™s NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS _,
VOL. LX No. 117- ' ' NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1958 ~ Per Copy—154
Two Nuclear Power Plants To
Be Built At Alaska Defense Sites
-—-«
Moose Increase In
Alaska Despite Increase
In Forest Fires
SALT LAKE CITY, UPI — John
L. Buckley of the Bureau of
Sports Fisheries and Wildlifp at
Washington told the Society of
American Foresters convention
yesterday that there has been a
substantial increase in areas
burned in Alaska this century.
“Since 1940,” he said, the an
nual area burned has averaged
nearly a million and a quarter
acres.”
In his paper Buckley said the
fire “has undoubtedly reduced
several species of wildlife in
Alaska. With other species, such
as moose, the result has been
quite the opposite.
“It is highly unlikely that there
have ever before been so many
moose in Alaska as there are
today.”
Postage Rates To
Canada And Mexico
Also Went Up Aug. 1
WASHINGTON, UP) — The Post
Office Department reminded its
customers today that postage rates
to Mexico and Canada went up
August 1, along with those in
this country.
Large numbers of letters to for
eign destinations, especially to
Canada and Mexico, are being
mailed with insufficient postage,
Postmaster General Summerfield
reported.
Postal employes have been di
rected to return to the senders
any international mail with in
sufficient postage.
Mail for Canada and Mexico
traditionally has taken the U. S.
rates, and when domestic letter
postage was increased by one
cent on August 1, the rates to
Canada and Mexico went up to
four cents for surface letters and
seven cents for airmail letters.
Canadian Ships
Catch 774 Whales
During Season
VANCOUVER, B. C„ UP) — The
B. C. Packers’ limited whaling
fleet of six vessels caught 774
whales during the six month sea
son this year, compared with 635
in 1957.
The whalers operate out of
Winter Harbor, near the north
end of Vancouver Island. The sea
son, from April 1 to Sept. 30th,
wound up two weeks early iiiis
year because of bad weather off
the west coast.
Chief feature of the Reason was
the preponderance of baleen
whales caught, compared with
sperms. This was blamed on a
shift in ocean currents which
also affected Pacific Coast sal
mon runs this year.
Total of 560 baleen whales,
■which are plankton feeders, were
caught. Sperm whales are bot
tom feeders.
Ealeen whales have a low oil
content and the carcasses are
used chiefly for mink feed and
fertilizer, for which there is a
steady market. The world price
for sperm oil is low at present.
The B. C. fleet is the only one
on the North American Pacific
Coast north of San Francisco.
9 ANCHORAGE, UPi — Plans for
construction of two nuclear power
plants to be built at government
installations in Alaska were re
vealed Tuesday by Washington’s
Governor Albert Rosellini.
Here on a good will tour, the
governor told a Chamber of Com
merce luncheon his information
came from unofficial but “thor
oughly reliable” sources. He said
the information was not classified
but that location of the plants
was secret.
The Governor said the plants
would be used to displace diesel
oil generators now used at the
defense installations.
“I understand it costs about 30
cents a gallon to fly oil to the
bases, making it economically
feasible to build nuclear power
plants,” Rosellini said.
“It is very fitting that the atom
should become the new work
horse of the Arctic,” the gover
nor added. “This is a decade of
great scientific achievements.
Many of these advances will
speed the development of Alaska
tremendously.”
The Governor renewed his
J pleas for a high level conference
on water resources.
“The development of known
dam sites on the Alaska-British
Columbia border would produce
a power source greater than that
of the Columbia River,” Rosellini
declared.
Rosellini plumped for a more
direct highway between Wash
ington, Oregon and Alaska, and
said such a highway should have
a connection to the panhandle
area of southwestern Alaska.
“Who would have thought a
few years ago,” Rosellini said,
“that an atomic power plant
would soon be producing power
on the frozen tundra — power
to defend our nation and to open
vistas of production form the vast
wealth of natural resources in
Alaska.”
Earlier Tuesday, Frank E. Je
rome, chairman of the Alaska
Washington Development Commit
tee and president of the Seattle
First National Bank, said he has
received numerous inquiries from
large national concerns about
Alaskan development.
Union Oil Starts
Work On $1,500,000
Ketchikan Terminal
SEATTLE, IJP) — Construction
began this week on a $1,500,000
terminal for the Union Oil Co.
at Ketchikan. The terminal will
have storage for 120,000 barrels,
office space, a warehouse and
load^jg rack.
Union has had marketing facili
ties at Ketchikan since 1926, but
the plffiit has been on leased
property. The new plant is going
up on lanA bought from the New
England Fish Co. It is designed
to meet Union’s requirements in
the area for the next 50 years.
CATCH-AS-CATCH-CAN!
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo., I® —
Fisherman John Treadwell, run
ning his troutline on the Black
River, found he had made an un
usual catch — an attractive
housewife.
Mrs. Vera Brown, her finger
caught on one of the hooks, ex
plained to the startled fisherman
that her husband had gone for
a knife to free her.
Alaska Tel & Tel
Bought By Nome
Telephone Co.
The Alaska Telephone and Tele
graph Company announces the
sale of its Nome business and
property to the Nome Telephone
Co.
Transfer of ownership became
effective today, October 1st.
The Alaska Telephone and Tel
egraph Co. thank each and every
one of its customers for their
patronage through its 50 years
of service.
Final accounts may be paid by
check sent to the Post Office, or
paid at the Dunbar residence, be
tween the hours of 1 p.m. and 4
p.m. each day except Sundays.
The new company, which was
granted a franchise last year, is
Thomas Martin as secretary-treas
urer of the organization. Manager
of the company will be Charles
West.
I Mrs. Charles West will be in
the office between 1 and 4 o’clock
daily.
Bop of Blue Lites
Wliat Was It?
The sound of an explosion in
the air raised the birds, such as
geese, ducks, and many smaller
birds, from where they had settled
for the night on Friday evening
at the Nook, it is reported. The
explosion in the sky was followed
by a brilliant bjue light with a
tail, which streaked through the
sky for a few brief seconds, and
disappeared in the southeast.
The same sight was witnessed
at Koyuk, at King Island, and by
four persons out on the Sunset
road, from where Harriet Brown
reported the same blue light with
a tail. The time has been estab
lished at 3 minutes to 8 o’clock
on Friday evening.
Sunday afternoon another un
usual light flashed across the
southern sky from west to east,
traveling very fast, and ending
with an explosion. This was re
ported by several people.
CAT BITES MOUSE. MOUSE
BITES BOY. BOY BITES . . ?
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Ufi —
Four-year-old Kent Swanberg
ran to the rescue when his cat
caught a mouse. He grabbed the
mouse from the cat’s jaws. The
mouse bit the boy. Kent received
a tetanus shot. The cat polished
off the rodent.
Reporter Invites President To Alaska
When State Is Admitted To The Union
WASHINGTON, (fl — Presi
dent Eisenhower, who will issue
the proclamation recognizing
Alaska as a state, didn’t know to
day when that historic event will
occur.
Neither did a correspondent
for an Alaska newspaper, who
questioned the President at to
day’s news conference. She asked
whether he planned a personal
visit to Alaska to welcome the
new State.
The President said it was a
tempting invitation, if it was an
invitation. Then he asked the
question, Miss Mary Philomine
von Herberg, representing the
Anchorage Daily News, what is
the actual date?
“Oh, dear,” exclaimed Miss von
Herberg, and the news conference
broke into general laughter.
Alaska, voted into the union by
Congress, has accepted Statehood
in its own election. On November
25 it will select state officials in
a general election, when the elec
tion is officially certified, some
time in December, the President
will issue a proclamation estab
lishing the new State.
In suggesting that the President
make a personal trip to Alaska
as a welcoming gesture, Miss von
Herberg noted that no President
had such an opportunity in 46
years.
The Statehood bill says if the
President finds that Alaska voters
voted for Statehood, he shall —
upon certification of the election
returns — issue a proclamation
announcing the election results.
When he issues the proclamation,
the “State of Alaska shall be
deemed admitted into the Union.”
President Calls On All Americans
To Comply With Integration Ruling
U. S. Chides Reds
For Resuming
Nuclear Tests
WASHINGTON, UP> —* The
United States, chiding the Soviet
Union for resuming nuclear wea
pons tests, says it will go through
with plans for a one-year U. S.
test suspension if the Soviets will
follow suit.
The State Department issued
that announcement Tuesday night
a short time after the Atomic
Energy Commission reported the
Soviet Union had terminated its
much-heralded but short-lived
test suspension with at least two
new blasts.
The department described the
Soviet tests as confirmation of
U. S. suspicions that the Soviet
test suspension announcement
last March 31 was just propa
ganda.
The AEC announcement of the
new Soviet tests backed up re
ports earlier in the day from
Tokyo that blast waves from the
direction of the Soviet Union had
been detected.
“Two detonations were de
tected,” the AEC said. “Both took
place north of the Arctic Circle
and were of moderate to high
yield.”
In announcing the United
States hopes to adhere to its
own suspension plans, the State
Department noted that talks ini
tiated by this country are sched
uled to begin in Geneva October
31, on means of reaching agree
ment on policing a worldwide
test suspension.
Capt. Joseph Ramsauer
Dies In Seattle
SEATTLE, (£> — Captain Joseph
Ramsauer, 71, a master mariner
for the Alska Steamship Lines
for 40 years, died here September
27.
Captain Ramsauer will be re
membered in Nome, as he was
captain on the passenger boats
[which came to Nome for several
years.
WEATHER FORECAST
Partly cloudy tonight and
Thursday. Low tonight 25-30.
High tomorrow 30-35.
i WASHINGTON, W> — President
Eisenhower today called on all
Americans to comply with the
Supreme Court’s school integra
tion rulings lest there be “grave
consequences” to the nation.
Eisenhower sounded the call —
to both public officials and pri
vate citizens alike — at a news
conference. ,
He was asked whether, in the
light of the court’s decisions, Ar
kansas and Virginia should re
open their closed schools on an
integrated basis without being
forced into it by the federal gov
ernment.
Eisenhower had anticipated
such questions. He pulled out a
prepared statement and read it.
“The Supreme Court, in its
opinion rendered Monday, once
again has spoken with unanimity
on the matter of equality in the
nation’s public schools. It is en
cumbent upon all Americans, pub
lic officials and private citizens
alike, to recognize their duty of
complying with the rulings of the
highest court in the land. Any
other course, as I have said be
fore, would be fraught with grave
consequences to our nation,” it
said.
“Americans have always been
proud that their institutions rest
on the concept of equal justice
under law. We must never forget
that the rights of all of us depend
upon respect for the lawfully de
termined rights of each of us. As
one nation, we must assure to all
of our people, whatever their col
(Continued on Page Two)
i
Petition Seeks To
Free Aged Italian '*
Sentenced To Hang
ANCHORAGE, W* — The fate
of Guido Grassi, 78-year-old Ital
ian immigrant sentenced to hang
December 5 won’t be decided un
til a formal petition for pardon
has been presented to Gov, Al
bert D. Rosellini.
The Washington governor, here
on a goodwill tour, declined yes
terday to say what, if any action,
he will take concerning the case.
“When and if we receive a pe
tition,” Rosellini said, “we will
review the case with care and
then make our determination.”
Grassi was sentenced to hang
Monday after a sanity hearing in
a Grays Harbor County Superior
Court found him mentally capa
ble. The sentence was mandatory
since the aged Italian was con
victed in 1923 of slaying three
Aberdeen men. At that time he
was judged insane and commited
to the Washington State Peni
tentiary.
Now, Grassi wants to be free
to return to Italy. The ’sanity
hearing was the first step. A pe
tition for commutation of the
hanging sentence and a pardon
from the governor are barriers
yet to be hurdled.
BOUNCING BANKROLL
LOUISVILLE, Ky., UP) — Robert
L. Cowan is $1,000 richer because
two of his . checks bounced.
Cowan sued his bank, contend
ing $116 he deposited was im
properly credited to another ac
count. Later, he said, the bank
refused to honor two of his
checks in the erroneous belief
he had no funds.
A circuit court jury Tuesday
awarded Cowan $1,000.