The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, July 28, 1948, Page 1

VOL. LXVIIL, NO. 10,950 U.S. SUPER CRASHES ON HE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” —— JUNEAU, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 1948 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS Hundreds Die In Chemical Plant Ex Neglect of Alaska by Federal - Government Ended, Declares Davis; Pregram Is Outlined SCORES ARE INJURED IN BIG BLAST Flames Shoot Up Two| Miles Info Sky - Blaze Keeps Firemen Away MANNHEIM, Germany, July 28. —I{M—Possibly 500 persons were kill- ed or injured ‘today in a devastat- ing explosion in the I. G. Farben Chemical Plant at Ludwigshafen, a U. 8. Military Government official announced. “First estimates of 250 to 300 appear too low,” the official said. Ludwigshafen is in the French QOccupation Zone, across the Rhine from this American-occupied city. French officials on the scene re- ported to U. 'S. Military ‘Govern- ment men here that the explosion oceurred in a’ known as; the “nitrate building.” “Flames shot two miles into the sky when the: explosion took place,” said an officer in Mann- heim, a Rhine from Lud- wigshafen, 3 Hundreds of windows in Mnnn-l shed by the concus- | ‘o~ from the French to the American zohe. { across '’ The plant’ was & pranch of the sprawling I. G. Farben Industry chemical trust kefore the combine was split by a Four Power order. It wa$ 'the main factory in Lud- wigshafen and covered several acres. U. 8. officials here said the plant was burning furiously two hours after the explosion. The plant has been reported mak- ing dyes. Completely unconfirmed reports in recent months have stated that French authorities were making in the plant high explosion propulsion / fluids for experiments with V-1 and V-2 missiles. Fiames Roar i Mannheim police headquarters sald “many” persons were injured in Mannheim by concussion from the explosion. Some 300 policemen were sent from here to help rescue work. Flames roared through the plant, preventing firemen from getting anywhere near enough to make an exact estimate of casualties. “From my window here in Mann- heim, the smoke cloud over the plant seems to be about a half mile square,” an American official said. Beveral buildings apparently have blown up, but it is impossible to tc{l definitely because the smoke obscures everything.” jat BENSON REQUESTS FEDERAL ECONOMIC SURVEY OF ALASKA Labor Commissi.oner Seeks Probe Info Living Costs, Wages, Other Problems Henry Benson, Territorial’ Com- missioner of Labor, returned on board the Aleutian after a two- month combined vacation and business trip. He conferred with officials of the U. S. Department of Labor in Washington, D. C. for ten days, attended the Republican National Convention in Philadel- phia, and visited briefly with his! parents in Illinois. Benson submittec a request to the Bureau of Labor Statistics that a complete economic survey of Alaska be conducted in the near future. The survey woull include statistics on wages, cost-ol-living, and summaries on working condi- tions and industrial relations. An appropriation bill .is scheduled to be introduced in Congress to en- able the Bureau to go ahead on a survey. Benson said of the survey: “We felt ‘much of the controversy in negotiating working agreements would be eliminated in such a fac- tual study, since under present conditions, it isn't rate of pay! which is in dispute, but what the real wages are when cost of liv- ing- 0+ the Territery-is taken consideration.” Similar surveys have been made regular intervals in Hawali, since its formation as a territory, and have proved invaluable. Ben- son said that such a survey would be helpful in further considera-| ticn of statehood for Alaska. Cost-of-Living Survey ! A more complete cost-of-living! survey. will also be inaugurated un- der the Territorial Department of Labor. Benson said that several different surveys have been made {since 1943, and at his request the!go; Bureau of Labor Statistics plan to tie all existing surveys together, so the information will be statistically accurate and reliable. After this work is completed the Territorial Department of Labor will add cur- rent statistical information. The cost-of-living surveys made in the Territory will pe publisued quarterly and the report will in- clude comparisons with Seattle and the 56 city averages, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mediation Service Benson worked out a co-opera- tive program with the U, S. Med- iation and Conciliation Service, | whereby the joint services of the Territorial Department of Labor (Continued On Page Two) | The Washington| The plant, a six-story structure, appeared to have been completely wrecked. Merry - Go- Round By DREW PEARSON 1 (Copyrisht, 1048, by The Bell Byndicate, IC.. 18 BUILDINGS DEMOLISHED LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany, July 28.—P—A great explosion and fire wrecked a large I. G. Farben chemical works here today, leaving 500 to 800 persons missing and be- lieved dead by police estimates. Possibly 2,000 others were injured in the greatest catastrophe in Eu- rope since the war. An unofficial estimate from U. S. headquarters in Heidelberg, plac- ed the dead at “thbusands.” In all, 18 buildings of the sprawling works were destroyed or damaged severely. The plant employed 22,-| 000 persons. Police at the scene estimated 500 to 800 persons are missing. It was difficult to see how many coul® have survived who were caught in the center of the holocaust. Flames still were devouring the huge plant five hours after the ex- plosions. No one could get near enough the center of destruction to make a count. Police said 1,000 persons were in hospitals in Ludwigshafen alone, 300 in Heidelberg and 300 in Mann-! heim. Others were taken to Karl-, sruhe and Speyer. As night fell, ambulances con- tinued to carry burned and injured away. ’ ASHINGTON— President Tru- man got some interesting suggest- ions on the Berlin crisis the other day from James Patton, rugged boss of the National Farmers Union, who urged him to “do something dramatic.” “If T were President,” blurted the Rocky Mountain farmer, “I would call Premier Stalin on the phone, tell him we had a bad situation on our hands and say I wanted to meet him in Berlin to talk it over.” “Jim,” the President smiled, “T can't be dramatic. I'm not the dramatic type.” But he dssured the farm leader that “ways can be worked out” to settle the explosive Berlin question without war. I Patton had one more question on the international situation. “How close,” he asked solemnly, “are we to war?” / ‘The newspapers, . Truman replied, have overplayed the Berlin ten- sion. The Russiuns, he was con- vinced, do not want war. “And we certainly don't want war,” added the President. Note: Patton also told the Pres- (Continued on Page Four) Republicans Plan Program For (_ongre‘ss Committees to Study Re- quests Made by Presi- dent in Message WASHINGTON, July 28—P— Senate Republicans decided today to have committees study Presi- dent Truman's requests for hous- ing and anti-inflation legislation and to make an effort to outlaw the poll tax. Chairman Millikin (R-Colo) of the Republican - Conference an- nounced the decision aiter an al- most three-hour closed session of the Republican Senators. “It was decided to take up the anti-poll tax bill, and that we will press the matter to decision,” Mil- likin told reporters. . “We will make every effort to pass the bill.” Southern Democrats have prom- ised to filibuster against it — a move that possibly would block in- definitely other action by the Sen- ate. Millikin said the Republicans also agreed that the appropriate com- mittees will consider the specific poipts in Mr. Truman’s message to Congress yesterday. “Eméigetey Legislstion They agreed to act, he said, on anything “of an emergency char- acter and of ‘national importance.” One other qualification, Milli-i kin added, is that legislation con- sidered must be capable of being “properly processed withing the time { permitted to an emergency ses-| sion.” “We were agreed that we should not stay here long enough to inter- fere with the proper conduct of the campaign,” Millikin said, but add- ed that no adjournment time was Early Adjournment Republican leaders have laid plans for adjournment as_‘‘soon as possible”—probably next week or the week after. Earlier, Senator Wherry (R-Neb).' acting majority leader, said the GOP Senators agreed to a 24-hour delay ir, any attempt to bring up| the anti-poll tax bill. As the GOP leaders laid plans for ! the speedy adjournment, they an- nounced complete willingness to let the voters decide in November whether they had done the right thing. “Sabotage” Democrats promptly shouted “sabotage.” They accused the ma- Jority party of setting out delib- erately to wreck the President’s| program for anti-inflation and housing legisjation which he plead- ed for yesterday to avert “anotherf great depression.” Privately scme Republicans ques- tioned the wisdom of their leaders’ strategy, which GOP Senator Rob- | ertson of Wyoming said had been arrived at after consultation with Gov. Thomas E. Dewey of New York, the party’s Presidential nom- inee. STEAMER MOVEMENTS Princess Norah scheduled to sail from Vancouver 9 tonight. Alaska scheduled to sail Seattle tomorrow. Baranof "scheduled to sail from Seattle July 31. George Washington scheduled to sail from Seattle July 31. Palisana scheduled southbound at 11 a. m. tomorrow. Princess Louise scheduled to ar-| rive 8 a. m. Friday, sailing south one hour later. i Aleutian scheduled southbound Sunday night or early Monday. — e —— FERN II IN WITH COD I —_— 1 The Fern II, big halibut fisher, was in at Cold Storage yesterday with 18,000 pounds of cod and a catch of 2,200 pounds halibut, B . IDAHO PEOPLE from fhlh.Alacks _continually TO ZONE ALASKA FOR PARCEL POST THIS SEPTEMBER High U. 5. Post Office Offi- cial Makes Promise of Lower Ppckage Rate - Alaska will be zoned for Parcel Post rates this year, says Robert S. Burgess, Deputy Second Assistant U. S. Postmaster General in charge of Air Postal Transport, who visited Juneau overnight on his first trip to the Territory. Burgess said he hopes to have Alaska Parcel Post zones established by Sept. 1, when the new Air Parcel Post bill 'is scheduled to go into effect. Burgess is accompanied by A. D.j Lawrence, General Superintendent of Railway Mail Service at Seattle and A. O. Willoughby, Regional Su- perintendent of Airmail Service for the western states and the Pacifie area. Willoughby directed the first scheduled mail delivery by helicop- ter in the United States. The area serviced by helicopters includes 39 towns in Los Angeles County. Burgess and his two companions will also investigate other U. 8. Postal services in the Territory. He said they are extremely satisfied with Alaska’s air mail service which is completely different than other U. S. air mail service. He said that regular foreign and domestic aiy) mail service are routine functio protlems which, so far, the Post Cffice Department has been able to meet. Lawrence will pay particular at- tention to surface transportation problems, He will investigate the possibility of re-establishing boat mail service to the Aleutian Islands from Seward. On the subject of dis- patching regular mail from Seattle via slow freight vessels, Lawrence explained that there are not suffi- cient regularly scheduled boats to Alaska to avoid the situation of sometimes seeing old mail arrive be- fore later mails. He said that mail must be sent by any available means. Burgess and Willoughby will ke in the Territory about ten days, travel- ing as far North as Point Barrow and visiting as many places as pos- sible. Lawrence will leave them at Anchorage for a trip to the Aleu- tians and will be in Alaska some- what longer, Lawrence usually comes to the Territory each year. The group was scheduled to leave here this afternoon. e IDENTIFY GIRL WHO GAVE TIP T0 FBI ON RED ACTIVITIES NEW YORK, July 28.—(P— The ip led to in- —_— CONSIDER JUNEAU ON (G OFFICE for District Headquart- ers Location i Juneau is still under considera- hlon as the possitle location of |proposed District Headquarters for the U. S. Coast Guard in Alaska. That was the impression gained to- day from Captain Alfred C. Rich- mond, Chief of Coast Guard Plan- ning and Control. Captain Richmond returned here from the Westward last evening with Rear Admiral Joseph Stika, Com- District at Seattle, and members ot & Coast Guard investigating com- mittee from Washington, D.C., who have been touring Alaska to deter- mine the possibility of re-establish- ing the 17th Coast Guard District in the Territory. Captain Richmond is the man who has more to say than any other person about Coast Guard plans and cperations. While he has not de- finitely formed an opinion on the | re-establishment of the Alaska Dis- trict, he is favorably impressed. by the advantages as compared with the disadvantages. “He was also seriously impressed by iceruln points favoring Juneau as the location of the proposed head- |Quarters, He agrees that its central location and closeness to the Ter- ;ritorial Capital, with all of its gov- ernment offices, carries considerable weight toward influencing putting the headquarters here. Another strong argument is the promise by 1Col. T J. Tully, Commanding Officer of the Alaska Communications Sys- {tem, that a direct teletype line could |be connected between proposed Ju- neau headquarters and the Coast Guard’s already existing radio com- .munication facilities at Ketchikan. Needs Office Space So far, sufficient office space has inot yet been located here which |could accommodate the headquar- |ters staff, he declared, and this fac- itor, alone, may be the determining \element as to a ckoice between cit- ies. The Juneau Chamter of Com- merce will be asked to make a further study of possible office space Also under consideration are Ketchikan, Kodlak and. Anchorage with the First City probably in the lead. If the change is to be made. it will more than likely take place (next Jan. 1, said Richmond. The ]hendquarters would employ about 50 or 60 men. Nothing else bul offi- |ces would be affected, by the change |The Coast Guard does not contem- 'plate moving any of its present base facilities, The visitors were scheduled to Capital City Not Ruled Out ! mandant of the 13th Coast Guard ! in order to overcome this obstacle.! MUSCLEIN BY RUSSIA BLOCKED Western Powers Prevent Soviet Efforts to Butt in on Berlin Govt. (By The Associated Press) The Western Allies countermand- ed today two Russian efforts tb muscle in and destroy the elected City government of blockaded Ber- lin. The Commandants of the U, S, Britain and France advised Mayor Louise Schroeder the Russians had no right to order her to discharge Johannes Stumm, the new police chief. She promptly told the Rus-‘ sians that inter-allied laws forbade her to follow their directive., .. The Western Powers also told the +Mayor the Soviét Comimandant has no authority to install one Paul| Letsch to the important post of | deputy head of the City Food De- | j partment. 8uch actions require un- ) animous assent of the Allied Kom- mandatura, from which the Rus- sians have walked out. The Western Powers hope to learn soon through their Ambass-, ll 1 adors to Moscow whether Russia | really wants to negotiate an ac-| ceptable settlement of German is- sues. Chances are they will discov- er this in approaching talks with| Foreign Minister Molotov. If there' appears to be a chance of a seme-; ment, the Four Power Foreign' Ministers’ Council might meet be- fore the late September meeting of the United Nations General As-i | | sembly in Paris. { to Moscow, Walter Bedell Smith,' stopped over a day in Berlin en- |route to Russia from London talks. He is likely to exchange views with Gen. Lucius D. Clay, U. S. Mili-' tary Governor in Germany. - - H | b a BT L .y e ., * WEATiE® REPORT ¢ . (U, 8. WEATHER BUREAU) ® Temperatures for 24-hour period o | ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 28.— | m»—An Interior Department official declared yesterday that neglect of Alaska by the Federal government has ended. James P. Davis, Director of Ter- riteries and Insular Possessions, made the observation in addressing the Anchorage Chamber of Com- merce. He outlined a Federal program for development of the Térritory through road construction, open- ing of new lands to settlement, de- velopment of power, rehabilitation of the Alaska Railroad and other projects. Davis said that wne major part of the trunk highway system to the Territory will be hard surfaced under a $40,000,000 appropriation for Alaska roads. He reported also that the Bur- eau of Reclamation is studying the Eklutna hyro-electric system with a view to developing all the pow- er required in the Anchorage area. Two colonization projects are planned in Alaska, he said—one on the Kenai Peninsula, the other at Dunbar; north of Nenana. “These projects have not taken definite form yet,” Davis added. “Legislation authorizing - them. has keen introduced in Congress.” The government official said the program for rehabilitation of the Alaska Railroad would lead to low- er operating costs and, as a re- sult, to lower ireight tariffs. 13 MEN DIE IN INDIANA MINE BLAST Ind., July 28.—@/ probed the PRINCETON, ~Grim inspectors seeking to learn the cause of an‘ explosion which killed 13 miners | yesterday uflt-rnut_m. It was the second serious explo- sion in eight months at King's. The previous blast, last November, caused no deaths but was followed by extensive fires, which closed the mine for more than two months. ‘The mine had been closed again last week because of water seep- age. It had been inspected Sun- I,blonde “spy” whose dictments of Communist party offi-, cials has been identified as Eliza- |1eave here this afternoon. The group beth T. Bentley. inclufles Captain Clarence H. Peter- . New York newspapers cdrriea|son and Lieutenant Commander her name and said she was the|Roderick Y. Edwards, members of the woman who hasbeen subpoenaed tocOmmittee, and H. E. Merrick Staff testify in secret before the House Committee on Un-American Activ- ities investigating “espionage activ- ities in the government.” Her address was not revealed, but she was desctibed as a sec- retary-stenographer in a New York | business house. The World-Telegram quoted her as saying “I am not enthusiastic about the publicity I shall now re- celve but, just as I went to tbe FBI and later appeared before the grand jury, I will now cooperate witd the committee and any other American agencies which feel I can be of service.” STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, July 28—(®—Clos- ing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 3%. American Can 85, Anaconda 37%, Curtiss- Wright 11%, International Harvest- er 30%, Kennecott 58%, New York Central 17%, Northern Pacific 23%, U, 8. Steel 79%, Pound $4.03'i. Sales today were 840,000 shares. Assistant to the Senate Appropria- tions Committee, and W. E. John- son, Treasury Department Budget Officer. Captain N. S. Haugen, Com- mander of the Alaska Section of the Coast Guard, and Commander Leon . H. Morine, Coast Guard Morale Offi- cer, also made the trip here, CAPTAIN C. A. LAW HM(S ANTIGONISH SENDS HIS THANKS A letter was received here today {from Lieutenant Commander C. An- thony 'Law, Captain of HMCS An- tigonish, a Canadian frigate which visited Juneau. during the Fourth of July holiday. Captain Law wrote to Lieutenant’ Commander Edward P. Chester, Jr., Naval Aide to the Governor, thanking Chester, Mayor W. E. Hendrickson and all other Juneauites for the hospitality shown | Captain Law was extremely grate- |ful for the many kindnesses shown to his men and himself during their Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Schults and| Averages today are as follows:|stay in Juneau and expressed the Irene Mitchell of Idaho Falls are, stopping at the Baranof Hotel.' industrials 185.15, rails 61.45, util- ities 35.19. ,hope of re-visiting here in the fu- ture, to the Canadians during their visit. ! @ (Past 24 hours ending /:30 a.m. todey ® ® 0o 0 0 0.0 7 % 0 0 0 e ——— f 'BOEING T0 BUILD THIRTY BOMBERS | FOR AIR FORCES WASHINGTON, July 28.—#— The Air PForce says that produc- {tion of 30 new B-50C model bomb- ers on order will be spread over three plants of the Boeing Aircraft Company, two at Wichita and one ‘at Seattle. H The B-50C is an improved ver- sion of the first model, with an improved power plant. Details of the power plant are not dis- closed. The original “A” model juses four Pratt and Whitney en- gines, each developing between 3,000 and 3,500 horsepower. Boeing also has a contract for 132 B-50D models, a slightly chang- ed version of the B-50B. : xf]n?yl‘:]:e:fia_o. tfifxz:’:;‘f’gsz : day by state mine inspectors and 4 niminiufn 88 . had been revpened only yesterday. ke Airpo'rt . Maximum, 55; e Yhe dead and injured were mem- & taintsE 40 ° bers of a single loading unit which b F O'E ECAST o Was on the lowest level of Indiana’s (Juneau und Vicinity) o deepest coal shaft, 433 feet under- o Variable cloudiness and e Bround. o light rain showers tonight ® There were 176 men in the mine ® and Thursdsy, Warmer on ® at the time, but other crews were o Thursday. £ o N0t endangered. e 1In Junesu — 78 inches: o One of those killed, Pit Boss Ray o since July'1, 540 inches. o Willlams, was one of two men cited & ey Mm“' SUTM iatiedt for bravery by Gov. Ralph P. Gates o since July 1 3_‘,;0 Atishas. 5 last November. Williams and Ever- . PRECI’PITATION o ©it Jordan fought the fire at that time and helped other miners es- cape, 2ND AWOL SAILOR TELLS HIS PART IN ROBBERY - KILLING VANCOUVER, Wash., July 28.— (M—Police reported a confession to- day from the second of two AWOL sailors accused of killlng a umon bubiness agent in a robbeéry. 8gt. James Coshar of the Wash- ington State Patrol said Harold Raymond Coe, 17, Camas, Wash,, signed a confession, corroborating previous admissions by D. Lillard, Los Angeles. The two told of hitch-hiking a ride with Willlam O. Pischer, 53,| business agent fqr a Portland ma- rine union, and killing him in an attempted robbery last weekend, Coshar said. WORLD FLIGHT plosion B-29 GOES CRASH;ONE SURVIVOR [American Superforiress | Takes Plunge Affer . Take-off at Aden ADEN, July 28—(M—An American B-29, one of three making a circuit of the elobe, crashed into the sea last night after taking off from thie, port on the south coast of Arabia. One survivor—identified only as sergeant Gustafson—was reported picked up by a local fisherman, who brought him te shore. He now is in the RAF Hospital and reported rest- ing comfortably. (Capt. Percy H. Kramer, Public Information Officer at Davis-Mon- than Field in Tucson, Ariz, the ships’ home field, issued a list or the men aboard the three planes last Thursday night, which included M- Sgt. Sigyer R. Gustafason, Norwood, Mass. (Col, J. C. Selser, Commandant of Davis-Monthan Field, said two of the planes had 18 men aboard and the other bhad. 16.) ‘The other two planes returned to Aden. The crash occurred about a mile off shore, l‘u'::: three big planes left the Air, {days g6 m‘m,’ ; ed a “routine long distance tral-.. ing flight, It was the first around- the-world, attempt for B-20's. Oné of the planned stops was Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, Alaska. . | (Members of the crew of the plane |When it left Tucson, Ariz, included M-Sgt. Kenneth 8, Selleg, Hoquiam, | Wasn., flight engineer. Lt. Col. !Charles C. Pulliam, Huntington, W. Va., was the plane commander). - e - - TRAGIC DROW ENDS FISHING TRIP NEAR KETCHIKAN KETCHIKAN, Alaska, July 28—(® (BERLIN)—The U.S. Ambassador gepths of King’s coal mine today —An attempt to land a big fish over the stern of his cabin cruiser led to the drowning of Glen Katzen- berger of Bremerton while his daughter swam desperately -toward him with a life preserver. Mrs. Eva Katzenberger, the wid- ow, reported the tragedy to Ketchi- |kan authorities last night. She said it occurred Monday at Myers Chuck, 30 miles north of here. She sald the 43-year-old electri- clan and radioman fell into the water after climbing onto a step on the stern of their cruiser, the Glen- eva, to land the fish. She said she threw life preservers toward him and tried to swing the boat around. As the current carried the pre- servers away from her tather, 15- year-old Donna Katzenberger jump- ed, in with another. She swam to- ward her father as he pursued one of the life preservers. He went down tefore the girl could reach him. Theéir koat, the Gleneva, was in Juneau for several days, moored at the Small Boat Harbor, this | month, and Mr. and Mrs. Kattzen- berger made many friends while jcruising in the waters near here. Man Shadows Bear; |Bear Shadows Man; Thus Ends Story ST. HELENS, Ore., July 28— ‘This is the story of George A. Nelson and the bear, and ho¥% they came out even. Neison, ex-Columbia County agent, was surveying his property near here when he sighted the bear. He followed it cautiously through brush until the animal climbed a hill. His curiosity satisfied, Nelson walked away. X 3 Then the bear followed Nelson cautiously through brush until the man, sighting the bruin behind him |climted a tree. ¥ This curiosity satistied, the bear walked away,