m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. LXII No. 36 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1960Per Copy 154
Engineer Spells
Out Discontent In
Utilities Operation
The most controversial issue in
Nome, that of power rates, and
how to run a public utility, was
thoroughly discussed Monday
evening at a town hall meeting
held at the school. Members of
the City Council, the Utilities
Board, and Roy Johnson, consult
ing engineer, and many interested
power users, held an animated
question and answer session after
a talk given by Mr. Johnson.
Some enlightening results evolved,
but many problems were left
unsolved. Mr. Johnson-was hired
by the Utility Board to make a
rate study and survey of the con
dition and operation of the public
power facilities.
The engineer recommended that
the utility be used to full advan
tage, and that power be made
available to all users regradless
of how far from the center of
town they may be, stating it was
advantageous in the long run. He
could not give an opinion on
what rates should be, he said, un
til he has made a thorough study
of his findings. He expects to sub
mit his report in a week or ten
days.
Petty and personal grievances
were deplored by the engineer, as
a factor of the Nome problem.
It was revealed that someone
had tampered with the voltage
regulators at the plant, which was
giving out higher voltage than
should have been permitted. John
son has adjusted and corrected
this condition, and this will prob
ably result in some alterations in
the March billings.
The faults of the present way
the utility is operated, as well as
the virtues were explained. The
need of an experienced and well
qualified electrician was urged, to
take the place of Paul Cornelius,
who is leaving, was stressed as of
the utmost importance, so that the
power can be utilized to the best
advantage for the community,
with as little loss as possible.
Johnson stated that the output
at the present time should be able
to take care of the community,
and everything around it, includ
ing the site on Anvil Mountain.
The rate, he stated, should be
low enough to encourage the pub
lic to use more power.
Covenant Conference
Begins Here Tomorrow
David Saccheus, chairman for
the conference of the Covenant
Evangelical Church, which starts
tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. with
wecloming ceremony, states that
many persons from villages all
around the northwestern area are
expected toy plane and dog team.
Due to arrive are five repre
sentatives from the mission at
Wales; four from Elim; seven
from Bethel; 40 toy charter plane
from Unalakleet; seven from
\ Shaktoolik. Others are expected
from Golovin, White Mountain,
Hooper Bay, Koyuk, Scammon
Bay, and Marshall.
The delegates will be kept busy
with a full schedule of events all
day Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
A special guest will toe Ralph
Hansen, formerly a pastor in this
area, who is now the Secretary
of Missions in Chicago.
Rev. Paul Fryhling of Minne
apolis Covenant Church is also
participating in the conference as
well as taking part in the dedi
cation of radio station KICY.
Top Atom Scientists Disagree on
Political Advisability of Peaceful
Atoms for ‘Operation Plowshare’
WASHINGTON, (At—A pioneer
atomic scientist told a Senate
House Atomic Energy Subcom
mittee yesterday he questions the
advisability of going ahead with
a big program of nuclear blasts
for peaceful purposes.
Dr. H. D. Smyth, one of the
original members of the Atomic
Energy Commission, gave his
views as the subcommittee began
hearings on “Frontiers in Atomic
Energy Research.”
Another- top scientist, Dr. Ed
ward Teller, however, urged that
the program — known as “Project
Plowshare” — go ahead with all
possible speed.
Teller said “We can look for
ward” to “perfection of the clean
est possible nuclear explosives”
in the peaceful purposes project,
and insisted that the nuclear de
vices tested would be quite dif
ferent from atomic weapons.
Smyth, chairman of the Univer
sity Research Board at Princeton
University, said he did not doubt
that great things could be accom
plished through “Plowshare,” such
as digging harbors quickly and
cheaply.
But he said that “Even if our
use of nuclear explosions for
peaceful purposes promises to
contribute significantly to our ma
terial welfare, I still question its
political advisability in terms of
international understanding and
peace.”
He noted that “For 15 years we
have been trying to establish a
world-wide system for the con
trol and eventual elimination of
nuclear weapons.”
Teller, known as the father of
the H-*bomb, said present nuclear
explosives “are cheap enough and
safe enough for immediate appli
cation to perform most important
jobs,” and said:
“It is my conviction that if we
take appropriate initiative the
peaceful use of nuclear explosives
may become the first truly eco
nomic big scale use of nuclear
energy for the benefit of man
kind.”
Radiation Study Satellite
Fails After Launching
By HOWARD BENEDICT
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., UR —
The United States failed today in
an effort to put a radiation study
satellite into orbit around the
earth.
The big four-stage Juno II
rocket lifted off successfully from
this missile testing station. But
nearly an hour later the National
Aeronautics and Space Adminis
tration in Washington reported it
had failed to place its payload in
orbit.
The space agency said project
officials suspect that one of the
upper stages failed to ignite.
The rocket was designed to
place a 35-pound satellite into
orbit to make the broadest study
yet of great radiation zones in
space which could imperil space
flight. r .
Dr. Wernher von Braun, Army
missile expert recently shifted to
NASA, said the experiment prob
ably will be tried again. He said
another Juno II is available.
Adenauer In Hawaii
i Tells Gov. Quinn Germans
i Seek Freedom in Peace
I HONOLULU, HP) — “My people,
just as yours, have one purpose
in mind — and that is freedom in
peace,” West German Chancellor
Konrad Adenauer told Hawaii
Gov. William Quinn Tuesday.
“You symbolize the brotherly
love we have to teach,” Quinn
replied. “You are truly one of the
great bulwarks in the free world
today. We greet you with open
arms and a very warm Aloha.”
The greeting for the 84-year
old Chancellor and his party came
when his German Lufthansa Su
per-Constellation landed at Hick
am Air Force Base after a nine
hour flight from San Francisco.
On the last leg of a 12-day U. S.
visit, Adenauer planned a rest
here with no official functions
on schedule. He will attend a stag
luncheon at the Governor’s resi
dence today.
Latest Liquor Measure
Specifies Early A.M.
Bar Closing Hours
JUNEAU, (A>>—'The Alaska Leg
islature came up yesterday with
its latest version of hours for
liquor sales: bars would be closed
from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m.
A measure spelling out these
hours was passed by the House
l'8-2 yesterday. The question now
goes back to the Senate, which
voted earlier to legalize sales for
21 hours a day but leave it up to
the Alcoholic Beverage Control
Board to set the specific hours for
each licensee.
WEATHER FORECAST
Cloudiness and light snow, with
north to northeast winds, 15 to 25
miles per hour. Little temperature
change.
In the past 24 hours: Tempera
tures: high 32, low 10. Maximum
wind, 30 miles an hour from the
northeast. Sunrise at 5:52 a.m.,
sunset at 6:27 pm.
The 32 degrees above registered
today was the highest for this
date since 1907. Lowest for the
date was -31. in 1938.
The temperature at Nenana to
day was a high 39.
ESC Measure
Goes to Egan
JUNEAU, (J)—The Alaska Sen
ate today accepted 11 to 9, House
changes in. a bill to amend the
state’s Employment Security law,
thus sending the controversial
measure to Gov. Egan for his ap
proval.
•Rejected by legislative action,
in the final week of the 1960 law
making session, were organized
labor’s recommendations to solve
the failing fund with a tax on
total wages.
The till as finally passed con
tained virtually all of Governor
Egan’s proposals, including the
provision that retroactive to Jan.
1 of this year, taxes will bfe based
on $7,200 of wages paid—up frqm
the existing ceiling of $4,200.
Beginning Oct. 1, a new vari
able rate system will go into ef
fect, with employer contributions
ranging between 1.5 per cent and
4 per cent of the base, and em
ployee rate from .3 to .9 per cent.
Until the rating system starts, the
levies will be 2.9 for employers
and 6 for employees.
EARLY BREAKUP
IS PREDICTED
AT NENANA
NENANA — As the mercury
reaches 40 degrees above zeto
there is more speculation as to
when the ice will push out the 16
foot black and red tripod setting
300 feet from the bank of the
river directly in front of the small
town of Nenana.
With the closing date of the
Nenana Ice Classic set for mid
night April 2, the local residents
are still making their own private
forecasts of an early breakup.
With plenty of snow and the ice
37 inches thick it looks like an
early moving this year.
According to Manager Carl H.
Haggstrom, the winners of the
pool in the past 10 years have re
ceived the total sum of-one mil
lion, one hundred sixty-two thou
sand dollars. The record is held
by Charles R. Mountjoy of Ju
neau, who in 1952, walked pff
with $102,000.
{'our More File
For City Offices
Four more candidates have an
nounced filing for city offices,
reports Robert Scott, City Clerk.
They are: Roscoe Wilke, for
mayor; and for city council Ron
aid Bauska, Jim Carter and Lloyd
Sundstrom.
SOUTH AFRICAN VIOLENCE WANES; UNITED
STATES DENOUNCES WHITE POLICE GUNFIRE
By ADRIAN PORTER
JOHANNESBURG, South Afri
ca, Ufi — Violence appeared on the
wane today in riot-bloodied South
Africa, but militant Negroes
turned to the strike weapon in
their campaign against the hated
passes they must carry as non
whites.
More and more Negroes were
expected to stay away from their
jobs, particularly in Cape Town
and nearby Vereeniging, the coal
and steel center south of Johan
nesburg. Nonwhite townships in
those areas were the scene of the
riots Monday and Tuesday -in
which police gunfire mowed down
Negro men, women and children.
The official death toll was giv
en today as 72, as more of the 182
wounded died in hospitals.
The use of police bullets to
quell the Negro demonstrations
set off a worldwide wave of cri
ticism of South Africa’s white su
premacist government. The angry
foreign reaction included an ex
traordinary official ^denunciation
by the U. S. State Department.
Aroused political opponents of
Prime'Minister Hendryk Verwoerd
demanded a thorough investiga
tion of the violence and an end
to South Africa’s “drift to dis
aster.”
The Anglican Bishop of Johan
nesburg, the Rt. Rev. Ambrose
Reeves, declared,, “The time has
come when all those in South Af
rica who have any human feelings
must demand that the tactics
being used by the police to quell
riots must cease immediately.”
‘Voice of the Arctic’
Holds Open
House Saturday
Nome’s own radio station,
KICY, “The Voice of The Arctic,”
has now entered the equipment
test phase of construction, and
will shortly be ready to air pro
grams, Art Zylstra, general man
ager, announced today. During the
latter part of last week, the trans
mitter was operated several times
in order to make tuning adjust
ments and to conduct engineering
tests specified by the Federal
Communications Commission.
Lloyd Sundstrom, supervisor of
the Anvil Mountain White Alice
insallation, is in charge of con
ducting these “proof-of-perform
ance” tests. When the tests have
established that the KICY instal
lation is operating within the ac
cepted tolerances for efficiency,
it is expected that the entire sta
tion will be inspected by the FCC
Field Engineer for this district,
and it will then be possible to
request permission to begin trans
mitting regular programs.
During most of the equipment
test period, the transmitter will
be operated at a reduced power
of near 1,000 watts. Despite this
low power, reception reorts have
already been received from
Wales, Tin City, Moses Point and
Unalakleet, and on Friday even
ing, the statioh identification was
heard clearly in Anchorage.
Nome residents will have the
opportunity to inspect the studio
and ofifce facilities, of the new
broadcasting station on Saturday
afternoon and evening when an
“open house” will be held for
this purpose. Although the station
will not be on the air, the various
functions of equipment will be
demonstrated. A program of dedi
cation is planned for Sunday af
ternoon in connection with the
annual meeting of the Alaska
Covenant Churches.
Adjournment of
Legislature Now
Likely on Friday
JUNEAU, Wl —Adjournment of
the 1960 Alaska Legislature now
appears likely on Friday, a day
later than originally expected.
Thursday adjournment was an
ticipated on the basis that the fin
ance committees of the two houses
would complete work yesterday
on the big 1961 fiscal year ap
propriation bill.
Debate and rollcalls on major
bills called members away from
committee sessions, however, and
delayed work on the money mea
sure. -
Chairman of the House Finance
Committee, Rep. Earl Hillstrand,
said it would probably be late
today before the committee re
ported the bill to the floor. /
“It looks like an extra day’s
work without pay,” said Rep.
Richard Greuel, chairman of the
House Rules Committee. Funds
for the legislative expense allow
ance expire Thursday, the 60th
day of the session.
There has been no indication
how many cuts the joint Senate
and House finance committees
have made in the appropriation
bill. As originally introduced, the
administration measure called for
a 48 million dollar outlay, includ
ing $36,500,000 from the general
fund.