m NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_
VOL. LI. No. 119 NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1949 Per Copy—15e
NEWS IN BRIEF
1 SITKA, (/P> — Dan R. Doyle,
well known labor leader, defeated
Howard C. Bradshaw for mayor of
Sitka by a two to one majority in
yesterday’s hotly contested elec
tion.
Elected to serve with Doyle in
running municipal affairs were
Cecil McClain, Dr. H. J. Hodgins,
Rep. Andrew Hope; Peter Neilsen,
A. H. Gilpatrick and U. L. Clith
ero.
Ralph and Johnson and Ed
Cushmg weer elected to the pub
lic utilities board. Ernest Somers
defeated Annabelle Appling for
the school board.
YANKEE STADIUM, N. Y., iJP)
Don Newcombe, giant Negro right
hander, was named to pitch for the
Brooklyn Dodgers in the game of
the World Series with the New
York Yankees today. He will be
opposed by Allie Reynolds of the
Yankees.
The Yankees won the game over
the Dodgers, 1—0, by a home run
by Henrichs in the last hal fof the
ninth inning.
WASHINGTON, (>P) — An in
vestigation of Alaska’s fisheries
problems and of legislation to
limit use of fish traps in the Ter
ritory was authorized today by a
House marchant marine sub-com
mittee.
Rep. Wickersham (D.-Okla.)
wa* named chairman of a sub
committee which tentatively plans
to leave Seattle October 23 and
spend 10 days in Alaska holding
hearings. Other members of the
sub-committee will include Rep.
Toliefson (R.-Wash.) and two or
three others to be selected.
Delegate Bartlett of Alaska, who
plans to accompany the sub-com
mittee, will prepare the schedule
for the hearings.
WASHINGTON, (/P) — A $154,
611.000 military construction pro
gram for Alaska and Okinawa was
approved today by the House
armed services committee.
While the bulk of the program
is for supporting facilities such as
housing, much of it is earmarked
for radio and radar installations,
communications systems and un
dei ground gasoline storage.
Of the total $133,400,000 would
be used in Alaska and the rest in
9
Okinawa.
WASHINGTON, (JP)—'The annu
al sale of federal duck stamps pro
duced a new record revenue of
$2,127,598, the fish and wild-life
service said today.
The stamps sold from July 1,
1948 to June 30, 1949, were the
last to cost $1 each. Under a new
law they now cost $2.
Largest state sale in the current
listing was California with 171,388.
Figures for other state and Alaska
included Washington 74,555; Alas
ka 4,881.
PORTLAND </P)—Dr. M. M. van
Zandt, Alaska Native Service as
sistant medical director, and his
wife were here today on a medi
cal personnel search.
The Sitka couple said they are
(Continued on Page Seven)
Judge Folia Utiles Pari of Fish Trap Tax
^Infringes** Oil Higlitsand Is Invalid
r ~
JUNEAU, (/Pi — Federal judge
George YV. Folta threw out part of
the new fish trap tax Monday on
the grounds that it ‘'infringed” on
the operators’ right to share equal
1 ly in the Alaska fishery. He held
invalid that part which levies ad
ditional tax on every fish above
15,000 caught in any single trap
during the year.
He told Associated Press, calling
him from Seattle the decision
leaves intact the quadrupled taxes
on fish traps themselves.
The tax, passed by the 1949 Ter
ritorial Legislature, was attacked
by the P. E. Harris company, op
erators of three canneries and two
pile and floating traps in South
east and southwest Alaska, and by
the Mutual Trap company, which
operates three traps.
Territorial tax commissioner M.
P. Mullaney, defendant in the ac
JUNEAU. (/P)—Here are the
highlights of the fish trap tax
law held invalid by Federal
Jddge George W. Folta:
A tax on fish caught in any
one pile-driven or floating traps
traps be levied as follows:
"The first 15.000 fish tax free;
from 15.000 to 50.000 five cents
a fish; from 50.000 to 100,000,
ten cents a fish; from 100,000 to
150,000 fifteen cents per fish,
and all fish over 200.000 at 25
cents per fish."
The quadrupled trap taxes
following were not held invalid
by Judge Folta:
The tax on a hand-driven or
stake trap located on tide lands,
boosted from $75 to $300 a year.
The tax on a pile driven or
floating trap boosted from $300
to $1,200 per year.
In addition anyone operating
j more than three traps shall pay
• an additional $600 per trap for
the fourth to 10th traps, instead
of the former $150; an additional
$1,200 (instead of $300) for the
10th to 20th traps; an additional
$1,600 (instead of $400) for the
21st to 50th traps; and an addi
tional $2,000 (instead of $500) for
all traps of a single operator
over 50.
i tion, contended the graduated tax
! was a revenue measure based on
ability to pay.
Judge Folta ruled, however, that
seine and gill nets, which catch 60
per cent of the salmon, were not
taxed in comparison to the traps.
Therefore, he said, the tax on fish
caught in traps is manifestly a tax
Evidence introduced by the
plaintiffs tended to show that had
such taxes been in effect the last
seven or eight years, they would
have suffered substantial losses.
Mullaney countered this claim
with the assertion that other book
keeping methods and computa
tions would turn the claimed loss
into a profit.
Testimany showed there are 400
operating traps in Alaska waters
taking an annual average of 80,
000 salmon each. Slightly more
than 30,000 salmon are caught
yearly by each of the 660 seines
operated.
Judge Folta held that the tax
was “so excessive as to infringe
on the right to fish on the basis of
equality guaranteed by the White
Act.”
The White Act. passed in 1920,
denied exclusive rights to Alaska
fisheries to any type of gear or to
j any citizen.
The tax under the rates were
j listed as amounting to .14 of a cent
for those caught in seines and 7.43
cents for those caught in a trap.
The judge declared in his deci
sion “that by imposing a tax on
fish taken by traps, which in the
highest brackets are 72Vz time.;
greater than under the law previ
ously in force, and which the de
i fendant admits will result in an
i increase of 1,090 per cent while
' leaving the fish caught in seine
(Continued on Page Six)
l _______ ____________ _ ___________ r
Banks Promise To
Aid Alaska In
I Financial Crisis
The Territorial Treasurer’s Of
fice at Juneau makes the follow
ing release.
Satisfactory arrangements have
been completed with almost all
! banks to assist the Territory out of
its temporary financial situation.
An understanding has been ar
rived at which provides that the
banks advance the cash necessary
to pay warrants presented for pay
ment. Each warrant will have on
its face a notation indicating
which particular bank will cash
| it; its reverse side will have a no
j tice thereon to the effect that the
l payee has assigned the warrant to
1 the bank through which it is pay
able and thereby authorizes the
I bank to obtain reimbursement
from the Territory when funds be
come available for that purpose.
The Territorial Treasurer wish
<Continued on Page Five)
1 lotislonians \\ on'l
Believe Hurricane
Hit Their (lily
•>
HOUSTON. (/P) — A hurricane
which came screeching out of the
Gulf smashed into this Texas me
tropolis early yesterday and sur
prised everyone by doing little
damage.
A few plate-glass store windows
were broken as the wind swept in
behind torrential rains which
flooded streets and underpasses.
Debris was whipped down
streets and trees bent horizontal as
90-mile-an-hour winds whipped
the city, whose 500000 and more
residents make it Texas largest.
The hurricane churned in from
1 the Gulf late Monday night, strik
i ing first at the industry-rich coast
between Matagorda and Freeport,
Tex., about 60 miles south of here.
One person was missing, much
of a rich rice crop destroyed, and
cotton heavily damaged as the
hurricane twisted inland. Rains up
to 7.21 inches at Port Arthur fell
(Continued on Page Seven)
Nome Citizens
Vote City Sales Tax
w
Yesterday the City of Nome
held a special election to vote on
three propositions all of which
passed favorably.
Little interest wns shown in the
election however, as only 260
votes were cast.
Ordinance 332, for the vacating
of Bridge Street was ratified with
a vote of 164 in favor and 65 votes
against.
Ordinance 333, for the office of
City Attorney to be filled by
Council appointment was ratified
with a vote of 158 in favor, and
76 against the proposition.
143 votes were cast in favor of
the proposed Consumers Sales Tax
and 115 ovtes against the measure
enacting the Sales Tax by a slim
margin.
THE BAMBOO CURTAIN
.*• ** W ># ' >* V _ * - <J X. «• V ' ^ «w .__ _ rnt. i.a,^
CHINESE
COMMUNIST*
Nons of the \\ orhl
At A Glanrr - -
Tuesday, October 4, 1949
<Bv The Associated Press)
Czechoslovakia today became
the sixth Cominform nation to
icarp its treaty of friendship and
mutual assistance with Yugoslavia.
It was part of a sudden spurt of
Russian bloc diplomatic actvity
affecting the Balkans, Germany
and China.
The Czech government, besides
scrapping the friendship treaty
with its former Cominform part
ner, demanded the recall from
Prague of the Yugoslav ambassa
j dor. It said the government con
sidered the ambassador’s presence
undesirable and accused his Em
bassy staff of including spies
linked with an unnamed Western
power.
There was no immediate indica
1 tion the requested recall of the
Yugoslav ambassador would lead
to a formal breaking of diplomatic
relations between the two coun
tries. However, a break in the rela
tions between Premier-Marshal
Tito’s government and the coun
I tries of the cominform has been
predicted.
In Belgrade, Tito warned the
Soviet bloc that Yugoslavia is
i ready to defend itself to the last
breath. He charged before his
| army officers that Russia “has
been forging its irons” against his
country, and he accused Russia of
; “trying to endanger a small peo
ple.”
Tito spoke at the conclusion of
Yugoslavia’s biggest troop maneu
vers this year.
On the other side of the wmrld,
in Canton, the Nationalist Chi
fContinued on Page Three)
Conferees Approve
Army Civil
Functions Bill
WASHINGTON (/P.— House and
Senate conferees finally have
agreed on a multi-million dollar
waterways appropriations bill for
the fiscal year that began last July
1.
The bill, carrying a total appro
i priation of $664,178,190 for civil
, functions of the army, includes
! $664,178,190 for flood control and
rivers and harbors projects in
many of the 8 States and Alaska.
Mississippi River and its tributar
ies; and $35,000,000 for the Mc
Nary Lock and dam on the Colum
bia River in Oregon and Washing
ton.
Other large Pacific Northwest
expenditures include:
Washington, Joseph Dam, Co
lumbia, $5,000,000.
I Congress usually completes
work on such bills late in June or
early July. One-fourth of the first
year covered by the measure al
ready is gone.
The bill includes $197,489,690
for rivers and harbors projects,
$437,430,400 for flood control
works.
They include:
Rivers and harbors construction:
Alaska—Noma Harbor, 701,000;
Wrangell Narrows, $343,000.