THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday. Wednesday .and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 6it<
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. Boucher . .Owner-Publisher
Emily Boucher .Local Editor
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at he postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Monday, January 24, 1949
TAX “EVERYBODY ELSE EXCEPT ME”
(Anchorage Daily Times)
The great day when Alaska gets a sensible tax pro
gram may be at hond.
The Legislature is in session. It has conquered the
problems of organization and is moving forward in its
legislative procedure looking toward enactment of some
kind of tax; laws.
Many of the legislators consider the results of the last
election a mandate from the people that they are to un
tangle the fiscal woes of the Territory through the en
actment of a new tax program.
The aim of the new program is to tap the many latent
resources of Alaska and compel them to pay a proper
share of the cost of government in the Territory. It is
repeatedly pointed out that the taxes should be levied
on the basis of ability to pay.
The Territory being flat on its face financially, cred
itors howling for lack of payment and welfare problems
multiplyig pathetically for lack of funds, the legisla
ture cannot ignore the so-called mandate of the people
to do something about it.
It is inevitable that numerous tax bills will be intro
duced, based on every conceivable theory of taxation.1
The hopper will be crammed with proposals that must
filter through the channel maze leading to enactment.
Meanwhile, there is developing definite efforts of spe
cial groups to duck the taxes which may hit them under j
the new program.’
Labor has come out vehemently opposed to any form
of sales tax, or any other tax that will fall on the lower
income brackets.
Miners and farmers are just as opposed to any tax on
property. !
Business establishments look with apprehension on
any move to levy taxes on their operations.
* It might be said that Alaskans have become convinced
that some sort of a sensible tax program is needed but
now that it appears imminent, each Alaskan considers
sensible only a law which will tap “everybody else ex
cept me”
These selfish views may develop into tenions that
will be reflected in cleavages within the Legislature.
The powerful lobbyists representing the fisheries will
be looking for these cleavages. They are the tools with
which they work.
With many tax proposals in the hopper, the lobbyists
will be in a position to carefully cultivate the tensions
that lead to cleavages with the aim of complicating the
picture to a point where emotions replace objective
thinking, personalities outweigh merit.
Thus the selfish ambitions of individuals and groups
within Alaska could well become a noisy din jeopardiz
ing enactment of any tax program at all.
Such an imbroglio would meet with approval of no
body. The best way to avoid it is to soft-pedal the sel
fishness, be prepared to pay modest taxes and encour
age sanity and objectivity in the Juneau deliberations.
It must be recognized that it is impossible to write a
tax law which will comply with the wish of every Alas
kan to have it collectible from “everybody else except
„ _ »»
me.
CROWN JEWELS FACE HOUSING SHORTAGE
Even Britain’s crown jewels have housing and queu
ing problems. Only 6,000 of the 20,000 visitors a day at
the Tower of London are able to see them. As a result,
efforts are being made to move the display to larger
quarters. Col. E. H. Carkeet-James, said: “I ljape soon
we shall have the use of the dungeons for the display of
the crown jewels. There we can spread out a bit and
there would be plenty of room.
Northwestern Alaska
Chamber of Commerce
Legislative Program
20th SESSION, 1949
<
To the Members of
The 20th Legislature,
Juneau. Alaska.
Gentlemen:
We respectfully submit f&r your
consideration and support the pro
gram for Alaska and especially the
por ion which deals with hte Sec
ond Divsion.
This program has been careful
ly considered and studied by Com
mittees, has been adopted at our
regular meetings and indorsed in
our forum.
These meetings have been held j
during he last two months and j
have been attended by capacity
crowds which have been open to
the public.
Our Chamber has assembled
data in support of these measures
but in the interest of simplicity
and brevity we have decided to
present in this brief form, because j
we believe that you are well in- j
^rmed and are in possession of
the material facts which will aid
you in taking action before Com
mittees and to present our needs
on the floor of the House and Sen
ate.
However, if requested by wire
or otherwise, we will foe glad to
submit to you, at our expense any
information required.
THE NEEDS OF NOME
AND NORTHWESTERN ALASKA
The Second Division has many
urgent needs, due to the fact that
we have received niggardly con- 1
sideration from the recent Ses
sions.
However; in justice to them we
must admit that the war and eco
nomic conditions and handicaps
have prevented them to follow any
other course.
But; today, with such a favor
able and hopefully promising out
look, we are certain that your ef
forts will prove successful in se
curing for us much valuable leg
islation.
We hope that your efforts will
be commensurate with our needs
to overcome the retarded and ne
glected development and assist the
movement as suggested by the
program for a new era of growth
and development.
HOADS
Rome considered road building
paramount, roads were built as
they invaded; no different today,
progress and advancement are
linked with transportation devel
opment.
Our road program has been
sidetracked these past war years,
nothing has been added to our
roads, what repairs and mainte
nance has been done has been
very limited.
It is therefore evident that we
should strongly urge the National
Government and the Legislature to
adopt such measures that will per
mit the undertaking of a long
range program which will include
sufficient funds that will permit
the expenditure of a progressive
program as outlined in the attach
ed program.
We hope that you will get be
hind this request and use your
very best efforts to see that our
dreams for roads come true.
ROAD PROGRAM
Adopted unanimously at the
general meeting September 28,
1948
Cl) Change the road between
Nome and Soioonon; building it o.i
the ror h side of the Safety La
oon a acre it would be safe from
-.tor.ns and usable for more
months of the year. 'There have
been a couple of preliminary sur
veys made on this several years
ago.)
<2> To extend the Nome-Council
road along the lines surveyed by
the Government Engineers five
years ago, from Teller through
Council, White Mountain, Golovm,
Koyuk, then on to Nulato. Event
ually arriving at Fairbanks, there
by having the Territory connected
by a trunk highway.
(3) Rehabilita ion of the Soward
Peninsula Railroad. 'They have
had in the past few years a small
crew working on this road. That
portion of the track which had
been removed or made impass
able, between Little Creek and
Nome has been replaced).
(4) To complete the Bunker
Hill-Taylor road.
(5) To complete the Nome-Tel
ler road. (There has been a pre
liminary survey made over this
route).
(6) Increase the appropria ion
for road money for the Second
Division.
f
MINING
For us to elaborate on the
wealth and potentialities of min
ing in our Division will be unnec
essary as you are already well in
formed and many reports are
available to you in Juneau, but to
do something toward encouraging
the resumption of mining and re
urn the prospector to the mills is
of momen ous importance.
Our Territorial Bureau of Mines
is ably managed, while it is short
on personnel and Divisional Assay
Offices, still they have prepared a
very large amount of data from
their investigations conducted in
the field during the past year.
The Bureau report as p *ecen e:l
to the Legislature contains many
valuable suggestions and recom
mendations the Bureau has on
hand many plans to offer to return
the prospector to the hills
We therefore suggest to you to
visit them and obtain whatever in
formation you require on mining.
The Bureau program is worthy
of your ^attention and we request
you to support it and strongly
urge for you to work for larger
ippropria ions for the office to
perm:t them to carry on a progres
sive program.
We also request you to urge the
re-establishment of the Nome As
say office at Nome with sufficient
personnel to conduct field exam
inations.
HYDROELECTRIC POWER
INVESTIGATION
Undoubtedly you are aware that
the Federal Government through
the Bureau of Reclamation in
Juneau is actively engaged in the
investigation of Power Sites in
Alaska. The Board recently came
to Nome and made an aerial ex
amination and we believe they are
•'commending a ground survey
of the power sites in the vicinity
of Nome.
As we believe that there can be
no great amount of development
• under the present high cost of
fuel and transportation, Water
, Power can furnish the incentive
and power to develop mining; re
duce the cost of living; aid in the
creation of new industries and as
• sist our present economic way of
| life by reducing the cost of opera
tion.
It is a known fact that our Di
vision is rich in Power Sites. We
believe that there is nothing more
construe ive and necessary than
he Water Power Development.
Therefore we urge you to sup- ^
port the bill for Hydro-electric
Power development and make it
your business that action is taken
soon in order to permit something
to be done in that respect this
coming season.
Your support and urgency of
your effort should be manifested
to the Bureau of Reclamation in
Juneau.
SCHOOLS
Our schools in Nome and in the
Division need your constant and
immediate support and attention.
All sections of the Territory
will urge their problems. Unless
we together stand for our interest
we will be left behind.
Your support of the school pro
gram is respectfully requested,
your Territorial School Board’s
report is comprehensive and ade
quate. We hope that you will study
it and use your best effort to see
that the portions pertaining to our
Division are maintained and
adopted;
In order to get our just share it
will be necessary that you give
this close attention.
BERING SEA FISH SURVEY
You are acquainted with the
present status of this most needed
Survey. Late last fall the Survey
Fish Boat Washington came to
Nome with limited personnel and
poor untried equipment. They
made one or two trials and owing
to the lateness of the season and
the severity of the weather ran in
unsurmountable difficulties, prin
cipally mechanical. The boat re
turned to the Sta'es. They prom
ised to return in the spring.
This project is co-operatively
and jointly undertaken by the De
partment of Fish and Wild Life
and the Alaska Development
Board. It is necessary that we
show our interest and urgency
toward making sure that the Sur
vey is undertaken as soon as the
elements permit in the spring.
We therefore remind you of the
necessity of singly and collective- \
ly visiting these offices and by
letter and resolution urge speedy
action. A Legislative Memorial
would be of much assistance.
NOME SEA WALL AND
HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS
The successful campaign in ob
taining the passage of the bill by
Congress was a victory for Nome
and Northwest Alaska, but now
we all must get behind :he move
to obtain the appropriation to do
the work.
We need all of the influence
and help that we can muster, the
committee in charge, the Cham
ber of Commerce and the City
Council with the people behind
them are doing their best to get
results.
We suggest that you will use all
your efforts to urge that a speedy
action is taken to permit the as
sembling of the material and
work started as soon as the ele
ments will permit it.
We believe that a Memorial sup
porting this will help materially.
HOUSING LEGISLATION
There will be an early consider
ation of the housing problem.
Some action will surely be taken
to relieve the present housing si'.
uation in Alaska.
It is therefore necessary that
you follow every move in that re
spect and see that the Second Di
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