The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, April 25, 1951, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE " “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME" VOL. LXXVIIL, NO. 11,793 ‘UN Forces Fall Back Half JUNEAU, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 1951 A3 KILLED . IN CRASH — OF PLANES| KEY WEST, April 25 —®— An explosive colli sent 'a Commer- cial Airliner and a smail Navy plane crashing into the ocean off Key West today and a death toll of 43 * was feared. Pan-American Airways said “it Jooks like” the Commercial plane was a four-engined DC-4 operated ® by its affiliate, Compania Cubana de Aviacion. The plane, more than two hours overdue at H a. out of Miami, carried 34 passengers and five crewmen. The Navy plane, an SND trainer, carried a crew of four. No Survivors Navy and Coast Guard planes « found no trace of survivors. Nine o bodies had been recovered by 2 p.m. | 2 « The Cubana passenger plane left Miami at 11.03 am. It was due in Havana at 12:16. The crash occurred at 11:45 am, in full view of hun- dreds of sunbathers. - In Washington, the Navy Dep:u't-i ment said the Navy plane had col- i lided with a Cubana Airliner. Recovering Bodies Navy boats that reached the scene a few minutes after the crash recov- ¢ ereda the bodies of two Navy men " and a woman. Bits of wreckage were floating slowly to the surface. The Navy plane, an SND, normally carries a crew of four, but the Navy could not say iramediately whether it was fully maured. . Told »7 Eyewitnesses Eyewitneszcs said they saw the liner and t}.: small Navy plane fly- ing alongsie each other directly over the beach. They said the Navy plane blew up. One wing fell off and the ship plummeted right be- hind it into 30 feet of water from a mile to a mile and a half off- shore. The airliner remained on a level course for about 50 seconds, then went over into a nosedive, hit the water and disappeared beneath the surface. The spot was just offshore from the “Little White House’ where President Truman spends his vaca- tions. TWO CALIFORNIANS VICTIMS MIAMI, Fla., April 25 —(®—Pan i 5 mile flight from M ch- | f American World Airways announced cGrath to Anch: | the center of rivalries the past year today a list of passengers and crew- men of a missing DC-4 Compania Cubana de Aviacion aircraft which was believed to have crashed in the ocean off Key West. They included: Allan and Elvira Nelson, both of Turlock, Calif ¢ STEVENSON LEAVES FOR SKAGWAY HOME THURSDAY D. L, Stevenson leaves Juneau Thursday for his home in Skagway after attending the Tetritorial ‘As- sociation of Elks convention held in Kodiak April 18 through- April 21, He reports that a total of 45 Elks were in attendance from lodges in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Cordova, Seward and Skagway. Stevenson, who is district deputy grand exalted ruler, was an observer for the grand - exalted ruler. The Washington Merry - Go - Round By DREW PEARSON (Copyright. 1951. by Bell Syndicate, Inc.. A ASHINGTON.—A highlight of the current TrumansMacArthur controversy is the New York Times, story summarizing the conversa- tions between the two men at Wake Island. Because the New York Times sto- ry had the earmarks of being leaked out by the White House, some MacArthur proponents have , challenged it, while MacArthur states that no records were made of the conversations on Wake Is- land. In view of this controversy, the ‘Washington Merry-go-round’s ac- count of the Wake Island confer- ence, published on Jan. 23, some months prior to the Times' April 21 account, may be significant. For the President can hardly be ac- . cused of any partiality toward this writer except in his choice of cuss ‘words. Writing at that time — three months before the Truman-MacAr- (Continued on Page Four) put up these on poles along a highway in Korea. A military police- man patroling the road scraiches In order they are: Disagree with H: If you don't think it’s true — Ask back home, his head as he reads the series. arry — If you want to get back — poor ole Mac! (P Wirephoto. SCOUR PASS FOR PLANE LOST SUNDAY ANCHORAGE, Alaska, April 25 — (P—A -widespread air search con- tinued today for a light private plane lost since Sunday in the snowy mountain region north of here with a school teacher and two { children aboard. i Military and civilian aircraft scoured the Rainy Pass area for a trace of the missing Stinson Voy- ager which disappesred oa a 400- i i orage. ! Piloting the small plane was Bert Gann, Bethel school teacher. He was believed to have been flying his six-year-old daughter to Anchorage for hospital ‘care. Also aboard the plane was ‘& 1l4-year-old boy, one of Gann’s pupils, ! Capt. Lloyd Casto, of the 10th Air | { Rescue squadron, said the search | {is being conducted north and south | of Rainy Pass on the ehance that | Gann strayed off the radio beam. | The *Pass- radio operator said he | heard no planes on the snowy Sun- ! day when the craft disappeared. ‘The plane’s three occupants were | not clothed for cold weather and | carried no emergency supplies. They | carried only sandwiches for food. | Searchers feared that a recent| snowfall would cover traces of the| plane if it was forced down or crashed. NINETY-EIGHT DIE, FREAK ACCIDENT; OTHERS INJURED YOKOHAMA, Japan, April 26— (P—Ninety-eight persons died today when a dangling power line turned an old-style wooden coach into’ a blazing funeral pyre. [ Fifty-nine others were injured, some seriously. Seven of the dead were American | soldiers. Their names were with- held. ¢ Japanese sources said bodies of | 40 women and eight children were among the 98 charred corpses | pulled from the smouldering coach. Police said the fire started as the | electric suburban train pulled into Sakuragicho station. The flames quickly enveloped the train’s first car after an electric| {power wire touched the roof. The second car was partially bumed‘ i before police stopped the fire. The operator was killed before he could open the door for the horrified passengers. 1 The Americans were identified by their army dog tags. H | i | i H |- SEATTLE LOCAL AS | i the Bureau of Public Roads, said | ier Highway have been lifted and ] good entertainment. NLRB CLEARS ILWU i i AGENT FOR ALASKA SEATTLE, April 26 —®— The| National Labor Relations Board | certified Local 7-C, International Longshoremen’s and Warehouse- men’s. Union (Ind), as collective bargaining agent for 2,500 non-resi- | dent Alaska cannery workers today. The action overrued objections by ( rival CIO and AFL uniéns which were defeated in the workers’ elec- | tion held last summer, H Regional NLRB Director Thomas; P. Graham, Jr., had recommended the ILWU be certified. The cannery workers have been between the ILWU; Local 77, United Packing House Workers’ Union (CIO); and the Alaska Fish Can-} nery Workers’ Union (AFL). Cruiser Juneau Ai Pearl Harbor PEARL HARBOR, April 25,—(®— The cruiser Juneau docked here yesterday after 11 months’ duty in Beach, Calif.,, tomorrow. LIFTED ON HIGHWAY | Chris Wyller, district engineer for today that load restrictions on Glac- allowable loads are back to normal. However, he added that a 30 mile- per-hour speed limit for trucks is still in effect. ENGINEER DIES ABOARD BOAT IN WRANGELL TUES. | Joseph B, Hetron, engineer aboard | the MS Neptune, died aboard that | vessel in Wrangell yesterday, ac- | cording to a wire receiyed today byl U. S. Marshal Walter Hellan from Deputy Marshal Jack Krepps of ‘Wrangell. Krepps stated that no foul play was suspected and that there would be no inquest. The Neptune Wwas en route to| Kenai to work for the Libby, Me- | Neill and Libby cannery there. KIWANIS PARTY TONIGHT The Juneau Kiwanis Club will hold a ladies night party in the Gold room of the Baranof hotel at | 7:30. Lt. Norman Steinig, in charge | of the program, has arranged for | {in Prague said Me was ASSOCIATED PRESS MAN DISAPPEARS {William OQatis, Bureau Chief at Prague, Mys- feriously Missing LONDON, April 25 —(®— William N. Oatis, Associated Press chief of bureau at Prague, has been missing since Monday and efforts to trace | him have been fruitless so far. The United States embassy at Prague told the London office of the Associated Press by phone today that it had asked the Czech foreign office to help locate him. Oatis, 36, is from Marion, Ind. He was first employed by the AP in 1937 and after working in the In- | dianapolis, New York and London offices, went to Prague last June, One of two Czech employes re- | maining in the AP Prague bureau ’roported by telephone that Oatis | had not returned after leaving his | office Monday afternoon and that inquiries at his hotel brought only | the reply that “Mr. Oatis is not here.” A telephone call to the Prague hotel from Frankfurt brought the same reply. One of Oatis’ American colleagues last seen going to an appointment with Ru- dolf Popper, foreign press chief in the Czechoslovak ministry of in- formation. This correspondent, Russel Jones of United Press; reported that~in- quiries to Popper about Oatis's whereabouts brought “only very vague replies.” LADD AR BASE REPELS ENEMY IN "FIRESTEP" WAR LADD AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska, April 25 — All is quiet at Ladd Air Force base. The “aggressor” has been almost completely annihilated and driven from the area .by the tremendous final surge of the de- fending forces against the main part of the aggressor troops in ex- ercise “Firestep.” The enemy was caught in a triple pincer movement by friendly forces. Attacked from the front and sides by the defenders and engaged from the rear by reinforcing paratroop- ers, who made their spectacular jump Monday, the invaders had little chance to do more than escape with heavy casualties inflicted against them. The threat to Ladd has been successfully overcome and umpires and observers have express- ed satisfaction with the results of | Koréan waters. Sheleaves for Long | the over-all operation. SCREEN ACTOR SAYS CURIOSITY CAUSE OF JOINING COM. PARTY WASHINGTON, April 25 —(P— Screen Actor Marc Lawrence told the House Un-American Activities Committee today that intellectual curiosity — “I was a curious kind of a Schmoe”—led him to join the Communist party. He said this was “an unholy mistake.” Lawrence named Screen Actor Lionel Stander as “the guy who in- i troduced me to the party line.” The fast talking character actor testified that, after he came to Hol- lywood in 1938, Stander told him to go to classes at which Communists made speeches. “These guys confused me, they gave me a headache.” Lawrence tes- tified. “After about 12 of these meetings, I left.” First, however, he said he signed a card at the request of someone— using a name he picked out of a newspaper and has since forgotten. Stander is to be heard later. So are screen writer and novelist Abraham Polonsky, Agent George Willner and Actor Morris Carnov- sky. Polonsky has been named by two previous witnesses as a Com- munist party member. Man has destroyed about a third A of the earth’s original forests. MEMBER A SSOCIATED PRESS Reds Strike Chinese Reds unleashed their expected spring offensivi across the Imjin River (A) on main approaches to Seoul. No- have been taken by the Reds. N Nations units were forced to pull front (D). » Wirephoto Map. Of 100 Mile Q-Mile Fr_onl on 10 a a < Hwa Reservoir - - o op . h Chipyong J/ e and initial g orthwest of Hwachon reservoir (B), back their lines, There were cl man’s town of Kaesong in this area may ashes, too, on the dormant east coast Changjon += Chumunijin s _ngnun Bl = | STATUTE MILES _ ains slammed a 15-mile bridgehead and east of the dam (C) United CONFERENCE ON CHANGES IN CONTROLS WASHINGTON, April 25 —(®— President Truman called in his top economic mobilization team today (12:30 pm,, . for a conference on what changes are needed in the economig ‘controls law. $ He is expected to send Congress soon” a message” asking extension and revision of the Defense Pro- duction Act which expires in June. The economic controls are author- ized by that act. Nearly one fourth of the American economy was brought under a single sweeping price order which the gov- ernment said will roll back “the general level of manufacturers’ prices. Authority Needed However, some officials working with the stabilization program con- tend more authority is needed .to hold down prices of food and farm products, The present law forbids ceilings on them below parity—a price defined in farm laws as fair to both producers and consumers. Price Director Michael V. DiSalle expects the factory ceiling, cover- ing 75,000 plants, to wipe out part of the runaway price boom that followed the Korean invasion. The country will find, DiSalle predicted, that his office of price stabilization has “not been playing pat-a-cake with prices” — that in the months ahead people will real- ize “the whole program is tougher than they have been led to believe.” Three More Cellings OPS will follow up with three more major ceilings within a week. These will cover machinery, cotton textiles, and wearing apparel in- cluding shoes. The new order will bring some price increases — mainly for those who heeded the government’s ap- peal for “voluntary” restraint and then were caught in the Jan. 26 price freeze. But these will be out- weighed by the rollbacks, ‘DiSalle said. Stripped to essentials, each fac- tory’s new price ceiling will be: The pre-Korea price, plus wage in- creases and increased cost of ma- terials, On most materials, increases only up to last Dec. 31 can be counted. SEVEN ARRIVE ON ELLIS AIRLINES Seven passengers arrived on Ellis Airlines Wednesday flight with five on interport. , Arriving from Ketchikan: Clyde Franks, Maj. Jelsma. From Petersburg: Fred Seidell, C. Fenn, E. E. Escola, P. Ridley, Comdr. Larson. LONGSHOREMEN STOP WORK T0 TALK DEMANDS SAN FRANCISCO, April 25 —® —Hundreds of Bay Area longshere~ men stopped work today to discuss contract demands and government orders affecting them. Local 10 of Harry Bridges’ In- ternational ~Longshoremen's and Warehousemen’s Union scheduled te 19 hour work stoppage to end at 7 p.m. after a day-long meeting to discuss: (1) The government's waterfront loyalty screening program; (2) the ILWU'’s opposition to wage stabiliz- ation and (3) contract demands, in- cluding 15 cents an hour wage in- crease and employer contributions for wage and pension funds. ILWU officials said sufficient men to handle Army and Navy work, mail, baggage and perishables re- mained on the job. The ILWU is one of five maritime unions opening Pacific coast-wide negotiations involving about 30,800 seafarers and dock workers whose contracts expire June 15. STORES GIVEN TIME EXTENSION CEILING PRICES WASHINGTON, April 25, —(P— The government today granted 276,000 retail stores another 30-day extension—until May 30—to put their new margin-type price con- trol ceilings in effect. In ordering the delay, price direc- tor Michael V. DiSalle pointed out that until a retailer files his pric- ing charts, his ceiling prices still will be regulated under the general price freeze. This sets price levels at the highest figure for which goods were sold during the base period last Dec. 19 to Jan. 25. After the new deadline of May 30, no retailer may lawfully sell any item covered by the margin- type price control order unless he has filed his pricing chart with an office of Price Stabilization dist- rict office, Gov. Long Is for Stalehood, Hawaii WASHINGTON, April 25—(P— Oren E. Long, nominated by Pres- ident Truman to be the new gov- ernor of Hawali, advocated state- hood for the Territory in his first meeting with a House Committee yesterday. Members of the House's Territ- tories subcommittee applauded af- ter Long described the people of Hawail as “thoroughly American and just about the finest people in the world.” A vast majority of them, he said, hope for statehood. l REPUBLICANS WANT BOMB, RED CHINA WASHINGTON, April 25 —P— Republicans have called for the bombing of Red China bases. Demo- crats questioned a report that Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway had urged use of Chinese Nationalist troops in battle. Hot argument over the conflict- ing views of President Truman and Gen. Douglas MacArthur on how to fight the Korean war hit a new peak in Congress as a Communist offensive smashed at Allied lines some 10,000 miles away. In the oratorical infighting here, Senator Wiley (R-Wis) proposed that the United Nations be asked to approve aerial attacks on the Manchuria base “sanctuaries” about which MacArthur complained before Mr. Truman fired him as Pacific commander. Senator Hickenlooper (R-Iowa) asserted that if the UN “ever is to be victorious in Korea” Chinese Na- tionalist troops from Formosa must be used in the battle against the Communist foe. e o o 2 0 0 o WEATHER REPORT Temperature for 34-Hour Period ending 6:20 o'clock this morning In Juneau — Maximum, 46; minimum, 38. At Airport — Maximum, 49; minimum, 36. FORECAST Cloudy with rain tonight becoming mostly cloudy with occasional rain showers Thursday. Decreasing south- easterly winds Thursday. Low tonight near 38 and high Thursday near 46. PRECIPITATION (Past 24 hours ending 7:30 a.n. todsy City of Juneau — .15 inches; Since April 1 — 742 inches; Since July 1 — 6535 inches. At Airport — .02 inches; Since April 1 — 256 inches; Since July 1 — 3841 inches. e e 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 PRICE TEN CENTS Front 1 PULLBACK - OF ALLIES ORDERLY 'Confidence, However, Ex- pressed by Van Fleet- New Kind of Reds By Associated Press Communist troop masses crushed forward along the entire western half of a 100-mile battle front today in their third invasion of South Korea. But to the east, counter-attacking Allied tank columns stopped the Reds in their tracks and even hurled them back at some points. On the West Central front, UN forces pulled back abruptly and broke contact with the Reds. The withdrawal was so rapid some rear elements were trapped. Ambushed One was ambushed by Communists wearing white civilian garb or the blue denim uniforms of South Kor- ean supply bearers. UN troops rolled southward to- ward Seoul in a long column stretch- ing for miles. “From the air it looked like an epic and orderly traffic jam,” AP Correspondent Tom Barnard re- ported. There was a solid line of mil- itary traffic — vehicles of all kinds. The tanks came last. Their guns were silent although Reds had al- ready infiltrated further south. Communists on the hills command- ing the highway let the tanks roll Fall Back Orderly In the extreme west, Allies fell back in orderly fashion before swarms of Chinese, exploiting their Imjin river crossing. They were less than 25 miles north of Seoul, South Korean capital out of which refu- gees poured in dust clouded col- umns. A tank-led relief column fought its way to a trapped UN battalion south of Imjin. Some UN forces counter attacked as Lt. Gen. James A. Van Fleet, 8th Army commander, told his troops, “In three days of battle (you) have proven your superiority” over the 400,000 attacking Reds. Confidence Expressed | He expressed confidence the bat- !tle would be won by the Allies’ “enormous superiority in fire power jand all types of weapons, in fact & | tremendous superiority in every- thing except numbers.” The bulk of the Chinese in the west were pouring down the Yon- chon-Uljongbu invasion route, This highway also leads to, Seoul. Allied fighter planes and bombers attacked them all day long. ‘Where Pullback Occurred The most abrupt UN pullback was to the east of this road, in the West-Central sector. There the Al- lies broke contact with the Chinese Just south of the 38th Parallel. Then | they withdrew to new lines north of |the threatened Seoul-Chunchon | highway which approaches the cap- ital from the east. The ambush by the disguised Reds was sprung during this with- drawal, just east of the Kumhwa- Uijongbu road. Allied artillery and warplanes cut up the Reds. But field dispatches said at least three Chinese divisions were streaming southward. Roar of Airplanes AP Correspondent John Randolph ! reported the Reds made no frontal attack on the West Central front. “The only sound of battle came from Allied artillery and the roar of air- { planes. Allied reinforcements and counter- attacks plugged the hole on the Cen- tral front. An estimated 100,000 Chi- nese, including big strapping fel- Barr Confirmed As U. §. Marshal WASHINGTON, April 25 —P— The Senate has approved the nomi- nation of Frank Barr to be U. 8. Marshal of Division No. 4 in Alaska. STEAMER MOVEMENTS Princess Louise scheduled to sail from Vancouver 8 tonight. Denali scheduled to sail from Seattle Friday. Baranof from westward scheduled southbound Sunday afternoon. i lows from the Manchurian plains, were halted seven miles south of 38. Fierce Battle Raging A heavy Alled counter-attack smashed into Reds pouring down the main road toward Chunchon. A fierce battle began early in the morning ‘and still raged in mid- afternoon. Southwest of abandoned Hwa- chon, UN artillery blasted a path for a counter-attacking column. Al- lies who pulled: back from the res- ervoir city wheeled and hit the Reds | on the flank. | Communists attacking Yanggu at the eastern end of 1l-mile-long el (Cuntinued on Pags TWO)