ss NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS;
VOL. LV No. 107 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1953 Per Copy—15^
U.N. Charge Reds
Are Holding Back
3,404 Captives
PANMUNJOM, UR — The U.N.
Command Wednesday charged the
Communists held back 3,404 Al
lied war captives—including 944
Americans — and demanded a
prompt accounting for each man.
The chief of the Allied delega
tion to the Korean armistice com
mission told newsmen the Reds
had better account for the missing
men — “or else.” He did not
amplify.
Maj. Gen. Blackshear M. Bryan
turned over a carefully docu
mented list to the Reds at an 86
minute meeting of the armistice
commission. He warned the Com
munist officers:
“We now demand that you re
turn these people to us or ac
count to us for each of these in
dividuals . . . we demand prompt
action.”
The Communists said they re
served “the right to comment
later,” then countered with a de
mand for the return of 27,000
North Koreans relased from Al
lied camps last June on orders
from South Korea’s Syngman
Rhee.
Bryan, dismissing the Red de
mand as “a blast,” told his arm
istice commission counterpart:
“It is self evident we are not
forcibly holding these people.”
He told the Reds the U.N. list
covered only men known to have
been captured, who were not re
patriated during Operation Big
Switch which ended Sunday.
“None of these people have
been reported by you as having
escaped or died,” Bryan added.
The list, in addition to the
Americans, included 2,410 South
Koreans, 19 British, 9 Australians,
8 South Africans, 3 Canadians, 3
Belgians, 5 Turks, 2 Colombians
and 1 Greek.
Veteran Riverboat Man of
Tanana Drowned On
Last Trip Before Retiring
FAIRBANKS, UP! — The icy
Tanana River claimed the life
Monday of a veteran boatman on
his last scheduled trip after defy
ing its swift waters for 38 years.
Reports received here Tuesday
told of the drowning of Capt.
George Black 60, near the village
of Minto, about 50 air miles west
of Fairbanks.
Black, who had plied the Tan
ana and Yukon Rivers since 1915,
was on the last trip of the sea
son. After that he had planned to
retire and turn his company over
to his daughter and son-in-law,
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Peterson.
Witnesses staid he was shifting
freight on a barge when he lost
his balance and tumbled into the
racing current. He drowned be
fore his crew could reach him.
Black, a native of Seattle, came
to Alaska with his parents as a
boy of nine. At the age of 22 he
began his riverboat career on the
Yukon system. He owned the
Black Navigation Co., which oper
ates a number of boats on the
two rivers.
Sen. Butler Thinks
Alaskans Want
No Statehood Now
OMAHA, Neb., UP>—Sen. Butler
(R-Neb) says he thinks he has con
vinced “the rank and file in Alas
ka that statehood should not come
at this time.”
“Most of the clamor for state
hood is coming from politicians
who want to run for office,” he
declared in an interview Saturday.
The senator and five members
of his committee on interior and
insular affairs spent two weeks in
Alaska conducting hearings on the
Alaska Statehood Bill.
“When we pointed out the ob
stacles, most of the people agreed
they should wait awhile,” Butler
said.
Statehood would hurt rather
than help Alaska because of the
tax load its citizens would have to
bear, the senator said. Most of the
land is owned by the federal gov
ernment and “this means there
isn’t enough land on the tax rolls
to pay for a state government,” he
added.
Sen. Butler said a change will
be made in the statehobd bill at
the next session of Congress which
might quiet some of the agitation
for immediate passage. This
change would require Alaskan
banks to join the Federal Reserve
System. This would eliminate the
practice of charging an exchange
fee on checks and “this in turn
would stimulate business,” Butler
said.
George Mean, President of
AFL, Emerges From Feud
As Labor’s Top Man
WASHINGTON, Lf)—AFL presi
dent George Meany emerged to
day at the end of a feud with the
rebelling Carpenters’ Union more
strongly entrenched than ever as
the big labor federation’s top man.
The 822,000 - member Carpen
ters’ group, one of the AFL’s
founding organizations, returned
to the AFL fold yesterday as sud
denly as it quit 24 days earlier,
on Aug. 12.
The cause of the trouble was
reported to have been a show
down between 58-year-old Meany
and 79-year-old William (Big Bill)
Hutcheson, the AFL’s first vice
president and one of the federa
tion’s patriarchs.
“Big Bill,” also president emer
itus of the Carpenters’ Union, had
long been accustomed to having
his advice listened to with great
respect in AFL councils, particu
larly during the many years the
late William Green was AFL
president.
Green died last fall and Meany,
then AFL secretary-treasurer, was
named to the top job. The aging
Hutcheson remained as first vice
president.
The peace agreement announ
ced yesterday said it was agreed
that the AFL “should have adopt
ed some policy definitely design
ed to prevent raids” within the
1 AFL.
U. S. Chief Justice
Fred Vinson Dies
Of Heart Attack
WASHINGTON, UR—Chief Jus
tice Fred M. Vinson, a Kentucky
jailer’s son who rose to the high
est judicial office in the nation,
died unexpectedly of a heart at
tack early today.
The 7'3-year-old judge and for
mer holder of many top govern
ment posts was stricken while at
his Washington apartment.
His wife and his son, Fred Jr.,
were at the apartment and sum
moned a physician at 1:30 a.m.,
but Vinson died 45 minutes later.
Vinson took over leadership of
the U.S. Supreme Court on June
24, 1946, an appointee of former
President Truman to succeed the
late Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone.
Vinson’s elevation to the high
court seven years ago capped a
public career that included ser
vice in all three branches of the
government. He was secretary of
the treasury before being named
chief justice.
During World War II he was ap
pointed by former President
Franklin D. Roosevelt to head in
turn the Office of Economic Sta
bilization, the Federal Loan Ad
ministration and the Office of
War Mobilization. Truman then
chose him as Treasury boss.
The Kentuckian first gained
national fame as a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives, to
which he was elected initially in
1922 and for six congresses there
after.
The Kentuckians death paves
the way for President Eisenhower
to make his first appointment to
the Supreme Court bench.
Polish Member Neutral
Inspection Team In Korea
Flees to U.S. Air Base
SEOUL, UP)—A Polish member
of a neutral nations truce inspec
tions team in South Korea Wed
nesday fled from his iron curtain
countrymen and was given politi
cal asylum by an American air
base commander, the U.S. Army
announced.
The Pole made his dramatic
break as an airplane was warm
ing up to take his inspection team
back to North Korea.
“It’s my last chance,” the Pole
told American officers.
The Army identified the man as
Jan Hajdukiewicz, 28, a civilian
interpreter with a neutral na
tions inspection team at Kang
nung, on Korea’s east coast.
The Army said the Pole went
to an American officer attached
to the unit inspection team, Maj.
Edward Moran, Westemport, Md.,
and said he was “afraid” to go
back to Communist control and
did not wish to return.
The Pole said he asked asylum
because of “long standing opposi
tion to Communism.”
TUESDAY SCORES
Coast League
Seattle 5, Sacramento 2
San Diego 2, Portland 1
Oakland 5, Hollywood 2
Los Angeles 6, San Francisco 1
Alaska Steam and Wien Announce
Inauguration of Seattle - to - Nome
Ocean - Truck - Air Freight Service
-1
American G.I, Charged
With Striking Swedish
Member Inspection Team
SEOUL, Iff) — The Army an
nounced Wednesday a US. en
listed man had been charged with
striking a Swedish member of a
neutral nations inspection team
and would be tried by a special
court. The Communists called it a
“shocking and infuriating inci
dent.”
The name and rank of the sol
dier were not released nor was
the name of the Swedish officer
involved made public.
The Communists tried to make
an issue of it at Wednesday’s
meeting in Panmunjom of the
military armistice commission.
But Maj. Gen. Sven Grafstrom,
chief of the Swedish group on the
neutral nations supervisory com
mission, said Wednesday night he
considered the incident “closed.”
A spokesman for the Korean
communications zone at Taegu,
said the incident occurred there
several days ago. He reported the
soldier apparently became irri
tated at the Swedish officer in the
communications center and
“struck him.” The officer was not
hurt.
Rita Spurns Million Dollar
Settlement For Yasmin
LAS VEGAS, UP—A spokesman
for Rita Hayworth said today she
isn’t interested in selling her dau
ghter’s right to be reared as an
American and a Christian.
This, he said, was Rita’s reply
to a report that her former hus
band, the Aly Khan, has offered
her a million dollar divorce set
tlement if she will consent to a
Moslem rearing for their daugh
ter, Yasmin, 3.
“All the money in the world
couldn’t buy Yasmin’s right to
be raised as an American child,”
the actress was quoted by A1
Freeman, press agent for a hotel
here.
Miss Hayworth is here visiting
Dick Haymes, whom she intends
to marry as soon as the crooner
can obtain a divorce from his
third wife, No^ Eddington, the
spokesman said. Miss Eddington
has filed a divorce action against
Haymes in the California courts.
EISENHOWER HAS NO
ONE IN MIND TO SUCCEED
CHIEF JUSTICE VINSON
DENVER, UP—President Eisen
hower will leave for Washington
by plane tonight to attend funeral
services for Chief Justice Fred
M. Vinson there tomorrow.
On arrival in the capitol, Eisen
hower will go directly to the
White House where—in advance
of the afternoon funeral rites—
he will confer with Vice President
Nixon and several members of
the presidential staff.
The President kept his own
counsel, meanwhile, on his think
ing about a jurist to succeed Vin
son.
Walter Sipprell, agent for the
Alaska Steamship Company an
nounced at the Chamber of Com
merce meeting Tuesday noon a
new ocean-truck-air service which
his company and Wien Airlines
have inaugurated for Nome ship
pers.
He said: “In August, the Alaska
Steamship .Co. inaugurated their
new one-rate service from Seattle
to Fairbanks, the routing being
via ship to Valdez and by Alaska
Fast Freight van or truck to Fair
banks, and now through the co
operation of Wien Alaska Air
lines this service is available to
Nome, including delivery to your
door.
“The ocean-truck one-rate in
cludes Seattle terminal charges,
and to this is added nine cents
per pound, on shipments of *100
pounds or more, for air freight
from “Fairbanks to your door. On
shipments under 100 pounds the
air freight is 16 cents per pound.
“The cargo is handled in unitized
form from Seattle to Wien’s han
gar in Fairbanks and then unload
ed to the plane for fast tranship
ment to you. Unitizing cargo gives
your shipment added protection
from damage, loss, or pilferage.
Practically all types of cargo can
be handled, including those re
quiring refrigeration. It is anti
cipated this will become a pop
ular refuting as it is available to
all shippers and will include ship
ments to Kotzebue and other com
munities as well as Nome.”
Mr. Sipprell went on to say that
simple rate sheets are available
now, and that he and A1 Branson,
local Wien* manager, will call on
business houses to further intro
duce this service. “The Alaska
Steamship Co. is proud to parti
cipate in this service to increase
their otherwise seasonally limited
operation to this area.”
A. Polet stated that Wien Air
lines was very pleased with the
service inagurated by the Alaska
Steamship Co. and that the hangar
in Fairbanks is being remodeled
to speed up loading facilities. He
also said that the schedule will
be four trips a vjeek—two trips
to Nome and then Kotzebue and
two trips to Kotzebue, then to
Nome.
It was stated that the diamond
drill flown to the U.S. Bureau of
Mines at Omilak will start oper
ating on Friday and that speci
ments from the Big Hurrah gold
quartz mine have been taken out
side to be assayed and if it so
warrants, work may be started
this winter on a year-round basis.
Big pumps recently installed at
Big Hurrah have made possible
the working of this mine which
has been flooded for many years.
Quadruplets Bom In Norway
OSLO, Norway, UP)—The news
paper Aftenposten reported Tues
day that a 19-year-old Norwegian
girl gave birth to quadruplets last
weekend and that two of the
babies—Siamese twins—died soon
after birth. The survivors, a boy
and a girl, and the mother were
getting along well, the paper said.