The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, January 4, 1950, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LXXIV., NO. 11,392 JUNEAU, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1950 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS Change In Tax System Proposed by Truman BIG STRIKE THREAT AT ANCHORAGE SEATTLE, Jan. 4—(®—A strike; which would shut off all light power and telephone service in An- | chorage hung in the balance yes- terday as Federal mediation of- ficials stepped into the picture. All utilities in the Alaskan city are municipally owned and manag- | ed. City officials have been hego»} tiating for a month with Interna- | tional Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in efforts to effect a new contract. William Hosie, Seattle Director of the Federal Mediation and Con- cliiation Service, said here he was informed that tension between the city employees neared the oreaking point yesterday. In response to a| joint appeal by union and clty | leaders, Federal Mediator Harry Lewis was ordered to fly from Se-| attle to Anchorage in an attempt to settle the. labor issue. 20 RED SUBS AID FORMOSA FIGHT: NATLS. TAIPEH, Formosa, Jan. 4—®— Chinese Navy reports today said parts of the Russian Asiatic fleet,| including more than 20 submarines, had moved into ice free Dairen. Red held North China port. Nationalist leaders here suspect that any attempt by Chinese Com- -munists to invade Formosa would come from Dairen and Tsingtao, another Communist North China port, instead of from the mainland 100 miles to the west of Formosa. | Intelligence reports of the Na- tionalists say the Chinese Reds have bought 20 British tank landirg ships and numerous motorboat en- gines in Hong Kong. Reports say the Chinese Com- | munists in the north have been concentrating ships for the even- tual assault on Formosa expected; soon. Russian assistance in the| formation of the Communist am- phibious operation is suspected by the Nationalists. 1 1 The U.S. Navy's first submarine was propelled by a four cylinder | | gasoline engine. [ | The Washington| Merry - Go- Round| Rail Line Prospal Slepi Asked WASHINGTON, Jan. 4—(®—Sen- itor Magnuson (D-Wash) said to- he has Leen told that Presi- dent Truman has asked the Secre- aries of State, Defense and Interior to take steps leading to negotia- tions with Canada for a proposed coastal rail line to Alaska. Macnugon sa.d the State Depar ment had informed him that Mr. recommenda- Truman had asked tions for: 1. The timing and method ot rrying out negotiations with the Canadian government for a loca- tion survey for the proposed rail- road. 2. Memters of a commission to carry on the otiations with a Canadian commission. Magnuson said the commission would act as an arm of the State Department in the negotiations. He told a reporter the plan is to join the Pacific and Great Eastern rail- rcad owned by the province ot British Columbia and the U. S. Alaskan railroad. I'm very pleased that negotia- are beginning,” Magnuson ti said. He sa'd the proposed railroad running about 1,400 miles through Northern British Columbia and the Southern Yukon would be a “great thing” for Alaskan detense and {open the “last great frontier” on ‘kt)‘.e continent for economic develop- ment, 'COMMISSION ON HOUSING 1S DUE IN ANCHORAGE TODAY WASHINGTON, Jan. 4—(®—The Defense Department's Housing Commission will leave by plane to- day to look into the military hous- ing situation in Alaska. The commission is headed by Bertram E. Glesecke of Austin, Tex. Defense Secretary Johnson ap- pointed it last November to find ways to6 improve military housing conditions. He asked for a report by spring. The commission is to stop ai Great Falls, Mont., and is to be in Anchorage, Alaska, Jan. 5 and 6 It will go to Fairbanks Jan. 7, and return to Anchorage Jan. 8. The commission will possibly visit Whit- tier and Kodiak ‘tefore returning to Washington Jan. 11. HIT, SNOW, CHILL KING WINTER SPILLS FURY OVER NATION (By the As ted Press) Winter let loose with a triple punch of snow, cold and strong winds today, linding solid blows |n(russ the nation's midsection. The Rocky Mountain region still reeled from the impact of the sea- {son’s most severe weather, The Cen- lgml States South into the Texas Panhandle braced for the frigid attack Blizzards howled across the Dakota prairies and into neighbor- lmz Mmnnesota. Hizhways and| country roads were blocked. Air- liners were grounded. rail and tus orists were strarded in parts of the storm belt. Snow plows in sections of Minne- sota quit work because of poor visibility. Snow fell on Texas and the mer- cury slid down under the zero mark in the Lone Star state. And the| mercury tumbled sharp! over the mid-continent as the cold front out of the Rocky Mountain region| moved across the Great Plains. Coldest spots early today included 31 below at Minot, N.D,, —30 at Moorcroft, Wyo.; —27 at Philip, S.D.; and —22 at Pembina, N.D. | IN WASHINGTON WASHINGTON, Dec. 4—®—The capital's temperature broke a 76- year record for Jan. 4 today with an all-time high of 69 at 11:30 a. The previous high of 66 was ci in 1874. | Hundreds ot IN CALIF.::eNIA LOS ANGELES, Jxi. 4—(@—Win- ter cold swept scithern California today with ‘emperatures as low as 22 degrees in some citrus districts. | It was 38 here. Considerable loss was feared to truck crops, but citrus growers said preliminary surveys indicated that | fruit unharmed in a freeze Dec. 10| probably escaped today. | It will stay cold, but the weather | tureau said a fast-moving storm— ! accompanied by snow—is due by to- | night. BRITISH TO RECOGNIZE CHINA REDS passengers and mot- | | eral | Leen | cussien w { President Truman. By DREW PEARSON WASHINGTON,- Jan. 4—Here is the inside story of what happened at the all-important White House conference last week called to dis- cuss the crisis in the Far East. President Truman himself presided | over the meeting and seemed just as anxious as the military to do | comething atout the strategic islarld | of Formosa. | The meeting began with a pre- tion by the Chief of Statl, Omar Bradley, and Under- | secretary of Defense Steve Early. They pointed out that General MacArthur had urgently cabled Washington on the subject of For- | mosa and recommended the use ot | both U.S. troops and naval vessels block an invasion Ly the Chinese Reds. It was further recommended that a large amount of money be immediately made available to the Chiang Kai-shek sroup to speed the protection of Formosa. Bradley read a memo from Gen- MacArthur in which he ex- ressed the opinion that the United States should take title to Formosa and protect it with American troops lrom Japan. MacArthur justified this on the ground that there has no Japanese treaty as yet; therefore, Formosa technically could still be kept in American hands as part of its occupation duty toward Fapan, Secret calm a i to of Formosa "y of € Acheson sat elaxed tmcugh this dis- ich seemed to impress ACHESON ARGUE3 When the other side had finished, however, Acheson opened up with a few blunt facts. He pointed out that Formosa was not like Greece. where the Truman Doctrine had teen| successful in suppressing Com- munism. He read detailed reports overpacked island, full of dissident | elements, and that, while Japan had mistreated the Formosan people for more than 30 years, the For- mosans hated the Chinese even more, For, when the Chinese reoccu- pied Formosa in 1945, they instituted WATERFOWL CENSUS WILL LONDON, Jan. 4—(P—Britain| has told the United States it will| recognize Communist China on Fri- | day or Saturday, an informed | ource said today. BEGIN JAN. 10 WASHINGTON, Jan. 4— (B —A Inside Debate on Formosa; Crisis Over Strafegic Island ~ (auses Meef, White House a reign of terror worse than any- thing ever seen in Germany. son said he thought it would most unwise for the United State: to dispatch men into a chaotic situation where a Trojan-horse re- volt at any time could end the last drop of Chinese resistance. Acheson also opposed sending military staff support to China and condemned the idea of an American military man to rw China’s defenses. He pointed out that Roosevelt had tried to do th's, that Ambassador Hurley had r commended it, and that Genera, Stilwell had attempted it. But i bad failed even when the Chinese Nat onalists still had the mainiand He asked, therefore, how it was Fossible to defend China now whe there was very little left to defend. Acheson informed the Security Council that Britain would recog- nize China in about a week, and that Britain also would support Red China for a seat on the Se- curity Council of the United Na- tions. Once the Chinese secured U.N. recognition, Acheson warned, they will have every right to bring the United States before the Coun- cil on charges of aggression—if we occupy Formosa. It's a queston of just'how im- portant the island of Formosa i. to us, Acheson said, in effect, and whether it is important enough to send an army for its defense. He added: “I dont think so.” Were Hewail in jeopardy, the situation would be differew, he said. « Acheson also pointed ¢:v that the Chinese Communists izay decide not to attack the island after they get the rest of China consolidated, particularly if they are aware that they will face stubborn resistance, renforced Ly military advice and some supplies from the United | showing that Formosa was a tiny, | States. TRUMAN WON OVER In the end, the Secretary ot State completely won over both President Truman and the military. As a compromise, it was agreed that we will ship Chiang Kai-shek rifles, ammunition, artillery, how- itzers and other equipment to fight off an invasion of Formosa out ot the $75,000,000 Congress voted in its last session. Also we will send about 20 US. military advisers to survey the situation. Truman is also considering recalling General MacArthur for a first hand dis- cussion of Japan. One other important decision made Ly the council was to rush American military help to the French in Indo-China to help fight the Communists. Twenty million dollars worth of military supplies will start moving to Indo-Chna STATEHOOD REQUESTED BY TRUMAN EPresident Ur—ggs Action by { Congress, Fourth Time, Alaska, Hawaii | AP Spec’al Washington Service i WASHINGTON, Jan. 4—(®— President Trnman today urged Con- gress for the fourth time to grant statehood to Alaska and Hawail He said it is “The duty of the elected representatives of the| ceople” to let these and other civil| ghts proposals come to a vote. The Delegates to Congress from Hawaii and Alaska expressed grati- has made similar specific appeals n mescages opening a new session f Congr In February, 1948, he alled for statehood for Hawali ind Alaska in a special message on civil rights legislation. Last year, the President urged enactment of his complete civil rights program, without specific nention of statehood. The President’s appeal today was made in these words: “EXTEND BENEFITS” “As we go forward in achieving greater economic security and sreater opportunity for all our people, we should make every effort to extend the benefits of our Demo- cratic institutions to every citizen. The religious ideals which we pro- less, and the heritage of treedom which we have received from the past, clearly place that duty upon us. “I again urge the Congress to enact the civil rights proposals 3 made in February, 1948. These arc proposals for the enactment of federal statutes which will protect all our people in the exercise of their democratic rights and their search for economic opportunity, grant statehood to Alaska and of ‘self-government for our island possessions, and accord home rule to the District of Columbia. DELE‘ (ATES APPI,AUD “Some those proposals have ‘een beiore the Congress for a long time. Those who oppose them, as well as those who favor them should recognize that it is the duty of the elected representatives of the people to let these proposals come to a vote.” Delegate Bartlett (D-Alaska) ap- plauded the message. | “I am tremendously gratified,” he said, “that the President called 0 Bridges at Communist 1934 Meel SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 4—(®-—! A newspaperman who said he wa® a long-time Communist testified today Party meeting with Harry Bridges in Fresno in 1934, The new government witness was Lawrence Ross, 46, who identified himself in his testimony as pres- ently managing editor of a trade paper in Memphis, Tenn. He didn't identify the paper. He was a Com- munist, he said, from early 1932 until 1937. Bridges, head of the CIO lon2- shore union, is on trial in Fed- eral Court here, charged with per- jury. The government said he lied he attended a Communist) NEW RESULTS NOW SOUGHT BY PRESIDENT Change in Excise Taxes One Suggestion Made by Chief Executive |STATE OF UNION - MESSAGE IS GIVEN 'Rosy Future Predicted for Nation in Talk Before Joint Session By Ernest B. Vaccaro WASHINGTON, Jan. 4—(P—Pre- fication that the President speciti-| When, in his 1945 naturalization | cally called for statehood for the|hearing, he swore he was not u; two Territories in his annual State | Communist. He was born in Aus- | of the Union message. tralia. On trial with him, charged sident Truman advocated a “moder- Twice before, President Truman|With conspiracy, are Henry Schmidt ate amount” of new taxes today in and J. R. Robertson, both hlgh;n glowingly aptimistic state of the longshore union officers. | Union message voicing hope of an Ross testified that the Fresno| eventual trillion-dol j.r economy. meeting was “near the end Oof| It America keeps growing as it 1034.” ihas in the last 50 years, he told The witness said he was notif\'d | Congress, the total national pro- {of the Fresno meeting by EImer duction 50 years hence will' be Hanoff, whom he identified as nearly four times what it is now, then organizational secretary of the | or at the rate of more than one Communist Party for the district.|thousand billions of dollars a year. He said the first time he heard | Bridges speak was in a meeting Prosperous Nation in ‘San Francisco in 1935. He went, In a mixture of humility and there with Hanoff, he testified. bride, Mr. Truman said: 3 Hawaii, provide a greater measure | | specifically for Alaska and Hawall | within six weeks. This is the price | statehood. It should do much to Bv DREW PEARSON | (By the Ascociated Press) (Copyright, 1950, by Bell §yndicate, Inc.) | The winter's heaviest snow piled Ex ’ i et 113 i s a leton last /ASHINGTON — Hottest prob-| 13 inches deep at Pendleto {cuntinent'wide count of wild gecse This was done as a prelude to and cucks will be made Jan. 10- formal notification to both Na-v;ls, tionalist and Communist China. This source said Britain's de-|sus—by plane, lem facing Congressional | night. Throughout the northwest py motorists today skidded on roads under clearing skies. Another* snowstorm,- though, due tomorrow. Last night’s storm swept through leaders | as they got back to Washington | was how to prevent another Parnell | Thomas kickback scandal. | This will be a major topic at a} secret meeting of the House Repub- lican steering committee early next week. House GOP leader Joe Mar-| tin will tell his lieutenants matl House Republicafis must immed-| iately rid their payrolls of any non- | working employees who draw salar jes from the taxpayers. | Also, he will do some blunt talk-| ing about members who bring dis: ‘ grace upon themselves and the party by accepting kickbacks. Mar- | tin himself has set an excellent | example in keeping his payroll| honest. Since coming to cangressj he has never had a relative or a| nonworking employee in his of-| fice, and last year he refused to| hire an extra $3,000-a-year clerk authorized by Congress, on the ground that the extra clerk wasn't needed. | Speaker Sam Rayburn and Ma- jority Leader Johp McCormack | also will privately warn House De-i mocrats who have been chiseling| on the taxpayers to clean up their| payrolls pronto. Photoing The Russians The Russians have their own| way of keeping an eye on Ameri-| can officials in Moscow. Some time ago, Maj. Gen. John W. O'Daniel, U. S. Military Attache in Mos-| cow, was watching a gala military | parade which included a flight (Continued on Page Four) icy is | the Willamette valley and north- ward to Chehalis and Centralia where it reached near blizzard proportions. 3 \ Central ‘and Eastern Washngton were hit by biting cold with Ellens- burg’s minus 10 the northwest’s deepest chill. STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, Jan. 4 — Closing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 3%, American Can 106, Anaconda 29%, Curtiss-Wright 7%, International Harvester 27%, Kennecott 51%, New York Central 12%, Northern Pacific 15, U. S. Steel 27, Pound $2.80%. Sales today were 1890,000 shares. Averages today are as follows: industrials 200.20, rails 54.31, util- ities 41.37. cision—one of the few major breaks from close cooperation with the United States since the end of World War II—actually was made weeks ago. Only the question of timing was in doubt—and that was settled be- fore Foreign Secretary Ernest Ministers. CAPTAIN STONE SEATTLH, Jan, 4— (® —Capt. and died of a heart attack here yesterday. Captain Stone went to sea when he was 18 years old and came to America from England as a sea- man aboard sailing vessel in 1904. He joined the Alaska Sbenmshlp‘ Company the foHowing year. He Ibecame Master Mariner and skip- COLLAPSES, DIES, Cherles L. Stone, 67 year old re- tired Master Mariner with the Al-| aska Steamship Company collapsed | Gel-Tough Policy |pered many of the company’s ves- Is Final Ado Ied sels to Alaska. His northward sau-i Emperor geese, which nest north) e gince July—36.14 inche: p }ings were interrupted during worldio( Nome, migrate only as far 23S{e o © © © e o o o {War II when he sailed the South| The State Department appexrs|Pacitic as a member of the Mer- (By Associated Press) to have inaugurated a new gct-lchant Marine. He retired in 1946. tough policy with the Communist nations of FEastern Europe. The Department has ordered the closing FROM SEATTLE iwas announced today by the Fish |and Wwildlife Service. it will be |conducted by 1,300 trained obser {vers in the major wintering grounds } |from Alaska to Guatamala and the | West Indies, | Canadian, Mexican and U. S. | Government specialists, State con- Bevin left Dec. 27 for the Colombo |servation agencies and Armed forc-1e conference of Dominion Foreign|es pilots will take part in (!er. of two Hungarian Consulates in| Irene Barrett and Betty Lou Cox this country—in New York and of Seattle are guests at the Gasti- Cleveland. neau Hotel. | during the inventory will count | from FWS vessels, to try to keep France from sup- 1 rorting Red China’s bid for the all- | The 16th annual waterfowl cen-}important seat on the U.N. Security | joined with the recent statement boat and land—|Council, which carries with it the" of Secretary of Interior Chapman power of veto. (Copyright, 1950, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.) ® ® @ v ¢ o @ e 3 ¥ 9 ° WEATHER REPORT . 2 (This data is for 24-hour pe- ¢ e riod ending 7:30 am. PST) e Baranof scheduled to sail from regular monthly business meetingtueaty violation. Presidential eléc- In Juneau—Maximum 25; @ minimum 19, ® count. Air photographs of la:!el. At Airport—Maximum 20; o |groups of waterfowl will be takenle minimum 4. o |to serve as a check on the accuricy | ¢ FORECAST . of the estimates. |. (Juneau and Vielnity) - Results of the inventory, to-fe Cloudy and warmer with |gether with spring and summer|e light snow changing to snow field investigations, will be uscd}e and rain mixed with low- @ {in setting up annual hunting 1c-{e est temperature about .28 e | gulations. ® degrees and southeasterly e | oy ® winds as high as 30 miles e ALASKA INVENTORY e per hour tonight. Cloudy e It will be the second annualle with light showers of rain e | waterfowl inventory in Alaska, ac-|e® and snow with highest tem- e |cording to W. A. (Bud) Elkins,{e perature near 35 degrees FWS game management supervisor|e Thursday. [ in Juneau. CePRECIPITATIONGS® | Estimates based on actual coun'S: e (Past 24 nours ending 7:30 & m. today @ during the 1949 inventory set thele City of Juneau—.0l inches; @ winter migratory waterfowl popul ® since Jan. 1—60 inches; . {tion for Alaska at more thin|e since July 1—5454 inches. ® | 300,000. All were found winte: ® At Airport—.12 inches; . | from Bristol Bay south. ® since Jan. .65 inche: . . o the Alaska Peninsula. Mallards — were found in considerable num- bers in Southeast Alaska. SIHMER MOVEMH"S Most of the 1950 inventory will { be taken from the air here, Elk.nS}Seattle Saturday. said. But some of the 11 FWS oz'.x-l Princess Norah scheduled to sail cials who will be tallying ducks!from Vancouver January 14. southbound Sunday evening. | further the cause of statehood. “The President’s recommendation, that he would make statehood top priority for the Department, should | e of great assistance in putting it through this year.” | Delegate Farrington (R-Hawaii) | }rold a reporter he was particularly | | pleased at President Truman's “in-| sistence that it (statehood) be| Lrought to a vote. | “We have waited too long for a| | decision, one way or another, and | i\vc will exert every effort to obtain | |a vote this year. | “I trust that the Democratic | cratic platform of 1948 to immediate | | statehood for Hawaii, will concur in | | the President’s position.” | | The House passed a Hawaiian statehood bill in 1947, but it died | without Senate Action at the end of | the 80th Congress. Last year, the | House Public Lands Committee ap- | proved bills for both Alaska and‘ Hawa!i statehood, but they have| failed thus far to obtain Rules Com- | mittee clearance for action on !hsi House floor. | (CARDINAL CLUB TO MEET THIS EVENING The Cardinal Club will hold the | tonight starting at 8 o'clock in | Parsh Hall Al members and| —— prospective members are asked to| The weasel is yellowish brown Denali from westward scheduled |turn out. Refreshments will be|in summer and white in winter 'served. The meeting, as he understood it, was for a discussion of the mari- Communk¥ys. He told the jury that everyone there was known to him to l:z a Communist. Ross sald he heard Bridges speak, ceuldn’t}emember what he said, but recalls he was “rather impres- sed.” | NOME ASKS AIR BASE BE NOME, Alaska, Jan, 4— (B — Nome's Chamber of Commerce has appealed to President Truman and | Congress to prevent closing of |Marks Air Force Base here—a move the Nome Nugget said was rumored. The Chamber’s plea coincided with a visit here by Alaska’s Gov- |ernor Ernest Gruening, who con- ferred with civic groups on the rumored action. The Nugget said all villages north of Nome were “gravely concerned over such a proposal, as this is the only base in all of northwest: ern Alaska which guards the Sib- erlan coast, and coastal airport in the Territory north of the Aleutians' on which foreign planes could land if it is left unprotected.” In its protest to Mr. Truman the Chamber of Commerce called the rumored move a “perilous step by military authorities for the safety and security of the entire nation, which hands out billions for de- fense and foreign aid and leaves |the back door wide open icr in- vasio: NOT TC “LOS5 BASE WASHINGTON. Jan. 4—(B—The Air Force said today it has “no '“mdership of the House and Sen- plans now to close Marks Field” ® ate, who are pledged by the Demo- | at Nome, Alaska. A spokesman gave that reply when asked atout reports in Nome that the Air Force base tnere would be shut down. FINNISH TRADE UNIONS DEMAND 10% INCREASE (By Associated Press) time sityation as it affected the,! KEPT OPEN it is the only| ‘Today, by the grace of God, we stand a free and prosperous nation with greater possibilities for the future than any people have ever ‘had before. 2 The President’s message was one {in which he (1) looked far into ithe future—when, & alent of more than $12,000 a year— and (2) dwclled on what he called | the present day nreeds for such things as continued rent controls and repeal cf the Taft-Hartley labor law. Reduce Inequities The President ~ive no inkling of how much new revenue he wants now or where he would turn to get {it. Nor did he disclose what exist- |ing taxes he would drop or lower to, as he put it, “reduce present in- equities” and “stimulate business activity.” He simply said there should be “some changes” in the tax systéin to produce these results. His tax proposals will come later, in a special message. He is° ex- ! pected to yleld to demands for an end of the bulk of the war-time excise levies on suqh things as transportation fares and telephone :bflh, provided the loss is more than offset by taxes from corpora- tion profits and other sources. Budget Message Monday Mr. Truman said the budget -he will submit Monday, for the fiscal year star’ing July 1, holds spending to the lowest levels consistent with cold war requirements and es- sential economic needs at home. He declared that his fiscal pol- icy cffers “the quickest and safest !way of achieving a balanced bud- |get” but he did not hold out any Ihope that goverrment spending jcan be held withiz income during ;the forthicoming fiscal year. Red Ink Financing In fact, his talk of moderate tax boosts in the face of continued heavy obligaticns pointed to ane other year or more of red ink fine ancing. Mr. Truman spoke out against {“the folly of attempting budget slashes which would impair our prospects for peace or cripple the | programs, essential to our national strength.” He laid particular em- | phasis on funds for the European {recovery program for non-Com= munist nations. i At Joint Session | The President appeared before a | joint session of the Senate and House, many of whose members | have been demanding sharp cuts | both in government spending and |in existing taxes. Chairman Cannon (D-Mo) of the | House Appropriations Committee |said in advance of Mr. Truman’s A trade union federation in Fin-| essage the committee will vote land is demanding a 10 percent gen- , gach spending wherever needed | eral increase from Premier Karl-| i yiore’s balanced budget. | Auguso Fagerholm’s government. | In # | The government is already smart-| Lo much’ "\::p;lc:s. unt:‘ell:l ";::f | ing under Russian charges of pewe1 man delivered a year ago on the same occasion. Repeal T-H Law Again today, he called for re- peal of the Taft-Hartley labor law, " (Continued on rege Eight) | tions will be held Feb. 15. when its fur is known as ermine,