22 NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. LXII No. 138 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1960Per Copy 15<
Absentee Votes
Cinch Passage of
Ferry Bond Issue
JUNEAU, UPt — The controver
sial 23 million dollar ferry bond
issue was approved by Alaskan
votes on Nov. 8, unofficial re
turns tabulated by the Associated
Press disclosed today.
With complete returns, includ
ing absentee ballots, compiled
from Southeast and Central Al
aska and a partial count of ab
sentees reported from Southcen
tral Alaska, the ferry proposal
vote was:
In favor 26,162; against 23,997.
The ferry bond proposal thus
had a lead of 2,165 votes with
only approximately 1,650 votes
still to be counted.
The 23 million dollar issue,
which still must receive final ap
proval from the legislature, would
provide for the construction of
four ferries, ferry approaches,
contingency funds for the first
two years of ferry operations and
some five million dollars for
highway work.
The legislature would have the
say on where the five million
dollars in road money is spent,
Commissioner of Public Works
Richard Downing said.
Three of the ferries would be
used in the Panhandle to make
up a marine highway system link
ing Prince Rupert, Ketchikan,
Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Ju
neau and Haines.
The Kodiak ferry would link
that island city with Homer and
Anchorage.
The ferry bond proposal was
one of five general obligation
bonding proposals to win the ap
proval of the voters on Nov. 8.
Other bond proposals approved
would:
Provide lVi million dollars to
build a vocational education
school north of the Yukon River.
Provide two million dollars to
build a new gymnasium and make
improvements to the water sys
tem at the University of Alaska.
Provide 2 V2 million dollars for
state matching funds to obtain
federal Hill - Burton moneys for
hospital construction and equip
ment.
Provide 1V£ million dollars for
constructing, equipping and im
proving bush airfields.
The voters turned down a pro
posed 9 million dollar bond issue
to construct state office buildings
at Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Gambling Joints in 54
Cities Across Nation
Raided Simultaneously
WASHINGTON, UP)—At exactly
3:15 p.m. EST Friday, in 54 cities
across the country, federal agents
raided more than 100 gambling
joints.
The results: more than 100 ar
rests, at least $65,000 and eight
cars confiscated.
The clockwork raids came on
the eve of another big football
weekend, and seemed in some
cases aimed at football betting
pools. Football parlay sheets were
seized at many places.
What the tax agents were after
were those who had not bought
the required $50 gamblers’ tax
stamp,- or the $250 stamp re
quired for coin-operated gaming
machines. Some also failed to pay
the 10 per cent tax on gross
glambling receipts. These federal
taxes are required whether or
not gambling is illegal in the state
involved.
Test Blast Set Off At
Cape Thompson Friday
CAPE THOMPSON — A non
nuclear explosion was set off
Friday in a test phase of Project
Chariot aimed at eventually using
a nuclear blast to create a harbor.
The explosion Friday was de
signed to test ground character
istics.
The project calls for a later
test, using a nuclear blast.
The AEC has said four nuclear
devices equal to 260,000 tons of
TNT would carve a key-shaped
harbor. The devices would be
buried 400 to 700 feet deep.
According to the AEC time
table, this blast could not take
place before March, 1962.
If the experiment was success
ful, the AEC said, the method
might be used to create other
harbors and to dig canals.
U.N. Told It Must Pay
For Congo Operation
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., W—
Secretary-General Dag Hammar
skjold warned today the United
Nations must either provide the
money to pay for its Congo op
eration or scrap it.
In a hard-hitting speech to the
U.N. General Assembly's finan
cial committee, he declared the
organization is faced by a crucial
financial situation threatening
both its Congo and normal oper
ations.
He disclosed the U.N. treasury
will be virtully empty by the end
of this year.
He said financing the Congo
operation is the U.N.’s main fin
ancial burden at the moment.
Without mentioning Soviet
threats not to pay any part of
the Congo costs, Hammarskjold
said the U.N. General Assembly
must either make appropriate
and speedy arrangements for
covering the cost or “take the in
itial steps for a liquidation of the
military operation and the re
versal of the policy which this
would mean.”
“It may be felt by members
that the cost of peace is high,
but indeed what is it in compari
son to the cost for the prepara
tion for war—not to speak about
war itself,” he declared.
Supreme Court to Review
Reapportionment of State
Legislative Districts
WASHINGTON, Wl — The Sup
reme Court today agreed to rule
on efforts by a group of Tennes
see voters to compel a reappor
tionment of state legislative dis
tricts. The case could have wide
repercussions in other states.
The Tennessee group’s appeal
was supported by the National
Institute of Municipal Law Of
ficers, which said redistricting
was needed in many states be
cause of heavy population shifts
from rural areas to cities.
The court was told that rural
voters, while outnumbered by
city voters, control state legisla
tures because apportionments
made years ago are left un
changed.
An institute brief said, for ex
ample, that in New York City
eight million people elect only 90
members of the Assembly while
seven million “upstaters” have
118 representatives.
In a 1946 case from Illinois,
the Supreme Court by a 4-3 vote
decided not to intervene in re
apportionment battles. A majority
opinion by Justice Frankfurter at
that time stated, “courts ought
not to enter this political thicket.”
Steve Luke
Rescued From
Bering Sea Ice
Steve Luke has something spe
cial to be thankful for this
Thanksgiving as he owes his life
to many people in this are who
coordinated their efforts and res
cued him from the Bering Sea ice
yesterday.
Steve had gone seal hunting in
a small 18-foot boat, taking his
gun and a thermos bottle of cof
fee.
The weather was colder than he
had anticipated and the ice was
more than his boat could handle.
When friends became alarmed, a
search was started and at attempt
was made by Conrad Potter,
superintendent of Nome School,
and Marc Beauchamp in their
flat-bottomed boat to reach the
man who could be seen stranded
on the ice. They were unable to
reach him as their boat could not
negotiate the fresh ice although
they were out from 10 a.m. to 3
p.m.
A Wien Airlines plane return
ing from Northeast Cape, located
Luke about 10 miless off Fort
Davis and kept circling over him
until a skin boat captained by
Ed Penatac of King Island Vil
lage reached the vicinity. In the
boat were Anthony Kazemuna
and Joe Ignasius.
The plane circled until it ran
low on gas and in the words of
one of the military passengers,
“Each time we circled near the
water, ah prayed and prayed.”
When darkness came and the
skin boat had not returned an
other skin boat piloted by Ed
Muktoyuk headed out with John
Penatac, James Utuana and
Simon Angussuc and remained
outside the moving ice to render
assistance if necessary, while the
first skin boat made its way to
man adrift and rescued him, then
slowly made its way back through
the new ice. Both boats returned
to shore late last night.
The Wien plane was piloted by
Porter Lockard, veteran bush
pilot, who was accompanied by
Chuck Fagerstrom who spotted
the stranded man.
Congelese Launch
Heavy Attack
On U.N. Forces
LEOPOLDVILLE, MV—'The Con
golese army of Col. Joseph Mo
butu launched a heavy attack to
night on United Nations troops
guarding the residence of the
Ghana charge d’affairs, Nathaniel
Welbeck, who has defied an or
der to leave the Congo.
An unconfirmed report from in
side the besieged residence said
seven defenders were killed and
seven others injured in the first
fighting.
The residence was held by Tun
isian soldiers and Ghana riot po
lice.
Fifty minutes after the firing
broke out, about 500 Tunisian sol
diers in trucks and jeeps rushed
to the scene from their barracks
and started a move to surround
the Congolese attackers.
The Congolese converged on
Welback’s residence after he re
fused to bow to Col. Joseph’s Mo
butu’s order expelling him from
the country.
Mobutu accused Welback of
trying to engineer the return to
power of deposed Premier Pat
rice Lumumba.
Lack of Participation
Endangers School
Hot Lunch Program
Conrad Potter, superintendent
of Nome School, announced this
morning that the participation in
the school hot lunch program has
not been up to what was antici
pated and unless more children
take their lunches at school the
program will close on Nov. 30 and
not reopen until January. He also ,
added that if the participation
does not improve in January the j
entire program \yill cease.
At the present time about 85 j
lunches are being served on the J
average and it will take at least
110 to make the operation pos
sible. I
Kennedy Confers
On Transition
Of Government
PALM BEACH, -Fla., (#>—Pre
sident-elect John F. Kennedy and
a key adviser conferred for two
hours on the sunny Atlantic shore
today regarding transfer of gov
ernment control from the Eisen
hower administration.
Kennedy and Clark Clifford,
the President-elect’s chief liaison
man with the outgoing Republi
cans, discussed transition prob
lems on the lawn of the home of
Kennedy’s parents. The two men
sat in wicker chairs near the
swimming pool for conference.
Both were in business suits when
photographers were admitted for
pictures late in the morning.
They had their first discussion
on the big task of shifting con
trol from one administration to
the other Sunday night shortly
after Clifford arrived from Wash
ington. That session lasted an
hour.
For the latter part of this mor
ning’s conference the President- j
elect and Clifford were .ioined by
Prof. Richard Neustadt of Colum
bia University in New York. Neu
stadt is a specialist on problems
of government transition.
GSA Picks Site “On
The Hill” For Juneau
Federal Building
WASHINGTON, UP»— The Gen
eral Service Administration today
picked a site away from the
downtown business district for a
new federal building in Juneau.
The site is bounded by ninth
and C Streets, Gold Creek and
Glacier Ave. It is three fourths
of a mile from the business dis
trict.
Acquisition of the site, agency
officials said, will depend upon
the existence of satisfactory sub
surface conditions which are now
under study, adequate service
facilities and a reasonable sale
price.
The building is expected to
cost $15,710,000. II will house the
Post Office, courts and about 12
federal agency offices.
Earlier in the year, GSA ad
vertised for offers of sites fur
ther downtown. The agency said
no offers of sufficient size were
received nor were a sufficient
number of adjacent parcels of
fered to make up a site of the
size needed.
GSA said it decided that great
er efficiency of government oper
ation and public convenience
would be achieved by locating
outside the congested downtown
section.
To Make Sure The
Dollar Stays “As
Good As Gold”
Editor’s note—President Eisen
hower last week ordered emer
gency action to stem the steady
flow of American gold into for
eign hands. Frank Cormier, ex
perienced AP Treasury Depart
ment reporter and financial
writer, assesses the scope of the
problem in the first of three ar
ticles on the gold siuation.
By FRANK CORMIER
WASHINGTON, UP — The na
tions of Western Europe now
have it in their power to rock
the American financial system
any day in the week.
All that stands between crisis
and stability is an intangible
called “confidence” — confidence
that the U.S. dollar will remain
“as good as gold.”
Foreign governments and their
citizens own about $18 billion of
Uncle Sam’s money. Most of these
dollars are owned by Western
Europeans and are deposited or
invested in the United States.
Theoretically, all could be used
to buy American gold.
If all were used for this pur
pose, Uncle Sam’s supply of bul
lion would be wiped out. There
is only $18 billion of gold in the
government’s coffers.
Such a disaster is virtually im
possible.
For one thing, foreigners do so
much business with the United
States that they couldn’t afford
to exchange all their dollars for
gold.
Furthermore, to do so would
wreck their own finances because
the United States is the corner
stone of the free world economy.
(Continued on Page Two)
Democrats Will
Uphold Ike’s
Atlantic Policies
PARIS, (Jt — Vice President
elect Lyndon B. Johnson drew
cheers today as he told legislators
from Atlantic Alliance countries
that the new Democratic adminis
tration stands by President Eisen
hower’s Atlantic policies.
Johnson said the U.S. election
in no way was “a repudiation of
President Eisenhower’s support)
for the instruments of mutual
strength in Western Europe.’
The tall Texas senator was
loudly applauded as he strode
into the assembly room of the
parliamentary conference of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organiza
tion. His vigorous bipartisan
speech was frequently interrupted
by applause of legislators drawn
from all over Western Europe and
Canada.
Johnson made a political tour
of the hall, shaking hands all
around at the conference’s open
ing session. He strode across the
hall to warmly shake hands with
French Premier Michel Debre,
who spoke just before Johnson.
Debre disclaimed any attempt
on the part of French President
Charles DeGaulle to weaken
NATO. On the contrary, Debre
said, it was DeGaulle’s idea to
strengthen NATO by increasing
the French weight in the organ
ization.
And Debre added, NATO is
needed as much now as at its for
mation 10 years ago and the
“cruel menace” of the Soviet Un
ion is strong as ever.