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
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Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943 at the
postoffice at Nome, Alaska, under Act of March 3. 1879
Subscribers not receiving tueir papers by 5:30 p.m. call
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ft
PENALIZING ALASKANS
(Fairbanks News-Miner)
Pending before the legislature is a bill that will penalize all
working people who make their year-around home in Alaska, impose
an unfair load on the year-around employer in the Territory, increase
the problems being experienced by Alaska business concerns and
•completely discourage the establishment of new industry in the
Territory.
We are referring to House Bill 50, the act relating to the Em
ployment Security Commission and unemployment compensation.
The proposed new bill requires every Alaskan who is gainfully
employed to contribute $43 yearly to the ESC fund, and forces
every Alaskan employer to greatly increase his contributions to the
same fund. This bill increases the amount of compensation paid an
unemployed unmarred person to $70 per week. So, year-around
Alaskan employers and employees will be “paying through the nose”
to keep migrant workers living in “high style” in their Stateside
winter quarters.
Under the act now in effect, an unmarried unemployed person
draws $35 per week jobless pay providing this person had earned
$3000 in the preceding year. Under the proposed new law, this
person would be given unemployment compensation amounting to
about $70 per week providing he or she had earned $4800 in the
preceding year.
Which is all very fine, but where’s the money coming from
and who will pay the bill?
A; present, an employer in Alaska contributes three per cent
of the amount of each employee’s salary up to $3000. (Two and
seven-tenths per cent goes to the Territorial ESC and three-tenths
of one per cent goes to the federal government.) This money does
not come out of employee pay checks. It is contributed by the em
ployer. Obviously, this rate of employer contribution is not sufficient
to maintain the ESC fund at adequate levels for the fund is now
almost exhausted and there is talk of a federal loan to bolster it.
Under provisions of the proposed new bill, the employer will
•contribute three per cent of the employee’s salary up to $4800. In
addition, all employees will contribute one per cent of their annual
pay to ESC coffers.
Therefore, year-around employers in Alaska face considerably
increased ESC payments, and employees themselves will be paying
one per cent of their salary to the fund, if this bill is passed.
The bill has no “seasonality” clause in it, meaning that it makes
no distinction between year-around workers and seasonal workers.
Migrant construction workers who are employed in Alaska for three
or four months in the summer and return to the States with a
sizeable stake can still daw unemployment compensation all winter
from Alaska’s funds.
A pfoper seasonality clause would require that a worker who
normally seeks employment only three or four months of the year
in Alaska could not draw compensation unless he were out of work
during his normal working season. Or, ESC contributions could be
on a graduated scale which would require seasonal employers and
employees to pay more than year-around employers and employees.
Another glaring discrepancy in this proposed bill from our
viewpoint is that the qualifications for drawing from this fund are
by no means strict enough. As we interpret the terms of the pro
posed new law, a person is under no compulsion to accept employ
ment when it is offered in his trade or profession unless the position
offered is EQUAL IN CAPACITY AND REMUNERATION to the last
position held by the individual. In other words, as we understand
it, a man who had been working as an electrician foreman (for
example) is under no compulsion to accept a position open as a
journeyman electrician. If he chooses to, he can sit tight and continue
to draw his weekly unemployment stipend until another position as
Pan American presents ...
A New Schedule For Nome Service
Flight 901 Flight 9041
* DC-6B DC-6B
Friday Saturday
8:00 a.m. lv. Seattle ar. 5:45 a.m.
12:00 Noon ar. Fairbanks lv. 10:00 p.-m.
1:45 p.m. lv. Fairbanks ar. 8:40 p.m.
2:55 p.m. ar. Nome lv. 5:30 p.m.
ABOVE TIMES ARE LOCAL STANDARD FOR EACH CITY
SCHEDULE WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE MARCH 18. 1955
Only the schedule has been changed
THE SERVICE REMAINS UNSURPASSED
One-way fare to Seattle — $126.50 tax included
Round-trip fare to Seattle— 253.00 tax included
DOWN THE FAIRWAY, SO FAR
t
electrician foreman comes along.
If it is passed, the bill will perpetuate the present shortage of
ESC funds, it will penalize the people who live and work in Alaska,
and it will encourage to a greater extent than ever the practice
of working in Alaska during the summer season and spending the
proceeds in the United States during the winter. A man can live
well on $70 per week in the States.
This bill will discourage workers to maintain residence in Alaska,
discourage new business and industry in the territory, and call upon
year-around Alaska enterprises to support hoi'des of people who
are bleeding the Territory’s ESC fund white.
As things stand under this bill, the migrant jobseekers stand
to reap rich harvests, while the year-around employer and the year
around worker in Alaska foots the bill.
Speaking from our own point of view, the News-Miner in 1954
contributed $5,854.81 to the ESC fund. We are reasonably certain
that NO claims were made against this fund by former employees
of ours. So, we paid almost $6000 into the ESC fund . . . $6000 that
is now finding it way into the pockets of seasonal workers, many
of whom are sunning themselves in more southern climes at this
time of year.
Under provisions of the new proposed bill, our contribution will
be upped to approximately $9400 per year. In addition, each of our
year-around employees will be contributing $48 per year to the
same fund. Our year-around Alaskan employees will be paying
from their pockets to keep very large unemployment compensation
checks flowing to people all over the United States. We submit that
there is no wisdom or fairness in this law.
In addition to these objections, we would like to point out that
this law very likely will perpetuate our ESC fund shortage crisis
in Alaska. Unemployment compensation of $70 per week is a very
attractive proposition. Many people would prefer drawing these
checks to working. As a result the demand on the ESC fund is very
apt to reach unprecedented volume.
This H.B. 50, relating to unemployment compensation, now before
the legislature, is a very poor piece of legislation, in our opinion.
Sea Serpents or
Subs? No, Just
Gray Whale Herds
By NORMAN BELL
SAN DIEGO, Calif., Uft—A par
ade of gray whales so close to
shore some people may have
thought they were seeing sea ser
pents or snooping submarines to
day was declared the largest yet
officially counted.
Dr. Raymond M. Gilmore of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
who directs the annual census of
the migrating mammals, reported
that 1,162 had actually been
counted.
They were enroute from their
arctic feeding grounds in the Ber
ing Sea to mating and calving
lagoons on the Lower California,
Mexico, coast.
Gilmore estimated that the
herd, twice hunted nearly out of
existence, now totals 3,000. He
expressed doubt that the number
would again reach the 25,000 to
50,000 he figures may have exist
ed before the hunters started their
slaughters.
The migration turns into the
j Pacific coast at about the Cali
fomia-Oregon line and this year
came close enough for shore ob
' servation as far north as Monter
. ey Bay.
Some San Diegans, in the Point
ALASKA AIRLINES
From Unalakleet: M. Kelliher,
i Charles Green, Marie Johnson,
! Patricia George, Dmitri George,
Evan Henry, Johnny Sheppard,
Mrs. Jimmy Yupanik, Flora John
son, Hultman E. Jacobs, and Lea
Kobuk.
To Anchorage: Lt. D. Davis.
From Anchorage: Mrs. R, Mary,
and David Duncan, James Mc
Namara, Joaquine Koyuk, James
Sirloak, Bernard Kuzinuk, Tony
Pushruk, James Okpealuk, Pat
rick Omiak, Annie Pullock, Agnes
Koonuk, Ursulla Ellana, • Carl
Kutuk, Frank Ellana, and James
Omiak.
Loma and La Jolla sections, were
able to watch the southward par
ade from their homes as the 40
foot whales moved in groups of
twos or threes within a mile of
dry land.
The southward movement is
from late November to late Feb
ruary. The return migration con
tinues through April.
The whales have been protect
ed since 1938 by international
agreement but Gilmore expects
they will be hunted again to help
meet the hungry world’s increas
ing demand for protein foods.
The Fish and Wildlife Service
is conducting the annual count,
with cooperation of Scripps Insti
tution of Oceanography and the
National Park Service lookout
station at Point Loma, in an effort
to establish a basis for regulating
future hunting.
Memorial Asks for
Reindeer Herds
For Eskimos
By JIM HUTCHESON
JUNEAU, liP—The three mem
bers of the Territorial House of
Representatives from the Second
Division introduced a memorial
to the federal government. Mon
day for aid in developing reindeer
herds for the Eskimos. Rep. Fa
gerstrom, who sponsored it with
Mrs. Bullock and Rep. Bronson,
described it as “of a very great
importance to the native people.”
It asks additional funds to assist
herd owners and to aid more
Eskimos in building herds be
cause of their economic and food
value to the Eskimo region.
Other action in the House was
approval of a bill to create an
Alaska gas and oil conservation
commission with strict regulatory
powers over the oil indstry which
some members predicted would
provide for drilling licenses and
a tax of half a cent a barrel on
any oil produced.
Another bill approved by the
House would liberalize the veter
ans Loan Act so veterans of
World War II who served for 90
days between 1940 and 1947
would be eligible for loans. The
present law has a one-year re
quirement.
The Senate passed two memor
ials which were approved previ
ously in the House.
One asks for construction of a
90-mile Unalakleet - Kaltag road
as a major transportation short
cut in western Alaska.
It was sponsored by Reps.
Bronson, Fagerstrom, Gilbert and
Bullock.
The other asks the federal gov
ernment to increase the depletion
allowances for mining in Alaska
and also asks for an income tax
exemption for mining ventures
for three years after the start on
commercial operations. It was by
Reps. Ryan and Palmer.
WANTED BY THE FBI
CLARENCE DYE
with aliases Jockey Dye, "Jock"
Unlawful flight to avoid prosecution—
armed robbery
DESCRIPTION: Age 44, born July 5,
1910, Fad, W. Va.; height, 5 feet 10
inches; weight, 140 pounds; build, me
dium; hair, brown; eyes, blue; complex
ion, fair; race, white; nationality, Ameri
can; occupations, waiter, cook, bartender^
ship fitter, welder, laborer; scars and
marks, several small pit scars over face,
scars over left eyebrow, blue scar over
right eyebrow, small cut scar, on right
index finger, tattoo of initials **C. D.” on
right forearm.
A Federal complaint was filed at
Akron, Ohio, on November 9, 1951,
charging Dye with unlawful flight from
the State of Ohio to avoid prosecution
for the crime of armed robbery.
Dy« it probably armed and should
be considered extremely dangerous.
Any person having information which
may aid in locating this fugitive is re
quested to contact the nearest office of the
FBI, the telephone number of which ap
pears on the first page of local telephone
directories.
•'Q 324300