The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, September 19, 1949, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LXXIIL, NO. 11,302 Value of British (OAL MINES SHUT DOWN BY WALKOUT Thousands of Men Le ave Pits Over Nation - Lewis Suspends Pension Fund PITTSBURGH, Sept. 19—(P—Coal mines shut down across the na- tion today as John L. Lewis’ diggers struck again on their own—this time crying “No Pension, No Work!” 4 Violence broke out quickly in West Virginia. Three employees of a strip mine—where coal veins close to the surface are stripped by power shovels—said they were beaten by members of a motorized roving picket caravan. Some 1,000 pickets toured roads in search of non-union operators still open. Thirteen truckloads of coal were dumped. Production of anthracite (hard coal) and bituminous (soft coal) is being choked off by anger of the United Mine Workers over Presi- dent Lewis' suspension of pension and welfare fund payments. Actually, miners’ pent-up feelings are aimed at southern coal oOp- erators who refused any more 20 cent per ton royalty payments in- to the welfare fund until a new contract is signed. The refusal prompted Lewis’ suspension of wel- fare benefits. At least 480,000 members in 20 states are expected to be idle ‘ by nightfall. Lewis said the welfare pay stop is due to the fund running low on cash. But it's all part of the UMW fight for & new contract. He's deadlocked with operators af- ter prolonged talks. Midnight Walkout Walkouts started last midnight and gained headway over the coal fields today as come-to-work whis- tles blew in vain. UMW leaders insisted the union’s rank and file is acting on its own initiative, that Lewis has issued no strike call. He never does. West Virginia, biggest soft coal producing state, reported its 120,000 miners joining the stoppage. Pennsylvania, No. 2 on the pro- ducing parade, saw. miners refus- ing to show up at pits across the state. The Western Pennsylvania Coal Operators Association said no miners were working in the rich bituminous belt employing 56,000. All big mines in central Pennsyl- vania, employing 45,000 also were shut down. Talk — Go Home Only a few of eastern Pennsyl- vania’s 80,000 hard coal miners showed up for work. They st around and talked for a while and then went home. The great ma- jority never reached the mines. Many industry leaders had expect- ed the hard coal mines to continue working since the operators have continued royalty payments. The anthracite pension funds is admin- istered separately from the bitum- inous fund. The United States Steel Corpora- tion said all its coal mining op- erations in Pennsylvania, West Vir- ginia and Kentucky were closed with 16,000 men idle. The walkouts following week-end strategy meetings by UMW locals throughout the country began when 8,000 Wyoming and Utah miners marched from the pits. They act- ed soon after Lewis shut off pen- sion pay. GLENRIDGE, Ill, Sept. 19.—®— The miners own the mine here. So when they joined the cross-country United Mine Workers’ walkout to- they walked out on them- selves. Of the 15 UMW, 120 of them own $200 worth of stock each—the limit allowed—in the Marion coun- ty Coal Corporation. It's the sole industry in this southern Illinois village of 300. The business of walking out on themselves is an old story to them because they ‘have quit producing coal wheh the rest of the UMW has quit since their cooperative mine venture was born in 1940. MATSU RITES THURSDAY Funeral services for Mrs. Ratie Matsu, 70, who died here Saturday morning, will be held Thursday at 2 p. m. at the Memorial Presby- terian Church. The Rev. Walter A. Soboleff will conduct the service. 431 CARS STOPPED, 67 TICKETS GIVEN | IN SAFETY CHECKUP The annual vehicle safety check- up by the Alaska Highway Patrol and the Juneau Police Department which began September 15 was con- tinued over the week-end at top | speed—legal, that is. Lt. E. M. Botelho of the patrol warns motorists to whom violation tickets have been issued that com- pliance to required traffic regula- |tions must be within 48 hours, |otherwise arrest tickets will be | issued. He also reminds motorists that | school crossing signals in the Waynor Addition and at Main and ‘Third Streets must be observed. | School regulations are being strictly enforced. Over the two-day week-end, City |and Territorial officers checked 432 jcars, and issued 67 violation | tickets: 17 individuals had no driver's li- cense whatsoever. 46 without driver’s license on their person or in their car. 48 tickets were redeemed Irom | previous day. 37 had faulty Ltrakes. | 7 brakes out of adjustment. | 15 front wheel suspension. | 8 had only 1 headlight. 31 had no stop lights. | 19 tail lights out of order. | 67 had other items of faulty equipment. 14 faulty emergency brakes. 17 without horns. 11 faulty mufflers. 4 nd license plates. 5 foreign license to be renewed. 3 impounded vehicles. TRIP OF BARANOF CANCELLED; ALASKA SOUTH ON FRIDAY The voyage north of the Baranof has been cancelled according to ad- vices received iy Agent Henry sailed yesterday but repairs were not completed and the voyage has been called off. | Steamer Alaska will call in south- {bound Friday afternoon. Stops will be made at Petersburg and Ketchi- kan. The Aleutian is scheduled to sail from Seattle Saturday. JIMMIE IS IN TOWN Jimmie—everybody knows him— Jimmie Morrison, Juneau’s veteran | messenger of the Signal Corps, is back in Juneau. For over nine months he has been stationed at Adak, and now he has been trans- |ferred to Ketchikan. Jimmie has | been quite busy shaking hands with |the bunch since he arrived Sun- day. | LICENSE APPLIED FOR Charles Henry Femmer and Mar- |garet E. Brenn, both of Juneau, applied for a marriage license with | U. 8. Commissioner Gordon Gray here today. ! FROM SAN ANTONIO E. O. Goldbeck of San Antonio, Texas, is registered at the Baranof. The Washington Merry - Go- Round By DREW PEARSON iCopyright, 1949, by Bell Syndicate, Inc.) When President Truman ap- peinted Judge Sherman Minton of Indiana to the U. 8. Su- preme Court it fulfilled a long- range prediction of the Merry- Go-Round, which more than eight years ago—January 12, 1941, reported that Minton would get this appointment. Shortly thereafter Roose- velt appointed Minton to the U. 8. Court of Appeals, 4th District, and ~last week Tru- man carried out the balance of the forecast by appointing his old friend, the ex-Senator from Indiana to the Supreme Court. ASHINGTON— More. informa- tion has leaked out of the National Defense Department which makes it plain as the nose on your face as to why usually forthright Sec- retary Louie Johnson backtracked so suddenly on banning those pri- vate airplane junkets at the tax- payers’ expense. For Johnson's face would have (Continued on Page Four) | Green. The steamer was to have| 2USCG ADMIRALS HIGH IN PRAISE OF NEW DISTRICT HQ Persons conditioned to gold braid |during wartime probally laheled the two visitors in mufti as busi- ness men. Certainly, the average |civilian does not visualize admirals in browns and tweeds, sweaters and colorful neckwear, That is just the way the visiting admirals planned it—a visit to Ju- i neau incognito, except to their own staff, to see how things are lining up for the transfer to Juneau of United States Coast Guard Dis- trict Headquarters. Rear Admiral R. T. McElligott, 13th and 17th Districts in Seattle, | flew here with Rear Admiral Joseph Greenspun, who will command the 17th District when the transfer is official and complete, They arrived Friday evening in a Coast Guard R-4D, and took off this morning |for the return to Seattle, | Admiral McElligott was extrava- gantly enthusiastic about the new District headquarters—the struc- ture that properly is called the | Community Building, but is gen- erally referred to as the Coast Guard Building. PROUD OF HEADQUARTERS “We are very, very proud of our |fing, new quarters,” said Admiral {“Mac” this morning. “The architects and the com- munity have done a fine job. It is typical of the wonderful reputa- tion Juneau has with the Coast Guard. Juneau has always been a rpopular duty assignment. “We hope the same spirit that put up the new building will help us get desirable housing,” he added. “We do have a morale prob- lem in that quarter. We do not want a discontented perscnnel, and it can be a happy one only when all the families are well located here. “We realize,’he continued, “that the citizens of Juneau have done | everything they can, but there still {is a crying need for low-cost hous- ing. Everyone really has gone out of the way to get accommodations —we want to thank the manage- ment of the Baranof Hotel, as well as all the others.” Admiral McElligott commented that he is sure everyone will like Juneau. “It is a Lteautiful city, in a beautiful setting, and the head- It was a first visit to Juneau for Admiral “Mac,” "who however, had made seven cruises to Alaska, one on the old Bear. D Admiral Greenspun said the week-end visit was like a home- coming, although he had not been | here for 20 years. He came here then on a Coast Guard cutter. According to Admiral McElligott, no further installations nor opera- i tions will be transferred here. Ket- chikan, former district headquart- ers, still will have the Section Base, which is chiefly ;or operation and maintenance of aids to navigation in Alaska. Communications will continue from Point Higgins, and Coast Guard Air Facilities at Kodiak and Annette Island will be operated as before, but from the Juneau head- quarters. While in Juneau, the visiting Admirals conferred with Comdr. D. McGregor Morrison, ranking per- manent staff member in the ab- sence of Capt. N. S. Haugen, Chief of Staff. The Coast Guard moved into the handsome three-story Community Building last week. OSPAL-WALDO WEDDING In a ceremony here yesterday, Esther Waldo of Seattle was wed to Halvor Opsal of Petersburg. Witnesses were Charles F. Allen and Thomas P. Smith. U. S. Commissioner Gordon Gray performed the ceremony. DIVORCE SUIT FILED Carol E. Anderson filed suit for divorce against Anor Anderson in the Federal District Court here today. FROM WASHINGTON, D. C. A. M. Day of the Fish and Wild- life Service, Washington, D. C., is a guest at the Baranof. FROM PELICAN . Alpha K. Christensen of Pelican is registered at the Gastineau Hnotel. FROM FORT WORTH Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Randle of Fort Worth, Texas, are guests at the Baranof Hotel. H. B. Crewson of Ketchikan a guest at the Gastineau, is who is acting commander of the| quarters offices are second to none.” | | | | { JUNEAU, ALASKA, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1949 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS This aerial picture shows the tug Afognak of Juneau, aground about 75 miles southeast of Cordova, Sept. 15. The crew was attempting to launch a lifeboat when the picture was taken. The crew was rescued by the fishing vessel Mary M., and taken to Cordova. (® Photo. ;P_ic;neer Ardic Airman Makes Flight, Anchorage To Oslo in 22.5 Hours 'SALMON PRICES ARE EXPECTED T0 TAKE SLIGHT DROP! OSLO, Norway, Sept. 19—(®—Col. Bernt Balchen, pioneer Arctic air- man, landed a J.S. Air Forces transport plane at Oslo yesterday | affer a 3700-mile non-stop flight from _Anchorage, Alaska, in 225 hours. « Commander of the U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Frank A. Armstrong, | AFOGNAK'S CREW " REACHES JUNEAU AFTER SHIP SINKS | Skipper Tefiof Fight fo Reach Controller Bay in Storm The skipper of the wrecked tug Afognak today gave a first-hand | account of the battle to Controller Bay. Fred Brandes Jr., Captain of the Juneau boat which was beached in SEATTLE, Sept. 19.—®—A large); ajacka, accompanied Balchen on sinking condition early Thursday pink salmon run in Alaska Puget Sound waters may bring a price drop of from 12 to 14 cents tall can in the near future, salmon brckers predicted here today. The wholesale price skidded from $19 a case two weeks ago to $12 a case today, F.O.B. Seattle. ‘The red salmon pack for the year has sold from $26 to $26.50 a case —substantially the same as last year, PRICE ANNOUNCED ON TFINKS SEATTLE, Sept. 19.—#— Pink and | the hop. Balchen had planned@ io fly over 1the North Pole tut weather fore- casts were bad so he set his course over North Greenland. Balchen, Armstrong and three other Air Force officers took turns piloting the Skymaster during the irecord run. Others on the flight included Col. Eugene Strouse, Maj. Gene Doug- las, Capt. K. Lennart, Capt. R. Shearer and Lt. N. M. Gudzenthe. Balchen had planned to attend a Norwegian air show in Oslo yes- | morning at the mouth of the bay, | returned to Juneau =y air from | Cordova vesterday. This is his story | of the ill-fated journey. | The Afognak, a Juneau-based | boat, had been towing barges ot | lumber from Sitka to Whittier dur- ;ing the summer. It was returning from its last trip. | The weather was fine pasi Hin- | chinbrook 1Island as the Afognak proceeded to the southeast. As it left |the shelter of the Island on course for Cape St. Elias, a weather fore- cast announced a change in wind, salmon prices generally have set- | terday but had to land at QGarder-|yyt no great change in velocity tled at $17 per case of tall cans, | moen airport, north of the capital,|yaq announced, The ship proceeded McGovern and McGovern, salmon brokers, announced today. The firm estimated pinks prob- ably would be retailed for under 50 cents a can. The large pink salmon run in was credited for the price drop. | because of radio trouble and bad\ | weather. ! When he did arrive at Oslo, 50,000 ipersons were on hand at Fornebu airport to greet him. i The American fliers will be given | Alaska and Puget Sound waters|a reception tonight at the American Embassy here. Later this week they Off Cape St. Elias, the wind in- creased to nearly 60 miles per hour, and visibility decreased to “not imore than a mile,” Brandes said. With an 18-foot sea running, Brandes decided to turn back. | “An hour and a half after we | turned back, the engineer came up The wholesale price skidded down- [Plan to leave for Alaska, via Wash-1ang told us we were sinking. He ward from $19 a case two weeks ago. WEATHER REPORT (U. S. WEATHER BUREAU) (This data is for 24-hour pe- riod ending 7:30 a.m. PST. In Juneau—Maximum, 49; minimum, 43. At Airport—Maximum, minimum, 39. 550 FORECAST (Juneau and Vielnity) Cloudy with rain, tonight and Tuesday; lowest tem- perature tonight, near 47; highest Tuesday, around 54; southeasterly wind 15 to 20 miles per hour tonight, 20 to 25 Tuesday. . . PRECIPITATIONSG (Past 24 hours ending 7:30 a.m. today City of Juneau—.15 inches; since Sept. 1, 3.99 inches; since July 1, 15 inches. At the Airport—.09 énches; since Sept. 1, 2.12 inches; since July 1, 9.61 inches. STEAMER MOVEMENTS Trip of Baranof from Seattle cancelled. Denali scheduled to sail from Se- attle Thursday. Aleutian scheduled to sail from Seattle Saturday. Princess Loulse scheduled to ar- rive at 7 a. m. tomorrow and sails south at 8 am, Steamer Alaska southbeund Fri- day afternoon. 1 'Will_(uppy Passes On NEW YORK, Sept. 19—(@®—Wil £ Cuppy, 65, humorist and critic, died today. Cuppy, in failing health several years, had been in a hospital since Sept. 9. He had a wide following among lSuturday Evening Post readers for his humor and surprising facts about the animal world, :IDUCK HUNTER 1S :1” FEARED DROWNED PALMER, Alaska, Zept. 19—(#— Authorities feared today that Eu- gene Marsh, Palmer garage em- ployee, may have drowned Friday on a duck hunting trip to Snow- shoe lake on the Glenn highway. He left unaccompanied and bor- rowed a kayak to cross the lake. The kayak was found later, drift- ing overturned near shore, with no Itrace of its occupant. Float planes from the Tenth Res- cue Squadron at Fort Richardson conducted a lake search. | Marsh's wife now is visiting at her home in Spokane, Wash. They have two children. Marsh, about 26 years old, was born in Anchorage. His father, Arthur Marsh, resides here. said the water was up to the eggine room floor.” It was at 10:40 pm. (Juneau ltlme) Wednesday night when IBrandes altered course again, this time making for Controller Bay. The 25-mile fight to get the little ship to the beach had begun. The water continued to rise, visi- cility was zero, rain was pouring idown, and the sea was still run- \ning. But the little ship was taking no water—not then. ENGINE BEGINS MISSING { At 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning, Ithe engineer was forced by rising waters to leave the engine room. Brandes called the Coast Guard, and St. Elias answered. He informed lthem of his destination and gave them his compass course, An hour later, the engine began {missing; and Brandes gave orders lto abandon ship. As the lifeboat was being swung out, the roll of the ship pitched it into the funnel and the cook, Arthur Johnson of Bellingham, Washington, was pinned between | the funnel and the boat and badly | { bruised. | 1t was then that Brandes decided to stay with the ship until engines quit. “We talked it over and decided that it wouldn’t be as risky as taking to the boat in that kind of sea,” he sald. But he couldn’t inform the Coast Guard of his charge of plans, for water had put the radio out of icummlssion. The engine kept plugging on.1 and, although there was no free- board left and each wave went over the ship by that time, the Afognak 1oassed safely through rocky waters I «Conunued on Page Th;e)h SHARES OF GOLD MINING ON SPURT BY DEVALUAT! TORONTO, Sept. 19.—(®— De- valuation of the pound sterling spurred gold mining shares in a soaring climb at the opening of the Toronto stock exchange in the heaviest dealings for some time. Gains In senior issues bounded ahead as far as $3; low price juniors showed advances up to 60 cents. Many issues sold a highs for the year as floor leaders “went| crazy” and tried to execute orders. VIEWS IN SEATTLE SEATTLE, Sept. 19.—(M—A sharp increase in the import of English products was forseen here tooay as the result of Great Britain's de- valuation of the pound. | Dietrich Schmitz, president of the Washington Mutual Savings | Bank, predicted the lumber indus- !try will feel the pinch more sharp- ly than other industries. | Dr. Howard H. Preston, }o( the University of Washington's School of Economics and Business, sald an influx of woolens, cutler- ies, whiskey, pottery and other items also is probable, CRIPPS FLOP | LONDON, Sept. 19.—®— 8ir | Stafford Cripps said: “No, no, no.”" Then he said it again and again and again. And then he devalued the pound anyway. A search of the records today |showed that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had made nine public denials since January 26, 1948, that the pound would be cheapened. The explanation, perhaps, was given by Sir Philip Snowden, when i was Chancellor of the Excheq- uar in 1931: g “If a chancellor ever admitted devaluation was likely, it would fm- mediately. become inevitable, be- cause foreigners would stop buying our goods in the hope of getting them more cheaply later on.” NEW YORK, Sept. 19.—®— A 20 per cent price cut on British autorfiobiles by one dealer was among the early reactions today to the devaluation of the British pound. The situation remained somewhat foggy as importers and American representatives of British firms awaited word from London as to just what reductions would be made by British manufacturers. The general opinion seemed to be that price cuts in this country on British goods would be less than the 305 per cent reduction in the pound's value, but still might be substantial and stimulate sales. 4 One importer estimated British woolens sold here and American woolen goods made from foreign wool would drop from 10 to 20 per cent. FOUR POWERS TO GET TOGETHER ON AUSTRIAN TREATY WASHINGTON, Sept. 19.—— The State Department announced today Soviet Russia has agreed to resume four-power negotiations on a treaty with Austria. ‘The negotiations, lm,errup,gd at London on September 1, will be renewed Thursday in New York. The State Department said that Andrei Gromyko, the acting Soviet Foreign Minister, consented to the| new talks at a conference yester- day in Moscow with the American, French and British ambassadors. They called on him in a group to discuss the plea made in Wash- ington on Sept. 15 by Secretary of State Acheson, British Foreign Sec- retary Bevin and Foreign Minis- ter Schuman of France that Russia | | go along with the proposal to try to work out terms of a treaty. | STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, Sept. 19.—(®—Clos- ing quotation of Alaska Juneau {mine stock today is 3%, American | |Can 94%, Anaconda 27, Curtiss-g Wright 7%, International Huvcst-‘ er 27%, Kennecott 45%, New York Central 10%, Northern Pacific 127%, | U. S. Steel 23's, Pound $2.807%. | Sales today were 1,300,000 shares. Averages today are as follows: Industrials 18141, rails 46.63, util-| ities 37.75. FROM FAIRBANKS Ira P. Farnsworth of Fairbanks, is registered at the Baranof Hotel, dean | PRICE TEN CEN' Pound Slashed 30.5 Per Cent Tug Aground in uII of Alaska DESPERATE GAMBLE BY LABOR GOVT. Eleven Nations of Europe Also Cut Currency Value ~Financial Turmoil By HAL COOPER LONDON, Sept. 19.—®— A 305 per cent cut in the dollar value of the pound sterling hit the Brit- ish public like a blow in the face. There was fingncial turmoil the world over, ‘The Labor government, in a des- perate gamble to save the nation from threatened bankruptcy, hun- ger and misery slashed the worth of the pound last night from $4.03 to $2.80. Banks were closed. The London Stock Exchange - and those in France, Holland, Greece, South Af- rica and many other countries were shut down. Foreign exchange trad- ing was forbidden in much of Eu- repe and the sterling area. In Lon- don, harried brokers traded stocks and bonds on the sidewalk. Business was at a virtual stand- still in this great city which once was the financial and economic heart of the world. Eleven nations of Europe and Asia quickly cheapened their money to match the British move. Cabi- nets in other world capitals held emergency sessions to decide what to do. Financial Turmeoil It was the biggest financial tur- moil the world has seen since Britain the Gold Standard on an i almost 18 years ago to the day. Devaluation of the pound was intended to solve Britain's grave financial crisis Ry selling more and cheaper goods to America. ‘The new cheaper pound means that Americans may buy Scotch whiskey, English tweeds, Stafford- shire china and many other Brit- ish products at lower prices. Open Air Market By mid-day, 2,000 stockbrokers and clerks jammed into the street in front of the stock exchange. ‘They had an open air market go- ing especially in booming gold shares. The British economic boss Sir Stafford Cripps said last night in a nation-wide address that England is banking on & big boost in dollar earnings—enough for Britain to hecome self-supporting by the time the European Recovery Plan ends in 1852, “That is thé only permanent so- lution for our difficulties—earn more dollars,” Cripps said. He warned that if Britain’s gold reserves continue to drain away as fast as they have in recent months, Britons will suffer “lower stand- ards (of living) and widespread un- employment.” g ‘The same problem faces most of the other countries of the world outside the Soviet orbit, where economic policies are dictated by the Kremlin. Currency Value Cuts Within a few hours after Brit- ain’s announcement, similar guts in the value of their currency were announced by Australia, South Af- rica, India, New Zealand, Irelan, Israel, Norway, Denmark, Malayr, Burma and Egypt. Prance, Italy, Sweden, Holland, Greece and Pinland suspended deal- (Continued .on Page Three) WOMAN, MISTAKEN FOR MOOSE, SHOT IN ANCHORAGE AREA ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Sept. 19.— (M—An Anchorage woman was fa- tally wounded yesterday when she and her husband were mistaken for moose as they moved through heavy brush with their rifles point- ed skyward. Police said another hunter fired into the bushes on Campbell Flats just outside of this city, thinking the rifle barrels were mooose ant- lers. ¥ The victim, Mrs. Colleen Hudgins, was hit in the hight side and died soon afterward. Her husband, Ronald, was uninjured. The name of the hunter who shot Mrs. Hudgins was not reveal- ed,