m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LV No. 130 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1953 Per Copy—15^
AFL Head Meany
Rules Out Unity
With John L. Lewis
WASHINGTON, UP) — President
George Meany of the AFL said to
day there is “a definite possibil
ity” of unity with the CIO but
not with John L. Lewis because,
“Good Lord, he’s the fellow who
split the AFL.”
“He’s the fellow who tried to
split the CIO after he got tired
of that,” Meany said in a copy
righted interview with the maga
zine U.S. News and World Re
port. “He’s the fellow who came
back to the AFL in 1947 and tried
■to split it again.
“Of course, he says every once
in a while that there can be no
unity without the miners. That’s
baloney. We can have a lot of
unity without the miners. I’m not
saying that the miners wouldn’t
be in. There won’t be any de
cision made not to let them in.”
As for the AFL - CIO merger,
Meany said it is a definite pos
sibility but not a probability.
Without specifically mentioning
Lewis, one of the founders of the
CIO, Meany said that organiza
tion “was set up because there
were several men in this country
who felt that they needed a politi
cal arm among the workers of the
nation.”
Meany was asked his opinion of
the new Secretary of Labor,
'James P. Mitchell, and he replied:
“I’ve known him for 20 years,
and I think he’s a very fine gen
tleman, a very fine fellow, and I
think he’ll be as good a Secretary
of Labor as Brother Weeks (Sec
retary of Commerce) allows hirfi
to be . . . There are definite in
dications that Weeks considers
himself part of the Labor Depart
ment, at least as an overseer.”
Alaska GOP Officials
Invited to Conference At
San Francisco Nov. 7-9
SEATTLE, Uft — State Republi
can headquarters said Friday that
invitations to the Western Repub
lican conference, to be held in
San Francisco Nov. 7-9, went to
half a dozen party officials in
Alaska.
A spokesman said the invitations
went to the same party officials in
Alaska and Hawaii as in the 11
western states.
The invited Alaskans are:
Robert J. McKanna, Fairbanks,
national committeeman; Mrs. Mar
garet White, Juneau, national
committeewoman: Chairman El
ton Engstrom, Juneau; Vice Chair
man Helen Brosius, Seward; Wal
ter J. Hickel, finance chairman,
Anchorage; and Mrs. Nick Eidem,
treasurer, Fairbanks.
Hunters Drown On
Olympic Peninsula
PORT ANGELES, Wash., UP) —
Five hunters, including an Alas
kan, apparently drowned in two
weekend boating accidents on the
Olympic Peninsula.
One of the missing men was
Byrne S. Smith, about 26, of
Anchorage.
He was one of three elk hunt
ers lost in the upset of a small
boat when it struck a rock Satur
day in rampaging Ho'h River.
The others -were Art Blenkin
sop, 24, and Frank Rothwell,
about 50, both of Seattle. Blenkin
sop’s body was recovered Sunday.
The others have not been found.
Two men survived the accident.
They were William Zimmerman,
23, and Dale McNew, both of
Seattle. They told of swimming
ashore and seeing the other three
clinging to the upset plywood
boat.
Pentagon May Call In Noted Surgeon
To Analyze Red Torture Techniques
WASHINGTON, GB—The Penta
gon may call in Dr. Charles W.
Mayo, noted surgeon and United
Nations delegate, to help analyze
Communist techniques for wring
ing “confessions” from captured
American fighting men.
This far-flung examination is
directed at all aspects of one of
the most involved and delicate
problems to confront the Defense
Department.
It is an exploration of the cases
of 10 American ex-prisoners who
repudiated “confessions” they said
were made to fend off starvation
and brutality, as well as of the
cases of five airmen who defied
Communist pressure.
One of the five airmen the Pen
tagon said defied their tormentors
was Capt. William M. Preston of
Batavia, N.Y. He told of a Com
munist interrogation camp nick
named “Pak’s Palace,” after the
North Korean major who ran it—
“the most barbaric, evil, vicious
man I have ever met.”
Preston said questioning some
times lasted 20 hours a day. He
said he was beaten, cursed and
spat at. He said many high rank
ing Russians visited the camp and
made no attempt to conceal their
5>
nationality.
“I think they felt that none of
the U.N. prisoners that were there
would ever get back to our own
country,” Preston said.
A man who refused to succumb
to pressure while a prisoner of the
Reds, Maj. Gen. William F. Dean,
told his story in person Friday at
a National Press Club luncheon in
his honor.
Dean, held captive for more
than three years, disclosed that he
once planned to commit suicide
rather than give in to brutality
and reveal military secrets he
knew. But when his suicide plan
failed, he said, the Communists
treated him more leniently.
The white-haired general said
the Reds threatened to torture
him into telling them America’s
plans for the defense of Japan. He
said he knew the plans and, fear
ing he might “squeal” under ago
ny, decided to kill himself.
He said he stole a burp gun
from a dozing guard, with the idea
of arousing his chief interrogators,
shooting them down and turning
the gun on himself. But the gun
jammed and he was overpowered,
he said.
Program To Woo
Back Anti-Reds
Flounders
PANMUNJOM, (#)—The erratic
Communist program to woo back
anti - Red Chinese and Korean
l war prisoners floundered in un
j certainty tonight after a Red dis
! pute with the Indian Command,
which guards the 24,600 POWs.
The Communists called off to
day’s scheduled interviews with
500 Koreans after the Indians re
fused to' let them make loudspeak
er broadcasts to the POWs await
ing interviews.
The U.N. Command said late in
the afternoon it had been told of
ficially the Reds would interview
more Koreans Tuesday, but an
Indian spokesman said later he
believed the Reds would not
hold the explanations.
Although there were no inter
views Monday, tension ran high
in the neutral zone stockades after
Indian guard tro'ops shot down a
charging Chinese prisoner and 21
Chinese and Koreans asked to go
home in one of the largest single
day’s switches to the Red fold.
The prisoners was killed while
the Indians were investigating re
ports of a murder of a POW in
Chinese Compound 28 on Oct. 3.
The Indian Command said the
Chinese POWs had been warned
not to rush toward the guards.
Reorganization Plan For
Agriculture Dept. To Be
Put In Immediate Effect
WASHINGTON, UP) — Secretary
Benson today ordered that his
controversial reorganization plan
for the Agriculture Department
be put into immediate effect.
penson told a news conference
that President Eisenhower ap
proved of his action.
The plan will abolish seven re
gional offices of the Soil Conser
vation Service and place greater
responsibility on state conserva
tion offices for carrying out con
servation programs.
The plan had stirred bitter op
position.
Some congressmen had request
ed that Benson delay putting the
plan into operation until after
Congress had a chance to look it
over.
Ex-Lt. Louis Shoulders
Vacationing in Hawaii
HONOLULU, UP)—The St. Louis
police officer who resigned after
arresting the Bobby Greenlease
kidnap-slayers is vacationing on
the island of Maui with his son,
Bruce, who works there.
Ex-Lieutenant Louis Shoulders
arrived in Honolulu Saturday
under an assumed name, but he
revealed his identity to reporters.
“I want to rest and be left
alone,” Shoulders said.
Shoulders quit the St. Louis
force after questioning by a police
board on his handling of the case.
He testified before a Kansas City
grand jury Wednesday and Thurs
day on his part in the arrest
and the recovery of half of the
$600,000 ransom.
Shoulders was released by
court offciials and told he was not
needed further.
200 Tons of Ore From
“Iron Mountain” To Be
Studied by Bureau Mines
JUNEAU, UR — The Alaska Di
rector of the U!S. Bureau of Mines
said last week that 200 tons of
ore from the Klukwan “Iron
Mountain” near Haines will be
processed here during the winter.
S. H. Lorain, the director, said
the ore concentrates then will be
sent to the Bureau’s northwest
electro development laboratory,
Albay, Ore., for smelting research.
The work will be a continuation
of the bureau’s study of low grade
titaniferous magnetite ore found
in southeast Alaska. The 200 tons
of ore from Klukwan was ob
tained from the Quebec Metallur
gical Industries, which has an op
tion on the property.
U.S. Seeks to Get Around
Arab Refusal Negotiate
Jordan River Differences
DAMASCUS, Syria, UR — In
formed sources said today the
United States has offered to sign
separate pacts with Israel and its
three Arab nations in order to get
around Arab refusal to negotiate
directly with the Jews on a plan
to develop the Jordan River into
a giant powerhouse for the Middle
East.
That is the substance of the
proposals no*w being carried to the
Middle East countries by Presi
dent Eisenhower’s personal emis
sary, Eric Johnston, in an effort
to settle the controversy over
Israel’s own hyro-electric project
feeding off the Jordan, these in
formants said.
400 Tons of Matting For
Gamble Airstrip Is Lost
JUNEAU, tf)—Loss of 400 tons
of steel matting for the new
Gamble airport may delay its
completion until next spring Tony
Schwamm, director of the Alaska
Department of Aviation, reports.
Schwamm said the steel mat
ting was on a barge that over
turned in a recent storm off the
northwest coast while it was being
towed from Point Spencer to
Gamble. It was for the last 1,000
feet of the 4,000-foot-long air
strip.
The loss was insured.
REPORTS CIRCULATE TITO
READY TO BARGAIN WITH )
WEST ON TRIESTE PROBLEM
BELGRADE, Yugaslavia, W) —•
Persons close to the Yugoslav for
eign office are circulating reports
that President Marshal Tito is
willing to bargain with the West
on Trieste. They say he might
offer close military cooperation,
possibly joining the Atlantic
Pact, in return for concessions on
the disputed territory.
Cal Garage Near Merrill Field
At Anchorage Burns Down
ANCHORAGE, (A — A fire
caused several thousand dollars
damage to a heavy duty repair
garage near Merrill Field yes
terday.
The blaze completely destroyed
the one-stcry frame building and
two bulldozers, a truck and a car
which were parked inside. The
fire was blamed on a defective
heater in the garage.
19 Unrepatriated
Americans Afraid
To Come Home
PANMUNJOM, UP) — A reliable
source said tonight that only
chains of fear are holding back 19
of the 22 American war prison
ers who have refused to return
home.
The other three, he said, are
^confirmed Communists who are
dominating the other 19.
The source, who declined use of
his name, said the three Commun
ist Americans and their Red cap
tors had drummed terror of going
home into the 19 by telling them
they are now “outside American
law” and can be executed as
traitors.
He painted a bleak, gray pic
ture of the neutral zone camp
where the 22 Americans are held
with 1 Briton and 332 South Kor
eans—a handful of deceived, be
wildered and frightened men,
afraid to remain behind but more
fearful of going home because
they believe home means death.
The origin of the information
cannot be revealed, but it was
rated “very reliable.” virtually
no information has been made
public on the camp.
Malik Says U.S.
Atrocity Charge
Part of Campaign
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., UP)—
Russia’s Jacob A. Malik declared
Saturday that the new U.S. atroc
ity charges were part of a cam
paign to step up war hysteria and
thus justify increased expendi
tures for arms.
Malik told the U.N. Assembly’s
60-nation Political Committee that
U.S. officials do not want a relax
ation of world tension. He spoke
after Dr. Charles W. Mayo, U.S.
delegate, mentioned a statement
made Friday by Maj. Gen. Wil
liam Dean, who said he had con
sidered suicide while a prisoner of
war because he feared he might
be forced to disclose secrets.
“Dean has been free for some
time now,” Malik said. “Why did
the press have to come up with
that statement today and why did
the American delegate have to
bring it up? Because they don’t
want a relaxation of tension. They
want to step up the cold war and
war hysteria.”
Malik spoke as the Political
Committee neared the end of its
debate on germ warfare. The Uni
ted States already has asked the
assembly to take up as a separate
question the Army’s report of
Communist atrocities in Korea in
which the U.S. charges almost
30,000 were killed, including more
than 6,000 Americans.
Malik said he had read in the
U.S. press that the whole story of
the “so-called atrocities in Korea
was brought out to step up the
arms race.”
Mayo led off Friday’s germ
warfare debate by repeating U.S.
charges that the Russians ran a
torture center in Korea to wring
germ warfare “confession” from
captured American airmen.