The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, November 25, 1936, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. XLIX., NO. 7339. JUNEAU ALASKA WEDNESD \Y NO\'LMBhR 23, 1936 MtMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS THREE, POSSIBLY|Little Lorraine Vanali Dies With Name ‘Ernest’ on Lips from Avalanche FIVE SHIPS, TO PLY TO ALASKA Striking Maritime Unions Verbally Agree to Man Vessels for North ONE CRAFT ALREADY PLACED IN CHARTER Col. Ohlson_Expected to Leave San Francisco for Seattle Thursday BULLETIN — SAN FRAN- CISCO, Cal, Nov. 25—It is re- ported that a jurisdictional difference between (wo unions today delayed the completion of arrangements to move emer- gency supplies to Alaska. Col. Ohlson said the ILA had declined to sign the agreement pending the clearing up of “just a little point.” SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., Nov. 25. —Col. Otto F. Ohlson, General Man- ager of the Alaska Railroad, an- nounced last night that the strik- ing maritime unions had agreed verbally to man and work vessels the - Alaska - Railroad will charter, under an Executive Order of Pres- ident Roosevelt, to relieve the food| shortage in Alaska. Five Ships Needed Col. Ohlson told the newsmen, af-| ter a conference with members of the strike committee, that “we will need five ships. One, the Arctic, of the Alaska Packing Company, has been obtained. The Arctic will probably leave ' here for Seattle within two days.” Col. Ohlson said he would leave Thursday for Seattle where he will charter two more vessels and two more will be obtained later for Al- aska. In a later talk to the newsmen, Col. Ohlson said members of the striking unions will man the Arc- tic which will sail for Seattle with- in three days and load at Seatt] “The Arctic,” continued Mr, Ohl- son, “will make twelve day voyages to Seward and another vessel will be chartered at Seattle. Also the Bureau of Indian Affairs motorship | Boxer will be used. Wages to Be Paid “The union men will be paid the wages Alaska fishing operators were paid last season, than the prevailing pay of the ships’ personnel on deep sea ves- sels. ‘“The Arctic, with 3,000 cubic feet of cold storage space, will cany fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, flour, mail, also general cargo business, taking passengers as well as freight. “The Boxer will leave Seattle| within four or five days, taking sup-' plies where the need is most acute, particularly Sitka, Cordova, Unal- aska and Akutan and also will take 4,000 sacks of mail at Junedu for the Westward. The Boxer will then be used for an auxiliary ser- vice between Seward and points to the Westward, including Kodiak Is- land.” McGrady Pleased Edward F. McGrady, Asslstantlson Secretary of Labor, said he was decidedly pleased over the solution | of the Alaska situation. New Negotiations The spokesman for one of the three employer ‘groups of the Ship Owners’ Association and Pacific Operators of coastwise freighters, said there might be negotiations at a meeting today with the unions to handle about tem percent of the coast’s marine cargoes in 75 smal- ler ships that are available. It is understoood that only ships not controfled by firms involved in the strike, will be chartered for coastwise traffic including Alaska. BOXER TO SAIL SEATTLE, Nov. 26—J. J. Lich- tenwalner, Assistant Purchasing Agent of the Department of the Interior, said the Boxer will sail this week-end. Government em- (Continued on Page Two) slightly higher After Rescue “Ernest” breathed Baby Lorraine Vanali as she closed her eyes for the last time and passed away at St. Ann’s Hospital at 9:20 o'clock last night. She was closer to him than any other person now that her mother lies dead and her father has not been found. It was he who picked her up in the slide and she remembered it as she passed away. When he first called down to her in that mud and muck yesterday afternoon, he asked if she knew who he was. “It'’s Ernest,” she replied in her weak childish voice. Feverish efforts were made by all workers as she said: “I'm tired, why don’t you come and get me?” “I'm alright, but hurry,” she said later. tlived in Juneau with Mr. and Mrs. |year. He had come up from Seal- tle with the father and then Mrs. | vanali brought Lorraine up a few |weeks later. Lorraine’s cousin, John Giovenale, also an A. J. min- er, who has been living in Juneau ing with Ernest and both men lin- gered outside the hospital room last ‘mght until they knew everything possible was being done for her. An hour later they left the hos- | pital to change their clothes and| | returned at 9:15 p. m. Her condi- |tion appeared the same and believ- |ing that the child would live they| llert to send a telegram to Mrs. |Pete Condra, Lorraine’s grand- ymother who lives at Cle Elum, | Washington. As the telegram went out, the |child called for “Ernest” and closed 1her eyes in death. Ernest Mattielli, A. J. miner, had | Vanali and Lorraine for the past| for the past year, had been work-| Most Drmnutu' M omont in S[ulo Dzsastor The exposure and shock of be ing under the slide was more than was possible for a three-year-old to endure and the little spark uf life went out. When the child was found she was. |lying face down on a plank and| | was half covered with a trunk which' was filled with straw. Her left hand was pinned fast by timbers which crushed it badly, and for| forty-eight hours was forced to luyl in the same position by pressure Irmm all sides. As she was picked | |up, the first thing she did was to, ipush the mass of brown curly hnu" |from her face. 1 | Arriving at the hospital she was| able to ask for something to eat.| |she did not cry but stared out 'Jli her large brown eyes as if she was‘ trying to ask the cause of \somen dressed in white hurrying back | and forth with warm milk and wa- | ter, and why two doctors looked' at her so very seriously. | The Vanili family had apparently | just been going out on Sunday when | the slide made its unchallenged| path. For Lorraine had on a pink| silk party dress and some gold| beads. Over this was a pair of ski pants and a green jacket | which kept her warm during thecse | hours under the slide. Debris was| |piled all around her and she was forced to remain in the same posi- tion and was unable to move on| account of her hand being pmnecl by the timbers. | “Mattielli knew she was alive down‘ there and knew her voice. Miners) passing on their way home from; work were told that some one was alive. It was only a matter of miu-‘ utes before mud was being moved; as fast as was hulanly possxble MATANUSKA 18 UNDER ATTACK FROM THOMAS Oklahoma Eator Says Colony Is *Failure” and Other Things States Senator Elmer Thomas, Democrat of Oklahoma, who spent a month on the Alaska Peninsula this last summer with Senators Frazier of North Dakota and Ship- |stead of Minnesota, said the Gov- ‘ernment’s effort to plant a colony in the Matanuska Valley is a “failure.” Senator Thomas said he was con- {vinced that the ambitious home- stead project would “collapse as soon as Federal aid is withdrawn. The experiment is worth every pen- ny it cost because it proved once and for all, that Alaska is not suitable for a large scale of coloni- zation. Two Seasons “The Matanuska Valley has only two seasons—July and winter. “Because the sun shines 24 hours a day during the brief summer sea- , vegetables grow in lush abund- ance but the rapid growth makes them watery, virtually worthless for marketing. “The Matanuska radishes tasted ilike icicles and the potatoes have to be dried out in a slow oven be- fore they can be stored even for a short time. 5 ‘Ready to Quit “One third of the 400 families in the settlement is ready to quit al- though they will stick it out as long as the Government pouring money into the !Beventy-flve families have gone.” Senator | Thomas estimated that the scheme has cost about $14,000 per family. He further said the homesteaders will never be able to Tepay the Government or even sup- port their own schools. Senator Thomas concluded: “Their produce cannot be sold read- ily, even in the local markets, be- cause most Alaskans can buy bet- ter vegetables from the U. S. and about - at the - same cost.” project. already » REPLY BY GOVERNOR “If he is correctly quoted, Senator ‘| Thomas has illustrated the mistake that is often made by those who ar-! rive at conclusions and render judg- mtwuhoucgem‘uwlhebotum of things,” Gov. John W. Troy. said, today, in commenting upon Senator| Elmer Thomas's remarks about| (Continued on Page Two) { WASHINGTON, Nov. 25.—United keeps| Eager hands have just reached into the avalanche debris and brought little three-year-old Lorraine Vanali again into the light of Holding her in his arms is Ernest Mattielli, long time friend of the Vanali family, and Lorraine’s pal. To the right of Matteilli is The remarkable picture was taken by Fred Ordway of day. Dave Femmer and in the center with his back to the camera is E. L. Gruber. LEGIuN FuRcEs Ordway’s, Times, Wide- World. Lorraine died later in the hospital. Families Cared For—Aux- iliary Women Serving Lunches, Tired Workers At a meeting of the local Red| Cross chapter yesterday afbemoan,! Chairman John Newmarker was.| authorized to go ahead and care for all refugees from the avalanche which required assistance and today reported three families had been |served and all others had been con-| tacted to find what could be done. The Chairman emphasized that no hesitancy should be felt in noti- flying him of what the Red Cross might do to help. He reported that ample funds were available locally to care for the situation so far and| that the organization probably | would not have to ask outside assis- tance from western headquarters in San Francisco. Chief Newmarker had warm praise for the work of the American Le- glon and its Auxiliary as he re- ported how the veterans and Aux- iliary women immediately came to assistance. Last night again the Legion women served coffee and sandwiches through the night just as they have been doing since the disaster struck Sunday night. Le- gionnaires are to be seen at every service they are called upon to doAI - e GERMANY, JAPAN TOWAGE FIGHT ON COMMUNISM BERLIN, Nov. 25—Germany and Japan have signed an agreement directed against the Communist In- ternationale, agreeing to inform each about Communist activities and combat Communism. The agreement is effective today and continues for five years. View of um lwle in the slh‘le ruins from which little I..orralne Vanali was resoued last night only to die later in the hospital. Around the meager list of flashlights in the immediate foreground just about to reach in and get the child out are Ernest Mattielli Dr. William P. Blanton, Dave Femmer and E. L. Gruber. (Photo by Ordway's, T imes, Wide-World.) Is SWEPT UFF \Pomt Gore, Cook Inlet, and that same time as the Discoverer. He . i | all Mfeboats on the port side were described the storm as the worst he| ©AIRDANKS, Alaska, Nov. 25.— | also lost. ever experienced. ‘The warehouse and clothing stock BUAT To DEATH smm'; body was not recovered s, ot lownéd by J. R. Fowle has been ship Discoverer, teiephoned to his!chorage. The trip generally takes, local office yesterday afternoon a day and a half or two days. from Seward, that Second Mate Capt. Berger said he would await Barney Smith, aged 40, was lost the arrival of the Motorship Kasi- | RUSSIA’S VIEWS |overboard in a heavy storm, off lof which left Anchorage at the The Soviet Republic contends the agreement is a military alliance and last Saturday refused to sign an agreement allowing Japan to fish in the waters of Eastern Siberia. The present fish agreement expires PRICE TEN CENT? LIST OF DEATH CROWS AS WORK MOVES FORWARD Lorraine Verali. Pete Bot- tello, Mrs. George Lee Found in Wreckage CHILD LIVES TWO HOURS AFTER RESCUE Pitiful Tale of S Suffering Re- vealed with Locating of Small Child The body of Oscar Laito of Sitka, who had been rooming at the Matson Boarding House while here for medical treat- ment, was found shortly after 3 o'clock this afternon in the slide wreckage. The recovery brings the death list to nine. All bodies are at Carter’s. Three more bodies have been re- covered from the wreckage on Low- er Front Street left in the wake of ‘he Sunday avalanche, bringing the total dead to ‘eight and leaving the known missing at seven. As hope for finding others alive diminished today officials estimated the death ‘otal as at least 15 persons. Lorraine Vanali, 3-year-old daugh- er of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Vanali, both believed victims of the disas- er, Mrs, Vanali’s body having \ready ‘been removed, was recov- red from the debris at approxi- nately 7:30 last night still alive. She died in St. Ann's Hospital two q0urs later, the victim of expusure | ¥hich brought on pneumonia, The body of Pete Bottello, man- zled’ beyond recognition, was taken j| from near the same spot shortly oefore noon today. He was lying on ‘he buried sidewalk leading up the hill from Franklin Street in the Nickinovich Apartment wreckage. The little girl was in a small hole formed by broken timbers, one of her hands imprisoned under one of the timbers. This afternoon the body of Mrs. George Lee was found in the same mass of ruins. She bore only minor injuries but apparently had been lead since the first crash. Suffered Terribly The child must have suffered be- yond comprehension. The huge tim- ber held her arm fast, and the small place she was in gave her no place to move her tiny body. Examina- tion later revealed blisters on the back of her little legs, showing that flames had licked viciously and persistently at her tender flesh. Ugly black bruises gave evidence that she had suffered in other ways, probably being buffeted around as the mighty cascade of dirt and rock roared down the mountainside on its mission of death, sweeping ail before it and leaving suffering, death and destruction in its wake. It was only a miracle, a harrowing sickening one, that kept Lorraine Vanali alive through those terrify- ing 48 hours of living death. The Shout of Life The most dramatic moment of the catastrophe thus far came a few minutes before 4 o'clock yes- ‘erday afternoon when shouts came ‘rom the frantically digging rescu- 'rs that a child’s voice could be 2eard. Muckers coming off shift 1t the mine heard the challenge and immediately threw down Lheir 'amps and coats and grabbed handy tocls. Drilled to emergency and the imminence of death through work and training under- greund, they joined the others tearing into the stubborn debrs ke mad. Faster, faster flew the shovels. Hardened. calloused inen, 0o oft'n have flirted with death, wiipped to frenzied heights f energy as they heard that plain- tive little volce call for “mother.” Hon~ was rekindled. There was still life in that horrible mass of arth, rock and trees. Around the town went the report that a child was being found alive. | From all directions came men, wo- men and children; the urge of hu- manity baring its soul in time of disaster; buoyed up by hope of re- covery of a little child. Men Worked Like Mad Experts at such work declared it |was a job of from two and a half to three hours to reach the child, The crowd grew larger, and er. Men shoveled and dug giants. Nothing could deter now. Even men loading dirt at the re their' pdee .and constantly ctmberslundlne'w vulldh-unm(uflunexteum years. rger sald the 90 -foor CHERNIKOFF IN HOSPITAL ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Nov. 52— "ralt earrymg 13 passengers bound Boris Chernikoff, Juneau CCC| |damaged in a mysterious fire, The for Seattle, limped into Seward worker, entered St. Ann’s Hosplw,lcu is estimated. at probably '$3,000 Capt. Heinie Berger, of the motor-| after eight days at sea from An- today for medical treatment. - > l‘mh no insurahce. Lo { —~ ‘upward towdrd the' spot whfig litfle LT far outskirts of the slide quickened . }