ANICA Staff Tells McKay They Will
Back Peters In Fight For Ownership
The following letter, addressed
to Secretary of the Interior Doug
las McKay from the staff of Anica,
tells ANICA’s side of the story to
retain its independence:
The Honorable Douglas McKay
Secretary of the Interior
Washington 25, D.C.
Sir:
Via registered mail the under
signed received a letter dated Jan
uary 19, 1954, signed by V. R.
Farrell for the Alaska Native Ser
vice, informing us that hereafter
our salaries would be paid by the
Alaska Native Service. How in
deed could we possibly accept
United States Treasury checks un
less the government is conscript
ing us to labor? The letter further
advises us Mr. L. C. Peters is no
longer our manager and that we
are to take orders from no one but
the government.
For your information, the em
ployees of ANICA are thoroughly
familiar with Alaska, having
worked for firms doing business
in Alaska for many years. Three
of our employees were born and
reared in Alaska. A fourth worked
many years as a secretary in Al
aska.
Since 1948 we have seen ANICA
“start from scratch” and build up
to the second largest retail outlet
in the entire territory. Due to our
very small size nobody paid us
very much attention at our incep
tion: not even the secretary of the
interior. Now we are a million
dollar business and eyes of certain
individuals in the Federal Depart
ment are turned to jobs in this
association. Through coercion,
threats and promises (which could
not be fulfilled) employees of the
Department of the Interior went
into the field in 'Alaska and ob
tained the signatures of 18 direc
tors of ANICA condoning the
mayhem, coercion, threats and de
mur ion initiated by your assis
'. nt and his subordinates.
Y> e employees are not fearful
or our respective positions—jobs
re plentiful—but each and every
is has a sincere interest in
' ‘ principles and ideals that
eel the inception of this or
mizntion. Our president and
' onager, who formed this com
pany, have the welfare of the
Alaska natives at heart. It is these
same natives who in the ultimate
will suffer.
To begin action, a covey of your
employees decended on this or
ganization on January 4, 1954, and
5>
demanded to take over possession:
they had no court order. This
covey was shown the door 3,nd
immediately they filed an injunc
tion in the United States district
court to accomplish what they had
failed to accomplish on their origi
nal mission. Since they had no
j case, no evidence, and no moral
j right to achieve their aim, Judge
i Lindberg threw this case out of
i court and ruled against them.
Badly defeated in the court ac
I tion before a group of interested
j and reputable businessmen, you
have permitted our bank account
in Seattle to be frozen (unlawful
ly, since no court order was is
sued) and our account in Juneau
to be frozen unlawfully since only
30 members are indebted to the
government and at least 55 stores
are involved. You further have
permitted the delay and cancella
tion of shipment of badly needed
supplies, showing your total dis
regard for the ultimate welfare of
the Alaskan Natives. It is quite
obvious that your aim is to per
petuate a few jobs of a few bur
eaucrats for selfish reasons, know
ing well that their jobs are now
threatened for the simple reason
that their service has long since
been finished and their services
are no longer required.
In court, your attorney had the
audacity to state unequivocally
that more than 90 percent of
ANICA’S employees would re
main with ANICA if the govern
ment did take over. Sir, the pre
sumption of this statement is un
believable, for the truth of the
matter is that not one of ANICA’s
employees would think of remain
ing if your plan is put into effect.
If your plan is put into effect,
none of us would hereafter have
one shred of faith left for what we
have always believed to be the
finest government in the world.
The employees of this associa
tion have such a reputation that
private business firms are ready
and eager to obtain their services
at equal to or above the wages
they are now drawing. It would
neither be “trick nor trouble” to
place these employees in private
business immediately.
Your office has received many
messages from reputable Repub
licans, reputable businessmen who
are non-partisan, and prominent
Democrats, all urging you to stop
this ridiculous and un-American
action.
Like most of the federal agents, j
each of you believe that he alone j
is the federal government, and j
you continually repeat (same
statements can be proven) that
ANICA cannot defeat the federal I
government, each insisting and
believing that he is the federal
government.
For this same action we con
demn Russia and are ready to take
arms against Russia and yet we
do the same thing in principle:
that is, you do—we don’t. Remem
ber the “Boston Tea Party” and
“Taxation without representation
is tyranny.” Need we say more?
Sincerely, we ask you, are you
such a big man that you can’t
take the time to investigate the
seriousness of this situation and
do so fairly and without bias?
Are you so big and so almighty
that you feel it your prerogative
to hand down dictatorial mandates
regardless of justice?
The first of this action happened
more than two weeks ago.
ANICA’s manager and employees
are still on the job. We have been
instructed to stay on the job by
the president of the association, a
full-blooded Eskimo, who was
never even advised of your inten
tions and plans when he was lo
cated less than 10 blbcks from
your main office in Juneau, Al
aska. -
In brief, the facts of the situa
tion are:
(1) ANICA has made a profit
every year.
(2) ANICA has repaid all of its
loan to the government.
(3) Individual member loans are
secured by each individual mem
ber at a ratio in excess of 4 to 1.
What more security could you
want?
(4) ANICA has increased the
number and types of services pro
vided to the natives of Alaska.
(5) ANICA has built up an en
viable credit reputation among
suppliers all over the entire Uni
ted States. For this we have no
apology.
Sir, we challenge you to:
(a) Come to Seattle and make
your own investigation of ANICA
and its proud record.
(b) Make an investigation of the
personal motives behand Mr. Al
bert Huber’s insistence that the
Department of the Interior take
every possible action against the
native owners of ANICA and, if
possible, to take same away from
them.
(c) Above all, we challenge you i
to go to the FBI and check out the
record of Mr. Albert Huber and
examine the rose petals you may
find there. Is this what you want?
Is this the kind of an employee
with which you are filling the
Department of the Interior? Can’t
you realize that the Department of
the Interior has been considered
a fertile field for Communism?
Are you completely blind to what
is going on in your own organiza
tion? We feel it is high time that
you, the secretary of the interior,
assume the reins of this investiga
tion. Believe me, it should be in
vestigated and the facts which you
will learn if you really want the
truth will surprise you no end.
As long as the doors of ANICA
are open and as long as Mr. Peters
is in this building we will take his
instructions to the letter and those
of Mr. Abraham Lincoln, presi
dent. ABOUT THIS LET THEIR
BE NO MISTAKE OR MISUN
DERSTANDING.
We sincerely and urgently re
quest that you, yourself, take the
control of this situation away
from your assistant, Orme Lewis,
who has proved that he is biased.
When influential friends of ANI
CA have inquired of you for the
meaning of all of this, you have
referred them to Orme Lewis,
who, in each case, has smugly re
marked that ANICA has already
had a hearing in Washington. Sir,
there was no hearing in Washing
ton in August; there was a con
ference and the agreements made
at this conference by Mr. Lewis
and Mr. Emmons were all broken
by them. This conference was
nothing but a poorly disguised
“kangaroo” court.
Both President Eisenhower and
yourself in national publication
have repeatedly stated that you
favor private enterprise and favor
getting the government out of
private business. Your action
against ANICA belies your claims.
It would seem that a Congres
sional investigation is indicated.
Therefore, we urge that you ar
range for a Congressional investi
gation at the earliest possible mo
ment with all of the native stores
represented by their director or
their authorized representative.
Congress has established appro
priate committees for these inves
tigations.
Through your friends in Port
land and Salem, Oregon, we are
informed that you are a big man
and that you can take criticism
and suggestion. We sincerely hope
that your friends are right in
their analysis and we are more
than willing to be convinced. This
is your chance to prove whether
you are a big man.
IS THIS THE GOVERNMENT
OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEO
PLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE?
OUR CERTAINTY THAT THIS
IS THE LAND OF THE FREE IS
SHAKEN. WE ARE ONLY SURE
THAT IT IS THE HOME OF THE
BRAVE.
Respectfully yours,
Employees of Alaska
Native Industries Co
operative Assn.
(Signed:)
John E. Paden, Asst. Manager
Robert F. Caldwell, Traffic Mgr.
John Mawson, Office Mgr.
Gerald Campbell, Traffic Clerk
Gerald Maxwell, Shipping Clerk
Louise June Jackson, Steno.
La Vera K. Boyer, Bkpr. & Acctnt.
Clara E. Jorgensen, Typist, Clerk
Ina J. Taft, Invoice & Billing Clerk
Sally Hottinger, Temporary Help
When jewels wore first weighed
in carats, their weight was com
pared to that of seeds of a legume
called “carat.”
_
SCO II C H Y SMITH
_ _ *
O H . DIANA!
Dulles Blasts
Molotov Over
Red China Issue
By JOHN M. HIGHTOWER
BERLIN, {&)—Secretary of State
Dulles charged in the Big Four
conference Thursday that Soviet
Foreign Minister Molotov is try
ing to supersede the United Na
tions with a council of five powers
including Red China. Dulles de
manded for the third straight day
that the conference get to the
problem of Germany at once.
Dulles, opening the fourth day’s
meeting, loosed a blistering attack
on Foreign Minister Chou En-Lai
of Communist China.
He asked: “Who is this Chou
En-Lai whose addition to our cir
cle would make possible solution
of all our problems?”
He described Chou as a leader
of a regime which gained power
through a bloody war, became an
open aggressor in Korea, and even
now continues to promote ag
gression in Indochina.
“Such is the man Mr. Molotov
proposes would enable us to solve
all the world’s problems,” the
American diplomat scathingly de
clared.
Dulles claimed that in arguing
here for a five-power meeting,
Molotov has been playing on the
hopes raised when the United Na
tions was formed in 1945 in order
to justify transferring those hopes
to a council of the five powers.
The f^ct is, Dulles continued,
Molotov is trying to replace the
United Nations with a council of
five which he said would take
over responsibility for running
the world.
The Dulles argument hit hard
at the five-power conference solu
tion which all three western min
isters have already rejected. But
at the same time, the Western
delegations are extremely sensi
tive to peace hopes, especially
with respect to Indochina. They
were clearly determined to ex
plore all possibilities of a settle- ‘
ment in case Molotov has anything
serious in mind.
Nome Directory
ROTARY CLUB
OF NOME
James Walsh, Pres.
George Bayer, Secty.
Thursday Luncheon
Northwestern Alaska
Chamber of Commerce
MEETS
EVERY TUESDAY NOON
Dewey Goodrich, President
ALASKA CHAPTER NO. 1
Order of Eastern Star
Meets the third Monday of each month.
Jane Perkins
Worthy Matron
Evelyn Branson
Secretary
LESLIE A. STEVENS -
PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT
—4b6 Tirst Ave. West, Nome, Alaska— «,
10 to i2 A.M. - 1 to 5 P.M.
Phone Main 82 — P.O. Box 208
Room 202, Lavery Bldg., Fairbanks
ANVIL LODGE
No. 140
John Cooley, W.M.
Norvin W. Lewis, Secy.
Meets 1st and 3rd Thursday each Month
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