THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
E. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor *
CLINTON GRAY . Production Manager
Telephone: Main 125 $1.50 PER MONTH
P.O. Box 618 $16.00 A YEAR
Subscribers not receiving their papers by 5:30 p.m. call
Main 125 for special delivery. After 5:30 call Black 102
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at the
Dostoffice at Nome. Alaska, tinder the Act of March 3. 1878
SO MUCH DEPENDS CN THE LANDING
mew.
ON MILITARY PAY
There are growing indications that economies
made at the expense of pay and fringe benefits to
service men are at an end. This situation has come
about in view of the fact that reenlistments in the
armed services have dropped off considerably and be
cause resignations, even at the service academies are
becoming more frequent.
Military officials argue that morale in the services
has suffered as a result of the recent economy wave
and termination of some pay and fringe benefits. Among
the economies in recent years has been an end to spe
cial bonus pay, an end to some housing allowances,
curtailment of post exchange services, and an end to
medical benefits for some military dependents.
As a result of this situation, the House Armed
Services Committee is beginning a study of the ade
quacy of military pay. Because the pay scale was re
vised only a few years ago, no general revision of the
scale is anticipated, nor any blanket increase for mem
bers of the armed services. However, information gain
ed in the study of the House committee may be used
to block any proposed new economies and possibly to
restore some of the fringe benefits ended in recent
months and years.
“ORDERED HASTE WILL SAVE YOU . . ”
Mayors and city managers of 175 U.S. cities met
in Washington, at the invitation of President Eisen
hower, for a t.wo-day briefing on Civil Defense. Greeted
by the President, they were told, “Ordered haste will
save you, and panic will destroy you.” It was the
element of surprise, said the President, that made
Pearl Harbor a disaster. “Had everybody been ready
and waiting,” he said, “the attack could not have been
launched.”
In subsequent secret sessions the mayors heard
a report from Vice President N'xen on the day of his
return from his round-the-world tour. Other ranking
officials discussed atomic weapons and the internation
al situation.
What each of these leaders now thinks about Civil
Defense will no doubt be revealed to h:s own citizens
before long. But it’s a good thing the “briefing” did
not include an air-raid drill in Washington, where,
thusfar, no one but federal employees has participated.
McCarthy To Investigate
Charges Of Corruption In
Federal Projects In Alaska
'Continued from Page One)
or of Alaska” (B. Frank Heintzle
man).
The subcommittee chairman said
the situation under study goes
back over the period since World
War II. He added that serious
efforts have been made to im
prove conditions since early last
year, when the Republicans took
over the national administration.
McCarthy said the subcommit
tee will start closed hearings this
week into the Alaska situation,
based on reports submitted by a
subcommittee auditor and an in
vestigator who have been in Al
aska for two months.
A mining project and another
dealing with housing are among
those to be studied, he said, but
he declined to answer other ques
tions as to whether the projects
also would include pipelines, road
building and military construction.
Secretary of the Interior McKay
issued a statement commenting
on Sen. McCarthy’s report on the
Alaska investigation, saying:
“The Department of the Inter
ior has been cooperating for sev
eral months with Sen. McCarthy
in his investigation of conditions
in Alaska.
“An investigator was assigned
by the department to the territory
several months ago. He has
worked along with Sen. McCar
thy’s staff in Alaska and we have
kept in close touch with the mat
ter in each successive develop
ment.
“We believe the investigation
has been a constructive step for
ward and will result in cleaning
up a bad set of circumstances that
have been allowed to drift with
out official action on them or ac
tion to eradicate them.”
_
North Pole Nellie Applies
| For Post Office For
North Pole, Alaska
SEATTLE, —It’s a little past
Christmas, but in the future chil
dren who write letters to Santa
Claus at the North Pole will get
replies, if plans of Mrs. Ethel
Granite, Fairbanks, Alaska, work
out.
Mrs. Granite, sometimes called
“North Pole Nellie,” is trying to
get a postoffice established at
North Pole, Alaska, the home of
a non-profit corporation: Santa
j Land, Inc.
North Pole, she said here Fri
day, is an incorporated commu
nity of 600 residents, with 18
stores, a theater and a school, 14
miles south of Fairbanks on the
Alaska Highway. Mail is trucked
there from Fairbanks.
Santa-Land is a project of the
community’s chamber of com
merce.
The community has donated five
acres for construction of an exhib
ition area with Santa’s workshop
and Mother Goose-type buildings
with residents contributing the
labor.
“It will be a showplace, prin
cipally for children,” she said.
If the to. n gets a postoffice, she
continueu, volunteers will write
answers to “Santa Claus, North
Pole,” missives which now end
up as dead letters.
j Arctic Sanitary Service
Phone RED 181
ii:ilil!’IIIIIIII!ll!ll!ll!l!llllllllllll!lillllll!lllll[|llllllllll!I
Dan Jones Leaves Mines Office,
To Be Replaced By Pete Sandvik
Territorial Dept, of Mines BulletinH
January, 1954
Daniel Jones, assayer-engineer
at the Nome office, resigned on
December 31. H© will be replaced
by Pete Sandvik, former assayer
at Anchorage, in April when he
is released from the Army.
The Nome office will 'be closed
until Sandvik’s arrival, but M. E.
“Mike” Kelly of that city will
handle the department’s affairs
during the closure.
A recent report from Don Koch
ersperger, manager of the Lost
River Tin Mine, indicates that
things there are steadily improv
ing toward the ultimate goal of
steady production.
They are now installing the
flotation cells, but have not yet
set up the tailings thickener for
water reclamation. The 9,000-foot
water pipe and pumping system
are supplying 300 gallons per min
ute to the mill without trouble,
and so far only two of the four
heating cable circuits have had
to be used to keep the water from
freezing.
Several hundred pounds of rep
resentative material taken by the
Bureau of Mines for metallurgical
testing indicate higher grade ore
is present in 32 Crosscut South
than was first apparent from dia
mond drilling and chip sampling.
This is the crosscut which inter
sects the granite cupola southwest
of th© main shaft on the 365 level.
The use of the shrinkage stoping
method of mining with draw holes
at the lower level is working very
satisfactorily on th© Cassiterite
Dike ore body.
An 11-man crew is working at
the Big Hurrah Gold Mine, pre
paring it for production sometime
this winter. Herk Edwards is fore
man and T. P. Lane is manager.
The tin mine operators of Sew
ard Peninsula met with Secretary
of the Interior McKay in Wash
ington last month to determine
what could be done to have tin
placed back on the- strategic list
and obtain other help. This group
includes representatives or the
U.S. Tin Corp., Alaska Tin Corp.,
Zenda Mining Co., and the North
ern Tin Corp.
Results were apparently not dis
couraging for another meeting is
scheduled in January.
Hints to Prospectors
An interesting article by “Sour
dough” was noted in the Novem
ber issue of Western Miner, con- i
cerning tungsten-carbide tipped j
hand steel for prospectors who
wish to develop properties where
a drill cannot be taken.
A Canadian prospector used a
set of this steel all summer with
out any real sharpening problem.
His set was composed of four
pieces: 14", 22", 29", and 36" in
length. The 14" starter was fitted
with tungsten-carbide inserts of
114" gauge and the three longer
pieces were of l-l/16"gauge.
The TDM can furnish the name
of a firm who will make up a set
of this tungsten-carbide insert
hand steel for any prospector who
is interested.
Usually when reports of oil
seeps are encountered, it develops
that the person saw an irridescent
film on some water which resem
bled an oil film, but which was
merely the result of deteriorating
vegetable matter.
A simple means of distinguish
ing between this vegetable film
and that of a mineral oil is to dis
turb it with a foot or a stick. Upon
being disturbed, if it breaks up
into patches which remain separ
ated, it is the former worthless
substance. If the film remains
constant and evenly distributed
over the water’s surface, it is
likely to be genuine oil.
Quote Without Comment
A letter from the General Ser
vices Administration dated Dec. 2,
1953, in answer to a TDM query
on their mica-purchasing program,
contains the following paragraph:
“The Domestic Mica Program
applies only to mica mined in
the 48 states and does not in
clude mica mined in Alaska.
Therefore, I am sorry to inform
you that regardless of the qual
ity of the mica it could not be
considered under the Domestic
Program.”
Asioria Hillside Slide
Displaces 34 Families
ASTORIA, Ore'., U¥) — A close
watch was kept Monday on a
skidding hillside in this Oregon
coastal town.
Thirty four families have had
to leave their homes on the
water-soaked hill since it began
slipping last Tuesday. City offi
cials said they feared the slide
area was spreading.
The Red Cross has designated
the hillside a disaster area and
Gov. Paul Patterson has ordered
an investigation to determine if
federal aid should be requested.
Fine Job Printing at the Nugget
__
SERVICE CLEANERS
4 th and B Streets Opposite School House
QUALITY DRY CLEANING A SPECIALTY
Prompt and Courteous Service
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Mickelson, Proprietors
PHONE RED 96
ARCTIC OIL DELIVERY
STOVE OIL FURNACE OIL
Ben Young
We Check Your Tank Regularly
Office Phone: BLACK 76 Residence: MAIN 52
-----J