The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, September 6, 1949, Page 1

" THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LXXIIL, NO. 11,291 JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1949 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS Air Secretary Symington Comin DEATHTOLL IS HIGH ON THREE DAYS Hundreds Lose Lives in Traffic Mishaps on Highways (By The Associated Press) The nation today grimly counted a record-breaking accidental death toll for the three-day Labor Day holiday. The full count of fatalities was not yet tabulated, but the more than 500 persons who lost their lives in accidents over the extend-! ed holiday was the Ilargest for| any Labor Day weekend in his- tory. ‘The highways took the heaviest toll. Of the 505 persons killed in violent accidents, 379 lost their lives in automobile mishaps. The! traffic total was nearly 100 above the estimated 280 probable death toll made by the National Safety Council. Forty-five persons drown- ed and 8 died in accidents of mis- | cellaneous causes. This year’s Labor Day total com- | pdred with the previous high fof ; 428 over the 1837 Labor Day mtnl.; DOCK STRIKE TALKS SHIFT TON. Y. CITY No Swim NEW YORK, Sept. 6—(P—Peace talks in the 129-day-old Hawalian dock strike shift here today. Federal Mediation Director Cyrus Ching was due in New York from Washington with one of his top aides, Assistant Director William N. Margolis, to confer with em- ployer and union representatives. Ching, after being asked- to at- tempt a settlement of the strike of CIO longshoremen, arranged to have the negotiations shmed to New York. ' Margolis said yesterday in Wash- ington that he and Ching will meet tonight or tomorrow morning with George Hillenbrand, Federal Medi-| ator in Hawaii who is coming to New York for the conferences. Ching and Margolis planned to meet tomorrow afternoon with the management and union negotia- STOCK QUOTATIONS | NEW YORK, Sept. 6.—#—Clos- ing quotation today of /Alaska Juneau mine stock is 3%, American Can 93, Anagonda 26%, Curtiss- Wright 7%, Internatiopal Harvest- er 26%, Kennecott 45%, New York Central 10, Northern Pacific 14%, U. S. Steel 22%, Pound $4.03. Sales today were 640,000 sh.nru| Averages today are as follows: industrials 179.20, rails 45.40, util- The Washington Merry - Go- Round (Copyrighty 1949, by Bell Byndicate, Inc.) BY DREW PEARSON ASHINGTON—About the mid- dle of August I finally succumbed to Mrs. P’s erroneous and unrea- sonable idea that Washtington is hot in the summertime And we went out to California on an alleg- ed vacation. Usually I have the excuse of filling the silo to stay right on the farm which is the best place in the world to relax. But by August my resistance against Mrs. P's ar- guments had completely broken down. In the first place we filled the silo early, using alfalfa instead of corn. In’the’secohd place I wanted to see my grandson, who lives in California, and who either because of the California sunshine or the fact that his mother re- quires a lot of 3-cornered acouter- ments and trappings for him when he travels, was not inclined to come to see me. So we departed. Well, we had a nice time in California. .I spoiled the baby only a little bit, we met a lot of nice folks, I didn’t get too lonesome for the constant ringing of the —e e (Continued on Page Four) BIG DISPLAY OF MILITARY OF U. 5. OPENS America’s Fighting Sirength Unleashed To- day in Germany NUERNBERG, Germany, Sept. 6. —IP—America’s fighting strength was unleashed- at dawn today in the greatest postwar display of military power against a mythi- cal foe from the east. It was the first maneuver under the unified command of the three services with more than 110,000 U. 8. soldiers, sailors and air- men taking part. Th “aggressor army” launched an attack at daybreak from the east with a striking force of 18,000 men bent on plowing through the First | Division to the Rhine River. The offensive forces are made up of U. S. Constabulary. The maneuvers, known as “Exer- cise Harvest,” were planned to simulate actual wartime conditions, with planes strafing the ground forces and artillery anc infantry| following through. Ah, Shucks! No Storm, BRJOWNSVILLE. Tex., Sept. 6— (M — Brownsville residents were scared—police warned them to steer clear of the beach yesterday; big storm coming. So Lalkor Day fun seekers stayed away from the gulf in droves. The police said they had picked up Navy' broadcasts, warnings of high tides and 60-mile gales bear- | ing down on this city at the ex- treme south tip of Texas. But the Brownsville weather bu- reau, the main station for southj Texas, said: Storm? Ha! Clear as| a bell ‘| The cops scratched their heads. Then somebody remembered that a) Navy reserve radio unit had set up its equipment to practice at Boca Chica beach, about 22 miles north of here. A Texas Ranger grumped: “The Navy pulled an Orson Welles.” But then it was too late to go swimming. FINAL TABULATION SALMON WORKERS VOTE UNFINISHED The final tabulation of ballots in the representation election for. salmon industry workers in South- east Alaska has not been, complet- ed. “The majority was not obtained by the AFL due to the fact that the challenged ballots have yet to be determined,” said Russell Miller, National Labor Relations Board representative of Washington, D. c. g The ballots are to be sent to the Regional Office of the NLRB in Seattle for further investigation. Where or when the status of the challenged ballots will be determin- ed is unknown. The counting of the ballots Sat- urday afternoon here in Juneau showed 485 for AFL, 395 against AFL, and 161 challenged ballots. The void ballots numbered five. The total valid ballots plus chal- lenged ballots numbered 1,041. The approximate number of eligible voters was 1,474. Eligible to vote in the election were all resident cannery workers employed by members of the Alaska Salmon Industry, Inc., in Southeast Alaska who worked at least five days in the 1948 season or three days in the 1949 season. MERLE RHODES GOES SOUTH, TUNA FISHING PR | Merle Rhodes left Monday for| the south aboard his halibuter, the Jeanette. He intends to engage in tuna fishing off the Oregon coast. | former lived in Everett, Wash. Mrs. jmen who lost their lives Friday Auto Misses Bridge; 2 Die At Fairbanks FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Sept. 6—® —The U. & Marshal reported two people drowned Sunday when a car missed a (:ridge as the driver turned her head to speak to persons in the rear seat. The marshal said he was told of the mishap by Mrs. James Hann,| whom he identified as the driver and wife of one of the victims. The other person who died was Mrs. Charlotte Slater, former Seattle business woman. The car plunged into Noyes Slough about one mile north ot Fairbanks before dawn. Passing motorists noticed its tracks leading off the road and investigated. They | fcund the car upside down, its headlights still burning. of the Company, Hann, Slater superintendent Construction Slater operated a floral and novelty shop in Seattle before coming to| Fairbanks. Her husband was George iZlater, whose brother, Robert, is one of the owners of the Slater! Construction Company. Officials of the fire and police| departments tried without success to revive the victims by artificial, respiration. PLANE CRASH VICTIMS ARE I DENTIFIED ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Sept. 6—| (P—The Air Force at Elmendorf Air Base has identified the seven lin a C-47 transport plane crash in Cook Inlet. Shortly after announcement of the names, recovery of three bodies | was reported unofficially from the scene, 10 miles southeast of here. | Those aboard were: Capt. Brian K. Moyers, 28, Orem, | Utah, the pilot; Capt. Erwin R. Stevenson, 32, Audubon, N.J.; 1st Lt. Roy E. Bailey, 29, Evanston, Ind.; 1st Lt. John J. Morel, 29. Hammond, La., navigator; Master Sgt. Robert G. Dunphy, 32, Or- lando, Fla., radio operator; Staff Sgt. Raymond W. Conklin, 27, Clarion, Iowa, crew chief; Corp. George H. Marquis, 19, Elgin, IIl, assistant radio operator. \TAKU LODGE MECCA| FOR MANY, HOLIDAY One of the largest number of guests to visit Taku Lodge this sea- son is gnnounced during the Labor Day holiday by Royal and Eleanor O'Reilly. Everyone went fishing, and made good catches, and en- Jjoyed water trips, etc. Among those at the lodge were Ethel Pinleson, Chris Hopkins, Eleanor Mentor, Eileen Uttech, Kenneth Waller, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hermann, Mr. and Mrs. T. Whiteside, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bond and Joy, Lorraine Merritt, Lois Smith, Jack Campbell, Mr. and| Mrs. Bob Druxman, Mr. and Mrs. ‘Wayne Johnson, Dr. and Mrs. Car- ter of Seattle, Hazel Forde, Olive ‘Trower. | Gertrude Wetzel, Opal Sherman, Mildred Kelly, Jean Walsh, Louise Walsh, Don Abel and Walter Field. dLennie Lempke is the chef at the Lodge. (AA OFFICIALS HERE ENROUTE 10 WASHINGTON, D.C. Completing a tour of Civil Aero- nautics Administration facilities in the Territory, a CAA group arrived in Juneau Saturday afternoon and proceeded to Annette island and Seattle the next day. Donald Myrop, Deputy CAA Ad- ministrator, headed the party, which included 18 Washington, D. iand two boys, aged two and five, * i HAIL OF BULLETS KILLS 12 Army Veteran on Maniacal Rampage on Busy Camden Street CAMDEN, N. J, Sept. 6.—®—A| A 28-year-old army veteran on a maniacal rampage today killed 12 persons on a busy Camden street. Five others were wounded. Detective Marshall Thompson identified the killed as Harold| Unruh of Camden. A quiet, well- dressed young man, his neighbors said they knew little about him. The street “looked like a battle- field,” Thompson said. “He (Un-| ruh) turned that German . Luger loose on those people like ducks in a pond.” Killed In the 45-minute hail of bullets were five men, five women Mass Slaughter Police authorities here said they, believe it. was the worst mass slaughter on a city street in ths nation’s history. It all began quietly enough. Unruh walked out of his house, nattily dressed in a light suit and white shirt with bow tie. Without warning he whipped out | his gun and began firing. Before | he was finished, he had raced in and out of half a dozen business establishments, cutting down men, women ‘and children right and left, Then he barricaded himself in the second floor room where he. lived. ‘Shot It Out For a time he shot it out with 50 policemen while men and wo- men milled in the street. “They gave us a hell of a time,"l Thompson said. “'I‘hey wouldn’t get out of the way.” “Men would stop for a traffic| light,” Thompson added, “then theyl got out.” Failing to win the gun bnme‘ police cut loose with a tear gas barrage. s Coughing and choking, Unruh( emerged from his room. He was| unhurt. Police threw up a shoulder-to~ shoulder cordon to convoy Unruh from the building. * HEINCTS CRIMB Three hours later police learned Unruh had been wounded in the buttock. He was hustled off to a hospital for an operation. Mitchell H. Cohen, Camden county prosecutor, told newsmen after grilling Unruh for two and | one-half hours that “this was the most heinous crime in Camden po-! lice history.” He said Unruh told him the shootings were part of “a precon- ceived plan” and that the war veteran ‘“could clearly remember | every detall of every shooting.” He said murder charges has been lodged against Unruh. Cohen quoted the killer as saying in an oral statement: “They (the neighbors) had been| talking about me for some time and making derogatory remarks about my character. I had been thinking about killing them for! some time.” SCHOOL STARTS FOR YOUNGSTERS IN JUNEAU AREA Families have moved in from; country homes, wardrobes have been put in condition, and every recent boat and airplane arrival has taken on the air of a teachers’ special. Could mean but one thing. School, days are here again. Officials report a large attend- ance on the first day of the school year, which traditionally opens the day after Labor Day. As the regis- tration of former students was com- pleted last spring, only new enrol- lees had to be registered today. In high and elementary schools, classes ran the full schedule start- ing at 8:45 am. To take care of the large kin- dergarten enroliment, it is neces- sary to divide these classes, Morn- ing and afternoon sections are held in the recreation rooms of the C. staff members. They made the trip in a CAA NC-62 piloted by Jim Hurst. Chirch of Christ in the Waynor addition, and the Resurrection Lutheran Church on Main Etreet. | greater distance. ion Senators and Representatives. ISHIRLEY FAILS 10 SWIM CHANNEL; IS PULLED INTO BOAT IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL, Sept. 6.—(M—Shirley May France failed in a gallant attempt to swim the English Cliannel today after battling her way through swirling tides to within less than six miles of her goal—the White Cliffs of Dover. Robbed of all her strength by the icy water and swift currents of the Channel, the Somerset, Mass.,, school girl was dragged moaning from the water. She strug- | gled to keep from being pult»d into the boat. In tears she pleaded for a chance to keep on. The end came at 4:05 p. m. (8:05 a, m. PDT) after she had been in the icy waters 10% hours. Ob- servers estimated she swam more than 30 miles on a zig-2agging course. “Please—please—leave me in,” the pretty I7-year-old swimmer pleaded with her coach, Harry Boudakian. It is 19 miles across the Eng- lish Channel, but the flow of tides force swimmers to travel a much TRUMAN TO CAMPAIGN NEXT YEAR Will Spearha Democrat- ~ ic Congressional El- ections, Is Report INDEPENDENCE, Mo., Sept. 6— (M—Top ranking advisers said w-l day President Truman will spear-| head the Democratic campaign in next year's Congressional elections by personal appearances in key states. These Presidential associates, un- quotable by name, said Mr. Tru- man's Labor Day speeches yester-| {day were just a sample of the nech-l nique he will use in a rear platiormn stumping tour in 1950. Most of them agreed that Mr. Truman is undecided whether he will seek re-election in 1952. They! also felt that he will make no de- cisian until after the returns are in from next Novemlier’s voting| The President started his 1950 campaigning early by lashing “or-| ganized special Interests” in speeches at Pittsburgh and Des Moines. He sought to drum up support| for enactment of the Brannan Pro- | duction Payment Plan and for re-| peal of the Taft-Hartley Act. He defended the Democratic con- trolled 81st Congress for repairing “most of the damage” he said the GOP-dominated 80th did, but he| added: “There are still many reactionary Senators and Representatives in! Congress, but they are no longer in control as they were last yesr and the year before.” The President flew into Missouri last night immediately after his address to the American Veterans of World War II (AMVETS) at Des Moines. He is flying back to Washington today. ® ® 0 ® o 0 0 0 0o 0 o1 WEATHER REPORT (U. 8. WEATHER BUREAU) (This data is for 24-hour pe- riod ending 7:30 a.m., PST.) e Iu Juneau—Maximum, minimum, 48. At Airport—Maximum, 172; minimum, 42. 1; FORECAST (Junesu ana Vieinity) Partly cloudy tonight and .Wednesday. Lowest tempera- ture tonight about 50; high- est Wednesday near 67. 0000000 c0000000 000 OPRECIPITATION ® (Past 24 hours ending 7:30 a.m. todsy. e In Juneau — .01 inches; o since Sept. 1, 193 inches; e since July 1, 1294 inches. ® At the Afrport — Trace; ® since Sept. 1, .50 inches; ® since July 1, 7.99 inches. iing speedsters, shrieking over their “Clelang “Was (ralleq “Rcross Tthe ROTARIANS SEE | minded the club that October pro- ® ® 0 0000 BILLODOM | 1S KILLED, | AIR RA(ES, Flier's Plane Rips Ihrough ( Residence, Killing Woman, Her Son CLEVELAND, Sept. 6—(®—Zport flying’s richest and toughest race faced a new threat to continuance today with the death of distance flier Bill Odom and two su:urban residente. Cdom’s death plurge into a Berea home during the second lap of the Thompson Trophy event yesterday revived the protest of area residents against the low fly- homes at 400 miles an hour. The dark green racer, a converted fighter, ripped through the house, killing Mrs. Jeanne Laird, 24, and her year-old son, Craig. Odom was flying an F-51 Mus- tang owned by Aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran. TAKES $19,100 PRIZE i Cook Cleland of Cleveland, former | Navy fighter pilot, took the Thomp- son Trophy and $19,100 with a new record speed of 397 miles an hour. He also won in 1847 with a record of 396 mph that stood until yester- | day. The Lakbor Day tragedy, killing one of the nation’s best known fliers and two persons unconnected with the sport, brought an emer- gency meeting of the Berea Progres- sive Citizens League to draft a pro- test to state, county and nus Y . officials. ... finish line by Ron Puckett of Lans- | downe, Pa., with an average of 3935 mph, and Ben McKillen of Willoughby, O., with 387.5 mph. All three pilots flew Corsairs, with en- gines capable of more than 4,000 horsepower, RECORD PERFORMANCE. The iktig race climaxed a day of record performance. Bill Brennand of Oshkosh, Wis., started it by winning $7,000 and the Goodyear Trophy in the midget plane races at an average of 177.3 mph. Lt. Walter C. Rew of the Cali- fornia Air National Guard fol- lowed with a 594.8 mph victory in the Allison Trophy dash for Air Force jets from Indianapolis to Cleveland. Capt. Bruce Cunningham of the 334th Fighter Group based at Andres Airbase, Md., then turned. the 15-mile Thompson course at an average of 586.1 mpl He lost part on his tail assembly near the finish, hawever, and made an emergency landing. SHORT FiLM ON DEATH BY SHOCK “The Shocking Truth,” a motion picture with a life-saving moral, was today's program at the weekly luncheon meeting of the Juneau Rotary Club in the Baranof Hotel Gold Room. Such slogans as these are emphasized: “Plug the switch| before it plugs you,” and “Kill the circuit before it kills you.” Using low-voltage home ap-| pliances and commercial tools, the movie depicts the work of “the deadly double"—defect and posi- tion—using a robot that lights up to illustrate the tragedy of care- less current. The film closes with reminders of protection for equip- ment, which may be worth lives. Stan Grummett was program chairman, and Malcolm Greany ran the projector. President Bob Ackervick . re- grams will be planned by Jerry| McKinley, James W. McNaughton, Henry Green and Malcolm Greany. Guests were Roy W. 1"ex-zuson,1 lumber manufacturer and memier | of the Fairbanks Rotary Club, and Charles Raatikainen of Pelican. The regular meeting of the Board tonight will be in Henry Harmon's office. STEAMER MOVEMF™TS Princess Loulse from Vancouver due to arrive at 8:30 tonight. Baranof from Seattle due to ar- rive at 8:15 tonight. Aleutian scheduled to sail from Seattle Saturday. f | uprising, PRICE'TEN CENTS to A 'Have You Seen Her! i jq i Information is wanted as to the present whereabouts of LOUISE CID, aged 28, five feet six Inches tall, weight 130 pounds, fair skin, brown eyes, and auburn hair, pic- ture above. The Empire received the above | picture and the following particu-! lars: “I have been unabie to locate my step-daughter, Louise Cid, since June 16. The last address we have is Juneau. Her father, George G. Parrott, is suffering with high blood pressure, caused by . worry about his daughter. We are mak- ing an appeal for information re- garding herviyhergahouts.” The information is sought by Mrs. 3 George G. Parrott, whose address is 2005 Riverside Drive, Los An- geles, 26, Calif. WILL CONFER ON FINANCES FOR BRITAIN Two Cabmet Mmlsters Due in U. S. Today-Talks Start Tomorrow (By The Associated Fress) Two key British Cabinet Minist-| ers are expected to arrive in New| York tonight enroute to Washing- ton for three-nation talks on Brit- ain's economic plight. Sir Stafford Cripps, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, Foreign Secretary, are arriving by ship for the British-Canadian- American talks opening tomorrow. Diplomatic authorities in Wash-~ ington said Britain will ask per- mission to spend Marshall Plan dcllars anywhere she likes—not just | in the United States—as one way out of her financial crisis. { IN CHINA In Canton, the Chinese National- ist government and the Communists are probing the government defen- ses for weak points on the Canton perimeter. The Nationalists claim- ed their forces are holding their own against the Communist drives to cut the Canton-Hankow railway, | horse, 170 miles from Canton. Reports from Kunming described | that southwestern China city as quiet but tense after a bloodless| seizure of power by Gov. Lu Han of Yunnan province Saturday. Earl- | ier reports said the governor had proclaimed the independence of Yunnan from the Nationalist ad- ministration. Today’s reports said no Nationalist officials have been molested and all government banks | | were open. | BOLIVIA REVOLT The 10-day-old rightist revolt in Bolivia against the middle-of-the- road government appears to be fast collapsing. The government radio said Carlos Torres, leader of the had been captured in Sucre. That town and Potosi, seiz- ed by rebels last week, have been retaken by government forces. An army communique said loyal troops| and planes are pursuing remnants’ of fleeing rebel forces. i that | today, laska WILL PROBE HOUSING FOR AIR FORCES Stops af Seattle, then Joins Chief of Staff for Trip North DENVER, S;.—B——(M——Mr Sec- retary W. Stuart Symington de- clared here today that current re- ductions in defense spending will 'not impalr the efficiency of the U.S. Air Forces. En route to Seattle, Wash., and thence to Alaska, Symington stop- red off briefly in Denver. “The reductions will reduce the Air Force in size, but not in effi- ciency,” he said. “We intend to meet the reductions with careful planning which will enable us to maintain the high efficiency of the Air Force.” The Secretary said he will meet the Joint Chiefs of Staff for an in- cpection tour of air defenses in Alaska, Symington said one of the principal reasons for his Alaskan trip is fo look into the housing situation tor Alr Force personnel, which he described as acute. Governor Is Flying SEATTLE, Sept. 6—(M— Civic leaders said today Governor Gruen- ing of Alaska had accepted an in- vitation to attend a conference here tomorrow with Air Secretary | W. Stuart Symington. Local interests marshalled forces to try to convince the Air Chief Boeing bomber production should continue at the Seattle plant. Their plan of attack is to i emphasize that if the Pacific North- west is considered too vulnerable, its defenses and Alaska's should be strengthenedA That theory was em- phulnd last week in a resolution of the Alaska Statehood Commit- tee. Ciyic leaders said Gov, Gruening considered the Seattle conference of sufficient importance to. bring him from Alaska despite the pres- ence there of the joint military Chiefs of Staff. He is to fly to Seattle tonight. Gov. Gruening is in Anchorage but in radio-telephoning to his Juneau office said he will leavé Anchorage tonight at 6 o'clock, fly direct to Seattle and return north on Thursday. JUNEAU WOMEN RETURN FROM TRIP TO INTERIOR Four Juneau women are talking today about the White Ghosts of Chitina. Mrs. E. J. White, asumnz Cura- tor Alaska Museum; Mrs. H. L. Faulkner, wife of a Juneau attor- ney; M»s. Edna Lomen, city. libra- rian and Mrs, Hector McLean, re- turned yesterday by Haines from a two-week auto tour of the in- terior. They touched at Haines, White- , Marsh Lake, Valdez, Anchor- age, and Fairfanks on their trip. But the place whichh stands out in their memory, now that the journey is over, is the town of Chitina in the Copper River Dis- trict, where the town is decorated as a ghost town. “There are white ghosts painted on the old buildings,” Mrs. White said today. “And the old settler, who’s postmaster, is waiting for the town to boom again.” Mrs. White said you'd never be able to tell it was a ghost town by the hotel. She called it a “very good hotel.” About the rest of the trip: Best roads, 50 miles of paved highway outside Palmer. General condition of roads, good, except’ for M spots. “The highway commission I8 doing a wonderful job.” Best scen= ery, between Haines and the junc~ tion. Anduupemflouflvhkh- way were wonderful when we had car trouble,” Mrs. White said.