THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
• NOME, ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 • P. O. Brx 618
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
E. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
IN OPPOSITION TO LAND WITHDRAWALS
(Taken from a Statement of The Alaska Development Board)
The cumulative effect of Alaska land withdrawals is crushing.
Not only is development hampered, investment discouraged and
settlement made difficult, but the vast total of reservations is serving
even to deprive the people of Alaska of the rights to full citizenship
and self government. When the Alaska statehood bill was debated
in the United States Senate in February of this year, senator after
senator came forward to state opposition to granting statehood to
Alaska on the ground that too much land in the Territory had been
reserved and withdrawn, making it doubtful whether Alaska as a
state could engender a healthy economy and be self supporting.
Those who foment reservations must certainly take a share of the
responsibility for the resulting vote by which the Alaska statehood
bill was shelved and Alaskans denied once more the rights and
privileges which citizens of the United States feel should be theirs
without question or quibble.
What is happening in Southeastern Alaska also is happening in
other parts of the Territory: in souih-central, interior and north
western Alaska. Development is on the march, but it needs land
to march on.
No one, literally, knows how much land has been withdrawn
and why. But in a preliminary compilation, the Bureau of Land
Management reported recently that as of June 30, 1950, there
were at least 543 withdrawals and reservations in Alaska totalling
114,315,819 acres. It was admitted the list was not complete, that
total withdrawals might number as many as 600, perhaps adding
another few million acres to the total. It was also stated there, prob
ably was an overlapping of 10 percent or more in the total given.
In any event the acreage reserved and withdrawn from use
constitutes a lot of land—larger than the total area of the states
of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and
Maryland, not just state by state, but all of them combined.
Yet, the statement that there is room to expand in Alaska is
not quite correct. More than 99 percent of Alaska’s land is under
federal ownership, a large portion of it in reserved or withdrawn
status. In fact, land for a homestead, resort site, industrial site or
for any other private purpose is one of the most precious com
modities in the Territory, as almost everyone who has attempted to
obtain such land will testify.
Let’s have a look at what actually happenend in one recent
typical period. Between May 1, 1950, and June 30, 1951, a total of
32 withdrawals covering 284,461 acres were made in Alaska. The
military forces accounted for 15 of the withdrawals, nearly half,
and theirs were by all odds the largest, for they constituted 257,
613 acres, or 90.4 percent of the total. There is the detailed record
of what happened in that 13 months.
It began on May 3 with what appeared to be a happy event,
when .1,350 acres on Middleton Island were revoked as an air navi
gation site. But these acres were immediately picked up by the
Air Force. On August 15, eleven acres were withdrawn near Juneau.
On September 11, 1,700 acres on St. Lawrence Island were
withdrawn by the Air Force. This was followed by a withdrawal of
14,285 acres on Kuskokwim Bay on October 14 and 21,560 acres
near Fairbanks on November 9, both by the same service.
On November 22, the military released 1,469 acres near Fair
banks. Lest there be -any misunderstanding, however, the very public
land order which made the revocation rewithdrew the land for the
Air Force. Three thousand -eight hundred twenty - seven acres were
withdrawn near Fairbanks by the air force on December 12. On
February 2, 118,840 acres near Mt. McKinley were withdrawn for
national defense purposes.
Of the total land withdrawn or reserved in Alaska, that set
aside for the military—army, navy and air force—exceeds 52,000,000
acres as compared with a mere 20,000,000 acres for all military
purposes in all the 48 states.
Almost 30,000 acres of easily accessible coal land are held in
reserve status while co'al remains in short supply and coal users—
including mostly the military — cry out for greater production.
Pumice needed for building materials cannot be removed from the
only place where a supply of the necessary quality is readily avail
able, because that place lies in a never-visited corner of Katmai
National Mounment. Stock raising and agriculture production on the
only level land in Southeast Alaska is prevented because the area
has been withdrawn in order to increase the size of Glacier Bay
National Monument. Title to outstanding resort sites—and title is
required in order to safeguard developmental investment — cannot
be obtained because these sites are within national forests. Nu
merous enterprises are prevented or handicapped by the 80-rod
shore-space reservation. Others have to cope with the 300-foot re
servation for right of way along our highways,- or 600 feet if the
Alaska Highway is involved. These are only a few examples.
The proposed Susitna land withdrawal embraces some 86,000
acres directly across Knik Arm from Anchorage. It cuts directly
into the heart of land which may well determine the extent of
future growth of Greater Anchorage.
If Anchorage were to adopt a community theme song, it most
certainly would be “Don’t Fence Me In”—because like no other city
Predict South Will
Remain Solid Dem.
Despite Dixiecrats
(By the Associated Press)
Top Democratic leaders pre
dicted Tuesday the South will re
main solid this November despite
rumblings of Dixie dissatisfaction
with the party platform.
The Democratic nominee, Gov.
Stevenson of Illinois, said South
ern political leaders have given
him “heartening evidences” of
the “fidelity of the South to* the
Democratic party in this cam
paign.”
Two Democratic senators Tues
day gave him more reason for
optimism: Russell Long of Louisi
ana and Theodore F. Green of
Rhode Island said in sepaiate in
terviews the Republican candidate
won’t won a single Southern state.
GOP nominee Eisenhower and
his party are counting heavily on
splitting the South over the civil
rights issue, offsetting the heavy
edge Democrats have over Re
publicans in vote registrations.
The Negro vote — and which
way it might swing—continued to
figure prominently in campaign
calculations.
Eisenhower has said handling
of the explosive civil rights issue
— the one Negroes and other
minority groups are most inter
ested in—should be left mainly to
the states. Most Negro leaders are
against this principle.
But yesterday, after a meeting
with Eisenhower, a group of Re
publican Negro leaders who said
they represent organizations with
three million members came out
flatly for him. This immediately
aroused speculation over whether
he plans to change his civil rights
stand.
Stevenson didn’t seem to be
worried. He said:
“I can hardly see why the
Negro vote can find any happy
refuge in the Republican party.”
Government Ends Fiscal J
Year With 2,695,690 In
Civilian Labor Force
WASHINGTON, (JP) — Uncle
Sam wound up the fiscal year on
June 30 with 112,999 more civ
ilian workers on the payroll than
when the year started.
The Senate - House Committee
on reduction of non-essential fed
eral expenditures reported the in
crease without comment. The civ
ilian labor force, it said, number
ed 2,596,690 at the year’s end.
The great bulk of the increase,
the report said, was in the civilian
payrolls of the military establish
ment. The armed forces’ civilian
labor list, it said, rose 101,571 in
the year to a total of 1,337,172.
Symington Snows Under
Truman Candidate In
Missouri Senator Primary
ST. LOUIS, <iP) — W. Stuart
Symington, a versatile newcomer
to the political wars, amassed an
amazing landslide victory Wed
nesday for Missouri’s Democratic
senatorial nomination.
Symington, a former handy man
in the Truman administration,
soundly trounced the President’s
choice for the nomination in Tues
day’s primary, Atty. Gen. J. E.
(Buck)* Taylor.
Taylor finally conceded defeat
in a brief statement as Syming
ton’s lead soared past 170,000.
It was the third time since he
became President that Truman
had intervened in home state pol
itics, and his third defeat. Two'
years ago his candidate for the
Democratic senatorial nomination
was defeated in the primary by a
scant 4,000 votes. In 1946 his
candidate for a seat in the House
was defeated by a Republican.
Symington, 51 and personable,
formerly was Secretary of the Air
Force, head of the National Secur
ity Resources Board and finally
clean-up man for the RFC.
His opponent in November will
be Republican incumbent James
P. Kem, a bitter foe of administra
tion foreign and domestic policies.
Andrew Nakrak of Shaktoolik
visited the Nugget office yester
day, having been a subscriber for
several years. Andrew is spending
a few days here after a medical
check-up at the hospital.
WEATHER FORECAST
Compiled by the
U.S. Dept, of Commerce Weather Bureau
Continued cloudy with occasion
al light rain today, tonight and
Thursday. Southeasterly winds 15
to 20 mph. Low temperature ex
pected tonight 54, high tomorrow
65.
Nome data last 24 hours as of
7 a.m. today: Temperatures: high
66, low 56. Max. wind 26 mph.
from the E. Sunrise at 3:25, sun
set at 8:51 p.m.
Letter to The Editor
Fairbanks, Aug. 4
We see _ by the local paper
where eight sailors lost their lives
while going ashore from a gov
ernment tanker just a few days
ago. Even after being in Nome
only a few times, it is my opinion
that the people of Nome should
get behind a campaign to get
the Coast Guard located in Nome
again. A Coast Patrol is definite
ly needed in Nome as well as a
Highway Patrol.
Very truly yours,
Alaska Highway Patrol
Lt. A. P. Brandt.
in the Territory, Anchorage is hemmed in by water, mountains
and federal land withdrawals. During the past 10 years, the semi
circle of reserved lands surrounding the city has steadily moved in.
Anchorage must have some place to go if it is to’ continue to
grow and expand. We conservatively estimate the population of
Greater Anchorage will have exceeded the 80,000 mark at the end
of the next five years. Anchorage citizens cannot accept the fate
of being forever confined by land withdrawal barriers. It is not
unreasonable to assume that Anchorage eventually will spread to
the opposite shore of Knik Arm, perhaps sooner than most persons
anticipate.
Three areas in Alaska are geologically favorable for the produc
tion of petroleum. These regions are Arctic Alaska, the Katalla
Yakataga area and the Alaska Peninsula-Cook Inlet province, the
latter extending inland through Matanuska Valley to Nelchina, where
this season the U.S. Geological Survey has a petroleum geology
party.
Representatives of three major oil companies are in Alaska this
season investigating petroleum possibilities. One company is plan
ning an active exploration program next year. Petroleum lands for
private exploration and development are becoming increasingly
scarce because there are so many land withdrawals and reservations
in the area. More than 48,000,000 acres of oil and gas land in
Alaska are in federal reserves.
I
4
Newspaper Fights
Censorship In
Waco Bus Wreck
, V
WACO, Tex., {IP) — Authorities
Tuesday worked to determine
just how many persons died in
the flaming crash of two Grey
hound buses near here Monday.
Meanwhile civilians working for
the military barred newsmen and
others from the morgue where the
bodies are held.
Shortly thereafter, the execu
tive editor of the Waco Times
Herald, angered at what he called
“censorship,” telephoned Wash
ington authorities and got the ban '
against reporters and others en
tering the morgue lifted.
At least 28 bodies have been
recovered from the collision and
flame wrecked buses, but a pile
of charred flesh and bone re
mained for classification and
identification. Only seven of the
dead had been positively identi
fied by mid - morning, 30 hours
after the wreck occurred.
Executive Editor Sam Wood of
the Times-Herald said one of his
reporters was barred from the
morgue by a Waco policeman
who said he was acting under
orders to bar persons from enter
ing. The order came, Wood re
ported, from two civilians, an
identification team from Wright
Patterson Air Fore Base, Dayton,
O.
“This is no longer a matter of
military courtesy,” Wood said.
“Too many civilians are in
volved. We’ll play ball with them
on their military posts but not in
this situation.”
Hawaiian Missionaries
And Film Featured At
Assembly of God Church
Mrs. Feme W. Bruce and Miss
Hazel Kleintop, missionary evan
gelists from the Hawaiian Islands,
will be speaking and singing at
the Assembly of God Church
__ •
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
evenings and at the morning and
i
evening services Sunday, Aug. 10.
Tonight at 8 p.m. Mrs. Bruce
will speak briefly, after which a
missionary film. “I Was a Witch
Doctor,” will be shown. This film,
produced by the Assemblies of
God, Is a true story of a happening
on the African mission field.
Thursday and Friday evenings
%
colored slides of Hawaii and Mex
ico will be shown. Included in
the Hawaiian slides will be pic
tures of the eruption of Mount
L o a which took place in 1950.
Both of these missionaries had to
escape before the hot streams of
lava which flowed down the
mountain sides.
Mrs. Bruce and Miss Kleintop
are on their way back to Hawaii,
where they plan to remain a short
time and then go to Japan for
missionary work there.
SPECIAL
OOMIAK
EXCURSIONS
See SAM MOGG c/o A. Pole!
Excursions to Sledge
Island, Cape Nome, and
around the roadstead
can be arranged for as
many as 25 persons.
SEE THE BIRD ROOKERIES
ON SLEDGE ISLAND
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