SEWARD’S
All-'Weatkec
SEAPORT
Is Alaska’s
Greatest Asset
Territorial Library
Seward Seaport Record
Formerly The Seward Polaris Sr Kenai Peninsula-Aleutian Chain News
Vol. V, No. 59
SEWARD, ALASKA, TUESDAY, JAN. 25, 1949
Price 10 Cents
Income Tax
Law Now
In Effect
The Alaska net income tax law
is now in effect, and provisions of
the act apply to the taxable year
beginning January 1.
This means that retroactive de
ductions must be tnade to cover all
salaries and wages paid so far in
the year 1949.
According to the circular tele
gram from Tax Commissioner M.
P. Mullaney, every employer who
pays wages or salaries shall make
the deductions from the wages he
pays his help.
Plus Text Per Cent
The amount deducted will be
equal to ten per cent of the deduc
tion for Federal withholding tax.
This will, of course, be in addi
tion to the Federal withholding
tax. For every dollar withheld for
Federal tax there will be an addi
tional ten cents for Alaska income
tax.
As is well known, the tax bill
was rushed through, and no ad
vance copies were made available
to the press. There was no attempt
to get a reaction from the voters.
How the tax will affect other
than wage earners will probably
be made known in the near future.
The tax will affect employes of
transportation companies who re
ceive their pay in Alaska, and will
also affect employes of all terri
torial departments.
Federal employes must file re
turns and pay accordingly, but de
ductions will not be made from
their pay.
PROPERTY TAX BILL “DEAD"
It apeared that the Territorial
Senate would not pass the one per
cent property tax before the end of
the special session. The vote to ad
vance it to a second reading was
eight to eight, and a two-thirds
majority is necessary to advance
a bill to a second reading.
Strictly speaking, the vote was
on a suspension of rules, to enable
the advancement of the property
tax bill. Howard Lying, Nome
Democrat who is president of the
Rules Committee, said the bill was
dead.
Senator Butrovich, chairman of
the Finance Committee, said flatly
that there was too much haste. It
would be no use to turn it over to
his committee, he said, since es
sential figures for proper consider
ation were not available.
SLEEPY TIME SAILOR HAS
NARROW ESCAPE
Martin Korbo returned to Seward
with the story of a narrow escape
he had in his rebuilt J-boat at
Christmas time.
Korbo said that he had tied up
at the Columbia Lumber Company
Dolphin at Whittier. He used an
inch and a half and a one inch line
to make fast to the Dolphin.
He woke up late in the night
with a bouncing, twirling motion
of the boat. When he looked out,
he saw the lights of Whittier fad
ing in the distance.
Fortunately his motor was warm
and he succeeded in starting it
easily. His sturdy boat bucked the
wind and finally made it to safety,
but his skiff was battered so that
only the bow-piece remained on
the end of the tow line'. He esti- j
mated the wind to be 70 miles an
hour. j
The loss of the skiff made trap
ping an impossibility, since he i
could not travel the deep snow on
foot. I
Chamber Will
Complete Navy
Plans Thursday
The Chamber of Commerce will
meet in regular session Thursday
evening, Jan. 27, at the Episcopal
Church.
A tentative program has been
worked out by city officials and
the Chamber executive board for
entertainment of Navy personnel
of the two ships expected here
Feb. 17.
The tentative program will be
presented at Thursday’s Chamber
meeting for the consideration of all
the membership. All members are
especially urged to attend Thurs
day’s meeting, and they will be
invited to make suggestions and
criticisms on the tentative pro
gram.
Annual Birthday Ball
Saturday, Jan. 29
The President’s Birthday Ball, to
take place Saturday evening, Jan.
29, will be the leading entertain
ment on this month's social calen
dar.
Preparations have been under
way for quite some time, but a
specific program has not yet been
announced. Ticket sales, sponsored
by both the Infantile Paralysis
Committee and the Seward Public
Health and Welfare Council, are
now in progress.
It is expected that the type of
music for the dance will be made
known before the night of the
dance, and also the exact hour the
dance will begin.
The President’s Birthday Ball
has been unknown to Seward until
a year or so ago, but has been an
annual affair nationally since early
in the administration President
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In most larger cities of the na
tion it is one of the very important
social events of the year. Part of
the proceeds will be used for the
Infantile Paralysis Fund, and part
will go to the fund for crippled
children.
Citizens are urged to watch for
the little plastic coin collectors in
local business houses, and to be
sure to drop in their spare change.
The little change doesn’t hurt any
body, but it certainly helps many
people whp have been stricken
with the dread disease.
Would Extend Power
Of Maritime Com.
I
I A fourth proposal affecting Aias
! ka was offered the 81st Congress
last week when Congressman
Schuyler O. Bland, chairman of the
House Merchant Marine and Fish -
eries Committee, placed in the
hopper a resolution to extend cer
tain authority of the Maritime
Commission in the operation of
American vessels serving Alaska.
The measure seeks to amend
present law by extending from
March 1, 1949, to March 1, 1950, the
authority of the Commission to
sell, charter and operate ships in
the Alaska trade. The present law
was permissive rather than manda
tory, and although the Congress
expected the Maritime Commission
to charter ships and to furnish in
surance, the Commission has failed
to do so.
Mr. and Mrs. John M. Coleman
of Seward are the parents of a son,
John Donald, born at 2 a.m., Mon
day, January 24, at the Seward
General Hospital. The newcomer
weighed nine pounds, two ounces
at birth.
Alaska’s Development Survey
Shows Ample Resources
For 5,000,000 Population
Alaska’s undeveloped resources
now represent a loss of more than
$1,0000,000,000 per year to the Na
tional income. With proper utiliza
tion of Alaska’s natural wealth,
the Territory appears to be capa
ble of supporting at least 5,000,000
persons. Ultimately, Alaska could
contribute billions to the National
income, according to announce
ment January 14 by Joseph M.
Morgan, chief of the Alaska inves
tigation, prior to departing from
Juneau for Washington, D.C.
Morgan announced completion of
the Bureau of Reclamation’s recon
naissance report on potential de
velopment of water resources in
Alaska for power production and
beneficial uses.
Included in Morgan’s report is an
extensive survey of development
possibilities of Alaska’s fisheries,
wildlife, forest, mineral and agri
cultural resources.
Plentiful low-cost power, he said,
is a “must" in any mature and
balanced economy. It is a magnet
which attracts business, industry
and people. Power is wealth. For
tunately, present investigations in
dicate Alaska river control systems
could produce 50 billion kilowatt
hours annually—equivalent to the
amount of power used by 30,000,00C
persons in the United States last
year.
More power can be put into Ju
neau, Fairbanks and Anchorage
than is now available in any city
in the world, regardless of its size,
he concluded.
Potential annual power produc
tion in kilowTatt-hours for various
Alaska regions follows: Southeast
ern Alaska region, 12,270,000,000;
South Central, 18,440,000,000; Yu
kon-Kuskokwim, 14,740,000.000 and
Seward Peninsula, 200.000,000.
The report was written in its
entirety by Alaskans about Alaska
Federal, Territorial and local agen
cies assisted in its compilation by
supplying basic information. The
Alaska Development Board ren
dered invaluable aid by contribut
ing general data and editorial as:
sistance.
I
Old USO Is Becoming
Reed Civic Center
Harold Maxwell announced this
; week that he will be present at the
IUSO Building today and for the
remainder of the week during the
hours from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., for the
purpose of lining up boys who are
interested in amateur boxing for
the Navy visit.
At the same time all those who
are interested in gymnasium work
may drop in to make arrangements
for the use of USO Building facili
ties such as handball, volley ball,
boxing gloves and punching bags,
basketball, shuffleboard and other
/ _
equipment.
Maxwell said he hoped the civic
clubs would make use of the build
ing for larger parties, dances,
•bingo games, boxing shows, and
amateur entertainments, since the
building will be available any
night it is not used for roller skat
ing.
Very few cities the size of Sew
ard have such excellent facilities
for entertainment, and it is be
lieved that once the ball starts
rolling the old USO will turn out
to be a splendid civic center.
At the Hotels ...
! The New Seward—Mrs. M. Var
ras, Fairbanks; J. Gerald Williams,
Fairbanks; Joe Clark, Anchorage;
| Mr. and Mrs. Paul Scott, Anchor -
( age; Willard C. King, Anchorage;
| Frank Walgram, Anchorage; G. R.
i Kirkpatrick, Anchorage; Thos. In
! gersoll, Anchorage; Calvin Beard,
| Anchorage; Fred Snyder, Anchor
I age; Clements N. Lean, Juneau:
, A. L. Walsh, Fairbanks; R. K
Thomson, Fairbanks; Ken A Har
ris; Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Hoogan,
i Oceanside, Calif.; O. J. McCold,
! Anchorage; Benth M. Thomson,
Fairbanks; Mrs. Elmer Priest, An
chorage; Mrs. Gerald Hoodley, An
chorage; Frank Fricher and Art
Baker, Seattle; Henry F. Wollf, An
| chorage; Martha deGamma, An
j chorage.
Dorothy Costello, Anchorage; R.
C. Fegelsted, Anchorage; Charlotte
Morton, Cheyenne, Wyo.; George
Gronkowski, Seattle; Katherine
Shillikoff, Juneau; Mrs. Roma E.
Scott, Anchorage; Mr. and Mrs.
LeRoy English, Anchorage; Mrs.
James A. Morrison, Anchorage;
Miss Helen Cass, Anchorage; J. E.
Daigle, Anchorage; Mr. James A.
Morrison, Anchorage.
Word has been received that Mrs. ;
Mary Ann B. Brown will be hang
ing up her real estate sign again
this spring in Seward. She has
been spending the winter in Tulsa,
Oklahoma, with her son, Don Bal
niat, and husband, George Brown.
Shipping News . . .
The Victoria departed from Sew
ard Monday, January 24, hound for
Seattle. Arrivals were the Chief
Washakie at the Army dock at
7:30 a.m. Jan. 23, and the Coastal
Monarch, which arrived at the City
Dock at 1:00 a.m. Jan. 24 with 1572
tons of freight for Seward and the
Railbelt.
The Abigail Adams is due from
Whittier Wednesday, and the Bar
anof is expected to arrive Jan. 23.
The James T. Cannon is due to ar
rive in Seward within a few’ days
with 3000 tons of steel rails. They
are 115-pound rails to be stock
piled here for The Alaska Railroad.
The Ring Splice sailed from Seat
tle Jan. 23, and is expected to ar
rive here in about eight days.
ARRESTED, FINED FOR
VEHICLE CODE VIOLATION
John Gullickson, arrested on a
charge of driving a vehicle while
under the influence of intoxicating
liquor and operating a vehicle
without an operator’s license, pled
guilty to the charge in U.S. Com
missioner’s Court in Seward Mon
day, Jan. 24, nad received a sen
tence of 90 days confinement in the
Federal jail. Gullickson told local
officials that he had not possessed
an operator’s license since the year
1939.
Mr. and Mrs. Ozzie Dana have j
returned to Seward from a vaca
tion in Florida.
Seward Ponies
Down Eagles
In Two Games
Wildly excited crowds jammed
1 the Seward High School gymnasi
| um Saturday and Monday nights
to see the SHS Ponies take two
basketball games from the An
chorage High School Eagles by
scores of 43-39 and 46-40.
By outplaying the Eagles in
every department of the game, the
Ponies dominated throughout both
games, and for the first time in
11 years nailed up winning scores
over the Anchorage aggregation.
Just to show that Friday night's
game was no fluke win because
the Eagles were not on their own
floor, the Ponies came back Mon
day to outshine the Anchorage
boys with a floor game that
clicked.
, l he Ponies passing game clicked
' mucli better and ball handling left
i little to be desired in a high school
: team. While Friday’s game showed
them a little ragged on defense,
! Monday night they seemed to have
| solved the excellent blocking of
! the Anchorage men. The Eagles
! had very few good set shots in
Monday’s game.
By some prime ball hawking and
excellent recovery work under the
basket the Sewardites controlled
1 the ball as much as they wanted
to, it seemed, and lost it mostly
by unnecessary long shots.
With a good amount of practice
on a large floor, and with a con
' tinuation of the excellent team
1 work shown in the last two games
' I Seward should be hard to beat
l from now on, provided it has
' i plenty of substitutes to take the
! heat off the regulars and give
them an occasional breathing
5 spell.
' JUNIOR WOMEN'S CLUB
L BASKETBALL TEAM
Mrs. B. Davis, who played guard
on the Junior Women's Club bas
ketball team Saturday night
. against the high school girls’ team,
played on a losing team for the
first time in her life,
r
In her school days. Mrs. Davis
1 played on a high school team that
I | took tiie championship of Wash
• ineton. Oregon and Idaho.
: Coach Katheryn Ling said her
■ ■ girls had played an excellent
j game, but were handicapped by
i j lack of reserves. The Junior Wom
I en now have five new team mem
! bers and will be able to substitute
freely in future games. Besides B.
Davis, only one other member of
the team has played basketball be
jfore.
Spectators at the game felt that
the game had been a very interest
ing one, and that the Junior Wom
en will have a tough team to beat
after very little practice.
VETS' REPRESENTATIVE
IN SEWARD THIS WEEK
Harold E. Kenny, contact repre
sentative for the Veterans Admin
istration, will be in Seward on
Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 26
and 27, to assist veterans with gov
ernment insurance, medical and
dental claims, disability and pen
sions. He will assist the veterans
who call on him with any prob
lems connected with servicemen’s
benefits.
Mr. Kenny will be at the New
Seward Hotel Wednesday and
Thursday unless adverse weather
conditions prevent his flying from
Anchorage.
■i