The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, April 21, 1949, Page 6

PAGE SIX PILOT OF CRASHE PLANE WAS FACING DISCHARGE, CLAIM/ President of Alaska Air- lines Gives Testimony | in Damage Case | 21—P—Jame: SEATILE, April Wooten, president of Alaska Air- lines, testified yesterday the pilot | of the plane which killed nine per- | ons in a Seattle-Tacoma airport | crash Nov. 30, 1947, had been| ordered discharged 24 hours before | the takeoff. He said he ordered the line’s chief pilot to give pilot James Evan Farris, two weeks notice before he Anchorage on the ill-fated ht, but that because of the h, the discharge order was not carried out until six months later avoid possibility “of peoplej was the result of the left to thinking it accident.” “The reason I gave was that hej was a ‘guardhouse’ lawyer.” Wooten { testified. “He was not compatible | with the other pilots and I con- sidered him a troublemaker.” Earlier U. S. District Judge John C. Bowen denied a motion for mis- trial in the $64,000 damage action. Tim Healy, defense counsel, made the motion on the basis of a volun- tary statement from the witness stand yesterday by Capt. James Evan Farris, pilot of the plan(" which crashed and killed nine per- sons at the Seattle-Tacoma air-| port Nov. 30, 1947 Farris had testified before the jury that defense counsel W. R McKelvy had told him to “get out of town and stay out of town.” McKelvy denied the charge. Pilot Farris charged in federal court today that his signature was jorged on a manifest for the Al- aska Airlines flight which ended in fatal injuries to nine persons November 30, 1947. The document that Fytris chal- lenged was a photostatic copy of P, a manifest showing the plane to! FOLKESTONE. England, April have an allowable gross weight of | 21—(P—The thrush sang to beat the 63,00¢ pounds, balanced slightly [band. nose-heavy. “That 1s definitely a forged docu- ment,” Farris, who was the pilot of the ill-fated flight, declared when he was shown the signature. He said there was no hraviness when the plane landed.| 3ut he testified that his investiga- tion of the plane’s tire tracks made him believe the plane had been heavier than the manifest showed i the takeoff. He said the wide tracks indicated a heavy load. He testified tracks showed the nese wheel had been off the ground for all except the first 160 feet of the landing roll. Farris made no allegation as to ~ho might have signed his name. He wrote his signature six times for comparison by the jurors with the manifest handwriting. Coincident with the damage trial, Farris was served with a summons today in .a case in which the government seeks $2,000 from him in connection with his operation of the plane. A complaint in the suit was filed by the U. S. Attorney! three weeks ago on behalf of the Civil Aeronautics Administration. nose- | 'GREMLIN' GIVEN | AS DIRECT CAUSE OF PLANE CRASH, SEATTLE, April 21 “gremlin,” made famous by wal time pilots, came in for a share of blame Wednesday in a trial in- volving an Alaska airliner plane which crashed, killing nine persons, November 30, 1947. Capt. James Evan Farris, . pilot of the ill-fated craft, testified dur- ing a damage action in feder: court that a post-accident investi- gaticn revealed a worm was ir thehydraulic braking system. Asked what kind of a worm it was, machine or nanimal, Captain Fa s relied that it “had legs,” the hydraulic braking system in the same plane had been inoperative over -Yakutat on a previous flight, the fluid having leaked out He said he returned to An- chorage and was able to land safe- ly by replacing the fluid with water, the contents of two fire ex- tinguishers, two gallons of coffee and a quart of whiskey which was furnished by a passenger. — e - LT. OW HERE Lt. Tom R. Owen, who hails from Texas, arrived on the Baranof for his new duty as assistant to Lt. Col. J. D. Alexander, acting Adjut- ant General of «the Alaska Nation- al Guard which is being formed. Col. Alexander, now at Fort Rich- ardson for conferences with head- quarters officers, is expected back this weekend. - eee LUNDWALL WITH ARC Sidney L. Lundwall of Richmond, Calif,, arrived on the Baranof to join the staff of the Alaska Road Commission. His position is that of Cost Engineer. e { The bird perched on top of the andstand during a concert here and began singing with the band. A thousand listeners, almost to a man, turned their eyes on the| bird | The bandmaster gave the audi-| . ence. “In a Monastery Garden’—| ¥ vith instrumental bird calls. | The thrush gave them the real thing. | plains Pappas. —A— A| B A ANy 5. 1 P . TS PO THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 1949 THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE—JUNEAU, ALASKA | EIRE GOAL REACHED, FREE OF 780 YEARS RULE BY ENGLAND By CARTER L. DAVIDSON | DUBLIN, Ireland April 21.—® The Irish, fully free of British rulc| at last, face the future with a light heart, a world full of friends and money in the bank. Many problems confront them | but they face these unafraid. The closed the books Monday on 78 years of rule by a foreign power, | and they feel the future will be| what they make it. They intend to| make it a good one. Individually the people are poor, but they have every hope they won't stay tha' way. They still look darkly at si counties of Ulster which have chosen to stay in the British Com monwealth, T Irish call this their No. 1 pro:lem—to draw those| counties into the free Republic of Ireland. President Sean T. O'Kelly says he hopes to see that goal within a generation But in Ulster, the press and poli- icians calleq suggestions of federa-| . ization within the Republic “un- thinkable.” . L Tis E ] Er?; 5 Economically, Free Ireland is t l § Efi lfl R L Y o F é’ g 1 sound. Her main business is agri- e S @ GBUNCe ¥ Oour [SHEHE : culture, and with Britain shopping| : i { ) for far more beef and other pro-| duce than the Irish can produce, = el the farmer has an assured market. | [ ] 3 Marshall Plan dollars are a\'ail—; ¢ b 1 able to this new republic along the 4 way. | ] Ireland also has an army, rich| in military dition, such as few . nations of her size. | ¥ Pr are lower than in New York. A two-pound loaf of bread| costs sixpence (10 cents). A five pound beef roast can be had fo:| FREE SHOPPING BAGS V) ape A Thrush Sings | With Band; Makes Hit GUS GEORGE GROCERY |GUS GEORGE GROCERY It sang through every number. | The concert over, it flew away to| loud applause. | 70-Year-Old Crefe ALL BRANDS Plans Walk, Seatile A8 Tall Cans . To New York City| SEATTLE, April 21—®—N. G.| Pappas, T0-year-old native of Crete, | plans to walk from Seattle to New trip, Pappas plans to take a record| book with him to be signed each| " b morning and evening by a resident | G U S G E a R G ¥ of the city in which he stops. ; — He will carry only several changes | of clothing and lodge each night | HILE’S MANNING’S in hotels or motor courts. | GUS GEORGE GROCERY COLORED BURKERE MARGARINE 43¢ Pound GUS GEORGE HAMS SWIFT®S PICNEC 48 Pound GUS Guo_,flélfi GROCERY York “to demonstrate my good health.” “Great trip and everyone be sur prised when old man does it,” ex-| He said he has had the trip on his mind for two years, and plans| to leave either today or Thurs- day. GROCERY CROCERY No more, no less. Tacoma, Por land, Pocatello—right on across the country.” He expects to reach Times Square me time in July D Gov. Thomas Dewey To Sail for Europe For Holiday and Rest| NEW YORK, April 21.—P—Gov.| Thomas Dewey will sail for Europe next month, but he insists it is| not a political trip. There have| | been rumors that Dewey might run| |for Senator when his second term as Governor ex next year Dewey describes his trip as a holi- |day and for much-needed rest. g BARANOF WESTWARD EARLY THIS MORNING: | SOUTH ON MONDAY Sailing to the o'clock this morni had five embarki Westward at 2| the Baranof | here for Sew-| ard. They were: George P. Plack,| Harvey C. Mitchell Marcus L‘l | Grant, Miss Evelyn Avelino, H. J. | Leonard. | The ship is scheduled southbound ometime Monday - - LADIES NIGHT Saturday, April 23 is Ladies Night at the Elks Club. Dancing starts| i | ELKS Lauson 4-Uycic Arr-cooled Out- Boards. New models. Madsen's. 41 U {at 10 p. m. For Elks and their| | ladies only. 176 5t il