The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, May 12, 1949, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LXXIIL, NO. 11,194 CHENA ICE BREAKS AT FAIRBANKS Nenana Is Still Anchored fo Shore But Water Cutting Into It FAIRBANKS, Alaska, May 12— (A—Chances of the latest Tanana River ice breakup in history ‘were diminishing today. So was the size of the award for the closest guess on the exact minute of the ice: movement at Nenana. Floyd W. Avery, manager of the 1949 ice guessing sweepstakes, re- ported the amount would ‘“‘only”| be $164,000. The earlier unofticial, estimate had been for a “Kitty” of $185,000. | The revised figure still will be $14,000 above last year’s previous record payoff in the annual Alas- ka contest. Meanwhile, water was pouring into the Tanana from the Chena River, 40 miles upstream from the Nenana tripod which records the tall-tale minute of the ice move- | ment. The Chena ice broke at 6:29 p. m. Tuesday. It was worth $6,800 | to Max Willard of Anchorage. His | prophecy had been for 6:32 p. m.| in the “Little Contest” conducted annually by the Fairbanks Fire De- partment. In 13 of the last 20 years the Tanana ice has moved at Nenana within 72 hours are Chena. The longest interval between record- ed breakups was six days. The Nenana ice must hold until after 9:41 a. m. next Monday If it is to set a hew late season record. Avery made an off-the-cuff guess that the Nenana movement would be about May 15, Sunday. He said the ice still is anchored to the shore across the river from the village, but running water is cutting into the ice on the near side for a distance of five miles down stream. Open water also is visible two miles upstream from the tripod. HOUSE DEMOCRATS ARE WORKING ON 'LABOR MEASURES WASHINGTON, May 12—@®—/ House Democrats are going ahead with their plans for getting two labor bills through the House within the next month. These are measures to repeal the Tait-Hurt-‘ ley law and to increasé the mini- mum wage to 75 cents an hour. Also on Capitol Hill, Repub’ican leaders are continuing their Mght| to cut Federal spending. Republi- can Senator Styles Bridges of New Hampshire says there will be no let-up in the economy campaign, despite the setback over the ap- propriation and post office depart- ments, The Republicans wanted to cut the measure five percent, tut were defeated. The Washington Merry - Go - Round By DREW PEARSON (Copyright, 1949, by Bell Syndicate, Inc.) ASHINGTON—, President Tru- man really had the time of his life at his 65th birthday party— so much so that he stayed until 2:05 a. m. and had Speaker Sam Rayburn grousing under his breath about keeping everybody up so late. | For, under official protocol, no| guest—not even the Speaker—can leave until the President himself says goodbye to his hostess. Mr. Truman enjoyed every min- ute of it—even unwrapping his birthday gifts. There were 70 presents, from the 70 supposedly “intimate” friends who gathered at the Larz Anderson mansion which saw some of the most famous so- cial events of the early ~century. To unwrap 70 birthday presents is quite a chore, especially in| front of a big crowd of people. The President tackled it bravely, but was pleased when Vice Presi- 1 (Cuntlnucci on Page Po_u-rT | |Nationalist Government| |radio operator. | RED FORCES PUSHING ON TOSHANGHAI Officials Told to Move Within_Z_ Weeks SHANGHAI, May 12. —&® Al Nationalist government departments have been told to move out of Shanghai within two weeks. That order was given by the Shanghai garrison, as Communist forces pushed two offensives to within 21 miles of the city. A Nagionalist communique said government troops are holding firm on one front southwest of Shanghai. Northwest of the city,| bitter fighting is reported. | A battle is also said to be rag- ing around Hankow, in Central | China. Tanker Is On Fire in (aribbean MIAMI, Fla., May 12—(P—The Swedish tanker S. Atlanta was re- | ported on fire in the Caribbean to- | day and planes and surface craft| were rushing to her assistance, the Coast Guard said. ‘The 9,683-ton vessel sent out SOS| signals at 1:35 a.m. (EST). The distress messages said all crew members had taken to me-] boats except the captain and the| Coast Guard air sea rescue head- | quarters said the ship, owned by; Otto Kihlstrom of Goeteborg, | Sweden was approximately 540 miles northeast of Trinidad. lhree-(ofnered Group Bid on Road Projed SEATTLE, May 12—(®—A three- contractor group was low bidder at| $5,436,036.62 on the 12.3-mile Turn- again Arm road project near Am- chorage, the Alaska Railroad an- nounces. Bids were opened yesterday at Anchorage, R. A. Sharood, chief engineer, advised the railroad’s Seattle office that the contract award would be made later. The group that entered the low bid was Morrison-Knudsen, Peter Kiewit Sons, and S. Birch Sons Company. Other bidders were: Vinnell Company, Inc., Stolte, Inc,. and Ralph A. Bell Co., $6,142,- 411.34. i Carlson Contracting Co., $6,171,~ 386.75 and Max J. Kuney; $6,946,~ 263.55. William A. Smith Contracting Co., Brown and Root, and Sharp and Fellow, $7,481,812.65. ‘The Turnagain Arm project is a combination railroad and high- way job, involving reconstruction on the present route tetween In- dian and Potter. More Money for House Members Is Now in Sight WASHINGTON, May 12—(®— House members stand a good chance of getting more money to| foot their bills and to spread around among their employees. Only nominal, if any, opposition is expected for a measure approved unanimously by the House Ad- ministration committee. It allows| each House member $3,000 more a year for clerks and up to $1500 for official telephone and telegraph bills. House members now get sround $12,000 a year for clerical help. g AT BARANOF At the Baranof from Seattle are Newton, W. J. Hunter -and W. L. Lusberg. 4 Billion Dollars New Taxes Reported Needed Senafor Byrd Replies ° JSCDAMAGE CASE IN FINAL STAGES THIS AFTERNOON Argumenfsia—de, Judge's Instruction to Be Given ~Then Case fo Jury Following the close of Defense Counsel George Anderson’s closing argument for the ILWU late yes- terday afternoon, court was ad- journed, and the trial of Juneau| Spruce Corporation’s million dol- lar damage suit was resumed this morning. Attorney Henry Roden, represent- ing ILWU Local 16, addressed the jury for an hour, fqllowed by Manleys Strayer of Portland, co- counsel for Juneau Spruce, whose closing argument for plaintiff was continued briefly after a noon re- cess. Instructions by Judge George W. Folta were to follow, and the case was expected to go to the jury this afternoon. Yesterday, Anderson, who stated he was here particularly in the interests of the international, open- ed his two-hour address to the jury by delving into the history of trade- unionism, He charged that the company had decided to close its plant rather than deal with the ILWU. As to the amount of damages sought ($1,025,000) Anderson developed from the remark, “A million dollars is an | awful lot of money.” Roden’s plea to the ;uy was one of eloquent oratory, as had been Anderson’s. Rodén. too, “dwelt on trade-unionism, especially capitai- labor relations. e charged that the International Woodworkers' of | America Local M-271 is a com- pany union of Juneau Spruce. Attorney Strayer began his clos- | ing argument by going into the rights and obligations of the com- pany and of the unions. He accused defense attorneys of camouflaging and distorting evi- dence in order to confuse the issue, and his own address emphasized points of law at issue in the trial. He argued to sustain his conten- tion that Juneau Spruce had to prove, and has proven, that the| work of loading barges had been legally assigned to the woodwork- ers, and that the longshoremen had | tried to force the company to take | it away from them and to influence the millworkers. All three attorneys referred to the Taft-Hartley Act, as the Labor- Management Bill s commonly,| known, and under which the suit| was brought. Members of the jury are R. A. Hollingworth, B.P.O.E. steward; Lloyd V. Connell, druggist; C. W. Bland, truck driver; Robert Thibo- deau, grocery clerk; Willlam Mec- Kenzie, miner and former Fish and Wildlife Service stream guard; Earl Barcus, bartender; Harry Worobec, and F. F. Cameron, miners; Eckley K. Guerin, photographer; and three housewives—Mrs. E. Samuelson, Mrs. Borghild Hunsbedt and Mrs. Margaret Douglas. FAST CAR REQUIRED FOR MAY 30 CLASSIC INDIANAPOLIS, May 12—(®— It will take an average qualifying speed of 135 miles an hour to win the pole position in the 500-mile auto race May 30. That’s the opinion of Lou Welch, who owns the two fastest competi- tive cars ever built in America. His 550-horsepower Novi specials have been out-lasted and out-luck- ed but never out-run. The fastest car in the first quali- fication test Saturday will start on the inside of the front row on Memorial Day. “You'll have to do 135 miles an hour to sit up front this year,” Welch predicted - today. He ob- viously expects one of his drivers, Duke Nalon of Sherman ®aks, or Rex Mays of Los Angeles, to lead the rolling start. Japanese 'Exdlanoes Are fo Open Safurday TOKYO, May 12—®— Japan will take another step back to nor- mal on Saturday. General Mac- Arthur has announced that finan- cial exchanges will be open for the first time since the end of the war. JUNEAU, ALASKA, THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1949 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS 3 AIRMEN KILLED, 2 MISHAPS F-82 Crashe?fhen Burns- Peculiar Accident Re- sponsibile 1 Fatality MOSES LAKE, Wash, May, 12— (#—Three airmen were killed in two separate air force plane mis- haps here late yesterday. The pilot of a 600-mile-an-hour Boeing XB-47 stratojet bomber was killed when struck by the loosened plexiglass canopy of the plane while, on a test flight. A few hours later, an F-82 twin Mustang fighter crashed about five miles from the base. Two men were aboard. Officials of the 325th Fighter Wing identifieq the two crash vie= tims as Lt. Jesse J. Gilliam, pilot, of Tallahassee, Fla., (mother, Mrs. Helen A. Killiam, 725 S. Monroee St., Tallahassee) and Copt. James A. Montgemery, radar observer. of Gainestoro, Tenn. Montgomery ar- rived at the base only a few days ago. His w.dow, Roberta, lives at Gainesboro. Officials said the F-82 crashed and burned, at 7 pm., just after taking off on a training flight. At Seattle, Boeing officials iden- tified the dead pilot of the bomber {as Edward Scott Osler, 30, of Belle- vue. Also in the plane, but unin- jured, were James A. Fraser of Seattle, co-pilot, and John Forna- sero, also of Seattle, chief of flight tests for the Boeing engineering division. Cause of .the locsened canopy was not determined. Osler was checking the automatic pilot in making a descent when struck by the overhead glass. The XB-47 is one of two built for the air forces and turned back to the company under:contract for continued flight test work. UNITED NATIONS ASSEMBLY MEETS; ISRAEL ADMITTED NEW YORK, May 12—IP—A last minute change in the plans of the United Nations Assembly calls for committee meetings at Lake Suc- cess today instead of an origin- ally-scheduled plenary session. The officials said some of the commit- tee reports are not yet ready for Assembly action. A debate of draft agreements on freedom of information 'tops the agenda when the full Assembly re- convenes—possibly ‘late today. The Spanish question will be the next order of business. The Assem- bly’s political committee has recom- mended that every member na- tion ke free to decide for itsell whether to restore full diplomatic relations with the Franco regime. An Assembly resolution in 1846 recommended withdrawal of ‘top diplomatic representatives from Spain. 7 A simple flag-raising ceremony today winds up formalities of Is- rael's admission to“the United Na- tions. proved the application ot the young Jewish state last night. Work on Rocke! Tesfing Range Is Repoflgd Starfed WASHINGTON, May 12—#— The Armed Forces already are be- ginning preliminary’ work on the rocket testing range out across the Caribbean. 2 President Truman okayed the bill yesterday to authorize construction of the long-range proving ground for guided missiles and to provide $75,000,000 to get it under way. Meanwhile, negotiations are pro- The general Assembly ap-| BARRIERS . - DOWN ON BLOCKADE Ground Tra—ff?flows Over Highways—Regular Holi- | By DANIEL DE LUCE Curtain tcday, ending their spot of the cold war. the day, by rail and by highway, to the 'long-besieged old capital city from the west for the first time in nearly 11 months, The blockade-lifting had all the| fanfare of a Hollywood movie pre- miere, and the people, convinced that at last this phase of the cold war was ended, whooped it up n the flag-bedecked eity. Goed Will Displayed The Russian and Western Allied | military outdid each other inl down ending the blockade, and the Allied counterblockade. There was a general display of good will and smiling readiness to cut red tape. But the Western allies were tak- ing nothing for granted. Their airlift, which had made a blockade # useless Soviet weapon by flying in food, fuel and raw mat2rials| needed by West Berlin’s 2,000,000 residents, continued flying. It is to| continue for at least 30 days. Today's flights kept supplies coming in .at.about a.500-ton per hour level. Military Trains Move Allied military trains, followed by | food and fuel trains, were the first into Berlin after the barriers went | down one minute after midnight. Foreign correspondents, racing down Hitler's famous superhlghwny.' were the first into Berlin from| the West. The vehicles had a big send- off at the old barrier points, which had been cleared of steel and con- crete obstructions by work crews. The people, who had been slow | to respond for days, really got into the mood. Regular Holiday. So they closed the schools today, business houses planned to sus- | pend work early, and the people| i thumped each other and swapped congratulations in public and In-| formal gatherings. i The first allied train into Berlin was halted only four minutes to get its clearance from the Russians. The Russian army officers did not | even step aboard, or ask for identi- fication papers of the passengers. They asked only for assurances !hali it carried no Germans, other thanf the train-crew, which it did not. 10.CHOOSE SUCCESSOR 0 BUNNELL } FAIRBANKS, Alaska, May 12—(®| —Choosing the successor to Dr.| Charles Ernest Bunnell, President| of the University of Alaska, will| be the principal item of business| for the 'annual three-day pre-| .commencement session of the school’s board of regents. The meeting opened here today. Andrew. Nerland, board presi- | dent,” sald 15 or more applicants are seeking the post. Dr. Bunnell resigned after serving as president tince the university was founded in 1922. He will be named President Emeriths at elaborate ceremonies planned for July 1. Nerland did not identify any of the applicants for the post. ‘The regents will adjourn their session Saturday to attend Mon- day’s 27th annual Commencement exercises. Degrees will be conferred ceeding with Britain for building |upon 32 candidates. technical observation stations in the Bahamas, along the route of the rockets. MRS. SOUTHWORTH LEAVES Mrs. R. G. Southworth, who has been visiting with her daughter, Mrs. Tom Dyer, for several weeks, has left via PNA for her home inj Anchorage. STEAMER MOVEMENTS Princess Louise from Vancouver idue to arrive Saturday afternoon or' evening. Baranof scheduled to sail from Seattle Saturday, Alaska scheduled southbound on Sunday. day Prevails, Goodwill || ERLIN, May 12.—(®— The Rus- | siins pulled up their German Iron |, 327 1 day-old Berlin blackade, major sore | ‘- Ground traffic flowed on through |; pouring supplies and passengers in- | courtesy as the barricades went | &5 [ruii Sen. Harry Byrd (D.-Va.) (above) said in Washington that if Presi- dent Truman wants to purge him from the Senate, “I'll be around when the purging starts.” ment after President Truman wa Sen. Byrd poses with a copy of his state- s quoted as saying there are tco many Byrds in Congress. The Senator is the only Byrd in Congress. (® Wirephoto. EISLER IS FOUND AS STOWAWAY WASHINGTON, May 12.—(/®— Immigration Commissioner Watson Miller said today a stowaway .on board a Polish ship at sea has been “positively” identified as Gearhart Eisler, missing glxen Com- munist. The 53-year-old Eisler, who is facing two possible jail sentences in this country, disappeared last week frcm his home in New York. He was free on $23,000 bail. ‘The liner Batory, which sailed from New York six days ago, later | radioed thit a German stowaway aboard identified himself as Eisler. The ship, owned by Gydnia-Ameri- can Shipping Lines, Ltd., is due at Southampton, England, on Sat- urday. Miller told reporters “we have a positive identification.” When he had any information as to how Eisler got aboard the ship, Miller said: “It's a strange procedure. . One would wonder how he got on the boat.” Asked how Eisler was discovered abcard the vessel, Miller said, “If he got on surreptitiously, he may have gotten hungry.” Reported Missing Eisler, who also was awaiting de- portation proceedings, has been trying to get out of the country for a long time. Neighbors re- ported they had not seen him around his New York apartment since late last week. ‘The Justice Department has been investigating his disappearance, and Scotland Yard detectives were waiting for the Batory to dock at Southampton, A Admitted Being Commie Jisler has admitted being a Com- munist, but denied being the No.| 1 Red in this country—as alleged! kefore the House Committee on Un-American Activities. He even sought help from the United Na- tions in an effort to be allowed to leave the United States voluntarily and return to his native Germany. He is one of more than 30 alleg- ed alien Communists accused n deportation proceedings in the past two years, The U. S. Court of Appeals at hington refused recently to up- set his conviction on a charge of | concealing Communist connections in an application for a permit to leave the country. The conviction |on that charge brought a sentence ‘u! one to three years. The Civil Right Congress will now | forfeit the bail which it raised tor | Eisler. i newsmen askea whetner | ISC CALLS (REW FOR MILL WORK Sorting Crews Report as Pickets Withdraw - Di- rectors Meet, Portland | Juneau Spruce Corporation this 1noon called employees back on the | job after more than a year's shut down resulting from a labor dis- pute. All members of the yard crew, green ch{ln and planer crews were requested to report for work effec- tive immediately. The JSC move to resume opera- tions follows withdrawal of pickets Monday afternoon by International Longshoremen and Warehousemen Union Local 1-16, after picketing of the plant since April 10 of last| year. About 15 men will go back to work as a sorting crew, according to JSC officials, who said firsu operations at the plant will be sort- ing stock piled lumber for ship- ment, probably to the Westward. Possibilities of full operation of the plant in the near future will depend on the outcome of a .JSC board of directors meeting in Port- land this week. Freeman Schultz, Juneau Spruce manager, left yesterday atternoon aboard Pan American bound for Portland to confer with directors at the annual meeting. Resumption of partial mill oper- ations came as JSC and Interna- tional Longshoremen’s attorneys: were in the final sessions of a mil- lion dollar damage suit brought by the company against the unions in District Court here. | STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, May 12.—(#—Clos- ing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 3%, American | | Can 90%, Anaconda 27%, Curtiss- Wright 8%, International Harvest- er 23%, Kennecott 43'¢, New York Central 11, Northern Pacific 147, U. 8. Steel 71%, Pound $4.03%. Sales today were 790,000 shares. Averages today are as follows: industrials 174.70, rails 47.35, util- ities 35.92. YACHT CLUB MEET THURSDAY, MAY 19 The Juneau Yacht Club meeting has been postponed until next { Thursday night, May 19. At that !time, the committee reports on TAX BOOST IS URGING OF TRUMAN Increase IoD—epend on De- ficit to Be Reported-Dis- cusses Many Issues WASHINGTON, May 12—®— President Truman told his news conference today he still sees a need for a $4,000,000,000 increase in taxes to avoid a deficit and re- tire part of the public debt. He Lelieves in and has been prac- ticing rigid government economy, hé said. He wauts to apply between $2,- 000,000,000 and $5,000,000,000 toward the public debt. Answering reporters who asked whether he still felt a $4,000,000,000 ircrease is necessary, the President first said that would be worked out when the ambunt of the defi- cit is determined. Later he said he did not expect any change in the tax program he proposed last January. ESTIMATES DEFICIT The last estimate of a deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30 placed it at between $600,000,000 and $700,000,000. The discussion came when a reporter asked whether Mr. Truman's views squared with those of Chairman Doughton (D-NC) of the House Ways and Means Com- mittee. Doughton said after a con- ference with the President yester- day that he (Doughton) favored rigid government economy instead of higher taxes, Mr. Triman said’ he “completely agreed with Doughton about economy and that he had prac- ticed this in making his January budget recommendations. He added the subject of their talk was Social Security and the two also were agreed on that. He declined to comment or re- ports that his economic advisory council had reported to him that it would be desirable to avoid a big tax increase if it could be done without deficit financing. He did describe the report as not pessi- mistie, On other subjects, the President said: BYRD INCIDENT He had no reason to tomment on a report quoting him as telling a veterans committee that “there are too° many Byrds (meaning Sen- ator Byrd-D, Va.) in Con3ress.” He sald the canversation he had with a delegation of the American Veterans Committee was confiden- tial, Asked if this indicated a “purge” of Democrats opposed to some of his program, Mr. Truman said he is not interested in a purge. He added the people take carg of that. He hopes to fill the vacancies in the position of Secretaries of the Army and Navy within a few days. He referred reporters to Jonathan Daniels, Raleigh, N.C.,, editor, when asked why Daniels had turned down the Navy Secretaryship. He is happy over the lifting of the Berlin tlockade and agrees with |a reporter that it is a source of encouragement in the wupd situa- tion, ¢ He would not elaborate on Sec- retary of State Acheson’s state- ment yesterday that Franco Spain is still a dictatorship which denies ite citizens the fundamental human rights. He said Acheson answered the question, concerning which there has been recent controversy, as to whether the United States should resume fuller diplomatic re- lations with Spain. HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN Asked how his personal physi- cian, Brig. Gen. Wallace Graham, stands on his compulsory health insurance plan, Mr. Truman smiled and told the reporter he should krow or Graham wouldn't be in his job, Immediately after the news con- ference, the President walked across from the White House to the old State Department building to talk to a large group of businessmen. ‘The speech, the White House said, was completely “off the re- cord.” The businessmen are members of the Committee for Economic De- velopment, & private organization made up of executives of various businesses. SALARY RESOLUTION ‘(he Capital-to-Capital yacht race {will be ready for presentation, He has decided to sign a resolu- (Continued on Page Eight)