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JL reight Rates—Wolf at Alaska’s Door” was the recently published quotation from
proceedings at the rate hearing. This accusation wasn't really surprising. We knew in
advance the nature of charges to be expected; we fee 1 Alaskans have listened to such
fables long enough and it is time they were given the facts.
For this purpose Dr. Henry A. Burd, Professor of Marketing at the University of
Washington, made a special, trip to Alaska during October. After analyzing freight
rate-price relationships in Ketchikan, Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks, he declared
that there is no appreciable connection between freight rates and the high cost of living
in Alaska. To bear out this statement, we invite your examination of the following data,
a reproduction in part of Dr. Burd’s report (Alaska Steamship Company’s proportion
of Anchorage and Fairbanks freight charges have been added as well as Seattle prices
from stores offering service comparable to that of Alaskan stores).
KETCHIKAN JUNEAU ANCHORAG: fAiRSANKS SEATTLE
Retail Retail Retail S<earr..:.)p Retail Steamship Retail
ITEM Price Freight Price Freight Price Fre.ght Portion K.ce Freight Portion Price
Bacon (piece, lb.) $0.90 9/10* $0.90 1e $1.00 3-9/10c 2-3/5* $1.00 5-1/2c 2-1/5* $0.85
Butter
(Darigold, lb.)— .91 4/5* .93 1c 1.08 4-9/10* 1-1/W* 1.10 7-5/10* f-1/10* .87
Canned Milk *
(Darigold)-.15 1/5* .16 4/Se .17 2-3/5c 1-3/10* .18 4-l/5e 1-2/5* .13
Canned Soup <
(Campbell)- .18- .20- .20- .23- .11
.20 1/2* .23 3/Sc .25 2c • 9/10* .27 3-1/5c 1* .18
Coffee (lb.)-.53- .57- .55- .57- .51.
.57 1-9/10* .59 2-1/2* .60 3-2/5c 1-4/5* .60 5-2/5c 1-4/5* .52
Dry Beans (lb.)- .24 1/5* .29 7/10* *.33 2-2/5c 1-1/lOc .24 3-4/5e 1-1/10* .25
Eggs
(large, doz.)-.90 4-1/10* .84 5c • .95 7-3/IOc l-9/10c .95 12c 3-9/10* .87
Flour (49 Ibe.)- 5.55 29-2/5* 5.75 36-7/10* 6.50 84-l/5c 54-1/5c 6.75 1.14-1/10 56-1/5* 4.70
Lard (lb.)-.• .38 1-1/10* .30 1-2/5* • .55 2-7/10c 1-2/5* .55 4-1/5* 1-2/5* .37
Macaroni (lb.)- .24 l-l/10c .25 1-3/5* .25 2-2/5e 1-1/10* .28 3-4/5c 1-1/10* .19
Sugar (lb.)- .11 3/5* .lift 7/10* .13y2 2-2/5c 1-3/10* .14 3-4/5c l-l/10c .09
Bold face type Indicates only revenue received by Alaska Steamship Company.
Because of the longer haul, freight rates are naturally higher to Juneau than Ketchikan,
and to Fairbanks than Anchorage, but if you will notice the prices of those items marked
with an asterisk (*) you will see that in some instances the Ketchikan prices are the same
or higher than Juneau prices and some Anchorage prices the same or higher than Fairbanks
prices. This is a definite indication that local market conditions actually play the major .
role in determining prices of food. This is further borne out by a recent Territorial
Department of Labor report published in Alaska papers to the. effect that for the
period June to September, of this year, Anchorage food prices rose 10% while Fairbanks
prices rose but 6%.
There are many factors which make up local market conditions such as wage and salary
levels, rentals, delivery costs, credit practices. We are not trying to cover this subject in
detail, but merely mention these items by way of explanation. However, from the data
shown, including Seattle prices, we believe you will agree that freight rates are not a
“Wolf at Alaska’s Door” and that such statements are most misleading and contribute
nothing to the solution of Alaska’s problems.
Sincerely,
ALASKA STEAMSHIP COMPANY
• *
Serving All Alaska
\
French Charge
Reds Declare Open
War on Democracy
PARIS, (/P)—Premier-designate
Leon Blum told the national as
, sembly today “International Com
munism has openly declared war
; on French democracy” and that
| “the republic is in danger” also
j from Gen. Charles De Gaulle’s
right wing People’s party.
“The situation is grave,” the 75
■ year-old Socialist leader declared.
Blum sought assembly authority
| to form a government to repla e
that of Socialist Premier Paul Ra
madier, who resigned Wednesday.
As he spoke, a half million work
eres were on strike in critical indus
tries throughout France and »he
labor situation hourly was grow
ing worse.
All workers in Paris transport,
chemical, building, leather, paper,
glass and pharmaceutical indus
tries planned a one-hour work
stoppage for this afternoon to
demonstrate their sympathy with
the strikers throughout the nation
and as a protest against the gov
ernment’s use of troops in coping
with the labor situation.
Blum needed a simple majority
—310 of the 618 assembly votes-—
| for authority to form a cabinet. He
was certain to be opposed by both
i the extreme left and the extreme
right.
“The republic which we identi
fy with the fatherland is in dan
ger.” Blum told the deputies.
“Civil liberties, public peace and
peace itself is menaced.
“The danger is double. On one
hand, international communism
has openly declared war on
French democracy. On the other
hand, a party has been constituted
in France which has as it objec
tive, and perhaps its only objec
tive, the separation of national
sovereignty from its fundamental
traditions.”
Obviously he was referring to
De Gaulle’s proposals to revise the
constitution.
“I have come here to sound the
alarm,” the veteran statesman
statesman said.
Peasants Battle
Police In Italy
ROME, (JP) — Peasants battled
carabinieri today in the streets of
Bitonto, near Bari, in a new out
break of the violence which has
taken a growing toll of lives
throughout Italy in the past week.
The fight was touched off by an
attack by an unidentified assail
•ant upon a priest, the Rev. Pas
quale Pileo. The cleric, on his way
to say mass, was shot three times
in the back. In the subsequent
fighting, two carabinieri were
gravely wounded. Armed mobs
ranged the streets. Headquarters
of the Christian Democratic and
the rightist Uomo Qualunque
(Common Man> parties were re
ported wrecked.
Disorders turned into bloody
skirmishing in the strike-bound
Apulia region in the heel of Italy
yesterday, and four persons were
killed, dispatches to Rome news
papers said.
The total dead in the recent epi
demic of leftist-led disorders
; throughout all Italy was near 20.
In this capital, Premier Alcide
de Gasperi, whose Christian Dem
ocratic government is a target of
a concentrated leftist attack, con
ferred with the general command
er of the carabinieri
. Legal Blanks at The Nugget office