Library-Mu seun
Juneau, Alaska
"News oj ^Americas Last Frontier”
fOL. 5 < >. 48
KODIAK, ALASKA FEBRUARY 2, 1946
PRICE 10 CENTS
{Official Hits'Conditions’; Cites Anchorage
uiiding
lanned
A large 3-sfory building pro
eet for Kodiak is being consid
red by the Kodiak Realty &
»vestment Co., it was learned
bis week, and is described by a
sompany official as now being in
be “tentative” stage.
Tbe plan now is to build the
iroject on land of the company
iccupied by deputy U. S. Mar
ball Paul Herring and the fed
sal jail, on a lot that adjoins
be company’s Felder building
nd includes a portion behind it
The new building would have
tores and lobby on the ground
oor and hotel rooms and apart
ments on the two upper stories,
'be building would be L-shaped,
-on ting Main street.
The lease to the Government
XDires June 30 this year and the
tealty company has given notice
£ non-renewal on the lease.
Fwin Slander
Eases Dismissed
What wap described by U. S.
Jommissiouer G. W. Bubendorf
* court as “too much loose talk”
id this week to two hearings in
he Commissioner’s court on suc
easive days, involving slander
barges.
In the first, on Wednesday,
Idna Bezner charged Paul White,
ivilian lineman foreman at the
use, with making defamatory
smarks about her, based on in
>rmation she said B. L. “Pee
,ee” Sherman, electrician, had
stayed to her as having been
wide by the defendant in front
f himself and two Sea bees,
*agan and Warner. The defend
»t, t"he t wo Seabees and Sher
ian testified they had heard no
ich remarks and the case was
ismissed.
As the relayed remarks had
sen addressed to Miss Bezner
afore a number of people in a
«al bar the Sunday before, the
laintiff then filed another sirnil
r charge against Sherman, and
> the hearing on Thursday she
»d her witness, Nellie N. Nolan,
*th testified the defendant had
ade certain derogatory refer
tces in the course of his conver
tioB. Sherman, who acted as
sown counsel, called on Paul
rhite, the previous day’s defend
tt. C. J. ltuch, Fred Whited
id William Wilson as character
finesses.
Kuling that there was insuffiei
t evidence, Commissioner Bu
rodorf dismissed the second
we also. 1
ius Service
To Start
The imw local bus service for
shoppers, sponsored by the
reamsnr’s Union Local 500, will
sta> t this week as soon as asta
ton wagon, to be used on the
run, is ready for seivice. The ve
hicle was purchased from Vincent
Root, and will be driven by
“Hoot” Cassidy.
The passengers will be carried
at a rate of 25 cents for adults
and 10 cents for children, and
will start from the Polar Bear
cafe at 8 am. and hourly un d
the la3t run, wmch will be made
at 6:15. The service will include
all of Mission road, and through
town to Brooklyn avenue
The Teamster’s Union also an
nounces a reduction in fare from
$3 and $2 to the Beachcombers
and Montmartre, to *2and$lt
respectively.
Warren A. Taylor, Fairbanks
attorney, arrived here by plane
this week and has been retained
by the local liquor dealeis’ asso
ciation as counsel in connection
with pending OPA overcharge
cases.
The association is reported to
be working on a compromise a
greement with the OPA.
March Of Dimes
Aid Asked
Despite the fact that the usual
material did not arrive, a belated
March of Dimes collection was
undertaken this week at the in
stigation of Mayor O. A. Torger
son and other volunteer worke-s
Because of conflicts with other
drives it was decided to let the
public contribute voluntarily by
placing dimr° 'arger monetary
units aie also acceptable) in col
lection bott les plac d at strategic
points about town.
Mr. Torgerson said he held
out milk bottles on the Bell dai
ry, and placaids we e printed to
announce the purpose of the col
lection.
As in the years past the money
is aimed priii. arily at the cam
pa'gn to combat in'antile paraly
sis, and half of the collection wi 1
go to the National Foundation
for Infantile Paralysis The re
maining half of all the funds re
main in the Teriitory for similar
work.
Patients at the GM hospital
this week included: Mrs. Paul
Swanson, operation Jan. 27; Mrs.
Jack Delane, medical treatment,
dismissed Jan. 30; Ben Sboll, ad
mitted Feb. 1, treatment for
heart attack.
2 Local Men
Among Candidates
Two Kodiak men have filed
their candidacy for the territor
ial legislature, both seeking a
House post from the 3rd Div
ision.
Emil Knudsen, ex-mayor, will
run as a Republ can with John
Bugge, Palmer; Robert Weimer,
Cecil Jones and J. C. Morris, all
of Anchorage; Thorwald Osbo,
Seward; Gerrit Snyder of Was
illa.
Among the Democratic candi
dates is Jack Allman, local prop
erty owner and co partner in the
Cheechako Club, and the othei
Democratic aspirants include
Robert, McNealy, Seldovia; Jack
Conright, Stanley McCutcheon,
Glen Barnett, Anchorage; C. A.
Pollard, Kasilof; William Egan,
Valdez; Walter Huntley, Palmer.
Latest word on Alaska Steam
ship boats is that the Alaska,
which saued from Seattle on Jan.
29 is due here about next Tues
day.
The Cordova will leave Seattle
next on Feb. 9, it is reported
now
Pfc. Patrick Anderson, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Julius Anderson,
arrived here yesterday from
Anchorage on a 30-day furlough
Father Gerasim First Hears ‘Rasputin’
Story On Arrival Here; Issues Denial
Father Gerasim Schmaltz ar
rived in Kodiak this week on the
Cordova from Ouzinkie, and
learned for the first time that
his name had been linked with
Rasputin in the series of articles
bv Russell Annabel), United
Press correspondent.
His friends, Mr. and Mrs.Fred
Sundberg,broke the news to him,
with Mr. Sundberg reading him
the full account and refutation
in last week’s Mirror.
What was his reaction? “I
think I’d better have a glass of
beer,” he said. And did.
Later he called on the Mirror
to categorically deny the whole
fantastic surmise that he might
be Rasputin.
“It’s all a big lie, of course,”
he said, and then laughed as he
thought of the ridiculousness of
it.
"Why would anybody say such
a crazy thing?” he asked. “1 was
born iu Alexin, Russia and Ras
putin was born in Siberia He
was of the lowest peasant class
and I’m not. And I am not that
old!” he added emohatically.
After briefly reviewing his life
history (his father was German),
he was asked if the story of his
life in last week’s Mirror, as gar
nered from friends, was correct.
It was true, he said, he was 28
when he went to Afognak, but
his birth date is correctly 1888
(“easy to nmemker, three 8’s ’)
ins.ead of 1889 as given.
Father Gerasim also resolved
the questions about the date of
his coming to Alaska. He came
to Alaska as stated in 1916, but
he went first to Sitka, it was in
February of the next year that
he came on to Afognak.
Many people incorrectly
placed his coming in 1916 be
cause it was remembered iocally
that he held services for a num
ber of people drowned that year.
He did conduct such services,but
they were special services held
much later than the accident, af
ter his a.iival the next spring.
Although the main idea of the
Rasputin tale appeared absurdly
funny to Father Gerasim,he defi
nitely did not like some of the
personal references to his “dis
hevelled appearance,” ‘wild,tang
led black beard” and similar in
accurate descriptions.
j
Asked if he had ever said he
“knew Rasputin and went to
school with him” Father Gera
sim was explosively emphatic.
“I never would tell anybody
that,” he said, “and if anybody
says I did he’s 1 eing.” The near
est he ever came to the famed
Rasputin personage was know
ing a church official who later
was active in opposition to Ras
putin’s influence in the church,
Father Gerasim added.
Before leaving Fathe; Gerasim
said “Besuie to put in the pa
per that the Rasputin story is
all a lie and anybody can find
out that everything I say is true.
Why did that man (Annabel)
write such things?” His question
remained unanswered.
The Anchorage newspaper
that first featured Annabel’s
story printed dentals of Father
Gerasim’s Anchorage friends in
the next issue, and other newspa
pers primed denials also. Said the
San Franc1 sco Chronicle: “We
suspect that Russell Annabel of
the United Press was pulling the
American leg a little in passing
along the story.”
As the result of a letter from a
group of citizens near the "line”
district to James H. Patterson,
U S. Marshal, 3rd division, with
headquarters at Anchorage, a re
ply was received this week and a
copy directed to the city cobneil,
where it was presented Monday
night.
In it Marshal Patterson hit
Alaska communities for their ex
cessive liquor and prostitution,
citing in strong terms the city of
Anchoiage as an example Of the
type of town that results from
such evils and struck equally as
strong at Kodiak, claiming it will
have "only a fairly few good
buildings surrounded by shacks
and ragged children" when nor
mal times return
The letter directed to him
claimed the line was operating
and asked his help in closing it.
Marshal Patterson’s reply in
part said:
"It is serious and pitiful that
the aw abidine people of this
(continued on page 9,
157 Vote; Demos
Get Big Lead
Sgt. Steve McCutcheon and
Robert Warren, Territorial cand
idates endorsed by the local Cen
tral Labor council, walked away
with the votes cast in last Tues
day’s special election. The Kod
iak precinct allied 157 voters.
A little confusion was evident
among voters from a number of
ballots cast linking the candidate
with the wrong office. The vote
was as follows:
For Senator
Sgt. Steve McCutcheon 128
Gunnard Englebteili 11
Walkoweki 2
Waggoner J
Wr. Wagner 2
Griffen 6
For Representative
Robert Warren 126
William J. Wagner 16
Sgt. S. McCutcheon 2
Dunia Hartman 1
Walkowski 1
Englebreth 1
In addition 13 votes were cast
at the Mission precinct, 10 for
McCutcheon, 10 for Warren, 3
for Engebreth and 1 for Wagner.
In the Territory, McCntcheon
and Warren stayed in the lead
as outlying districts came in.
Returns were as lollows:
McCutcheon, 931 votes; Enge
bretli 730; Dr A. S. Walkowski
473; and H. A. Griflen 248.
Warren 1202; Wagner 1077.
Anchorage favored the Repub
lican candidates m the follor ing
vote: Engel retb 446; MeColeht>
[on 42i ; Walkowski 352.
I Wagner 682; Wa ren 607.