ss NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LXI No. 17 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1959 _Per Copy—15<g
Alaska House Sends Through Two
New Bills With Same Pay Provisions
JUNEAU, (/P> — Like old wine
served in new bottles, the House
passed the same legislative pay
proposal in a new form Saturday.
The representatives passed two
new bills to provide legislative
pay for Alaska’s first state law
makers. Salary and expense pro
visions were the same as* set in
a single bill passed earlier.
One measure fixed the pay of
Alaska’s 60 lawmakers at $3,000
a year and expenses of $40 a day
during sessions. The second bill
would appropriate $225,550 to
cover legislative salary and ex
pense costs until the end of the
fiscal year, ending June 30. An
other appropriation would be
needed for the next fiscal year.
Although the salary and ex
pense figures were the same, the
two bills corrected a majer de
fect of the original measure in sep
arting the salary scale from the
appropi’iation and putting costs on
a fiscal year basis.
Acting Governor Hugh Wade
had held the first measure legally
defective and returned it to the
Legislature with a long statement
suggesting that the salary scale be
cut to ease the financial burden
of the new state.
Both bills passed 29-9, with two
members absent. Two Democrats
and six Republicans opposed the
measures and a third Democrat —
Majority Leader Peter J. Kala
marides of Anchorage — cast a
negative vote with the announced
purpose of being eligible to serve
on a conference committee if there
are amendments to the bill by the
Senate. There were 11 attempts to
amend the bills. At one point, Mi
nority Leader Bruce Kendall of
Valdez objected to “gag rulings”
from the chair, but later withdrew
his comment.
Most efforts to amend the bill
were aimed at cutting salaries or
expenses. Only one, by Russ Mee
kins, Anchorage Democrat, pro
posed a boost in the pay scale,
suggesting a salary of $4,800
a year.
The chairman of the House Fi
nance Committee, Eirl Hillstrand
of Anchorage, said, “You can’t
guarantee quality merely by pay
ing money.” He said integrity,
courage and dedication could not
be bought.
Hillstrand and Dora Sweeney of
Juneau were the only Democrats
voting against the bills.
Passage of the pay bills by the
Senate could not come before
Tuesday. Last week, Senators ap
proved the original pay bill in
one day and the quick action
ruined any chance it had of ad
ministrative approval.
There has been little indication
what action Wade may take on
the pay bills. His suggestions for
trimming were ignored, but any
veto would stand a good chance of
being overridden by the heavily
Democratic controlled Legislature
Wash. State Solons
Have ‘Cordial’
Session in Juneau
JUNEAU, UP) — Cordiality and
goodwill appeared to have reigned
over the conferences — both for
mal and informal — of Washing
ton and Alaska State Legislators
here Saturday.
The Alaskans, in the midst of
setting up their first state govern
ment asked most of the questions.
The Washingtonians, who came
here after hurried arrangements
last week in Olympia, were ready
with answers on “how we do it.”
The expected big issue, recopro
cal licensing arrangement for the
two states' commercial fisheries,
never came to the foreground.
“I think our job was just to come
here and have ready answers for
questions the Alaskans might
ask,” said Senator Dan Talley.
“We had a good session,” said
Representative Carl King, chair
man of the House Fisheries Com
mittee in the Washington Legisla
ture. He said the question of re
ciprocal licensing -was not touched
on because “they (the Alaskans'
aren’t ready to discuss the sub
ject up here yet. After all, they
don’t even have control of their
own fisheries.”
“It was all very cordial but we
really didn’t learn anything new,”
said Senator James Nolan (D
Wrangell).
ALL IN A DAY'S WORK ?
SANTA FE, N. M., W — Mrs.
Nora Otero took time off from her
state revenue job Friday to give
birth to a five-pound daughter in
the State Capitol. Two friends she“
works with, Mrs. Dolores Marti
nez and Mrs. Elisaida Trujillo, de
livered the baby in a basement
supply room. Mother and daughter
are doing fine.
Egan’s Message for
Posterity Goes to Capitol
For Time-Capsule
SEATTLE. — A time cap
sule message from Alaska’s Gov
ernor William A. Egan is being
taken to Washington, D. C., by a
Juneau high school girl, in con
nection with the dedication to
morrow of the new National Edu
cation Association Building.
She is Sarah Pasma, president
of Alaska’s Future Teacher Asso
ciation, who stopped off to visit
the Governor, recovering from an
operation in Virginia Mason Hos
pital in Seattle. The message
states:
“We know that Alaska’s future
is great. Its real greatness lies
in its youth — the next generation
and the next. They are the ones
who will see this budding young
state blossom and flourish. They
will make our dream a reality.”
‘First* and ‘Second’ Class
City Listings Proposed In
State Legislature
JUNEAU, liPt — A bill to group
all Alaskan cities into two classi
cations instead of the present four
was introduced in the House Sat
urday.
Under the measure introduced
by Ketchikan Democrat Orval
Freeman, cities of 400 or more in
habitants would continue to be
classified as first class. All others,
including the present second and
third classes and incorporated vil
lages, would be labeled second
class cities.
A bill to beef up the powers and
duties of incorporated villages was
introduced in the Senate by the
Committee on Local Government.
Among other things, it would per
mit yearly local option elections
on whether liquor should be sold
in the village.
Radio Monitoring
Proved How Russ
Shot Down Plane
By ELTON C. FAY
WASHINGTON, (jP> — Although
officials won’t talk much about it,
radio monitoring by one nation to
the military conversations of an
other has been going on since
the early days of World War II.
The United States’ announce
ment of a transcription which it
said showed Soviet fighters shot
down an American transport fo
cused new interest in the subject.
Russia has accused this country
of a “sensational farce” in produc
ing the recording.
Improved . equipment in radio
monitoring techniques has been
developed since the first wartime
use. Today the systems are vir
tually worldwide, presumably
used by all major powers.
The Defense and State Depart
ments decline to say how this
country recorded the interplane
talk of the Soviet fighter pilots
who, the United States declares
shot down an American military
transport near the Turkish-Rus
sian border.
However, it may be assumed
that area, like all other common
borders between the East and
West, is covered by a segment of
the monitoring network.
Radio listening posts are im
portant adjuncts to the Early
Warning Radar System in Alas
ka. Both American and Russian
stations listen in on the radio traf
fic of their opposites.
A story is told in Alaska in
tended to point out this system —
and to illustrate the whimsy of
the Soviets.
According to this story, an
American transport plane was en
route between two points in west
ern Alaska when it ran into bad
weather. The plane sought to ra
dio the base for which it was
headed, to ask for weather infor
mation and location.
But the tricky atmospherics of
the far north prevented the base
from hearing the plane. However,
the Soviet station across Bering
Strait heard the plane, and re
layed the message to the base.
These were the same Russians
who normally send fighter planes
screaming aloft to watch for stray
American aircraft.
Wild Bill' Donovan Dies
! Of Heart Attack
WASHINGTON. Iff — Major
General William (Wild Bill) Dono
van, who directed the govern
ment’s daring intelligence opera
tions during World War II, died
yesterday. He was 76.
Death of the former director of
the Office of Strategic Services
was attributed to a heart ailment.
He had been in Walter Reed Army
Hospital here for some time.
Donovan won the Medal of Hon
or for leading the famed “Fight
ing 69th Regiment of the Rain
bow Division in World War I. His
fighting prowess became a leg
end of the war.
His nickname of “Wild Bill”
stemmed from the exacting meth
ods he used in training his men
and the aggressive example of
spirit and vigor he set for them.
The OSS operations Donovan
| headed during World War II were
worldwide in scope. The organi
zation conducted important re
search at home and daring exploits
abroad, many of them behind en
emy lines.
Alaskans to be Consulted on Reaction
To Plans For Atomic Blasted Harbor
By FRANK W. VAILLE
WASHINGTON, UP) — Whether
the Atomic Energy Commission
goes ahead with plans to blast out
an Arctic harbor near Cape
Thompson, probably will depend
in large part on Alaskans’ reaction
to the idea.
This is the view of Senator Bob
Bartlett after consultation with
AEC Commissioner Willard F.
Libby and other representatives
of the commission and its Liver
more, Calif., test laboratory.
Blasting out the Arctic harbor
was proposed by the federal agen
cy some months ago as a demon
stration of the peaceful uses of
nuclear energy.
Bartlett said the AEC represen
tative expressed belief the project
offers “great possibilities” and
could be carried out with negli
gible, if any, after effects from
radioactivity.
While the AEC’s originaL-pro
posal contemplated carrying out
the project during the 1959 sum
mer, Bartlett said his conferences
indicate the blast may be put off
until 1960.
One reason for this could be to
provide time for the “very inten
sive tests by biologists” which he
said are planned to minimize any
dangers to human, animal, marine
or bird life from radioactivity.
Representatives of the Liver
more Laboratory, he said, are ex
1-;
pected to go to Alaska again to
confer with various groups, in
cluding possibly, the Legislature
and University of Alaska person
nel, prior to reaching any decision
on the blast.
The need for further public dis
cussion was indicated last week
in a letter Bartlett received from
the Rev. William McIntyre, presi
dent of the Arctic Circle Chamber
of Commerce at Kotzebue. He said
the Jesuit priest reported residents
of that area uncertain in their re
actions to the proposal as the re
sult of a lack of information as
to its effect upon them.
While some Alaskans have sug
gested other Alaskan sites for the
blast on grounds they would offer
more economic benefits than the
isolated Cape Thompson region,
Bartlett said AEC spokesmen have
indicated they prefer to undertake
the Arctic blast first.
From an economic basis, the re
sulting harbor at Cape Thompson
could serve to spur the develop
ment of coal and other resources
in the adjacent area.
Other suggested projects in
clude the possible blasting of a
ship channel across the Alaska
Peninsula into Bristol Bay, or
the construction of a harbor on
the Gulf of Alaska for use in con
nection with possible Japanese de
velopment of the Bering River
coal deposits.
Russian Fishing
Vessel Captured In
Norwegian Waters
Aalesund, Norway, Uf — A So
viet fishing vessel was brought
into this west coast town by a Nor
wegian prize crew after having
been arrested while fishing in Nor
wegian territorial waters.
The 100-foot craft was placed
under police guard immediately
on landing.
West coast naval headquarters
in Bergen earlier had issued a
communique saying the vessel
was caught shortly before noon
while fishing two miles inside the
Norwegian four-mile fishery
limit.
A big Russian fishing fleet —
one estimate placed the number of
ships at 300 — began trolling in
the herring grounds off the Nor
wegian coast Friday. Several of
the vessels crossed the four-mile
limit then but were chased out by
a Norwegian patrol boat.
The Norwegian vessel Otra put
on board a prize crew of five men.
The Russian skipper protested the
arrest and maintained he was not
inside t£ie territorial limit. Cross
sightings and radar readings con
vinced him, however, and he let
the prize crew take the ship into
Aalesund without further protest.
TAKE IT OFF, ? ? ?
WASHINGTON, Uf — Mrs. Jes
sica Weis (R-NY), a new congress
woman, tells a story about her
first day in Congress.
As she walked on the floor, she
says, a House attendant suggested
she remove her hat. She complied.
As she was about to slip into her
seat, someone else suggested
congresswomen do not wear
gloves.
Then she announced: “If they
tell me to take off just one more
thing, I’m going to fight.”
Freezing Rains Create
Traffic Hazards In
Eastern Section of U. S.
(By The Associated Press)
Millions of Midwest motorists
and pedestrians slipped helpless
ly today on ce spread by extensive
freezing rains.
Subzero temperatures gripped
the northeast and northern plains
and the mercury skidded to freez
ing as wintry weather belted
southern California.
The ice slick extended from
Kansas and Nebraska to southern
Michigan and northern Ohio —
along the border between a deep
cold air mass add northward
pressing warm rain clouds.
Traffic was snarled and footing
was treacherous for metropolitan
workers in the morning rush
hours. Hundreds of accidents were
reported, with police switchboards
jammed, and hospital emergency
rooms taxed by boom business in
arm fractures from falls on ice.
Bill Would Cut Divorce
Resident Requirements
For State of Alaska
JUNEAU, UP) — A bill liberal
izing the residence requirements
for divorce in Alaska was intro
duced in the House Saturday by
the Judiciary Committee.
It would cut the length of resi
dence before divorce action could
be started from two years to one.
On Alaska marriages, a divorce
action could be entered at any
time if the person bringing suit
was still a resident of the state.
LITTLE LUCKY 'SAVES'
GAEVLE, Sweden, UP) — Little
Lyeko cried “save” — and chased
away burglars who broke into a
bank here.
Lyeko means luck in Swedish,
and good luck she had Friday win
ning congratulations from the
bank directors.
“Save” is the only word she
knows. Lyeko is a parrot.