™s NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS __
VOL. LXII No 13 NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 1960 _Per Copy 151
Insurgents Own
Algiers Moslems
Told to 4Sit Tight’
By ANDREW BOROWIEC
ALGIERS, Iff) — French insur
gents virtually took over Algiers
today in their battle to keep Al
geria French.
The Moslem rebel leadership,
fighting for independence, mus
tered its forces for a showdown. ,
In between the two contending
forces, President Charles De
Gaulle strove to make his pres
ence felt and regain control of a
situation that threatens his gov
ernment and its tenuous hold on
this strategic North African area.
The rebel government-in-exile
called for Moslems in the 500,000
man French Army to desert to
the nationalist guerrilla forces.
It urged the nine million Moslem
civilians, wooed by both De
Gaulle and his rightist French
foes, to sit tight for the present.
, At the same time, the national
ist command, pursuing its five
year war for independence from
France, ordered all rebel army
units to remain vigilant “in case
there is. need to protect the civil
population of Algiers, or in case
there is an attack by the insur
gents.”
But the insurgents were uncon
tested masters in Algiers, the cap
itol, with the departure of De
Gaulle’s two key men in Algeria
for a countryside command post
to get away from the immediate
pressure of the uprising.
The representatives are Dele
gate General Paul DeLouvrier,
the civil administrator, and Gen.
Maurice Challe, the military com
mander in chief.
Thursday night DeLouvrier
called on the Moslems to rise and
demonstrate their faith in De
Gaulle and their support of his
policy to let all Algerians even
tually decide their own future.
The insurgents, who insist that
Algeria remain forever French,
declared “We will fight until
victory.”
Giersdorf Resigns From
Alaska State Senate
Because He’s Underage
JUNEAU, UR — Robert Giers
dorf, Fairbanks, sworn in Monday
as a member of the Alaska State
Senate, resigned because he does
not meet the minimum age re
quirements for membership. He is
24, and will not be 25 until Feb
ruary 24. The Constitution says
members must be 25.
The Senate voted 19-0, with
Giersdorf abstaining, to accept
his • resignation.
Trucking Executive
Declares Interior Mail
Would be Faster by Truck
SEATTLE, UR — A trucking
company executive contended to
day that truck mail delivery to(
Alaska, although rejected by the
Post Office Department, would be
advantageous from a standpoint
of speed and frequency.
Henry Jansen, president of Lyn
den Transfer Co. here, said his
firm's experience showed that
mail would reach Alaska by truck
from Seattle in 3Ms to 4 days,
with daily delivery.
“Ratewise,” he said, “truck
rates would be in line with what
the government now is paying.
The rates would be higher than
by ship-rail but advantages of
speed and frequency of delivery
would more than outweigh that.”
Jansen said Interior Alaska
would benefit particularly by
truck delivery, especially through
direct service to such points as
Big Delta, Ft* Greely and Tok
Junction, which are now served
by redistribution from Fairbanks.
A Post Office spokesman in
Washington said yesterday a mail
contract with the Alaska Steam
ship Co. has been renewed for
four years, effective January 1.
He said use of truck mail was re
jected on the ground of higher
cost and because road conditions
for yearwround operation were
considered uncertain.
East-West Powers Heading Into Period
Of Strain, Tension, Declares Hightower
Editor’s Note: In the following
article John M. Hightower, Pulit
zer Prize-winning reporter on in
ternational affairs and chief dip
lomatic correspondent for the As
sociated Press in Washington,
traces the events that show the
spirit of Camp David was only a
wraith, now all but dissolved.
By JOHN M. HIGHTOWER
WASHINGTON, UP) — All that
remains of the spirit of Camp
David is a tattered ghost — too
weak and discredited to influence
this year’s summit negotiations.
A few month ago 1960 was re
garded by many people as likely
to be a hopeful year for a start
on settling East-West issues. That
idea was fostered by the talks
between President Eisenhower
and Soviet Premier Krushchev at
Camp David last September.
The evidence now is that the
Western powers and the Soviet
Union are heading into a period
of\ strain and tension as they try
to wring concessions from each
other.
Since the Western powers have
trouble agreeing among them
selves on when and how they
should stand firm against Soviet
pressures, the strain is sure to
be much worse for them.
Grim and Dangerous
A whole series of incidents has
provided evidence that the forth
coming East-West negotiations are
(Continued on Page Two)
‘FINANCIAL CRISIS LOOMS,’ SAYS
ALASKA PLANNING COMMISSION
Planning Report,
Jobless Pay Will be
First Major Work
JUNEAU, (41 —The 1960 Legis
lature headed toward completion
of its first week today with two
of the largest items likely to come
before the session due for intro
duction.
They are Governor Egan’s rec
ommendations for solving the
state’s ailing jobless insurance
program and the capital expendi
tures recommendations of the
Planning Commission.
The jobless insurance program
| is now some nine million dollars
in the red.
The Governor last year vetoed
a bill proposing amendments to
the employment security meas
ures passed by the 1959 session.
The bill called for a tax for
the employment security fund on
total wages paid, instead of the
present levy against a worker’s
first $4,200 in wages.
That provision of’the bill, par
ticularly, drew sharp opposition
by spokesmen for state business
interests.
There has been no indication of
what Egan’s recommendations will
be — or whether he will follow
the proposals of the majority of a
special committee he named to
study the problem last year.
That committee’s majority rec
ommendation was for enactment
of virtually the same bill that was
vetoed in 1959.
Yesterday the Finance Commit
tees of the House and the Senate
met jointly for the first time to
take a close look at the 36V£-mil
lion-dollar general fund budget
Egan presented to the Legislature
Tuesday.
Meeting with members of the
two committees, in executive ses
sion, were members of the Gov
ernor’s » Budget Review Com
mittee.
Measure Offered Provides
$40-A Day for Legislators
JUNEAU, UPl — A $241,425 ap
propriation bill introduced in the
Alaska Legislature by the House
Finance Committee includes $40
a day in expenses for each law
maker for the 60-day session, plus
$57,200 in salary for employes.
Other expenses covered include
printing iflid binding of session
laws at an estimated cost of
$20,000.
WEATHER FORECAST
Fair and a little colder with
northeaserly winds 15-25 mph.
Lowest temperature expected to
night -10, the high tomorrow -5.
In the past 24 hours: highest
temp. 16, lowest -1. Max. wind 59
mph from the N.E.
By BERNIE MORRIS
JUNEAU, Itf) — The State Plan
ning Commission today presented
the Legislature with a long
awaited capital improvement pro
gram and predicted “a financial
crisis looms ahead” for Alaska.
The ' report forecast deficit
state spending starting with the
next fiscal year if operational
expenditures are maintained at
the present level.
The commission said the pres
ent level of operational services
alone will put the state more than
30 million dollars in the red by
the end of 1966
The report outlined a 324 mil
lion dollar capital improvement
for the next six years. If the pro
gram is carried out, the report
added, the combined total state
deficit would reach $72,369,000 by
fiscal 1966.
80 Million From State Sources
Only about 80 million dollars
of the proposed capital improve
ment program would come from
state sources. Most of the 324 mil
lion dollar total would come -from
federal funds, primarily for use
in highway and airport con
struction.
The financial crisis comes, the
report said, at a critical period in
the development of Alaska’s econ
omy and government.
Unhappily, the transition from
territorial to state government co
incides witlf a leveling off in the
economy as it changes from mili
tary and construction orientation
to a heavier reliance on natural
resources.
The result would toe a leveling
off in state revenues at a time
when more money is needed.
The problem will toe most cri
tical after 1964, when 28 million
dollars in federal transitional
grants expire.
Transition Grants Aid 1960-61
“The state will toe able to meet
the needs for the 1960-61 fiscal
year toy use of transitional grants
and toy drawing heavily on the
accumulated general fund sur
plus,” the report stated.
“Thereafter, a serious deficit is
indicated. This deficit may toe so
large that funds will not exist for
capital improvements of any
kind, all - available funds being
used to operate the government
and provide minimum services to
the people.”
The Planning Commission re
port recommended against Alaska
engaging in a heavy bonding pro
gram to meet its capital improve
ment needs. It said the state, at
its present level of operations,
would have difficulty meeting
bond service requirements.
The report added:
“State matching should never
be blind. Federal funds are lim
(Continued on Page Two)
Capitol Site Changers
Display Only Self-Interest,
Declares Chas. D. Jones
JUNEAU, W) — One of Alaska’s
first lawmakers wrote the state’s
new legislators to express himself
on one of the issues of the hour
— whether the capitol should be
relocated.
The letter, read in the Senate
Thursday, was from Charles D.
Jones of Nome, a 60-year resident
of Alaska and a member of the
Territorial House in the First
Legislature in 1913.
Jones, who last served as a
lawmaker in the 1955 Territorial
Senate, said his letter was “to
express my extreme disapproval
of the efforts of certain of our
citizenry to remove the capitol
from Juneau.”
Said Jones:
“This move, to me, is the most
glaring example of egregious self
interest I have ever seen mani
fested. I condemn it as to being
in any degree 'or sense for the
best interest of the citizenry of
the state."
The capitol move proposal,
however, actually is not a matter
before the Legislature.
As it stands, the proposal ap
pears likely to come up for a
statewide vote later this year in
an election ballot proposing en
actment of an initiative law to
relocate the capitol by 1965.
Early Joint Session
Expected, To Act on
Governor’s Appointments
JUNEAU, UPi — The names of
27 men who had been appointed
to various state posts by Governor
Egan since the end of the 1959
Legislature were sent to the pres
ent Legislature for confirmation
yesterday.
The 27, who have been serving
subject to legislative approval, in
clude seven department heads and
20 members of various state
boards and commissions.
It was unlikely a joint session
of the Legislature to vote on con
firmation would come before
early next week.
The seven members of the Gov
ernor’s cabinet awaiting confir
mation are:
A. H. Romick, Commissioner of
Commerce; Dr. Theo Norby, Edu
cation Commissioner; Clarence
Anderson, Fish and Game Com
missioner; Paul Winsor, Commis
sioner of Health and Welfare;
Brig. Gen. Thomas Carroll, Ad
jutant General; Martin Under
wood, Commissioner of Public
Safety, and Peter Gatz, Commis
sioner of Revenue.
Men up for confirmation as
members of state boards and com
missions included Robert Scott on
the Local Boundary Commission,
and Boyd Harwood on the Uni
versity Board of Regents.
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