The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, February 17, 1949, Page 1

THE DAITLY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LXXIL, ND. 11,122 Senate Passes Fish Trap Ta FIRE RAZES BUILDINGS, HAWK INLET Exploding nSTove Staris Blaze-Fire Fighters Save Cannery Building Fire touched off by an explod- ing stove which destroyed the com- missary amd the cook and meat heuse of the P. E. Harris Co, can- nery at Hawk Inlet had burned out early this morning, leaving only blackened ashes where two build- ings had stood. The plant itself, valued at from $1.500,000 to $2,000,000 was saved from the flames by the efforts of several men flown to the scene within 20 minutes after the emer- geney call came through, and by the fact that building roofs were covered with from three to four feet of snow. | Burned buildings south of the main cannery installations housed the bunk house, laundry, work! house, cook house and meat house, and also contained all the personal effects of Mr. and Mrs. Leo Rhode, | caretakers. W. C. Arnold, manager of the Ajaska Canned Salmon Industry,! Inc., who flew to the scene from here early this morning, said that the buildings had burned out com- pletely and there appeared to be' no danger of further fire. Also aboard the Alaska Coastal plane which went to Hawk Inlet this morning were John Hermle, Juneau grocer, Curtis Shattuck, insurance representative, and Walter Smith, Empire newsman and photographer. Smith said that a previous report that Indian houses south of the plant had burned was false. Load- ing platforms alongside the burned buildings and also trestles and walks between the two structures went up in flames, he said. Insurance Representative Shat- tuck had no estimate of the value ot the destroyed property. Woman Escapes Fire Alone in the commissary build- iug at the time of the fire was the wife of caretaker Leo Rhode, who was in Juneau this morning very much unnerved after escaping from the blazing structure to put through an emergency radio call to Juneau for aid. She was brought into Juneau last nigcht by an Alaska Coastal Air- liues plane which arrived at the scene of the fire just a short 20 minutes after she put in the call for aid. Stove Explodes According to Mrs. Rhode, she was ! talking over the telephone in the, rear of the building when the stove in the office near the front explod- ed, spraying oil in all directions. She said it was about 3:30 p. m. She said she managed to crawl to the only exit and made her way, through snow piled 17 feet high| between buildings “to the radio shack which was about three blocks distant. Escaping from the bmld-; | { | (Continued on Page 2) The Washington, Merry - Go-Round! By DREW PEARSON (Copyright, 1949, by Bell Byndicate, Inc.) ASHINGTON— Béing a Senator isn't the easiest job in world—as gracious Mrs. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine has-found out. It has its embarrassing mo-} ments. Mrs. Smith, however, is equal to| almost any occasion, and recently wrote to Arizona’s shy Senator Carl | Hayden, requesting women’s lava- | tory accommodations somewhere within easy range of the Senate. While - there are facilities for 95 other Senators, Mrs. Smith pointed out, there are none for the 96th Senator—a lady. Mrs. Smith also put in a plea for a green paint job in her suite of offices, rather than the standard, unfeminine cream color. Upon receipt of the letter, Sena- tor Hayden called the lady from Maine on the phone, hemmed and hawed nervously. “I took the matter up with Mrs. Caraway (the only other long-term lady Senator and now retired),” he lady the i | | Den Mcthers, Fathers, 6ld and new Cub Masters and the Rotary Scout Committee, on February 8, l JUNEAU, ALASKA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1949 '~ Rofary's Cub Scout Pack No. 311 at Banquet were at a banquet at the Baranof welcoming the Rotary’s Cub Scout Pack. Top row: Mrs. Clayton Polley, Mrs. Leonard Holmgquist, Mrs. Dave Ramsay, Mrs. Floyd Ogden, Mrs. L. E. Iversen, Stan Grummett, Ralph Mize, Svend Hansen, Floyd Ogden, Dave Ramsay, Leonard Holm- quist, L. E. Iversen, Vance Blackwell, Dr. Clayton Polley, Herb Hillerman and Fritchman. Fourth row middle: Brooks, Iverson, Gross, McDowell. Third row: Cooley, Estepp, Baker, Rosenberger, Bolton, Jermain, Neilsen, Polley, Peterson, Crask, Turpin, Harmon, McPhetres, Green, Grummett, Haunsen, Walter and Holmquist. Second row kneeling: Ogden, Wade, Blackwell, Sundborg, Lorenzen, Pegues, Jewett, Braun. First row: Genther, Stratton, Hillerman, Hollingswerth, Whistler, McKinnon, Boddy, Ramsay, Mec- SECRECY IN SPY HEARING LIFTED NOW | (By The Associated Press) At Munich, Germany, the U. S (ainfopposes Confirmation of Waflgren WASHINGTON, Feb. 17. 7lm—‘ Senator Cain (R-Wash.) told the| MONEY FOR AHA HOUSING IS APPROVED By BOB DeARMOND A House bill to appropriate $250,- Army, partially lifting a heavy veil Senate armed service committee to-imo for the Alaska Housing Author- day . Wallgren “conspi y i i ! of seerecy from a spy trial, today |G2Y Mon C. Wallgren “co pcugusl&!u; to use in the construction of requirements demanded” by |moderate cost housinz units, for sale or rent, was approved ty a 16- publicly sentenced Frontisek Klec- ka, 31-year-old waiter on the Or- ient Express,.to 20 years at hard labor. | { The eizht-man U. S. Commission ordered by Gen. Lucius Clay to relax its secrecy, made known the name of the first de- fendant and invited the press to hear the verdict—but it did t reveal the specific charge a: Klecka. Neither would it disclose tail of the testimon; past two days b Tle proceedings slovak spy ring case. Bulgaria has s date for the ti leaders on, cha ing and illegal exchange The indictment of the 15, mem- bers of the United Evangelical Bny. de- n in the d doors n a Czecho- Church, was announced a week ago, |~ just after the trial in Hungary of Josef Cardinal Mindszenty on sim- | ilar charges. | Two Hungarians who fled their country shortly after the Minds- zenty trial, said in'Vienna that they helped forge documents re- fiecting on the Hungarian Primate on orders from the Hungarian pol- ice. They are Laszlo Sulner and his wife, Hanna, now in the custody of Araerican authorities. FIRST PRESIDENT NEW STATE ISRAEL IS INAUGURATED (By The Associated Press) The new-orn State of Israel in- ugurated its first president today. Dr. Chaim Weizmann, 74-year-old Jewish elder statesman, who has served. as /provisional “head of the infant state since its inception last May, formally took office in Jeru- salem. His right hand raised, the head of the first Jewish State in 2,000 years, solemnly swore allegiance to Israel. Thousands of .spectators cheered as Dr. Witzmann drove through the streets of the Holy City to the i a |Grana 1gloo of the Pioneers. It is lacks the job of chairman of the Nation- | al Security Resources Board. | Oprosing the confirmation of the | former covernor of Washington state | Wallgren is “persona non grata” him. | Wallgren has been a clos2 friend | of President Truman since toth served in t wate. He was beaten | tion in 1948 while the state | ing Democratic. the committee that | of the Resources advises the president on both ! and domestic matters, and | a member of the National Secur- | v Council which has direction over | ense orzanizations and the cen- | telligence agency. i t shouldn’t be necessary for me | to state that koth jobs call for an ividual, possessed of great char- courage, capacity and knowl- Cain said. PIONEERS MUST MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR MONDAY IGLOO FEED Mrs. “Lottie Spickett, in charge of the affair, announces that Pioneers must make reservations before Fri- day noon for the difiner to be giv- en next Monday night at 6:30 o~ clock for delegates attending the to edge, expected there will be a large gath- ering so reservations are absolutely necessary in order to make arrange- ments. STEAMER MOVEMENTS Princess Norah scheduled fo sail from Vancouver 9 tonight, Baranof scheduled to sail from Seattle Saturday. Alaska from . west southbound Monday. B o S— STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW \YORK, Feb. 17.—(#—Clos- ing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 3%, American Can 84%, Anaconda 32%, Curtiss- Wright 9, International Harvester scheduled 0 vote in the Senate this morning and now goes to the Governor. . Also passed by the Senate, by a Military | for the $14,000 a year %job, Cain said |14-2 vote, was Senator Anita Gar- nick’s bill to provide equal pay for women doing the same kind of work as men, There was little debate on either bill before passage but the other-! wise dull session wound up with a burst of fireworks when Senator Howard Lyng and John Butrovich took the floor on matters of person- al privilege Both senators blasted a broadcast made last night by radio commenta- tor Mildred Hermann and both ex- pressed regret that the commenta- tor was not in gallery to hes their remarks. “FINGER OF SCORN" “Mrs. Hermann pointed the Im;;cr: of seorn at me for my vote on thej fish trap tax bill,” Senator Lyng said. “She asked how, as Democrati¢ National Committeeman, I could vote contrary to the wishes of my party.” Senator Lyng denied that the party had taken any stand or ex- pressed any views on the trap tax and quoted the party platform adopted at Ketchikan early in 1948 to prove his point. He read the section of the plat- form pertaining to taxes to show that only the three “basic” taxes had heen supported there. A fur- ther quotation from the fisheries olank of the platform failed to show any support for fish trap or any other kind of fisheries taxes. WAS MISQUOTED Senator Butrovich, opening his re- marks ty stating that he doesn’t are what Mrs. Hermann says about um because ‘my skin is as thick s hers,” asserted that he had been misquoted during her radio broad- sast last night. “She quoted-me as saying that I ad been double-crossed by the sal- mon industry in the 1947 session. T did not say that. I did infer that/ a member of the senate had “sold out’ after agreeing in committee to o a certain thing.” Senator Butrovich said that he will ask Mrs. Hermann to make a correction. EQUAL PAY BILL | | | | | ! TOBACCO " MEASURE " APPROVED House Passes Bill af Firs . Night Session—Change Municipal Elections By JIM HUTCHESON In its first night session, the ‘Territorial House of Representa- tives passed ‘five bills last night, {topped by proposals for tobacco jfaxes and revision of municipal felection systems, " The tobacco measure would im- jpose o tax of three cents on the standard pack of cigarettes and all other ! ! mms of tobacco. {Democrat Warren A. Taylor, who dollars a year. sen and Nolan. the House provides three-year stag- 'ar< for one, two or three-year terms eral election. jby Rep. Frank Angerman, Demo- ported into the Territory or within " ~The House. also passed: cluding $500 for the Attorney Gen- drafting. The bill originally pro- | consideration today because of a | assist Congressicnal Delegate Bart- | Washington; | torneys from practicing in justice ! jlowances under unemployment com- a total of 60 per cent. ,tchacco tax bill, Speaker Stan Mc- Adion Against APA | | proportionate taxes on © The House earmarked receipts for ibuilding - and repairing schools. sponsored the measure, estimated it Wwould produce about one million The vote was 20 to 3. The votes azainst were Rep. Barnes, Gunder- Municipal Elections The other major bill adopted by gered terms for city councilmen, gives cities the right to elect may- :and changes elections from April {to October, a week before the gen- i Both bills now go to the Senate. i Earlier, the House passed a bill crat, requiring employers to return costs for any laborer who is trans- {the Territory for a job. The vote !was 18 to 6. &, bill to appropriate $1,300 for ! the Attorney General's office, in- jersl as special compensation for extra legislative counsel and bill- >sed $1,000 for him and Taylor ':ave notice he would move for re- | misunderstanding on the vote; 1+ A bill to appropriate $2500 to lett in costs of entertainment in i bchalf of the Territory’s interests in A bill to prohibit disbarred at- | | ceurts; A bill to provide dependency al- ! pensation, with 20 per cent extra {per dependent but not more than | Tobacco Tax—Schools { In the House consideration of the { Cutcheon expressed the belief that earmarking tne receipts for school (Conuinuéd on énze Two) RN R e By Cannery Workers! [ SEATTLE, Feb. 17—®-A legal action seeking $451,581 damages irom the Alaska Packers Associa- tion has been filed in Superior Court Dy the Cannery Workers and Farm Laborers’ Union, Local 7, and Er- nesto Mangaoang, its business agent. ‘The complaint sald the packers, ;almon cannery operators, paid 70 smployees part of their wages when they returned from Larsen Bay, Alaska, August, 1946, and most of the balance due them in February, 1948. The union asks that the men be paid wages and subsistence for the interval between payments. — e STRIKE LEADERS | EXECUTED, CHINA BHANGHAI, Feb. 17.—®— The newspaper Sun Pao reported today the military garrison executed three bus company employees for leading a strike and disrupting peace dur- ing marital law. The newspaper said the drivers were seized at 3 a.m. today as an |aftermath of yesterdsy‘f bus strike. jtorneys. He said such work is not ~ MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS HOUSE STALLED ON SPECIAL FEE FOR LEGAL WORK legislata;Spend Full Session Arguing Over Bonus for Rivers By JIM HUTCHESON The House ot tied in a knot for | its hour-long session this morning over how much extra compensation should be paid the attorney general for his special services to the legis- | lature. ‘The bill had passed yesterday with the criginal proposal for $1,000 for Attorney General Ralph Rivers cut down to $500 and his secretary's special extra service allowance cut from $300 to $200. It came up again this morning on Rep. Warren Taylor's move for reconsideration. It provoked more argument than| most of the major bills that have passed the House during the session. ‘The ante was finally up to $2,500 in the bill when the noon recess came, after parliamentary maneuvering. Proponents of restoring the figure to $1,000 started the morning ses- sion with arguments about the ex- tra services Rivers has provided for the special and regular sessions, without the aid of any deputies.' They said he had been working on virtually an around-the-clock basis, seven days a 'week, advising legisla~ | tors and drafting their bills. Speak- | er Stanley McCutcheon argued that he had saved the territory a large sum, recause legislators would other-~ wise have had to go to private at- a part of the attorney general's prescribed duties. FOR $500 BONUS Members who argued for the $500 tonus said they thought it was ade- quate; that the attorney general knew the compensation for the of- fice was not large when he took it, and that other department heads also bave had’ to work extra hours. Rep. Frank Angerman twitted his fellow members with the argument in behalf of the $1,000 sum: “We didn't hesitate to vote ourselves ex- tra per diem allowances and spe- cial stamp and stationery money.’ McCutcheon made reference - to legislators having given Rivers rea- son to assume there would be extra compensation for his special services. Rep. Glen Franklin responded that “if any members implied to Rivers that we would compensate (Continued on Page 6) RUNA_WAY FiiERS FROM RUSSIA IN slide towled into the family home, Three to four feet of water covered x Bill 9 to BROKERS SEE | DIM PICTURE FOR ALASKA Claim Taxes Will Add Two Dollars Per Case to ‘Salmon Costs SEATTLE, PFeb. 17— Alaska ! fishing prospects look gloomy this year, according to a trade bulletin by McGovern and McGovern, Se- attle fish brokers reports. It said: “The outlook for Alaska is very dismal due to impending tax mea- sures being prepared by the Terri- torial Legislature, and the fishing restrictions imposed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. “Based on present information, trap license fees, trap fish tax- es, per case taxes, boat taxes and income taxes will add about two doliars per case to the cost of pro- duction. “The income tax bill and tish trap bill have already passed—and the other bills are in the hopper with assurance of passage. With the cost of tinplate up, and labor and fish prices still to be reckoned with, many packers seem ready to call the whole thing off.” TRAFFICIS PARALYZED PACIFIC NW Part of Washington State Lowlands Flooded- Slides Reported ' (By The Assotlated Press) A savage February storm flooded parts of Washington's lowlands yes- terday and piled new slides on old in the mountains, tightening the chokehold on cross-state road and rail travel. Tne weather bureau forecast, how- aver, was for a slackening of wind and rain and a drop in tempera- tures. Mrs. Ray Brown, 39, Port Angeles, was killed when a rain-loosened The little town of Connell, 35 miles northeast of Pasco was par- tially engulfed in flood waters from rapidly melting snow last night. the Pasco-Ritzville road. Both highway and rail transpor- tation across the mountains was still halted by slides. Great Northern and Northern Pacitic moved their Seattle-Spokane trains via south- ward routes and Milwaukee planned to do the same. Spilling over the highways, flood waters isolated six communities in Pysht Valley 70 miles west of Port Angeles. The town of Pysht was be- ing evacuated last night because of { the flood threat, a resident, Andy ¢ Olson, reported. Winds, reaching gust velocity of 71 miles an hour, roared across East- ern Washington and Northern Ida- ho, ripping up trees, damaging Suildings and smashing windows. Heavy winds knocked out light and power lines near Grays Harbor. Hiil-rimmed Burke, Idaho, caught anothex snowslide. Seattle city light crews worked to remove & slide which isolated a crew of employees at the Gorge plant on Skagit -river. Newhalen, Diablo and Ross Dam were isolated when slides piled across the com- pany’s railroad. e Loan Funds fo Blizzard Farmers Given Approval WASHINGTON, Feb. 17.—#— ‘The House ayricultural committee unanimously approved today $44,- 000,000 in loan funds for farmers in the blizzard-battered areas of WAR STATEMENT| NEW YORK, Feb. 17.-(P—Two runaway Russian fliers say that in the event of a Soviet-American war, the Russian people would be con- vinced that they were the defend- ers and not the attackers. The pair, Anatole Barsov and Peter Pirogov, told a news confer- ence that the Russian people have received such a steady stream of reports of American power and un- friendliness that they believe war is inevitable. The fliers, who fled their home- land in a stolen plane, have been in this country two weeks as guests of the Btate Department's “Voice of America” and the Virginia Cham- ser of Commerce. Asked what he thought would happen if they returned to Russia, Pirogov sald: s “First, we would be used as wea- pons of propaganda to write reports of the United States, showing all the bad things. After a few months of freedom, we would be transport- ed to Siberia.” He paused, then added: ‘“Maybe they would skjp the first part.” A SRR New (ardinals May Be Named by Pope (By The Associated Press) Recurrent reports that Pope Pius XII will create new cardinals to fill the west and southwest. ceremonial session of the assembly. Ceremonies took placé in the sha- {24%, Kennecott 48%, New York Central 11%, Northern Pacific 15%, 1n support of her bill for equal pay It added thal the garrison court ] for women, Senator Garnick Guoted rflfll morning sentenced them to 10| 14 vacancies in the sacred college were revived in Vatican City by Chairman Cooley (D-NC) an- nounced he will ask immediate pas- A. » dow of the old walled city, still held stammered. “You know, she didn’t get her private facilities until she PY the Arab Lecion as an aftermath became chairman.of a committee,” of the fierce fighting that accom~ _— e .panieq the birth pains of the new (Continued on Page Four) nation. U. S. Steel 72%, Pound $4.03%. Sales today were7960,000 shares. Averages today: are..as follow industiials 17486, rails 40.60, utl- ities 84.55. ' - from a report on a U. 8. Dep‘n,-' ment of Labor conference in which both a Federal Act and state laws (Continued on—-l;lze Five) years in prison, but the garrison commknder revised the sentence to, death. news of a secret consistory to be! held next month. [ There are now 56 cardinals, in- sage by the House. ‘The bill, by Rep. Granger (D- Utah) makes a revolving fund of The men were executed at 6 p. cluding Mindszenty. Fourteen cardi- | the regional agricultural credit cor- m., the newspaper said. nals have died since January, 1946. Pporation available for loans. PRICE TEN CENTS —— MeasuEGoes To Governor For Approval Surprise Witnesses Testify | They Prefer Sail Boats foerisvhing BOB DeARMOND The Territorial Senate passed its first revenue measure of the Regu- lar Session—the fish trap licensing tax bill—late yesterday afternoon by a 9-7 vote, the narrowest margin by which a measure can pass the Senate. The bill had teen passed by the House and now goes to the Gov~ ernor. The vote on the measure came at ythe end of afternoon-long debate jon traps, the cannery business and jrevenues in general and particular. All four Fourth Division Senators and three of the four Second Divis- ion Senators voted against the biil. Senator Edward Anderson of the Second Division, who had expressed I himself during the morning session as opposed to the bill, changed his mind when voting time came around. Voting for passage of the bill were Senators Anderson, Dawes, Garnick, Huntley, MacKenzle, McCutcheon, Peratrovich, Rivers and Engebreth, Voting against the bill were Sena- tors Barr, Butrovich, Collins, Jones, Lyng. Munz and Nerland. FEATURES OF ' BILL The new bill levies license taxes at the following rates: Hand driven or stake traps located on tide lands, $300. (Formerly $75). Pile driven or floating traps, $1200 each. (Formerly ). In addition wm above, any person, firm or corporation operat- - ing more than three traps will pay an additional $600 per trap for the fourth to the tenth trap, and ad- ditional $1200 per trap for the 1ith to the 20th trap, an additional $1600 per trap for the 2ist'to the 50th trap, and an additional $2000 per trap for all traps over 50, The former rates for these classifications were $150, $300, $400 and $500. The on fish caught in each trap, ler the new bill, is as tol- lows: The first 15,000 fish tax free. From 15,000 to 50,000 fish, 5 cents per fish. From 50,000 to 100,000 fish, 10 nts per fish, From 100,000 to 150,000 fish, 15 cents per fish. From 150,000 to 200,000 fish, 20 cents per fish; All fish over 200,000, 25 cents per fish, RECOMMITMENT FAILS A motion by Senator Barr, early in the afternoon session, to put the bill back into second reading and send it to the Finance and Taxaton Committees for amendment was voted down 8-8. Rep Marcus P, Jensen of Doug- las, merchant, president of the Douglas Canning Company and au- thor of the trap licensing bil!, was called over from the House to an- swer questions and give intormation concerning his &ill, Stating that he thought the pro- Posed tax is fair, Jensen cited costs of trap construction ang operation as being low and the profits high. He sald a trap could pay for itseit in one afternoon and that Senator Rivers' estimate that trap-caught fish cost about half as much as seine-caught fish was “extremely conservative.” Asked by Benator Lyng whether he thought the price of seine-caught fish will remain approximately the same if traps are eliminated, Rep. Jensen ‘said ‘he does not believe it will make any difference. There is no relationship, he felt, between the cost of trap fish and the prices of seine fish. CLAIMS TAX EXCESSIVE Senator Lyng said that in view of other tax measures that have been passed or are about to be passed, he thought the trap tax excessive. He asked Rep. Jensen how much consideration was given the bill in the House. Rep. Jensen brought a laugh with his reply: “The feeling in the House is to pass the bills as quickly as possible and let the Senate ‘ras- sel' them out.” Senator Butrovich tried to pin Rep. Jensen down to an estimate of the amount of revenues the trap tax would bring but was unable to o:tain a figure. Rep. Jensen pointed out (Continued on Page 2)