UBI%RY 1 Hospital Premiums er An Independent Semi-Weekly Newipoper Devoted to the Interest of Central ond Northern British Columbio �Vol. 34, No. 19 Prince George, B. C, THURSDAY, March 8, 1951 $3.00 per year 5^ per copy FIRM POISED -FOR WEATHER BREAK FACE CUT WHEN STOVE EXPLODES death early yesterday morning .nn the oook-Jrtove he was Sing over exploded In his face Radcliffe was rushed to city hoSS where he was treated ^facial cuts after firemen arrived on the scene. It was the second serious stove n1 less than a week Will Employ More Than 200 This Year Jamieson Construction Company, P.G.E, extension contractors for the Prince George-Abftou Creek section stand poised here to initiate an all-out track-laying project as soon as the weather permits. Frank Jamieson, vice-president and manager of the firm, told The Citizen that all is in readiness for a major effort to complete a forge part of the project this season. He anticipates laying track at the rate of about three quarters of a mile a day and will employ crews larger than those used for grade preparation last year. Personnel employed by the company here this season will number "well over 200" the company executive stated. Meanwhile, at the firm's Central Port George headquarter^ Water In' equipment is being given final the stances. Earlier a fire broke out atjhe Fifth Avenue home of Mrs. Jeannie Cavanaugh after the pipes exploded. Pieces of stove metal were hurled through the two homes like bits of shrapnel and so great was their force that they imbedded themselves in window and door frames. Fire Chief August Dornbierer said Radcliffe's escape was "a miracle." and supplies are being unpacked, quarters for labor and equipment crews are being readied, and a suspense 75 per cent complete and we anticipate that remaining work will progress to the extent where it will not delay track laying operations at any point." Appointed by Mr. Jamieson to take charge of track laying operations from here Is Michael "Big Mike" Abrahamson, former CNR roadmaster out of Vancouver, who is well known in railroad construction circles. The construction company already has about 60 men on its local payroll and large numbers of track laborers will be hired as soon as weather permits a start of suspense hangs on the work. The company's vice-president Hundreds of tons of steel are decHned to comment on how on hand for the start of track iay-fng and- ties are stacked in readi- ion an automobile fire on George Street in which the upholstery of a late model car owned by B. V. Hunt, a fltetrKT resident, was destroyed. Fire department employee*' �*-anguished the car blase with chemical extinguishers before- ex-cessive heat burst the gas tank. GEORGE MILLER MB Death took place Tuesday afternoon of George Miller, aged around 50 years, at the Europe Hotel where he made his home The late Mr. Miller, who was a painter by trade, had been a resident of Prince George for about six months. His only surviving relative is a sister, Mrs. Jean Miller, of Mark-ham, Ontario. The funeral will take place here and arrangements will be announced later. Mr. Jamieson said he has sufficient track on hand to reach from here to Abhou Creek where the firm's present contract ter- jmlnates. : He said that sub-structure work on the big Canyon Creek bridge will be complete by the end of this month but that tracklaying operations will by-pass the canyon itself to.tfce bridge will not time. trade laying crews, grade construction units will be at work again south of Stone Creek. Mr. Jamieson said, "We consider the actual grade to be about NO COMFORT The weatherman still offers no comfort for the shivering. Variable cloudiness with a few anow flurries is forecast for tonight and tomorrow, with the grim prediction, "continuing very cold." Winds will be north, 15 � low temperature tonight nigh tomorrow, 20 below and much of the present contract would be completed this year saying that progress depended not on the company but on the weather. Mr. Jamieson will make his headquarters this year either here or at Quesnel. OTTAWA�Cfeneral H. D. G. Crerar said today a third world war was already "a tragic fact" thai puts Canada in "a desperate situation" because of the lack of trained military manpower. The former commander of the First Canadian Army called for compulsory military training that would place 60.000 to 70,000 young Canadians a year in uniform for six months. War On Snowdrifts Won By Plow Crews OPERATOR FREEZES HANDS . .. CARRIES ON by strong north winds and drifting snow, plagued by iwnbing sob-wro ton-perataree night and day, Public Works Department snow removal crows succeeded today t in getting all main roads in the district open to traffic Most harrowing experience in the department's battle against the elements came on Tuesday ; when a plow operator, Art H0I2-worth of Red Rock, froze his hands in getting his machine started at Willow River but car- longer Runways For Prince George Airport T^e Dominion Government bos plans for extensive irots this year at Prince George airport, including added facilities and extension of certain of the runwoys, one Ottawa airport great strategic NortS' ?��mraodate j the Jersey Joe Gets Cheers - DETROIT, March 8 (CP)�Ez- ew Rupert . a unanimous decision from Jersey Joe Walcott in a 15-round bout before 13,852 fans at Olyiu- n this Th 3 for although the' Tne <5rowd. wjth underdog Wal- ion is not in cott aU tne wav� booG^ more tnan estimates. ; It cheered with the decision was of Transport announced- the ** hard Work and .; Walcott was given a terrific at Quesnel, hand by the fans before he left has not yet - the ring. ie intention Charles was staggered by Wat-8 at cott In the fourth round and that I Charles ftoortd Jersey Joe for a wia year, nine-count in the ninth. ried on and plowed the road east to Glscome before turning around and plowing the Trans-Provincial Highway back to Prince George. Upon arrival in town Holz-worth was x given m'edical treatment for frozen hands but has been unable to return to work. District Engineer Doug Welsh, who planned much of the campaign to get roads cleared quickly when the blizzard commenced, said today drifts had been encountered which had been packed so hard by winds that a man could not kick a hole in them with his boot Hardest hit of all district roads, and 3s yet not perfectly cleared, is the Chief Lake road where drifts piled up to a depth of five feet. Bulldozers, truck-plows and power graders have chugged wearily through 24 hour shifts during* the blizzard. Mr. Welsh reported today that the road east is now open as far as Aleza Lake and the Cariboo Highway is open to Quesnel. � He said plows have cleared the Hart Highway as far north as Mile 23 above Summit Lake and that the road west is clear as far as the district boundary and ..-�obably clear from there to Van-derhoof. As winter winds piled snow deep on to district highways all this week and; part of last, Departmental equipment soon proved inadequate in most parts of the district. � Mr. Welsh s*fid that the north wind, unusual at' this time of year, caught the department with all its snow fences on the south side of the highways. He added however, that snow fencing the north side would not be practical due to the usual scarcity of strong north winds. Planer Mill Row $2,000,000 Hoard In what was described by one well known local mill operator as the greatest spring pile np of materials in the his* tory of the lumber industry here, an estimated 35,000,000 foot stock of rough and dreeM-ed lumber is Jamming mill yards from one end of "Planer-mill Row*' to the other. Promising markets, increased production facilities, a box car shortage and ideal logging weather are jointly responsible for the record stockpiles. One observer, casting a rapid eye over the almost endless piles of bright yellow boards estimated that at present prices the vast forest hoard was worth at least, $2,000,000. "It has a potential value of almost twice that amount though," he said, "due to the fact most of the lumber here is in the rough stage." Although present market prices are fairly stable, he said, a market depression might come in late pring due to the huge stocks of dry lumber on hand. "I think I am safe in saying,' he went on, "that never before has so much dry lumber been awaiting the spring building boom." He said prices would depend greatly on whether the demand will meet or outstrip the supply. Bough lumber prices have been ranging from $45 per thousand to as, much as $80 for specia quality. The operator said that although present high winds combined with frost had curtailed production for three days this week at most mills, it was excellent drying weather for mills who had large stocks of lumber dry-jfiled. RITSON BARRED Miss Dolly Divine, pukhttrudinous memhm ci Arises George** set, posed tW� morning for � Citizen cameraman in tiie swti* e# her luxurious Lumbermen Lane hem* on Hi* Crescents. Asked to en the weartjcr. Mist Divine smiled charmingly and said: feraceful." Thanks, Dolly! 500 STRICKEN HERE Virus'A'Small But Packs Lethal Punch Virus "A", a common little influenza bug, is plaguing Prince George ond district residents an6 has so for struck prob- ably 500 persons here. Schools, business offices, log* ging operations and every other phase of the lumber industry has been hit by the prevalence of the 'flu bug. Dr. H. M. the Cariboo Brown, director of Health Unit, de- QUESNEL QUITS PUCK FINALS Officials of the Prince George Hockey Association announced today that the club held no hope of finishing the Northern B.C. Hockey League play-offs with Quesnel Kangaroos. A spokesman for the city team declared that Kangaroo management called off the series following a Sunday night game played here almost two weeks ago. A later telephone call to the "river* town" confirmed the cancellation, he said. The association's spokesman termed a Quesnei Observer news story planting the blame on Lum- clared this week that the end of the epidemic is not yet in sight. So far there has been no let-up 'in the number of new cases being reported to doctors' offices. Dr. Brown said that he visited one bush logging camp last week and found half the operating crew huddled in their bunks, while the other half were Just j getting over or just about to jcome down with the,Virus* "A" affliction. So far no treatment for the malady outside of rest and proper medical care has been evolved. Even the hospital staff here has not been spared and many nurses and aides have been forced to work double shifts to make up for the personnel shortage. Schools to have felt the inconvenience of a major staff shortage. So far no fatalities have been attributed to the virus sickness the doctor's offices where at all possible, rather than ask the doctors to make house calls. Owing to the large amount of sickness at the present time it is impossible for the doctors to visit everyone who is ill. If it is necessary to have your doctor make a house call, please phone early in the day so that the doctor can arrange bis, calls to save himself as much time as possible. bermen management as a "gross and irresponsible distortion the facts." He said the report was a "typi but a few cases have developed of into pneumonia. Dr. Brown warned that lack of rest and medical care for those eai Quesnel manoeuvre designed to whitewash the childish antics of one member of their team." The week-end series here which marked the end of the finals prompted Quesnel Kangaroo manager Chuck Beath to remark to a Lumbermen official"! have no more control over the team." He was referring to the fourth game of the finals when burly suffering from the virus can readily lead to pneumonia. The epidemic hit this city just as it was already reeling under a record epidemic of mumps. It has been estimated that about half the city's population has been struck this winter with either 'flu, mumps or bad colds. Symptoms of the 'flu being felt here include headaches, sore Jack Ritson, Kangaroo forward,. muscles, vomiting, fever and refused to take a 10 minute misconduct penalty for molesting a referee and threatened to pull his soreness of the throat. Prince George doctors have issued a request that people desir- (See QUESNEL QUITS, Page 8) 1 ing medical attention call at A/can Project Hits Washington Snog WASHINGTON, March I (CP)�A House of Representatives inveitifloHng committee said loit night tfcert "only at a last resort" should the US. underwrite a proposed $500,000,000 aluminum development in British ColawMo. A iudicUiry ?ub-committee on monopoly powers hat been studying Hie 'American aluminum prof ram, which it chafed b "bofged down fa <*m1miie*t inadequate procedures, diffused authority and Insufficient leadership." Aluminum Company of Canada has prepared to build a big plant near KiHmar, B.C., to furnish the United States with aluminum in return for priori-ties and assured advance contracts on their output. Death Penalty For Truman's Assailant WASHINGTON, March 8 (CPI �A federal jury decreed death today for Oscar Collazo who stormed President Truman's home last November 1 in the name of Puerto Rican independence. He was convicted on two count* of first - degree murder. Each carries a mandatory sentence of execution in the electric chair. Both charges were based on the death of Private Leslie Coffelt of the Whitehouse Guard, shot t� death in a furious gun play. A second gunman was killed in the battle. OFF THE WIRES (Canadian Press) VANCOUVER � Some 10.000 provincial government employees have asked for a 15 per cent wage increase. two miles today resistance in the TOKYO�Allied troops stabbed ahead one to against spotty second day of a 70-mile-wide drive in Korea. Canadians with the Commonwealth Brigade, after a fierce day-long battle yesterday, took a strategic hill near Hoengson on the central front. WILLIAMS LAKE�A $125,000 fire yesterday destroyed a two-storey garage operated by Rot-tacker Brothers. VANCOUVER � Dr. Alex M. Menzies, assistant medical health officer, said today in an interview that nearly 100 persons have died of pneumonia here during the first two months of the year. The figure up to February 24 was 90, he said, and other untab-ulated deaths have occurred since that time. The figure for the two-month period last year was 32. Most of the victims have been, old people, he said.