The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, March 9, 1950, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” . VOL. LXXIV., NO. 11,447 JUNEAU, ALASKA, THUR Dr. Sander Found Not Guilty GUARDHOUSE COPLON GETS Takes Stand FIRE SWEPT; 15 YEARS; RED 7 BEL Teugiiig ALASKATYPE SHIPS ASKED 10 BE BUILT Subsidy fo Reduce Freight Needed with 5,000-Ton Special Vessels for North » \ WASHINGTON, March 9—(P—| Rep. Tollefson (R-Wash) suggested | today the government could solve the Alaska shipping problem by‘ building ships suitable for the| Alaska trade and turning them over to shipping companies under | some sort of a subsidy arrange-| ment. | “I have made that proposal toi the Maritime Commission before I intend to renew it shortly,” Tol- lefson told a reporter. i “The Alaska shipping problem | must be solved soon because 'lhei law under which the Maritime| Commission charters vessels to the | shipping companies expires Junc; 30.” Tollefson said one of the reasons for the high cost of the present Alaskan service is that the vessels are too large. | “Ships serving Alaska must run in channels, around islands and to miany small and non-profitable ports,” he continued. “What is needed is for the Mari- time Commission to construct 5,000 ton ships, especially equipped xor{ the service. “This would modern loading and . unloading | equipment to decrease the charges | for that work. They would have to| be equipped with modern refriger- | ator fdetlitles ‘so-they could carry ! frozen salmon and other fish to the | states.” Smaller ships, he said, would be able to make more trips and Al-| aska businessmen want that kind | of service. Tollefson said some sort of sub- sidy arrangmeent must be worked out, not to aid the shipping com- | panies but to keep freight rates| #t a reasonable level. “It would not be helping the shipping companies but would be| helping Alaska,” he said. Tollefson said that Gilbert Skin- | ner, president of the Alaska Steam- | ship Company, had opened nego-| tiations to purchase some of the| Maritime Commission’s 5,000-ton ships. But he said the company| cannot buy these ships unles the government - finds a way of - re- ducing the prices on them. Fire Threat In Bosfor: BOSTON, March 9—(#—A mil- lion dollar fire whipped through two commercial buildings, jumped | to a third, and threatened .a rich| downtown business district before it was controlled early today. Pire Chief John McDonoough es- timated the damage. “The alarms brought out all the city’s fire fighting equipment and fill-in apparatus from ten surround- ing cities and towns. ‘The area houses the huge Uni-| ted Show Machinery and Chamber | of Commerce Buildings. include the most | The Washington Merry - Go-Round Copyrizht. 1950. by Bell Syndicate, Inc.) Bv DREW PEARSON ASHINGTON — Some people‘ around Washington thir I've been | nagging government officials by last week’s letters on winning the| peace. Maybe so. However, peace is something which about 15,000,000 American men thought they were; fighting for, and which an entire nation still devoutly hopes: for, so I'm not quite fair to put others on the spot without giving your own views, here are my own gropings toward that most precious and elu- sive of all goals—permanent peace. The word “gropings” is used in- tentionally, because there can be no sure-fire plan for peace. More- over, the ideas which follow bear no copyright nor claim to -origin- ality. In brief, I believe the United States has two general alternatives: 1. One is the gruesome alternative (Continued on Page Four) ELO SURPRISING FRIENDS WITH ANNOU PE BECAUSE OF 'PROBLEMS' 14 ARE DEAD (Gil-fed Flames Leap Like | other Lightning Through Military Prison ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., March 9 —{M—Oilfed flames, leaping light- ning fast through a 'Sandia base guardhouse, snuffed out the lives of 14 military prisoners last night. Trapped with them in the tinder dry wood structure, the prison’s two inmates were injured . It was the first major dis- the history of the war- critical aster i ! built installation—now a semi-sec- | ret assembly point for the atomic EMENT, Dolores Ethel Blyth, 19, daughter of Dolores Costello and late John Barrymore, and Thomas A. Fairbanks, 24, Hollywood writer, reveal elopycment' to San Bernardino, Cal. Secret marriage occ aition to romance by her mother, says bride. ed because of oppo- (International) leflér_ io Sewafd, Who Bought the Place, Asks About "Slalio! Juneau" ' Secretary of Alaska Lew M. Wil- liams scratched his head this fore- noon, wondering if a time machine has gotten things mixed up some- | where along the line. Cause of his wonderment was an- other one of those letters occasion- ally arriving at his desk which ask what the exchange is between Alaskan and American money, or requesting an Alaska postage stamp to add to a collection. This morning as Williams’ secre- tary, Mrs. Cecilia Theile, opened the mail, this one confronted her: “William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Juneau, Alaska.” Seward was President Lincoln's state secretary, and purchased the place from Russia in 1867, but hasn’t been around for some years. ‘The letter was from a high school girl of Ann Arbor, Mich. seat of the University of Michigan. Ana not oniy was the address on the wrong side, she referred to Juneau as a “state.” The address on the letter itself was turned around: “William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Alaska, Juneau. “Dear Sir: My basic living class in Ann Arbor High School is study- ing the United States. Each person in the class has chosen one of the 48 states to become better ac- quainted with. I have chosen your state, Juneau, to write to and find out some information concerning industry and recreation. I would appreciate any information you could send me concerning your states, Juneau. Judy Benge, 1109 Woodlawn Ave., Ann Arbor, Mich.” WASH. U CADETS C(OMING NORTH DURING MONTH SEATTLE, March 9 — (# — The Transportation Corps Vessel FS-210, assigned to the Seattle Port of Em- barkation, will be used by some 50 University of Washington cadets for their annual spring training cruise, March 17 through 26. The 163 foot vessel will arrive at | Skagway March 20, Juneau March 22, and Prince Rupert March 24. STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, March 9—Closing | quotation of Alaska Juneau mine| stock is 3, American Can 109%, Anaconda 28, Curtiss-Wright 8%, International Harvester 27, Ken- necott 51%, New York Central 13 Northern Pacific. 15%, U. S. Steel 30'2, Pound $2.80%. Sales today were 1,330,000 shares. Averages today are as follows: industrials 202.35, rails 55.18, util- ities 42.91. STEAMER MOVEMENTS Princess Norah from Vancouver due Saturday afternoon or evening. Denali scheduled to sail from Seattle Saturday. Baranof scheduled southbound 5 p.m, Sunday. SIX DOHATIONS T0 LIBRARY FUND ADD $400 70 AMOUNT Six private individuals and busi- ness firms in Juneau have made donations to comstruction of the| Juneau Memorial Library amount- ing to $400 in the past few days, it was announced today by Dr. James C.. Ryan, acting director of the drive. Following on the heels of a pledge | by the Filipino Community for $250 made the previous day, this sum brings the amount to be raised down to between $7,000 and $8,000, with | the exact amount favoring the lower | sum, Dr. Ryan estimated. | Another sizable contribution would bring the remaining amount | to $7,000—another “milestone” in| the fund raising project, he said. { At the same time, Fred Soberg,| agent for the Juneau branch of the | United Trollers of Alaska, gave Dr.| Ryan a pledge for $250, previously | announced. The sum was raised by’ members attending the meeting in | which the decision was made, and | not by the entire membership,| many of whom were busy trapping | or out of town on other business. | The six contributions received | were from Hans Berg, of the Berg Construction Company of Juneau,| $100; Mr. and Mrs. Chris Wryller, $100; Ray F. Taylor, $100; Dr. and Mrs. T. H. Stickler, $25; Ernie; Whitehead, $25; and the Butler- | Mauro Drug Company, $25. ) Whyller is distriet engineer for the | Bureau of Public Roads, Whitehead | is station manager for the Northern Commercial Company, and Taylor is in charge of the Alaska Forest Re- search Center. (OAST GUARD ARCRAFT | RUSHES ANTI-TB SERUM| Coast Guard aircraft based at| Kodiak yesterday rushed delivery of a shipment of anti-tuberculosis serum to the motor vessel Health, operated by the Alaska Department of Health. The ship was in Alitak Bay at the south end of Kodiak | Island, The serum will be used to help children in the area combat tub- erculosis. With a useful life of only seven days, the serum was rushed by air| from Chicago, Ill, where it is was| manufactured, to Anchorage. It was taken to Kodiak by air, arriving there yesterday. It’s useful life will end today, Coast Guard officials were inform- ed. Camp Carson Fire (laims 9th Victim COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., March 9—(M—The windswept $4,- 500,000 Camp Carson fire on Janu- ary 17 claimed its ninth victim last night. Harley B. McCullough, 14, local junior high schaol student, died of severe burns suffered when he and other volunteers were trapped by TRUMANFOR bomb. None of the victims were m the Pacific Northwest. Two guards, alerted by prisoners’ cries, vainly tried to rescue them from behind bars and meshed wire windows. They were overcome along with six others fighting the blaze. Twenty additional officers and men also were treated for smoke effects. Investigators said there was no doubt the fire started from one of two big oil stoves used to heat the guard house. Victims Die Quickly | It was all over 25 minutes after the first alarm was sounded at 7:35 | p.m. (MST). Thirteen of the prison- ers apparently died in the first few | seconds; the other succumbed two | hours later at a hospital. | Most of the victims were believed to have inhaled the intense, almost instantaneous heat and suffocated, Sandia authorities said. Contrary to first reports; Mn:‘ Kenneth Kolster, Sandia’s intelli gence officer, said there was no| evidence of an explosion. f | Examination of the charred, dank smelling structure afterward bore him out. The prisoners had finished their evening meal a short time before. Some already were in bed, reading or sleeping. Personal effects littered their quarters, some scarcely touched by the blaze. Major Kolster described five of the prison inmates as “bad cookies,” jailed after conviction on serious charges by a military court. The| others he labelled minor offenders | trial, the diminutive Gubitchev de- SDAY, MARCH 9, 1950 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS ORDERED OUT Russian Say?F—BI Broke In- ternational Law-Says He Did Nothing NEW YORK, March 9—(®—Judith | Coplon was sentenced to 15 years in jail today for plotting to spy for Soviet Russia. Valentin A. Gubit- chev, her partner, received a 15 suspended sentence and was ord deported to Russia within two| Coplon was sentenced to on a charge of espionage and years on the count of at-| tempted espionage, the sentences | to run concurrently. | Gubitchev received a suspended | sentence and was ordered deported ! by Federal Judge Sylvester J. Ryan | at the recommendation of the gov- ernment. Before the judge spoke Gubitchev declared in a courtroom statement | that the case had been “artificially manufactured” against him. | The dour-faced ex-pal of Miss | five | | | Coplon read his statement in fed- | eral court before he and she were | sentenced by Judge Sylvester J.| Ryan. The statement in English was | issued to reporters by his attorney | before delivery. As he had at the beginning ol the clared: “The mere fact of bringing me to trial constitutes an unprecedented violation of rules of international law and of the national law of the USA. itself. . . | “I am a Soviet diplomat of rank of Third Secretary of Ministry for Foreign Affairs of USSR... “No proof of my guilt was offered | despite the fact that the prosecu- tion worked hard to show my very | ordinary actions—meeting with a the the the €¢ Mercy in Own Defense | | | i {1 i | e | Sander, accompanied by his wife, arrives at the court house in Manchester, N. H., where he took the witness stand to testify in his cwn defense against charges of “mercy killing” in the death of a cancer patient, Mrs. Abbie Borroto. () Wirephoto. VIOLENCE INSTRIKE, | CHRYSLER Dr. Hermann PACT IS PROPOSED CANBERRA, Australia, March 9! — (M — External Affairs Minister | eat | girl, entering a subway, walking ) Percy C. Spender today urged for- iinm a food store, etc.—as actions mation of a Pacific Pact including | which constitute a threat to the | the United States. security of the U.SA.” | Gubitchev went on to say that he was arrested without a warrant, | and subjected to hours of grilling ! by F.B.I agents, who he said, sought | He made his plea in a report out- lining to Parliament the foreign policy of Australia’s newly-eiected moderate coalation government. Such a pact, Spender said, should | information about Russia from him. | not only be a defensive one but Kolster said the fire-swept guard- | He asserted.that his telephone con- | should aim at promoting higher liv-; house—a temporary type building is at least three-quarters of a mile| from the nearest restricted ares, in | which activities are secret. STATEH00D WASHINGTON, March 9—#— President Truman said he supported | statehood for Alaska and Hawal a long time whep, asked as to his views at a news confernce. He re- called he had recommended action three times and it was one of his| recommendations in his state of}| the union message to Congress m! January. He said he couldn’t see| why he should change it. "Avast Practice” Says Navy as Sub Gefs It Smack in the Kisser SEATTLE, March 9—#—The Navy’s anti-submarine wartare practice in the Strait of Juan de Fuca came %o an abrupt end last Saturday. Not until yesterday did the Navy explain why. The answer, however, was simple: The sub was “sunk” by a young Seattle Naval Reserve Lieutenant who dropped a 10-inch 8-pound practice bomb smack on its peri- scope from a lumbering Navy {lying boat. The bomb, containing a small explosive charge, shattered the periscope lens, but did no serious damage to the submerged sub. No one was injured. s o0 0 oo s we e . TIDE TABLE MARCH 10 High tide 5:46 a.m., 162 ! e Low tide 12:43 pm., 06 ft e High tide 7:05 p.m, 126 {t the shifting, leaping flames, ® o 0o 0 0 0 0 o versations were intercepted and | that the F.B.I. deliberately de- stroyed the records because, he | said, they would have shown that | he did no wrong. REASON FOR DEPOLRTATION WASHINGTON, March 9—(#— Deportation to Russia rather than | problems for Asia’s newly indepen- employee to worlk. a prison term was decided upon for | Valentin A. Gubitchev, convicted spy plotter, to avoid endangering Americans in Soviet-dominated | eastern Europe. The £iate Department noted to- day that the United States and Russia have been at odds over whether Gubitchev should have Lkeen granted diplomatic immunity. Concerning this and the reason for the decision to deport him! the Department said in a state- ment: ‘ “|It is considered important that any misunderstanding by the sr.v—‘ iet Government in regard to Gub- | itchey should not have the conse-| quence of prejudicing the situation | of American citizens Europe including diplomatic officers and other officials.” FROM SEATTLE | chieftain acknowledging Lewis’ re- Dorothy Halling arrived yester- day from Seattle via Pan American and is registered at the Baranof Hotel. L - ® o » ¢ WEATHER REPORT In Juneau—Maximum 34; minimum 27. At Airport—Maximum 35; minimum 19, FORECAST (Junesu and Vieinity) Continued fair and windy tonight and Friday. Low temperature tonight about 25 and high Friday about 36. OSPRECIPITATION ® (Past 24 nours ending 7:30 & m today City of Juneau—None; i since March 1—2.72 inches; since July 1—60.63 inches, At Airport—None; since March 1—72 inches; | since July 1—39.41 inches. . ® 0 000 0 0 0 0 | tense.” | mutual aid pact for coramon de- land to Hawaii. ing standards and increased cul- tural and commercial ties of nations in the Pacific area. Spender declared that the center of gravity of world affairs now lies in the Pacific and Asiatic areas. The ever-increasing thrust of Com-} munism, he said, had posed new dent states — Pakist Ceylon, India, Indonesia, and Indochiny I LEWISPACT IS REJECTED BY MURRAY PITTSBURGH, March 9-# President'#®hilip Murray of the CIO United Steelworkers today rejected John L. Lewis’s proposal for “a mutual aid pact for common de- ‘The rejection was included in 2 letter to the United Mine Worker turn of the $500,000 check which the steelworkers sent the UMW for strike aid. Murray, who also heads the ©10, | said: “Your ‘proposal to negotia'e ‘a fense’ has been considered by the executive board of the United Steel- workers of America. It is the unani- mous view of our board, in which I join, that no useful purposé would be served by concluding any formal arrangement for such a pact.” ' LISLE HEBERT RETURNS Lisle Hebert, of the Juneau-; Young Company, returned yester- day via PAA after a business trip to the states. DETROIT, March 9—(®—The! first violence in the 44-day Chrysler | strike was reported today at the company's plant in Marysville, Mich. John R. Scribo, assistant account- ant at the plant, was beaten as he | drove into the parking lot. | Chrysler, in a statement at its main office here, said Seribo was | dragged from his car twice by pnc-' kets and beaten, then left on a high- | way. There was no comment from otfi- cials of the CIO United Auto Work- | Chrysler said pickets smashed the | windows on Scribo’s car and also those in an auto carrying a girl| Meantime on its 44th day the Chrysler strike gave no sign today of arriving at an early settlement. Only trifling progress was re-| ported from continuing negotiations over a stubborn pension dispute | which has idled 140,000 auto workers. The direct cost to the city of Detroit’s treasury was rising. | By official estimate emergency | grocery orders and relief to strikers | will have cost the city $371,000 by che end of this week. JUNEAU CiTY BAND| PRACTICE MARCH 16; T0 PLAY FOR CIRCUS| The Juneau City Band reheursali s previously announced for Mon- | y evening, March 13, has been | noved to Thursday evening March | 16 at 7:30 o'clock due to cunlllcl} th the high school Territorial| basketball championship playotf be- | een Sew; the Juneau imson Bears. Director Joseph Shofner states | the Juneau City Band will be pre- | ent at the forthcoming Lions- | Iotary basketball circus maximus | f March 24, to contribute its musi- al efforts thereto. The band is strictly non-partisan and will not favor the alma mater | r any special songs of either team. | C ¢ | Those flying saucers are back in| the news again-—this time from Van Nuys, California. Police said that | oner, b B VERDICT QUICKLY RETURNED Jury of Twelve Men Take Only 75 Minutes to Reach Decision MANCHESTER, NH. March 9— (®—Dr. Herman N. Sander was freed today. An all-male jury found the coun=- try doctor innocent of charges he muirdered in an “act of mercy” a suffering cancer patient he couldn’t al. It took the jury-—made up of nine Catholics and three Protestants— less than 75 minutes to reach the verdict. ‘The 4l-year-old Dr. Sauder showed not the slightest trace of emotion as the words “not guilty” echoed through the small court- room. There was a chorus of “ohs” from the women spectators. Deputy sheriffs were forced to rap for order. Smiling — Crying ‘When the jury was discharged by Judge Harold E. Wescott, chief de- fense counsel Louis E. Wyman walked over smiling and crying at the same time. The 71-year-old white-haired de- fense lawyer walked over to Dr, Sander and threw his arms around the shoulder of the physician who' then broke out in a broad smile. Crowds gathered around Wyman (and Sander and rushed over to shake hands with Mrs. Sander, who has stood loyally by her husband (hrotghont the ‘case. Mrs. Sander looked happy and for the first time seemed to relax. Judge's Instructions fudge Harold E. Wescott today told the jurors trying Dr. Herman N. Sander for murder in the “mercy death” of a cancer patient that they | could return one of three possible verdicts, He listed them as: Murder in the first degree. Murder in the second degree. Acquittal. “In the event of a conviction of first degree murder,” the judge said, “you have the right under the law to consider capital punishment.” Capital punishment in New Hampshire means death by hang- ing. Case to Jury The case went to the jury at 2:51 p.m. (EST). Judge Wescott explained “the state, however, does not ask for the death penalty in this case and under all the circumstances it would be unusual indeed if a jury should recommend capital punishment” Dr. Sander was on trial for first degree murder on charges he took the life of Mrs. Abbie Borroto by injecting air into the hopeless can- cer patient. Earlier the jury heard a prosecu= tor demand his corviction for “tak- ing the law into his own hands.” Defense counsel declared the woman died of her illness. KILLS BROTHER WHO WAS BLIND, ALSO INCURABLE ALLENTOWN, Pa., March 9 —“He asked me to shoot him. I pondered it. He often had asked me to do the same, thing. I finally decided to do it.” With those words, Harold Mohr, 36, was quoted by District Attorney Kenneth H. Koch today as say- ing he shot and killed his 55-year old brother, Walter, last night be- cause “he was incurably ill of can- cer and was blind.” Dr. George S. Boyer, county cor- said Walter was killed in- stantly by a .30 calibre rifle bullet fired into his back. Pat Gilmore, Jr. Is Confirmed, Senale WASHINGTON, March 9—(®— The Senate confirmed President NORMAN BANFIELD RETUKNS | several persons had phoned today Truman's appointment of U. EX Attorney Norman Banfield was a | passenger to Juneau yesterday via PAA after a visit along the coast| | i claiming to have seen a 1lying saucer skipping hither and yon and through the foggy San Fernando valley sky. Attorney Patrick J. Gilmore, Jr., for Division No. 1, District of Al- aska yesterday. He had been serv- ing under a recess appointment.