j
$53,000,000 air base
Bill Goes Ahead
In Congress
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (JP)—
The fifty three million dollar
naval air base bill sped forward
in Congress as new evidence of
the determination to bolster na
tional defense. Speaker Bank
head and Representative Ray
bum of Texas, House majority
leaders announced that the
House would devote tomorrow
end Wednesday for consideration
of the legislation. The action was
taken after the Rules Committee
voted unanimously to ask the
House.
» Starting the voting after six
hours of general debate, Senator
Nye proposed meanwhile to write
law into army and navy regula
tions against the release of mili
tary aircraft to foreign govern
ments. Nye introduced a bill de
signed to safeguard for the Unit
ed States any airplane or appli
ance built under government con
tract, according to government
specifications, or aid of govern
ment funds or research.
Distribution Alaska
Funds Among Cities
An index to the rating of the
various cities of Alaska at the
present time is shown by the
Auditor’s report showing what
funds were returned to the mun
icipalities in the 1937-39 bien
nium.
As the amount of this aid to
municipalities is based upon rev
enue originating in each city,
the population and wealth of
which in turn is determined by
that place, the index would be
a fair one. Anyhow it furnishes
an argument.
Alaska’s cities under this rat
ing are as follows:
Juneau $127,440.38
Ketchikan . 114,375.03
Anchorage . 86,726.35
Fairbanks #. 79,727.39
Petersburg .*. 54,789.52
Cordova . 46.666.73
Seward .. 42,790.00
Nome . 35,154.91
Wrangell 35,043.45
Sitka . 31,928.13
0 Skagway . 28,265.44
Douglas . 20,670.67
Haines . 20,670.67
Valdez . 18.165.55
Craig . 17,098.92
Neman a .. 14,520.91
Eagle . 3,332.86
Port Alexander 1,250.00
Klawock . 913.83
Russ Explorers Discover
» Shallow Oil Field Siberia
MOSCOW—Many new oil and
mineral resources have been dis
covered by the 3.200 geological
expeditions sent out this yeaT to
prospect in various parts of the
(Soviet Union. New oil deposits
have been found in Yakutia, the
Soviet republic in eastern Siberia
which covers a fourth of Asiatic,
Russia. Prospectors struck oil at
a depth oi only 656 feet.
Beds of raw material for the
optical industry have been found
in the Talass Alatau mountains,
in central Asia.
Tin has been discovered in
Svantia, and zinc, lead, tin and
silver in northern Ossetia.
Prospecting for valuable min
erals has become very popular
with the entire Soviet people. In
, Siberia the collective farmers.
hunters and school children have
reported many interesting finds.
No Bridge for Lois
AMES, la., —Lois Jean May
IhfeWs. 17-year-old freshman at
’ ' Iowa State College, made grade
"A” in every subject during her
first quarter and is known as the
school's “brain trust.” She says
she prefers dates to study and
won't play bridge “because it’s
too hard and gets me all mixed
up.”
An outdoor upper floor where
diners may eat and watch crowds
at the 1939 Golden Gate Inter
national Exposition, is part of
the Oakwood Barbecue, already
* open for service.
Subscribe for The Nome Nugget
MINING
Placer gold mining has been the basic industry
of Northwestern Alaska since gold was first dis
covered on Seward Peninsula in 1898. It promises
to continue to be for many years, as production is
steadily increasing.
Placer mining being a simple operation, the
question might well be asked, why, in this section
wihere gold was discovered 40 years ago, should
production be on the increase? Why, then, are the
deposits not already exhausted?
The answer is this:
The early placer miners and prospectors natur
ally worked the richest known creeks and beach
properties most easily accessible and by the only
known methods then available extracted millions
of dollars in gold. It is true thait other discoveries
were made and small fortunes amassed on creeks
far into the interior of Seward Peninsula, such as
Council, Candle, and Kougarok regions, but as
was the case in the Nome district, when profits
were no longer possible by hand methods and small
scale 'hydraulic operations, these sections became
depopulated and prospectors and miners sought new
fields or other Occupations.
Within the last few years placer mining has
been revolutionized by the introduction of modern
mining machinery. Of the forty-four dredges in
operation in Alaska, twenty-two are operating on
Seward Peninsula and several more will be added
this coming season. The largest operation of this
kind is that of the U. S. S. R. & M. Company with
three mammoth electric dredges within a radius
of four miles of Nome,
Prospecting is a gamble; placer mining is a
business. Modern drills handled by trained men
determine the values in the ground. If sufficient
values are found to warrant an operation, the engin
eer or practical miner designates the type of
machinei'y best suited to operate the property.
When this is decided the operation proceeds in an
orderly businesslike manner as in any other industry.
The machine age has brought to the placer
miner, in addition to the dredge, several other
mechanical devices such as the dragline, tractor,
bulldozer, and modern pumping units. Perhaps
in no other part of the United States have these
implements been brought into use with more
speed and with greater success than on Seward
Peninsula, so much so that properties long aban
doned have been brought into production within
the last two seasons. It is no exaggeration to state
that such operations will be multiplied for several
years to come.
The increased price of gold, from $20.67 to
$35.00, was perhaps the greatest incentive to pros
pectors and miners and outweighs all other reasons
for the renewed activity in placer mining. But
fortunately, the machine came in at practically the
same period, and the combination of both brought
the industry to its present active, healthy, and
prosperous condition.
The airplane has played, and will continue to
play, an important part in the development of the
remote sections of Northwestern Alaska. These
areas are no longer isolated as they were in the
past. Freight, passengers, and spare machine parts
are flown from Nome to the immediate scene of
practically every operation with the greatest effi
ciency and at moderate cost. More and more
prospectors are using this means of transportation
and as a result new developments are steadily
being reported. Therefore, it is highly probable
that placer gold production will increase in North
western Alaska for many years to come.
GOLD LODE MINING
Little effort has been put forward in this
direction on Seward Peninsula up to the present.
Some superficial examinations have been made of
quartz prospects from time to time, but no real
development has taken place. Recently a promising
'free gold ledge has been discovered carrying high
values, about 20 miles north of Nome, and some
development work was carried on during the past
summer with encouraging results. Next season will
witness more extensive investigation and no doubt
other adjacent properties will receive attention also.
T I N
The only known commercial deposit of this
mineral in the United States exists in the Northwest
section of Seward Peninsula, namely at or near
Cape Prince of Wales. Placer stream tin has been
mined in this section for many years by hand
method and dredge. Recently operations are being
oonducted by gas and diesel shovels, bulldozers,
etc., with the aid of diesel pumping units furnishing
water from Bering Sea. This is perhaps the most
highly mineralized section of Seward Peninsula, if
not the Entire territory. Every stream and rivulet
having its source in the rugged mountain range
immediately back of the present placer operations
shows rich prospects of placer tin. Float tin ore
is visible at the head of most of these creeks and
the mountain slopes show every evidence of lode
tin deposits.
Other Minerals Found On Seward Peninsula
Though gold and tin are the principal minerals,
platinum is recovered in several of the gold opera
tions and most encouraging prospects have been
found to indicate the presence of tungsten, silver,
antimony, copper, iron, graphite, and coal. These
prospects await further exploration.
Claim Staking Rights
That the Alaska Mining Laws permit any citi
zen of the United States to locate 2 twenty acre
claims individually and two more for each of two
others, under Power of Attorney, during any
calendar month. The only cost to the locator being
the fee for recording, approximately $2.50 per
claim. To hold such claims it is necessary to perform
$100.00 worth of assessment work on each claim
each fiscal year, except no work need he done for
the first fiscal year, ending at noon on July 1st
subsequent to staking.
The total amount of gold production by the
Second Division of Alaska now approximates
$125,000,000.
1f The only productive tin mines on the North
American continent are in the Nome district.
11 The United States paid Russia $7,200,000.00
for Alaska in 1867 ( 2 cents per acre) and to
date the Territory has produced more than one
hundred times this amount in gold alone.
U Nome is the most westerly city in the
U. S., being 500 miles further west than the
Hawaiian Islands. It is in the temperate zone and
is 150 miles from the Arctic Circle.
U Nome is 1700 miles west, and 600 miles
north, of Seattle, via the Great Circle route.
H Alaska contains 590,000 square miles.
FACTS ABOUT
\ V
NOME ^ALASKA
^..;n\ /m
Information Compiled by
Northwestern Alaska Chamber of Commerce
Nome Air Port
Battery of Prospecting Drills Near Nome
Mining with Tractor and Bull Dozer
Hydraulic Placer Mining Near Nome
Nome Eskimo and Babe
| AVIATION
Aviation in Alaska is a necessity, not a luxury.
As Alaska is such a rugged country it has always
been a very difficult matter to travel from place
j to place. The only means of transportation
in the early days was by dog team in winter, and
by boats and pack horses in summer.
So, with the advent of the airplane it’s no
wonder the people took to the air so readily. Back
in 1927 a few trips were made between Nome and
Fairbanks for the small fortune of $750.
Traffic developed rapidly as more airplanes
; came into service. It brought Nome out of the long
winter confinement, reducing the traveling time to
Fairbanks from one month by dog team to four
hours by airplane. Rates were brought down to $78
i per passenger.
Aviation in Alaska has come into its own this
I year. Ninety-nine percent of all winter mail con
tracts let were awarded to airplane transportation
i companies, thus replacing the dog teams almost
| entirely.
Nome has five major airplane companies operat
! ing the year round, namely, Wien Alaska Airlines,
Inc.; Pacific Alaska Airways; Mirow Air Service;
Ferguson Airways; and Northern Cross, Inc.
Furs and Fur Farming
The intrinsic value of Alaska wild life has been
estimated at $190,000,000.00.
Hunting and trapping furnishes the natives as
well as hundreds of whites, the means of obtaining
! a livelihood and the yearly monetary return to the
residents of Alaska from this source is over
$4,000,000.00. The Alaska Game Commission reg
ulates the industry. There are several small but
successful fur farms on Seward Peninsula at this
time, which have demonstrated that; Northwestern
Alaska is particularly adapted to the industry.
The Territory of Alaska has recently established
an Experimental Fur Farm near Ketchikan for the
purpose of assisting fur farmers to ^<}pe with the
problems that arise. Fut farming prbAtW>es to become
one of the basic industries of this district. M>nk
Blue Fox, and Silver Fox are the three species mot
profitably produced.
Hospitals and Health
There are three hospitals in Northwesteri
Alaska, two of which are maintained by the Bureai
of Indian Affairs, Department of the. Interior, fo
the care of the Eskimos. These are lpc^-d ©t Poin*
Barrow and Kotzebue. The Point Barrow hospital,
replacing one which was recently destroyed by fire,
is new and well equipped. The Kotzebue hospital
also has modern equipment with full X-Ray and
j laboratory facilities. They are staffed by one phy
! sician, two resident nurses, and .two travelling
'■ nurses. Both hospitals have twenty four beds.
Nome has a general hospital of twenty two beds
I which serves Seward Peninsula. It is owned and
! operated by the Woman’s Home Missionary Society
i of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and cares pri
marily for the white population and emergency
Eskimo work. The staff consists of three graduate
nurses in the winter and four in the, summer. The
equipment is modern and consists of new X-Ray,
Castle Sterilizer, a well equipped surgery, and an
up-to-date laboratory. The private rooms are all
furnished with the latest adjustable beds. etc.
Since this is an industrial community and
occupation is seasonal, the number of patients in
creases in the summer and drops during the winter.
Sick people as well as those injured in mining
i operations are brought by airplane sometimes as far
as two hundred miles.
The general health of the population is reason
ably good, although there is a higher incidence of
J tuberculosis than exists in the States.
Nome has a full time Public Health Nurse. In
addition there is a Bureau of Indian Affairs travel
ling nurse whose home base is in Nome. The
southern area is covered by a Bureau of Indian
Affairs nurse whose home base is in Unalakleet,
.—.
Fraternal Orders
EAGLES
Nome Aerie, No. 75, F. O. E.
MASONIC
Anvil Lodge. No. 140, F. & A. M.
EASTERN STAR
Alaska Chapter, No. 1. O. E. S.
ROYAL ARCH
Seward Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M.
LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE
Nome Lodge, No. 1413, L. O. O. M.
Women of Mooseheart, Chapter No. 78
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS
Nome Lodge, No, A-5, I. O. O. F.
Midnight Sun Rebekah Lodge, No. 3-A
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
PIONEERS OF ALASKA
(Historical and Semi-fraternal)
Igloo No. 1
Pioneer Women, Igloo No. 1
NOME KENNEL CLUB
NOME SPORTS ASSOCIATION
KEGOAYAH KOZGA CLUB
NOME SKI CLUB
HOME ARTS CLUB
NOME CAMERA CLUB
Climate
Nome, located in that area known as the Arctic
Province, has a climate composed chiefly of summer
and winter, being separated only by periods of
short transition. Freezing sets in during October
and navigation on the Bering Sea closes the first
part of November.
The break-up occurs usually during the follow
ing May. Sunshine, plus long periods of twilight,
on the shortest day of the year is of .nearly four
hours duration, while on the longest day the sun
is visible all but two hours, during which broad
daylight prevails. The period of continuous day
light commences the first part of May and continues
until August. Vegetation responds readily due to
the long days, so that by the middle of June, Arctic
flora is in abundance and many wild flowers are
in bloom.
Tempered by its adjacency to the sea, Nome
temperatures in winter are steady with daily mini
mum readings ranging from fifteen above to twenty
below, also occassional cold snaps which send the
thermometer to thirty-five and forty below, but
these are rare and far between. Daily maximum
readings during the summer range between forty
five and seventy-five above with an occasional heat
wave sending the mercury soaring to eighty or more.
Snowfall averages sixty to seventy inches, while
the total annual precipitation is approximately
eighteen inches.