Commission Makes Recommendations
To Congress About Alaska Shipping
_ a ___
((/P) Special Washington Service*
WASHINGTON, (/P)—Ctongres
sional action to outlaw strikes on
steamship lines serving Alaska
was recommended to a House
maritime subcommittee today by
a commission which has been
studying the Alaska water trans
portation problem.
The commission recommended
that Congress also require that la
bor perform its contracts, enact
iegisaltion outlawing strikes in es
sential industry, make obligatory
arbitration of disputes over wages
and working conditions with the
right of appeal to federal court?,
and fix responsibility for perform
ance of contracts with enforceable
penalties for non-performance and
breaches of contracts.
“If industry is to survive there
must be a new spirit of under
standing and cooperation between
the employer and labor,” the com
mission said. “And it must be
hoped that the spirit will be devel
oped when full responsibility for
its action is equivalent to power
labor now holds to destroy.”
The commission, composed of
Worth Fowler, maritime commis
sion expert, Thomas Plant, West
Coast shipping man and F. A.
Zeusler, retired Coast Guard ad
mnui, said that labor costs and
troubles had pyramided the costs
of shipping service to Alaska and
had destroyed the confidence ot
Alaskans in the ability of Ameri
can shipping to furnish the kind of
service necessary to the Territory.
The commission made its report
just as the representatives of the
Alaskan shipping lines went into
conference with the members of
the subcommittee and the Mar
time Commission to try to work
out a formula for interim opera
tion of the lines. The government
which took over the operation of j
the lines early in 1942 plans to re
turn them to the owners March 1.
The operators have announced
they cannot continue the operation
unless they are granted an in
crease in rates which recently was
denied by the Maritime Commis
sion.
The subcommittee composed of
Reps. Jackson (D.-Wash.), Herter
(R.-Mass.)f and Bland (D.-Va.)
was named by the last Congress to
investigate the Alaskan shipping
situation.
Jackson said he understood the
shipping operators had a plan to
propose that would keep the Alas
kan shipping in operations but
added that unless they did the
service would have to stop for the
government had no funds with
which to continue the service.
The commission reviewed the
trade possibilities in Alaska and
its huge production of gold, silver,
fish and furs since 1867 when the
United States purchased it from
Russia.
“Without intending to discount
the hopeful claims of Alaska to
support a large population,” it
said, “any carrier planning to
serve an area must look realistic
ally at the actual trade possible
and at the probable trade pros
pects.”
It said that the present fleets
serving the Territory were old and
must be replaced with the only
possible place of getting new ships
being the government war con
structed vessels. It said only some
of these were fit for the Alaskan
service and said that new passen
ger ships would have to be built.
It recommended that new passen
ger vessels not be constructed at
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“Alaska,” it continued, “needs I
transportation service on a perm- i
anent, regular, dependable basis |
by operators who are in the trade'
to stay on an obligated basis. Un
controlled operations of independ
ents should be eliminated.”
It said there was a tendency in
Alaska to blame “everything on
the high freight rates’ ’and that it
had been suggested the law pro- j
hibiting foreign vessels from car- j
lying passengers and freight be
tween the United States and Alas
ka be repealed. It recommended
, that 4his not be done as the Terri
tory then would be at the mercy
of uncontrolled Canadian vessels
which would give or refuse to give
adequate service.
It recommended that the govern
ment and operators agree on the
latter carrying on the service for
one year on with opeators partici
pating on a profit and loss basis
with the profit limited to “a rea
sonable return on their invest-,
ment.”
It also recommended that the
armed service send their monthly
supplies to the Territory by com
mercial vessels at the regular tariff
ates and that the Maritime Com
mission authorize an emergency
adjustment of the present tariff
rates.
It asked that the law giving the
: Maritime Commission authority to
approve maximum rate charges
be broadened to permit it to set
minimum rates. It proposed that
the shipping companies now serv
ing Alaska be given sole right to
continue that service to the trade
ANNOUNCE ENGAGEMENT
OF PARTICIA NORDLIND
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Nordlind
have announced the engagement
of their daughter Patricia Marie
to C. M. Ismert of Kansas City,
Mo. The wedding is scheduled for
the middle of February at the
Catholic Church.
ARCTIC CLUB TO HOLD
DANCE AND BUFFET LUNCH
The Arctic Club is having a
dance and buffet lunch on Febru
ary first at the Pioneer Hall. This
will be the first of a series of
dances which are planned to be
given in March and April. Music
will be furnished by the Base Or
chestra, it has been announced.
they served before the war.
The commission proposed that
the Maritime Commission and the
operators make a thorough study
of the Alaskan rate situation start
ing immediately so that no com
modity shall stand more than its
fair share of the cost of transpor
tation. It would require that after
the carriers resume independent
sevice they be required to furnish
adequate and within their power
satisfactory service in return for
the right to have the business ex
clusively.
The commission said that the
Alaskan trade appears to have “al
ways been a poor man’s trade”
and said there was no prospect of
improved tonnage for the shipping
lines from the traffic. It said the
carriers contended that in the first
half of 1946 the loss on the Alas
kan service was $1,050,000.
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