The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, September 16, 1949, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LXXIIIL, NO. 11,300 JUNEAU, ALASKA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1949 MEMBER A SSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS Crew of Wrecked Juneau Craft Reported Safe Fairest of the Fair ACHESON SPRINGS NEW ONE Freshman at 61 - i |t Opposes Bill Tightening of Immigration Barriers —Gives Reasons WASHINGTON, Sept. 16—@®— | Vigorous opposition by Secretary of State Acheson to proposed legisla- tion aimed at ughtex:nng immigra- | tion barriers against subversivef aliens was disclosed today. ! He has written Chairman Mc- | Carran (D-Nev) of the Senate Ju-| diciary Committee, author of the| bill, that the legislation would “drastically interfere” with the conduct of U. S. foreign relations. One part of the bill, Acheson said, “would virtually result in a\ break of diplomatic relations, au least with all Communist-dominated | countries, and perhaps with others as well.” He added “n, would also impair the activities and functions of the| United Nations am\i might even render impossible the maintenance of its headquarters in the United States.” The bill on ‘which a Judlcmryn subcommittee now is holding hear- ings would arm the government with new powers to block the entry of subversive aliens and to§ throw out any already here. Acheson’s letter was dated July 15. McCarran now is on his way to Europe and the letter was made |} public by Senator O’Connor (D-Md) Acting Chairman of the subcom-|i mittee. FAMED GEORGIA PEACH TO MARRY FOR THIRD TIME BALTIMORE, Septn 16 — @ —| Sports Editor Rodger Pippen of the Baltimore News-Post wrote today, that Ty Cobo, baseballs famed! Georgia Peach, will be married| again in the next few days. Pippen said the 62-year-old base-| ball immortal will take as his bride| Mrs. Frances Cass, daughter of Dr.; John F. Fairbairn, prominent spec- ialist at Buffalo, N.Y. Pippen’s dispatch was datelined from Buffalo, where he is visiting Cobb at Dr. Fairbairn’s country place. Cobb was divorced two years ago. It will be the third marriage for Mrs. Cass, who has two children. Defense Rests in Tokyo Rose Case SAN FRANCESCO, Sept. 16—(P— The defense rested today in the Tokyo Rose treason trial. It was the 51st trial day for Mrs. Iva Toguri D’Aquino, who was born in Los Angeles of Japanese parents. She is accused of making treason- able broadcasts from Japan during the war. The Washington sons, Joe, 18 (left), also a fresh Maj. T. J. Childress (center), 6l-year-old retired Army officer of Charleston, W. Va., enrolled as a freshman at Morris Harvey Coliege there. He talks over college problems on the campus with his two man and Jack, 20, a sophomore, Childress is majoring in art. ) Wirephoto. B Robert C. atkinson and the form- er Margaret Hastings (above) have disclosed they have been married since last June. Mrs. At- kinson was the WAC-stranded for 47 days in a lost Dutch New Guinea Valley after an Army plane crash in 1945. The Atkin- sens make their home in An- n.tpolis, Md. (® Wirephoto. EXPLOSION DOES DAMAGE TO PLANE ‘AT BOEING PLANT; Two Crewmen Run from Flames with Clothes Afire -Like Human Torches | SEATTLE, iSept. 16—(?—Flaming gasoline fumes shot through a huge Merry - Go- Round BY DREW PEARSON | plane Company plant here yester- (Copyright, 1949, by Bell Syndicate, Inc.) ASHINGTON— Something is rotten in the egg market. mer Thomas, the speculating Sena- tor from Oklahoma, could tell a lot about it if he wished, though | he probably won't. Elmer Thomas (not to be con- fused with Senator Elbert Thomas of Utah, a pious Mormon ex-mis-| sionary) is the man who was-exposed in this column three years ago for simultaneously speculating in cot- ton and using his influence in the Senate to affect the price of cot- ton. At that time Thomas vigorously denied he was speculating, called this columnist a liar, said all the cotton he owned was on his back. But two years later when a Repub- lican Congress required the Secre- tary of Agriculture to make public the names of those speculating in cotton, Senator Thomas’ name was on the list. So also was the name And El- | §day. touching off an explosion that injured- 11 men, two seriously. Firemen said a sheet of flame sprang from two empty gasoline tanks in the middle of the plane, which the crew was removing. The flames traveled into the left wing, blowing up a tank there. The two most seriously injured, Eugene C. Hillman and Howard E. Bowers Jr., jumped from the wing and ran as their clothes caught fire. Witnesses said they re- | sembled human torches. A Boeing emergency fire crew brought the flames under control Lefore city firemen arrived. The explosion did more damage to the plane than the fire, a company spokesman said. FROM HOONAH Mr. and Mrs. H. D.’ Daniel and children of Hoonah are guests at the Baranof Hotel. . FROM ANCHORAGE A. V. Chapman, Jr. of An- S (Continued on Page Four) chorage is at the Baranof, B-50 tomber at the Boeing' Air-! SUIT CHALLENGING 'A9 FISHTRAP TAX GOES T0 JUDGE Decision on a major tax measure passed by the 1949 Legislature— Chapter 11, which greatly increased the Territorial tax on fishtraps— was put up to Judge George W. Folta this morning, on completion of a hearing which started Septem- ber 8. Closing arguments in rebuttal by counsel for P. E. Harris and Com- pany and partners in the Mutual Trap Company, intervenors, were finished just before 11 o’'clock, in trial of the suit against Tax Com- missioner M. P. Mullaney. Attorney Frank L. Mechem closed | the case, arguing on the law as tc whether Chapter 11 is regulatory or a revenue-raising measure only. Citing Judge Folta’s opinion in , the recent case of Martinsen against Mullaney, Mechem claimed that the test of validity for a classification of fixed and mobile gear for taxa- ticn ‘purposes had been established in the subdivisions “must Gear a reasonable relation to the reason for which the law was enacted.” He continued, “The courts have said, that operation of these taxes must be considered in the light ot their effect.” ! Mechem asked, “If Chapter 11 is | revenue-raising only, why is the tax on fixed gear up to 6,000 times as great as on mobile gear?” Mechem’s rebuttal arguments dealt with plaintiff's contentions that. the measure unreasonably dis- criminates between fixed and mobile 1gear, and against fishtrap operators iin favor of others, that it consti- | tutes an unlawful interstate com- merce burden, and violates the 14th amendment to the Federal Consti- tution and the Civil Rights Bill. Preceding him, Co-counsel W. C.| Arnold argued in rebuttal on At- torney General J. Gerald Williams’ factual arguments, which he charged, were “not pertinent to the case.” On legal points, Arnold argued that the impact of this tax is such as to interfere with the right of every United [States citizen to fish the grounds—“for a national | resource,” thus becoming prohibi-| tive and regulatory. | Court had adjourned yesterday on completion of formal arguments by both sides. WILLIAMS’ ARGUMENTS “Fish traps are wonderful things; they catch so much fish so fast.| Certainly, we would not want the tax to e confiscatory—then the canned salmon industry = would leave Alaska, and we don't want that. “Chapter 11 was honestly made in good faith, in an effort to dis- tribute the tax burden equitably. It is equable.” Attorney General J. Gerald Wil- liams made these statements late yesterday afternoon while sum- iming up eviderice for the defense. He argued that nowhere had plain- tiff proved that the increased tax | would cause either P. E. Harris and { Company or the Mutual Trap Com- | pany to sustain losses, and he con- GIANT B-36 BOMBER IN LAKE CRASH {Hurtles Doml 100 Miles an Hour - 1 Killed, 4 Missing, 8 Injured FORT WORTH, Tex., Sept. 16— | P—A giant B-36 bomber hurtjed into Lake Worth last night at 100 miles an hour, killing .at least one of its crew of thirteen. Four were missing and eight injured. A mysterious power failure as the plane roared down Carswell Air Force base’'s long runway was blamed for the accident, first major mishap since the big bombers started flying a year and a half ago. Technical Sgt. William G. Sey- mour of Fort Worth was fatally injured. Crash boats picked up survivors from the wings, fuselage and the water as the six-engined air mon- ster stayed partially afloat. The eight known survivors were rushed to the base hospital for treatment of minor injuries. of Arlington, Tex., early this morn- ing probed the murky depths where the multi-million dollar craft crashed. He gave up after 46 min- utes. The plane was with the Tth Squadron, Tth Wing, Eighth Air | Force, on a routine training flight. A fisherman said he saw fl S | shooting from one of the engines. T watched it coming down the runway,” he said. “The pilot tried to stop, it looked like, saw he was too close and then gunned it. He jumped right into the lake.” The plane was carrying a light load of gasoline. It is capable of holding 21,116 gallons of fuel— enough for at least 9,600 miles. That's the distance Air Force offi- cials announced one B-36 traveled in a mock bombing mission. DIGGERS OF COALSTOP WORK, WEST Welfare Pay—menls Stop- ped-Treasury Report- ed Short of Funds WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 —(P— John L. Lewis stopped welfare pay- ments to coal miners today just as 8,000 diggers stopped work in the west. The western miners said their | stoppage was a voluntary one, and Lewis here would not talk about a strike. The United Mine Workers lead- er said the halt in payments from the miners welfare fund was due to lack of funds. Before his announcement there had been every indication of a quick showdown over the refusal of some operators, particularly in the south, to make the 20-cent a ton royalty payments which have fi- nanced the fund. The stoppage, in effect even as Lewis announced the end of wel- fare payments, . occurred in the Utah-Wyoming district ~ of the UMW. Houston Martin of Rock Springs, Wyo., said it was purely voluntary and that it had not been called by union officials. The men said {it was in effect pending a settle- ment by the current contract dis- pute. A spokesman for the Utah Coal Operators Association said at Salt Lake City that the men were “stop- ped from going to work at some of the mines by local officials of the United Mines Workers.” He said he did not know the reason. Suspension of the fund payments to miners was ordered in a reso- lution by the fund’'s trustees. Lewis declined to say by what vote the resolution was adopted. FROM NAKNEK Thomas Regan of Naknek is a (Continued ou Page Eight) guest at the Baranof. A Navy-trained diver, M. R. Best| ¢ Ying a 1l-day strike deadline ex- | gineer APPEALS 10 STEEL INDUSTRY Cl0 Uniiefiorkers Ask| Firms fo Accept Board's Recommendations PITTSBURGH, Sept. 16—®»— The CIO United Steelworkers today appealed to the steel industry to accept the Presidential board’s peace recommendations to avert a strike September 25 and at the same time summoned its top strate- gists to plot the union’s next move. Union President Philip Murray sent this telegram to the 57 steel producing companies which ap- peared before President Truman's fact finding board. “A strike can be averted if your corporation will agree with the| union and public opinion to accept the recommendations of the steel industry -oard as a basis for ne- gotiating a prompt settlement of the existing labor dispute.” Murray ordered the big umons‘ wage policy committee to meet hcrel Wednesday. There was no amplification of the announcement. Union officials de- clined to discuss the order. Murray’s action comes with a re- sumption of contract negotiations | between union and some 57 steel companies blocked by a difference of opinion over whether workers should help companies pay for so- cial insurance and pension pro- | grams. | Both sides now are working dur- | tension which expires at midnight | Sept. 24. The United States Steel CA.)rpO' ration, leading producer and tradi- | tional pace setter in the steel m<‘ dustry, has refused to accept the| recommendation of a Presidential fact finding board if it is commm.edi in advance of contract talks to; picking up the entire bill for in- 1 surance and penslon programs. | STRIKE PREPARATIONS CLEVELAND, Sept. 16— (@ —| William F. Donovan, District 28| Director of the United Steelworkers Union, today telegraphed 17 North- ern Ohio locals ordering them to start strike preparations. | The CIO union chief’s district| includes ‘approximately 24,500 work- ers in basic steel plants in Cleve- land, Akron, Lorain, Amherst and Elyria. In the telegram, Donovan said| ‘It begins to look as though a strike | will be called in basic steel at mid- night September 24.” DUTIES OF LORAIN, COMING TO JUNEAU, ARE MADE PUBLIC WASHINGTON, Sept. 16—#— Seven regional directors of the Bu- reau of Mines were appointed yes- terday. James Boyd, Bureau director, said they will take office Oct. 1. The | posts were created under Lureau re- organization on a regional basis. The new directors and headquar- ters include: Sinclair Alaska. Lorain has been chief of the Albany, Ore., branch of the bureau'’s mining division for almost five years and is a former district en- at the bureau’s Moscow, Idaho, field station. Major projects which Lorain will direct include two copper develop- ment projects near Lake Ilianna in Southwestern Alaska, examinations | of mines in Southeast Alaska, sur- veys of construction mineral ma- terials, continued work on a lime- stone deposit in McKinley National Park and drilling of coal reserves in the Wishbone hill area of the Mata- nuska region. He is a native of Philipscurg, Pa. H. Lorain, Juneau, FROM PETERSBURG Esther Waldo, Halvor Opsel and Mrs. R. F. Meeks of Petersburg are guests at the Baranof. FROM FAIRBANKS | | R. Ferguson, Mrs. Peggy Wilklng‘ and Fred Kohls of Fairbanks are of Lebanon, Kentucky, are regis-| Washington, "tered at the Baranof Hotel. guests at the Baranof. | were issued: | Driver’s License with him; this Wearing a rose tiara, Marianne Demereckis (above), 18, of Chicago, smiles after being chosen “Miss Railroad Fair, 1949,” at Chicago Railroad Fair.. Miss Demereckis, representing the Pullman Company, ‘competing against eleven other aspirants entered by railroads exhibit- ing at the fair. Contest was open w) Wlnphola. AUTO CHECK UNDERWAY IN JUNEAU Highway PE(;I, City Po- lice Make Summary of Day's Chceking Between the hours of 1 p.m, and |6 pm. yesterday, the Highway Patrol and the Juneau City Police checked 305 cars. Following is a | summary of the number of vehicle violations: A total ¢f 85 violation tickets 67 of these tickets did not have his 18 of number had no Driver's Li- cense whatsoever (14 of these tickets were redeemed within, two hours—the drivers having procured their Driver’s License.) 31 cars had no stop lights. 16 had no tail lights. 15 cars had only one light. 8 cars were with only one license the individual | plate. 2 cars were without windshield | wipers. 3 cars were without horns, 9 with foreign license plates that must be renewed. Driver's license must be on the individual's person or ‘in his car at-all times, says Lt. E. M. Botelho, of the nghway Pauol ITALIAN AVIATORS | TRYING OCEAN HOP| LAGENS, ’l'h(‘ Azores, Sept. 16— (M—Italian aviators John M. Bron- dello and Camillio Baricglio "are taking the long way home. The weather from here to Lis-! bon (780 miles) is bad so the mey) decided to fly instead to New York only-to regulir railroad employees. GOLD PRICE T0 REMAIN UNCHANGED WASHINGI‘ON, Sept, lG—(M—«' | Eecretary of the Treasury Snyder sald today “there is not going to be any change in the dollar value of gold.” “That is positive and will remain positive,” he told a news confer-| ence, Snyder met with reporters after governors of the International| Monetary Fund voted unanimously Ito start a study of a proposed| | higher price for gold. The United | States assented reluctantly. His implication was that this| country can retain its $35-an-ounce | price for gold without regard to the fund's possible future position. Snyder also said he supports the view that Europe's dollar difficulties might be eased by a devaluation of currencies. But he has never, he declared, exerted pressure on any country for the devaluation of its currency. The fund and the $8,000,000,000 pert from their committees and | 'World Bank held closed sessions approved without dissent every re- from the managements of the | | | lers who had been circling ‘area reported the crew was franti- | called for ' help. AFOGNAK CREW IS RESCUED Six Men from Grounded Tug Taken Aboard Fish- ing Boat-Man Injured CORDOVA, Alaska, Sept. 16.—# —Six men from the grounded tug- boat Afognak were rescued yester- day by the fishing boat Mary B, the coast guard reported. The Mary B’s skipper, Ira Roth- well, gave no details of the rescue, but said one of the seamen, Arthur Johnson, suffered a rib injury. The fishing vessel was awalting high tide to return to Cordova. The Afognak ran aground early yesterday, some 75 miles southeast of here aiter sending distress calls that she was shipping water near Kayak Island in the storm-tossed Gulf of Alaska. Rothwell sald it appeared the tug was a total loss. The Mary B. was dispatched to the area by U. 8. Marshal M. E. Edmunds. It arrived yesterday morning. Earlier, Merle K. Smith of the Cordova Air Service and to observ- the cally attempting to launch a dory tand make a run for it to the beach '|near Palm Point. The airmen sald the tug was listing badly, her port side awash. Aboard the craft were Capt. Fred Brandes, Johnson, Lee Christy, Bucky Sadler, Jih Johnson and Custis - Bach, The Afognak was owned by J. V. Cole of Juneau, and was bound from ‘Whittier for Sitka when she The craft was Jocated after an air-sea search by the Navy and Coast Guardsmen. AHA BOARD PLANS 15 HOUSING -UNITS | FOR JUNEAU AREA Commissionérs End Ses- sion Here with Outline for Housing Action The Alaska Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners ended its session here late yesterday with promise of 75 moderate-rental dwellings to ease the acute huusuu problem in the Juneau area. Recognized as most in need of help with its housing problem, the Juneau area received special atten=- tion by the group. The Board also requested 76 units of subsidized rental low-in- come housing for Juneau under the National Housing Act of 1949. ‘The Authority’s p'an for the mod- erate-rental units is ready to go into effect October 15. It awaits final OK. Dby Congress of the Alaska Housing Act—Public Law 52. This is expected the first of October. The act will provide a $10 mil- lion revolving fund ‘for Alaskan housing. E. Glen Wilder, executive direc~ tor of AHA, said no difficulties are anticipated. The Alaska Housing Act has been held up while House and Senate conferees approve the diffzrences in the act which the Senate made in the House version. !Lms morning. Both governing boards | l zlobal lending agenclu 15 STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. § —®M—A Polish airliner landed at a Swedish military airfield today| and the crew of three said their| 12 pasesngers had compelled them | Jto fly to Sweden. | Identification of the passengers was not disclosed immediately. | The plane, which operated for a Work on Juneau housing would continue through the winter, except | when stopped by weather condi- tions, Wilder said. He described the Juneau situation as “most acute.” ‘The request for units of subsidized | rental low-income housing is being addressed to the Public Housing Authority in Washington. Although Federal aid is antici- mooo miles) and return to Lisbon|state-owned line on the Gdansk-| pated, Wilder sald AHA is con- (2780 miles) by boat. Katowice route, set down at the tinuing its function of encouraging They took off this morning at{Lindoeping Alrfleld on the Balti private sponsorship of building pro- 10:13 am. The two flyers abandoned an attempt to make a non-stop single- engine Atlantic flight jast week when a fuel pipe clogged. FROM KENTUCKY Mr. and Mrs. V. M. Hamiiton Sea, 70 miles south of Stockholm. Airfield personnel said some of the passengers told them they had com- pelled the pilot to change his course, WASH. FROM KIRKLAN Kirkland, at the A. A Schwope of is a guest Baranof Hotel. | O'Connor of Hooper Bay, jects. Members of AHA Board of Com- missioners are: Father Paul C. chair- man; Jake Cropley of Juneau, vice- chairman; Mayor Z. J. Loussac of Anchorage; Mrs. Louise Weaver Miller of Ketchikan; and Harold Byzd of Flat. The session began Monday morn- ing and continued until yesterday.