; No. 42 D�ot�l h, *. !��,�,, ol and Northern British Columbia Prince George, B.C., Thursday, October 14, 1948 10c per Copy; $3.00 a Year ,S.A. Ready To Start Alaska Railway 0 in Headlines �,,..'; Defence Minister Kn announced huge aircraft """jconstruction program tor '� meet Russian war t32O.OOO French miners go KwmDAY: President Truman Ktary of State George C. met in urgent conference -hi'ngton to decide whether rial peace mission should be t'to Moscow. �crj\Y: Canadian Congress Or drafting a program for Lvnext 12 months, decided to * for a $2,000 minimum i wage, equal pay for men Lren and an adequate pen-*heme for all industrial wor-In Paris Andrei Vlshinsky, . delegate, said Communist "capitalist worlds could live rther. jj�jESDAY: H. R. Macmil-"examinod by prices commis-� which is investigating ac-3 of big" lumber operators. 'fted States to conduct big ig manoeuvres off Alaska, i reports say that 60 ships, men will take part. Re-J that powers will demand [Monday that Soviet Union lift jlin blockade. ItODAV: Mackenzie King, ill in Ion, had restful night. So-, reported to have suggested � will lift Berlin blockade if stern powers withdraw their �rency from Berlin. |b France. 110,000 steelworkers led w go back to work. Liberal rtv in Quebec being reorganiz-Churchill in London denies jerer said that Russia had the anic bomb. ivy Damage In Penny Fire |the b;.u* sawmill of Standard L Timber Western Ltd', at nny burned ilown completely i Thursday last. Damage runs imany thousands of dollars. mooted rausc of the fire Ispark- carried from an inciner-f by the high wind. The ex-pionally high wind also ucht down telegraph lines -^nd ierrupteri communication with fly for a lonp period* [Some 75 to 80 hands were em-at the mill, but there will [no unemployment, says R. Mc-fvray, manager. The mill, he I Will be rebuilt. mcil Guarantees upifal Overdraft |The city council have decided 'Warantop the Prince George 'District Hospital's overdraft ,tno Royal Bank of Canada 10 an amount of $20,000 in worship, the mayor, ad. 1(1 the council on the state ! hospit;,rs finances at n ^council meeting and re-'" *hat the motion gunran-! the overdraft be approv- Visiting Canadian Soldiers9 Graves GENERAL CRERAR is visiting the Canadian cemeteries in Holland, Belgium and France following his participation in the coronation of Queen Juliana in Holland recently. He is shown, left above, with the Burgo-mestre of Adagem and Wing Commander Greendshill, a member of the Imperial War Graves Commission at the Canadian cemetery at Adagem in Belgium. The cemetery is near the famous Leopold Canal where Canadian soldiers distinguished themselves in battle during the North-West Europe campaign. Private Capital Available To Build Greater Part of Project, States Senator Magnuson to Finance Minister H. Anscomb NEW APPROACH TO B.C. GOVERNMENT REVEALED An American Syndicate is prepared to go ahead immediately with the construction of a railroad to Alaska via Prince George. The announcement is made in a letter to the Hon. Herbert Anscomb, Deputy Premier and Minister of finance, British Columbia Government, from the powerful Pacific Northwest Senator, Warren G. Magnuson, copy of which has been handed to "The Citizen". Connected with the move is Willis T. Batcheller, Consulting Engineer of Seattle, who visited Prince George early this year and was a few weeks ago in further conference with Byron Johnson, the Premier. The letter states that private capital is available for the railroad construction and that no time need be lost waiting for further action by Congress. , It will be recalled that a resolution approving negotiations between Caf ada and the United States for the construction of a railroad through B.C. to Alaska was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives foreign affairs committee on June 16, but passage through Congress was delayed by a filibuster. Latest developments are ed in a letter from Willis cheller to H. G. Perry of George, dated .October 9. BATCHEI/LER TO PERRY "I enclose copy of letter written reveal '!'. Bat- Prince by Senator Warren G. Magnuson to Messrs. Herbert Anscomb and Gordon Wismer, which I believe is the last piece of evidence necessary for Victoria to establish the fact that there is only one organization which is active in the ex; tension of the P.G.E. Railroad and the development of the natural resources of the province. On July 29 my two top bankers personally assured Premier Byron Johnson and Finance Minister Herbert Dispute Between I.W.A. Loggers And Rebel Body Echoes Here Allegations of Misuse of Union Funds Were At a Mass Meeting in the C.C.F. Hall on Sunday - LOGGERS WILL BALLOT The dispute between the International Woodworkers of America union led "by President James Fadling of Portland and the Woodworkers' Industrial Union�the rebel body led by Ernie Dalskog�is the subject of lively controversy among Prince George and District lumbermen. The controversy was hotly debated at a mass meeting held in the C.C.F. Hall in Prince George on Sunday and a ballot to decide whether the IWA local will remain affiliated, or will join the rival body is to be held this month. Hank Sellers ft" "?" was put by Alderman MHinro. seconded by Harold an At the meeting accusations that the union's funds were being misused were levelled against R. Range, local business agent of the I.W.A. Mr. Range afterwards issued the following statement: "General membership meeting of I.W.A. Loral 1-42/1 was held on Sunday. October 10. In a four hour meeting1 the. issue of disaffiliation from the International Union was discussed. R J. Melsness of the disaffiliation district council and Mike Sekorai, an employee of the international organization department, stated the issues involved. "The local union executive officers advocated a membership referendum on the Question and a motion from the floor to that effect was carried. The referendum ballots are to go out to the camps immediately with ballot ting to conclude by October 21. "�Unfounded assertions made by Sekora at the meeting in regards to local union funds were refuted by the trustees of the local. H. Ekblad, M. Tadich, NT. Kraglund, who examined the local records immediately after the meeting. They expressed themselves as being satisfied with the state of the local funds and the manner in which the records are kept." In some loggers' circles, it is said that the feeling of the meeting was definitely to continue with the I.W.A. Giscome Sub-Local goes so far as to say that the chairman of the meeting, seising the feeling of those present. (See LOGGER DISPUTE, Page 5) I three INCLUDING GHOSTKEEPER, PLEAD GUILTY IN COURT cases appeared before ^ �oodburn at County �feterday morning. 'Tornm �lll(k' Indlan> caught �y,s Poolroom at 10:45 [October 10, by Constable � Jjas sentenced to six Pity to a -la-�e^ he plead � tiS, had cnined entrance to C7 ^ breaking the lin-r � ,'!'' at the rfear of the ^d th i "g up a bar that tftn ^ '"� Constable Fla- o\v p!!l llim crouched behind ding, �� at the front of the ijte P_ before Mapi-� n October 12 for trial, commended Con- stable Flamank for his attention to duty and asked Corporal De-Witt to bring it to the attention of the commissioner of B.C. police. Sullivan ' C host keeper, charged with attempted breaking and entering, pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence, signed a $500 bond, and has to report to Corporal DeWitt once each calendar month. Ghost keeper was arrested at 4 25 a.m. on October 3 by Constable Lake while on patrol on Fourth Avenue. Constable Lake, while inspecting Tommy's 1 ool-room, shone his flashlight in .he .window and saw a face peeing in the window on the opposite side Constable Lake wont around the iniilding and cornered the man between two buildings. When he saw he was cornered, Ghost keeper went over an eight or 10-foot wall and ran north on George Street. Corporal DeWitt appeared on the scene and saw him running down George Street and cornered him behind Spaner's Store. He was identified by Constable Lake as the man he had sqon in the window. Arrested on October 1 by Constables Braden and Mclntyre, in a local beer parlor, in possession of a loaded automatic pistol, Thomas Witkerson .pleaded guilty and was sentenced to the time already spent in jail and the automatic and ammunition were confiscated. HANK SELLERS, former Senior "A." basketball star in Vancouver, and now playing with the Kinsmen in the Prince George hoop league, will be one of the principal players in the exhibition games with Karn-loops Kilowatts, Friday and Saturday. (See BASKETBALL, Page 8) City Borrows $30,000 For Current Needs The borrowing of $30,000 by the ity to meet current expenditure, while waiting for monies to come, was authorized by resolution in the council meeting on Tuesday night. Some borrowing is usual at this time of the year, says D. Fraser, citv clerk. Tuesday N-night C-cold � Brrrrr . Was Wiegner Gels Two Year Sentence Anscomb that they have in hand ample funds with which to finance the entire combined project headed by me. * "I am informed by Ottawa three years ago the decision was reached that neither the Dominion government nor the Canadian railroads were interested or in a financial position to extend che P.G.E. Railroad; also that we have the only financing available for the purpose. "With the crisis in Berlin "and Jerusalem rapidly becoming critical, the intense importance of the railroad for defense purposes should be clear to every member of the Victoria cabinet. Without the railroad to Fairbanks, it is impossible to defend the Pacific coast. Many of the resources will be needed in carrying on the war, regardless of the atomic bomb. "I can not see how negotiations ] girl?'? asked Mr. Wilson for which we. have waited for [he not more than a year can be delayed further." M.VGM SOX TO ANSCOMB And here is the letter sent oy Senator Warren G. Magnuson to Herbert Anscomb. with a copy to "Jordon Wismer, attorney general, lated from Seattle. October 7: "For 10 years I was chairman of the Alaska Highway Committ.ee of Congress and became intimate-(See RAILROAD, Page 4) In a hot and crowded cdurt, 24-year-old Gustav Wiegner, accused of the murder of John McComas (52), at Mile 106 on the Alaska Highway on August 9, was sentenced to two years' penitentiary in Prince George on Thursday. Sentence was pronounced by Justice Whittaker at 9 p.m. Both defense and the prosecution finished their addresses to the jury by midday. P. E. Wilson, K.C., crown prosecutor, emphasized the circumstantial evidence which wove a web of guilt around the accused and especially to his "disgusting display" in Ij. McComas front of the girl, Louise McComas, after her father had been shot. "Wouid any decent man, who had just killed another, behave as the accused did in front of tho "Would have been filled with remorse? Would he have Jcft :he body to be mutilated by wolves? All the evidence was consistent with premeditated murder." Defense counsel, a. P. (ire-gory, on the 6th�r hand, told the jury to disregard all evidence except that dealing with the actual shooting. "Wiegner is not oh trial for indecency. He is on trial for his life. If (See WLEGNER, Pago 5) F. Brassat Acquitted On Willful Damage Charge Feathered Mitts, Axe, Saw, Table Leg, Are Produced in Court and Fail to Convince Jury Fred Brassat, of Beaverley, accused of wilful damage to property and contents of property belonging to Charles Kienzle, appeared before Mr. Justice Whittaker at the Prince George Assize on Saturday last. He was acquitted. Prosecution for the Crown was conducted by P. E. Wilson, K.C., Accused was defended by Alec McB. Young, K.C. Prince George experienced its coldest night this season on Tuesday night. The temperature was 21 degrees Fahrenheit, (11 degrees of frost). Many parkas were observed on Wednesday morning and city-goers kept their hands in their pockets. Mr. Wilson said the. accused had i been seen near the house in May when the damage took place. First witness. Charles Kienzle said his house was vacant in May. Nobody had authority to enter. t-Ie was in Prince George looking after an invalid. When he revisited his house he found the ock broken on the kitchen door. The door was produced in court. Inside tho house, furniture and other property was much damaged. All his clothes were cut to rags, the stove was smashed, blankets and pillotv-slips were torn. Damage was estimated at $100 to $500. . A saw identified by Kienzle as lis was found on the property of he accused. Kienzle alleged that wo axes found on the property of he accused, who lived a mile away, wera also his. M'XATIC Defense counsel asked Kienuie if there was a lunatic living in the vicinity taken into custoclj p.bout this time. Kienzle admit ted thai this was so. William Hiller, farmer, living four and a half miles from Kienzle, then took the stand. He naid he was passing Kienzle's place in May and saw the ac- cused near Kienzle's property, carrying an axe. Under cross-examination. Hiller said Ife could not remember what (See BRASSAT, Page 5) Retiring Here GEORGE FORBES whose superannuation from the forest service in Prince George will become effective on November 15. �See story Page 5.