m NOME NUGGET
__OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LVII No. 34 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1955 Per Copy—15^
Sen. Jackson Asks
Eisenhower for
Stand on Statehood
•
WASHINGTON, UPi—The chair
man of the Senate Territories
Subcommittee disclosed Tuesday
he has asked President Eisenhow
er “for a clear statement as to the
type' of statehood legislation that
would be acceptable to your ad
ministration.”
The request was contained in a
letter macfe public by Sen. Jack
son, whose subcommittee is con
sidering legislation to make Alas
ka and Hawaii states.
The Washington State senator
referred to comments at a recent
Eisenhower news conference in
which he said the President once
again affirmed his “acceptance of
the principle of statehood for Al
as'ka.” Jackson added:
“However, you were quoted as
saying national security consider
ations force you to oppose it.”
Statehood Would Strengthen
Jackson said no member of the
Senate would consciously support
any action adversely affecting na
tional security. Records of his
committee compiled during hear
ings on statehood legislation, he
added, “are replete with evidence
that statehood would strengthen
the security of Alaska, or at worst,
have no effect upon it. . . .
“Therefore ... I am appealing
to you as the commander in chief i
of our armed forces to give the |
members of the Senate an explan- j
ation of why continuation of the j
80-year-old inferior political sta
tus of the territory is desirable for
security reasons.”
North and West of Yukon
Jackson said he has had several
reports the President would be
willing to accept statehood for Al
aska if the area north and west of
the Yukon River and the Yukon
chain were excluded from the
new state and left open for mili
tary withdrawal of all or part of
the area.
“If the basic issue,” the senator
said, “is how many million acres
of Alaska the military needs to
maintain a security of the area, I
am certain the members of the
Senate will give every considera
tion to military needs if you will
make it known.”
Western States Council
Wants More Shipbuilding
For Pacific Coast Yards
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., (&—
The Western States Council, a
group of chamber of commerce
executives of the 11 western
states, wants more shipbuilding
and repair work for Pacific Coast
yards.
Concluding a two-day confer
ence last night the council re
solved to support legislation that
would try to have a super-carrier
of the Forrestal class built on the
Pacific Coast.
It also resolved to urge the fed
eral government to increase facil
ities in national parks, to acceler
ate a public lands survey, and
to increase appropriations for
research programs concerning the
management of watersheds.
Sen. Warren D. Magnuson (D
Wash) urged western states to
work together in solving their
transportation problems.
He said figures soon to be re
leased by the Census Bureau
would show the population of the
11 western states to be 23,400,000,
compared with 19,600,000 in 1950.
Strategic Metals Output
i At Depression Levels,
Western Council Hears
SAN FRANCISCO, UP»—Phil R.
Bradley Jr., vice president of the
Alaska Juneau Mining Co., told
the annual meeting of the West
ern States Council here yesterday
that production of strategic metals
is at “depression levels.”
He placed the blame largely on
importation of such metals “at
prices so low that U.S. producers
need some form of protection.”
Bradley urged certain tax re
lief for mining operations, contin
uation of government loans for
exploration and development and
other inducements by the federal
government to give incentive to
the mining of strategic metals,
such as tungsten, manganese and
cobalt.
NEEDY ALASKA ESKIMOS
TO GET GIFT SUGAR
MOSES LAKE, Wash., IjP—Sugar
for distribution among needy Al
aska Eskimos, some 500 pounds
of it, will be flown north to Fair
banks next week.
A spokesman for the donor, the !
Utah-Idaho Sugar Co., said the!
gift was just a good-will gesture, j
It will be distributed by the Al- j
aska Native Service, he added.
—
Nome Put Outside
Statehood Area in
New Amendment
•
SEATTLE, Itf*)—A special dis
patch to the Times from its Wash
ington, D.C., correspondent says
relaxation of the administration’s
stand against statehood for Alaska
at this time was revealed today in
a proposed amendment to the
statehood bill.
The amendment was suggested
to the House Interior Committee
by Orme Lewis, assistant secre
tary of the interior.
It would exempt from statehood
the Aleutian Islands, the arctic
area north of the Porcupine and
Yukon Rivers, and the Bering Sea
slope to the mouth of the Kuskok
wim River. The area includes
Nome.
The committee also received a
letter saying the Defense Depart
ment concurred in the Lewis
amendment.
Threat of Deadlock on Major Bills
As Legislature Enters Last 2 Days
By JIM HUTCHESON
JUNEAU, (J*)—The threat of
deadlocks over major legislation
hung over the Alaska legislature
today as it entered the final two
days of the 1955 session.
The main issue threatening an
explosion was the compromise
Employment Security Bill revised
by a Senate-House conference
committee, but the legislative
machinery virtually stalled yes
terday afternoon.
Despite the press of time as the
session’s end draws near, the long
82-page substitute bill on employ
ment security was not read in
either house after the conference
committee brought it .in. It must
be read in full in both before any
action can be taken on it.
Power and Water Commission
The Senate spent most of the
afternoon hearing testimony on
a House-approved bill to create
an Alaska power and water re
sources commission, with power—
if Congress approves—to negoti
h
ate with Canada.
When it got down to the point
of amendments to it, however,
Senate bickering came into the
open and a Democratic attempt to
move it up for a final vote brought
an adjournment motion from the
Republican ranks shortly after 7
p.m. The majority of the Senate
voted to call it quits for the night
—with a long list of bills on the
day’s calendar still awaiting ac
tion.
The House Democrats called a
caucus shortly before 6 -p.m. on
the Employment Security Bill af
ter representatives of organized
labor objected violently to the
conference committee measure.
Some prominent members of
the Democratic House majority
were seething over the measure
and the labor reaction to it.
Behind Locked Doors
The caucus lasted about an
hour and a half behind locked
(Continued on Page Two)
Proposal to Transfer
Wildlife Administration
Still in Talking Stage
WASHINGTON, UP—A proposal
to transfer administration of Al
aska’s game fish and wildlife
from the federal government to
the territory is still in the talking
stage, the head of the Fish and
Wildlife Service said Tuesday.
Director John Farley told a
newsman that the idea has been
“talked of and has been consid
ered” but no bill has been pre
pared for submission to Congress.
“So far as I know,” he added,
“it hasn’t even been decided up
stairs (the secretary of interior’s
office) whether to draft a bill.”
Farley said the proposal “orig
inated” with Gov. Heintzleman
and has been “tossed around” for
some time.
Farley said he expects a deci
sion in the near future from the
secretary’s office.
Covenant Leaders
Meet at Unalakleet
Alaska Airlines is making two
special flights to Unalakleet today
with 52 members of the Covenant
Church who are going there to
attend the annual conference.
It is reported that dog teams
have been arriving in the village
from Koyuk, Hooper Bay, White
Mountain, Elim, Shaktoolik and
Solomon.
People are arriving not only by
dog team from these villages but
are being brought in by plane. It
is expected that over two hundred
members of the church will be
present for the conference, which
will last until next Sunday.
Rev. and Mrs. R. Amundsen are
going from Nome, leaving Rev.
Bruckner in charge of the church
here.
BORROWING WITH BONDS
ASKED FOR ALASKA
WASHINGTON, UP— Congress
was asked yesterday to authorize
Alaska to borrow money through
issuance of bonds for public
works. A bill introduced by Sen.
Jackson 'D-Wash> would permit
the territory, following action by
the legislature, to incur indebted
ness up to 10 million dollars.
Revised Appointments Bill to Become
Law Without Governor's Signature
Alaska May Gain
One Delegate in 1956
GOP National Convention
WASHINGTON, W)—A laska
would gain a delegate, giving it
a total of four, in the 1956 Repub
lican national convention under
an unofficial computation by GOP
National Committee officials to
day.
The convention would be made
of 1,300 delegates, 94 more than
in 1952.
Hawaii would have 10 dele
gates, a gain of two, while Wash
ington and Oregon would have
the same number as in 1952—
24 and 18.
The appointment will not be
made official until the convention
call goes out early next year. The
Republicans are slated to meet in
San Francisco Aug. 20, 1956. With
1,300 delegates, a majority of 651
would be required to nominate a
presidential candidate.
Nearly all of the gain of 94 con
vention votes sterns from the
party’s system of awarding dele
gate-at-large bonuses to states
casting a majority for the Repub
lican ticket in the preceding pre
ceding presidential election, and
from gains in the GOP vote in
1952 by congressional districts.
Eisenhower
Comments on
Yalta Revelations
WASHINGTON, UR—President
Eisenhower, commenting on pub
lication of the Yalta papers, said
today there is nothing to be gained
by going back ten years to try
to show whether someone may
have been wrong.
The President told a news con
ference he personally never ques
tions any man’s motives. That was
in reply to a question as to wheth
er he believes the participants in
the 1945 Yalta conference were
sincere.
Eisenhower was asked whether
he believed publication of the
Yalta documents by the State De
partment last week might “cramp
the style” of the leaders of na
tions at any future big power con
ference.
The President replied he hoped
that would not occur.
He went on to say that in time
of war, treaties between nations
always have fallen. He said he
earnestly believes all documents j
dealing with such conferences ■
should be published but that we
should be exceedingly careful
whenever the good faith of any
of our allies is involved in the
situation.
Eisenhower said that the Yalta
papers and similar documents
should not be used to damage
reputations, but should be studied
with a view to profiting now by
any mistakes which may have
been made.
JUNEAU UP)—Gov. Heintzleman
advised the legislature last night
that he was allowing the so-called
Uniform Appointments Bill to be
come law at midnight without his
signature.
It is a revision of an earlier bill
that drew his only veto of the ses
sion—a veto which the Senate
failed to override by a one-vote
margin.
The governor found what he
considered one major flaw in the
bill, however. It is the provision
that immediate vacancies would
be O.K. in the case of boards and
commissions, but it would leave
an undesirable void in the case of
department heads.
Confirmation action on appoint
ments of five department heads
was deferred by the Democratic
majority at a joint session Satur
day night.
In such cases, the governor said,
“lengthy periods of time might of
necessity elapse while suitable
and qualified replacements were
being obtained.”
He suggested the clause of the
law should be amended by the
next legislature, since time is too
short to remedy it now.
In the meantime, because of the
new law, he advised the House
and Senate presiding officers he
was withdrawing the names of
the department heads who did
not receive confirmation action.
He said the withdrawal was pend
I ing a conference with the Demo
cratic Policy Committee which
has kept liaison with him on ap
pointments.
It was understood to be a tech
nical procedure because of the
new law, however, and that their
names would be sent down again
alter the law takes effect .over
night and the conference is held.
A reliable source in legislative
activities indicated the legislature
does not intend to make any ef
fort to block the department head
appointments.
They are Commissioner of Tax
ation Karl F. Dewey, Civil De
fense Director Harold Pomeroy,
Agriculture Commissioner James
E. Wilson, Commissioner of Lands
W. A. Chipperfield, and Commis
sioner of Mines Phil Holdsworth.
The governor also submitted
the appointments of four more
board members. They are:
A1 Polet, Fairbanks, and Roland
Snodgrass, Palmer, to the univer
sity Board of Regents; Ben Craw
ford, Anchorage, to the Alaska
Housing Authority; and Elmer
Harrop, of Egegik, to the Board
for Sick and Disabled Fishermerr.
Their names will come before
the legislature later for confirma
tion.
Even the Crabs
Want to Get
Out of Siberia
KUSHIRO, Japan, (tf)—Crab fish
ermen of northern Japan are mak
ing record catches because of a
mass flight of king crabs from Si
berian waters, they said today.
Crabs are being netted in such
numbers that fishermen in north
ern Japan have been forced to
slow down so the canneries can
catch up with them. Since the
season opened March 15 they have
caught 2,460,000 pounds, a post
war high.
Crabmen attributed the big
catch to a mass movement of king
crabs from the Russian Kuriles
and waters off Kamchatka.