The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, January 30, 1950, Page 1

"THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LXXIV., NO. 11,414 JUNEAU, ALASKA, MON DAY, JANUARY 30, 1950 MEMBER A SSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS Scores of Planes Search for Missing Craft PROPERTY TAX INJUNCTION IS GRANTED Collections Outside Cities| Held Up Pending Suit- law Claimed ‘Fauliy’ FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Jan. 30—® | —District Judge Harry E. Pratt| issued a temporaary injunction | Saturday restraining further col- lections under the new Territorial | Property Tax Law. { He acted in a test suit brought | by Luther Hess of Fairbanks and | the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining | Co. | His action technically restrains | the Tax Commissioner from collect- | ing taxes from the plaintiffs, but its indirect effect is expected w; place in abeyance general collections | under the new law pending out-| come of a suit for a permanent in- junction outlawing the statute. The Judge set bonds for the two | rlaintiffs at $1,000 each to cover | possible government loss of $1,236 tax payment and costs of the suit pending its outcome. 2 The suit was filed jointly Dec. 6, 1949, by attorneys H. L. Faulkner, Juneau; Charles J. Clasby, Fair-| banks and Edward S. Medley, Se-| attle, in behalf of the two plain-| tiffs. ‘Law Faulty They ask the court to void the Territorial Property Tax Law on the basis of 15 points charging the law is faulty and inconsistent with U. S. statutes and the Alaska Or- ganic ‘Act. Faulkner opened the motion for the temporary injunction with the allegation that the law is invalid and only an injunction would save the plaintiff irreparable injury. He said that no adequate statute ex- ists providing recovery of taxes illegally collected, other than dis- cretionary power of the court. He further said that in the event of | successful tax recovery, the stat- utes fail to provide proportionate interest on the recovered amounts. Recovery ‘Difficult’ Faulkner also said recovery of taxes illegally collected would be exceedingly difficult in view of the Territory’s current insolvency. Atty. Gen. Gerald Williams claim- ed possible invalidity of the tax act was not sufficient ground for a temporary injunction. He denied the “irreparable injury” charge and said Territorial law adequately pro- vides for payment of taxes collected under protest. Williams also denied insolvency of the Territory, saying the tempor- ary lack of fluid funds is not the same as insolvency. Complaints against the new law charge it lacks uniformity in as- sessment and evaluation, that tax- payers living outside municipalities under the act must indirectly share municipal tax burdens from which they fail to benefit, and that the law is “vague and self-contradic- tory.” o0 o r a0 o0 WEATHER REPORT In Juneau—Maximum 41; minimum 21. At Airport—Maximum 25; minimum -1. FORECAST (Juneau and Vielnity) Partly cloudy tonight and Tuesday. Lowest temperature near 18 tonight. Highest Tuesday about 32. PRECIPITATION (Past 24 nours ending 17:30 a.m. today City of Juneau—None; since Jan. 1—1.17 inches; since July 1—55.11 inches. At Airport—None; since Jan. 1—94 inches; since July 1—36.43 inches. ® & & & o 3 o o & 50 Red Junks Sunk, Nationalists Claim (By Associated Press) Chinese Nationalist airforce head- quarters in Formosa claim new air assaults on Sunday sank 50 junks preparing for the Communist in- vasion of Hainan Island, off the south China coast. Nationalist headquarters said bombers wiped out many gun em- placements in raids on Liuchow Peninsula, which juts out to with- in 10 miles of Hainan, | structures. ALUMINUM PLANTIS INDICATED | ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Jan. 30— (M—Skagway and Dyea, a couple of towns which haven't figured mueh in the news since Klondike gold rush days, may hit the headlines soon in a new rush—for aluminum. The Aluminum Corporation of America (Alcoa) land there in connection with a gigantic development which could lead to a $70,000,000 investment and creation of a city of 50,000. Ralph Browne of the Alaska De- | velopment Board disclosed wdayi the corporation has taken up op- tions on substantial acreage at Dyea, where it is proposed to erect | an aluminum plant, and at Skag way for offices and administrative | He said the land was purchased | this winter after the company’s geologists completed studies of the mountains between Skagway and | Lake Bennett. | A mammoth hydroelectric power | development, with tunnels through the mountains, would be the back- | bone for industrial development, | Browne added. | Over Thousand Killed in Quake TEHRAN, Iran, Jan. 30— (® — Government officials rushed re-| lief supplies today to the Persian | Gulf area of Bushire, struck by | a recent series of sharp earth-| quakes. First unofficial reperts on the toll had said that more than 1,500 | persons were killed but the Govern- ment said it believed these figures were greatly exaggerated. The Gov- | ernment, however, gave no figure of its own on the possible total of de Rescue and relief workers in Bushire thus far have recovered only 30 bodies. MRS. MCGRAW HERE Mrs. Jesse McGraw of Sitka registered at the Baranof Hotel. is FROM SEATTLE Don McDonald of Seattle is stop- ping at the Baranof Hotel. The Washington Merry - Go-Round Bv DREW PEARSON (Copyright, 1950, by Bell Syndicate, Inc.) | (Ed Note—President Truman’s tax message to Congress signifi- cantly followed up a point repeat- edly emphasized in the Washing- | ton Merry-Go-Round that crack- downs on tax violators would | yield billions in greater revenue. | Here is another in Drew Pearson’s | important series on tax frauds.) : | msfllNGTON»Probably 99 per- cent of the Treasury Department’s vast army of hard-working, under-| paid revenue agents are honest | However, political fixers of tax | frauds arranged by certain of the| big boys in Washington have had bad repercussions in the loweri ranks. A few agents have figured that since the big boys at the top were| getting theirs, the little fellows at| the bottom might as well get some too. One result has been an out- | break of bribery in New York City, | where one T-man has been indict-f ed and four others suspended. How- ever, despite the fact that the sus- pensions took place six months ago, the case appears to have been put on ice. | Some of the charges against the five include “forgetting” about tax cases on the request of Tammany politicians. And if President Tru-{ man really means business about cracking down on tax violators, as 1 am sure he does, pere is one| place to start. - And just in case Secretary of the Treasury Snyder doesn’t know all the facts, here are some that will will interest hi “Squeal Letter” In New York’s third Internal Rev- enue collection district in Febru- ary 1948, an informer’s letter was received stating that Kenmoor Inc. Cloak and Suit manufaoturers at { way |a TRAIN ROLLS DOWN HILL; LOCOMOTIVE GOES POWERLESS SPOKANE, Wash,, Jan, A transcontinental train carrying more than 200 passengers car- eened backward down a three-mile long hill last night dragging a powerless engine None of the pass the Milwaukee Rail streamliner was hurt Engineer Edward Maxwell, 67, of Spokane and fireman Dick Liberty, 30—(m— ngers aboard d's Hiawatha has purchased |30, were slightly overcome by smoke | and gas fumes The electric bound stream engine of the East. er caught fire early last night. Maxwell smelled smok and brought the train to a stop as it toiled up a grade near Kit- titas in central Washington. Crew members fought thé fire for two hours with liquid extin- guishers and snow. Edwards said the train start its slide back down the hill when the brakes failed. He estimated its speed at 15 miles an hour or more. Passengers and crew were quiet and crderly train rolled through the with its own lights cut the power failed. members as the darkness off when /ASSAYER WOULD LIKE TO SEE USEFUL Arthur E. Glover, for 10 years assayer in the Fairbanks district for the Territorial Bureau of Mines, vould like to see prospectors get | their minds off gold, and get the lure of finding metals in Alaska which could be processed and used in the Territory. Glover was in the city over the weekend with his wife enroute to take up the post of assayer in Ket- chikan, taking the place of Nils Johannson, leaving the deparitment by retirement under last year’s re- tirement act. “Of course,” he said, “there aren’t the prospectors there were some years ago. Economics has changed all that. Today we consider even a hunter who picks up rocks on his through the wilderness and brings them in to us for assay as a prospector. But that's the way metals are found, many times.” He would like to see pumice and cement looked for—materials which could be refined and used by Alas- kans themselves. He feels the ores re in the ground, but must of course be searched out. He said he doesn’t know much about the Ketchikan area, but hopes to collect specimens for his office there for the public to view, and to encourage men to go out and search for useful ores. His work in Fairbanks has been concentrated on assaying and judging finds in the Pedro and Estro Domes, the lode areas from which the huge placer beds there are derived. New placer fields are hard to d, he pointed out, because of no urface indications. On the Kenai Peninsula are many stream beds covered by soil which would yield rich returns, but finding them is too much of a hit-and-miss propo- sition, he said. He hopes to get interest up in radioactive substances, and said: “Anything might be radioactive— there's really no outward indica- tion, yet such a discovery would by but to the nation.” AXFORDS IN JUNEAU FOR FOUR-DAY VISIT Being welcomed by their many friends on a short visit here are Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Axford, now residents of Anchorage. They lived here from 1936 to 1940, Axford opernting the Topnotch Cafe, which now is Belle’s. His busi- ness in Anchorage is the Carlquist Jewelry Company. The Axfords came here yesterday, planning to stay until Thursday. They are guests at the Baranof Hotel. JOHNSON OF KAKE FILES FOR REELECTION ON GOP TICKET Frank G. Johnson of Kake filed teday with the clerk of the dis- trict court for reelection to his seat in the Territorial House of Repre- sentatives on the Republican ticket. His filing brings to five the number of his party who have filed for the primaries, to be held April (Continued on Page Four) 25. Fleven Democrats are on the opposing team so far, ORES SOUGHT HERE mean much to not only the t‘inder‘ (OLD BLAST " INPORTIONS OF NATION i (By Associated Press) | | Most of the western half of the nation was locked in a frigid blast today while eastern states had comparatively mild weather. The mercury skidded far below | zero at many points from the up- pex Mississippi valley wesward to northeastern Oregon and eastern | Washington, and was well below |normal as far south as northsrn | Texas, | | At Bemidji, Minn., the temper- | ature plummeted to 50 degrees be- low zero as the center of the cold wave hovered over the Dakotas and | Minnesota. At Moose Lake, Minn., it was only two degrees warmer at| | -48. | Chicago, with a low of 7 above, |was near the eastern edge of the | |cold air mass. | "AIRSHIP" BARANOF RESCUES WRANGELL; NOW THEY CAN DIG dl Wrangell's got the air. Not only has the little fishing |community south of here got the! |air, but she got it from the Bur- cau of Public Roads, the Coast| {Guard, the Secretary of Alaska, and the Alaska Steamship Com- pany, no less, This somewhat overwhelming ar-| ray of titles is accounted for by the | | fact that a week or so ago Wrangell dried up because of freezing wea= ther. That was taken care of, so far as fire protection was concerncd; by two saltwater pumps being! {hurriedly deposited on her arid| |Front Street by SS “Gunga Din"| | Denali, who got them from the Army, who Secretary of Alaska Lew Williams arranged with to let them go. | Next they |broken and but couldn’t | wanted to get at al frozen water mmu., do it with pick and | shovel. They had a large air jack, {but nothing to make it kick. So| they appealed once more to Wil- iliams. who once more got busy. He appealed to Coast Guard Lt. | Comdr. Edward P. Chester, Jr, | military aide to the Governor, who| |after looking for air all over the place, finally located an air con- | pressor belonging to the Bureau |of Public Roads. The Bureau loaned it to the Ter- | ritory, which in turn lay in wait |for the southbound Baranof, which |put it on board and dropped it | this morning at the gasping town ! Wrangell hopes they'll be able [to clear up their situation soon {\\'xth the equipment. A city truck |daily makes the rounds with fresh water, and residents rush out with !buckets, cans and whatever el | will hold water to collect their tion for the day. The truck gets} jwater from one lone tap operat-| ng in one end of town. | The trouble started by the freeze catching the community without an insulating blanket of snow, and the fact a main cracked, draining what little water they had stored in their reservoir. The cracked main is what the air compressor will make a concentrated “Taku” to | s0 after. |JACK MUTCH PASSES AWAY AT HERMISTON John W. (Jack) Mutch passed away Sunday at Hermiston, Oregon, acording to a brief radiogram from Mrs. Mutch and received by Secre tary Biggs of the local lodge of E! Mutch was born Feb. 1, 1883, in Stromness, Scotland. While in Ju- neau he was master plumber for the Oscar Harri Shop. 'Ihe Mutch | family left Juneau about two years ago for the states. He was a mem- ber of the Juneau Ei'is since 1939 The mayor of Klawok, Frank Peratrovich, has asked Coast Guard aid in freeing the Klawok harbor of ice. The cutter Citrus will be sent to the town tomorrow to the job In a message to the Coast Guard. Peratrovich said the bay and chan- nel at Klawok has been partially frozen for several days. “An emergeny exists,” the mess- age said. “Must free boats to sccure fue! and mail boat service. 1 WE'VE NEXT TONOTHING": GOVERNOR Need Radar Screen. More Troops, Gruening Says- | U.S. Rule ‘Unsuccessful’ WASHINGTON, Jan. 30—®—! Alaska could be captured tomorrow | by one or two Russian parachute | divisions coming across the Bering it, in the opinion of Gov. irnest Gruening of Alaska From those Alaskan bases, once | captured, any part of the United States would be vulnerable to air attack, Gruening told a House Ap-| propriation subcommittee hearing. This committee’s report, re- leased last night, shows he told the | members that the total U.S. mili- tary force in that strategically im- | portant northern outpost is 7.500 men This, Gruening described as “next 0 nothing. He recalled that during the last war the Japs got and kept a toe- | hold for a year in the Aleutian Islands. He maintained that once the Russians occupied Alaska, it | would be very difficult to get them out. i He said it was hard for people in Alaska to understand why Congress would appropriate a total of 57"1 000,000,000 in economic and military aid to halt Communism in Europe yet give but $96,000,000 for Alaska. Radar and. Housing He said Alaska has asked, as an “absolute minimum,” $137,000,000 which would not make that Terri- tory impregnable, but merely would start a construction of a radar screen and house a limited number | of troops, Gruening said he had no quarre! with the economic and military aid programs to Europe. “We may head off a third World War thereby,” he said. “We appear to have held the Rus- sians at the line which they reached when they took over Czechoslovakia, or at least thus far we have stopped them. “But while that has been going on they have taken all of China. They have taken an area many, many times as vast in extent and a population many times as numer- ous, as what we prevented their tak- ing in Europe,” he said. Back Door Open “It seems unthinkable to us that we would double-bar the front door and leave the back door ajar, as almost an invitation to come in,” he continued. Gruening said the picture was| dramatized for Alaskans when they learned it was proposed to transfer production from the Boeing Air- craft plant in Seattle to Wichita- Kans. He said the Air Force, replying to questions, said it considered the| North West area vulnerable to air | attack from Siberia. Gruening said further question-| ing developed that the Air Forue} expected these Russian planes would , fly over Alaska enroute tc Puget Sound. “But they could not fly over Alaska if that Territory had a| radar screen to warn of the Rus-| sians’ coming and interceptor planes to go up and shoot them down,” the Governor said. “If there is going to be another Pearl Harbor, it will be in Alaska and it could come any time now,” he said. Gruening also urged economic development of Alaska. “The 82 years of Alaska rule under the United States has not been a success sq far,” he said. STOCK QUOTATIONS . NEW YORK, Jan. 30—(P—Closing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 3%, American Can 116%, Anaconda 30, Curtiss-Wright 8%, International Harvester 27, Kennecott 55, New York Central 127, Northern Pacific 14%, US. Steel 28%, Pound $2.80. Sales today were 1,640,000 shares. Averages today are as follows: in- dustrials 201.69, rails 55.54, utilities 42117, | STEAMER MOVEMENT Denali from Seattle due some- time tomorrow. Princess Norah from Vancouver due tomorrow afternoon or eve- ning. | tract. ‘hy the present staggering of open- MORE MEN OUT IN COAL STRIKE; PICKETS BUS PITTSBURGH, J#h. 30 — (¥ Bands of roving pickets helped swell the number of striking coal miner. to 89,575 today as the “no contract no work” strike surged into its| fourth week. | Last week about 88,000 of the na- | tion’s 400,000 soft coal diggers re- | fused to work until they get a con- The number of idle grew despite a White House hint that increased coal production could | stave off Presidential intervention ‘The strike doubled the number of stay-at-home miners in West Vir- ginia. That state, biggest coal pr. ducer, counted 20,000 out ot the pits | out of 110,000. In Pennsylvania, the number two | coal state, 51,300 out of 100,000 sott coal miners are refusing to work. | The state department of relief re- ported relief applications are mount- ing swiftly in coal producing coun- ties. DUCK POSSESSION WANTED RAISED AS HEARINGS WIND UP Completion of public hearings on game seasons in Southeast Alaska has been completed with return to Juneau of Dan Ralston, acting head of the Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice, who spent the past week in Ketchikan and Wrangell hearing suggestions and recommendations from sportsmen and trappers of those areas. Recommendations, after being compiled and evaluated, will be pre- sented to the meeting in Anchorage | February 13 of the Alaska Game Commission, which sets the com- ing year's rules in regard to wild- life. Rig turnouts showed up before »ach community’s hearings, Ral- ston said. Both towns asked the} Bl jon limit on ducks and geese be raised, Ketchikan wanting 50 duck and 20 geese, while Wrangell asked for 15 ducks and 6 geese. Practically all towns in the area | have asked that this limit be rais- 2d, although the limit varies. Present possesory limit of ducks s 10, considered too few by many sportsmen because of costs involv- ed in going after the migratory birds. Deer Season Change Both towns asked that the deer season be changed. Ketchikan's| suggestions followed that of the Territorial Sportsmen, Inc., group here, for September 1 to November 15, setting it back eight days. Wran- zell wanted the season from Sep- tember 20 to November 20. Both groups asked for uniform dates on game, to get away from pressure applied on certain areas ings and closings. Both asked that mink trapping be closed next year, and Ketchi- tan suggested that when opened, only 30 mink per trapper be allow- :d, and that all be tagged. Marten were asked by Ketchikan (0 be opened from December 15 o January 31, but only after many arguments, and the motion barely carried, Ralston 'said. The large ninority opposed such a long sea- son. Ten days more was asked by Wrangell for brown and black bear —from September 1 to June 30. Wrangell asked that two of its neighboring lakes, Pats and Vir- ginia, be restocked, because of their being practically fished out. Cut- throats were in the lakes, but Wrangell residents weren’t particu- lar as to what’s put back ir Ral- ston said. FORSYTHE, HOMER FILE ON DEMO TICKET HOUSE SEAT Two more Democrats filed for a seat in the House of Representa- tives primary race to be run April 25. They are Earl T. Forsythe, Ju- neau businessman, and Steve L. Homer of Haines, who operates a car and freight barge between that point and Juneau during summer months. Forsythe, former president of the cooks’ and waiters’ union and well- known baseball player, has lived in Alaska since 1934. He is 40 years old. FROM ANCHORAGE Among Anchorage resicents reg- istered at the Baranot Hotel are Ed Coffey, Ted Brady and A. C. Swall- Baranof scheduled to sail from Seattle Saturday. WIFE, CHILD ONPLANE, SGT. AIDS SEARCH By Master Sgt. Robert Espe, as {old to Graham ‘Irotter, Canadian Press staff writer. (na. NOTED KGDErt KSpe, raaio operator attached to the Sixth Radar Unit of the U.S. Air Force at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, Alaska, is the husband of Mrs. Joyce Espe, 23, missing with their 23-months old son, Victor, and 42 other per- sons on the US U-b3 transport somewhere in the Yukon.) WHITEHORSE, Y.T., Jan, 30—®. —TI've gone through the hysterics and have cried myself silly. I be- lieve that due to the fact condi- tions in the area where the plane was last reported were good and that it was daylight last Thursday when it disappeared, the plane could have made a normal, ditch- ing-procedure landing in some clear spot. If it vid I'm sure my wife and little son are stiil alive. My wife was seven months preg- nant and because her health was ngt good in the Alaskan climate she was going to visit Mr. and Mrs. James Vagneour in Rifle, Colo., and have the baby there. She was scheduled to take an- other plane out of Anchorage. But it was to have left three hours later than the one she finally boarded, which was making a direct run to Great Falls, Mont. Delay at Start I was at the field to see her and Victor off. But after a run down the field the plane failed to take off because of the failure of a feathering motor in one of the pro- pellers, a very minor thing. That caused a three hour delay. The plane crew had fitted all the passengers with parachutes. My last words to Joycie were: “If you have to jump, give the baby to Sgt. Roy (Continue: on Page Two) TRAINED RESCUE PARTIES ARE OFF FORPLANE SEARCH DENVER, Jan. 30—(®—Two more planes left Lowry Air Base near Denver yesterday to join the Arctic search for a missing Air Force transport in the Yukon. A C-82 cargo plane, carrying a helicopter, got away with a crew of five, two extra pilots. and three extra mechanics. It’s the second helicopter bearing cargo plane to head north from Lowry for Great Falls, Mont., in as many days. A special search aircraft, the new Grumman SA-16, carrying a crew of four, two extra pilots, three extra mechanics and three para- doctors also made the run. The doctors, trained to jump from high altitudes in rescue missions, were Capt. Rufus Hessherg of Al- bany, N.Y., and 1st Lts., Donald C Humphries, home address unavail- able and Neville Stiles, Corpus Christi, Tex. Two other planes, scheduled tc make the flight, are being held up for repairs. MOTHER, WIFE OF MISSING PLANE ' VICTIM, TALK ALEXANDRIA, Minn., Jan. 30— P-—The mother of Major Gerald F. Brittain, pilot of the C-54 missing | in the snowy wastes of the north said last night “these moments of | waiting are torture.” “All T can do is pray,” said Mrs Linda Schlichting, Major Brittain’ | mother. Mrs. Schlichting said her | second husband, Alvin, operates @ resort on Lake Andrews near Ale- | xandria, Minn. | she commented it seemed strange her son had had a mishap. “My sor flew the Atlantic 64 times during the war without one,” she said. Mrs | Schiichting said the Major’s wite i ijo, whom he met and marriec | in Belgium, had been in touch witk | ner. “She called me from El Paso on the chance that I might have hearc | something.” Mrs. Schlichting said Mrs. Brit- tain is expecting her first baby in ing, March. FRIGID AREA SCANNED BUT NOT A TRACE Greatest HEnTEver Made in Yukon Territory for Plane - 44 Aboard GREAT FALLS, Jan. 30— (B — Lack of sufficient heaters to pre- pare winter-bound search craft for takeoff today hampered Great Falls Air Force Base efforts to get ad- ditional planes into the Yukon search for a missing C-54 and its 44 occupants, Despite this handicap—in sub= zero temperatures that freeze a mechanic’s hand to metal if touch- ed without glove—five search planes left the base before noon to join other USAF and Canadian Air Foiee shipy in the widespread search area. Search planes started leaving the field at 4:30 am. (MST) to reach the Yukon in time to begin search- ing by daylight. They took off as rapidly after that hour as they could be thawed out and the mot- ors started, Temperatures of 28 below zero at the base Sunday warmed up to about 15 below today. Nearly 50 planes have been fun- neled into the local base from other installations to be sent north as soon as they can be winterized and dispatched. Helicopters have been brought in aboard C-82s. They will remain here to be pressed into service when and if the missing craft is located. Jump crews, including paradoctors, are standing by. ' MOUNTAINOUS 'AREAS NEXT WHITEHORSE, Y. T, Jan. 30 —(P—At Elmendorf Field, near Anchorage, Alaska, searchers sald that between 33 and 50 percent of .he probable search area had been covered. However, they said moun- tainous areas had not yet been ouched due to generaly poor wea- her conditions. All large aircraft from Elmendor! have joined the sweeping search. Small craft, helicopters, trail crews and paramedics are standing by. TWO NATION SEARCH WHITEHORSE, Y.T., Jan. 30— —More men and mechanics were poured today into the search for a missing U.S. Air Force Transport and its 44 occupants. Pace of the two-nation hunt, al- ready ranking as the largest in the history of the frozen north, was stepped up as it entered its fourch day with reports of sub-zero tem- peratures bringing new fears for the survival of ary of the plane’s occupants. Temperatures at Snag, a tiny weather station 20 miles inside the Yukon Territory from Alaska over which the huge transport made its last contact with the outside, were 10 below zero last night. Even colder readings were in prospect before morning. Last Position The big, four-engine C-54 radioed its position from Snag last Thurs- day afternoon, about two hours after leaving Anchorage, Alaska, on \ nonstop flight to Great Falls, Mont. Aboard were 34 servicemen re- turning on furlough or for reassign- ment, an expectant mother and her two-year-old son, and eight crew members. “Qperation Mike” The search has been dubbed “Op- eration Mike,” a name taken from the missing plane’s commander, 1st Lt. Kyle E. McMichael, 28, whose wife lives in San Antonio, Texas. As the long Arctic night called a temporary halt to. the gigantic serial search armada last night, of- ficials anxiously awaited word from a ground party sent to investigate a lone clue to the plane’s where- abouts. Forest Ranger's Clue It came from a forest ranger in an almost inaccessible spot approx- imately 40 miles to the southwest. The ranger said he saw a large plane overhead late Thursday, then aeard an earth-shaking thud, an >xplosion and saw billowing clouds of smoke. “Highly Probable” Air Commodore Martin Costello >f the Rc@al Canadian Air Force, search coordinator here, described (Continued on Page Two)