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OIDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LXI No. 10 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 1959 __Per Copy—lft*
Legislative Council Hears Oil' Gas
c
Lands Lease Proposals From Oilmen
By BERNIE MORRIS
JUNEAU, M — The question of
how best to exploit Alaska’s vir
tually untapped oil and gas re
sources came before legislators
here yesterday.
Members of the Legislative
Council heard proposals for
amending the oil and gas leasing
provisions of the Alaska Land Act.
The main issues turned on two
questions:
1. Whether state oil and gas
lands should be leased on compe
titive or non-competitive basis.
2. Whether a limit should be
placed on the acreage held by the
various lessees.
Gordon Goodwin of the Rich
field Oil Corp., representing his
own and 13 other companies, ar
gued for non-competitive leasing
of upland areas for oil nd gas
exploitation.
“We believe that competitive
bidding fof Alaska wildcat lands
would retard development, Good
win told the lawmakers. “Costs
of operations are already very
high and competitive bidding
would only increase those costs,
thus making the great risks al
ready invoved in oil exploration
in these inaccessible upland areas
less attractive.
LIMITATIONS RECOMMENDED
Goodwin said the 14 companies
also do not believe the state should
limit holdings of leases on state
lands to the acreage limitations
provided in the Federal Leasing
Act. He recommended limitations
of 500,000 acres.
Sharply opposed to Goodwin’s
recommendations were those pre
sented by Charles Keeble and Ed
ward Dairs, representing the
Humble Oil and Refining Co. They
called for a system of competitive
bidding for state leases with no
acreage limitations on holdings.
Keeple told the lawmakers a
system of competitive bidding
would provide more revenue from
the leases, encourage more sub
stantial explorations and discour
age speculation.
Dairs said non-competitive leas
ing, as provided for in the Fed
eral Leasing Act, brings in reve
nue of only 50 cents per acre
annually.
J. D. Nance, representing Stan
dard Oil Co. of California, told
the legislators it would require
strong incentive to attract explor
ations because of rugged field con
ditions in Alaska.
He suggested Alaska petroleum
products might be held off the
market for several years until
more economical sources of oil
and gas are depleted.
Ro?er Williams of Western Gulf
Oil Co. supported the Humble Oil
Co. position. He told the lawmak
ers neither competitive nor non
competitive leasing afford oil com
panies any advantages. But Wil
liams maintained competitive bid
ding would be best for the state
because it would encourage more
intensive operations.
Both sides agreed that the
state’s submerged salt water bot
toms should be leased competi
tively.
Doctors Report
Governor Egan
‘’Definitely Better’
SEATTLE, UP) — William Egan’s
doctor said today the Alaska Gov
ernor’s condition “seems to be im
proving daily.”
Dr. Joel Baker, who headed the
surgical team in the Egan opera
tion, said the Governor was hold
ing the gain he showed Thursday.
“His breathing is definitely bet
ter.” said Dr. Baker. “His pulse
still is rapid, but is improving. He
still runs about a degree and a
half of fever but it is coming
down.”
The doctor said Egan would be
removed from an oxygen tent
about half the time today.
Despite Egan’s gradual improve
ment, he remained on the hos
pital ' critical list. His physicians
have said previously it would be
several days before recovery is
certain.
Nation’s Cost*of-Living
Was Lower In December
WASHINGTON, UP) — Living
j costs dipped two-tenths of one per
cent in December — their first
' decline since August.
Lower prices for food, automo
biles and clothing overbalanced
increases in rents, other housing
items, medical care and other con
sumer costs.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics
price index declined to 123.7 per
cent of the 1947-49 average, the
base.
In reporting this today, the bur
eau noted the index stood 1.7 per
cent higher than December, 1957.
McElroy Tells
Congress U. S. Is
Fully Prepared
WASHINGTON, UP) — “The na
tion is prepared to meet the threat
it faces today,” Secretary of De
fense Neil McElroy told a House
Appropriations subcommittee to
day.
Defending the Administration’s
$40,945,000,000 defense budget for
the fiscal year starting next July
1, McElroy said in prepared tes
timony: “Our forces are fully ca
pable of carrying out their as
signed missions and will continue
to have this capability during the
period covered by this budget. The
Joint Chiefs of Staff have gone on
record with me that they consider
this budget adequate to provide
for the essential programs neces
sary for the defense of the nation
for the period under considera
tion.”
McElroy was the first witness
as the subcommittee started prob
ably two months of hearings on
the President’s budget.
Two Americans Among 9
Killed In Jordan Crash
AMMAN, Jordan, IP> — A Jor
danian airliner with 15 persons
aboard crashed last night near
Amman. The airline said nine
persons, including two Americans,
were killed. The six others aboard
were injured.
A casualty list issued by the air
line named the dead Americans
as Capt. Charles Rushing, the pi
lot, and Melvin Loptson, a Chris
tian Missionary Alliance mission
ary in Lebanon.
Eastern Flood Death Total Reaches 91
(By The Associated Press) |
Cold waters and chunks of ice
swept downstream today, carry
ing threats of fresh havoc to
flood zones in the northeastern
quarter of the nation.
Thousands of persons were
homeless. Losses mounted into
many millions.
The death toll rose to 91.
While fair weather followed the J
week-long series of snow, ice, wind
and rain'storms, danger was con
centrated in the flood zone that
extentJfed from Jndiana eastward
to New York State.
Sections of a levee and sand
bags gave way today in Chilli
cothe, Ohio. Waters of the swollen
Scioto River seeped through.
About one third of the city was
under water. The homes of an
estiVnated 10,000 of Chillicothe’s
27,000 residents were affected.
The Ohio River crest moved
downstream from Pennsylva
nia and cities in the valley braced
for a watery invasion.
Many huge freight barges were
ripped from their moorings and
were borne down the ice-choked
Ohio. Some snk. Some rammed
into bridle pillars. One snapped
a guy wire of the suspension
bridge at Wheeling, W. Va. Spec
Mikoyan Says State Dept.
Wants Cold War Continued
MOSCOW, UP) — First Deputy,
Premier Anastas Mikoyan re-1
turned home today from his visit I
to the United States.
A group headed by Deputy For
eign Minister V. V. Kuznetsov,
greeted him at the airport.
Mikoyan declared in Copenha
gen last night that everybody in
America wants the cold war to
stop except the State Department, j
tators said it sounded like the
twanging of a gigantic guitar.
Piercing cold covered most of
the nation east of the Rockies,
reaching from the Canadian bor
der to the Gulf of Mexico and
northern Florida.
The mercury shriveled to -33
in Hibbing, Minn., -20 at Lans
sing, Iowa, -25 in Duluth, Minn.,
-17 in Green Bay, Wise., -13 at
Minneapolis-St. Paul, -12 in Mar
quette, Mich., -9 at Chicago’s Mid
way Airport, -5 in South Bend,
-4 in Omaha.
Fairbanks had -11.
12 Coal Miners Trapped
In Flooded Pa. Colliery
PITTSTON, Pa., UP) — The fate
of 12 missing coal miners, trapped
in the earth when the Susquehan
na River, clogged with giant
chunks of ice, gouged a hole in
their mine, remained unknown to
day as rescuers fought to stem
the flow of water.
First reports said three men
drowned when the anthracite wall
of the colliery, shored by tim
bers, collapsed yesterday under
the tremendous pressure of the
flooding river. But no bodies have
been found. The trapped men can
be listed only as missing.
Thirty-three other miners es
caped, some sloshing for hours
through waist-deep freezing wa
ter before emerging from the un
derground maze of tunnels.
They were part of the 45-man
crew working in the river slope
mine of the Nox Coal Co. at near
by Port Griffith, when the break
through occurred without warn
ing.
“We never heard the water come
in atv all,” one lucky miner said.
“It was just there.”*
Airlines Will Request C.A.B. To
Reconsider Alaska Route Allotments
SEATTLE, 1® — Alaska Airlines
plans to ask the Civil Aeronutics
Board to reconsider the intra
Alaska route case. Henry Bierds,
assistant to the line’s president,
said today.
The order of January 14 takes
away 41.6 per cent of Alaska Air
lines’ operated route milege, a
reduction of 1,892 miles of a to
tal 4,550, and removes the carrier
from the “hush” market, he said.
The order is still being studied
and details of the planned protest
still must be worked out, he said,
but he added:
“We certainly will question the
legal power of the board to take
away permanently certificated
runs.”
The carrier has not estimated
yet exactly what effect the elimi
nation of “bush” operations will
have on revenue. The board, how
ever, estimated the line’s revenue
would be reduced 7.4 per cent and
its subsidy requirements by 33.5
per cent — about half a million
dollars a year.
The board order realigned ma^v
major intra-Alaska routes. The
order said;,
“It should be noted that even
after the deletions we propose,
Alaska Airlines will continue to
operate not only as a Pacific
Northwest - Alaska carrier but
also as a major intra-Alaskan car
rier over some of the richest
routes within Alaska.
Regional services now operated
by the line will in the future be
flown by intra-Alaska certificated
carriers.
Pacific Northern Airlines, which
won important Seattle-Kodiak
nonstop rights in the order, also
plans to ask reconsideration of
the order. PNA’s petition will ob
ject to that portion of the ord ?r
which grants Reeve Aleutian Air
ways turnaround rights between
Anchorage and King Salmon in
competition with PNA.
Pan American World Airways,
which lost. its Fairbanks-Nome
route, has no plans to seek re
consideration.
Greuel Will Be
Candidate For
House Speaker
JUNEAU, UP) — Richard J.
Greuel said today he would be
an active candidate for Speaker
of the House in the first Alaska
State Legislature.
The 30-year-old Fairbanks Dem
ocrat was house speaker in the
last Territorial session in 1957,
when he was a sophomore law
maker.
Greuel said he could count on
at least 19 votes in a Democratic
caucus Sunday at which the speak
er will be picked.
He said he was confident his
early support would hold and
overcome any bid from veteran
Representative Warren A. Taylor,
anolher Fairbanks Democrat.
Taylor is regarded as the only
other major contender for the
speaker’s job.
Greuel said he would “work for
the closest possible cooperation
between the executive and legis
lative branches,” if elected.
There was some speculation that
Greuel would be unable to get
along with the executive head of
the government, Acting Governor
Hugh Wade.
The two were bitter opponents
in a primary battle last August
for the party’s nomination as Sec
retary of State.
Wade won the primary and
Greuel made a late entry to win
a spot in the first State Legisla
ture.
Greuel said there would be no
difficulty for him to cooperate
with the Acting Governor. The
primary fight, he said, was a
thing of the past.
Wade has been Acting Gover
nor since Monday and is expected
to serve through the entire first
session of the Legislature, which
convenes here Monday.
SENATE PRAYER OFFERED
FOR ALASKA'S GOVERNOR
WASHINGTON, UP) — A prayer
was offered in the Senate Wed
nesday for the recovery of Gov
ernar William A. Egan.
The Senate chaplain, the Rev.
Frederick Brown Harris, prayed
that Egan be restored to health
and to service as Alaska’s first
Governor.
Symington Warns
Russ Are Ahead
In ICBM Strength
WASHINGTON, — Senator
Stuart Symington (D-Mo) con
tended today Soviet Russia will
have four times more intercon
tinental ballistic missiles in 19(11
than are planned by the Eisen
hower Administration.
Symington, Secretary of the Air
Force in the Democratic Admin
istration of former President
Truman, said that “far from plan
ning to close the current ICBM
gap, the Eisenhower Administra
tion is ctually allowing it to
widen.”
Symington’s statements disa
greed with reports of comparative
U. S.-Soviet ICBM strength given
Thursday by Secretary of Defense
McElroy.
“We do not believe that Russia
has an ICBM capable of operation
gainst this country at this time,”
McElroy said.
Symington told the Senate that
President Eisenhower, Vice Pres
ident Nixon nd other Administra
tion spokesmen had failed to an
swer his challenges to tell the
public the facts about relative
U. S.-Soviet strength in missiles
and other military power.
Symington said this country h^s
successfully test-fired ICBMs a*^d
set up production lines that couM
produce more than the Soviets if
funds were provided.
“The reason we’re not planning
full production of ICBMs is be
cause this Administration is nnt
planning to spend the necessary
funds,” he said.
McElroy said the Soviet Union
is ahead of the United States in
the thrust of rocket engin"s
used in weapons and space ve
hicles. But, he added, we have en
gines with enough thrust to “pro
pel a large warhead to the point
we want it to reach.”
MRS. BARTLETT ELECTED
V-P OF CONGRESSIONAL CLUB
WASHINGTON, UR — Mrs. E.
L. Bartlett, wife of Senator Bart
lett, was elected a vice president
Wednesday of the Congressional
Club. The club is open to women
members of Congress and wives of
male members. Mrs. William F.
Norrell, wife of an Arkansas Con
gressman, was elected president.