The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, February 1, 1951, Page 1

HE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL TLIE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LXXVIL, NO. 11,723 | | | | | TAX BOOST ON LUXURIES TO BE DEMANDED WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — (B — Capitol Hill heard today that Presi- || dent Truman will ask tomorrow for big tax boosts on such luxuries as B « to help pay huge defense costs. » The President outlined his pro- ! posals — the biggest tax boosting program in history — at an extra- ordinary private meeting with § yHouse Democratic and Republican tax writers yesterday. He will send a special tax message to Congress tomorrow. He said he wants $16,500,000,000 in new revenue, to put the defense v'1.:|mgr;m'n on a pay-as-you-go basis, ,‘but he asked that it be split into two packages, one a quick $10,000,- 000,000 increase in individual, cor- poration and excise taxes, some- times called nuisance or selective sales taxes. The excise boosts he will ask may M also extend to motor vehicles, now il taxed on trucks, and to gasoline, on which the rate is now one and a #alf cents a gallon. The President is understood to have made no suggestions for a Federal retail sales tax. There were indications he will ask, along with some other excise boosts, an increase in the whisky tax from $9 a gallon to $12. At $12 the tax would be about 12 to 15 cents a drink. Whiskey is one of the biggest revenue producers in the excise list. BENNETT MEYERS, | FORMER GENERAL. | RECEIVES PAROLE WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — (® — Bennett E. Meyers, former major general in the Air Force was paroled from prison today. Since 1948, he has been serving #time in the Federal Reformatory i at Lorton, Va., after being convicted X of inducing a civilian associate to| Wl lie about his sideline business activ- ities during World War II. He was immediately picked up il by U. S. marshals to answer a Fed- eral income tax evasion indictment pending against him at Baltimore. Meyers, removed from Lorton to the District of Columbia jail, was later taken before U. S. Commis- sioner Cyril Lawrence, who fixed his bond on the income tax charge at $5,000. } Meyers’ associates said the bond would be posted promptly. SALESMAN IN JUNEAU T. R. Curtis, Seattle traveling salesman, is stopping at the Gasti- neau Hotel. BILL BATES ARRIVES Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Bates of Ketchikan are here to attend the Alaska Bankers meeting. The Washington Merry - Go - Round y By DREW PEARSON (Copyright, 1951, by Bell Syndicate, Inc.) ASHINGTON—One of the big things bothering Congess about drafting 18-year-olds is the prob- lem which Winston Churchill pounded home on President Roose- velt when he opposed a second front across the English Channel, “I do not,” said the Prime Min- ister in typical Churchillian lang- uage, “propose to lose the seed of || the British Empire.” | What he had in mind was the fact that in 1914, the cream of Britain’s young men had Been ship- ped aeross the English Channel and mowed down in Flandrs. il Those first waves of troops that || went to Belgium included the best- trained men in the nation. Today it is a recognized fact in both England and France that na- tional leadership is more difficult because of those 1914-15 casualties. | Men who were 18 and 19 during the battle of Flanders would be 54 and 55 today, and in their prime for leadership. But their ranks were seriously decimated. In the United States today the —_— e . (Continued on Page Four) whiskey, wine, beer and cigarettes | Air Defense Along Coast Being Tested SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1—®— The giant test of air defense from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains began today, but the only thing visible to most civilians will be occasional vapor trails high in the sky. “Invading” bombers of the stra- tegic air command are involved with defenders from the western air defense force. The “Aggressor” sorties are above 30,000 feet, out of sight but well within range of Radar posts screening strategic areas. The maneuver, which also in- volves Navy radar pickets at sea, naval and marine air unit, army anti-aircraft artillery, the air force reserve and the air national guard, will go on until Sunday night, around the clock. UN COMBAT TEAM GETS INTO TRAP (By Associated Press) A UN French-American combat team was completely encircled to- iday by Banzai-screaming Chinese | Reds near the juncture of the cen- tral and western fronts in Korea. French troops were fighting' hand to hand with part of the force of ore than 3,000 Communists. The combat team had pushed forward cautiously 12 miles north of Yoju'in the eighth day of the | Hmiteq Allied oirensive which has 1 been probing into the enemy’s main defense lines just south of the | Red-held former Korean capitol of | Seoul. Rush From Hideouts | The Reds, screaming out of hide- ‘outs, launched their counterattack before dawn on three sides and to- | ward the end of the day had suc- ceeded in surrounding the Allied ! Force, ¢ A Tenth Corps spokesman would inot predict the chances of the en- circled regiment fighting its wa) out of the trap. Red Movements In other sectors, Allied airmen said they saw Reds withdrawing across the Han River just on the outskirts of Seoul. But it could not be determined whether the enemy was retreating before the Allied drive or was regrouping for assaults elsewhere along the line. A special American tank-led group known as “Task Force Tony” i pushed forward on the western front and met only light resistance. American infantrymen occupied 44 important hills during the day as the front moved ahead one-half to two and one-half miles. The Allied line now stretches roughly east and west five miles northeast of Suwon. Soon Back to Seoul While the battle raged, South Korean President Syngman Rhee declared: “I hope to be back in Seoul soon.” He said he thought the war “ijs already coming to an end” be- cause the Chinese Communist sold- jer “is fighting without spirit.” 1 { _ . MRS. BAYERS HONORED AT BIRTHDAY PARTY Mrs. Tay Bayers was the honored guest at a birthday party given for her by members of her family last Wednesday week at the home of her sister, Mrs. Nennah Bayers on ‘Willoughby -Avenue. Present at the party to celebrate the day with Mrs. Bayers were her daughter, Mrs. Lillian Turner, and Mrs. Turners daughter-in-law, Mrs. Wesley Turner, Mrs. Phyllis Lesher, niece of Mrs. Bayer; Mrs. Genevieve Soboleff, Mrs. A. L. Zum- 1walt, Mrs. Edith Powers and Mrs. I,Nennah Bayers. SOLDINS TO SKAGWAY Mr. and Mrs, E. L. Soldin came to Juneau from their home in Sitka Tuesday and left Wednesday for Skagway. There they will visit for |a week with Soldin’s parents, Mr. ‘o{ their family. - INCREASE JUNEAU, ALASKA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1951 MINERS GET PAY WASHINGTON, Feh. 1—(P—A pay raise in the coal pits went into effect today without interference, from the government, and eventu- | ally the money will show up on| consumer’s coal bills. Price Director Michael V. Di Salle announced that new ceiling prices | on coal would be set today or to-| morrow and would “probably reflect increased costs to the operators as| a result of the wage increase. Thus the government cracked open its Jan. 25 temporary wage- price freeze for the first time. Other cracks are certain. And thus a long period without coal strikes seemed to he assured, and tht big shadow of John L. Lewis faded from the wall in the conference room of the Wage Stab-| ilization Board. | This Board, headed by Cyrus S. Ching, took several steps yesterday, it exempted state, county, and mun- icipal employees from the wage freeze, turning them over to their governing bodies, which, the Board said, are expected to conform to general federal wage policies. In another regulation, the Board gave a blanekt OK to all wage and | salary increases due to take eI-i fect before midnight Feb. 9, pro- vided they were “formally deter-; { mined and communicated to the employees” before the Jan. 25 freeze date. This permitted an undetermined number of increases to groups or in- dividuals in{that class. (6 Cutfer Kimbal To Berth, Ketchikan SEATTLE, Feb. 1— (® —The; Coast Guard cutter Kimbhall, over- hauled at Baltimore, has tied upi here for 10 days before proceeding | to hernew home port at Ketchikan. The Kimball is assigned to search and rescue and patrol work in Alaska waters. Her skipper is Lt. (J. G) R. R. Chayne, 44, of Sault te. Marie, Mich. and Mrs. Hans Soldin and members | Man Can Wrestle With Wife for Kise; Not Guilly, Assault 1—m— g LONDON, Feb. judge has ruled that® man wrestling his | wife for a kiss is’ not guilty of assault. The plaintiff was Mrs. Betty Woolf, who is separated from her husband Jack. She testified he lay in wait for her as she left a movie, | seized her and tried to put his lips to hers. She tcre free and ran. Said Juage Seymour Collins: “They are still one in law until there is a lecal separation order. and how can you assault yourself?” He dismissea the case. STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORX, Feb. 1 — Closing quotaticn of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 3%, American Can 104%, American Tel. & Tel. 152%, Anaconda 41%, Douglas Aircraft 103%, General Electric 54%, Gen- eral Motors 50, Goodyear 723, Ken- necott 75%, Libby, McNeil & Libby 8%, Northern Pacific 35%, Stand- ord Oil of California 95%, Twen- tieth Century Fox 21%, U. 8. Steel 47, Pound 280%, Canadian Ex- change 94.93%. Sales today were 2,380,000 shares. Averages today were as follows Industrials 250.76, rails 88.52, utili- ties 42.17. STEAMER MOVEMENTS Princess Norah from Vancouver scheduled to arrive Saturday after- noon or evening. Denali scheduled to Seattle 4 p.m. Friday. Baranof from westward schez- uled to arrive southbound Sunday morning. sail from FROM SEATTLE ACS Capt. Brooks C. Yden and George Y. Jencik of the Alaska Communica- | tions System, from the Seattle of- fice, are in Juneau at the Baranof Hotel, j conservation of the salmon run. Powered Boas Will Operate in Bristol Ba y\ WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — (® — | ‘The Interior Department has reiter- ated its decision that powered fish- ing boats may operate in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Last November the department held a hearing in Seattle on the regulation issued April 8, 1950, which permits the use of such boats which are not more than 32 feet long. Operators in the area had pro- tested that replacing the traditional fleet of gill-net sail boats with motor boats would threaten the Dale E. Doty, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, said in a news re- lease that the April, 1950, regula- tion is in the public interest and will stand. Doty said the Fish and Wildlife Service had sufficient enforcement powers to protect the salmon runs agairst undue depletion. RAIL STRIKE IN EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS (By Associated Press) A strike epidemic combined with! the winter’s worst weather tangled transportation and industry and the daily routine of millions of Amer- icans today. A walkout of railroad switchmen was followed by strikes of bus and trolley drivers that disrupted com- muting in New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey. Some factory workers struck, too. Wages were the chief issue. Thousands of workers were laid off temporarily for lack of produc- tion materials tied up in the switchmen’s walkout. At Philadephia, the Philco Cor- poration annoynced the “furlough”} Company, railway car manufacurers 2,000. % Other companies expressed fear they would have to follow suit| soon. An estimated 1,600,000 commut- ers in New Jersey alone were left without their usual transportation when 6,500 public service bus and trolley workers struck at midnight. A strike of 278 bus drivers in New York left an estimated 34,000 Long Island commuters stranded. Detroit’s auto industry reported more than 43,000 workers off the job today in a snowballing series of walkouts and materials short- ages. Chrysler Corp. had the largest aumber of employees affected, send- ing home 15200 during the day from five plants. The layoffs were believed to have been caused at least in part by a walkout of 5,000 at the Budd Co. The Budd dispute stemmed from the transfer of three employees from one job to another. ——— s FROM ANNETTE CG Four men from the Coast Guard Air Detachment at Annette are stopping at the Baranof Hotel. They are Cdr. R. F. Shunk, Robert Ogg, George Carriveau and Chris A. Weitzel. s ® o o o o 0 o o . WEATHER RIPORT Temperatures for 24-Hour Period ending 6:20 o'clock this morning In Juneau Maximum 28; minimum, 23. At Afrport — Maximum, 26; minimum, 16. FORECAST Fair tonight and ‘Friday. Slightly colder tonight. With low temperature near 18. High Friday near 25. PRECIPITATION (Past 24 hours ending 7:30 a.m. today City of Juneau — Trace., since Jan. 1 — 3.95 inches; since July 1—41.94 inches. At Airport — Trace; e since Jan. 1 — 225 inches; e since July 1—3025 inches. e 0 00 00 00 0 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | > | ] . | unless the rail tie-up was set'.led'l | MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS UN BRANDS RED CHINA Britain's WarTng on Sanc- fions Raises Question as to Next Step LAKE SUCCESS, Feb. 1 —iP— ‘The United Nations Assembly voted overwhelmingly today to tag Com- munist China as an aggressor in Korea, but a warning by Britain to go slow on sanctions raised a big question as to the next step. ‘The Assembly vote was 44 to 7 — the same as the ballot in the politi- cal committee Tuesday night. The five Soviet bloc countries were joined by India and Burma in cast- ing the opposing votes. Eight coun- tries abstained and one — Saudi Arabia — was recorded as not par- ticipating. Todays action brought to an end the present phase of the diplomatic battle which was touched off by a report from General Douglas Mac- Arthur 12 weeks ago that the Chi- nese Reds had intervened in the Korean conflict. The Assembly— 1. Decided that Communist China engaged in aggression in Korea. 2. Requested a committee on col- lective security to study what to do about meeting this aggression, but to hold up its work if a good of- fice committee reports progress on a peaccful settlement. 3. Approved creation of the good offices + mmittee Lo consist of As- sembly President Nasrallah Ente- zam of Iran and two others whom he will name. 4. Called on the Peiping regime to withdraw its National air force from Korea and to stop fighting U.N. forces. 5. Affirmed the determination of the U.N. to continue its action in Korea to meet the aggression. 6. Called upon all states and au- thorities not to help the aggressors. Just before the vote, Britains Sir Gladwyn Jebb urged the Assembly to concentrate on seeking a peace- ful settlement in Korea and to go slow on sanctions against the Chi- {of 13,000 employees, and the Budd |nese Reds. The most important task of the U. N, Jebb said, is to study all possibilities for a peaceful settle- ment, leaving sanctions until last NEW BILL REVISES BID LAW Revision of the Territorial bid law is proposed in a buli introduced in the House yesterday afternoon by Rep. J. 8. MacKinnon of Juneau and Rep. Glen D. Franklin of Fair- banks. The bill provides for obtaining bids and awarding contracts for purchases in excess of $150 made on behalf of the Territory, and for purchases and services in contracts requiring both. The present limit is $250 and it covers purchases only and not items on which both materials and serv- ices are furnished. The bill also provides that when- ever possible supplies and materials be purchased at one time. In contrdets involving more than $1,000 the call for bids would have to be advertised in a newspaper for three weeks. ‘Two bills of interest to municipal- ities were introduced by Rep. Waino Hendrickson. Council Terms The first would allow cities of both the first and second ‘class to elect councilmen for one, two or three year terms, as the voters may decide at a special election. ‘The present law permits only one- year or three-year terms. The second Hendrickson bill amends the present municipal sales tax enabling act by defining such terms as Retail Sales, Services, Con- sumer, Selling Price, Seller, and so forth, and rotherwise clarifies ‘the present statute. Northwestern Paraguay is known as the Gran Chaco. | PRICE TEN CENTS Indochina Commies Fire on U. S. Navy Vessel 'NO ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVE' BUT FOR AMERICAN HELP IN REARMING MORTAR FIRE, EUROPE DECLARES GEN. EISENHOWER GRENADES ARE AGGRESSOR!pRm"N(, CONTRACTS ARE AIRED House Committee of Whole Hears Both Sides of Controversy ABy Bob DeArmond) Members of the House of Repre- sentatives, and a number of Sen- ators, heard a good deal about printing and about Territorial bid laws during a two-hour hearing on the contract for printing the 1951 Session Laws yesterday afternoon. At the end of the hearing they k no action on the matter what- ever, apparently heeding the as- sertions of Attorney General J. Gerald Willlams and Attorney H. L. Faulkner that the Legislature has no power to act and that the proper place to take the complaint was the District Court. The entire controversy stemmed from contracts let by the Auditor for printing the legislative journals and the Session Laws. The con- tracts were let to the Empire Print- ing Company, although the Journal Printing Company of Ketchikan, headed by W. L. Baker, had entered lower bids. Bids Rejected The Journal Printing Company’s bid for printing the journals was rejected on the grounds that it was not a bid but a counter offer which included mimeographing in- stead of printing the advance 1 sheets. | The same company’s bid for printing the Session Laws was re- jected by the Auditor on the grounds that the bidder c(fuld I not comply with a requirement that the printed advance sheets be deliv- ered within 48 hours after receipt 1of the laws. The main issue yesterday was the latter contract, upon which the Journal Printing C., bid $4,290 and the Empire bid $6,700. W. L. Baker, head of the former company, told the committee that his shop could do work cheaper than some others, that he felt printing shops outside of Juneau were discriminated against by the 48-hour requirement and that he would have saved the Territory 50 percent on the two contracts. Challenges Opinion Baker challenged the opinion of Attorney Geueral J. Gerald Will- jams, that the Auditor was not bound by law to award the cop- tract to the low bidder. This challenge was repeated by Baker’s attorney, Mrs. Mildred Her- mann, who followed him on the stand. Mrs. Hermann called it a “curb- stone opinion” and said Williams had not been in possession of all of the facts when he issued it. She also implied that the Attorney Gen- eral has misinterpreted the law or had used the wrong portions of the Alaska Code. Vigorous Denial These assertions were vigorously denied by Williams when he took the stand. He said that he was not “a correspondence course lawyer and could not interpret the law as Mrs. Hermann wished it interpreted. Williams said he would stake his reputation that the Legislature does not have the power to break the contract and added that the power to do this rests with the courts alone. He told the Legislature that the | Territorial bid law at present cov- ers purchases only and does not cover contracts in which both mat- erial and services are required. He recommended that the Legislature look into the advisability of chang- irig this law. Virtual Monopoly Mrs. Hermann told the committee that her client had been deprived of a valuable property right when his bid was rejected and added Juneau has had a virtual monop- oly of legislative printing since 1933 and that the Empire is the only (Continued on Page Two) i ' | WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — M —| Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower told | Congress members today there is| “no acceptable alternative” to, American help in rearming Europe. | The five-star general, chosen to head the Allied Defense forces | against Russian aggression, publicly joined the great debate over com- | mitting U. S. troops to those forces with an address to an informal | joint meeting of the Senate and House. He argued: “We must give Europe assistance not only because there is no ac- ceptable alternative, but because if we were left standing alone, iso- lated in a world of Communism, our system would wither away.” Solemnly, Eisenhower had told the lawmakers earlier that their| decisions on defense coopention} with Western Europe would de- | termine the course of civilization | and whether free governments will continue to exist. | Equipment Needed | Just back from a tour of Europe, | Eisenhower said there is no ques- tion of Western Europe’s desire to resist aggression. “There is a spirit to resist,” he said. “There is a de- termination to do their part — to take the risk.” He said, too, that Europe’s great- | est need now is not American sold- iers but equipment which he said must be delivered in quantity and | quickly. As to transfer of American troops | to Europe, Eisenhower said that should be done in a ratio to what the Buropeans themselves provide. | Eisenhower sketched briefly con- ditfons in individual European countries as he said he found them. | France Is Ready He said there is “no question”| that France has “determined to| face up to the threat of Commun- ism from within and without.” And he said he found the same spirit in Belgium, Holland and Denmark. 1 “There is no question about Nor- | way’s determination to resist to the | point of destruction,” he went on. | Italian Morale i He said he found in Rome a stif- | fening of Italian morale and ef-| forts to make that country's de- fense force more efficient. Eisenhower said he did not want i to speak now about the military | potential of Germany. i He said the diplomats must come | up with a political platform for | Germany which gives that nation equality before any of its mmtary! units could be used in'an interna- tional defense force. He said while it would be “false and idle to say there does not exist a spirit of pessimism and defeatism” in some quarters in Europe, he feels i there has been a “rejuvenation” in | Europe's morale. 12-YEAR-OLD BOY | FATALLY WOUNDED | BY10-YEAR OLDER FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Feb. 1—(® —A shotgun hroke up a ‘“‘cops nnd: robbers” game yesterday. Creed Meadows, 12, was wound- ed fatally by a blast from the chot- | gun being held by 10-year-old Edgar | Letson, Jr., son of a Ladd Air Force Base staff sergeant. Edgar told authorities he was demonstrating his “rabbit hunting gun” when it discharged a blast through Creed's right cheek. He said he and his friends had been playing cops and robbers with toy pistols. When he got the shotgun! he said he checked it to see if it was unloaded. Edgar’s mother is in a hospital where she gave birth to a child two days ago. The dead boy was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Creed Meadows. 1 Wasn't Ma!ifil_ana. BOSTON, Feb. 1—(P—William Overton, 31, was free today of a charge that he possessed Mari- juana. A state chemist testified in the municipal court trial yesterday that what Overton had was catnip —not marijuana. The man said he uses it to relieve ]hll ashma. USED, ATTACKS U. S. Escort Carrier Fired Upon-Sailors Ashore Are Threatened SAIGON, Indochina, Feb. 1 —M — Communist-led Vietminh guer- rillas threw mortar fire at a US. Navy vessel in the Saigon River to- day. Later, suicide Vietminh pa- | trols hurled hand grenades at a group of U. S. sailors from the ships. The attack on the sailors was in downtown Saigon. Not one Ameri- can was hurt, but five French Mar- ines who were with them suffered injuries in the terror raid, appar- ently staged to protest the arrival of the U. S. ship here. Carrier Undamaged The ship is the U. 8. Escort Car- rier Lindham Bay. It arrived this morning to deliver planes and other war material to the French who are fighting the Communist-led Na- tionalists. It was undamaged by the mortar attack which came as it moved up the Saigon River from the China Sea. Later, when American sailors gathered at two bars in downtown Saigon during a shore leave, & group of attackers appeared suddenly, they hurled 10 grenades. One Atiacker Caught One attacker was caught by Viet- . nam police at the scene. Among the others who fled were two wearing uniforms of streetcar conductors. Immediately after the attacks, all U. 8. Navy personnel was or- ' dered back aboard the. Windham Bay. Some paused long enough to pick up grenade fragments as sou- venirs, French Army patrols and Viet- nam police began a drive to try to iclean out the Vietminh nests. Alert By Carrier The carrier was in a state of alert, ready to open fire should the Vietminh guerrillas attack again with mortars from their hiding places across the river. These at- : tacks recalled similar outbreaks last March, when American Naval ves- sels visiting here were fired on by Communist mortars from across the river. SENATE GROUP ~ FINDS PENSIONS FUTURE BETTER A special Senate committee re- ported today there is a good chance of Alaska old-age pensions being restored to normal for March. The report of the committee, which was named yesterday, dashed pensioners’ hopes for a deficiency appropriation for the public welfare department. Sen. Howard Lyng (D- Nome) had suggested yesterday, in proposing the committee, that an extra appropriation might be justi- fied. Old-age assistance was cut 8 per cent Jan. 1 because of pros- pects of the fund running out be- fore the biennium ends March 31. The committee report submitted by Sen. W. L. (Dan) Lhamon (R~ Fairbanks) was made without any recommendation. It included praise for the welfare administration of Director Henry A. Harmon. The report highlighted a morn- ing session in which the Senate ap- proved the House joint resolution to provide $124,661 for legislative session expenses. It was the first measure to pass both houses, as usual. It compared with a figure of about $110,000 in the session ex- pense measure for the 1949 session. The Senate alse approved, 15 to |1, Sen. Ed Anderson’s memorial for reactivating Marks Air Force base at Nome. It is addressed to govern- ment and defense officials. The Nome senator told his col- leagues that he wasn't thinking of just helping the second division when he introduced the air base appeal, but was thinking of the in- terest and defense of the whole Ter- ritory. The single “no” vote was by Sen. John Butrovich (R-Fairbanks). The special Senate committee on the old-age pension problem re- (Continued cn Page TWwo)