The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, February 23, 1950, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE VOL. LXXIV., NO. 11,435 “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” J EAU, ALASKA, THURSD. AY, FEBRUARY 23, 1950 MEMBER ASS OCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS Close Vote Is Predicted In NEW VIEWS EXPRESSED BY BRIDGES Doesn't Believe World Is| Threatened by "Rus- sian Imperialism” SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23—#— Harry Bridges testified today that he did not believe the world is threatened now “by so-called Rus- sian imperialism.” The longshore union leader’s statement was made at his perjury trial, in response to government questions as to what he thought| about President Truman’s speech yesterday on the international sit- uation. Special Prosecutor F. Joseph Don- | ohue asked Bridges, who is on| trial charged with perjury, if he agreed with the President. Bridges, indicted on a charge he swore falsely in his 1945 citizenship hearing that he was not a Com- munist, said he hadn’t had time| to read the speech. So Donohue handed a newsparer to him. Bridges scanned the column, i Donohue quoted & paragravh’ from the speech: ‘The great danger | of Communism does not lie in 1is false promises. It lies in the fact that it is an instrument of an armed imperialism which seeks to | extend its influence by force.” The prosecutor asked Bridges what he thought about that. Bridg- es replied that by “a general denun- ciation of Communism,” he wasn't sure what the President meant. “But, personnally, I don’t believe the world is threatened now by so-called Russian imperialism.” COL. McCORMICK| FLIES INTO SPAIN UNDER WRONG FLAG MADRID, Spain, Feb, 23—(/—Col. | Robert R. McCormick, publisher of the Chicago Tribune, flew into Franco’s Spain today with the colors | of the defeated Spanish Republic emblazoned on his plane. The mistake caused a sensation | among Spanish officials who greeted him at the airport. The publisher is on a flight from Chicago to Bangkok, Thailand, and had flags of countries to be visited painted on the side of the plane. The red, yellow and purple flag of the Spanish Republicans stared representatives of the Foreign Min- | istry and Spanish Air Force in the | face as they greeted the Colonel at the door of the plane. Spain’s | present flag is red and yellow—no purple. The Colonel apologized for the mistake when it was pointed out to him and he asked that the wrong flag be replaced pronm. KIDDS HERE Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kidd of Se- attle are registered at the Baran- of Hotel. The Washington Merry - Go- Round iCopyrisht. 1950. by Bell Syndicste, Inc.) Bv DREW PEARSON ASHINGTON — David Cole, chairman of the White House Fact- Finding Board, informed President Truman and his top assistant John R. Steelman in an off-the-record talk last,week that the man chiefly | to blame for blocking a. coal set-| tlement was not John L. Lewis, but | Pittsburgh operator George Love. Cole reported that' Love and other operator spokesmen were “very un-| cooperative” and seemed more in- terested in carrying on a personal feud with Lewis than settling the| ccoal strike. However, two days later (on FPriday) Cole revised his report and told the President that the operators were trying to settle. What Cole didn't know when he made his second report was that the operators changed their tune when word of his-initial blast leak- ed to them through the White House grapevine. ‘ Lewis Concedes It didn’t leak out, but John L. Lewis made two concessions to (Continued on Page Four) | JUNEAU ELKS PLAN DERER L FAREWELL KISS FOR MUR e «] WILL WAIT AND HOPE,” says Mrs. Richard Hamilton as she | gives farewell kiss double murder of North Hollywood, Cal., couple. Mrs. Hamilton, about to become a mother, hopes appeal be granted. (International) TELEPHONE | MEN ACCEPT TRUCE PACT By Sterling F. Green ! WASHINGTON, Feb. 23—(®—The | threat of a nationwide breakdown | in telephone service, scheduled for tomorrow, has been lifted by union acceptance of a Presidential appeal for a 60-day bargaining truce. “We will bargain every day, 24| hours a day during that period in| seeking & peaceful settlement,” said | President Joseph A. Beirne of the| CIO Communications Workers of | America. | President Truman asked that ser- vice remain - uninterrupted while work goes on under present wage, hour and other conditions. Some Bell System companies accepted! premptly; others were expected to to so. Beirne quickly polled his execu- tive board on yesterday's White House proposal. He announced the decision last night, notifying Mr. Truman by wire that the union re- cognizes its obligation to the “pub- lic interest and welfare.” “We have a sincere desire to resolve the issues through collective bargaining in an open, straightfor- ward manner,” Beirnes said in al statement. | The strike of 100,000 telephone | workers had been set for 6 am.,| local time, tomorrow. Another 120,- | 600 phone workers were due to join the walkout on March 1, when their contracts-expire; these, too, are cov- ered by the truce. Seeks Frggdom support for herself, child, is sought by Film Actress Acquan- etta in Los Angeles divorce suit against Luciano Baschuk, 49, Mexico City millionaire she wed in 1946, (International) Senafe Asks CAB Hearing For Non-Skeds Heacock, Representing In- dependenl Air Carriers, Vins Hour Conference WASHINGTON, Feb. 23—(P—The ‘Civxl Aeronautics Board said today iit had not yet received a Senate | committee request for a hearing for !'\ group of independent air lines. SITKA VISITATION - Officers of Lodge No. 420, BP.OE. | s B will do about the request expects to go to Sitka tomorrow for| ;...\ it receives it. an official visitation of Lodgz No.| 3 1662. . Their plans include degree| The committee made tire request work for u']e Sitka Elks | yesterday for a hearing of at least The Juneau party, headed by} hour for the lines which are i B | seeking authority to continue serv- g::l::fiy :;fie:etfm g:t‘.vueryday. aKer ices between Alaska and the Pacific | Northwest. | The committee also delayed action i upon the reappointment of Josh Lee, . | former Democratic Senator trom Anne L. White arrived this morn- | Oklahoma, as a member of the CAB, ing from Gustavus and is stopping | which regulates commercial and at the Gastineau Hotel. | civil air services, including subsidies and airmail payments. Chairman Edwin C. Jobnson (D- Colo) said the Senate committee asked the hearing for Amos E. | Heacock, President of the Indepen- dent Air Carrier Conference of | America. He claims to represent ! most of the “small businesses in air | transportation.” These are the “non-scheduled” air- lines, so-called, to separate them | from the larger lines which fly ~egu- | 1ar schedules and usually qualify for subsidies and, airmail pay. t Lee Causing Trouble ; | Heacock contends that Lee and other CAB members are now forc- ing all these independent lines out of business and creating an airline monopoly. He contends that to wait | for Congress to legislate would put most small operators out of busi- n He has asked that Lee's reap- AR AR 05 o T AN (Continued on Page Eight) FROM GUSTAVUS ® 6 o v o 0 e 0 & WEATHER REPORT In Juneau—Maximum 40; minimum 32. At Airport—Maximum 35; minimum 32, .FORECAST (Juneau and Vietoits) Cleudy with intermittent mixed rain and snow tonight. Variable cloudiness Friday and slightly colder. Low tem- perature tonight about 30 and high Friday about 32. PE\ECIPIT&TION (Past 24 nours ending 7:30 a m. todny City of Juneau—.79 inches; since Feb. 1—2.82 inches; since July 1—57.93 inches; At Airport—.30 inches. Feb. 1—191 inches; July 1—38.34einches. © o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | i ‘| tained, supplied and operated in to husband, sentenced to life imprisonment for | SWEETBIAR PROVES AIR OPERATIONS | NORTHWAY, Alaska, Feb. 23—(® —Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, head of the U.S. Air Force Tactical Command, says Exercise Sweetbriar has con- firmed that aircraft can be main- support of ground troops under sub- Arctic conditions. Gen. Lee is one of numerous | American and Canadian Generals | on hand for today’s climax of the 11-day, joint 'Canadian-American maneuver. He said that with the| latest type of radar available it should be possible to get limited— he called it “late warning”—indica~- tions of the approach of any enemy aircraft. 1 In this rugged region the many mountains make early-warning radar much less effective than in! | most areas. | He was asked if the American | F-86 jet fighter which Canada will be using in a year or two would be | LAST CHANCE CALLS OFF DEMO MEET AT SITKA KETCHIKAN, Feb. 23—(P—Chair- man James Nolan of the southea-V Alaska Democratic Committee an- nounced today the cancellation of the Divisional Party convention. | It had been scheduled for March | 2 at Sitka. He said the committe vote was unanimous to skip the session because there is little senti- ment for it. And there are no issues requiring | disposition, FORLEWISTO can Veterans puzzie contest, wil expect to pay off mortgage on per week sales clerk, also won prizes. Only problem fac! prize, is large tax Uncl obsolescent soon like the British Vampire the RCAF now uses. He said the F-86 should be “an; operational plane” pretty much for its lifetime of three to four years. TWINING’S LOGIC NORTHWAY, Alaska, Feb. 23— —Lt. Gen. Nathan Twining, Alaskan military chief, says it will be at least two years before the build-up really starts on Alaska's currently “inade- auate” defenses. He added the over- | {all plan for guarding the area is| integrated with Canada's planning for northern defense. It was learned from Canadian sources at this headquarters for today’s spectacular climax of Exer-~ cise Sweetbriar that two senior offi- | cers have been put in charge of| Canada’s active planning for use of | the small mobile land-air forces she intends to have ready to cope with any enemy raids in the north. fhey | are Brigadier George XKitching, plans chief at Army headquarters, and Air Commodore Martin Costello, head of the R.CAF.'s No. 11 group with headquarters at Winnipeg Enemy Airfields The generally-accepted concep!i of attack on the Canadian north| involves potential enemy airborne raids using up to 1,000 men. The northern plan is part of al broader strategic plan that involves co-operation in arranging for joint! action in all-round defense of North | America. It calls for use of Ameri- can troops in Canada, of Canadians in the United States if the situation warrants, Gen. Twining, talking with re- | porters covering the 11-day joint Canadian-American maneuver, pic- tured the possibility of airborne!| landings, bomber attacks on im- portant installations and widespread use of submarines against supply| lines in any enemy attack on Alaska. He said these might come together or separately. He is head of the Alaska Defense Command. | Feasible Attacks ‘ Gen. Twining said it was feasible| that an enemy would make “limited attacks” to seize places like White- horse, Y.T., with its air base, rail-| head and position astride the Alaska Highway, either to use it himself or to deny it to defenders. But he con- sidered it likely that Alaska oftered | more easily accessible and inviting targets. He would not give details of his Alaskan defense force but it is be-| lieved to inelude four fighter squad- rons and one infantry battalion. Nor would he say what “adequate” de-| fenses would be but they were be-| lieved to be plans for roughly u“ ground division and more airpower concentrating on defense of certain strategic targets. THREE SHIPS HT BY NATIONALIST | 'BOMBING PLANES TAIPEI, Formosa, Feb. 23— | Nationalist planes roared OVer| Shanghai again today and Air Force ‘ headquarters said they scored di-| rect hits on three ocean-going ships| in the harbor. The Nationalists claimed a num- | ber of small craft were sunk Of damaged. The planes also attacked Com- munist installations in the Chusan Island group 100 miles off Shanghal. | ending contract—Ilooked slim to gov- STAY FINE By HAROLD W. WARD WASHINGTON, Feb. 23—(M—To- | day brought John L. Lewis just| about his last chance to head off | & ik | the danger of a multi-million dollar | | fine against his striking coal miners. | The chance—a quick agreement during the day or night on a strike- | | | | \ I | | | | ernment observers sitting in on in- conclusive negotiations between Lewis and the coal operators. Meanwhile, the growing scarcity of coal clamped an ever tightening grip on industries and homes across the nation. There continued to be talk on @apitol Hill that Congress might vote power for the President to seize the coal mines and tell the miners to work in them as employees of the government. The White House said nothing. This is Lewis’ last chance because | tomorrow at 10 am. (EST), the United Mine Workers are under orders from Judge Richmond B. Keech to “show cause” why the! unjon shouldn’t be found in con-| tempt of court. | If the union explanations don't] satisfy the judge, there will be a formal hearing Monday on a con- tempt order. DP AND DOLLY— Vera Chreptowsky, 30 months old, carries her doll in her knap- sack as she arrives at a New York pier with her pareqls. dis- placed persons from the Ukraine. | Britis WIN $50,000 VETERANS’ PRIZE SMILING HAPPILY OVER VICTOR New York home. Crissman, a $56 ing Crissman, who holds check (m: big le Sam will collect on windfall!International, | ond aircraft accident in three years | to be cause primarily by “inadequate iand will actively pursue it upon his h Y in $50,000 Disabled Ameri- llam M. Crissman, 28, and wife two automobiles as promptness CHAMBER ASKS FOR LENGTHENING OF AIRPORT RUNW AY Telegrams have been sent by the Juneau Chamber of Commerce to Federal and Territorial aviation of- ficials urging construction of a 2500-foot extension to the Juneau| airport. They were dispatched after the| noon meeting of the Chamber to- day at the Gold Room of the Bara- nof Hotel, | Addresed to George S. Schwamm, | director of the Territorial Depart- ment of Aviation, and W. A. Plett, regional administrator for the Civil | Aeronautics Authority, the messages | asked that an amendment to the Federal Aid for Airports program for | the fiscal year beginning July, 1950, be made to provide the extension to the Juneau airport’s runway. ‘The messages stated that the DC-4 which ran off the end of the Juneau runway Sunday is the sec- runway length.” Reduce Hazard Lengthening of the runway will “markedly reduce the hazard to per- ons and property and prevent cur- | tailment of the growth of one of | Alaska’s largest trade areas,” the Chamber stated in the wires. ‘They pointed out that unless the runway is lengthened, large air- craft will land only when conditiol are excellent, and this will mean a curtailment of service which will affect the northern half of South-| east Alaska. They also stated that they “under- stand Governor Ernest Gruening strongly advocates immediate action | return to Juneau.” O. F. Benecke, member of the Chamber’s executive board and local airline official, told the group: “I have personal knowledge that these | Federal Aid to Airports programs' can be amended and have been in the past.” Booth at Sports Show A letter was read from the Alaska | Development Board stating that the | Alaska Steamship Company will | sponsor a booth for Alaska at the tie Times Sports and Vacation how to be held in the Civic Audi- torium in Seattle March 17 through | 2 The company will bear the ex- pense of renting a booth, providing people to man the booth, and ar-! ranging the exhibits. It will also ship materials for the exhibits to Seattle free of charge. The letter, which was addressed to all Chambers of Commerce in Alaska, asked that plans be made immediately for obtaining and ship- ping exhibit materials from their localities. The tourist committee of the Ju- neau Chamber, headed by Charles ALBRIGHT HERE AGREEMENT NEAR, MAYBE | 777 John L. Lewis and coal operators were reported today to have nar- | rowed the gap between them in Lhef MAV BE (AllED Up long drawn out haggling over a new | mining contract. | D RI"G x WEE The report — officially uncon-i u “E I K firmed from either side—was that| operators had offered to increase | wASHINGTON, Feb. 23— (P--The slightly the financial concessions |g,, .. may vote next week on bills they previously had proposed. to grant statehood to Alaska and It came from sources close to the g, g 4 negotiations and sent a surge of| goeaker Rayburn (D-Tex) sald hope through government "mc‘“'”itcdny he plans to call up the two struggling to get the mines back Into ' yis” Tuesday or Wednesday. production and end the fuel famine | that already has brought r.'niunmai o and “brownouts,” chilled homes, curtailed schools and industria GIlMoRE JR IS production in many areas. ’ . Pressure was building up on hoth sides to reach agreement. HOMI"AIED FOR cLams commies | U- - ATIORNEY Patrick J. Gilmore, Jr., has been D'S'R'BUIE FooD | nominated for U.S. Attorney, First ;Divmon. with headquarters in Ju- TO PROLONG STRIKE 5™ ik - | dispatches® from Yashington r ceived by The Empire. Gilmore has WASHINGTON, Feb. 23—(P—The bee_n serving under an appointment Hotlda DA A masizari Activities Com- | YRICD-(EXpized uRRENRATY (1, mittee today received testimony in- lerqore has been in Washington dicating Communists may be try-|attending a conference called by the ing to prolong the coal strike by Justice Department to discuss the bucking up the miners. | problem of law enforcement. All four | Matthew Cvetic, a former under-| U.S. Attorneys in Alaska were at cover agent for the FBI, said he | the conference which was also at-! had been told 50 youth leaders had | tended by practically all US. At- been transported from New York | torneys throughout the United for “work in the coal fields.” | States. Cvetic said they distributed Iood! “as bait” while passing around copies | of the Daily Worker, a Communist SIO(K ouolA“o"S newspaper. He said the informa-| tion was given him nearly two weeks 3 o ago by a Bill Gordon, whom he| Npw YORK, Feb. 23—Closing identified as a Communist organizer. | g otation of Alaska Juneau mine But, Cvetic said, he knows of no| gk today is 3, American Can' actual Communist activity toward jjoy Anaconda 20, Curtiss-Wright actual stoppage of coal production.!g Inernational Efarvester 28%, Kennecott 54%, New York Central 127%, Northern Pacific 16, U. S. , 18(9(’1 30%, Pound $2.80%. Verne Albright of Ketchikan,| £ales today were 1,310,000 shares. who has just returned from a trip| Averages today are as follows: industrials 203.32, rails 55.24, util- ities 42.75. to. the westward, is registered at the Gastineau Hotel, fmm’n’n‘m’&v on Page Two) s e v e 0 s v ® . TIDE TABLGRE . . FEBRUARY 24 e High tide 6:02 am, 139 ft. e Low tide 1:03 pm, 341t e e High tide 7:09 pm., 104 ft. e/ S Lo 00 e 8 e 0 0 Election MILLIONS OF BRITISH AT POLLSTODAY Re-eledion—oflabor Party or Refun fo Conserva- five Rule Is Issue By Edwin Shanke LONDON, Feb. 23—(P—Britons by the millions swarmed into polling places today, voting whether to keep or dismiss their Socialist Gov- ernment. The race appeared to be close and the decision will not be known until tomorrow. Heavy early balloting was an- |potnced in scores of cities through- |out Fngland, Scotland and Wales. Veteran tally clerks in London dis- tricts said the stream of voters was {the largest they could recall. Simi- 'ar statements came from Liverpool, Edinburgh, Bedford, Birmingham and other cities. i Record Turnout There are 34,410,306 qualified vot- ers. About 26,000,000 are expected to register their choice for the new 625 member House of Commons before the polls close tonight. Des- pite a somewhat slower turnout in rural areas, spokesmen for both major parties clung to predictions of a record turnout. For most of the voters the choice lay between re-election of Prime Minister Attlee’s Labor Party or a return to the Conservative rule of wartime Prime Minister Churchill. Labor is pledged to put still more industries, under state control. The Conservatives said they will halt nationalization but keep most of Britain’s welfare state measures. Few women, long accustomed to jueing in shops, turned out for the early voting. One of them, however, was Mrs. Winston Churchill, wife of the Conservative Party leader who hopes to unseat the Labor Government, Mrs. Churchill was smiling as she arrived at the polling station at St. Stephens Hall in the Westmin- ster District of London. Churchill himself arrived to vote at St, Stephen’s a couple of hours later. He was cheered as he waved his familiar “V" sign and stopped to pat the cheek of a little girl who handed him some flowers. Party Leaders Vote Deputy Prime Minister Herbert Morrison, the Labor Party's chief political strategist, was among the first of the party leaders to vote. He cast his ballot near his subur- {ban Eltham home and then drove to his headquarters in the Lewis- ham of London, where he is a candidate. Attlee and his wife already had voted by mail in the Westminster district, which includes the Prime Minister’'s official home at No. {10 Downing Street. Attlee, Wife Cheered The Prime Minister and Mrs. Attlee were cheered by a large crowd when they arrived at Labor Party headquarters in Walthar- stow West, the working class sec- tion of London where Attlee is a candidate. Attlee shook hands with work- men repairing the street and joked: “I feel fine and I'm glad the weath- er's fine. Otherwise my opponent would blame me for the weather.” No incidents had been reported. But London’s “Bobbies” were primed for huge crowds' which are ex- pected to jam Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly circus tonight to watch election results flash from electric signs. Most of the early voters were workmen coming off the night shift or others who report to work while the rest of the nation is still get- ting up. SQUARE DANCERS TO MEET AT 9:30 SAT. The Sourdocey Square Dance Club will meet at 9:30 instead of 8 o'clock on Saturday night in the Parish Hall. The later start- ing time is necessary because of other conflicting Saturday night activities. STEAMER MOVEMENTS Denali scheduled to sail from Se- attle Saturday. Princess Norah scheduled to sail from Vancouver Saturday. Baranof scheduled southbound late Sunday or early Monday, may- be.