_ NUGGET
__OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS__
VOL. LII No, 73 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 1950 Per Copy—15c
*
CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE
The Northwestern Alaska
Chamber of Commerce met Tues
day at Peggy’s Cafe for their reg
ular luncheon.
The meeting was enlivened by
the presence of guests Bill Woods,
Jack Dillon, Gene Joiner, and Os
car Margrath. The Chamber went
on record opposing CAB curtail
ment of small bush pilot opera
tions.
Bill Woods brought up the fact
that now that the Breakwater is
becoming a reality the Chamber
should take care of the pledge
formerly made to Carl Lomcn
for his help in this regard.
Oscar Margrath asked the co
operation of the Chamber in get
ting the Alaska Road Commission
to ease the plight of miners and
prospectors in this area by the
extension of present roads and
building of new roads to open
further operations.
President Saario read a letter
from the Ramstead Bros, who op
erate the Northern Tin Co. at
Buck Creek. The company wants
assistance from the Territorial
Highway Engineer in building 17
miles of road so that they can
bring their concentrates to a ship
ping point. The Chamber agreed
to write Frank Metcalf endorsing
their suggestion.
The Fourth of July celebration
was discussed and it was urged
that all organizations support j
Councilmen Bronson and Hed
reen and the Federal Building!
Committee in charge of the affair. '
The splendid cooperation of the
local citizens in assisting in the
tourist program was commended.;
The question was discussed and
inquiry is to be made as to why
the quonset huts moved into the
east end for the Natives by the
ANS are not being occupied or
made presentable.
PAUL KOTONGAN SHOT
BY LENA COOMARA
ANCHORAGE, UP)— Paul Kot
ongan was shot to death early j
yehterday and his niece, Lena
Coomara—the 23-year-old widow
of a bush pilot—was in jail today
on a charge of first degree mur
der.
U. S. Marshal Paul Herring said
Kotongan was killed during a
drinking brawl at his small cabin
in the suburbs of Anchorage.
Mrs. Coomara, a full-blooded
Eskimo woman, is the mother of
two children. Her husband, Ted
Coomara, was killed in an air
plane crash two years ago at Mo
ses Point.
No date was set for a prelimin
ary hearing for Mrs. Coomara.
who was arrainged yesterday af
ternoon in U. S. Commissioner’s
Court. 1
Transocean
\\ ins Charter
To Flv Barrow Oil
•/
FAIRBANKS, (/I5)—Transocean
airlines of Oakland, Calif., was
awarded a contract to supply
chartered air service for line haul
and bush operations of the Petro
leum Reserve No. 4 project at
Barrow, Alaska, the Navy an
nounced.
Three local companies had sub
mitted bids. Transocean’s winning
offer was $729,450 and the bids
ranged upward to Alaska Airlines’
$1,072,000.
Other bids were $840,450 by
Arctic Pacific Airlines and $969,
180 by Wien Alaska Airlines.
The high bidder has been hand
I ling the “Barrow Airlift” for the
past two years.
The Navy said it expected a
slight increase in the Barrow
price this year, Five or six large
aircraft will be used for line haul
operations between Umiak and
the other points in the Arctic and
nine or ten bush planes will be
needed at Barrow during the peak
of the season.
In addition to aircraft for its
own operations, the Navy charter
planes are used on the project by
personnel of the U.S. Geological
Survey, Arctic Contractors, Uni
ted Geophysical Company and the
Arctic research lagoratory.
Occasionally the Navy gives a
hand to the Air Force in hauling
building materials and construc
tion equipment.
Transocean has said it intends
COAST SURVEY SHIP
LEAVES FOR ARCTIC WATERS
The US Coast and Geodetic
Survey ship “Pioneer” returned
Saturday from St. Lawrence Is
| land where it is reported it left
two airplanes.
The ship, which left its base in
Oakland on April 18th with a
crew of 118 and Commander B.
\Vr. Reed in command, reached Al
aska in eight days and set up
bases at Gareloi and Semisopchoi
in the Aleutians, from where they
worked about a month covering
an area of 5000 miles in their
charting of Bering Sea.
The only casualty to date, ac
cording to reports, was a young
1 chap on shore at Garoloi who de
veloped appendicitus and had to
be rushed to Adak. He was taken
aboard ship during rough seas on
a stretcher and it was quite an
i adventure for all concerned.
Many of the group have visited
[ the Nugget office among whom
' were Yoeman’s Mate Chuck Shae
from Alameda who has done con
siderable newspaper work and
who stated that most of the group
were from the Bay Area. Others
from Alameda were his brother,
Second Engineer John Sae, and
A1 Case and Keith Mahoy.
The base crew at Nome which is
about five miles from town has
about a dozen men based there
for the summer.
The “Pioneer” will soon leave
for the Arctic to chart the waters
around Diomede until the ice
comes in the fall.
to use only experienced Alaska
bush pilots for the Arctic opera
tions.
Rescue Workers Patrol Streets
■ ... I
Harold K White Studio
WINNIPEG, CANADA. — After almost a month of fighting the
rampaging Red river, courageous Canadians have won their battle.
Although much of the city is still under water, complete destruction of
the city was avoided by the thousands of volunteer workers who fought
the rushing water with only sandbags and shovels as weapons. All
during the seige small boats like the one above powered by a Johnson
outboard motor, patrolled the canal-like streets offering aid to the
stranded and transportation and food to the workers.
FAIRBANKS, AP—Alaska's new one percent prop
erty tax law has been ruled illegal by federal judge
Harry E. Pratt.
In a memorandum opinion filed yesterday in district
court, the judge held that two sections of the law enact
ed at the last session of the legislature violated the Ter
i ritory’s Organic Act. Consequently, he said, the entire
law was invalid.
The decision was the outgrowth
of a suit brought last December
by Luther Hess and the Alaska
Juneau Gold Mining Co., asking
that the law be declared void and
a permanent injunction be issued
against further property tax col
| lections.
Judge Pratt issued a temporary
. injunction January 28 pending a
| final decision. ,
His ruling foday said that the
section dealing with the taxation
of mining claims violates the or
ganic act which requires taxation
; according to the “true and full
value” of the property.
Another section giving cities
the right to assess property with
| in their boundaries and collect
taxes had resulted in a lack of
uniformity as required by the Or
ganic Act. As examples he cited
the 2 percent rebates allowed
non-delinquent taxpayers in Jun
eau and Douglas, whereas no re
bate is granted in Fairbanks.
He held further the plaintiffs
had submitted evidence proving
that taxpayers lack adequate rem
edy under the new law for re
covery of taxes paid under pro
test, as required under certain
circumstances by Section 48-7-1
of the Alaska compiled laws.
There was no immediate indi
: cation what the effect of Judge
Pratt’s ruling would be or wheth
! er the attorney general’s office
would appeal.
The court’s ruling followed by
five months a temporary restrain
ing order by Judge Pratt against
property tax collection until his
decision in the case. That tempor
ary order was issued Jan 28.
Judge ruled against the mining
claim section, basically on the
ground that an owner has to pay j
the same tax for one acre or 20—
and twice as much for 20
acres as for 20.
The law sets an arbitrary $5,00
valuation as the “assessed value
of unimproved, unpatented min
ing claims which are not produc
ing, and non-productive patented
claims, upon which improvements
originally required for patent
have become useless through de
terioration, removal or otherwise”
for “each 20 acres or fraction of
each such claim.”
Under that provision, such a
mining claim of one acre would
be valued at $500 for tax pur- 1
poses. So would a claim up to, and
including, 20 acres. That makes
the tax rate range from $500 an '
acre to $25 an acre, the judge j
Tax Hilling
l <> Be Appealed
JUNEAU, </P)—Judge Harry E.
i Pratt’s ruling that the Alaska gen
! eral property tax is invalid is vir
: tually certain to go to the circuit
i court of appeals.
The Territory has an estimated
$1,250,000 a year at stake. The
estimate of the Senate Finance
Committee at the end of the 1949
legislative session was that it
would bring in $2,500,000 in the
biennium.
It was a keystone in the so
j called “basic tax program” enact
' ed by the legislature after iongj
j being advocated by Governor
Greuning.
It is one of several new tax
laws that have been challenged
was the general assumption at the
in the courts in the past year. It
lature that there would be court
time of enactment by the legis
challenges of some, and that the
cases would be carried to higher
courts by whichever side should
lose in the district courts.
I noted.
The tax on 20-1/10 acres, which,
is the maximum area of a quartz
claim: would be on a valuation of!
$1000—or just under $50 an acre.
The judge held the two sections
of the law to be “clearly invalid.**
He said the whole law is built
around those two sections ^section
3 covering mining claims and
section 4 on the means of levying
and the disposition of the tax
monies* so .‘there is nothing re
maining in the chapter of the law
of any force so the whole charter
is invalid.”
In connection with the section
on levying, and collecting in cit
ies, assistant attorney general
John Dimond had argued May 16
that the alleged lack of uniform
ity in taxing was actually the “in
nate exercise of the Territory’s
freedom of classification.”
The judge said “no”.
He said a classification on prop
erties within or without a city
"would not be a classification” at
all.
He held that “classifications ac
cording to location of property
are invalid.”
Dimond had argued also that
the territory was free to levy non
uniform taxes as long as discrep
encies were not based on“hosUle
discrimination against certain tax
payers.”
The judge again said “no”.