222 NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LV No. 21 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, Per Copy—15^
Navy Patrol Plane
Flies Through
Volcano Ashes
KODIAK, UP) —The crew of a
U.S. Navy patrol plane told Tues
. day how they flew through bil
lowing black smoke and pelting
ash spewed into the air in a mass
eruption of volcanos in Katmai
National Monument.
The pilot, Lt. James T. Ingram,
said he was flying over the Sheli
kof Strait, between Kodiak Island
and the mainland, when a huge
black ball of smoke was seen
rising into the air some 20 miles
from the plane.
“It rolled up like smoke from
an oil fire,” Ingram said. “It
went up about 15,000 feet.”
Ingram said he circled to the
left of the eruptions and two
minutes later a second cloud of
smoke boiled up eight miles
northeast of the first plume and
moved closer to it.
The smoke continued to rise,
Ingram said, until it had reached
approximately the 30,000 - foot
level.
Streams ot ash poured out oi
the smoke,” Ingram said, “like
rain falling from a thundercloud.”
Ingram kept circling the erup
tion and one hour later, more col
umns of smoke poured into the
air, one after the other. Ingram
said they shot up in line, like
a chain of explosions.
The co-pilot, Lt. Robert L. Boll
• ing, stuck his head from the
window of the plane in an at
tempt to take a picture. He was
struck by bits of volcanic ash.
Ingram said ash started strik
ing the plane and tiny bits of
paint were chipped from the
plane's wings and propellors.
“More explosions took place in
different areas,” Bolling said.
“We sighted between six and
eight separate columns of smoke.”
Ingram said he became worried
lest the plane be directly over a
crater when it “blew its top.”'
Ingram said he moved out
about six miles and continued to
circle the erupting columns of
smoke.
The erupting volcano has been
tentatively identified as either Mt.
Trident or Mt. Mageik, 7,000-foot
mountains in the area.
Watchdog Committee Eyes
Armed Service Textbooks
WASHINGTON, UP)—Rep. Short
IR-Mo) said today a House watch
dog subcommittee may probe text
books used by the armed service’s
world - wide educational system
for any Communist bias.
ShGrt said he understood some
of the textbooks used by the
Army “haven’t been so good” and
should be surveyed.
The services maintain an ex
tensive educational system for
officers and enlisted men in the
U.S. and at all overseas posts.
Short said he was informed these
■activities cost 4 billion dollars
annually.
He said the House Education
and Labor committee also is in
terested in surveying military
textbooks. There would be no
essential conflict, he added, if the
armed services group also under
took this probe.
States-bred Dog Team
Wins First Place In
Rendezvous Race
ANCHORAGE, UP) — Alaska’s
dog races are going to the hounds.
A team of six stateside - bred
Targhee hounds led by a Siberian
husky defeated seven teams of
native Alaskan dogs in the Fur
Rendezvous’s first championship
sled dog race Monday.
Joyce Wells, wife of Joe Wells,
Anchorage musher and trainer of
the Targhees, drove the stateside
team past seven contestants mush
ing the Alaskan dogs and was
first at the finish line of the
10-mile course in one hour, two
minutes and one second. That
gave her the women’s champion
ship.
The Targhee hounds were bred
by Lloyd Van Sickle in Ashton,
Idaho. They resulted from cross
breeding a stag hound and an
Irish setter and back to the stag
hound. The coat is like a setter’s
and the ears lie back against the
head.
Second in the race was Natalie
Norris of Anchorage with a time
of one hour, three minutes and 21
seconds. Helen Fitzgerald, 15
year - old Anchorage dog racer
who has been a leading contender
in weekly junior musher s’ races,
was third. Her time was one hour,
six minutes, 33 seconds.
[ Coastwise Official Reveals
Backlog of 50,000 Tons
Of Construction Material
WASHINGTON, UP)—B. H. Par
kinson, executive vice - president
of Coastwise Lines, said Monday
his company has a backlog of
50,000 tons of construction ma
terial which it wants to ship to
Alaska by the end of April.
The figure was given to Mari
time Board Examiner A. L. Jor
dan in support of Coastwise
Line’s efforts to obtain a charter
renewal on three government
owned Liberty-type vessels.
Parkinson said Coastwise’s pre
sent fleet is too small to permit
movement of the construction
material, much of it lumber and
asphalt, by the time contractors
will want it.
‘ He added, however, that Coast
wise is unwilling 'to tie itself up
to long-term charters for privately
owned vessels because of the “un
certainty” surrounding the Alaska
military construction program.
Salmon Industry Proposes
Wage Cuts and Fishermen
Will Ask For Raise
SEATTLE, 1®—Representatives
of the Alaska Salmon Industry,
Inc., and the Alaska Fishermen’s
Union were to meet here Wednes
day to begin contract negotiations
for the 1953 season.
The industry, for the first time
in many years, asked to reopen
the contract and said.the fisher
men would be asked to take a
wage cut back to the 1951 level.
This would mean about a four
per cent wage drop on straight
time with overtime provisions
amounting to more than that.
Meanwhile, the union has asked
for a 10 per cent across-the-board
increase in regular and overtime
wages, plus health and welfare
programs and other contract
changes.
Committee Asserts
Tax Cuts Precede
Budget Reduction
WASHINGTON, UP)—'The House
Ways and Means committee dis
agreed vigorously and openly to
day with President Eisenhower’s
avowed policy of putting spend
ing cuts ahead of any reductions
in taxes.
A tax cut must “precede, no1
follow” budget reductions, the
committee said in a report to the
House only one day after Eisen
hower strongly renewed his stand
for the reverse order.
Further, the committee asserted
a delay in tax trimming until the
level of spending is determined—
the approach stressed by Eisen
hower—“might well have serious
economic consequences.”
This language brought squarelj
into the open a simmering clash
among Republicans over tax pol
icy and raised the threat of s
possible presidential veto. It was
approved by the committee in s
closed meeting late yesterday.
Boyhood Chum of Will
Rogers Walking From
Anchorage to Pt. Barrow
ANCHORAGE, UP — A boyhood
friend of Will Rogers, trekked
northward through Alaska’s frigid
winter today, hoping to walk all
the way to Point Barrow to erecl
a shrine where the great humor
ist died in plane crash 18 years
ago.
Jesse Stubbs now 72, left here
11 days ago with a sled and one
do'g, named Quako.
Beyond Fairbanks lie several
hundred miles of Arctic wilder
ness, with no roads toward Point
Barrow and mountain ranges and
great stretches of ice - covered
tundra.
His sled wore out on the bare
pavement before he covered 16
miles along the Glenn Highway
motorists reported. But he boughl
a new one from a homesteadei
and pushed on. At a wTooden
bridge the dog could not pull
the sled across, so Stubbs made
six trips himself, carrying the sled
and supplies over.
He has averaged about five
miles a day, carrying his own ten1
and his food and dog supplies.
His biggest delays, he said, have
been caused by answering ques
tions and posing for pictures. He
has rejected all offers of help. Sc
far no authorities have stopped
him.
Senate Committee to Investigate
West Coast Maritime Problems
SEATTLE, tP — Pacific Coasl
maritime problems will be probec
by a Senate investigation commit
tee sitting at Seattle and S a r
Francisco this spring, Sen. War
ren G. Magnuson (D-Wash) saic
in an interview Tuesday.
Magnuson emphasized that the
committee is especially interested
in Alaska transportation prob
lems, shipping to the Orient, whe
ther union hiring halls should be
legalized, Japanese shipping com
petition, port security measures
and whether the military is dis
criminating its in distribution o:
military cargoes..
Past Year’s Civic Developments
Reported At Chamber Banquet
I
McCutcheon Files Suit
Against Senator Jensen
For $175,000 Damages
ANCHORAGE, UP) — A federal
court suit filed by Stanley Mc
Cutcheon Saturday asked $175,000
damages from Territorial Sen.
Marcus Jensen, Douglas Repub
lican. The complaint accused Jen
sen of “deliberate, malicious and
evil course of conduct so designed
to bring disgrace, sorrow, unhap
piness and great damage to Mc
Cutcheon, his wife and children.”
The complaint asks $75,000
actual and $100,000 punitive dam
ages.
McCutcheon, former legislator
and banking and air lines execu
tive, is currently under indict
ment on seven counts of violating
territorial banking laws.
In his suit against Jensen, Mc
Cutcheon charges that Jensen’s
appearance as a witness in the
banking laws case was part of a
plan to “disgrace him.” He also
charged that Jensen had “lied”
about him on numerous occasions
but that his position as a legis
lator gave his testimony credence.
McCutcheon also contended
Jensen’s charges against him of
forgery had been repeated in the
United States Senate by Senator
Hugh Butler (R-Neb).
The complain cited a March,
1951, hearing before a joint com
mittee of the Territorial House
and Senate and said that Jensen
lied under oath before that group.
Sen. Jensen Says Stanley
McCutcheon "A Bit Confused"
JUNEAU, UP) — Territorial Sen.
Marcus Jensen (D-Douglas) said
Tuesday when informed he was
being sued* for $175,000 for dam
ages by former legislator. Stanley
McCutcheon, “my only comment
is that he seems a bit confused
about the facts.”
McKay Still Undecided
Who Will Get The Nod
For Alaska Governor
WASHINGTON, HI — Secretary
of the Interior McKay said Tues
day night he had not reached a
decision on whom to recommend
as Governor of Alaska.
McKay said he hoped to reach
a decision in a day or two.
Frank Heintzleman, regional
forester for the Agriculture De
partment in Alaska, is regarded
as one of the leading candidates
and a majority of the Alaska Re
publican Central Committee has
recommended the appointment of
Robert C. Reeve.
More than 16 names are known
to have been presented to Mc
Kay for consideration, but for the
past month he has indicated that
Heintzleman was among the top
candidates.
Vice Trial Closed to Public
NEW YORK, H1—A state sup
reme* court justice Tuesday re
fused to order General Session
Judge Francis L. Valente to open
: the Minot Jelke vice trial to the
public and press.
The annual banquet of the
Chamber of Commerce held last
evening at the Bering Sea Club
had as its toastmaster, Larry
Galvin, who has been president
of the organization for the past
two years.
Reports throughout the evening
indicated the extensive work of
the group throughout the year
in various fields of civic devel
opment.
Secretary Terry Jackson’s re
port showed that over 100 out-of
town visitors had been guests of
the Chamber during the year and
over 1,200 letters, in the form of
inquiries, had been answered, as
well as a volume of official mail.
Her report showed that at the
present time the Chamber is
working on the promotion of
roads to Fairbanks, Teller and
Wales, tourist trade, improve
ment in sanitation and the expan
sion of schools.
Treasurer Dr. F. Langsam re
porting on finances said the or
ganization had a bank balance of
$219.19 to start the new year.
Big Tourist Season Indicated
A. Polet, reporting for Nome
Visitors Assn, and Alaska Visit
ors Assn., stated that indications
for 1953 are that there will be
twice as many tourist as last year,
the increase being due largely to
the publicity activities of these
groups. The Nome Visitors Assn,
has had published 10,000 tourist
pamphlets through assessment
funds from business houses and
which are being distributed all
over the United States.
Mr. and Mrs. S. Compton, of
TVA, Kansas City, Mo., were pre
sented and were most enthusias
tic in their praise of Alaska as
a winter tourist spot. They came
for a day and have extended their
visit to almost a week, including
Kotzebue and hope to visit Gam
bell tomorrow.
Supt. William Angell of the
Nome School reported that he is
doing the best he can with the
school in its present overcrowded
condition. He said that the school,
designed for about 150 children,
now houses 390 and a bigger en
rollment is anticipated for next
year.
School Plans Made Known
Ray Tveter of the Nome School
Board gave an excellent resume
of the board’s activities and stud
ies for the improvement of school
conditions and expressed eppre
ciation for the interest shown by
the community about the expan
sion program.
In the present plans, he stated,
the board hoped to be able (after
submitting several plans and al
ternates to a qualified engineer)
to submit to the city council the
needs and recommendations now
in the formative stage. They hope
to be able to either enlarge the
classroom space in the present
school by eliminating the gym or
building a new section to the
school; also to erect a new gym
more suitable to community needs
“with more spectator space” and
better acoustics and to reduce the
(Continued on Page Two)