
The plant, Murray said, may be
located “at or near” an AEC fa
cility for separating Uranium-235,
the paydirt of atomic power, from
natural uranium. The AEC has
one such facility at Oak Ridge,
Tenn., and is building others at
Paducah, Ky., and Portsmouth,
Ohio.
Refusal of Koreans
To Listen To Reds
Threatens Peace
PANMUNJOM, (»—Red efforts
to persuade anti-Communist Kor
ean war prisoners to return home
appeared Friday to be stalled at
least until next week and there
was no indication whether the
POWs would call off a sitdown
which threatens the armistice.
The prisoners had been expect
ed to announce a decision Friday.
But in mid-afternoon an informed
source said the North Koreans
would wait at least until Monday
to reply to Indian efforts to get
the explanation program going
again.
The Neutral Nations Repatria
tion Commission met fori two
hours Friday, then recessed with
out reporting progress on the
problem of coaxing balky anti
Red Koreans to attend Commun
ist interviews.
The explanation program has
been suspended since Monday
when the Koreans threatened a
mass breakout if forced to attend.
Communist Poland and Czecho
slovakia walked out when the
other three commission members
—Switzerland, Sweden and India
—voted against forcing the POWs
to attend.
Polish and Czech members re
turned Thursday, but only to re
new their demand that the Kor
eans be forced to hear Commun
ist explanations.
Meanwhile, George Allen, U.S.
ambassador to India, arrived in
Korea on a mission to try and
smooth out differences between
the U. N. Command and Indian
forces guarding unrepatriated war
prisoners in the neutral zone.
Improved Road To
Solomon Accompanied
By Increased Traffic
Due to road improvements be
tween Nome and Solomon, it is
interesting to note the travel in
crease during the past three years
stated Alaska Road Commission
District Engineer John Cooley.
In 1951, 1287 persons in 431 ve
hicles made the trip. In 1952,
1447 persons in 536 vehicles, and
during 1953 (June 29 to Oct. 18)
3,318 persons in 960 vehicles made
the crossing at the Safety ferry.
One month of traffic this year
WSs not recorded so it is esti
mated that approximately 4,000
persons and more than 1,000 ve
hicles crossed the Safety ferry
this season.
GEESE MAKE EMERGENCY
LANDING ON AIRPORT
OKLAHOMA CITY, (#> —Wild
geese flocked down on the muni
cipal airport like homing pigeons
coming in to roost Thursday.
The geese, winging southward
during a heavy rain, apparently
mistook the glittering airstrips
for lakes. Airport lights were off
at the time because electricians
were modifying the power control
panel.
When the lights were turned
on, the geese took off and air
planes resumed instrument land
ings.