*x SEWARD’S
All-cWeatKec
SEAPORT
Is Alaska’s
Greatest Asset
Seward Seaport Record
Vol. VI, No. 20
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1949
Price 10 Cents
Bartlett Talks
On Pub. Works,
Housing Laws
Delegate to Congress E. L. Bart
lett reiterated his predictions that
Seward is destined to become one
of Alaska's major cities in years to
come at the luncheon held in
his honor Thursday in Seward.
The delegate, who returned to the
Territory a couple of weeks ago for
statehood hearings in Juneau, ex
plained to about 35 local business
men and officials the benefits of
the recently passed Public Works
and Housing Acts.
Presidential Sponsorship
The Public Works Act was the
first bill in history concerning
Alaska which was enacted directly I
as a result of a special message to
Congress by the President.
It is expected that Congress in
the near future will be asked -to
authorize an appropriation of $3
million and about $8 million in con- j
tract authority so that teh public
works projects will be initiated by
next spring. Within a short time a
committee on public works will be
in the Territory to confer with of
ficials on procedure. The work will
be done under the supervision of
General Services.
uae or me surprising reaiures or
the bill is its quick passage, Bart
lett stated. It is seldom that a ma
jor bill is passed within a year after
being introduced into Congress.
Bartlett gave a lot of credit to
Senator Holland of Florida for giv
ing so freely and willingly of his
time to the bill. Senators Magnus
sen and Caine were also staunch
supporters, he said. Congressman
Fred Crawford of Michigan was
one of the strongest supporters in
the House.
Alaska Pays Part
In regard to the financing of the
Public Works program, Bartlett ex
plained that while the Federal
Government finances the projcts,
over a period of time it will be
necessary for the local government
to repay from 25 to 75 per cent, de
pending on the financial status of
the community.
Housing
He also spoke briefly on the sub
ject of the Alaska Housing Act.
When such housing has been con
sidered in the past, it has always
beefi found that the maximum cost
of homes was set for outside prices.
This made it impossible for Alaska
contractors to build within the lim
its set because of higher costs here.
Now the government allows the
maximum cost of a home in Alaska
to be one third higher, and still be
eligible for Federal aid.
m aaamon, tne government nas
now set up a Federal mortgage as
sociation which will buy mortgages
from Alaska banks up to 100 per
cent of their value. Prior to this
there has been no market for such
paper from the Territory, and
Alaska banks have been unable to
dispose of mortgages when they
wanted to convert them.
Public Land Sales
Another subject on which Bart
lett touched briefly was the sale of
public lands for business sites.
Until now the only way a man
could acquire a site for business
was to homestead the land, thus
acquiring title to it. This Congress
has authorized the Department of
the Interior to sell land in plots up
to 160 acres for business locations.
Homesteading a site prior to
gaining title for a business location
was too costly a project. With the
new system title may be Acquired
immediately and the business
established without delay.
RAINBOW TO INSTALL
The Order of Rainbow for Girls
is extending a cordial invitation to
attend the public installation at the
Masonic Hall, Saturday, Sept. 11, at
8:00 p.m.
Refreshments will be served aft
er the ceremony.
Hunters Reminded of
Regulations
For Duck Season
Regulations governing the 1949
waterfowl season were released by
the Fish and Wildlife Service in
advance of the opening of the sea
son here Sept. 15. The season lasts
until Nov. 3.
Those dates apply to the Third
Judicial Division with the excep
tion of the entire drainage of the
Tenana River, which has been
open since Sept. 1.
A daily bag limit of five ducks
has been established, of which
only one may be a wood duck. In
addition, hunters may bag 25 sin
gly or in the aggregate of Ameri
can or red-breasted mergansers.
Canada Geese
For geese, the limit is six in any
combination not exceeding two of
Canada geese or its sub-species,
white fronted geese or brant. Limit
on coot is 15.
Possession limits as set forth by
the Fish and Wildlife are ten ducks
of which only one may be a wood
duck. There is no possession limit
after the opening day of American
and red-breasted mergansers.
For geese the possession limit is
six in any combination not exceed
ing two of Canada geese or its sub
species, white fronted geese or
brant. Possession limit on coot
is 15.
$500 Fine for Killing
Cow Moose
An Anchorage man, William E.
Ogdon, pled guilty to the charge
of shooting a cow moose at Cres
cent Lake in U S. Commissioner's
court in Seward Wednesday and
received a fine of $500, besides hav
ing his rifle confiscated and hunt
ing license revoked. And on top
of that the moose was taken away
from him.
While waiting for his $500 to
show up for the fine. Ogden was
placed in the Federal jail here. Og
den, who is a time checker for ihe
engineers at P'ort Richardson, can
spend 250 clays in jail if he wants
to sit out the sentence at the rate
of two dollars a day.
WHIPPLIES CELEBRATE SILVER
WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
WITH OPEN HOUSE
Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Whipple are
holding open house at their First
Avenue home from 3:00 p.m. until
9:00 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, in cele
bration of their twenty-fifth wed
ding anniversary.
Cliff and Ora Whipple were mar
ried Sept. 11, 1924, in Modesto, Cal.
They moved to Seward in 1941,
where they have been active in
civic and social circles.
Mrs. wmppie is president of the
W.S.C.S. of the Seward Methodist
Church, a member of the Seward
Women’s Club and an officer in
the Eastern Star.
Mr. Whipple is known to every
body who has occasion to visit the
Seward dock, since he is in charge
of the “hospital” maintained there
for the handling of damaged cargo.
He is a member of the Masonic
Lodge, Methodist Church, and an
active member of the recently in
corporated 4th of July Committee.
The Whipple’s son Ward is a stu
dent at the University of Washing
ton, where he was commissioned
2nd lieutenant, ROTC, early this
year.
At The Hotels . . .
The New Seward—Rev. John E.
Fichy, Fort Richardson; Carl E.
Johnson, Ft. Richardson; Baldwin
P. Svendsen, Juneau; Frank Towle,
Cooper’s Landing; P. D. Treber,
Canton, Ohio; Marvin S. Pickard,
Anchorage; Lynn O. Hollist, Col
lege; D. M. Ford, Madison, Wis.;
Farrell F. Barnes, San Francisco;
Mr. and Mrs. I.. C. Morkried, Ka
silof; R. E. Van Dyne, Harold B.
Schultz, Juneau; G. W. Tapley,
Juneau.
First $17,000
Put In Special
Sinking Fund
A new account was opened for
the City of Seward Thursday morn
ing at the Bank of Seward with a
deposit of $17,000 in surplus funds
raised by the sales tax for the
school fund.
This amount will more than take
care of the first payment of $15,000
on the bond issue for the $125,000
five-room addition to the Seward
Public School Building.
An additional collection of at
least $10,000 is expected to flow
into the city’s purse after the first
of October. This amount will prob
ably be needed to pay current ex
penses in operating the school.
Sinking Fund
The $17,000 deposited Thursday,
however, may not legally be with
drawn from the bank for any pur
pose other than retiring the bond
issue. The only party to which it
may be paid is the National City
Bank of New York.
The reason for setting the account
up in this manner, Mayor Eugene
Lanier said, is that there can be
absolutely no possibility that the
money could be thrown into other
channels. It is especially necessary
now% he said, since the Territory is
deeply in the red and may be far
behind in keeping up its share of
the school budget.
After sufficient money has been
raised to insure proper operation of
the school, any s irplus will be de
! posited in a special sinking fund ]
• for health and sanitation.
Number of Pupils
Again Shows
! Increase 't his Year
Seward Public School opened
Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. with one half
of the second grade going to
classes in the basement of the
Episcopal Church and the other
half having classes in the basement
of the Alethodist Church.
This is a temporary measure, as
the $125,000 five-room addition to
the present school will be complet
ed in about a week, providing suf
ficient classroom space for all
pupils.
319 Pupils Enrolled
This year's enrollment for botli
grade and high school is 319, an
increase of 28 over last year and
almost one hundred and fifty per
cent over the 1933 total.
Superintendent of Schools Carl
R. Carlson reported earlier this
week that he expects the total of
319 to increase slightly, since he
knows a number of students who
have not yet entered school.
Lower Grades Increase
The most striking growth appears
in the lower grades with the second
grade showing an increase from 21
in 1947 to 42 in 1949. It appears that
if the lower grades continue to in
crease in this manner th6 total en
rollment may more than double in
less than five years. The new ad
dition is designed to be sufficient
for five years.
In the high school the senior class
was the only one showing a de
crease, from 16 to 13. The first year
class has increased to 25 students.
Work on the school’s heating sys
tem is progressing rapidly. Even
while the new system is being in
stalled all rooms are kept comfort
able, with an apparent saving of at
least 30 per cent in fuel.
OBSERVE SCHOOL ZONE
SPEED LAWS,
WARNS POLICE CHIEF
Chief of Police Leonard J. Clark
warns motorists that with the be
ginning of the school year there
will be many children on the streets
in the vicinity of the school. Traf
fic signs have been posted on Third
and Fourth Avenues, and the ord
inance which limits the speed to
12 miles per hour in the area will
be strictly enforced.
4-H Club Members
Demonstrate
Sat. Afternoon
Two 4-H Club officials will be
present at the home of Mrs. B.
Davis at 3:30 o’clock Saturday aft
ernoon. Plans will be formed for
the coming year in club work.
The two officials are Miss Mar
jorie Sheridan, Home Demonstra
ton Agent from Anchorage, and
Mr. Parker Lester. Extension Agent
from Palmer. There will be an
election of officers for the 4-H
Council. Present officers are Mrs
B. Davis, president; Mrs. Dan Rose,
vice president, and Dorothy Frost,
secretary and treasurer.
Achievement Day Sunday
Sunday will be achievement Day,
and there will be a demonstration
by all club members of their work
during the past year. All the mem
bers worked on meal planning and
preparation, which will be the sub
ject of the demonstration.
The demonstration will take
place at eight o'clock Sunday eve
ning at the home of Mrs. George
Dangler. The public is invted. and
any persons who are interested in
youth leadership are especially re
quested to attend the affair.
Pjii’Hsfcrcsn Res?!y Day
September 11
Sundav Bcntember 11 at 9:4o
n.m. is Hally Day at Seward Luth
eran Churrh. A new year of Sun
day School will begin with classes
for all ages, beginning with a mr
serv class for two and three-year
olds. All children are invited to
these classes. Adults are urged to
attend the Bible class faugh' by
Sunerintendent Carlson.
Pastor A. O. Odegaard wiv *>o
here for a worship service Mond v
evening, September 12 at B• 00. The
public is invited to attend.
The Ladies Aid will meet Tues
day evening at 7:00 for a politick
dinner.
Marion Johnson, parish worker of
the Home Mission Department of
the Lutheran Church, has complet
ed a mogram of visitation in Sew
ard. Miss Johnson will be going to
Anchorage to carry on her work
there.
CAA RECEIVES AUTHORITY
TO CONTRACT «
DEBTS IN ALASKA
The Civil Aeronautics Adminis
tration will be able to incur cer
tain financial obligations for its
activities in Alaska prior to the
time Congress appropriates neces
sary funds under the terms of a
bill signed by President Truman
last week.
The law is designed to facilitate
the purchase and transportation of
supplies and materials to the Ter
ritory during the relatively short
season when it is possible to move
such supplies to CAA interior sta
tions. It will work this way: If Con
gress by March of a given year has
not appropriated funds for the fol
lowing: fiscal year for these CAA
activities in the Territory, the CAA
may go ahead and incur obliga
tions up to 75 per cent of the
money appropriated the previous
fiscal year for the purchase and
transportation of supplies and ma
terials to Alaska.
Similar legislation has been in
force for a number of years in con
nection with Alaska Road Commis
sion activities in Alaska.
PUCKETT WARNS SPEED LIMIT
REMAINS AT 39 MI. PER HOUR
Highway Patrolman Puckett is
sued a warning to motorists on the
Kenai Peninsula Thursday that the
speed limit is 35 miles per hour on
all highways in the Territory.
A proposal that the speed limit
be raised to fifty miles per hour
on paved or black topped highways
was made recently and was widely
publicized. The proposal, even if it
had been adopted, would not affect
Kenai Peninsula drivers, Puckett
said.
At any rate, he stated, the speed
limit is still 35 miles per hour.
All Issues Win
By Light Vote
In Spec. Ballot
A disappointingly low number of
ballots were cast in Thursday’s spe
cial election in which all three ma
jor propositions were carried. Only
the three-year term for councilmen
failed to win approval.
Two Per Cent Sales Tax
For Against
102 . 68
Two Years for Mayor
97 . 71
Three Years for Councilmen
69 . 85
Refund RFC $50,000
119 . 34
New Power Equipment. $54,000
120 . 35
The total of 170 votes was espe
cially disappointing due to the fact
that registrations prior to the elec
tion had been unusually high. In
the voided special election last
June the total was even less, but
the reason given at that time was
that many had forgotten to reg
ister.
Sales Tax
A total of 1(12 ballots were cast in
favor of the two per cent sales tax,
and 68 against it. The 102 votes
gave a margin ol eight above the
94 necessary, to make up the re
quired 55 per cent.
The passage of the Sales tax
ordinance insures sufficient funds
for operating the public schools of
Seward, ana should provide u sink
ing fund for future expansion. It
should also provide funds to sup
plement the aid given by the Ter
ritorial Department of Health. This
is the. first year Seward has fur
nished any sum for maintaining an
office for the public health nurse.
Two-Year Term
On October 1 for the first time
in the history of Seward voters
will be failed upon to elect a mayor
‘for a two-year term. The increase
in length of term from one to two
years won approval of the voters
by a margin of 97 to 71. Seward
voters apparently agreed with the
Territorial Legislature, which last
spring passed a law making it pos
sible to increase the mayor’s term
from one to two years.
At the same time the voters
turned thumbs down on a three
year term for councilman with a
vote of 85 against compared with
69 in favor. As a result councilmen
will be elected for two-year terms
in the coming election.
Third Time
for the third time the people of
Seward trudged to the polls to cast
their ballots in favor of a bond is
sue to take Seward Electric Sys
tem out of its precarious position.
A total of 111 votes were needed
for the 65 per cent majority neces
sary to carry the $104,000 bond is
sue. It was carried by a narrow
margin of eight votes.
Actually the question was split
into two parts with $54,000 to pay
off the RFC loan and $50,000 to buy
new generating and distributing
equipment.
$104,000 In Bonds
This is the $104,000 loan being
negotiated by the city with Grande
and Company of Seattle. Until the
present time the city has been in
default on its bonds, and for this
reason it will now be necessary to
pay five per cent interest instead
of the customary four and a half
per cent.
In the fall of 1947 Seward voters
approved an issue of general obli
gation bonds to retire the revenue
bonds held by the RFC, which
were then in default. The election
was declared illegal, however, since
it is not possible to replace revenue
bonds with general obligation
bonds.
Again in June of this year Sew
ard voters cast a majority of bal
lots in favor of a bond issue for the
same purpose, but that time the
special election ordinance was not
drawn up to suit the legal require
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