The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, August 30, 1949, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LXXIIIL, NO. 11,286 Truman’s Aide Vau Teen Agers Take TerrificTuna LEGION IN BIG PARADE, MEET CITY Drums Roll,_figles Blare, Strutting Girls Twirl Their Batons PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 30.—#— A gay task force of gaudily-dressed American Legionnaires began a 12- hour parade maneuver today to capture Philadelphia. Drunts rciled, bugles blared. Strutting girls in pretty costumes twirled batons. Martial tunes filled the air.- So did confetti and ticker tape—and the cheering applause of a million Philgdelphians and visit- ors, The Quaker city surrendered hap- pily to the invasion—the Legion’s| 31st annual convention parade. U. S. military and naval units led off the March directly behind the Legion’s parade marshals. The massed colors of the 48 states, the District of Columbia, Alaska, Guam, Puerto Rico, the| Virgin Islands, and the Panama Canal Zone were carried by a battalion of military policemen. ® & & 0 o 0 o WEATHER REPORT (U. S. WEATHER BUREAU) (This data is for 24-hour pe- riod ending 7:30 a.m. PST.) In Juneau—Maximum, 73; minimum, 48. At Airport—Maximum, 72; minimum, 40. FORECAST (Juneau and Vieinity) Slowly ‘increasing high cloudiness tonight and Wed- nesday. Lowest temperature tonight around 47 degrees. Cooler Wednesday, with highest temperature about 65 degrees. PRECIPITATION (Past 24 hours ending 7:30 a.m. today In Juneau City — None; since Aug. 1, 556 inches; since July 1, 10.85 inches. At the Airport None; since July 1, 298 inches; since July 1, 6.95 inches. . . . . . . . o . . . . . e . . . ) . . . © . . . ° . MRS. WILLIAM STRAND VISITS | IN JUNEAU ENROUTE SOUTH Bound for Seattle by steamer to meet her daughter who will fly from Fairbanks to Seattle next week, Mrs. William 8trand was a| visitor in Juneau yesterday while| the Baranof was in port. ! Miss Barbara Strand, who com- pleted her freshman year -at col- lege at University of Alaska, will | enter College of the Pacific 1n\ Stockton, California. - After their| trip south, Mrs. Strand will visit her son, Dale, in Battle Cree%, Michigan, where he is a technician in psychiatry at the Percy Jones General Hcgsp{tal. Young Dale Strand enlisted in the army in ‘Washington, D. C., where the fam- ily lived before moving to Alaska. Before returning to Fairbanks where her husband is auditor and manager of the Fairbanks News- Miner, Mrs. Strand will visit rela- tives in the east. The Washington Merry - Go- Round (Copyright, 1949, by Bell Syndicate, Inc.) By ROBERT 8. ALLEN, Substi- tuting for Drew Pearson, Who Is On Annual Vacation. ASHINGTON — Now the Ma- rines seem to have caught the pub- lic-furor fever. The famed fighting corps has been serenely out of the limelight while Army, Navy and Air Force brasshats have starred nervously before sentational congressional probes. But Marine Maj. Gen. Graves B. Erskine has changed all that down in San Diego. He has succeeded in stirring up a furious tumult in the area. The scrappy San Diego Journal is gnashing its teeth at Erskine in boxcar headlines, county and state officials are blasting him as ai highhanded martinet, and Con- gressman Clinton D. McKinnon is demanding a public investigation. Alarmed Defense Secretary Louis Johnson has rushed an assistant to the city to check on the matter. Cause of the uproar was Erskine’s » k4 Ellis Hodgkins, 14 (left) and Peter Tyler, 15, flank the giant 700- pound tuna they caught at Ipswich, Mass., on a borrowed line and 15 cents worth of mackerel bait. The big bluefin was nearly too much for the 15-foot outboard motor boat the boys were fishing from and an adult had to help them get the whopper ashore. biggest tuna of the Ipswich season so far. (® Wirephoto. It was the ARMED REVOLT IN CZECH LAND GETS SMASHED 'Was Plot to Overthrow! Commie Government -Many Arrests (By The Associated Press) A plot to overthrow the Com- munist government of Czechoslo- vakia by armed revolt has bgen smashed, the Pragu€ government announced today. Six of the alleged plotters have been condemned to death after a secret trial. Ten persons have been given life sentences and an unspecified number, lesser . prison terms. They were accused of high | treason and spying for an undis- | closed western power. | The government claimed the plot was well planned by an under- STATEHOOD IS "MUST” IS REPOR7 WASHINGTON, Aug. 30—(®— Rep. Sabath (D-IID said today that: Alaska and Hawaii statehocd bills| are among a number of “must” measures on which President Tru- man asks . early action after the House ends its recess on £ept. 21. Sabath talked to reporters after a White House conference with the President. Others which Sabath said the President put in the same cate- gory included: creation of a perma- nent Fair Employment Practices JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 1949 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS STATEHOOD GROUP ATWOOD CHAIRMAN Alaska’s Statehood Committee, which met for the first time yes- terday, went into action this morn- ing with the election of officers. Robert Atwood, publisher of the Anchorage Times, was chosen chairman of the Statehood Com- mittee, and William L. Baker, Ketchikan publisher, was made vice-chairman. Mrs. Mildred Hermann, Juneau attorney, was elected recording sec- retary, The nominating commmittee, set up during preliminary discussion in yesterday’s meeting, was made up of Gov. Ernest Gruening, chair- man; Rep. Warren A. Taylor of Fairbanks; Delegate E. L. (Bob) Bartlett; and Atwood. Also chosen this morning were the executive committee and a | committee to draw up by-laws for the Statehood group. Executive Committee members are: Gov. Ernest Gruening, Rep. Taylor, Sen. Victor C. Rivers of Anchorage, and Sen. Howard Lyng of Nome. The three attorneys on the State- hood Committee were chosen to draw up the by-laws under which the committee will operate. are: Judge Anthony J. Mrs. Hermann and Rep. Taylor. firmed by the Legislature the last day of the 1949 session—only three | were absent. Sen. Frank Peratrovich of Kla- wock, Rep. Stanley McCutcheon of Anchorage, and Lee Bettinger of Kodiak were not present for the opening session. The Statehood Committee met again this afternoon to discuss the by-laws drawn up by the attorney ! { mmember of the group. REMOVAL, BOEING PLANT IS OPPOSED BY ALASKA GROUP Alaska's Statehood ~Committee declared at its first organizing ses- the Pacific Coast is due to insuffi- cient defenses in Alaska. It pledged full support to Seattle’s opposition to an Air Force proposal from Seattle to the mid-West. ‘The telegram on the Boeng situ- ation said the appeal from Sen. Warren G. Magnuson of Washing- ton state “Asking us to join with you in a stand ‘against the think- ing which would abandon defenses of the Pacific Coast and Alaska’ Commission under the “Civil Rights” program; $150,000,000 re- covery program in Southern Korea; a $100,000,000 public works planning | program; expanded Social Security | ground group.which has been under police surveillance for some time. The group had even “set the day and hour for their armed revolt,” according to the official story. One of those sentenced to denth was Jossef Charvam, identified hy friends as Chief of Security Pollce in Prague under the government which was overthrown by a com- munist coup in February, 1948. The government said the mastermind | of the plot was the brother of a prominent Prague police ofticial who was ousted when the Commun- { ists seized power. The plot, the government said, called for the liquidation of key Communist figures, the seizure of puklic offices, dismissal of the Na- tional Parliament and suppression of newspapers. “They intended to return all natipnalized factories and other enterprises to the original private owners,” the government said. MRS, TURNER PLANS l TWO MONTHS OUTSIDE' Mrs. H. J. Turner plans to be[ on Thursday’s Pan Afnerican flight to Seattle, starting a two-month vacation outside. She will return to her former home in Minnesota, visiting her son, Harley Turner, in Hopkins. She also will see another son, Lincoln Turner, in Seattle, and will visit in Portland before returning to Juneau. FROM TENAKEE Tony Johnson arrived in town| (Contigued op Page Four) | |from Tenakee yesterday, and is a| guest at the Gastineau Hotel, ) season. benefits; increased benefits for| postal workers. | MRS. CLEM SUCCEEDS| MRS. LIVIE AS EXEC. SECY. OF RED CROSS On September 1, Mrs. Kenneth Clem succeeds Mrs. Daniel Livie who has resigned, as executive sec- retary of the American Red Cross, Juneau Chapter. Harry C. Leege, chairman of the Juneau Chapter, announces the fol- lowing committees: home service,! Mrs. Clayton Polley, chairman; Roy Peratrovich, Douglas Gray, Rev. Walter Soboleff; production, Mrs. Betty Casperson, chairman; Gray Ladies, Mrs. Arthur Walker, chair- man; disaster committee, L. B. Av- rit, chairman, Comdr. E. Chester, eo-chairman; home nursing, Miss Anne Lello; publicity, Robert Aste. RONALD BEAN FILES SUIT AGAINST ASP Ronald Bean has filed suit in District Court for $1,700 and at- torney’s fee, against Sam Asp. In his complaint, Bean charges that he was not paid for fish sold to Asp in the 1948 fishing Albert White is Bean's attorney. WEEK IN SEATTLE Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Warfield left by plane yesterday to spend a strikes a Mmost responsive chord.” ‘The committee spokesman said it was sent to the Governors and Congressmen of three Pacific North- west states. The telegram continued: “We cannot state too strongly {our conviction that the withdrawal plan functioning magnificently throughout the entire Second World War in our neighbor state of Washington is a shocking example of defeatism on the part of the Federal authorities responsible, a disgraceful confession of weakness, and a humiliating retreat from what should be our primary na- tional policy, now and forever, to make our coasts impregnable against attack. “We Alaskans have been deeply shocked at the recent action of Congress in failing to authorize a relatively modest $137,000,000 for the long overdue defense of now yulnerable Alaska, a policy which is inseparably related to the re- treat from the State of Washington and other Western states to the prairies. “We in Alaska do not believe in hoisting the white flag in our de- (Continued on Page 6) STEAMER MOVEMENTS Princess Kathleen from Vancouv- er in port. Aleutian from Seattle due in port at 4 p. m. today and scheduled to sail westward at 10:30, tonight. Prince George scheduled to sail from Vancouver 8 tonight. Princess Norah scheduled to sail from Vancouver August 31. Baranof scheduled to sail from Seattle Saturday. Princess Louise scheduled to sail week in Seattle, from Vancouver Saturday. gh ELECTS OFFICERS;| They | Dimond, | Of the 13 members of the com- | mittee—ten of whom were appoint- | ed by Governor Gruening and con- | sion today that any vulnerability of |} to shift Boeing bomier production |to the interior of a great aircraft | Beach, Fla. | lars. | » | Highways clogged with rows of snapped and twisted trees. It will exceed by far the historic disaster of 1928 that took un\\nrds of 2, One of the 37 airplanes wfl'rkcd by the hurricane hangs atop wreckage of its hangar at West Palm Homes were twisted into matchwood by winds that reach a velocity of 160 miles an hour. Damage will run into the milions of dol- Street Crews Allack Hurmane 5 Debns re power “shovel loads coconuts, palm fronds and other dcrblx onto a dump truck as street cleaning crews were mustered to clear the roadways aiter a hurricane raised havoc with trees, shrubbery and homes as lt pnmd through West Palm Beach, Fla, (» Wirephoto. ,000 lives. (P wirepllolo Revollers in | Bolivia Are Using Bombs LA PAZ, Bolivia, Aug. 30—®. Two Rebel planes today dropped, mortar shells on the La Paz Army Afrport and a nearby military col-| lege. The Revolutionists used mortar shells because they have no bombs a government spokesman said. Tae shells did no damage, he added. The planes, DC-3 transports, flew over La Paz itself, but were driven off by anti-aircraft fire. Meanwhile the government be- gan a draft of all citizens in a fight of survival aga'nst ths spreading Rightist Revolution. Reservists, 20 to 24, were called: to the colors in La Paz and orders| for mobilization have been issued to ‘all men 19 to 50. They will be called upon to fight the revolt against the middle-of- the-road government which broke out in scattered sections Saturday and now controls all Bolivia's large cities except La Paz. FOREST SERVICE MEN LEAVE FOR EDNA BAY Charles Forward, Timber Sales official in the Forest Service office here, left today for Edna Bay on the West Coast of Prince of Wales Island. He was accompanied by B. H. Payne of the Forest Service's Office of Timber Management in | Lill permitting KRUG CAN SELL LAND = Dollar Blaze, IN ALASKA, San Francisco WASHINGTON, Aug. 32°0—(P— President Truman signed today a the Secretary of| the Interior to sell at auction Alaskan public lands suitable for industrial of commercial purposes or home sites. . Excluded from lands that can ke scld are those of National Parks or Monumehts, National Forests, |Indian lands and military reserva- iions. Tracts are acres, Sales may be made to any bidder who 1urnishes proof satisfactory to the Secretary that the bidder has the intention and the means to de- velop the land. not to ezceed 160 DICK WINGERSON IS ON WAY TO MIT AGAIN Dick Wingerson, weiikncwn neau high school grad, Princess Louise for Boston, back to MIT for his second year. Dick | spent a busy summer vacation| here, taking one day off to be with the Juneau City Band on the Four- th of July. Ju- SECOND SON BORN SAT. FOR RONALD BURROWS A second son, Douglas Carl, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Bur- rows at St. Ann’s Hospital Satur- day night. The parents have an- Washington, D. C. They will inspect timber opera- 'tions in the national forest there. other 20-month-old son, Stanley. Burrows is owner and operator of a welding shop here, lett on the ( | 1 Four Mllllon SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 30.—(®— A fire causing an estimated $4,000,- 000 loss, raged for six hours today through a grocery warehouse o(| Safeway Stores, Inc. Division manager G. H. Bran- lund said the block square ware-| house was ~worth $1,500,000. He estimated the value of ' groceries| destroyed at around $3,000,000. | More than 35 firemen were hurt, tion. { LOUISE TAKES 21; SAILS FOR SOUTH The Princess Louise salled nu 10:30 a.m. today for the South Wth| 21 embarking here. Three disem- barked from Skagway when she‘ docked here this morning. Passen-| | gers included: ! To Prince Rupert: C. E. Mossenu,‘ D. Murphy, L. Lavalle, M. Beaton. | To Vancouver: Mrs. Hilda Mal-| janen, J. Kelliher, F. Ridden, Iva Heft, Thea Fattin, R. Wingerson,| Miss M. Bourner, D. Simons, R.| Powell, R. Wheeler, G. V. Louns- bury, T. Hawthorne, W. J. Beeson, | R. W. Daggitt, K. Jones. | From Skagway: Mr. and Mrs. T.| George, H. C. Heal. | FROM SHELTON, WASH. “Alta Bailey of Shelton, Wash,| a guest at the Gastineau. an on Witness Stand Hurricane Wrecks Planes DIDN'T DO ANYTHING IMPROPER Admits C;H:(iing Cam- paign Funds - Did Help Getting Govt. Business WASHINGTON, Aug. 30.—®— Maj. Gen. Harry H. Vaughan ac- knowledged today that he collected campaign money in 1946 from some of the business men he helped in dealings with the government. He said he got $2,000 or $3,000 from race track owned William He- lis, who sought Vaughan's aid in 1948 in getting a permit for scarce building materials for the 1anfor- an (Calif)Race Track. And, Vaughan said, he “probab- ly” got $2,000 from John Maragon, Washington man-about-town and one time employee of a Chicago perfume company. Vaughan, the President’s military' aide, was in the witness chair of the Senate Investigations subcom- mittee. Nothing Improper Flatly and repeatedly, he denied that there was anything improper in anything he did for any busi- ness man—or that he ever received any fee, gift or favor in return for his aid. Senator McCarthy (R-Wis) said at one point he felt that “Vaughan did not personally profit financial- ly” from his assistance to persons who have figured in the inquiry. But he demanded that Vaughan produce for the committee the names of all persons from whom he recelved money for campaign purposes, the exact amounts and the disposition of the money. Vaughan had testified that he | thought the Maragon and Helis contributions had gone to the Mis« souri Democratic campaign. He was still being questioned about this when Chalrman Hoey (D-NC) ordered a. recess until 9 a. m. (EST) Wednesday. Vaughan will return to the' witness chair then. Truman Didn’t Know The White House army aide told Senate investigators that the things he did were done without the know- ledge of President Truman. He did not mention them to the President, he said, because “I didn’t think it was necessary.” Vaughan came in for rugged questioning from members of the Senate subcommittee looking into the question of whether there has been improper, influence in letting government contracts. Much of it revolved about his relations with Maragon, who stood {on his constitutional rights and re- fused to tell the committee that Maragon banked $119,000 during a five-year period in which he had said his income was about $30,000. Did Aid Maragon Vaughan acknowledged he had been helpful to Maragon from time to time, but he swore he had never ’nuthoflud Maragon to “represent, or speak, House.” Under a fire of questions from McCarthy, Vaughan denied specifi- cally that he ever told the State De- partment that President Truman was “personally interested” in a trip Maragon proposed to make to Eu- rope in 1845 for a perfume com- pany—the: same company which gave Vaughan seven home freezers for me or the White ( 1 but only four required hospitaliza- | for himself and friends that year. Vaughan read the committee a prepared statement which contain- ed among other things, his explan- ation for accepting the freeze box- es from officials of the Albert J. Verley Perfume Company. They were simply gifts from old friends, |he sald, and had no connection with any assistance he may have given those friends. The witness said he had nothing to conceal in his record; “I have discharged my duties honestly and to the best of my ability.” STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, Aug. 30.—M—Clos- ing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 3%, American Can 93, Anaconda 27, Curtiss- Wright 7%, International Harvest- er 26%, Kennecott 45%, New York Central 10, Northern Pacific 13%, U. S. Steel 22%, Pound $4.02. Sales today were 590,000 shares. Averages today are as follows: industrials 178.69, rails 44.98, util- ities 30.09.