THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
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Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943 at the
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_ TAKING SHAPE _
WHO WJLL BE
THE G O P
CANDIDATE ,
IN '56 _ _
| irrozz/^ — [
THE “RIGHT TO WORK”
Suppose for the sake of argument that the 48 states
or Congress should pass laws requiring that before a
man could work at his trade, and before an employer
could hire him, he would have to join a specified organi
zation, pay an initiation fee and regular monthly dues,
and be prepared to submit to special assessments.
Do you suppose the men who drafted the Declara
tion of Independence and the United States Constitu
tion with its Bill of Rights would have agreed to such
restrictions?
And yet 17 states have found it necessary to pass
“Right to Work” laws protecting a man’s right to earn
a living without joining any organization. It would
seem that a man already had the Constitutional right
to “join or not to join” without specific legislation to
that effect, but apparently that is not true under pres
ent-day closed-ship agreements.
Labor union spokesmen have announced they are
going to use all their powers to repeal existing “Right
to Work” laws and prevent the passage of any addition
al ones.
If we are to remain a free country it is difficult to
see on what logical grounds they will base their oppo
sition, aside from pure self interest. It is altogether
possible that public respect for unions will decline as
a result of their opposition to the fundamental principle
of the “Right to Work.” Long ago outraged public
opinion led to the passage of laws forbidding employers
to blacklist union members. The current practice
under which a man must join a union or go jobless
is equally indefensible.
THE SECOND GUESSER
The Galveston, Indiana, Leader has paid* a well
deserved tribute to someone we all take for granted—
the retailer. It said:
“Probably no one is more interested in what you
do than the fellow who caters to your slightest whim,
• the retail merchant who puts new appliances in your
home, the food on your table, the latest of home fur
nishings in your house, and the clothes on your back.
He has to second guess the weather, the whims of the
public, and especially the competitor across the street
who also v/ants your dollar.”
Christians Observe
Holy Week and j
Easter Services
By the Associated Press
Christians in many lands yes
terday observed with prayer the
end of Lent and the beginning of
the Easter vigil.
With Holy Week having risen
to the climax of the Resurrection,
churches opened their doors for
services commemorating the hours
when Christ lay in his tomb.
Roman Catholic churches were
decked with flowers as the 40-day
Lenten period came to an end.
The purple shrouds that covered
the sacred images and altars dur
ing those penitential weeks were
gone.
Families had laid in last-minute
Easter bunny treats for the chil
dren and had slicked up new
clothes in preparation for the joy
ous day ahead when Christendom
celebrates in song and story, pag
eant and sermon the wondrous
account of the resurrection of
Christ.
In Rome, thousands of pilgrims
and citizens gathered at St. Pe
ter’s Basilica for the Holy Satur
day High Mass. The ringing of the
great bronze bells of the church,
as this service reaches its “Glor
ia,” annually marks for Catholics
the official end of Lent.
Services in St. Peter’s and oth
er Catholic churches also included
the Blessing of the Fire—celebrat
ing the Resurrection—and of the
Holy Water Fonts. The latter cer
emony commemorates the ancient
rites in which baptisms were per
formed on this day.
The blessing of the fire also
was observed at the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem,
where Christ’s body was placed
after it was taken from the cross.
Some 5,000 pilgrims, many of
whom braved the “no man’s land”
dividing warring Israel and Jor
dan, flocked into the Arab sec
tion of the city.
Russia Annuls
Alliances With
France & Britain
MOSCOW (by phone to London)
UP)—The Soviet Council of Minis
ters Saturday called on the Parlia
ment to annul the treaties of
friendship and alliance which
Russia signed with France and
Britain during World War II.
The move was in retaliation for
the British and French ratifica
tion of the Paris agreements to
rearm West Germany.
The Soviet Union had threat
ened to annul the treaties if the
two western nations approved the
pacts enlisting West German
troops in western defense.
Cancellation by the Supreme
Soviet—the Parliament—was a
foregone conclusion.
The Soviet government claims
the treaties are directed against
Russia.
(In Washington, the State De
partment reacted calmly to the
Soviet action. The Russians had
been threatening for a long time
to denounce the pacts if the
agreements for German rearma
ment were ratified.
(More significance was attached
by U.S. officials to the fact the
Soviets show active interest in a
Big Four meeting even though
Russia had warned during the
fight over the Paris accords that
European agreement would be
come impossible once German re
armament was approved.)
Fine Job Printing at The Nugget
ARCTIC SANITARY
SERVICE
PHONE RED 181
REVIEW OF ACTION TAKEN IN
1955 TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE
- <ft-—
(This is the second of two ar
ticles by the Associated Press
Alaska legislative correspon
dent reviewing the work of
the 1955 legislature.)
—
By JIM HUTCHESON
At the moment, the 22nd Alas
ka Legislature may be marked in
a large part of the public mind as
the one that failed to finish its
job in 60 days, but in the longer
range view it may be cited as the
first in history to put close to 200
new acts on the books.
After the end-of-the-session rush
they were piled deep in the gov
ernor’s office, awaiting final ac
tion. Many were of broad signifi
cance; many were not.
They ranged from official des
ignation of a bird and song for
Alaska—for which the legislators
took considerable kidding from
their critics—to acts for fiscal re
organization of the government
and for revision of the Employ
ment Security Law.
As a by-product of the presence
of a record 12 attorneys in the
House of Representatives, the
session—both regular and special
—also produced a record volume
of oratory and a heavier-than
normal quota of Democratic crit
icism of the Republican governor.
Both at times overshadowed,
in the daily reports of legislative
activities, the work that was going
on behind the scenes.
Here, in review, is a ptarmi
gan’s eye view of major legisla
tion enacted:
TAX INCREASES
Taxes boosted on incomes, mo
tor fuels, per head for schools and
on fishermen’s licenses (for Ailing
Fishermmen’s Fund); loopholes
tightened in the Cigaret Tax Law;
oil and gas production tax enact
ed; employers’ tax increased by
.20 percent for financing Unem
ployment Insurance Fund and a
tax up to maximum of $18 a year
levied against workers for the
first time to help finance the fund;
tightened laws on tax collections
generally.
BUDGET
A record of close to 32 million
dollars was appropriated, with
budget-drafting legislators ex
pressing confidence the budget
will be balanced by tapping a few
million from the treasury surplus
and predicting increased tax rev
enues may even carry the load
without depleting the surplus.
STATEHOOD
Set a statehood convention for
November at the University of
Alaska and a special election in
September for the selection of
delegates, with an over-all ap
propriation of $300,000; provided
$75,000 more for the Alaska State
hood Committee.
FISCAL REORGANIZATION
Created a new Department of
Finance to coordinate all finan
cial and purchasing operations,
with a $12,000 a year director as
“czar” of fiscal procedures; elim
inated the elective office of audi
tor; provided for an auditor di
rectly responsible to the legisla
ture.
LABOR
Enacted a 40-hour week, $1
minimum per hour law,- with
many exemptions included; en
acted ESC law with provision for
unemployment payments of $45 a
week (plus allowances for chil
dren) in Alaska and $25 a week
for unemployed persons going
outside; enacted a new act for
boiler inspections and regulations;
increased workmen’s compensa
tion from $75 to $100 a week for
total temporary disability and ex- I
tended free medical care from!
two to four years in such cases.
LANDS
Revised the Land Registration
Act and provided refunds for per
sons who paid penalties under the
1953 law; prohibited fishtraps on
territorial lands—aimed at the fu
ture in case Alaska receives its
tidelands and shore lands, enacted
Gas and Oil Conservation Act for
regulation of any new industry
that may develop in that field.
JUVENILE PROBLEMS
Revised the code for the handl
ing of juveniles, in line with rec
ommendations of the Legislative
Council; provided for territorial
aid for cities in establishing de
tention homes under a new terri
torial board.
PUBLIC PROJECTS
Voted a million dollar loan from
the General Fund for highway
construction; $300,000 for aiding
in work on boat harbors, jetties,
dikes and breakwaters; $100,000
for a new Alaska Rural Develop
ment Board for expenditure for
work projects in hard-pressed
areas, especially in the native
villages; anch $100,000 for airport
work.
HEALTH
$561,000 for aid to hospitals and
for health centers, mostly in small
towns and villages; $25,000 under
a law allowing short-term ar
rangements for handling mental
patients in hospitals; extension of*
the law for health districts.
EDUCATION
Record appropriations for the
schools and the university; bus
transportation provided for the
first time for pupils in private
schools as well as public, along
regular routes (a law which legis
lators expect to face a court test);
a revised teachers’ retirment act
on a sounder basis in line with
teachers’ requests; increased the
pay of teachers, with emphasis on
the boosts for experience and ex
tra training; a commitment of an
extra $1,3CD,00Q for university
construction into the 1957-59 per
iod’ to allow arranging of Alaska
Public Works matching funds; en
actment of the Interstate Higher
Education Compact for the inter
change of students.
PROFESSIONS
Laws enacted for the first time
for an Alaska Bar Assn., a real
estate board and an insurance
commission, for policing of those
fields; laws for the Dental Exam
ining Board and Pharmacy Board
revised in line with recommenda
tions of both.
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