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
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943 at the
postoffice at Nome. Alaska, under Act of March 3. 1879
Fortune Discovers Alaska
(The Oregon Journal)
Fortune magazine, which is noted for its thorough
going, conservative analyses of economic and social
political issues, has recently published a penetrating
study of Alaska' “the last American frontier.!’
Fortune Editor Richard Austin Smith declares that
Alaska now is in a critical state of her evolution. Cur
tailment of federal expenditures, a mainstay of the ter
ritorial economy, and the likelihood of a transfer of
fishery canning operations to the States in coming
years, may arrest Alaskan progress just at the point
when greater development might bring bigger rewards
than ever before, Fortune believes.
Statehood would increase Alaska’s potential which
already is impressive, according to Fortune. Sixty mil
lion acres of land are classified as favorable for oil and
gas development. Low rentals and reduced royalties
already have brought in many of the big oil companies.
“Should their operations be successful, the Alaskan
economy might be transformed overnight,” the Fortune
editor points out. Furthermore, Alaska could supply a
fifth of the total U.S. imports of pulp. And U.S. mining
could draw upon substantial Alaskan reserves of nickel,
zinc, and iron once the problems of high cost labor and
transportation are solved. Alaska’s hydroelectric po
tential, placed by Fortune at more than 8,000,000 kilo
watts, also is impressive.
• But Fortune has discovered what The Journal has
pointed up repeatedly. Bureaucrats hamper the terri
tory’s progress, the magazine charges.
“Nowhere else under the flag has the federal gov
ernment got such a grip on the lives of U.S. citizens,” it
declares. v
“Cut a tree, build a house, harness a stream, shoot
a bear or net a salmon on 99 percent of the land, and
a bureaucrat will be on hand to say you yea or nay;
pass a territorial law and a Washington appointed gov
ernor can veto it; hire a worker in any industry and
the wages you pay will reflect the stratospheric scales
on hurry-up federal projects; enter,the transportation
or construction business and the government can make
your fortune or double your competition; go mad in
Alaska and a bureaucrat will arrange for your commit
ment in an Oregon asylum,” is the way Fortune puts it.
And what about statehood chances? Fortune says
a majority of the territory’s population favors immedi
ate statehood. But a small and powerful group believes
heavier taxes would saddle the new state with unsup
portable financial burdens. And statehood bills either
have been sidetracked by opposition from the Deep
South or political considerations which also involve
Hawaiian statehood.
The Fortune editor urges a five-phase program to
insure Alaska’s continued progress:
1. Transfer control of fisheries from the Fish and
Wildlife Service to the territorial government.
2. Include Alaska in the federal highway aid pro
gram so the territory can build $15,000,000~worth of
roads annually.
3. Transfer 20,000,000 acres of unreserved land to
the territory for sale or lease.
4. Renew construction of small-boat harbors which
are essential to the fishing fleets.
5. Modernize Alaska’s Organic Act of 1912 to pro
vide administrative flexibility.
Give Fortune credit. It has discovered and tackled
the Alaska problem with its gloves off. It shares our
concern over Alaska’s future. And it has specific sug
gestions—in addition to statehood—for improving Al
aska’s lot.
Alaska needs more of this kind of objective analy
sis and friendly interest in high places. It has been an
orphan child too long already.
Heintzleman Assumes Responsibility
For Rejected Board Members in Office
JUNEAU GP!—Gov. Heintzleman
said Monday he assumes full re
sponsibility for continuing in of
fice members of the Board, of
Road Commissioners and the Po
lice Commission who were not
confirmed by the last legislature.
The governor’s statement was
in comment to an opinion by Atty.
Gen. J. Gerald Williams delivered
to Territorial Treasurer Hugh
Wade last week.
Williams said the three mem
bers of the Police Commission and
two members of the Road Board
must repay the territory money
they received for expenses in the
performance of official duties.
The five men were rejected for
confirmation by the last legisla
ture but have continued to serve.
Williams told Wade the $2,377.40
received by the five men in ex
penses must be returned or the
territory will seek to recover the
money through the bonds of the
certifying officers.
Territorial finance director
John McKinney and Treasurer
Hugh Wade announced they will
not honor any more vouchers
turned in by members of territor
ial boards whose status has been
questioned by the Attorney Gen
eral’s Office.
The Attorney General’s office
yesterday issued a statement crit
icizing the governor for “direct
ing or authorizing” the rejected
appointees to remain in their posi
tion “in the face of a clear and un
equivocal rejection of the chief
executive’s request for their con
firmation.”
The statement declared: ‘‘It is
the duty of the governor to re
quest advice of his official legal
representative prior to taking ac
tion on any matter where there
exists serious doubt.”
Referring to the five men, Gov.
Heintzleman said he desired that
they continued serving until he
could make replacements. He
pointed to .the need for the busi
ness of the twd groups to continue
in an orderly manner.
“I have already replaced a num
ber of those whose appointments
are now in process,” Heintzleman
said. “Perhaps these new appoint
ments have not been made as rap
idly as they might have, but I
found early in my incumbency
that hasty appointments are un
wise.
“The law says appointees shall j
serve until their successors are
appointed and qualified and 11
take the law to mean what it
says.”
The attorney general’s opinion j
involved the status of Ben Young
of Nome and Maurice Johnson of
Fairbanks, members of the Board
of Road Commissioners; and Wil
liam Healy, Anchorage; J. S. Mac
Kinnon Sr., Juneau; and E. B.
Collins, Fairbanks, members of
the Police Commission. Collins
has been replaced by George P.
Nehrbas of Fairbanks in a routine
appointment by the governor.
Heintzleman said he is well
aware of the new law which pro
hibits the reappointment to the
same position of appointees re
jected by the legislature.
“I did not reappoint any of
these people to the same position
or board membership,” he said.
They have been serving until their
successors could be appointed or
qualified.”
He said so far as he can discov
er the law does not state when a
person who fails of confirmation
shall be out of office. He said a
precedent in territorial govern
ment seemed very clearly to con
tinue such persons in office until
the governor replaced them.
The governor said he feels it
would be unfair to the individuals
concerned to attempt to compel
them to repay money they have
received for travel and per diem
“Board members receive no
compensation for the time and
work they devote to territorial
business and probaly most of
them are actually out of pocket
for expenses,” Heintzleman said.
“I cannot tell the territory has
lost money by the payments to
these people.”
The attorney general, Heintzle
man said, also serves as a mem
ber of the Police Commission. “If
he had any doubts about the le
gality of the continued service of
the other members of the com
mission,” the governor said, “I
think he should have called it to
my attention.”
Pan Am Lowers
Alaska - States
Round-Trip Fares
Across the board slashes in
round-trip air fares between Al
aska cities and Seattle-Portland
have been announced by Pan Am
erican World Airways.
They result in the lowest fares
offered by anyone serving Alaska,
the company said. Reductions
range, up to 10 percent and they
apply to all Alaska points served
by Pan American except Fair
banks.
Fares between Fairbanks and
Seattle already have been cut to
the legal minimum prescribed by
the Civil Aeronautics Board, Pan
American officials explained.
The new low fares become ef
fective October 16.
These fares are the latest result
of Pan American’s continued push
to make air travel in Alaska as
cheap as possible, the company
said.
The cuts reduced the round-trip
fares between Nome and Seattle
from $230 to $207. The new round
trip fare from Whitehorse and
Seattle is $131.40 as against the
present fare of $142. The round
trip Juneau-Seattle fare is set at
$99, down from 110. Lower round
trip fares between Ketchikan and
Seattle will be $86.40 instead of
9U.80 and in the case of Annette,
the round-trip fare is reduced
from $82.80 to 77.40.
Round-trip fares between these
points and Portland are similarly
cut, according to the company an
nouncement. In addition, one-way
fares between Seattle and Annette
and Seattle and Ketchikan are re
duced to $43 and $48 as against
the former fares of $46 and $51.
Lead was being used*in coun
terfeit money before 2,000 B.C.
GLUE POT
Soda Fountain
CIGARS, CIGARETS
TOBACCO
CANDY
FRESH ICE CREAM
EVERY DAY
ARCTIC OIL DELIVERY
STOVE OIL FURNACE OIL '
Ben Young
Authorized Standard Oil Dealer
We Check Your Tank Regularly
Office Phone: BLACK 76 Residence: MAIN 52
Are You Ready
for
Winter ?
-
Headquarters for
Mukluks
Parkas
Fur and Cloth
Fur Mitts
ALSO . . .
Wolf ruffs, wolverine trim, sinew.,
alpaca lining, wind proof parka covers,
in bright colors.
Estimates Gladly Given
*