GAMBELL NEWS
By Clarence Irrigo
Dec., 1951—This month the old
Santa not only brought us gifts
for Christmas, but also some sleep
less nights. Waters of the Bering
Sea came up again, hitting the
west beach with terrific force.
Gambell Point, Cape Chibukuk
is hit most this time. Considerable
piece washed off again from this
point.
People are saying, the gullev in
the front of the village will become
•a shoreline some day. Front of the
houses at the south end, the closed
stretch of the water came only
about 25 feet short of the CAA
runway.
* * *
Report from the Nome Nugget
revealed 200 dead walrus found
drifted on the beach near cast
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end. One Savoonga man who re
cently came over said, they coun
ted only 30 dead walrus, he said, j
“Maybe some more are some >
where." He furthermore said their j
dogs have eaten the meat from !
these dead' walrus, but none of
them died.
Dead walrus have been found
on Punuk Island each spring. One
spring there were many dead wal
rus. Some were reported to be
real old already. The reason was
and cause of many walrus dying:
In the fall, when walrus come
south from the north in big herds,
they stop at Punuk Island, and
come up on the beaches. When
there are hundreds, possibly
thousands piling on top of each
others on the beach, smaller ones
or the weaker ones are killed in
numbers !
To prove this, one can dig up
most beautiful fossil ivory from
the old remains, as well as pick
ing up fresh ones from dead wal
rus which died the previous year.
• • •
Earlier this month, little ice
came and there was some hunting.
Several walrus were killed, but
we are not stocked with meat like
we always did in the years past.
Also about this time shortly be
fore Christmas, hunters shot two
summers whales east of Gambell.
Both sank, but one was found
floating several days later.
• • •
A baby boy was bom to Mr.
and Mrs. Norman Aningayou this
month. The mother of this infant
came from Nome not long ago.
Her maiden name was Sarah Sat
uk, bom in Diomede Island.
* * *
This December 1951 the all es
kimo population of Gambell, not
including the young ladies mar
ried to other people away from
Gambell counting Howard Slwoo
ko alone without his family totals
303 heads. This number can easily
total up to 310 or more.
BOB AUSLEY ESCAPES
INJURY IN CRASH
Captain Robert Ausley, who es
caped injury recently when his
plane made a forced landing in a
swamp near Minneapolis, Minn.,
was well-known in Fairbanks
where he did his first flying.
A pilot for Northwest Airlines
since 1942, he did his early flying
for Polluck Airlines as a bush
flyer. He flew also for Wien Al
aska and for Lavery Airlines.
Ausley was born in the terri
tory and received all of his educa
tion at home, including a univer
sity degree, from his mother, a
teacher for many years in terri
torial schools.
Mrs. Sue Ausley died in Fair
banks in 1948. His father lives
in Nome.
Ausley is the father of two chil
dren. The family lives in Minne
apolis.
NEWS LETTER
By MARY LEE COUNCIL
Secretary to E. L. (Bob) Bartlett, Delegate to Congress from Alaska
Alaska Statehood —
In rapid order last week the
President assured Delegate Bart
lett that he is “still in there
punching for statehood for Alaska
and Hawaii”, the Senate Demo
cratic Policy Committee sched
uled the Alaska statehood bill as
third on the agenda for Senate
consideration and the Chief Ex
ecutive’s State of the Union mes
sage delivered to a joint meeting
of the Congress urged prompt
adoption of the statehood' bills.
It is expected that the Senate
bill calling for Alaska statehood
will be placed before the Senators
the week of January 20 shortly
following consideration of the
Home Rule bill for the District
of Columbia. The Senate version,
sponsored by 19 Democratic and
Republican Senators, was repor
ted favorably to the upper house
last May.
“I am glad,” President Truman
stated to the members of Con
gress, “to hear that home rule
for the District of Columbia will
be the first item of business be
fore the Senate. I hope that it,
as well as statehood for Hawaii
and Alaska, will be adopted
promptly.”
Travel Expenses—
Delegate Bartlett has introduced
legislation to include Alaska resi
dents within existing law to per
mit the payment of their travel
expenses when newly appointed
for positions within the Terri
tory.
Exclusion of Alaska residents
from a law passed in 1946 was
upheld in a decision rendered by
the comptroller general of the
United States.
If enacted, the delegate’s meas
ure would place resident Alaskans
on an equal footing with residents
of the continental United States
whose travel expenses and expen
ses of transportation of household
goods and personal effects as new
appointees are paid by the fed
eral government when sent to as
signments outside the continental
United States.
Reports on Bills—
The Interior Department has
submitted favorable reports on
four of Delegate Bartlett’s bills,
three of which are pending before
the House Interior and Insular
Affairs Committee and one be
fore the House Judiciary Com
mittee.
Life-time appointments of judg
es of the United States District
Court for Alaska would be pro
vided under the terms of one of
the bills which also has the ap
proval of the administrative office
of U.S. courts and the Dept, of
Justice.
If enacted, Bartlett’s bill would
accord the same tenure of office
to Alaska judges as is allowed
judges of U,S. district courts in
the continental United States.
At the . present time district
judges in the Territory are ap
pointed by the president with the
consent of the Senate for four
year terms. •
The Catholic Society of Alaska
would be permitted to purchase
40 acres of land south of the junc
tion of the Glen and Richardson
Highways for use as a mission
site under the terms of the sec
ond bill favorably reported by the
Interior Department.
The tract of land included in
the bill conflicts with proposed
townsite development and the In
terior Department has proposed
'another tract which, it is under
stood, would be satisfactory for
the pui poses required.
The University of Alaska, under
the third bill, would be permitted
to issue leases for lands reserved
for its benefit for 99 years in
stead of the 10-year maximum
period now in effect under a law
passed in 1915.
Alaska Appropriations—
Over a billion dollars have been
appropriated for Alaska during
the past seven fiscal years, accor
ding to figures compiled by Dele
gate Bartlett.
The total of $1,103,365,296, ex
clusive of military funds for the
1946 fiscal year which were then
held secret, includes the major
appropriations of $572,061,791 for
Army, Air Force and Navy con
struction, $102,642,600 for road
construction, $71,500,000 for re
construction and rehabilitation of
the Alaska Railroad beginning in
the 1948 fiscal year, $4,885,129
for control and investigation of
disease in Alaska inaugurated in
the 1949 fiscal year, $1,945,880
for the agricultural research pro
gram started in the 1947 fiscal
year and $16 million for the Al
aska public works program which
got under way during the 1950
fiscal year.
* V v vT VVVVV VVVVVYYVVVTVTVTVVVYVTVVTTtTTtTV
ARCTIC OIL DELIVERY
Phone—Shop: Black 76 — Residence: Main 52
WE CHECK Y OUR TANK REGULARLY
Young
Pioneer Water Delivery
Can now serve you with filtered
and zeolite-softened water at
the same regular price. ■
Phone Grant H. Nelson
MAIN 24 Owner ,
Propaganda Branch of
State Department Under
New Organization
WASHINGTON. (JP) — The
State Department Friday announ
ced a general reorganization of
its propaganda branch, giving it
more authority but divorcing it
from policy making.
Dr. Wilson Compton, former in
dustrialist, wartime government
official and recently president of
Washington State College, has
been named administrator of the ;
new semi-independen^ interna- !
tional information administration. ,
Known as the “campaign of
truth,” the department operates !
the Voice of America, films, ex
hibits, libraries and education ex
changes. It has 8,000 employes in
the United States and overseas.
Dr. Compton as administrator
will be directly responsible to
Secretary of Stdte Acheson.
Denali Battles to Juneau
Despite Lashing Storm
JUNEAU, Jan. 14—The Denali
of the Alaska Steamship Co., was
in and out of Juneau southbound
after one of the worst winter
trips in its history, according to
old-time crew members.
Several cars on deck were re
ported damaged from pounding
seas and it is believed that a crew
member was lost overboard as
the ship bucked gale winds of
near 100 miles an hour.
Crew members had to hack
open cabin doors of the ship dur
ing its early morning stop in
Juneau, to get passengers off.
Army Practicing ;
Economy To
Meet Higher Costs
HEADQUARTERS, U.S. Army,
Alaska—If the motor pool ser
geant shouts, “Cut that motor, sol
dier” it may hark back to the
days of wartime gasoline ration
ing. But these days the Army,
with plentiful fuel stocks, isn’t
saving gasoline as such, it’s sav
ing money.
Throughout Alaska the drivers
of Army vehicles are getting tips
on fuel conservation and extra
care of vehicles. The aim:'to cut
gasoline consumption in the the
atre a full 15%. The reason: de
fense dollars buy less than thfey
did 10 years ago. Today milita**^
operations for defense must cost
less, equipment must last longer,
to get the full value of every tax
dollar. ' .
H * •%
“Cost consciousness is a state
of mind. When everyone is think
ing of conserving men, money
and materiel, the taxpayer is get
ting the most for his money,” de
clares Maj. Gen. J. W. Cunning
ham, commanding general, US
ARAL. “No nation today can af
ford to waste industrial resources;
no soldier or civilian wants to
add to his present tax obligations.
Now that equipment costs more
we must get more performance,
increase the production life of
what we have, and keep free erf
costly breakdowns and accidents.”
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