2£ NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LXI No. 34 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 1959 Per Copy—15tf
Wien, Cordova
Airlines Bring In
Beta Sigma Phis
The Wien flight arrived yes
terday afternoon with delegates
to the Beta Sigma Phi convention
from the Fairbanks area, and an
other group arrived via Cordova
Airlines from Anchorage last
evening. The group is holding its
first formal session this morning
at the Federal Building.
Visitors arrived include the fol
lowing:
Via Wien Airlines — Ada E.
Schneider, Everett, Washington;
Blanche Willacy, Marcel Colp,
Jean Rozanski, Lee Carter, Imo
gene Limbocher, all from Fair
banks.
The following arrived via Cor
dova Airlines — Aileen Jones,
Ketchikan, Jean Steel, Shirley
McDonald, Spenard; Hazel Harris,
Helen Mae Weiderkehr, Charlotte
Allen, all of Palmer; Betty Bailey,
and Betty Kendler, Juneau;
Marjorie Learned, Nadine Hin
chey, Dorothy Lamb, Marge Nel
son, Charlotte S. Best, Vivan
Haymes, Pat Swanson, Majean
Hood, Darlene Dupree, Wanda
Stipp, Essye McGuinn, Helen Rod
rigues, Barbara Shaw, Joyce Al
bert, Elna Aman, Carol Hemmett,
and Dorothy Wilson, all of An
chorage.
Japanese Fish Imports Ban
Endorsed In State Senate
JUNEAU, (® — The Senate
unanimously endorsed Congres
sional legislation to ban the im
port of Japanese canned salmon
and telegraphed Rep. Ralph Riv
' ers urging passage of the bill.
A U. S. Senate subcommittee
has scheduled a hearing on the
measure here April 1-2, and will
consider testimony on the eco
nomic impact of the 1959 closure
of Bristol Bay to U. S. salmon
fishermen. Heavy Japanese
catches have been blamed by fish
eries spokesmen for the reduction
of the Bristol Bay rims.
State Sen. Irene Ryan of An
chorage, chairman of a six-mem
ber legislative committee, urged
as many Bristol Bay residents as
possible to atend the Juneau
hearings.
“We particularly want testi
mony on the economic effect of
the closure order issued by the
Department of Interior,” Sen.
Ryan said. “Also, any observations
relating to the effects of the Jap
anese high seas fishing on salmon
runs in any particular area would
be most welcome.”
A bill was introduced in the
House to provide $5,000 to pay ex
penses of witnesses attending the
hearings.
Wien Requests CAB
Permission for Flights To
Defense Site At Clear
WASHINGTON, (® — Wien
Alaska Airlines has asked the
Civil Aeronautics Board for im
mediate authority to serve Clear
on its Fairbanks-Tanana route.
The airline said yesterday that
when a recent CAB order becomes
effective, it will no longer be able
to serve Nenana, 16 miles from
Clear, and the closest point to
Clear on its route will be 25 miles
from that important defense
settlement.
The Defense Department has a
multi-million dollar defense con
struction program under way at
Clear.
Alaska Steam
Considers Calif. -
To-Seward Service
SEATTLE, UPi — Direct Alaska
Steamship Co. service between
California and the 49th state may
occur this spring.
Alaska Steam president D. E.
Skinner says the company has
reached no decision on the serv
ice.
However, waterfront observers
say Alaska Steam is thinking of
assigning two Liberty ships to
the service.
The freighters would provide
voyages every two weeks between
Los Angeles-San Francisco and
Seward. They would not call at
the Columbia River or Puget
Sound en route north.
May 1 has ben set as the guess
for start of such service.
More and more miltary cargo
for Alaska is coming through
California, and recent purchase
of two Liberty ships swells the
Alaska Steam fleet to 15.
In discussing the proposed serv
ice, president Skinner said'.
“We’ve been taking a good look
at the California situation. We
haven’t finished our study yet.
“We’ve got ships, and there is
a certain amount of cargo in the
south. But in such a service we’d
lose some advantages we have
here of operating out of our own
backyard. If we go into it, we
want our service to be as regular
and dependable as it is here.”
Fish Trap Owners
Sue for Relief
From ‘Hasty’ Ban
WASHINGTON, UP) — Represen
tatives of the Alaska fish trap,
industry announced yesterday
they had filed suit in federal dis
trict court to prevent Secretary
of the Interior Fred Seaton from
enforcing his order against fish
traps in Alaska.
The announcement said Seaton’s
action would cause chaos in the
industry. It said the statehood act
contemplates an orderly transi
tion from traps to boats.
The plaintiffs, listed as five
packing companies, five trap site
owners and five members of the
Alaska Fishermen’s Union, con
tend that prohibtion of traps in
the fishing season now approach
ing would mean:
1. Closure of at least six can
neries that operated last year.
2. Drastically curtailed produc
tion at other canneries.
3. Loss of 2,300 jobs.
4. Loss of $4,072,000 in direct
wages.
5. Loss of $8,800,000 worth of
trap gear, inventories and vessels
which will be rendered imme
diately obsolete and valueless.
6. Loss of some $26,000,000
worth of canned salmon.
Clarence Payne of Seattle,
spokesman for the Alaska trap
operators committee, said that in
addition to losses to employers and
employes, the new state of Alaska
stands to lose more than one mil
lion dollars in taxes this year if
Seaton’s order stands.
The suit asks a temporary in- j
junction pending final determina
tion of the case.
WEATHER FORECAST
Cloudy with occasional snow,
warmer tonight and tomorrow,
with decreasing cloudiness Satur
day. Low temperature expected
tonight 8, high tomorrow 15.
Coldest March, 40 -!
Inch Ice, Puzzle
Nenana Oldtimers
Special to the Nome Nugget
By DAN KETZLER
NENANA — This has -been the
coldest weather we have had in
March in many years. We have
checked the temperature records
and find it has been several years
since we have had -below zero
temperatures this late in March.
There is 40 inches of ice under
the tripod and about the same
amount of snow on the ice and
surrounding area. The old sour
doughs of Nenana have thrown
up their hands in despair on try
ing to figure the breakup time
this year. In previous years you
could see several of these gentle
men down on the banks gazing
up at the hills, then down at the
river ice, making mental checks
of the situation. None have won
since the Classic spread outside
of Nenana, but many an old sour
dough has been seen tearing out
-his hair because the clock stopped
a few minutes too soon or too late.
Many of you probably know the
origin of the Nenana Ice Pool, as
it was called in the early days,
but since changed to the Nenana
Ice Classic. It all began in 1917,
when two residents of Nenana
were standing on the river bank
and made a wager as to what day
the ice would break. It was talked
around town for several days, then
more wanted to get in on the
guessing. The pay-off was not
large, but it created great in
terest. By the next year, the in
terest had spread to other com
munities and the Ice Pool, as we
now know it, was started.
This story was told to me by
one of the old-timers of Nenana.
There are several versions, -but
this one sounded the most logical.
No matter how it started, it has
become one of the most famous
guessing contests of all times.
The ice on the river is safe
for traveling, and we are getting
-better than 12 hours of sunlight,
so why don’t some of you camera
fans come to our fair village and
take some pictures of an Interior
town, before the ever increasing
population makes it a city, and
the air of the old Alaskan village
disappears. April 4th at midnight
is the closing date of this great
contest, and that gives you a
couple of weeks to make your
guess as to that eventual minute.
Senate Approves ‘Third
In-Line’ for Succession of
Governor, Secretary
JUNEAU, UP) — The State Sen
ate approved legislation yesterday
to provide for recall of municipal
officials and endorsed another
bill to provide for succession to
the offices of Governor and Sec
retary of State.
The upper chamber approved a
succession bill which replaced one
passed earlier by the House. It
would have a state official desig
nated by the Governor to become
next in line for the Secretary’s
office.
If the Secretary succeeded to
the Governor’s office, the desig
nated official would become Sec
retary of State and next in line
for the office of Governor. How
ever, in event the designated offi
cial took over as Governor, a spe
cial election would be called
within three months to elect a
new Governor and Secretary.
Equal Division of Road Funds Appears
Headed For Approval After Hot Debate
JUNEAU, UP)—Action on a gaso
line tax 'bill was put off until
late today after it stirred up a
heated debate in the Senate yes
terday.
The measure would require
that Alaska’s highway funds from
gasoline taxes be divided as
equally as possible among the
four major geographical sections
of the state.
Sen. John McNees of Nome,
sponsor of the measure, waged a
strong battle to keep the bill alive
after numerous efforts were
made to scuttle it. Through Mc
Nees’ efforts, it appeared likely
the bill was headed for final ap
proval when time out was called.
Major opponents of the meas
ure were Anchorage senators,
who contended the measure would
trim highway funds now allo
cated for the old Third Divison.
They also argued the measure
would result in a splitting of the
highway funds to such a degree
that no complete road program
could be worked out.
After a Democratic caucus, it
was announced the bill would go
to a special four-man committee
for review. It was to come up
later for hearings before various
federal and state road officials.
McNees was named to the com
mittee along with Senators John
Coghill, N e n a n a Republican,
James Nolan, Wrangell Democrat,
and Ralph Moody, Anchorage
Democrat.
Members of the committee rep
resent Southeastern, Southcentral,
Central and Northwestern Dist
ricts of the new state.
McNees, in sparkling Senate
debate on the bill, said roughly 52
per cent of the present highway
funds of some 21 Vi million dollars
go to the Southcentral District —
the old Third Judicial Division.
Only 6.8 per cent, he said, wind
up in the road-scarce North
—
western District that embraces
the old Second Divsion.
If highway funds were divided
equally in four parts, he said,
each district would receive about
$5,397,344. Eliminating mainten
ance expenses from the total high
way funds, McNees said, would
leave 19 million dollars of which
each of the four districts would
receive $5,847,500 for construction.
Without such division of high
way funds, McNees told the Sen.
ate, areas of the state that now
have roads will get more and re
mote sections with few roads will
get even less.
Highway funds now are distrib
uted generally within divisions
where gasoline taxes are col
lected — which results in most
populous areas with many roads
and automobiles getting the bulk
of revenue.
“The present allocations are no
longer valid,” contended McNees.
Said Senator Lester Bronson:
“We want a road to our part of
the country.”
Sen. Earl Cooper of Anchorage
commented:
“I doubt this bill is the way to
go about it.”
Cooper said he is willing to ad
mit the “Third Divson has had its
fair share of highway funds,” but
he argued:
“This is entirely the wrong ap
proach to any integrated road
system.”
Moody was unsuccessful in an
attempt to amend the bill to pro
vide the Commissioner of Public
Works be able to designate distri
bution of highway funds in line
with a long-range program that
would extend Alaska’s road sys
tem to the remote areas.
However, it appeared Moody’s
amendment would be agreed to
by the special committee — when
the bill comes back for Senate
action.
New Moving Van Expected
To Pick Up ’59ers’ Load,
Stalled On Alcan Highway
FORT NELSON, B. C., (IP) —
Help — in the form of a new mov
ing van — was expected to reach
Michigan’s misfortune - plagued
’59ers today.
| When the van arrives, the ’59ers
hope to start rolling again along
the 1,500-mile trail leading to
homesteads in Alaska.
The new vehicle, en route from
Whitehorse some 600 miles away,
will replace the group’s 1934 van
which fell apart on the Alcan
Highway.
The expense of having a mov
ing company pick up the broken
down van’s load will be paid by a
Detroit man who gave the original
van to the ’59ers.
The 16-vehicle caravan, consist
ing of 35 individuals making up
18 families, has suffered one mis
fortune after another'since it left
Detroit for Alaska’s Kenai Pen
insula.
The caravan has been slowed
by vehicle breakdowns and bad
weather, and it has taken the
group since March 5 to make the
3,000 miles from Detroit to Fort
Nelson.
—
Only One Person Appears Before
City Tax Board of 'Equalization
The City Board of Equalization
has been in session for three days
but only one taxpayer appeared
for adjustment on assessment of
taxes.
Japanese Claim American
Demands for Fishing
Restrictions Unreasonable
TOKYO, LP) — One of Japan’s
top fisheries spokesmen said to
day American efforts to further
restrict Japanese salmon catches
in the Northern Pacific area are
unreasonable.
Koichiro Kobayashi, vice presi
dent of Nichiro Fishery Co., said
there is “not enough scientific evi
dence to warrant shifting the
existing provisional demarcation
line drawn on 175 degrees west
longitude.”
Japanese fishermen are barred
from waters east of the boundary
agreed upon by the United States,
Canada and Japan in 1953.
Kobayashi declared “It is the
United States and not Japan that
does not live up to the spirit of
the 1952 treaty to preserve fish
stock, in the Northern Pacific.”
He added:
“The spirit agreed upon be
tween the parties concerned was
that a new permanent boundary
would be drawn only when scien
tific surveys indicate it is neces
sary.”
HUMAN SARDINES . . .
DURBAN, South Africa, iff) —
Twenty-five youths from the Dur
ban YMCA today claimed they
had packed themselves into a tel
ephone booth to set a record in the
new international craze.
When they were all packed in,
the phone rang. None of the hu
man sardines could answer it.