THE NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LX No. 103 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 1958_Per Copy—15^
49th STATE ELECTION ROUNDUP
JUNEA ~. UR — Giant, untamed
Alaska is joining the Union as the
49th State.
Statehood for the colorful
Northland received the blessings
of a record number of Alaskan
jyoters yesterday. They swamped
the scenic Territorys Polling
places.
With about half of the area’s
297 precincts reporting, the un
official count in favor of State
hood was 22.214 to 4,291. Incom
plete returns almost equalled the
total of 28,903 votes cast at the
1956 General Election, Alaska’s
previous high count.
Many polling places ran out of
ballots and had to use samples or
have fresh supplies of official
forms flown in. So many people
were lined up outside of scores
of voting places that ballots con
tinued to be cast long after the
scheduled closig time.
Earlier estimates were that
Statehood would be approved by
a margin of two-to-one, or slight
ly better — on a total vote be
tween 35,000 and 40,000. The total
seemed certain to reach that fig
ure ~— but the margin was far
greater than expected.
Opposition to Statehood, dur
ing more than a generation of
argument on the question in the
Territory, came largely from res
idents who feared higher taxes
under State status.
But today most of Alaska’s
215,000 residents were looking
forward to a rich and healthy
future for the huge land of the
midnight sun — twice as big as
Texas. But the transition to
Statehood will present Alaskans
with a major challenge as it
strives for solid economic devel
opment.
Now only the formality of a
Presidential proclamation — that
probably will be- issued in late
December — is needed to add
Alaska’s star to the American
flag. The main question was con
tained on the first proposition of
the referendum: Shall Alaska im
mediately be admitted into the
Union as a state
At the same time Alaskans
were answering a resounding yes
to that question^ they also were
voting to pick nominees to state
and congressional contests to be
determined in a Nv. 25 general j
election.
Those who got a free ride into j
the fall election included Demo- j
crat E. L. Bartlett, the Territory’s 1
non-voting delegate in Congress
LARRY AMAROK GETS
MARINE MEDAL
BRIDGEPORT, Calif. (FHTNC
— Marine Svt. Lawrence D.
Amarok, son of Paul Amarok of
Nome. Alaska, was awarded the
Good Conduct Medal the latter
part of July at the Marine Corps
Cold Weather Training Center,
Bridgeport, Calif.
The medal is awarded Marines
who hape displayed satisfactory
conduct over a three-year period.
• '
ALASKA - JUNEAU TO
EXCHANGE STOCK
NEW YORK. [Bh—Alaska Ju
neau Gold Mining Co. is offering
to acquire Fletcher Aviation
Corp. of Rosemead, Calif., through
an exchange of stock.
Alaska Juneau shareholders
will meet Sept. 12 to vote on the
proposed merger. Fletcher is
maker of disposable wing tanks
and refueling systems for mili
tary aircraft and agricultural
crop duster planes.
for the last 14 years.
Bartlett now is after one of the
two U. S. Senate seats that will
be open to Alaska next year. He
was leading all candidates in to
tal votes on the basis of incom
plete returns.
Also unopposed was Republi
can R. E. Robertson, 72-year-old
Juneau attorney who faces heavy
odds in a Senate race against
Bartlett in November.
The other Democratic Senator
ial candidate, 71-year-old Ernest
Gruening, also was unopposed for
the second U. S. Senate race. He
served as appointed Territorial
governor for 13 years under the
tions.
G.ruening’s GOP opponent in
the general election will be Mike
Stepovich, 39, Fairbanks, who re
signed as the last Territorial ap
pointed governor earlier this
month to bid for the Senate.
Stepovich likewise was unop
posed in the primary.
The closest primary race —
one that may not be decided for
days as the ballot count slowly
mounts — was for the Democrat
ic U. S. House nomination. Un
official returns early today
showed Raymond E. Plummer;
45, Anchorage lawyer, and Ralph
J. Rivers, 55, Fairbanks attorney,
running neck and neck.
The GOP hopeful for the con
gressional post is Henry Benson,
48, present Alaska Commissioner
of Labor, who was nominated
without opposition.
Independent candidates, who
merely had to file to get on the
November ballot and back the
filings with a petition by a num
ber of electors, will be Keith
Capper of Anchorage, who wants
the same Senate seat Bartlett
and Robertson are after Mike
Dollinter of Fairbanks who will
nun for governor, and Donald W.
Holton, Fairbanks, a candidate
for Secretary of State.
William Egan, 44, Valdez,
seemed assured of the Democrat
ic nomination for governor in a
nomination for governor in a
three-way contest. He was op
posed by Victor Rivers, 53. An
chorage and J. Gerald \Villiams
51, Juneau.
The unopposed Republican
nominee for governor is John Bu
trovich Jr., Fairbanks.
Hugh Wade of Juneau, Terri
torial Treasurer, was building up
what appeared to be a solid lead
for the Democratic Secretary of
State.
NOME FAVORS STATEHOOD;
PROPOSITION CARRIES SEVEN-ONE
Statehood To
Bring More
Wildlife Funds
WASHINGTON. (*> — Alaska’s
delegate to Congress, E. L. Bart
lett (D), ' said yesterday State
hod will make Alaska eligible for
a lot more federal aid than it
now gets for wildlife and fish
restoration piyjjects.
Here’s how Bartlett figures:
Since 1950, Alaska’s share un
der a wildlife program has been
limited to $75,000 a year. Under
Statehood, it could be as much
as $850,000 a year.
A fish restoration law which
now gives Alaska $7,000 a year
could provide between $200,000
and $250,000 a year under State
hod.
Bombs On Quemoy
May Be Invasion
By SPENCER MOOSA
TAIPEI Formosa. Iff) — The
Chinese Communists bombarded
Quemoy in furious bursts for the
fourth straight day today again
increasing the volume of shells
poured into the little Chinese Na
tionalist outpost island.
The bombardment which some
officials feared was a prelude to
invasion of the Nationalist off
shore islands began with about
80,000 shells over the weekend
but subsided Monday to some 2,
900 shots. Today the Reds stepped
up the tempo again.
In three rounds of shelling
from the nearby mainland be
ginning shortly after midnight,
the Communists hit Quemoy and
the nearby Tan Islets about 930
times, the Nationalist Defense
Ministry said. Then in 2 hours
and 40 minutes of early after
noon some 5,500 shells crashed
down on the heavily fortified
islands.
With the U. S. 7th Feet already
on the alert, a landing force of
1,600 men from the 3rd Marine
Division was ordered to sail from
Singapore. The destination of the
four attack transports and four
accompanying ships was not dis
closed, but it was assumed they
were moving closer to Formosa.
The 7th Fleet is pledged to pro
tect Formosa but not necessarily
Quemoy of the offshore islands.
Officials in Washington said close
watch was being kept on the set
up in the Communist attack.
Typhoon Flossie
In Pacific
TOKYO, (ff)—Typhoon Flossie
blew out into the Pacific today,
leaving 15 dead, 30 missing and
39 injured in Japan.
EGAN, BARTLETT, STEPOVICH
& RIVERS LEAD AT 500 COUNT
SEATTLE. UP) — Sen. Henry M.
Jackson (D-Wash.) said last night
returns from Alaska’s referen
dum on statehood confirmed the
testimony given Congres by
Statehood advocates.
“We were told Alaskans would
vote overwhelmingly for State
hod and they are,” said the
Washington Senator, who was
floor manager for the Admission
Bill during its consideration by
the Senate.
Jackson, chairman of the Sen
a t e Territories Subcommittee
which heard testimony on the
bill, said the early returns indi
cated Alaskans would give State
hood a favorable majority of
greater proportions than in the
1946 referendum or the 1956 bal
loting on the proposed state con
stitution and the Alaska-Tennes
see Plan.
(By The Associated Press)
Alaska voted herself into the
Union today by an overwhelming
margin. ,
Residents in record numbers
turned out and gave a bigger vote
than expected in Tuesday’s refer
endum on taking the big step of
becoming a state. The mounting
returns were running 4-1 in favor
of Statehood.
The result paves the way for
Presidet Eisenhower to proclaim
the northern Territory the 49th
and the biggest — State late this
year or early in 1959.
In other political developments
in the United States itself:
1. Republicans and Democrats
in New York State finally settled
oft their candidates for Senator in
the November elections. Rep.
Kenneth B. Keating, after an in
Kenneth B. Keating, after an in
direct prod from the White
House, agreed to accept the Re
publican nomination. Democratic
leaders, rebuffed in their efforts
Wagner of New York City to
make the run, fanally settled on
Dist. Atty. Frank S. Hogan of
New York ity as their candidate
despite opposition from Gov. Av
erell Harriman.
2. A three-man race for the
Senate loomed as a possibility in
New York when the Liberal Par
ty nominated homas K. Finletter,
former Secretary of the Air
Force, as its candidate for Sen
ator. Finletter had sought the
Democratic nomination, but at
the party’s convention received
only 66 votes and ran a poor
third behind Hogan and former
Atomic Energy Commissioner
Thomas E. Murray.
(Continued on Page Four)
Beltz 10, Frazier 5.
District P, Jones 4, McNees 14.
State Representative, Blodgett
6, Degnan 5, Fagerstrom 6, Gray
10 and Martin 8.
Nome voters favored btatenooa
seven to one with the following
! count:
Proposition 1, 510 in favor and
74 opposed.
Propositin 2, 511 in favr and
67' opposed.
Proposition 3, 508 in favor and
69 opposed.
Because of the complexity of
the counting of votes the election
board only counted 200 ballots
last night before closing down
and resumed counting this after
noon at one o’clock
The count for the 500 is as
follows:
For Governor, Butrovich 157,
Egan 169, Rivers 105, and Wil
liams 53.
For Secretary of State, Dewey
171, Wade 152, Greuel 154.
U. S. Senators: Bartlett 381,
Robertson 100, Stepovich 282,
Gruening 146.
U. S. Representative: Rivers
Rivers 221, Benson 146, Plummer
96.
State Senator: Bronson 276,
Johnson 204; Beltz 292, Frazier
166.
District State Senator: McNees
278, Jones 177.
State Representative: Blodgett
183, Degnan 100 Fagerstrom 231,
Gray 205, Martin 138.
UNALAKLEET
RETURNS
Governor, Butrovich 15, Egan
103, Rivers 17 and Williams 8.
Secretary of State: Dewey 14,
Greuel 33, Wade 92.
U. S. Senator, Bartlett 132,
Robertson 10.
U. S. Senator B term, Gruen
ing .94, Stepovich 35.
U. S. Representative, Benson
21, Plummer 65, Rivers 41. ,
Senator for District N at large,
Bronson 81. Johnson 53.
Senator, District N 4 year term,
Beltz 125, Frazier 12
State Senator 2 year term,
McNees 87, Jones 36.
Beltz 125, 'Frazier 12.
State Representative, Blodgett
43, Degnan 88, Fagerstrom 75,
Gray 23. Martinr 14.
LITTLE CREEK
RETURNS
Proposition 1 2 and 3, all 17
for and 1 against.
Governor, Butrovich 4, Egan 6,
Rivers 8, Williams 0.
Secretary of State, Dewey 6,
Greuel 4, and Wade 4.
U. S. Senator Term A. Bartlett
16, Robertson 2.
U. S. Senator, Term B, Stepo
vich 6, Gruening 12.
U. S. Representative, Benson 3,
Rivers 11 and Plummer 2.
District N 2 year Senator,
Bronson 10, Johnson 8.
District N 4 year term Senator.