ss NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVIlI No. 68NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1956Per Copy—15^
Travel Agents
Visit Nome,
Suggest Cleanup
A party of 28 American Society
of Travel Agents arrived Nome at
noon today after an overnight
stop at Kotzebue. The party ar
rived on a Wien plane and after
a quick tour and luncheon here
departed via Alaska Airlines
plane for Anchorage, on the last
leg of their tour of Alaska.
The party was met at the field
iby Q Cab Bus and since their I
time was strictly limited, taken
only for a ride to King Island
Village. After this they were the
guests of the Chamber of Com
merce at a smorgasbord luncheon
at the Bering Sea Club. Each
member of the party was the spe
cial guest of a member of the
Chamber and the local people at
tempted to give the visitors per
sonal attention.
The men in the group were each
presented a souvenir bottle con
taining a sample of Bering Sea
water and some gold-bearing ruby
sand from Nome’s beach. The
ladies were presented corsages of
wild flowers made by the Girl
Scouts.
John McNees acted as spokes
man for the Chamber and he told
the vistors of some of Nome s
tourist attractions which they
had not the time to see.
T. J. Donovan of Chicago, presi
dent of ASTA, spoke for the
tour agents when he said they
all greatly appreciated the cour
tesy and hospitality shown them
on this trip. He said that one
of Nome’s greatest needs was
suitable accommodations for trav
ers who desire to remain for a
while. Another point Donovan
stressed was that in the short
tour he had taken, he was struck
by the need for a permanent
“cleap-up week” in Nome to tidy
the city, the beaches, and King
Island Village to make it more at
tractive to visitors.
Veterans Land Scandal
Witness Critically Hurt
In Car Bombing
BRADY, Texas, (A'—A witness
in Texas’ sensational veterans
land scandals was injured critic
ally in a car bombing here today.
He was Sam McCollum III,
Brady attorney.
The bomb exploded as McCol
lum stepped on the starter of his
1953 model Mercury station wag
on as it sat in front of his home.
McCollum was a witness in the
trial of former state land commis
sioner Giles. Giles was convicted
and now is serving a prison sen
tence.
The land scandals involved pur
chases of farm and ranch lands
and their resale to veterans under
a state program of low interest
rates and long time payments.
The veterans land scandals
erupted from block deals. More
than 300 criminal indictments
were returned against more than
20 individuals.
The deals involved more than
$100 million.
Sara Miller of Teller
Reports Sighting Of
Pink Snow Goose
j When Sara Miller, 11, of Teller,
claimed she saw a pink goose
about a week ago her father,
Albert Miller, relayed the infor
mation to the Cooperative Wild
ife Research Unit at the Univer
sity of Alaska.
Dr. John Buckley, head of the
unit, didn’t greet the report with
skepticism. He was glad to hear
it. He said that U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service $?rsonnel coop
erated with the California depart
ment of fish and game to provide
a means of tracing geese on their
northward migration to breeding
grounds. They dyed lesser snow
geese pink, later migrating snow
geese green, and Ross’ geese yel
low.
Sara Miller’s pink goose was
the second one reported in the
territory. Dr. Buckley said that
he would like to hear about
others.
Stock Market Declines
At News of Ike’s Illness
NEW YORK, . (A>>—The stock
market declined sharply on news
of President Eisenhower’s illness
today.
Prices fell to as much as $3 a
share at the start when the high
speed ticker tape lagged in the
initial burst of selling. There was
some improvement.
Senate Passes Stripped Version of
Of Alaska Mental Health Bill
By FRANK W. VAILLE
WASHINGTON, MV-The Sen
ate passed yesterday on a voice
vote a bill authorizing Alaska to
set up its own facilities for treat
ment for its mentally ill.
Stripped from the House-passed
version of the bill were proce
dures under which it was pro
posed Alaska govern its commit
ment program.
Alaska’s mentally ill now are
cared for at government expense
at the privately owned Morning
side Hospital in Portland, Ore.
By the bill, the territory would
receive $6V£ million to finance
construction of treatment facili
ties, $6 million over a 10-year per
iod to ease its way into the finan
cial burden of the program and
the right to select one million
acres of public land with which to
develop revenues to aid it further
in assuming the program’s costs.
Sen. Jackson (D-Wash), chair
man of the Territories subcommit
tee which handled the bill, said
the measure was “as widely mis
interpreted as any legislation ever
to come before Congress.”
There is “absolutely no founda
tion,” he said, for contentions by
some opponents of the bill that it
would permit a creation of a “po
litical Siberia” in Alaska to which
governors of the 48 states could
send political enemies.
He said this impression arose
from an erroneous interpretation
of the standard reciprocity provi
sion included in the bill which
would permit the governor of Al
aska to make an agreement with
another governor for the exchange
of residents of one state who be
come ill in the other.
Equally baseless, he said was
the contention the million acre
land grant made under the bill
would be used for facilities to care
for the mentally ill. He said the
grant was no different than simi
lar grants to western states for
the development of railroads,
school support and other purposes.
Sen. Neuberger iD-Ore>, who
introduced a similar bill in the
Senate, said the proposal had his
support even though it would
mean loss of a payroll for his
state.
Saying he felt it was wrong for
Alaskans to be removed from Al
aska, he added “Ethical principles
of justice are often more impor
tant than payrolls.”
GOP Reaction Cautious
To President’s Upset
WASHINGTON, (tf—Immediate
Republican reaction was cautious
today after the White House an
nounced that President Eisenhow
er had suffered with an intestinal
inflammation.
Leonard W. Hall, Republican
national chairman, said White
House Press Secretary James C.
Hagerty called him at about the
time Hagerty announced the ill
ness of the President to newsmen.
“Hagerty’s statement speaks for
itself,” Hall said.
Chairman Bridges <NH) of the
Senate GOP policy committee said
he was “sorry to hear the Presi
dent is indisposed,” but added he
felt there was "nothing serious”
about the illness.
| Man Injured on
! School Project
A construction worker was se
verely injured Wednesday after
noon on the school building proj
ect while working at the cement
mixer. He was Harry White, of
Fairbanks.
It seem White was struck by
the loading chute of the mixer,
suffering a deep gash on his head
and a severe shaking up. He was
taken to MMM Hospital for treat
ment.
His injuries included several
several fractures and internal in
juries but his condition was de
scribed today by Dr. Fred Lang
sam as “much improved.”
45-Foot ‘Sea Monster’
Reported In The Atlantic
CHATHAM, Mass., WPV—1There’s
a new “sea monster” loose in the i
North Atlantic.
The Liberian freighter Rhap
sody last night reported the pres
ence of a 45-foot, white-spotted
sea turtle in the ocean south of
Nova Scotia.
The Coast Guard warned all
navigation to be on the alert for
the giant reptile which, said the i
Coast Guard, has 15-foot long
flippers and can rise eight feet
above the surface of the sea.
President Eisenhower Sticken by
Intestinal Ailment; Heart Is Okay
Ate Heartily At
Banquet Last Night
(Editors note: Henry Burroughs,
AP photographer and new presi
dent of the White House news
Photographers Assn, sat next to
President Eisenhower last night at
the annual dinner of the associa
tion. He tells here what he ob
served at the dinner.)
By HENRY BURROUGHS
WASHINGTON, UPt—President
Eisenhower ate heartily a meal
prepared especially for him by the
(Sheraton Park) Hotel on orders
of Dr. Howard M. Snyder, White
House physician. The meal con
sisted mainly of a fatless diet. For
dessert he had fresh strawberries
with sugar. ,
He ate a steak, a baked potato,
some green peas. Everything was
cooked without fat.
The President salted his food
rather heavily. At the beginning
of the dinner he was quite talka
tive and chatted with Tony Muto
of Fox Movietone News, retiring
president of the Photographers
Assn., and he sat between us.
The conversation ranged from
painting to golf.
The President seemed to enjoy
the stage show, and appeared par
ticularly impressed by the last
performer, Pearl Bailey, the Ne
gro singer. When she waved at
him several times, he waved back
at her. He applauded her vigor
ously.
At the end of the entertainment
program, I asked the President if
he would like to say a few words.
He said he would like very much
to do so and to thank the enter
tainers for the show. ,
Eisenhower then spoke briefly.
He cracked a couple of golf jokes
involving Bob Hope, the master of
ceremonies.
He left the hall in good spirits.
Nome Field CO,
Maj. Kell, Gets
Texas Transfer
After a 16-month tour of duty
as commanding officer of Nome
Field, Maj. James Kell has been
transferred to Biggs Air Force
Base in Texas.
Since last October, Kell has
also been commander of the
5003rd Air Force Battalion at Ga
lena, shuttling between the two
posts.
Replacing Maj. Kell will be
Maj. Robert Cahill, who will also
command the two • posts. The
Nome contingent will be known
as Detachment 2 of the 5003rd.
The Nome operation will be
called an “airhead” and will han
dle cargo, transfer personnel and
refuel aircraft. Lt. James Williams
is detachment commander at
Nome.
Before leaving, Maj. Kell said
he wished to thank the City of
Nome and the people for their
whole-hearted cooperation with
him during his duty here. He said
it is with regret that he leaves
Nome and the many friends he
made here.
By MARVIN L. ARROWSMITH
WASHINGTON, WP»—The White
House announced today President
Eisenhower has suffered from an
intestinal inflamation.
The President was stricken
early today. White House physi
cian Howard M. Snyder was called
to his bedside at 2 a.m. <EDT>.
White House Press Secretary
James C. Hagerty said in his
noonday report he was not going
to attempt to reach any conclu
sions on his own as a layman. He
said he would leave that to the
physicians.
Hagerty issued this statement:
“The President had an attack
of enteritis (inflammation of the
lower portion of the small intes
tine).
As a precautionary measure tie
is being taken to Walter Reed
Hospital this afternoon.
“His blood pressure and pulse
are good. He has no fever.
“There is no indication of any
heart trouble.”
Hagerty said the President has
had one intravenous injection of
dextrose sugar.
The press secretary said the
President has not been in severe
pain but that there was some
soreness.
Earlier, Hagerty had described
the President’s difficulty as an
“upset stomach” and insisted “It
is not an illness but an upset.”
At a news conference last March,
President Eisenhower said he no
longer would stay in the job if he
ever felt physically unequal to
it. He added he didn’t want to be
pinned down to that promise by a
touch of flu or some minor upset.
At his March 7 news conference,
Eisenhower was questioned at
length about the influence of his
health on his plans and about
Democratic charges that he would
be only a part-time President.
When one reporter asked what
he would do if he learned before
nominating convention time that
his physical condition was below
par, Eisenhower replied:
“Unless I felt absolutely up to
the performance of the duties of
the President, the second that I
didn’t I would no longer be there
in the job or I wouldn’t be avail
able for the job.”
Pressed as to just what he
meant, Eisenhower grinned and
said: “Well, now, don’t hold me
down if I get a week’s case of the
flu or something else.”
Eisenhower Has Had
Much Exercise Lately
WASHINGTON, UP>—President
Eisenhower has been getting a
good bit of exercise in recent
weeks, particularly on the golf
course.
Aside from golfing, he has been
having an occasional swim in the
White House pool. Yesterday he
swam for 15 minutes when he
took a mid-day “breather” from
desk work as ordered by his doc
tors.
Two weeks ago, Eisenhower
played 27 holes of golf at Gettys
burg. Pa.