Fairbanks Daily News-Miner from Fairbanks, Alaska • Page 1

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Fairbanks, Alaska, Saturday, December Daily News "America's Farthest North Daily Newspaper" Vol. LXX 15c Per Copy FAIRBANKS, 52 Pages No. 304 Nicaragua capital city racked by earthquakes MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) A scries ot earthquakes partially destroyed this capital city early today and threw its 300,000 inhabitants into the streets. There was no official estimate of the dead but it appeared the death toll would reach at least 200, Thousands of persons were injured, many of them roaming the streets. Normal radio and telephone communications with the outside were cut off, and highways leading into the city were closed.

The chief of the armed forces declared martial law in the city, which was without water and electricity. Large modern buildings such as the Inter-Continental Hotel, the 18-story Central Bank and the U.S. Embassy suffered heavy damage. Reports from amateur radio operators in Managua said about 75 per cent of the city had been destroyed or seriously damaged. They said thousands of people were wandering around in shock and that there were many injured or dead.

At least one American was killed. The radio operators in Managua reported that the city was without water and electricity and that the presidential palace had been heavily damaged in the quake. A Spanish operator in Managua identified only as "Enrique" was quoted by Spanish-speaking hams in Miami, as saying "Many houses are completely destroyed. There are countless dead and injured. We need medicine, food, blood plasma." The Miami operators said the man was pleading over the air and said: "People run through the streets like zombies, with terror.

Big buildings are cracked. There is blood on the peoples' faces, legs, arms as they leave their houses. We have never seen a catastrophic thing like this." In Washington, the U.S. State Department said its embassy in Managua had been heavily damaged, one-third of the city was in flames and most of the No paper Monday News-Miner employes will take Monday off to celebrate Christinas with their families. The a will resume publication on Tuesday.

The staff would like to extend to all your families from our families a wish fora safe and a merry Christmas. hospitals had been leveled. The State Department said a woman employe of the embassy had been killed. She was identified as Rost Marie Orlich, 36, of Philadelphia, a secretary to Ambassador Turner B. Shelton.

She joined the department in FAIR COLD Fair today through Sunday. High tonight near --30 and high Sunday near --25. Outlook calls for little change. Air stagnation advisory No. 8 and 10 a.m.

Saturday. Some cooling has occured in the lower levels aloft overtheTanana Valley during the past 12 hours, but the surface inversion rcmians strong, 350 feet thick with a temperature difference of 19 degrees F. Little change is expected to occur during the next 24 hours, only slight cooling aloft, since the strong winds blowing in parts of the valley will not penetrate into the local Fairbanks area. High Friday --19, i 3 0 current temperature is --26. High this date 34 in 1939, low --53 in 1961.

Sunrise Sunday 10 a.m. Sunset 1:43, for a total duration of 3 hours, 43 minutes, for no gain. 1961 and was assigned to Managua in September 1910. The embassy normally employs about 50 U.S. nationals, and the department added that others had "perhaps" been injured.

The embassy is a two- story stucco building on the edge of downtown Managua. At Key Biscayne, President Nixon ordered relief aid dispatched immediately from U.S. bases in Panama Canal Zono. Planes with relief supplies, medicine and doctors also were being prepared. North Viet leader said killed in blast A I A Vietnamese officials denied a South Vietnamese report today that Defense Minister Vo Nguyen Giap was killed in Haiphong, where U.S.

warplanes continued to mount the biggest aerial blitz of the war. A statement by Hanoi's delegation to the Paris peace talks said: "Here, we do not deem it necessary to take the trouble to show that this is a product of the psychological war of the Americans' puppets." A North Vietnamese official said this was a formal denial that Giap had been killed Friday, reportedly by a delayed mine while on an inspection tour of bombing damage at the 'IVan Hung Dao armaments depot. South Vietnamese intelligence sources said the report of Giap's death was picked up from a radio broadcast monitored in Saigon, but there was no separate evidence to support it. U.S. officials said they had no knowledge of the report, and no other details were available.

Giap, 60, led the Viet Minh to victory over the French in the Bombs wound POWs report North Viets WASHINGTON (AP) North Vietnam's radio said today that some U.S. pilots held prisoner at Hanoi were wounded in a U.S. air attack Wednesday. The broadcast, heard by U.S. monitors, was more specific on this point than an earlier Hanoi claim that "a number of residents" of the prison camp at the North Vietnamese capital had been injured.

The great majority of the more than 400 U.S. prisoners of war held by North Vietnam are believed confined in the camp, which has been dubbed the "Hanoi Hilton" by U.S. airmen. Vietnamese-language Hanoi broadcast, in a commentary denouncing the U.S. resumption of large-scale air raids against North Vietnam, said: "At noon on 20 December U.S.

aircraft bombed Hanoi, causing damage to a detention camp where U.S. aggressor pilots were kept and wounding some of them." It said the U.S. bombers struck Hanoi again at noon the following day, "causing much more damage to the detention camp." It made no reference to any casualties from the second raid on Dec. 21. The Defense Department has rejected as "incorrect" the North Vietnamese charge that American bombs struck the prison.

SANTA CALLS Santa's Christmas Fund hardly broke the $5,000 mark today with the whopping amount of $672 coming through the door in person, by mail and reindeer last night. This makes a total of $4,977.11 for the year, which is real good and will make alot of people happy. The Christmas Fund is still in operation. That is, on the receiving end, as Santa has closed down shop as far as making any more Call Outs. But, there Is always next year to get into the swing of things.

The people at the Clearing House are still hard at work wrapping, buying and delivering items for the less fortunate. The Clearing House is located at First and Bamette and the phone number there is 452-3364 and still open--for emergencies. But Jack Murphy, his wife, Midge, and the rest are only handling emergency cases now as they officially shut down last night. The Fraternal Order of the Eagles, No. 1037 dropped by with their big donation of $250, which did alot to help swell Santa's Fund.

Also, the Fraternal Order of Eagles Ladies Auxiliary gave another $10 which made it $260 from that Order. Thank you' very much Eagles, You always come through. Old buddy and oil baron Cliff Burglin came by with $50 for the cause and Santa is certainly glad he knows Cliff. a i a i a Pharmacy, Inc. of Tom Miklautsch dropped by with a $25 pill which wasn't hard to swallow.

Thanks, Tom. Also in with $25 was Glen and Sarmite Straatsma and gets Santa's blessings. The Painters Local No. 1555 also sent in $25 which was a good dab for the cause. And Fairbanks is going to have a new Italian Restaurant if plans work out for Matt and Alice Gambardello, new residents in with eight little Gambardellas.

Anyway, Matt, the night cook at the Steak Pit, and his family sent in $25 which is alot of spaghetti. (See SANTA, Page 5) first Indochina war and has been the principal architect of the North Vietnamese effort in the current war. He was quoted earlier as saying of the current U.S. bombing drive: "Hanoi and Haiphong and other cities may be destroyed, but the Vietnamese people will not be intimidated. Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom.

The a a a treacherous the U.S. imperialists, the deeper the Vietnamese peoples' hatred and the higher their determination to resist the aggressors and save the country." a i a i losses mounted to record numbers as U.S. planes continued to mount the biggest aerial blitz of the war against North Vietnam's heartland. The U.S. Command admitted that 14 planes, including 10 B52 bombers, have been downed since the heavy raids were launched above the 20th parallel Monday and that at least 55 U.S.

airmen are missing. Radio Hanoi claimed that two more B52s were shot down near Haiphong today, raising to 17 the number of Stratofortresses and to 42 the number of American planes that North Vietnam claims to have downed in the last six days. Hanoi Radio accused the Pentagon of lying in its claim that only military targets are being attacked. Hanoi's official Vietnam News Agency reported FrMay that five U.S. fliera presented at a news conference in Hanoi earlier in the day had "taken part in a predawn B52 raid against populous areas in Hanoi which caused heavy destruction to many inhabited quarters and public utility establishments including the Bach Mai Hospital, the biggest polyclinic in North Vietnam, svhich was almost completely demolished.

Many patients and medical workers in the hospital were killed or injured." The U.S. Command maintained secrecy on the air operations over the North. In contrast to past policy, the command this week refused to disclose what specific targets were being attacked, the number of missions flown and how it assesses the damage. SANTA AND HIS Christmas Clearing House was a busy place yesterday and again today as calls were coming in asking for help for the needy. Packages were wrapped, and about half the items were delivered by the REACT Club last night to the needy persons and families of the area.

Pictured yesterday working at the Clearing House at First and Barnette were, bottom left, Midge Murphy who is Mrs. Santa, and Lolla Ulsh, president of the VFW Auxiliary Post 3629 and Santa Claus himself, Jack Murphy, on the phone, bottom right. Top left is Joann Laughlin who dropped in because she "just wanted to help." Top right is Sophia Stebbins, also a member of VFW Auxiliary Post 3629 and Kris Laughlin, who volunteered his services. All the packages will be delivered today after the wrapping is completed, according to old Santa. This is part of the 21st annual Christmas Fund which is designed to help the needy have a merrier Christmas.

(staff photos) Truman health worse KANSAS CITY (AP) Harry S. Truman, unconscious and i a i unresponsive, slipped into critical condition early today for the second time in his hospital stay. Doctors made the condition change after noting increased lung congestion and further complications with decreased blood pressure. A hospital spokesman said the former president, 88, was showing less of an ability to respond to the situation, which for 18 days has placed an extraordinary strain on his lungs, heart and Kidneys. The condition change was made at 2 4 5 a.m.

AST. Truman's wife, Bess, 87, arrived at Research Hospital and Medical Center about 15 i utes later. The hospital spokesman Margaret Truman Daniel, said who State requests dismissal of GOP test suit here The state has filed a motion in Fairbanks Superior Court asking for dismissal of a state Republican Party suit testing the powers of. the organization's Central Committee, The motion says the state believes there was no conflict for the court to resolve. Named as defendant in the action is Lt.

Gov. H.A. "Red" Boucher, Alaska's top elections otticial. Republicans filed the action last week to clarify whether their Central Committee had the power to select State Sen. Don Young to be their candidate for a special congressional election.

In its motion, the stale said Boucher was improperly named as a defendant. It also said officials would accept any party nominee whose selection purports to fit statutes. returned to her home in New York last week after spending two weeks with her mother, had been advised of the new development. The crisis was reported similar to one the former president passed through some 24 hours earlier, when doctors considered him critical for about an hour and a a A news briefing was delayed 45 minutes, by which time Truman had rallied to remain very serious. A medical bulletin issued at 5 a.m.

AST said, in part: "Mr. Truman's blood pressure has been kept normal with medication since 7 a.m. His lung congestion, which increased during the night and early morning, is unchanged. His kidney output has i i ished." The former president has been unconscious at least since early Friday, when a hospital spokesman said he did not know if doctors considered the state a coma. a a Truman's personal physician, said his patient's slate of consciousness was secondary to his need of rest.

The nation's 33rd president has been rccjiving a special chemical diet since Tuesday in an effort to restore his kidney function and stave off blood toxicily. It has succeeded in decreasing the poisonous urea-nitrogen level in his bloodstream, but a hospital spokesman said that, "as kidneys improve, there are times when rapid and potentially dangerous changes in body chemistry may occur." The hospital spokesman said Friday night that Truman's condition was "possibly somewhat worse" than Thursday, adding that "his blood pressure still hasn't improved, and his pulse rate is somewhat rapid." Christmas bomb pause possible KEY liiSCAYNE, Kla. A President i aides say he has open the possibility he may order a Christmas pause in the heavy air and sea bombardment of North Vietnam i that i is "determined to take every slop" to end the war in i a presidential press secretary Ronald L. Zicgler said Friday, when asked about a Yuletide bombing a that he could not respond to such question "at this time." The press secrcUiry talker! to newsmen after Nixon met for two hours with his top Vietnam advisers, Henry A. Kissinger and Alexander M.

Main Jr. The meeting in the 1 President's bay front home caniL shortly a ilaig returned from Saigon with a letter in response to reported threat to cut off aid to South Vietnam if President Nguyen Van Thicu refuses to sign peace agreement. wouldn't disclose contents of Thieu's letter. But Saigon sources indicated Thieu offered to ease his demand for i a a of North Vietnamese troops if Hanoi recognizes South Vietnam as a separate stale. The President plans to spend a quiet Christmas with Mrs.

Nixon at their villa here. For the first time since he took office, their daughters will not he with them on Christmas. -m Merry Christmas; carefully "I've only got one i to say today that 't i i a 'Merry Christmas to one and.