THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday. Wednesday and Friday by The
• NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome. Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 * P. O. Box 618
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER.Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice at
Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Wednesday, May 8, 1946
TO OFSET PRODUCTION COSTS
IF EVER the industrial engineering fraternity as a
Whole faced a challenge, it does today. Wages are
up, labor’s interest in the job seems to be lessening,
raw materials are increasing in price—all along the
line costs soar while strikes and other impediments
bring production down.
Here, then, is the challenge to engineers. In the |
vaunted efficiency of American industry, still more;
efficient methods must be devised. Production tech
niques must be evolved that will ofset overall increases
in cost. There are many approaches, and wise manage
ment is investigating them all as rapidly as ingenuity
will permit. Two units must be produced where only
one was produced before. Time and motion study, re- j
design of equipment for faster production, use of mach
inery that is more efficient, and—not the least of the
engineer’s problems—employee relations, are all a
part of the present picture.
Worn threadbare by now is the statement that Amer
ican industry has learned many production lessons
from war-necessitated speed-ups. But such work was
done under forced draft, with little or no thought given j
to cost. Now the scene is changing. Competition is back. I
Labor is striking for what it considers to be its “rights” j
regardless of consequences to the country as a whole.
Wages will go up still higher for awhile. Inflation will
continue—to an extent that only time will determine.
Through it all, industrial management remains saddled
with the multi-sided job of carrying on the American
way of doing things. And management must rely on
engineering brains for the ways and means.
Here are a few examples—presented for purposes
of thought stimulation rather than for oporating detail
—of some things that can be done. Air-operated fix
tures in one machine shop have increased production
in some operations more than 100 percent; new hon
ing techniques speed removal of metal from stock by
six to eight times while resulting in precision of high
magnitude; incentive systems, whereby the worker’s j
pay in increased in proportion to his productivity, are j
coming into wider use; formerly gloomy shops and
foundries are being cleaned up, made brighter, with
good psychological effect on labor; decentralization
of materials and assembly lines closer to markets.
By means such as these, and many others, American |
industry can overcome the handicaps of mounting i
costs. And, showing the way, will be the industrial1
engineer who has the vision to view, the picture as;
a whole without losing sight of its component parts.
.(Scientific American) .
i
ROBOT SERVES HAMBURGERS
I
The public will soon be able to buy hot. Hogs, ham
burgers or grilled cheese sandwiches heated by radio
waves. The electronic tubes used in the machine which
makes this possible are the direct outgrowth of tube
developments in the field of radar.
Engineers of General Electric collaborating with the
Automatic Canteen Company of America, have devel
oped an electronic canteen machine which will serve
hot dogs, hamburgers or grilled cheese sandwiches at
the drop of a dime and the push of a button. It plugs
into a regular 110-volt outlet.
(Science Digest)
<nu. ummMt.
1946 FARMER IS POWER MINDED
The United States farmer has changed economically,
technologically, and financially,” Secretray of Agri
culture Anderson pointed out recently. “Today’s farm
er is one of the most power-minded enterprisers on j
earth. He has about two million tractors and would
like a lot more. His production per worker is twice
what it was in 1910, at least one third more than it
was in the years just before World War II.
“Farming has become a 90 billion dollar industry,
with a cash income from sale of products, not counting
food consumed at home, now at the 20 billion dollar
mark. That compares with less than 5 billion dollars
of cash income for farmers in 1932. The farmer is |
using his dollars wisely. He has pared his mortgage
debt to a record low of five and one third billion dol
lars, less than half of what it was at the peak in 1923.
“Farm families have laid by a nest egg of eleven
and one half billion dollars in bank deposits and cash,
and have nearly four billion dollars in U. S. bonds.”
NEWS LETTER
By MARY LEE COUNCIL
Secretary to E. L. (Bob) Bartlett, Delegate to Congress from Alaska
4
Federal Aid Airport Bill
m
A total of $10,000,000 for Al
aska to be spent over a seven
year period has been authorized
by both houses of Congress as
federal aid in development, con
struction, improvement and re
pair of public airports in the Ter
ritory.
The authorization bill, S. 2,
has gone to the President follow
ing recent action by the Senate
and House in accepting favorably
the conference report on the
measure.
The total authorized appropri
ation for the territories is $20,
000,000, 50 percent to be made
available in grants to Alaska, 25
percent to Hawaii and 25 percent
to Puerto Rico.
A special provision allows the
federal government to share up
to 75 percent of the total cost
of airport projects in Alaska
while federal contributions includ
ing the United States. Hawaii
and Puerto Rico cannot exceed
50 percent. |
It is expected passage of a
deficiency bill will be sought at 1
an early date to provide planning
funds to initiate the program au
thorized by S. 2 as soon as it is
signed by the President. Appro
priations to carry out the full pro
gram will undoubtedly be re
quested through further defic
iency bills.
Pay Differentials
In a tentative report on pay
differentials for government em- \
ployees outside the continental
United States, the Bureau of the
Budget and the Civil Service
Commission have recommended
establishment of a uniform fed
eral policy, through legislation,
which would be binding on all
departments and agencies of gov
' ernment.
In place of the 25 percent dif
ferential paid by the majority
of agencies, the preliminary re
port recommends establishment of
a single basic pay scale for each
1
position outside the States, white
collar or blue collar, for compen
sation of any United States cit
izen assigned to the position, re
gardless of origin of recruitment
to be fixed as if the position were
in the United States. It further
recommends periodic cost of liv
i n g allow ance adjustments
through studies made by the Bur
eau of Labor Statistics.
The report states that the pre
vailing pay rates in Alaska and
Hawaii generally are comparable
to or higher than those in the
States, while Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands the rates are low ^
er. In the whole federal ser
vice outside the continental Unit
ed States totalling 758,990, 115,
465 were citizens and 643,525 non
citizens, as of September, 1945.
The Budget and Civil Service
report emphasizes its recommend
ation that all recruitment of fed
eral employees in the territories
and possessions be done locally
to the fullest extent practicable.
The proposals embraced in the
tentative report will not be draft
ed into permanent form until all
government agencies have had
opportunity to study and com
ment on them.
The President directed the stu
dy in August, 1945, following the
attempt of the War and Navy
Departments last summer to dis
continue the payment of the 25
percent differential to their em
ployees in the territories, pos
sessions and Atlantic bases who
were not recruited from the con
tinental United States. ,
Petersburg School
The Indian Service school at
Petersburg would be transferred
to the town of Petersburg under
provisions of a bill recently in
troduced by Delegate Bartlett.
The measure also provides that
a portion of the land in the block
on which the school is situate-cV*
would be transferred to the town
Disposal of Resources
On Public Land
A bill designed to grant per
manent authority to the Secretary
of the Interior to dispose of mat
erials and resources on public
lands has been introduced in the
Senate.
The Secretary now has such
authority under law which ex
pires upon cessation of hostilities
as determined by the Presidem
by proclamation or Congress by
concurrent resolution.
The measure would authorize
the Secretary to dispose of sand
stone, gravel, vegetation, timber
or other forest products on the
public lands under his exclusive
jurisdiction, with the exception
of national parks, national mon
uments, or Indian lands, if such
disposal is not otherwise expressly
authorized or prohibited by law
and should he determine such dis
posal would not be detrimental
to the public interest. Interfer
ence with or impairment of the
operation of mining laws would
not be brought about by enact
ment of the bill.
Materials and resourses valued'
above $1,000 would be disposed
of through competitive bidding,
and any person, firm, corporation
or association would be prohibited
from acquiring materials or re
sources in any calendar year in
quantities the value of which ex
ceeds $15,000. The bill also pro
vides that adequate compensation
would be required for the acqui-^j
sition of materials and resources
on public lands.
This measure was requested by
the Interior Department, and in