The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, April 20, 1949, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASK VOL. LXXIL, NO. 11,175 e s o “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, WED wouyrr A NESDAY, APRIL 20, 1949 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS Reds Start Warfare; Fire on British Vessel TANANA RIVER ICE 40 INCHES THICK; - FREEZING NIGHTLY (The Asscciated Press dispatch below will be printed in all newspapers in Alaska today, also newspapers in the states, and these newspapers will go through the mail. In Juneau, Postmaster Jenne says if the Empire prints this Asscciafed Press dispatch, the mail ser- vice will be denied on today issue. The Empire is nabs: lutely tired cf this continual censorship of the local post- master and has wired the prop- er authorities asking why the Empire is denied privileges en- joyed by every other newspaper under the American Flag. Ed- itor.) FAIRBANKS, Apri! 20.—(®-— The winner's “poke” in the 33-year his- tory of fthe world’s biggest guess- ing game awsits the prophet or prophets, of the 1949 Tanana River ice breakup at the village of Ne- nana, Fred W. (Slim) Avery, manager| of the annual Nenana Sweepstakes | contest, predicted today this year’s “swag” will be $185,000. That is $35,000 above last year’s record total. The prize goes to the guessers| of the precise hour and minute that the ice movement starts. Avery and his staff of mathema- ticlans are up to their collars in checking the estimated 210,000 guesses from far-flung points of Alagka and Canada’s neighboring Yukon Territory. The total is 16,- 500 more. than the forecasts sub- mitted last year when the prize was split among holders of 15 cor- rect guessps. ~Last year’s breakup was at 11:13 A. M. 'on"May 11, one of the latest ice movements on record. Old-timers are standing vigil over the Rube Goldberg tripod clock- stopping mechanism, prophesying another late breakup. They say there’s “no chance” the ice will move before May 5. The Tanana crust is still 40 inches thick under the tripod in mid-river. The mercury drops below freez- | ing nightly, but the long hours of | sub-Arctic sunshine are boosting the temperatures to 45 degrees or higher during the daytime. SIDEWALK SCOOTER — Linda Mason, film. actress, | travels 8 miles an hour on her scooter-with-engine, Hollywood. WORLD PEACE CONFERENCE IS OPENED, PARIS Communist - Sponsored| Meeting Has Attend- ance of 1300 PARIS, April 20—M—A Com- munist-sponsored World Peace conference opened here today with | a plea for the formation of peace committees throughout the worldi to carry out the Congress’ plans. | The French Communist atomici scientist, Frederic Joliot-Curie, told | the 1,800 delegations from 52 na-| tions: “We will show the warmongers | that they have to reckon with us. We fight this fight with the cer- tainty of victory.” Joliot-Curie said an atomic war | PILOT DROPS 4,000 FEET TO DEATH Dave Huycke “Sucked” from Plane Door Near Annette Airport SEATTLE, April 20—(P—A pilot for the Sourdough Air Transport of Anchorage, Alaska, fell to his death from a company plane shortly after it took off from the Annette Island airport, company representatives reported here. he island is roughly from Ketchikan, Alaska. Fred Whitmire, manager of the firm’s Seattle office, identified the fller as Dave Huycke, third pilot akoard the plane. His father, Harold Huycke lives at 211 Medio Drive, Los Angeles. Whitmire said Capt. Ed Brenner, first pilot, reported by telephone from Annette that Huycke was “sucked” from the plane as he 10 miles sought to check a draft around the | - | door. Whitmire said the plane, a C-47 carrying 10 passengers, was about four minutes out of Annette Island - Slide Threalg;_ls | field enroute to Anchorage. He estimated the plane’s altitude at| the time of the tragedy at possibly | _i 4,000 feet. The plane returned to Annette after the tragedy. The Coast Guard said a PBY {would fly north from Seattle today to join the search now being con- !ducted by two aircraft and a cut- ter from the Annette Island base. The plane left Seattle last night. ‘Whitmire gave this relayed ac- count of the tragedy: “There seemed to be a draft iround one of the doors, and Cap- tain Brenner told me Juycke went back to see what caused it. “No one knows just what hap- pened, but in some ‘way he got the door open and then the wind sucked him out of the plane.” SEEKS AID | ARMING OF PACT " NATIONS WILL BE - !Sé(reiary of State Acheson i fo Appear Before Sen- ate Committee WASHINGTON, April 20.—(P— { Secretary of State Acheson said {tcday he expects to talk costs when he discusses European arms aid AR T ST SR AL TR (R SR Rive r Boals (RAS_H_PII.OI SAYSTOLD - T0 GET OUT DISCUSSED NOW . - i A heavy Old Fort Nisqually, historical landmark the cdge of slide. Trees protrude '{rom what was 100-fcot deep water. # Wirephoto. | i | This airview shcws where a cliff roared some 400 feet into Puget Sound, barely missing the edge of Salmon Beach (right) beach community at Tacoma, Wash. (April 13) was blamed for the slide. earthquake three days previous (upper right) is close to On Yukon May Be Taken Off Testimony to?e Heard Re- garding Discontinuance of Colorful Era ! IJudge Bow;fi—Asks Seattle Bar Association to Investigate BRITISH SHIP (CIVIL WAR CRIPPLED BY | S RAGING SHELL FIRE N CHINA (Chinese Communist ShoreFighting Suddenly Started -by Communists Along | . Batteries Fire on Sloop ~Many Wounded Yangtze Front By FRED HAMPSON SHANGHAI, April 20—(»—Com- Py ARSMI ORI munist shore artillery today cripp-| NANNING. (a0 (0 18e led the British Sloop Amethyst in|icaccd Chinese Civil War ex- the Yangtze river and drove off the ?oded 81 Qnx e Yangue e destroyer Consort before she could ront tonight. Communist attacks were started help the smaller vessel. with atla" several points. Gunfire could be The helpless Amethyst, 1 least 20 wounded or dead nmoug':e.‘rm!:e:d “:;:nth;e“;“p::::’ of the apital. her crew of 148, was aground on| Puk Rose Island 60 miles northeast of underow' n“’"”“ ghe river was Nanking tonight. Not far away ndtl hl ack. Kiangpu, on the swirled the first attacks of the re-| O} bank sevep miles southwess |surging Chinese Civil War. i :’ anking, was hit. Serlous fight- | Chinese gunboats were ng was reported by government 14 righting® |Red shore batteries in this m'en"m"ru? OPposite Wuhu, 60 miles Apparently Communist gunners fir- southwest of here. Hslaokan, ” |ed on the sloop and destroyer be-i;"u" porth of -Haokow, was the lieving them to be Nationalist war- |{°c! point of the Red 43rd Army. | ships. A top ranking Nationalist Gen- | The Consort, fighting shore’ bat- | T8l -expressed fear the Reds may |teries for almost 50 miles, reached | Y & Quick landirig In this vieinity, lhl’l”hl. Nationalist officials in the | the frigate Black Swan which had |doctors and medical supplies aboard. |Kiangyin tonight with 17 of her |crew wounded. She was joined by “.';.‘;:"‘ al feell ¢ th ener ng at the mo- 'ment is that. Wuhu is the govern- ment's weak point. The river tront CRUISER TO SCENE 'there provides a good landing area. The British Cruiser London was| Natiopaifit gufitoats ‘stood agé expected to reach Kiangtyin at 9 ii the ¥angtze off Nanking firing ipm. Vice Adm. A. C. G. Madden,|URon Communist troops attacking |second in command of the British,Kiangpu’ and ol s |Far East station, is aboard the|POInts. J FIGHTING SEVERE |London. - British authorfties here : said they were unable to contact| Severe fighting was reported by responsible ~ Communist ~ quarters |°fficial sources to have _started and Admiral Madden ‘Would ‘deter- | 4t- of: Nanking, some . 180 miles .. mine his course later. ,,wuthan or Nanking. ;Another Fliers out of Nanking witnessed |$DarP engagement started east of the' running duel betweer the Cons Chmkldu.v a few miles northwest sort and Red shore batteries. of the capital. i Foreign airmen saw the running} Communist attacks on two British fight. The Consort was 15 miles| %arships in the Yangtze preceded telow Rose Island, where the silent|the general offensive. Amethyst lay aground. Rose Isiand| A high ranking ministry of the Is 60 miles northeast of Nanking|Rational, defense source said the and 160 miles upstreain from|Red attacks seemed to be directed | Shanghai. at all Nationalist ‘positions on the | MANY CASUALTIES north bank of the river. There are From the air the observers were(°nly 8 few Nationalist pockets left lunable to spot any activity aboard|On the north bank. ‘the grounded Amethyst. Her flags,} REJECT PEACE PROPQOSALS —————— | would be “terrible even for its ini- | tiators” but that the atom bomb lor other atomic weapons would not they said, were still flying. Chlnne[ Earlier Premier Ho Ying-chin Naval sources, which reported zoltald the Chinese Parliament the casualties aboard the Amethyst to.government had rejected Red peace with the Senate Foreign Relations ! Committee tomorrow. Acheson s to meet with the FAIRBANKS, April 20.—(®. A public hearing that may spell the end to Alaska’s colorful Yukon ; SEATTLE, April James Evan Farris, pilot of the Alaska Airlines plane which 20—(M—Capt. - FOR COAST CHAMBER T0 ACT ON HOUSING NEED The problem of supplying rental | housing, Juneau’s number one need, will be taken under consid- eration at the meeting of the Ju-| neau Chamber of Commerce to- morrow noon. Chairman of the Chamber’s housing committee, Clayton Polley, will present a recommendation on housing prepared by the comminee‘i and the meeting will be opened| for general discussion. Up for consideration is the pos- sitility of private enterprise ful- filling the need for private hous-| ing or the possibility of the Alaska Housing Authority being requested to fill the need. Retommendations by the Cham- ber for meeting the housing need will be voted on at tomorrow's session, The Washington Merry - Go - Round By DREW PEARSON Copyright, 1949, by Bell Byndicate, Inc.) ! ASHINGTON — The Republi- can National Committee has sent out a frantic warning that, unless| the GOP acts quickly to offset the| bad publicity over its alliance with the Dixiecrats, it may jeopardize the re-election of three stalwart Republicans—Taft of Ohio, Cape- hart of Indiana and Donnell of Missourt. The GOP National Committee also is pleading with Senators to sign a cloture petition limiting de- bate on civil rights when it comes up again. All 42 Republican Sen- ators must sign, the committee ‘warns, to show their good faith for their previous compromise with the South over the filibuster. This be the decisive favor in the fight- ing. He is the head of France's| atomic energy commission. Unlike a world peace congress! veld in New York last month, this| one opened with no anti-Commun- | ist pickets outside the meeting place and no_ evidence of any special police precautions. - INDUSTRY WASHINGTON, April 20.—#— Rep. Clinton D. McKinnon (D- Calif) has sought Presidential aid |to rescue the West Coast aircraft |and tuna packing industries. e | In both cases, he told reporters | afterwards, the President promis- ed to make inquiries. ¢ | McKinnon said the government e placed aircraft contracts inland e [during the war with Japan be- e cause of the feeling that West | Coast plants were endangered. In - oo e o c 9 000 WEATHER REPORT (U. 8. WEATEER BUREAU ‘This data is for 24-hour pe- riod ending 6:30 a.m. PST. In Juneau— Maximum, 51 minimum, 37. At Airport— Maximum, 48 minimum, 38. FORECAST (Juneau and Viclnity) Variable cloudiness with an occasional light rain shower tonight and Thursday. Low- est tonight about 38 degrees. Highest Thursday near 54. PRECIPITATION (Past 2¢ hours ending 7:30 a.m. today In Juneau .12 inches; since April 1, 746 inches; since July 1, 10480 inches. At Airport: — .05 inches; o since July 1, 321 inches; e since July 1, 59.61 inches. o000 0 0 v oo INGRID BERGMAN MAY MARRY HER ITALIAN PARTNER STROMBOLI, Italy, April 20—® —Roberto Rossellinin, producer- partner of Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, today refused to deny or confirm reports linking them ro- mantically. The 42-year-old Italian director told a group of newspapermen, “I can not say anything yet” about the reports he and Miss Bergman would leave only 22 signatures for the Democrats to round up—which, the committee predicts, the Demo- crats would have trouble getting. (Continued on Page Fourn) planned to marry after divoreing their present spouses. Miss Bergman's personal repre- sentative in Hollywood ~recently described the reports as “ridicu- lous.” irecent years there has been a 50 per cent drop in employment in the Pacific industry, he said. “We now feel that with the dang- er from Japan out of the way and greatest danger .of war appearing! most likely in Europe, something | should be done to rescue West Coast afrcraft builders, McKinnon added. He said he suggested that quotas be established for the imporuuon’ of canned tuna. Just before the last war, he con- tinued, the American industry was threatened by Japanese imports made possible by cheap labor. Since the war, he said, new competition is coming,in from North Africa, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Portugal and other countries. BARANOF DOCKS TODAY; T0 WESTWARD 2 A. M Docking at 1:30 o'clock this af- ternoon from Seattle, the Barano! sails to the Westward at 2 o'clock tcmorrow morning. From._Seattle, passengers were: Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Faulkner, Mr. and Mrs. U. W, D. Lees, Carolyn Lees, S. wall, W. P. McCarthy, Frank Mea-| cham, D, J. Micheau, Mrs. Allen,| F. Neeley, Judith Neeley, Col. and Mrs, John R. Noyes, Lt. T. H. O%- en,” Pat ' Parkhurst, Mrs. Norma Weeks, C. Haglund, Frank Mece- tich, G. Ohman, M, W. Palmer, Jim Per, Adam Perrin, Akin Predko. ! orth, MIS. | L. Lund- {Senators in a closed door session and go over the proposed plan to send military supplies to the United States' North Atlantic al-} lies. There have been unofficial esti- mates that the first year of this project might cost $1,250,000,000. Acheson told a news conference that he hopes to take before the ‘I“orclgn Relations Committee a pro- posed draft of arms aid legislation | together with the total amount of money to be asked. He said in response to a ques- tion that when the arms aid bill will be made public will have to be decided by agreement with Con- gress. It has always been the State | Department’s understanding, Ache- | son added, that the program details weuld be made public shortly. Considerable sentiment has built {up in the Senate for stripping all | secrecy from the program. | Sentiment is running strong in the Senate to take off all secrecy on the arms to Europe program. Among those who want an end to secrecy is Republican Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon. He said: ‘--] think the entire Congress and | the people should have all the facts |concerning the pact including the facts as to the military costs.” Republican Senator Homer Fer- |guson of Michigan believes it is necessary that the Congress get | the whole picture at one time. Fer- guson puts his view this way: “I | think the world should know where | we stand on words as well as ac- tion.” Other Senators, including Demo- cratic Senator Walter George of Georgia and Republican Senators Rotert Taft of Ohio and Kenneth Wherry of Nebraska—favor bring- ing the arms program before the zenate as quickly as possible. e | boating era will be held tomorrow. Alaska Railroad officials, headed | by Col. John P. Johnson, will hear wstimony to determine whether -he last of the fabled stern-wheelers #ill be pulled from the Yukon and Tanana Rivers. The hearing follows financial x'e—l ports showing that the river fieet: operated by the government-owned railroad, lost $76,388 last season. Villagers served by the packets | ind barges are expected to testify or send statements cn what effect liscontinuance of service would qave on them. Testimony and indings will be forwarded to the nterior Department for a final} ‘ecommendation. A decision wou!d, w0t k2 effective until 1950. This season’s sailing schedules | rem Nenana, the head of naviga- don where boats and trains meet, Jready have been set. Larry Moore, assistant to the jeneral manager, explained the osses are partially due to the in- clusive freight rate, counts the high operating costs of the river fleet. He gpoted as an 2xample that 100 pounds of gro- ceries from Seattle to Nenana costs 33.81. The cost would be the same Holy Cross, 250 miles downriver ! from Nenana. HAYWORTH-KHAN MARRIAGE IS NOW POSTPONED MONTH! CANNES, Francs, April 20— Prince Aly Khan has broken a bone in his left ankle, and as a result his wedding to Rita Hay- worth may have to be postponed a month. Friends say Aly was playing with i STEAMER MOVEMENTS Baranof from Seattle in port; sails westward at 2 a. m. tomorrow. Princess Louise scheduled to safl | from Vancouver 9 tonight. Alaska scheduled to sail from Se- attle Saturday. his children at a party in his Riviera home Saturday when the accident happened. At first the ankle was just bandaged and Aly paid little attention to ‘it. . French law makes Aly eligible for the hand of Miss Hayworth May 7, one month from the day he was divorced by his British wife. crashed at Bow Lake November 30, 1947, killing nine persons, testitied yesterday a defense attorney told him to “get out of town and stay out of town.” He said W. R. McKelvy, counsel for an insurance company. repre=- senting the airline in a suit brought by injured passengers, made the assertion to him in the presence ot a Mr." Williams of Salt Lake City, Farris' attorney. Williams understood - to have returned to 3Salt Lake City. Federal Judge John C. Bowen directed Williams be subpoenaed and that further testimony by Far- ris along that line be suspended until Williams 1 judge ' also requested the Seattle Bar Assoclation to investigate the charges. McKelvy sald of the charge: “I deny that outright.” Earller Richard Whitting, co- pilot, testifizd the plane had a which dis- | faulty brake system on a previous | flight. He said the hydraulic brakes did not work at any time after the plane. hit the landing strip at the end of the fateful flight. Searching jquestioning brought from him testi- | mMER OFFICER f the groceries are transferred to| mony the brake system was not in| working order the month before at Annette Island, Alaska. Judge Bowen has denied a de- fense motion for a' mistrial. ‘Three plaintiffs, two of them survivors and one representing the estate jof a, victiny, are suing for a total of $64,000. ¢ '’ The mistrial ‘motjon was based on Farris’ testimony. STOCK GUOTATIONS NEW YORK, April 20.—(®~Clos- ink quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 3%, American Can 92%, Anaconda 30%, Curtiss- Wright 94, International Harvest- er 24'%, Kennecott 44%. New York Central 11%, Northern Pacific 15, U. 8. Steel 72, Pound $4,03%. Sales today were 970,000 shares. Averaged today are as follows: industrisls 175.69, rails 48.24, util- ities 36.03. British quarters in Nanking, denied any shots had been fired by Na- tionalist gunners along the South shore of the river. ‘The alrmen sald no firing was observed in the vicinity of the Amethyst but that smoke was rising from Communist positions opposite the island on which the sloop was grounded. ‘The Amethyst carried a comple- ment of eight officers and 140 men. was | She is comparable to an American | JRpar: light destroyer and displaces 2,600 tons. PROTECTION BY FORCE proposals in their present form. Ho told the legislators that the Communist plan would not pro- vide for lasting peace, a member disclosed after the secret Parlia~ ment meeting. The legislator quoted Ho as saying the terms were those laid down by a victor. ‘The premier stressed the fact that the Red terms were not in keeping with efforts of the gov- ernment to seek peace. Ho indicated that the basis for Ithe government rejection of the IRed terms was more general than ,slmply an objection to a river could testify. The; crossing. SHANGHAI, April 20—®—A hint! A AR S was dropped by naval sources here that Britain will “use force” 1(! necessary to defend British lives. ! Two British warships, including the cruiser London, are steaming (By the Associated Press) Two British warships were into the trouble area. ————— 'cauum in the crossfire of the WASHINGTON, April .—#—|Chinese Civil War today. The in- {A former American Air Force ma- cident was reminiscent of the sink- jor has'been seized in Panama on'ing of another neutral in the end- Susp. of helping smuggle arms|less China warlare—thé Japanese into" the country. sinking of the American gunboat The_State Department, making|Panay in 1937. 3 this report, said the man was iden-| The Japanese acrial attack, Dec. tiiied wariously as Walter Wilson |12, 1937, on the Panay, 25 miles Brown apd J. Wilson Brown. It|upstream from Nanking, had been sald It has been informed -Brownone of the most surprising develop- was taken into custody yesterday,ments of the Chinese-Japanese at the seaport town of David on|war and seriously disturbed the re- the west coast of Panama and is|lations between the United States being removed to Panama City for|and Japan. questioning by Panama government; The Japanese air attack was cen~ authorities. lteml on the Panay and three Department officials said they|Standard Oil vessels it was cone understand Brown is an officer in|veying. Two of the Panay's crew the Air Force Reserve and that he and a Captain on one of the ofl served in the last war. vessels were killed. ty-four - persons aboard the vessels in- N. R. GILKEY HERE ijured. ‘The Panay went down with David R. Gilkey, representative her flags flying. & ¢ of Proctor and Gamble, has been|. The Japanese government apolos in Junean several days, and leavesigized and presented the United for' the westward and interior to-|States with a check for $3,214,007 morrow. lm compensation. &7 ARMS SMUGGLING | " CHARGED AGAINST |