m NOME NUGGET
. _OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBES ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVII No. 103 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1955 Per Copy—15^
Truman Accuses Eisenhower Falling
Under Domination of Big Business
MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich.,<]
UP) — Harry S. Truman fired the
first salvo of a three-day Michi
gan Democratic conference yes
terday by accusing the Republi
can administration of falling “100
per cent under the domination of
big business.”
Truman, scheduled for a speech
here tonight, told a news confer
ence this domination “started in
Michigan.”
The former President said he
did not want to discuss personal
ities, and he did not want to
mention by name Secretary of De
fense Wilson, former General
Motors president, and other Mi
chigan businessmen in the Eisen
hower administration.
Commenting on Democratic
chances in 1956, Truman said it
was not inevitable Republicans
would win if President Eisen
hower is nominated.
“I think the man who will win
the election is the one who has
the best platform,” he said.
The former President reaffirm
ed his support of Adlai Stevenson
and at the same time made it
clear he himself would not be a
candidate.
Truman denied that he was
embarking on another “give-’em
hell” campaign.
“I never gave anybody hell,” he
said. “I tell the truth and if they
think that’s hell, that’s too bad.”
Meanwhile in Washington Re
publican National Chairman Leo
nard W. Hall declared in a state
ment that Truman’s current
speech making “sounded like a
bitter, frustrated man.”
•Hall criticized both Truman
and Democratic National Chair
man Paul Butler for what he call
ed their “intemperate remarks”
at a meeting of the Indiana Dem
ocratic Editorial Assn. Saturday
in French Lick, Ind.
“With no real issue to take to,
the people, it’s obvious they are
going to rely on smears and per
sonal attacks on President Eisen
hower and Vice President Nixon,”
Hall said.
„ , -i i. — —■ ■■ . ■— ■ »
Suffragettes Have New
Goal—Equality of Sexes
WASHINGTON, l* — A dozen
or suffragettes of the early part
of this century were guests of
honor yesterday at a conference
marking the 35th anniversary of
the constitutional amendment
which gave the women the right
to vote.
Talk of past triumphs shared
the agenda with discussion of a
new goal—adoption of a consti
tutional amendment that would
state simply:
“Equality under the law shail
not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any state on
account of sex.”
The meeting was attended by
some 40 representatives of var
ious women’s group which have
been urging action on the “equal
rights” amendment, first proposed
in 1923.
►
Big Oil Refinery
Fire Burns Into
Its Third Day
WHITING, Ind., M — The big
fire at the Standard Oil Co. re
finery burned into its third day
today, but only two large storage
tanks were gushing flames and
smoke.
A company official* said the
multi - million dollar blaze was
well in hand, and the “'burning
out” of unburned fuels in the
blackened 10-acre section was in
line with safety policy.
Thus, no volatile fluids would
remain as a hazard when rehab
ilitation of the scarred area be
gins.
Life in adjacent Whiting got
back to normal, although some
500 families awaited the results
of a check for explosive sewer
gases before they could receive
permission to return to their
homes.
The company opened a claims
office near the fire scene. Scores
of residents visited the office to
inquire about compensation for
damage or injuries.
Already the blast - fed inferno
has inflicted a loss estimated by
Standard Oil at 10 million dol
lars, brought death to two persons
and injured 45 others.
Standard Oil chairman Robert
E. Wilson said it is hoped most
of the refinary will be back in
operation in about two weeks.
Wilson reported the damage to
the refinery alone would exceed
10 million dollars, all but one mil
lion of which is covered by in
surance.
; -
Daughter of Joan Bennett
‘Takes Overdoes Sleeping
Pills After Quarrel
NEW YORK, U&—Actress Mel-,
I inda Markey, daughter of movie
star Joan Bennett, stayed in se
clusion today after recovering
from what police said was an
overdose of sleeping pills.
The pretty, 21-year-old brun
ette was discharged from Belle
vue Hospital yesterday and quiet
ly slipped away with her hus
band, Donald Hayden.
Miss Markey was found in a
friend’s apartment Saturday af
ternoon. Her husband told police
he and his wife had quarreled.
On his way out of the apart
ment a little later, he said, she
showed him a half-empty bottle
of sleeping tablets and told him
she had just taken 12 of them.
Hayden told police he at first
thought she was joking but later
became worried. When his pound
ing on the door brought no an
swer he called police. They enter
ed and found Miss Markey slump
ed across a bed.
The young actress’ father,
Hollywood writer - director Gene
Markey, flew from the West Coast
to her bedside after talking with
Miss Bennett, who is now married
to screen producer Walter Wan
ger.
Sen. Jackson Tells
Of Serious Gap In
DEW Radar Line
LAKE STEVENS, Wash., UP —
A gap in the nation’s far north
radar line is serious enough to
place the mid-continental United
States in jeopardy should an en
emy attack us Sen. Jackson (D
Wash) said here Saturday.
The senator is a member of a
three - man Senate committee
which authorizes military con
struction. He has just returned
from a flight over the Distant
Early Warning <DEW) line in the
far north.
He sad the Defense Department
is taking rapid steps to plug the
gap in the line. He did not specify
where the gap had been found.
Jackson reported that the warn
ing system is being expanded on
a speeded up basis, with new in
stallations in operation by 1957.
The senator spoke before an
estimated crowd of 6,000 persons
attending a big rally of western
Washington Democrats.
Russian Vessel Returns
After Mapping Pacific
Bottom Near Aleutians
LONDON, UFt—A Russian ocean
research ship has just returned
from a four - month exploration
voyage in the Pacific, Moscow
radio announced today. The ves
sel studied under-ocean forma
tions in the Aleutian and Hawaii
an areas.
The ship, the Vityaz, was sent
by the Institute of Oceanology of
the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The head of the expedition was
quoted as saying part of the work
was done near the Kurile Islands.
The expedition reportedly dis
covered several new submarine
mountains and established a com
plex continuation of the Hawaiian
submarine range in the direction
of the Aleutian Depression.
The first complex survey of the
Aleution Depression was claimed
in the radio broadcast. Data was
obtained on the distribution of
salmon during their maritime
stage, and material was collected
on the formation of the Aleutian,
Japanese and Kurile-Kamchatka
Depressions.
SAS Schedules Tourist
Flights ‘Over The Pole’
LOS ANGELES, UP —Scandin
avian Airlines System will inaug
urate tourist flights to Europe
over its polar route Oct. 5, the
company announced today.
Weekly tourist flights will
leave Monday and Wednesday.
SUNDAY BASEBALL SCORES
American League
New York 6-2, Chicago 1-3
Washington 8-13, Cleveland 2-4
Boston 14, Kansas City 2
National League
Brooklyn 6, St. Louis 1
Chicago 3, New York 0
Philadelphia 7-8, Cincinnati 6-2
Pittsburgh 5-2, Milwaukee 3-0
Pacific Coast League
Oakland 6-5, Portland 4-2
Hollywood 6-3, San Diego 2-0
Los Angeles 6-2, Seattle 5-1
Sacramento 6-0, San Francisco
0-3
%
Statehood and Mental Health To Be
Taken Up When Congress Reconvenes
68,638 Fur Seal
Pelts Taken From
Pribilofs This Year
WASHINGTON, Wl — The In
terior Department announced to
day that the annual sealing oper
ations on the Pribilof Islands
netted 65,638 fur-seal skins. Last
year’s take was 63,882 skins.
Asst. Secty. Orme Lewis said
the fur-seal herd has grown from
a low of about 132,000 in 1910,
when the government took over
its management and protection, to
about 1,500,000 this year.
“During this same period the
federal government netted some
17 million dollars — more than
twice the purchase price of the
entire territory of Alaska — from
the sale of sealskins,” Lewis said.
Lewis said the Fish and Wild
life Service has 'been directed to
discover the mysteries of sealskin
processing through a program of
research financed from proceeds
of the semiannual sealskin sales.
The purpose is part is to discover
more economical processing meth
ods. Lewis said results of the re
search will be made available to
the public.
The processing of the skins is
now handled by the Fouke Fur
Co., St. Louis and is paid a flat
fee of $15 plus 17.5 per cent of
the selling price of each sealskin
it processes.
At the last sale in April 24,746
sealskins sold for $2,296,757.
Nation’s Soft Coal Miners
In Line for $2-a-Day
Boost in Wages
WASHINGTON, Lfl—All but a
fraction of the nation's 200,000
soft coal miners were in line for a
$2-a-day wage raise Saturday as
the result of a Southern Coal Pro
ducers’ Assn, settlement with
John L. Lewis’ United Mine
Workers Union.
The southern association, rep
resenting mine owners employing
from 40,000 to 50,000 miners, and
several small operator groups
agreed Friday to the same pay
boost as Lewis negotiated two
weeks ago with the northern seg
ment of the industry which em
ploys about 125,000 men.
The southern operators dis
played unhappiness as they signed
the one year contract bringing the
miners’ basic daily wage to $20.25
through a 15-cent-an-hour raise
Sept. 1 and another 10 cents next
April 1.
Alaska To Get $82,000
In Support of Vocational
Rehabilitation Program
WASHINGTON, (A — Alaska
will receive $82,487 from the fed
eral government for the year end
ing next June 30 for basic sup
port of the vocational rehabili
tation program. Hawaii will re
ceive $202,764. The Office of Vo
cational Rehabilitation yesterday
announced allocation of $32,600,
000 to the States and territories.
> WASHINGTON, W-Two Alas
ka controversies — statehood and
mental health—will carry over to
the second session of the 84th
Congress.
Legislation on these issues tops
a dozen bills of Alaska interest
which have been acted upon by
either the House, the Senate or
their committees.
Prospects are brightest for the
Mental Health Act. Chairman
Engle of the House Insular Af
fairs Committee expects to go
before the House Rules Commit
tee soon after Congress meets in
January to ask early floor con
sideration of the bill which has
been approved by his committee.
Chairman Murray of the Senate
Insular Affairs Committee has in
dicated his group will take up the
question early in the session.
There is little, if any, opposition
to that phase of the proposal
which would modernize Alaska’s
commitment procedures for its
mentally ill. Verbal pictures of
adults and children being held in
jail while waiting sanity trials by
their neighbors have caused more
than one member of Congress to
assail Alaska’s present program
as “barbaric.”
The stumbling block has been
a proposal for outright grants to
permit Alaska to take over the
program. This would include
funds for construction of hospitals
and care centers in Alaska. Rep.
Miller (R-Neb) has been the prin
cipal spokesman for those who
would like to see the territory
required to match any federal
money it gets.
Whether there will be any at
tempt to revive statehood for Al
aska—or Hawaii—is questionable.
A bill to admit both territories
was sent back to committee by a
vote of 218-170 when brought to
the House floor early this year
under procedures barring amend
ment.
Sen. Jackson (D-Wash), chair
man of the Senate Territories sub
committee, is convinced the Sen
ate would insist on a bill combin
ing hopes of both territories. He
has declined so far, on grounds it
would be a waste of time in view
of the House action, to bring the
statehood matter to a vote of his
subcommittee.
Pending in the Senate with.
House approval is a bill to elim
inate the 10 per cent tax on
transportation between the U. S.
mainland and Alaska.
Approved by its Mining sub
committee and awaiting action by
the full Senate Insular Affairs
Committee is a bill to spur Alas
ka’s tin program. It would set a.
base price of $1.20 a pound for
placer tin and $1.35 for lode tin
Hearings on a similar bill have
been held on the House side.
TRUCK ROLLS OFF CLIFF
ONTO HOUSE KILLING 5
LINAIRES, Calif., UFb—A truck
rolled over a precipice near here
Friday and dropped onto a house.
The two truck occupants were
killed and three persons in the
residence were crushed to death.