22£ NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LIX NO. 63 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, MAY 27, 1957 Per Copy—15^
Dawson Awaits
2nd Flood C rest,
But With Dikes
DAWSON, Y.T., UR—The 900
residents of this historic gold-rush
town waited today for the second
flood crest in the Yukon and
Klondike Rivers. But this time,
there will be dikes.
Taking advantage of a slight
drop in River levels, residents
worked continuously for 36 week
end hours to line the river banks
with 14,000 sandbags. They also
piled up old gold-dredge tailings.
It was not known exactly when
the next flood crest would reach
Dawson, where the Yukon and
Klondike Rivers meet, but it was
sure to be a big one.
Families in the lower sections
of Dawson were forced from their
homes by the first crest last week.
Essential equipment was moved
from St. Mary’s Hospital to an
unused residence out of the flood
threat zone.
Army engineers reported the
situation to be as serious at Mayo
Landing, 100 miles southeast of
Dawson, where the Stewart River,
which flows into the Yukon, was
backing up into the settlement.
Meanwhile at Dawson there
was no shortage of sandbags. Ap
proximately 23,500 were flown
here Friday by the RCAF and
Canadian Pacific Airlines and
army trucks brought 50,000 over
the Alaska Highway from Wain
wright.
In the dike-building struggle,
children as young as eight years
old were credited with taking a
major part. “These kids have
been great,” said Dawson’s Mayor
Comandinas. “We couldn’t have
done it without them.”
BIG SCORE, SMALL GAME
GAINESVILLE, Ga., (iPL^Shoot
ing rats with a .22 rifle is Paul
Dade’s hobby.
He has been keeping score for
10 years. Saturday he bagged his
1,216th rat.
Japanese Boy’s Tongue
Sticks in Water Fountain
SHIMONOSEKI, Japan, UP)—A
3-year-old Japanese boy took a
drink of water today and tied up
a fire brigade, an ambulance
corps and the city water works
for 20 hectic minutes.
Shigeyoshi Kawashima got his
tongue stuck in the faucet when
he tried to suck a drink from a
public fountain.
After the rescue crews had un
fastened the faucet and sent the
boy to a doctor, a- water works
official explained that the water
pressure sometimes causes a suc
tion when the tap is turned on.
To be on the safe side, you have
to wait for the water to spout out,
and Shigeyoshi didn’t wait.
SMALL FISHBONE DELAYS
PAN AMERICAN FLIGHT
JOHANNESBURG, UP>—A small
fish bone delayed last night’s Pan
American plane from South Afri
ca to New York.
Capt. Thomas Hurley of New
York flew the plane into Johan
nesburg and was scheduled to
take it out on the return flight
last night. But Hurley complained
of a sore throat on arrival and
doctors found a small fish bone
lodged at the side of his throat.
Surgeons removed the bone but
Hurley can’t fly for a few days.
The airline is flying another pilot
from London to move the 12 pas
sengers delayed by the mishap.
Girl Scout Rescues
Cub Scout But Loses
Bottom of Pajamas
RAMONA, Calif., (J*>—A 15
year-old Girl Scout rescued 9
year-old Cub Scout Tommy Mc
Clure from drowning yesterday j
but lost her pajama bottoms.
Bonnie Graham stayed in the j
icy water of a 5-foot-deep moun
tain pool until the Boy Scout
leader, Bill Skinner, threw her
his shorts to replace the missing
garment. She was then pulled out
by a rope.
Clean-up Forces In Teamsters Union
Win Victory With Beck Announcement
J
He'll Not Seek Re-election as President
WASHINGTON, OP—Clean-up
forces within the giant Teamsters
Union have won a victory with
Dave Beck’s announcement he
will not seek another term as its
president.
Beck gave out word of his de
cision late Saturday, even as his
opponents in the union leadership
were setting in motion a drive
aimed at forcing his ouster.
However, Beck, who has been
charged by Senate rackets inves
tigators with misusing more than
$320,000 in teamster funds, at
tributed his decision largely to I
his wife’s health. He told the Se- j
attle Post-Intelligencer Mrs. Beck '
“has been very upset and her
health has not been very good.”
Chairman McClellan of the Sen
ate Rackets Investigating Com
mittee hailed Beck’s move as a
“very progressive step toward the
clean-up of conditions in the
Teamsters Union.” But he said
Beck should have quit outright.
During appearances before the
rackets group, Beck refused to
answer questions about his finan
cial dealings. He invoked the
Fifth Amendment more than 200
times, saying his answers might
tend to incriminate him.
Previously, Beck had insisted
he would seek re-election. It had
been reported he hoped to win
such a vote of confidence, then to
resign and step out of teamster
affairs.
Beck is under federal indict
ment on charges he evaded some
of his 1950 income taxes. The
AFL-CIO has dropped him from
two high posts with the labor fed
eration on grounds he brought the
labor movement into disrepute.
Navy Sav^s Dead I
Hero From Burial
In Potter’s Field j
NEW YORK W>)—The Navy will j
provide full military honors and |
burial in a national cemetery for
a Medal of Honor winner whose
body lay unclaimed in a Brook
lyn morgue for four days.
The body of William Gowan,
72, was headed for Potter’s Field
until the Navy stepped in yester
day. Arrangements will be made
for his interment in Pinelawn,
N.Y., National Cemetery.
Mrs. Ella Wickwire, Gowau’s
sister and only close surviving
relative, was located yesterday in
Connecticut. She gave the Navy
permission to bury her brother.
Gowan was one of the few men '
to win the Medal of Honor in
peacetime. The nation’s highest
decoration was presented to him
bv President William Howard
Taft in 1909 for heroism in rescu
ing shipmates after a fire and
explosion on a Navy vessel
Gowan retired from the Navy
in 1942 and went to work for a
Brooklyn ropemaking firm. He
suffered a fatal heart attack an !
the job last Wednesday.
Senate Consideration of Statehood
Bills Not Likely At This Session
Says Chairman of Territories Com.
By FRANK W. VAILLE
WASHINGTON, (A>‘—'The head
of the Senate Territories subcom
mittee said Saturday he hopes to
hand both the Alaska and Hawaii
statehood bills to the full Insular
Affairs Committee within the
next two weeks.
The subcommittee held hear
ings on the two bills in March
•but has taken no action on either
proposal since.
Its chairman, Sen. Jackson (D
Wash), said he has been waiting
for response from the Interior
Department to several requests
voiced at the earlier sessions.
One of these, for which he said
he still is waiting, was for the
department to prepare an amend
ment prohibiting either of the
proposed states from discriminat
ing against non-resident individ
uals or businesses.
He said the proposal is aimed
principally at Alaska, where the
territorial legislature has fre
quently been accused of seeking
to impose taxes and licenses al
i legedly discriminatory against
non-Alaskan fishermen and can
Cargo Ship for Arctic
Launched in Baltimore
BALTIMORE, UP>—’The Point
Barrow, first of a new class of
cargo ship vessels being built for
arctic service, was launched here
Saturday.
It was one of the largest side
launchings ever tried on the East
Coast. The vessel is being built by
the Maritime Administration for
the Navy.
neries.
Alaskans, contending they have i
merely been trying to protect |
themselves from outside exploita- |
tion, have argued when such a
proposal arose in the past it
would duplicate anti-discrimina
tion guarantees already provided
in the constitution. '
Jackson, whose Washington
fishermen are among those fishing
in Alaska’s offshore waters, said
he has no intention personally of
proposing inclusion in the Senate
bill of the amendment written in
by the House subcommittee to
delay a transfer of fish and wild
life resources to the new state for
five years after its admission. He
said he could not rule out, how
ever, its offer by any other mem
ber of the Senate body.
The Washington senator said
he believed approval of both
the Alaska and Hawaii bills by
the full committee would be little
more than a formality.
Asked whether he would push
for consideration of either or both
proposals by the Senate this year,
he said that would be a matter
for Senate leadersh’p to deter
mine.
He expressed the personal op
inion, however, that the best
chance for admission of the two
states would be for the House to
pass the separate bills this year,
and have them ready to be
brought before the Senate in the
early part of next year’s session.
Under such conditions, it would
be expected that the Senate
would have little other business
before' it, and could give the
statehood bills whatever time
might be required.
Three Walrus Pups, Georgie, Carrol
And Wyman, On Way To New' Home
In N. Y. Aquarium At Coney Island
Three baby walrus are enroute j
to the New York Aquarium with I
Wyman Carrol, big game and un- j
usual game hunter, babysitting j
enroute.
Prior to taking the baby walrus j
into captivity Carrol, assisted by
Dr. Francis Fay of Arctic Re
search, milked a walrus cow and
analyzed the contents, determin
ing that it contained 43 percent
butterfat. The three - week old
walrus, who had not been weaned
when captured, are being fed by
bottle on a formula of canned
milk, mixed with 40 percent Ma
zda oil and five percent cod liver
oil and are apparently thriving on
the mixture.
They weighed about 150 pounds
when taken and they will prob
ably double their weight by the
time they reach New York, Car
rol said.
Roy Rogers, the cowboy star,
stated Carrol, will help him lasso
a pair of baby belugas at Bristol
I Bay. The baby whale will be
| flown “dry” to New York, re
I quirimg only that their hides be
| wetted down occasionally. They
j will join the walrus at the New
i York Aquarium at Coney Island
where they will be a feature of
the big opening day on June 7.
The baby belugas are expected
to weigh about 2,000 pounds each
and measure about 14 feet in
length.
The baby walrus, two females
and a male, have been named
G^orgie and Carrol, and the male
answered to Wyman. During their
stay in Nome they were in the
care of Mr. and Mrs. Dave Rus
sell.
As soon as these animals are
settled in their new home, Carroi
says he is planning a trip to
Madagascar where he will cap
ture lemurs, fossas and aye-aye,
these latter being the lowest form
of primate in existence. These
will be for the Marlin Parker
Zoo in Chicago.
Bob Jacobs, who brought the
two female walrus pups from
I Wales Friday evening, had them
I securely tied in the bush plane
before taking off. However, one
of them wriggled-loose after take
off and spent the rest of the trip
to Nome examining every part of
the plane it could reach, Jacobs
said. He said it even laid its head
cn his lap to be scratched like
a puppy dog.
Miller Will Not
Endorse Alaska
Tax Moratorium
WASHINGTON (A5)—Rep. Miller
(R-Neb) said today he “will not
endorse” a requested 20-year tax
moratorium for the Territory of
Alaska.
Miller, member of the House
Interior and Insular Affairs Com
mittee, said he has received a
large number of letters within
the past two weeks from Alaska
residents asking for the morator
ium to attract new industry and
population to the area.
“I am sure all of our territories
as well as the 48 states would not
approve such a moratorium also,”
Miller said. “I am sure the Con
gress is in no mood for making
such grants as you have suggested
in this period when we are trying
to adjust a wave of economy to a
high budget.”
Miller said he planned to sup
port the Alaska Statehood Bill
this year and “with this in view,
I could no more endorse an in
come tax moratorium for Alaska
than I could for my home state of
Nebraska.”
The statehood bill now goes to
the full committee.
“There is a big fight ahead.”
said Miller. “The Democratic
leadership in the House and Sen
ate has opposed the statehood
idea. I look for the vote to be
close, either way.”