Editorial Page
IHE BARANOF BANNER
Published weekly on Thurs
days In the Pioneer Press in
Sitka. Alaska* * * 0 °
Publishers
Richard S. Calhoun
Paul R. Pelker
Editor
Rex King
Business manager
Jeanne Pelker
Woman s Page
Viki Ellis
Sport Page
Gil Truitt
Sitka History
George Hall
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Three Years $9.00
Ten cents the copy
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per column inch. Rate card
on request.
11 there was any more evi
deuce needed that spring was
here, the road work in pro
gress would he enough to
clinch it. The erews are out
and working hard to remedy
the mess that winter & heavy
traffic have made of the city
streets and by-ways. We are
sure that those crews will
appreciate a line or two from
us relative to that work.
The hue and cry hits been
great about the condition of
the roads and now that work
is progressing the hue & cry
has switched to the repairs.
Crews say that people are
often not very cooperative,
t specially w hen it comes to
getting them to move their
ears in order that gravel may
be spread on the roads. One
of these days an irate citizen
w ho has not complied with a
request to mow the old crate
will Rud said set of wheels
firmly buried to the door
handles in gravel. The work
will progress rapidly, we are
sure and the end result is Cer
tainly much to be desired
Patience and cooperation are
the watchword before too
long a time Sitka streets will
b« ‘a delight over which to
drive and all the bother will
fade to nothingness.
Progress versus the good
eld days seems to he the sub
ject for many a conversation
lately and a surprising num
ber of poeple feel that they
prefer Sitka as it was twenty,
thirty years ago to what it is
today. Arguments used are
raising taxes, phone rates, in
flux of people, garbage rates,
ad nusium.
“Time goeth not back
ward, nor doth it tarry with
yesterday.’ The days of Sitka
ka, the small picturesque fish
mg village, are gone forever
and in its place is something
entirely new. Just what Sitka
will become is as yet not cer
tain for these are hectic days
ol transition. W hat is cer
tain is that she will be the
best of what she is to become
only if its citizens move for
ward together. Certain facts
exist and no amount of wish
ful thinking can change it.
The Pulp Mill is here and
here to stay. Those who built
it will go, hut the economy
of a stable industry in the
community as well as those
who will constitute its work
ing force shall be permanent
features of this, Our Town.
The fishing industry has
been here for a long time and
it will remain an intergal part
of our lives. It is a long way
from a dead industry, hut it
must adjust to the hard facts
of the times in which we as
Sitkans live. Fishermen are
and have always been a peo
ple apart. Hard working, the
fishing communities of the
world are usually model
communities of thrifty, in
dustrious, sea loving folk,
but Sitka is no longer the
fishing village it was once.
Now the fishing is just an
other facet of what is fast be
coming a complex town.
Tourism is another poten
tial as yet to he realized. Far
seeing citizens see streams
of tourists from all over the
world converging on historic
Sitka and that possibility is
far from a pipe dream. Put
these tilings together, the
Pulp Mill, Fishing, Tourism,
the Mt. Fdgeeumhe installa
tion and a hundred and one'
other smaller enterprises and
you have* a vast potential
which spells prosperity and a
new face for this Island Em
pire.
Some folks won't be aide
to take it and will leave seek
ing another quiet small town
which progress has not touch
ed. In time they will find that
Progress will come there too
for it is the Leit Motif of the?
age. For the rest of us it
should be completely absorb
ing and exciting to bend our
efforts toward a community
of which we can all be
proud!
Your Building Dollars
Will buy More at
Columbia Lumber Co.
For Consultation
Free Estimates
Phone 747-3335
Letters to the Editor
Hie BARANOF BANNER ot'te.rs these columns to any
one who has a statement for (la* community.
Hex King, Kditor
Baranof Banner
Sitka, Alaska
Dear Hex:
l leartiest congratulations
on the appearance of the
Baranof Banner. Your first
issue strikes me as excellent.
May the Baranof Banner
enjoy steady growth, circula
tion, advertising, influence,
and ability to serve the com
munity.
Speaking as an old news
paperman, 1 long since learn
ed that a good newspaper
goes far to help make a good
town.
Sitka, with its new pulp
mill, should certainly he able
to support this new publica
tion. 1 hope the people will
support it and that it will in
creasingly justify such sup
port.
Please extend my emigrate
lations and best wishes to the
im'iubers of your organ i/a
tion Dick Calhoun, Paul and
Jeanne Pelker, Viki Ellis, (»il
T ruitt, and George Hall.
I am impressed by the idea
of having one of your editor
ial staff a specialist in and
devoted to Sitka’s history.
Certainly no community in
Alaska has a richer history
than Sitka. It is one of Sitka's
assets which can be turned
to good use., it should help
to attract tourists, who 1
have long belived can eonsti
lute one of Alaska’s econom
ic potentials.
Best wishes and best of
luck!
(signed Ernest Gruening)
PROCLAMATION
The “rule of law” intimate
ly affects the daily lives of
all Americans. In all of our
private and public affairs we
look to laws and courts to
safeguard every person's life
and property, and the free
dom established under our
federal and state constitu
tions.
This adherence to law lias
contributed greatly to our
nation’s growth and progress.
It has enabled commerce &
industry to build upon a firm
foundation; the«whole com
plex of our social order has
been erected on frameworke
of law and justice. Without
this universal recognition of
law as the basis of our free
society, individual liberties
would 1 >e meaningless.
The rule of law is today
being vigorously challenged
in large areas of the world.
Thoughtful men and women
in the Western world are
giving fresh attention to its
meaning. In our own coun
try we must recognize that
the preservation of equal
justice under law is a respon
sibility of all citizens. The
vitality of our legal system
depends upon broad public
understanding and support.
It is fitting, therefore, that
throughout the United States
a special day is to be set
aside this year
This nation observance
will he known as LAW
DAY U| S. A. and will take
place on May 1, 1958. Organ
izations of all kinds, and the
public schools, are being
asked to recognize the day
with special programs. Then
purpose will he to focus
public attention upon the
fact that respect of law is
vital to the continued growth
and strengthening of the
nation to meet the threat of
communism and the new de
mands of the future. The
nation-wide observance will
be an important and signifi
cant demonstration to the
world that the American peo
ple are united in their deter
mination to preserve the way
of life which our institutions
ot law and justice have made
A AFRICAN A
NEW GAME, BASKET BALL POLO
Yoi/ I
BuTCM— /
RtDE IT ihJ f /
^ _ s
fflCB.
Vlockih '
JOHNNY— I
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rVVPW
possible.
Now, Therefore, I Mike
Stepovich, (lovernor of the
Territory of Alaska, do here
by proclaim Thursday, May
]‘ 1958, as LAW DAY U. S.
A. throughout tins Territory,
and call upon all of our citi
zens to join in its observance
in their respective communi
ties.
In witness wher of, l have
hereunto set my hand and
caused the Seal of the Ter
ritory of Alaska to be affix
ed.
Done at the City of Jun
eau, this fourteenth day of
April in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and liity
eight.
Mike Stepovich, Governor
Tettitorv of Alaska
Cities to See
I Abe Lincoln
.. < *
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V. t 4 4> mi' W'ii
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Voi
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-. ■ v:>:«fwaofli.-. wfcAbNf .«• < ■
Lincoln Home—Springfield, 111.
THERE are two things about Springfield, Illinois, that are known
to virtually every American; Springfield is the capital of Illinois
tmd the chosen city and final resting place of Abraham Lincoln. These
are separate distinctions, but both eventualities are a part of the
heritage of the great President.
Darinf the 1836-37 session of the
min<A* General Assembly, one of
Mhc chief matters at hand was the
•election of a new site for the Cap
itol. Five cities were under con
sideration. Abraham Lincoln, a
young lawyer representing Sanga
mam County, introduced a bill pro
viding for removal of the Capitol
«g ZDinela to Springfield. He was
hacked by eight fellow members
who with him were known as the
•'Lon* Nine,'* because all were
ever six feet in height. Springfield
was selected (Vandalia had been
the Capitol) and the State Legisla
ture first assembled in Springfield
la 1838.
The Capitol at Springfield was
completed In 1853. It took 15 years
to build and cost $260,000. Con
structed of cut stone brought from
a quarry six miles away, It was
considered one of the architectural
wonders of the State. The present
Capitol, completed 1887, cost more
than $4,500,000.
Tourist attractions Include the
Capitol Group -principal buildings
of State Government, In addition
to the Capitol, are the Illinois Cen
tennial Building, commemorating
the admission of the State to the
Union in 1818; the Illinois Supreme
Court Building; State Atmory; and
a new $11,000,000 State Office
Budding completed in 1055.
No visit to Springfield would be
complete without viewing Lincoln’s
Home and Tomb.
New Salem State Park, a half
hour's drive from Springfield, is an
authentic re-creation of the village
where young Lincoln clerked in a
store, chopped wood, enlisted in
the Black Hawk War, served as
postmaster, deputy surveyor and
legislator, and met Ann Rutledge.
Land Clearing Excavation
Tractor or 6 wheel Drive
Road Building Rental Service
GRAVEL & FILL
LOWEST PRICES IN TOWN
FRED PINSON CO.
PHONE 747-3200 - SITKA HOTEL
Harry's Concrete Products
ALL SIZES CONCRETE & CHIMNEY BLOCKS EASY
TO ERECT.
12in. Concrete Culvert Tile
$3.50 a ft.
4in. Concrete Drain Tile
30? a ft.
Building & Foundation Blks.
<Sin. Chimney Blocks $3.75
a ft..
On Front St. near the Pioneer Press
The Channel Club
Open Every Evening
From 6:00 pm till then for your Dining & Dancing enjoy
ment. 3 miles north of Sitka on Halibut Point Road.
Tippy's Channel Club Kitchen
Fresh Steak, Chicken, and Sea Foods. Let us cater to your
Banquets & Get Togethers Open Daily at 6:00 pm
Sunday’s at 4:00 pin for your family dinners. Childrens
portions served.
Subscription Coupon
CLIP TINS COUPON AND MAIL TO THE BARANOF
BANNER, Box 860, Sitka.Enclose $4.50 for a one years
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