m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL, LVI No. 17 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1954 ~ Per Copy—15<
Two Bush Pilots
Save Six Survivors
Of C-47 Wreck
CURRY, Alaska, (A*)—Two vet
eran Alaska bush pilots were
credited today with saving the
lives of six men tumbled into the
snow-covered mountain wilder
ness near here Friday when the
plane in which they were riding
exploded.
Two of the other 16 men aboard
the Air Force C-47 when it left
Elmendorf Air Force base near
Anchorage on the ill-fated flight
were known dead.
Eight were missing and bush
pilot Cliff Hudson who with Don
Sheldon was credited with effect
ing the rescue of the six surviv
ors, said there was little chance
any of the others were alive.
The Air Force said Hudson and
Sheldon saved the lives of the
six who spent two nights and most
of two days in subfreezing tem
perature awaiting rescue after the
wrecked two - engine transport
was sighted.
Hudson spotted the wreckage
late Friday. The following day
Sheldon located the first three
survivors huddled in the snow 15
miles from the wreckage where
they had floated down in their
'chutes.
Sheldon, Hudson and an Air
Force doctor flew to the spot in
a blinding snowstorm Saturday,
and were grounded overnight
when the weather worsened.
Hudson struck off then on the
ardous trek through 3V2 foot deep
snow to reach the crash scene.
Sheldon, meanwhile, flew his trio
of survivors yesterday to Anchor
age.
Hudson said the survivors told
him the plane exploded as it was
flying between Air Force bases
at Anchorage and Fairbanks.
There was no warning, he
quoted the survivors. They were
“riding along smoothly one min
ute and the next thing they knew
they were floating down to c-arth.”
All the men were wearing para
chutes, he said.
None of the survivors were ser
iously injured.
Sitka Businessmen Launch
Support For Proposed
Japanese Pulp Mill
JUNEAU, UP) — Businessmen of
Sitka have launched a campaign
for support of the proposed estab
lishment of a Japanese - backed
pulp plant near the old-time capi
tal of Alaska.
They asked support of the Ju
neau Chamber of Commerce. Ju
neau members have begun pre
paring a letter of support for the
Sitka project.
The Sitka group, in a letter to
the Juneau Chamber, said the Sit
kans already have sent out more
than 500 letters to congressmen
and government officials in an
attempt to offset what the group
describes as “growing opposition
of established pulp and paper in
terests” in the states.
The proposed pulp industry
would be financed mainly by Ja
panese interests but would be op
erated with American labor.
Govt. To Cease
Competing With
Alaska Contractors
SEATTLE, (#> — Larry Moore,
manager of the Alaska General
Contractors, said today that he
and eight labor union representa
tives received a reassuring re
sponse from government officials
on a recent protest against gov
ernment agencies “competing with
private enterprise” in construction
work in the territory.
Moore said a labor management
committee conferred with officials
of the Commerce, Defense and In
terior departments and with nu
merous congressmen.
“They all gave assurance that
the intent of the present adminis
tration is to promote private en
terprise,” 'Moore asserted, “and
they said they stood ready to cor
rect the competition situation
wherever it exists.”
Moore represented industry on
the committee and eight union
leaders represented labor. All but
the carpenters representative in
the latter group are now sitting
on the opposite side of' the table
from Moore in negotiations here
for the 1954 construction pay
scale in Alaska.
Moore said the objections of the
committee were to employment
of construction battalion soldiers
in new construction work of per
manent nature and to highway
construction work by the Alaska
Road Commission without letting
of contracts. He said some past
construction'work for the Alaska
Railroad also came under fire.
“Our stand is that private con
tactors can do the jobs better
and at less cost to the taxpayers
under a system of competitive
bidding,” Moore asserted.
Moore said he didn’t know whe
ther the committee’s protests had
anything to do with it, but he
was encouraged by the announce
ment last week that survey and
field work for prospective gov
ernment projects in Alaska would
be on a bid basis by private
firms hereafter.
Defense Department officials
concurred, Moore said, in the
stand that lack of funds is no
reason for having the military use
soldiers for new construction
work; that if a job is needed
it should be put into the budget.
North American Dog
Derby To Be Run In
Montana Feb. 20-22
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont.,
(j'P) — Lloyd Van Sickle,. Truckee,
Calif., will defend his North Am
erican Dog Derby title at the 35th
running here Feb. 20-22.
Van Sickle said he will bring
40 dogs and four drivers to the
meet. One team is composed of
Irish setters.
The teams are expected to race
Feb. 22 for the North American
cutter championship.
Entries have been received from
persons in California, Idaho, Can
ada, Alaska, Washington and
Montana.
Among them is one from Mrs.
Earnest Harringfield, Ashton,
Idaho. She is the only woman
driver entered.
Terri. Committee
Investigates Profits
Of Project Builder
ANCHORAGE, W) — In an in
quiry into Alaska housing projects
the Territorial Legislative Exam
ining Committee received testi
mony of a $643,891 profit on a
$360,762 investment.
The witness was William Crooks
of Portland, Ore., president of
Anchor Homes, Inc., and Anchor
Park Inc., which built 652 housing
units in the Anchorage area in
the past two construction seasons.
Crooks was on the stand for
close to six hours at the close
of a two-day hearing that ran
overtime until 9:30 p.m. Satur
day.
Crooks was grilled by Jack Wil
cox, the committee’s $100-a-day
investigator who formerly headed
the Federal Bureau of Investiga
tion office at Seattle.
Crooks testified that the ven
tures he headed had an initial
investment of $360,762 as of Sept.
30, 1952, and that to date the
ventures had netted a profit of
$643,891.
The builder was questioned at
length on why the value of land
was listed at $991,800 in the an
nual corporate statement to the
territory at the end of 1952 when
only $35,000 was paid for the
land, which still was unimproved.
Crooks explained that the nearly
million dollars valuation was set
on the assumption that the proj
ects would be completed and the
higher figure would be the land
value after improvements.
Three Injured In Plane
Crash at Arctic Village
FAIRBANKS, UP! — Three per-,
sons were injured Sunday when
an airplane crashed immediately
after taking off at Arctic Village,
200 miles north of here.
Injured were Raymond Lewis,
24, the pilot, and his passengers,
Mrs. Naomi Tritt, and her daugh
ter, Caroline.
Lewis sustained bruises and
cuts about the head and face, Mrs.
Tritt suffered a fractured foot and
the child had cuts and bruises.
Lewis said the engine of his
four-place Cessna, failed shortly
after taking off.
The injured were flown from
Arctic Village to Fort Yukon Mis
sion hospital by bush pilots Ed
Tucson and Cliff Fairchild. After
treatment there, Lt. John A. Big
nall of the Fifth Reconnaissance
Squadron, flew them to Fairbanks
where they were taken to St.
Joseph’s Hospital.
Cordova's "Will H. Chase Week"
To Be Filmed For Television
By Anchorage TV Station
CORDOVA, UP) — Cordova ap
pears on television for the first
time this week as the fishing
community observes “Dr. Will H.
Chase Week,” honoring the 80
year-old pioneer mayor now serv
ing his 20th term in the town’s
highest office.
A camera crew was due here
Monday from Anchorage to re
cord honors to be paid the Alaska
pioneer by the Elks lodge, Pio
neers and Republican club mem
bers.
Walter H. Hodge, Appointed For
Second Division Judgship, Has Long
Background Of Law And Civic Service
* J
Justice Dept. To
Probe Persons In
1945 FBI Report
WASHINGTON, UP)—Atty. Gen.
Brownell says Justice Department
lawyers are combing through
“20,000 lost documents”—one of
which has already led to the ex
plosive Harry Dexter White case
—for possible follow-ups against
other persons named in them.
When the Republicans came to
power last year, Brownell told
CBS television interviewers Sun
day, they found a lot of papers
in the Justice Department that
had never been properly recorded
or studied “but had just been
tossed in the desk drawer.”
Because of one housecleaning
order 20,000 lost documents were
turned up,” Brownell said “and
some of them were of extreme
importance” including the now
famed 1945 FBI report on Soviet
spying in the- United States.
The 1945 report was one of
two FBI documents naming the
late Harry Dexter White, one
time Treasury official who was
promoted to the international
monetary fund.
Brownell said Sunday the other
“lost documents” included cases
comparable to that of White in
importance.
The documents “mentioned
many names whose cases should
have been followed up by the
Department of Justice but never
got into the central recofds,” he
declared without identifying the
persons named.
Asked if the Department is fol
lowing up the cases now, he said,
“We certainly are.”
Board of Commissioners
To Recommend 2-Cent
Boost in Gasoline Tax
JUNEAU, UP) — The Territorial
Board of Road Commissioners is
going to recommend to the next
legislature a 2-cent boost in the
territorial gasoline tax.
The commissioners, winding up
a week - long session Saturday,
voted to ask the legislature to
keep the existing 2-cent fuel tax
and add 2 cents more to apply
only to vehicles using the high
ways, and not to boats or sta
tionary engines.
The Commissioners said they
also will recommend the legisla
ture direct that receipts from auto
license plate fees go to the roads
fund instead of the general fund.
Distant Quakes Recorded
BERKELEY, Calif., UP)—Two
distant earthquakes were recorded
Friday on the University of Cal
ifornia seismograph. The first
was placed about 5,900 miles away
in the vicinity of the New Hebri
des. The recording lasted two
hours.
The second quake was reported
to be about 2,500 miles away,
either in Central America or the
Aleutians.
t Word was received recently that
the name of Walter Hart Hodge
Cordova attorney, has been pre
H'MWWCXrnarrsr* TTir unr i m—r
sented to the Senate by President
Eisenhower for the district judg
ship at Nome in the Second Divi
sion.
Hodge was born in Auburn,
Indiana, Aug. 29, 1896, where he
received his primary education in
the public schools. In 1909 the
Hodge family moved to Seattle
where he finished his high school
education and entered the Uni
versity of Washington. He gradu
ated from the University of Wash
ington in 1919 with an L.LB.
degree and was admitted to the
bar in Washington the same year.
After two years of serving as
a law clerk, Hodge became the
deputy prosecuting attorney for
Skagit County, Washington, and
held this position from 1921 to
1924.
After a year spent with the
Seattle firm of Allen, Froude &
Hilen, Attorneys, Hodge came to
Alaska where he was appointed
assistant U.S. attorney for the
(Continued on Page Two)
Trial Of Diane Wells
And Johnny Warren
Set For April 5
FAIRBANKS, (fl—April 5 was
set Friday for the trial of Diane
Wells and Johnny Warren, who
have been charged with the first
degree murder of Mrs. Wells’ hus
band, Cecil.
Judge Harry E. Pratt set the
trial date in federal district court.
Still on file in court is a motion
by Mrs. Wells’ attorney, Walter
Sczudlo, requesting a change of
of venue. Szcudlo did not press
for action on the motion in Fri
day’s proceedings.
Judge Pratt already has denied
a request toy the blonde and pretty
Mrs. Wells that she toe tried sep
arately from Warren, a Negro
drummer.
Since they must be tried togeth
er, attorneys for Warren would
also have to request the venue
change and they have indicated
this is unlikely.