SHALL N.W. ALASKA SECEDE FROM STATE?|
The following letter of protest is being sent to Governor Egan,
Chief Justice Nesbett, Speaker of the House Taylor, and President of
the Senate Beltz, by the NWA Chamber of Commerce, to show how
sectional and selfish our new government is establishing itself. The
summary is self revealing in its exposition of the withdrawal of the
land office, road moneys, and other agencies which should have
representation in the Second District.
GENTLEMEN:
The Northwestern District of Alaska is the second largest district
in the state in area, and the smallest in population. It compares
in population and size to the Yukon Territory of Canada, although
that Territory has a much more complex government, since it is
an independent Territory.
We of the Northwestern District have contributed two hundred
millions of dollars of gold to Alaska and the nation, and have
within our borders the proven oil and gas province of the Gubik
oil fields. A very large portion of all military construction of the
last several years has been done in the Northwestern District, even
though tax revenue obtained from this construction has been credited
to Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, and their respective districts.
The Northwestern District has most of the minerals required by man,
and in large quantities.
Now — knowing our general situation and potential, let us
review happenings in Alaska since Statehood, and how they relate
to the Northwestern District.
The 1959 Legislature designated the Northwestern District as
the Second Judicial District, and assigned a Superior Court judge
and a District Magistrate to the district. This legislation was enacted
into law, and we consider it a reasonable law, based on population,
size of the area, distances involved, the fact that a court was main
tained in the district previously by the Federal government, the
fact that a territory of comparable size and population, the Yukon,
has its court system, and the fact that it is the prime responsibility
of the State of Alaska to furnish this court system.
However, we do not .feel that, the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of Alaska, in his administrative capacity as head of the
judiciary, is being just in establishing such a low salary ^or the Clerk
of Court of the Northwestern District. The salary, as established by
the Chief Justice, is $7,200, which is nearly $5,000 less than for the
Clerk at Anchorage. Since the salary is set according to the volume
of the work load, the validity of this policy we will not argue at
this time; we can agree that the Clerk at Nome'should probably
receive less than the Clerks at Fairbanks and Anchorage. However,
the large amount of difference, especially in the district with the
highest cost of living in the State of Alaska, appears strictly dis
criminatory. This false economy in paying less salary can only
result in an inability to hold competent personnel in the court system,
with an ultimate result of withdrawal of the court. We trust that
economy was the only motivation in setting this salary so low.
The Northwestern District has also been denied the equality
of having a full-time prosecutor for its court system. It has been
proposed that one of two courses be taken: either that the prosecutor
from Fainbanks make periodic trips to this district or that a local
attorney should act as prosecutor on a part-time basis along with his
private practice. The first alternative is completely inadequate for
the needs of the people, while the second is ever) more unjust. Is the
local attorney to prosecute his own clients, or are the people to be
forced to appear in court without legal representation?
Law enforcement for the Northwestern District has been estab
lished as an outpost of the Fairbanks Divisional Office. We are not
to have a divisional headquarters office as do the other districts.
Furthermore, there is now, to our knowledge, onjy one state police
man assigned to law enforcement in the Northwestern-, District.
Remember — we are of comparable size and population to the
entire Yukon Territory, with its complete law enforcement organi
zation. J. Edgar Hoover has said that there should be two police
men per 1,000 of population. Why aren’t there more police assigned
to this district to take charge of felony matters and transport
prisoners? Is it because the state is too poor to afford that? No —
it is because the state, through pressure undoubtedly, is performing
a local, county-type function in policing petty offenses committed
in the unincorporated, built-up areas of the state such as those
surrounding Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Kenai, parts of the Mata
nuska Valley, and Big Delta. We not only provide our own city
police at Nome, but also must help provide the money for policing
of petty offenses for all these freeloaders. The state is therefore
wilfully refusing to do its duty of providing law and order through
out the state.
We have been sympathetic with the wish of citizens in South
eastern and South-Central Alaska, who want to build up the salmon
runs so they can make more money fishing commercially, also in the
preservation of game, although at times it has appeared to us that a
guard is provided for each cow moose and a board of directors to
supervise each salmon stream. Attention is directed, however, to
the fact that in this Northwestern District we EAT what fish we
catch, and we don’t have a commercial fishery. Our commercial
fishing is being handled by the Russians and the Japanese. (Note:
Refer to the article on Feb. 2, 1960, in each major state paper, about
the 50 Russian fishing boats in the Bering Sea off Nunivak Island.*
The State Department of Health and Welfare, among other
things, is charged with the control of juvenile delinquency as well
as providing probation service for the guidance of the court, and
supervision of wrongdoers. There is, however, no juvenile and
probation officer assigned to the Northwestern District. Instead, we
understand that the state plans to send someone here once a month
from Fairbanks. E.S.C. problems are to be handled in the same
way, as well as the other functions of the Welfare Department. Nome
is about as far from Fairbanks as Juneau is from Anchorage, and
it would make as much sense to send someone from Juneau each
month to handle all the matters of the Health and Welfare Depart
ment in Anchorage. Ridiculous, of course, but it is just another
glaring example of the state shirking its duties to the Northwestern
District, because it is using its funds to give more than a fair share
of service to the high pressure areas such as Anchorage and others.
In the matter of road construction and maintenance, the discrim
ination against the Northwestern District becomes even more glar
ingly obvious. The first duty of a state in the matter of roads is to .
undertake the construction and maintenance of roads and ferries
connecting the areas and communities of the state together. The
Northwstern District had a right to assume, with the advent of
Statehood, that the State of Alaska would perform its primary duty
in road construction and maintenance, and connect this area with the
rest of the State. After all. it is a matter of record that each of'the
first 48 states grew in population and economy only as fast as they
made accessible their remote areas. However, we now learn that
plans to connect the Northwestern District to the rest of the state
(Highway 97) have been deleted from the “five year road construc
tion program,” and this in spite of repeated promises made by the
Administration and the Department of Public Works, that we would
receive considerable construction on Highway 97. The reason for
using road funds to construct, maintain, and even pave local roads
around the population centers. If the theory of road construction and
maintenance is that gas taxes should all be spent where collected,
then we would suggest that advocates of such theory advise the
Federal government to keep its road moneys, because other more
populous areas are contributing more than Alaska.
In the past, certain of the Fairbanks people have given strong
support to our road tie-in with the rest of Alaska. To them we are
truly grateful. We cannot help but cynically note, however, that
when a resolution in the Alaska Senate was made, during the last
session, to connect us by road to Anchorage via McGrath and Ruby,
a great outcry of protest was made by the senators of the Fourth
Judicial District. It makes us wonder if their faction of the Fourth
District is interested in seeing us connected with the rest of Alaska,
or only to the Fairbanks area, and at their leisure. Of Anchorage,
we can only say that they appear to be STRICTLY for Anchorage,
and let the rest of the state shift for itself.
The people of Nome are paying a 3 per cent sales tax, as well
as the millage on property, and practically all of our money goes
for support of>our school. We are on the 75 per cent rate, as are
the large cities of the state. What are the results of the study the
state was to make on the financing of education? Has this state
duty been neglected too? The state has not neglected, however,
to furnish schools and give 100 per cent support to such areas as
Delta, Kenai, Wasilla, and many other areas where the people have
sufficient wealth to carry at least some of the burden of education
locally. The Constitution gives the Legislature authority to establish
service areas and to tax the people in the service areas for services
rendered them. Is it such a violation of the principle of home rule
that people cannot be taxed for services furnished to them? The
discouraging thing to this district is the apparent contentment to
maintain the status quo, and not require people to pay for local
services. We, and the whole state, will suffer so long as this condition
exists and proper state functions are neglected. The Anchorage
area, the Matanuska Valley, and the Kenai have raised a great
hue and cry for the removal of the capitol from Juneau. Should
not these areas first concern themselves with forming units of local
government and take the burden off the state of providing local
services to them before they impose any more cost to the state in
the movement of the capitol at this time? Such added costs would
merely prolong the time that the state would have to neglect its
duties to the Northwestern District and others. It would be advan
tageous for us to live closer to the State Capitol, if provisions were
first made to protect Juneau from the loss. Certainly Juneau has
been most backward in doing for itself within recent years as
compared with other towns and cities in the First Judicial District,
such as Ketchikan, Sitka, and others. The fact remains, however,
that before the Third Judicial District, and particularly Anchorage,
should think of having the State Capitol, they should first concern
themselves with borough capitols.
The state also suffers due to the unbelievably greedy attitude
of some of the cities. It appears that they would have the state
furnish all services and in addition collect all taxes and other
revenues and then turn such revenues back to the cities for their
use. Some of them appear to carry on running fights with surround
ing areas and then gobble up such areas after they have finally
subdued them over a period of years. The state must be in dire
straits between the custom of furnishing local services to the
suburbs and rural areas and the organized attack on the till by
the cities.
Now we say this: The Northwestern District was entitled to
assume, and did assume, with the advent of Statehood that Alaska
would cease to waste its concentrated energies in sectionalism, and
commence to function as a state in its entirety. It is obvious,
however, that this has not been accomplished, by the fact that the
state continues to exercise strictly local duties instead of fulfilling
its proper state duties. We call on the First, Third and Fourth
Districts to lead the way from sectionalism to a well organized state
unit. Unless this is done soon, it takes very little thought on the
part of the Northwestern District to realize that if we continue to
be faced with the present tyranny and discrimination, we would be
better off to ask the Federal Government to withdraw this area.
We were better off under the Federal Government!
Record High January
Employment Reported by
U. S. Labor Department
WASHINGTON, UPi — Employ
ment dropped seasonably by
1.900.000 last month but the num
ber of Americans with jobs —
64.020.000 — was a record high
for January, the Labor Depart
ment announced yesterday.
Employment was roughly a mil
lion higher than a year ago de
spite the usual post-holiday
shrinkage in retail payrolls and
the winter curtailment of farm
ing, building and other outdoor
work.
Unemployment climbed by
572.000 to a total»t»f 5,149,000 in
January, about the usual increase
for the season. Joblessness was
5.2 per cent of the labor force.
MODERN
PAINT
STORE
Across from
N.C. Cat Shop
SELLING
General Paints
Free Estimates
— Phone Main 247 —
OPEN 7 A.M. TO 8 P.M.
THE NOME NUGGET 7
Friday, February 12, 1960
ORDINANCE NO. 400
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
OF NOME, ALASKA, AMEND
ING SECTION 15-14 OF THE
CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE
CITY OF NOME, ALASKA, AND
SETTING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED AND EN
ACTED BY THE COMMON
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
NOME, ALASKA. AS FOLLOWS:
Thai Section 15-14 of the Code
of Ordinances of Nome, Alaska,
is hereby amended to read as
follows:
"Sec. 15-14. Utilities rates, reg
ulation by Council, recommenda
tions.
Rates and other charges for
services shall be regulated solely
by the Council, and the Board
shall not fix or modify any such
rales or charges, but may present,
from time to time, written recom
mendations to the Council with
respect thereto: v
The following shall be the rates
and charges for power and serv
ices until otherwise changed by
the Council:
LIGHT AND POWER
1 up to 100 Kwh @ .10 per Kwh
101 to 200 Kwh @ .09 per Kwh
201 to 400 Kwh @ .06 per Kwh
All over 400 Kwh @ .07 per Kwh
MINIMUM CHARGES
For light and power meters:
$3.00 — an allowance of 30 Kwh
per month for each month of the
year.
Three phase service: Minimum
charge, $5.00 per month."
This Ordinance shall be in full
force and effect on and after the
first day of March, 1960.
PASSED BY THE COMMON
COUNCIL of the City of Nome,
Alaska, this 6th day of February,
1960, at regular session assembled.
Attest:
/s/ Steffen Andersen,
(City Seal) Mayor
/s/ Robert F. Scott,
City Clerk.
Publish February 10, 12, 15.
ORDINANCE NO. 401
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
OF NOME, ALASKA, AMEND
ING SECTION 17-41. SUB-SEC
TION (2), OF THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
NOME, ALASKA, AND SETTING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED AND EN
ACTED BY THE COMMON
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
NOME, ALASKA, AS FOLLOWS:
Thai Section 17-41, Sub-section
(2). of the Code of Ordinances of
Nome. Alaska, is hereby amended
to read as follows:
"(2) Services rendered by or to
the United States Government, the
State of Alaska, the City of Nome,
and any duly organized agency
thereof except services from Nome
Light and Power Utilities as pro
vided in section 17-40."
This Ordinance shall be in full
force and effect immediately upon
its passage by the Common Coun
cil and the approval of the Mayor.
PASSED BY THE COMMON
COUNCIL of the City of Nome,
■ Alaska, this 8th day of February.
1960, at regular session assembled.
(CITY SEAL) Attest:
Attest:
/s/ Steffen Andersen,
(City Seal) Mayor
/s/ Robert F. Scott,
City Clerk.
Publish Feb. 10, 12, 15.