m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. LXI No. 23 NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1959 Per Copy—15<U
Joint Legislative Committees Ponder
Methods for Department Head Control
JUNEAU, UP> — Much of the
work went on behind the scenes
Saturday as committees took up
two of the knotty problems con- ,
fronting the first State Legisla- j
ture.
After three public hearings on
the state reorganization bill, the j
10-member majority policy com
mittee of the Legislature met with
Chairman of the House and Sen
ate State Affairs Committees.
It appears acting Governor
Wade’s request to have all oper
ating heads of all state depart
ments answerable to the chief ex
ecutive may be modified to pro
vide for commissions over the edu
cation, fish and game depart
ments.
The fate of state officials’ pay
rests with a six-man committee.
The question was turned over to
the committee when the Senate
and House failed to agree on a
pay scale. The committee could
completely rewrite the bill, ig
noring both the House approved
$24,000 figure for the Governor
and the Senate recommendation
of $25,000.
Financing education has been a
primary concern of the Legisla
ture. Saturday, the Senate passed
a bill to raise to 90 per cent the
highest rate of state school sup
port to local schools. This would
apply to schools with less than
200 pupils which now qualify for
85 per cent. And to avoid defi
ciency expenditures, the measure
would" limit payments to those
funds appropriated by the Legis
lature.
Both houses have passed reso
lutions calling for educational fi
nancing studies. The House di
rected the Governor’s office to
conduct a survey of school facility
needs with particular emphasis on
the possibility of bonding pro
grams to finance future construc
tion.
The Senate resolution directed
the Legislative Council to con
duct a comprehensive fiscal study
of various state school support
programs.
It will be one of the major
problems for the Legislative Coun
cil, which got a new executive di
rector Saturday. He is John C.
Doyle of Juneau, who was named
to head the permanent staff of the
interim committee of the Legis
lature.
Doyle, research chief for the
council for the last year, takes
over the $11,000 a year post from
Henry Camarot. Camarot, head
of the council staff for two years,
resigned to enter private law
practice at Fairbanks.
President Confers !
With Sec. Dulles
In Hospital
WASHINGTON, UPI — President
Eisenhower went to Walter Reed
Army Hospital today for another
visit with ailing Secretary of State
Dulles.
It was Eisenhower’s fourth
trip to Dulles’ bedside since the
doctors announced February 14
that the secretary had suffered a
recurrence of cancer.
It was Eisenhower’s only an
nounced engagement for this
Washington’s Birthday holiday.
Meanwhile, a suggestion by
Senator Stuart Symington (D
Mot that Dulles resign brought a
retort from White House Press
Secretary James C. Hagerty:
“It is remarkable what people
will say to get th$ir names in the
papers,” Hagerty said.
In reply to questions, Hagerty
told reporters President Eisen
hower is aware of Symington’s
suggestions *but had no comment
about it.
“He is also aware,” Hagerty
said, “that many other members
of the Senate are saying that we
should avail ourselves of Mr.
Dulles’ servics.”
Dulles talked about the interna
tional situation Sunday with Vice
President Nixon, and later with
his brother, Allen W. Dulles.
The subdued disagreement over
whether Dulles should resign was
stepped up a bit by Symington
on Saturday. He said in St. Louis
that he didn’t think Dulles could
run the State Department from
a hospital.
EDNA FERBER WRITES AGAIN
The February issue of Vogue
Magazine, with a 'half-million cir
culation, carries an article, “I
Never Saw an Igloo in Alaska,”
by Edna Ferber. It is written in
the sure Ferber style, and includes
some clearly-etched observations
of Alaska’s towns and beauty.
House Busy On
Weekend Business
JUNEAU, UPi — It was a busy
day for the House Saturday, what
with the introduction of bills, res
olutions and memorials and the
disposition of several measures.
House approval was given to
bills permitting the transfer of
funds for boat harbor construction
and of unobligated harbor funds
to finance a temporary public
works program in economically
distressed areas. A fund transfer
in the military department was
also approved.
Other measures receiving the
House okay would permit accep
tance of federal aid for education
and provide round trip airplane
fare for each legislator from his
home to Juneau.
The reimbursement bill was
passed 22-16 ater a squabble de
veloped over the amount of excess
baggage to be paid for by the
state. The bill was amended to
permit 50 pounds of excess bag
gage.
Three memorials and a resolu
tion won approval. The memorials
urged construction of an armory
at Barrow, moving the fur process
ing and market, and congratu
lated Oregon on it centennial cele
bration. The reolution directed the
Governor’s office to study needs
for juvenile correction facilities
in the state and suggested a bond
ing program to meet construction
costs.
Presented for House considera
tion were two bills relating to
highways. One would incorporate
ferries in the highway system and
would eliminate, in so far as prac
tical, the present restriction on
spending highway funds outside
the districts in which it has been
collected. '
The second measure would di
rect the Highway and Public
Works Department to construct
roads to inaccessible areas abound
ing in rich mineral resources.
Egan May Need
More Surgery
SEATTLE, — Alaska’s Gover- !
nor William A. Egan, who has un
dergone three operations since
December, may have to face an
other one “in a month or so,” for
removal of a gallstone, his doc
tors said today.
Egan, 44-year-old Democrat,
will leave the hospital here Wed
nesday. 36 days after emergency
surgery for an intestinal bloc and
abdominal paralysis. He will re
main here for another month to
recuperate.
Egan underwent surgery in De
cember for Hemorrhoids and on
January 6 was operated upon in
Juneau for gallstones and removal
of his gall bladder. The bowel
paralysis was caused by bile leak
age into the abdomen around a
malfunctioning drain tube.
Alaska Solons Ask
Navy Release
Arctic Oil Lands
WASHINGTON, UP — Sources
close to the House Armed Serv
ices Committee say the chances
are favorable that the House will
be asked before the current ses
sion ends to vote on a bill to
abolish the Navy’s Alaskan petro
leum reserve.
The bill would return it to the
public domain, thereby opening
to possible private development,
a 37,000-square-mile area in
which the Navy has spent nearly
50 million dollars searching for
oil.
The proposal has been intro
duced in the House by Represen
tative Ralph Rivers and in the
Senate by Senator Bob Bartlett.
Bartlett has asked Senator Rich
ard Russell, Senate Armed Serv
ices Committee chairman, to give
the bill an early airing on that
side of the capitol.
While there appears little
chance for an early hearing on
the House said, committee aides
say they expect action there this
year.
Navy support for the proposal
was indicated last week in the an
nouncement by Bartlett of the
Navy’s willingness to return the
buffer zone surrounding the Alas
kan Reserve to the public domain.
The Navy is known to feel that
the Arctic area is not suitable
for a Navy petroleum reserve
even if large quantities of oil were
found there because of its loca
tion, climate and transportation
problems.
The bill also would appear to
be in line with the Administra
tion suggestion, set forth by Pres
ident Eisenhower in his budget
message to Congress, for disposal
of the Naval reserves.
The Alaskan Reserve, officially
designated as Naval Petroleum
Reserve No. 4, was set aside by
President Harding in 1923. Little
exploration was conducted in the
area until World War II. Between
1944 and 1953, however, the spend
ing of nearly 50 million dollars
determined the presence of both
oil and gas, but disclosed no large
oil fields.
PITTSBURGH, UP — Mrs. Thel
ma Lippert has a poor record in
races with the stork. But she al
ways gets the prize.
An 8-pound, 2-ounce girl was
born Sunday to Mrs. Lippert be
fore she could leave home for the
hospital. She has won only one
of five races with the stork.
Okleasik Takes Third Heat, But Final
Fastest Time Made By Galena Team
ANCHORAGE, {Rh — Galena’s
Jimmy Malemute won the 1959
Fur Rendezvous Alaska Sled Dog
Racing championship Sunday, and
a total of $2,100 in prize money.
Malemute finished second in
Sunday’s 25-mile heat, but he had
the best time for the 75-mile
even, five hours, 30 minutes and
58 seconds.
Sunday’s winner was Isaac Ok
leasik of Teller, who finished in
one hour, 51 minutes and 29
seconds. Malemute’s time yester
day was 20 seconds slower.
Malemute won the first heat
Friday, finished second Saturday
and Sunday, to wind up 10 min
utes and 12 seconds faster than
Fairbanks’ Gareth Wright, who
ran 75 miles in 5:41, to collect a
total of $850 in prize money.
Three seconds behind Wright
for total elapsed time was Berg
man Sam of Huslia, whose lap
money and overall prize amounted
to $1,000.
Leo Kriska of Koyakuk Station
was fourth, and will take home
$400.
Virgil Titus of Minto was fifth,
and wins $500. Okleasik was sixth
in overall time, but with Sunday’s
$600 lap money, wound up with
$900.
Finishing third Sunday was
Virgil Titus, and Dr. Roland Lom
bard of Weyland, Mass., was
fourth.
The Easterner was fourth Fri
day 10 th Saturday, and fourth
again Sunday, to collect a total
of $250.
Again the teams toured the
rugged course in sunny, 30-degree
weather which attracted big
crowds to the start and finish line
on Fourth Avenue and various
check points along the trail.
Okleasik returned to Nome this
morning with Arctic Club repre
sentative Paul Mandeville.
Mandeville praised Okleasik for
a superb job of racing. “He put
his heart into it, and the crowd
loved it. We appeared on TV at
KENI, and also on TV each day
of the race.
Okleasik started 22nd the first
day, third place the second day,
and 8th place the third day. Un
fortunately, his team got away
from him the second day, on 5th
Avenue and Cordova Street, so
he lost 12 minutes, otherwise he
would have placed at the top, or
next to the top.”
Mandeville expressed apprecia
tion to Mr. and Mrs. Walt Ste
phen, who were the official hosts
for Isaac, and who cared for his
dogs at their place on Lake Otis
Road. Also, to Greater Anchorage,
Inc., and the Musher’s Club, for
their hospitality.
In addition to $900 Isaac brought
home a trophy for having his team
in the best condition after the
entire race.
While in Anchorage, Paul Man
deville spoke at the Rotary Club,
as well as at the Musher’s Club
dinner on Sunday evening.
This was Nome’s first entry in
the Rendezvous dog races and was
made possible by the Arctic Club,
which sponsored Okleasik, and by
Alaska Airlines, who provided the
transportation.
Kremlin Talks
‘Friendly,’ Says
MacMillan Aide
MOSCOW, UP> — Prime Minis
ter MacMillan and Premier
Khrushchev met for two and a
half hours in the Kremlin today,
and apparently discussed the dis
armament deadlock between the
West and the Russians.
The official Soviet news agen
cy in a brief dispatch after the
meeting, said that MacMillan and
Khrushchev had “friendly conver
sations.”
MacMillan and Khrushchev got
down to formal Kremlin talks after
a get-acquainted weekend in the
country.
The British Prime Minister got
second billing in the Moscow press
however. The Communist Party
organ Pravda devoted top space
to an editorial lauding the Red
Army — which marked its 41st
anniversary Sunday — and gave
only brief mention to the Khrush
chev-MacMillan parley.
“The two great men got on very
well together,” a British source
said.
Anchorage Crash Kills
Two Private Fliers
ANCHORAGE, UPi — Two men
were killed yesterday when a pri
vate plane nose-dived into the
frozen ground as they were tak
ing off from the city’s airfield.
Smoky Thomas, the pilot, died
in the crash. Jack Bolen Jr. was
rushed to a hospital, but died a
short time later.
The crash occurred when the
engine apparently stalled as the
plane was becoming airborn.
Both men were reported to be
mechanics for Carr-Dziuk Aero
services at the field.
Fairbanks High School
Receives Honor Award
VALLEY FORGE, Pa., UPi — A
high school in Fairbanks was
among more than 700 schools, indi
viduals and groups honored Sun
day by Freedoms Foundation “for
their work in helping to bring
about a better understanding of
the American way of life during
1958.”
Monroe High School at Fair
banks was awarded a $100 prize
and an honor medal for a high
school editorial titled “We Asked
for It.”
Highest awards by the patriotic
organization this year went to
Dr. Arthur Schuck, chief execu
tive of the Boy Scouts of Amer
ica, and General Charles P. Rom
ulo, Philippine Ambassador to the
United States.
It was the 10th annual program
by the Foundation.
World War II Chief of
Staff Is Seriously 111
FT. BRAGG, N. C., UPi General
George C. Marshall weakened to
day. His condition remains ser
ious.
In a medical report on the 78
year-old general, Col. George M.
Powell, Army physician, said:
“He shows an indication of an
involvment of the pitutiary gland
as evidenced by a definite increase
in water output by way of the
kidneys. This involvment has
complicated his treatment.”
Dr. Powell explained that the
complication of treatment con
cerned feeding, which heretofore
has been by intravenous solution
and through a tube into his stom
ach.
The general’s second stroke was
accompanied by mild pneumonia.
Col. Powell reported the pneu
monia under control.