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

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE VOL. LXXIV., NO. 11,465 Territo MO'S SKIPPER ADMITS GUILT ON 3 COUNTS Will Probafiy—lose Num- ber - Four Admirals and Three Captains on Court NORFOLK, Va., March 30—— Capt. William D, Brown pleaded guilty today to charges of negli- gence and neglect of duty in the grounding of the battleship Mis- souri. Brown, who commanded the big Mo when she ran-aground on a Chesapeake Bay shoal January 17, pleaded guilty to each of three charges_and four specifications. The action of the former skipper of the 45,000-ton battleship came shortly after he was arraigned be- fore a general court martial con- vened to try him on the charges. Several minutes earlier he had stood before the court, composed of four Rear Admirals and threc Captains, and heard the Judge Ad- vocate read these charges: (1) “Through negligence sutfer- ing » vessel of the Navy to be stranded.” (2) “Through negligence suffer- ing a vessel cf the Navy to be hazarded.” (3) "Neglect of Duty.” 3 Charges Out Seven specifications had been drawn by the convening authority to support the three charges but three of the specifications were nolle prossed (will not be pro- secuted), it was announced at the opening of court today. Punishment usually imposed up- on an officer convicted of charg™® of negligénce and neglect of duty in the grounding of a ship is re- duction in numbers. This means a lowering of his standing on the Navy’s premotion list. It usually has a most adverse effect upon senior officer in that it normally prevents his attaining flag rank The 47-year-old officer, who was relieved as commanding officer of the Missouri shortly after the ves- sel was refloated Feb. 1, had told a Naval court of inquiry which investigated the grounding that “i and I alone bear the sole respon- sibility” for the accident. Brown had become skipper of the nation’s only active battleship last December. The Missouri was the first capital ship he had comman#- ed and the first ship of any type he had skippered since 1943. Chinese Natls. Are Tightening Their Blockade, Report In Taipei, Formosa, Chinese Na- tionalists revealed they have seized four ships in tightening their block- ade of Communist-held Chinese mainland ports. The ships were identified as two British and two flying the Panama flag. The Washington Merry - Go- Bouxlfi (Copyrieht. 1950. by Bell Syndicate. Bv DREW PEARSON ASHINGTON—The U. S. de- fense picture is so complicated that it’s difficult even for Congressmen who sit on Army-Navy appropria- tions committees to understand whether the United States is in danger of slicing its defenses too thin. However, here are some facts which Senators may want to study in connection with General Eisen- hower’s views on national defense. 1. Secretary Louis Johnson has done a good job of cutting civilian personnel, political shipyards, old Indian forts, and other military “fat.” Congressmen squawk loud- est when local shipyards and mili- tary posts are curtailed. But John- son has had the courage to cut anyway. 2. New weapons, which cannot be described here, may make a lot of present weapons obsolete. It’s a waste of money, therefore, to ac- cumulate an arsenal of conven- tional weapons which may be out “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” ONE-THIRD OF ICED FUNDS TO BE FREE THIS YEAR: RODEN The Territory will be so well in the black by the end of the current biennium that approximately one- third of funds frozen over the past three years will be “defrosted”, Treasurer Henry Roden said today. The sum still in the cold belt even after last week’s mild thawing of money by the Board of Admini- stration is well over $5,000,000. Tax Commissioner M. P. Mull- aney, prior to his leaving for Seattle, estimated taxes would bring in from | eight to nine million dollars this year, not counting on the disputern property tax, now held up in district court. The Board of Administration wa forced to begin putting special ap- propriations on ice following the 1947 Legislature, and continued to do so as money was borrowed from banks to keep things going, and vouchers piled up in Auditor Frank Boyle’s office because they couldn’t be met. Last week the red ink bottle was dumped out the window, with the banks paid off to the tune of al- most a half million, and Some $800.- 000 in vouchers liquidated. Money left over was about a half million, with more than $260,000 already given out by the board in their de- frosting action. Schools Paid Up Already paid incorporated schools this year is $1,031,353.76, Dr. Jamcs C. Ryan, commissioner of education, said. Not a dime is owing them now either from this year or last. At the end of June, these schoois —those either in cities or incorpo- rated school districts—will be owed $677,841.31, Dr. Ryan told Roden. Juneau schools receive $37,047.84 quarterly. This sum, as is the case throughout Alaska, is released on 4 monthly basis, so the local school boards are not required to have such heavy bonds—at $12,500 a month, bond need be only twice that amount, which of course costs less than double the quarterly sum Going back to Roden’s estimate on the Territory’s ability to defrost the iced amounts due various agencies, he feels the one-third figure his office could give out was conserva- tive. But conservatism being his habit, he said a moment later that “it'll be at least one-fourth the amount.” Within the next few weeks, the tax office will have a more definite figure on what’s coming in, and a few totals to present, and at that time Roden will be able to make a more definit prediction. “But this much is certain,” he said, “we can keep paying our bills and stay away from the money- lenders until the new lawmakers take over next January.” i WHITNEY of date in a year or so. (Continued on Page Four) RESIGNS WASHINGTON, March 30—/®— Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney said today he has submitted his re- signation as Undersecretary o0f Commerce to President Truman. Whitney told a reporter he did s0 in a letter Feb. 1, and that he hopes to be released by Mr. Tru- man by May .1 He declined to go into the rea- sons for his resignation, saying tiey were “stated in my letter to Pre- sident Truman and if he wants to release the letter, he will do so.’ SPECIAL 4-H CLUB MEETING IS CALLED A special meeting has been callec by Billy Gaines, newly-electe: President of Mendenhall 4-H Cluk for boys for Saturday, April 1, tc be held at the home of Mrs. Joe Kerndler at 3 p.m. L. T. Oldroyd, Director of Alask: Extension Service, will be here to address the boys and to advise them concerning the various projects to be carried out for the coming sea- son. All members are urged to at- tend. Boys interested in 4-H Club work are invited to come and hear Mr. Oldroyd. £ Richard Gaines, Secretary In the Philippines—new raids by the peasant Huk guerrilics for the second day in a row. They are said to have killed 27 villagers and wounded more than 50 yesterday and today. . JUNEAU, ALASKA, THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 1950 2 BROTHERS ARE CHARGED TWO CRIMES Warrants Issued for Kid- naping, Murder of 18-Year-0ld Gil VANCOUVER, Wash., March 30— (#—Utah E. and Turman G. Wil- | son, Vancouver brothers, were charged today with kidnapping and murder in the abduction death of | Jo Ann Dewey, 18, March 19. | Prosecuting Attorney De Witt Jones signed the warrants, charg- ing first degree kidnapping and first degree murder, on information pre- sented by Police Chief Harry Di- mond. Neither of the men is in custody. Diamond said both had been sought for some days apd could not be located. Both have long police records, with one of them having served a term for rape Turman, 24, is listed in FBI files Chehalis Training School for burg- ‘ary in 1942; to having appeared in Portland juvenile court in 1942 for assault and in the same year to “have been sentenced to seven years ‘mprisonment from Portland for rape. He escaped from the Oregon prison but was re-captured in 1948. Again in 1948 he was sentenced in Multnomah county (Portland) . to six months for armed robbery and was charged in 1949 at Kelso with assault. Utah, 20, in 1946 escaped from the Chehalis Training School but was returned. He had had several juvenile after-hours investigations on his record. In 1948 he pleaded Fuilty to two counts of burglary here and was sentenced to one year in jail and two years probation. He2 shortened his term by good beha- vior. Jo Anne’s nude body was found in Wind River, 50 miles east of here, Sunday morning, a week after she had been abducted from a local street as she walked toward St Joseph’s hospital. WHERE, OH WHERE | DO PINK SALMON 6O TO LAY EGGS!! How close pink salmon come to home when they start upstream to spawn will be under survey start- ing this week, as a five-man re- search team of the Fish and Wild- life Service leaves for Port Fred- erick tomorrow from Juneau to sharpen up their fin-clippers. George Eicher, fisheries research biologist, is in charge of the group‘, one of six who will station them- selves at downstream weirs and traps to mark pink fry on their sea- ward journey. i The service is concentrating ef- forts this year in Southeast Alaska on finding out what makes the pink | salmon tick—Ilast year a preliminary survey was started, but manpower and funds were scattered on other surveys, so it didn’t dig very deep. Opinion is that pinks come back close to where they were born, and go upstream perhaps next door to the old homestead. Sometimes they’ve been found a hundred miles away, however, and what the service wants to know, is this sort of thing accidental or are the pinks just full of wanderlust? Some fry will get one dorsal fin clipped, others will have another “rudder” knocked off, for identifi- cation purposes. One of the Atomic Energy Com- missioners, Henry Smyth says: “For the long-term good of the country, I believe it is better for universitics to pursue a policy of not doing sec- ret atomic worl STOCK QUOTATIONS * NEW YORK, March 30—Closing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 27, American Can 115%, Anaconda 28, Curtiss-Wright 8%, International Harvester 26Y%, Kennecott 50%, New York Central 13%, Northern Pacific 15, U. 8. as having been sentenced to the; B. (. WATERSHEDS HOLD ALUMINUM'S FUTURE IN POWER Alcoa’s Hofig Property in Skagway Brings Hopes of Wealth at Low Cost + NEW YORK, March 30—#—US. industry can look forward to sub- stantially increased supplies aluminum from huge new .plants tapping Canada’s British Columbia waterways for low cost power, the magazine Iron Age said today. Continued expansion of our aluminum market depends on the industry’s ability to hold dowh pro- duction costs despite advancing national metalworking weekly said. “The waterways of British Co- lumbia offer the outstanding prom- ise of low cost water power in North America,” it added. The ‘publication said Aluminum | Co. of Canada, after several years of power source investigations, has narrowed down its choice of sites for a new ingot plant to the Nec- hako-Nanika river system in the Weddsmuir Park section of Britisn Columbia. 3 “In the same general arca,” the publication said, “the Aluminum Co of America has acquired propertj at Skagway, Alaska, on tidewater, and at nearby Dyea, on which new reduction capacity may eventually be built. “Production in Alaska would not be subject to the U.S. import duty on aluminum. “Such a plant, when built, would also be of large capacity to take advantage of the wealth of low cost power from an Alaskan hydro- electric installation operating from a British Columbia watershed.” FIRE AT SEWARD SEWARD, Alaska, March 30—(% —Fire destroyed the nurse's quart- ers of the Seward Sanatorium and Tuberculosis Hospital last night and burned one nurse severely. The nurse, Mrs. Alice Reay, sul- fered third degree burns on the tack, head and face before she es- caped through a window. The 139 patients were evacuated through the children’s ward. Valu- able equipment was removed safely An estimate of the loss was not available, The institution, using on old army hospital, is operated by the Metho- dist Mission Board. Dr. Lawrence M. Lowell is ‘in charge. Mrs. Ruth Murrel is the superintendent. STEAMER MOVEMENTS | Freighter Square Sinnet scnedul- ed to arrive from Seattle 1 pm Friday. : Princess Norah from Vancouve: due Saturday afternoon or evening Baranof scheduled to sail from Seattle Saturday. Denali scheduled southbound am. Monday. ® c s r o ® e WEATHER REPORT In Juneau—Maximum 40; minimum 30, At Airport—Maximum 41; minimum 24. FORECAST (Juneau and Vieloity) Cloudy with occasional light snow tonigkt. Lowest temperature near 35 degrees mixed rain and snow Friday with southeasterly winds of 15 to 25 mph. Highest Fri- day near 42 degrees, PRECIPITATION (Past 24 nours ending 7:30 a m. today City of Juneau—.07 inches; since March 1—3.23 inches; since July 1—60.48 inches. At Airport—.11 inches; since March 1—1.34 inches; since July 1--40.03 inches. ® 0 0 o o 0 o o Although crows are noted for in telligence and teamwork enemfes, they are such among themselves, says the En- JURY FRIDAY ! has been apvointed a member of cyclpedia Americana, that when they pair to build nests one must stand guard while the other gathers Steel 31, Pound $2.80%. Sales today were 2,370,000 shares. Averages today are as follows: industrials 206.43, rails 54.48 util- ities 42.65. material. Timing, so as to catch insect pests at their most vulnerable stage, 1S important in spraying. MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS of labor rates and other charges, the | Thousands are seeing the Alaska Chamber of Commerce booth at the Seattle Times Sports and Vaca- tion Show, March 17 through 26, sponsored by the Alaska Steamship Company, reports from Seattle indi- cate. Above is a typical view of a few of those inspecting the booth. Over 15,000 pieces of literature, descriptive of Alaskan cities, sports events, products and vacation possibilities have already been distributed. Kt is estimated that another 5000 pamphlets will be handed to interested people before the show ends. The booth has created much interest and was described by the show manager, Martin P, Kelly, as one of the finest in the exposition. BRIDGES’ CASE 1S GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO, March 30—(® —The prosecutor in the Harry Bridges perjury trial today used testimony of the government's key witness to lash at the defense in his argument to the jury. F. Joserh Donohue, the prose- cutor, strove to etch the testi- mony of ex-Communist John Scho- maker in the jurv’s memory as the hour neared tor the talesmen to start considering their verdict. Donohue, who will complete his final argument today, accused de- fense attorney Vincent Hallinan of having a “hankering bitterress” toward Schomaker because the wit- ness had “bested him and beat him badly.” The fate of the trio will go to the jury tomorrow, 81st day of the trial. BARR APPOINTED T0 AERO COMMISSION: ROTHWELL, FSHERY Territorizs w=:najor Frank Baur he Alaska Aeronautics and Com-} munications Commission to repiace William Lavery, retired. Barr, a tller and connected with Alaska Air Lines of Anchorage, will serve until March, 1952, it was announced by Secretary of Al- aska Lew Williams, now acting Governor. One member represents each division, and each must be a flier or connected with aviation: in the Territory. Other appointments and reap- pointments to boards announced by Secretary Williams are: Ira Rothwell, Cordova fisherman to succeed himself as a member of the Alaska Board of Fisheries Rothwell was appointed for one year when the Repartment of Fish- eries was first formed a year ago,| other members for various terms up to five years, the limit of mem- bership. ¥ His present appointment is for five years, expiring in 1955. Mrs. Florence Winchell, McGrath nurse,- reappointed to the Nurses'' Examining Board, composed of three nurses in the Territory, her appointment to expire in 1952, Dr, Szurd N. Bredlie, Fairbanks chiropractor, reappointed member of the Board of Chiropractic Ex- aminers, until 1951. L B FROM ‘WRANGENTOWN’ ‘Wrangellites stopping at the Bar- anof Hotel include Mrs. Doris; Barnes, Mayor P. C. (Pete) Me- Cormack, Lennie Engstrom and Neil Grant, Leon Blum Dies, Paris PARIS, March 30— (® —Leon Blum, veteran Leader, died today. Blum, veteran of France's tur- bulent betweenswars politics, would have been 78 April 9. Thrice Premier of France, he was active in France’s government to the end. He was Vice Premier under Andre Marie in 1948 and was | a leader in the European unity movement. A bitter foe of the Nazis be- fore and during the war, Blum was just as vehemently an enemy of the Communists who made him a constant target of their attacks. McCARTHY IS TALKING OUT N SENATE WASHINGTON, March 30—(P— Senator McCarthy (R-Wis) told the Senate today he will supply locuments showing that Owen Lat- timore is a Soviet agent and “is cr has been a member of the Cemmunist Party.” McCarthy has charged that Latti- more, Johns Hopkins University professor and Some time State Department consultant, is the top Russian espionage agent in this country. Lattimore has called that charge ‘pure moonshine.” He is now on the way back to the United £tates from a United Nations mission to Afghanistan and will have a chance to reply formally to McCarthy on next Tuesday at a Senate Commit- tee hearing. ‘The committee has been looking into MecCarthy's charges that the State Department is a haven for Communist and Communist sym- pathizers. Headed by Senator Tydings (D- Md), it is a Senate Foreign Re- lations subcommittee. McCarthy made his promise to produce documents to back up his charges at the outset of a Senatc speech. McCarthy’'s intention of making the speech had been well publicized angd galleries of the Senate Cham- ber were packed with spectators. But only 36 Senators—and only cight of them Democrats—were on the floor when the Wisconsin Re- publican began speaking. SEATTLEITES HERE Among Seattleites registered at the Baranof Hotel are Bert Proc- tor, Bruce Parker, B. 8. Newhouse, R. M. Barnard and John T. Dirks. French Socialist | EISE "GUESS” UPS ARMS BUDGET WASHINGTON, March 30—(/-- Members of the House Armed Serv- | ices Committee disclosed plans to- day to add about $647,000,000 to next year's defense budget. i This development followed testi- mony by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower | that a half billion dollars more—at | a “guess” — could be wused to strengthen this country’s defenses. The House next week will begin consideration of a bill which calls for $13,911,127,000 in cash and con- tract authority for the armed forces in the 12 months starting July 1. Chairman Vinson (D-Ga) of the Armed Services Committee an- nounced that when the bill comes up he will make a “strong speech” pointing out the grave situation confronting the United States now that Russia has the atomic secret. Will Call For More He said he will call upon the House Appropriations Committee ro sponsor amendments to sbrengthenl this country’s armaments. If thai group won't do it, he said, he will. The bulk of the additional funds proposed by Vinson would be used to strengthen ghe nation’s aerial might, with some set aside for pro- tection against an enemy attack from the air. Eisenhower told a Senate Appro- priations subcommittee yesterday that U.S. dgfenses are not-as strony as they might be. The Air Force was one arm whose needs he stressed, along with Alaskan defenses, anti- submarine weapons and industrial mobilization. Eisenhower sald he wanted the minimum of 48 regular and 11 or 12 Guard airgroups to be kept modern and a program in Alaska that in three years would “get a good re inforced regiment up there.” Gives Alaska Priority | Referring back to the list of ad- | Jjustments the war leader would| 1ake in the proposed budget, Sena- | tor Ferguson (R-Mich) asked him which items he would give a priori He replied that he would rat the Alaskan need, the number o air groups, and the anti-submarine guard “on the same level.” He added that he would put in-! telligence lower down on the list| “because you can't spend much money on it.” | Eisenhower said it is a “clear mis- take” not provide adequate quar- | ters and soldiers for each of the air fields in Alaska. FROM TULSEQUAM | G. W. Robinson, manager of the Polaris?Taku mine at Tulsequah, B. C, is visiting in Juneau. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson and family are staying at the Baranof Hotel. Also ry’s Lack Auditing System Shown Up REPUBLICANS HEARDETAILS ABOUT AUDIT Senator Bufrovich Asserts $21,000in Liquor Stamps Still Unaccounted For BULLETIN—Shorily after the convention convened "this after- noon and chrnging the published program, Capt. A. E. Lathrop was nominated by Mrs. Margaret E. White, Republican National Committeewoman, for Republi- can Nptional Committeeman. This was immediately seconded by Sid Charles, Tom Jones, Dr. W. H. Chase and Andrew Nerland. ‘There was no opposition. The audit of the bodks of the Territory of Alaska made last year and which resulted in the imprison- ment of the Territorial Treasurer is not yet a dead issue, Senator John Butrovich told the Republican cau- cus here this morning. ,“Twenty-seven thousand dollars worth of Territorial liquor stamps are still unaccounted for and if I never do anything I intend to see that this matter is brought to a con- clusion,” Senator Butrovich said. ‘The Fourth Division Senator, who was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee during the 1949 session of the Legislature, opened his talk on “The New Deal Audit of Alaska’s Finances and Affairs” by reciting a brief history of past audits. Commencing in 1023, when an audit ‘was made: covering the years 1916-1922, there was an audit as regularly as clockwork each bien- nium, completed and ready for the Legislature within ten days after it convened, as required by law. The last of the regular biennial audits was made in 1941, Senator Butrovich said, after which therz was a gap until 1945, Routine Procedure “These audits were carried on by previous administrations as a rou- tine matter of good business pro- cedure,” Butrovich pointed out. He added ‘that each of the audits, through the audit of 1941, was pre- sented to the legislature. “So far as I know, the 1945 Legis- lature did not ever see the 194> audit although the law requires that the audit be presented to the Legis- lature within!ten days after # con- venes,” the Senator added. Butrovich did not specifically place the blame for this failure, al- though he stated that it was the duty of the governor to secure a biennial audit and present the auait to the Legislature. In 1047, Butrovich said, the Legis- lature was told that there were no funds for an aldit that year. The Legislature thereupon appropriated $20,000 for the specific purpose of having an audit made. “When we returned here in 1949 we were informed that the appro- priation had been frozen and thac no audit had yet been made,” But- rovich related. “The Alaska De- velopment Board was able to spena freely,” the Senator commented, “but there was no money for protec- ting the taxpayers by auditing of the hooks." Auditing Committee Butrovich briefly related details of amending the law to provide for an auditing committee composed of the Chairman of the Finance Com- mittee, the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the House and the Territorial Auditor, and the machinery of preparing for the audit last year. He went on to tell how the two Legislative members, himself and Representative James Nolan of |V\'rungell, were called to Juneau in | May by the field auditor of Arthur Anderson & Co., who were making the audit. “We were presented with convine- ing evidence that the Territorial ‘Treasurer should be removed frowa office for the protection of the tax- payers, the bonding company and other officials,” Butrovich said. The Senator told the delegates of the committee's unsuccessful efforts to locate the Treasurer. When he could not be found, Butrovich said, the audit report was presented to the Acting Governor in the absence of Governor Gruening who was then absent from the Territory. there from Tulsequah are A. A. C. Harris and A, R, MacDonald. { Butrovich quoted thé Acting Gov- (Continued on Page Eight)