SEWARD’S
All-cWeatkec
SEAPORT
Is Alaska’s
Greatest Asset
Formerly The Seward Polaris Sr Kenai Peninsula-Aleutian Chain News
Vol. V, No. 62
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY, FEB. 4, 1949
Price 10 Cents
Over Hundred
Elks Coming;
For Weekend
Lloyd Calvert learned yesterday
in a telephone conversation with
Hay Southworth and Oska Weeda
of the Anchorage Klks that more
•than 100 Anchorage Elks have
signed up for the trip to Seward
this weekend, and more are ex
pected to sign up for the trip.
The Anchorage Elks, coming to
Seward for the first time since
December 6, 1017. will leave An
chorage at 1:00 Saturday after
noon. The occasion will he the in
itiation of five Seward candidates
and one from Anchorage at a reg
ular meeting of the lodge.
Seward Elks belong to the An
chorage lodge, and the six candi
dates will become members of
that lodge. The Seward group,
however, is working for a local
charter. The local Elks Club is
composed of members who belong
to the Anchorage lodge. It was
organized by three local men who
thought that Seward Elks shoul.
have a club of their own.
It is reported that the ladies
will be guests of the Bill's Club
during the meeting, and after the
meeting, which takes place Sun
day, there will be a buffet din
ner and dance. The Anchorage
group has announced that it will
be bringing its own orchestra.
Saturday aft> moon a group of
local Elks will go by bus to tm et
the special train at Moose Cass.
They will ride back to town on
the train.
A.K.C. FIELD DIRECTOR
VISITS SEAWARD
Miss Helen Cass, general field
director for the American Red
Cross in the Territory, concluded
a four-day visit to Seward last
Friday, during which time she
made a thorough survey of Red
Cross chapter activiti‘*s and plans.
She expressed complete satisfac
tion over the work done so far
and approved plans for a fund
campaign which is to he held in
April.
The new bookkeeping policy of
the chapter which has been pro
posed by Treasurer P. M. Wang
le}' and Chapter Chairman Mrs.
Mildred Kirkpatrick was ap
proved. The Home Service Com
mittee was commended for good
and thoughtful work.
FIMK VICTIMS STILL
RANGEROl'SLV ILL
It was reported today that Leo
Douglas and Joe Isaacs are still
seriously ill at the Seward Gen
eral Hospital as a result of
poisoning by carbon-tetrachloride
fumes.
The two were working on a
tractor, and were cleaning the
parts with the carbon-tetrachlor
ide. There was no ventilation in
the room and a fire in a stove
made the place quite warm.
RAINBOW GIRLS INSTALL
At a regular meeting of the
Order of Rainbow for Girls Thurs
day evening, Mrs. Phil Harding
was installed as Associate Worthy
Advisor and Mrs. W. C. Erwin
was installed as a member of the
Advisory Board. Installing officer
was Beverly Seater.
A number of girls received at
tendance and merit bars. Four of
the girls have perfect attendance
records since initiation.
Railroad Workers 1
Given Wage
Increases
Wage increases of six to ten
cents an hour were handed Alas
ka Railroad employees as of Jan.
23, 1949, the ARR management
announced this week in Anchor
age. The pay boosts will add an
estimated $450,000 a year to the'
Railroad's payroll.
Train and engine crewmen will
got a 10 cent ac.ross-the-hoard in
crease. This is patterned after the
dime an hour increase recently
granted to operating employees
on Outside railroads, following
negotiations between the unions
and employers.
Non-operating employees on the
ARR get the six cent an hour
increase. This group on Outside
railroads has not yet received any
wage settlement, but President
Truman’s Fact Finding Hoard lias
recommended a seven cent an
hour increase. The time-and-a
half pay for Saturday gives the
AllR’s non-operating employees
aproxiinately the seven cent an
hour increase.
A pay raise was granted ARR
workers last May 1. It amount d
to about $900,000 a year. Rates
of pay for each classification were
then established to equal the pay
for the same job on railroads in
the Pacific Northwest, plus a
! cost-of-living allowance of $1350
; per year.
i
PIIOTOCH\|»H v CROl !
VIKW'S (’()l,OK SLlllKS
The photography group of tin
Seward Women’s Club met Thurs
day evening. Color slides from the
collection of Casey Cobban were
shown, an-d Miss Franc* s Clark,
who is leader of the group,
showed color slides taken on her
flight to Point Harrow last sum
mer. At the next meeting photos
of gardens in Seward will be
! shown. They may be in color or
black and white. The purpose of
the formation of the group is to
teach the beginnings of photogra
1 phy.
.
20-Acre Plot
To Be Divided;
Frank Gibbons announced to
day that lie is bavins a 20-acre
plot of ground surveyed on his
73-acre tract at the head of the |
bay with the purpose of setting up
a residential subdivision.
Four streets will be laid out,
two running east and west and
two running north and south.
The road will follow the con- 1
tour of the river, and will be far
enough away from the stream so
that timber along the banks will
be left standing to prevent ero
sion .
Gift to City
Within the plotted tract one
acre will be set aside as a gift to
the City of Seward. While the
land in question is not within the
limits of the city, it will make an
ideal picnic ground for school!
children and social groups.
The picnic ground has a full
stand of timber which wiil 1
left there, and after the brush i
Cleared front the ground the site
I will he iniiioediatf 1> useful.
Mr. Gibbons siid that power
lines now run past the airnort a
far as the Hlur.d homestead a d
i power will be available, it will he
| possible to use electric motor
I pumps to draw water, whi- h i
j found at a depth of eight feet.
I Mr. Gibbons t ■turned Thursday
! from Washougal, Wash., where he
J attended the funeral of h s broth
i er, Charles M. Gibbons, who died
j January 27 at the Washoug: 1 M
i morial Hospital at the age of »I.v
womhn's ri.cn scpi’okts
I'KOlMiUTY TAX nil.!.
| The Seward Women's Club lias
dispatched a series o' telegrams
[ to Representative Clarence I>.
.Keating at Juneau urging him to
j support the property tax hill as
well as the child welfare program
, and increased payments for old
1 age pensions.
Favorable Mining Outlook
Seen In Recent Survey
Despite preliminary reports re
cently issued by the Federal Uov
eriynent that show a diminished
output of metallic minerals in
Alaska, and especially of gold,
during the calendar year 191H as
compared with the preceding
year, other statistics bearing on
the progress of Alaska’s mineral
industry during the past year that
have been compiled by the Office
of Territorial Commissioner of
Mines tend to discount the im
portance of the apparent decline
in gold output.
Also, it appears certain that
final figures on gold production
itself will show a substantial in
crease above the preliminary esti
mates for the year that have been
announced from Washington. It
even appears possible that it may
prove to have been greater in
1948 than in 1947.
Statistics gathered and compiled
by the Office of the Commissioner
of Mines show that during 1948
thirty dredges were in operation
in the Territory as compared with
27 during the previous year; and
that 38 draglines were in active
use as compared with 35 during
1947. It is logical to presume that
the increase in heavy placer
equipmeiii uius snown win mean
| a larger output of gold.
Active placer operations that
employed s in a 1 1 e r equipmc: t
| mostly in the form of a combina
tion of bulldozer and hydraulic
apparatus numbered 102. as com
pared with 101 that were produc
tive during 1947.
Offsetting whatever decline that
may have occurred in the produc
tion of gold is a substantial in
crease in the output of industrial
minerals and fuels, particularly
coal. Final figures on the 1948
output of coal from AJaska mines
show a production of 409.000
tons. This output exceeds by ap
proximately 47,000 tons the pre
vious all-time high annual pro
duction record, which was estab
lished during the preceding year.
During the past several years
production in the Territory of
sand, gravel and stone, for use
principally in airport and road
construction, has taken rank in
value with gold, coal and plati
num in accounting for the total
mineral wealth produced.
The indicated value of Alaska’s
output of sand, gravel and stone
during the year 194 7 was close to
(Continued on page 2)
Ponies Walk Over
Hardwaremen
101 to 36
Last Tuesday night the Seward
High Ponies galloped rough-shod
over the Seward Hardware team
to ring the bell for 100 points
with one for good measure. The
final score was 101-36.
The Ponies’ regular practice s
on Seward’s large civic center bas
ketball court are paying off. The
size of the floor seems to suit the
Ponies, for their set attack and
fast breaks were a treat to watch
and clicked time after time for
goal. Don Steele and Stan Ander
son scored in the thirties, with all
members of the squad in for their
share of the spoils. Teamwork was
outstanding. The Ponies could be
heard talking to each other, ad
vising, encouraging, and compli
menting teammates. Their morale
is high, and it is apparent that
victory spurs them on to harder
effort and improvement. Their
condition is good, as indicate d b>
a closing slashing drive which
netted them thirteen points in the
last two minutes of play.
Seward's Ponies will soon rep
resent their school and city in
the important Rendezvous Tour
nament All Seward should get be
hind the Ponies and give them
the support and the cooperation
which they show among them
selves o.. the basketball court.
Late Receipts Low
Gate receipts for City League
games have not paid expenses.
The people of Sev, tr i can she",
their support, in one way, by par
ch. ;sing tickets on the refrigerator
which was generously donated by
the American Legion Post of Sew
ard. Ne>v owner of the refriger
ator is now scheduled to take
place at the half-time period o
tin* Seward Migh-Kodiak llich
game on Feb. 11. Ticket sales to
date have been slow.
The I! 15 Roosters defeated
the Seward Light and Powi r quin
tet. 71-64, in a game which see
sawed throughout the first three
quarters. Both teams look turns
scoring in these quarters with tin
score seldom being more than two
points apart.
Third of Last Scries Tonight
Toni rht. Feb. 4, at Seward's
Civic Center, the four teams of
tin- fit; League play off the third
game of their last series.
The Cories and the Seward
Light and Power teams are sched
uled for the opener, which begins
at 7:20. Seward Hardware and
the 14 14 Boosters take over the
floor for the second game.
Admission is season ticket or
50 cents for adults, and 25 cents
for students.
STRONGMAN TEARS OUT
JAIL PLUMBING
It seems that prisoners at the
city jail have been giving the po
lice a hard time lately. A man
from one of the ships in port was
thrown in the local bastille for
drunkenness. He began to feel his
oats, or it could have been corn,
and proceeded to tear a popular
bathroom fixture out by the roots.
It was just last week that a
prisoner had to be subdued by
tear gas. He had set his bed on
fire.
MEMORIAL CHURCH TO HOLD
FAMILY DINNER, FEB. 8
The Seward Memorial Church
will have its monthly family din
ner Tuesday evening, February 8,
in the church hall. Members con
fident0 food for the dinner.
Alaska Line
Again Adds
To Schedule
The SS Aleutian, passenger ship
of the Alaska Line, will again b'e
placed in service this spring. She
is scheduled to leave Seattle for
her first trip of the season May
21, 11. N. Paterson, traffic man
ager for the Alaska Steamship
Company, said Thursday in Sew
ard.
Even more freighters will be
operating, he said, as the peak
season nears. Ordi arilfy there‘are
only four or five ships serving
Seward in winter, but this year
there ate three passenger ships,
and eight freighters.
When material for government
and private contracts starts mov
ing to the Interior in the spring,
Mr. Peterson said, it will be neces
sary to place even more ships in
service, especially when supplies
and equipment starts moving to
the canneries.
l-i-right, Hacking denied I p
Some people have believed that
the great amount of freight mov
ing through Seward hr.s been a
backlog of the fall shipping tie
up, Mr. Peterson said. But that
backlog has been taken care of,
he stated, and the amount of
freight is increasing more than
ever.
Mr. Peterson went into further
detail on recent publh-i.y or. rent
ing its statement that it serves
all Alaska. He stated that his
company does not concentrate on
the ports which handle the most
, freight, such as Seward, but
! serves even the ports which han
dle very little freight,
j There are some ports of call, he
i said, whefe only a few tons of
| freight are discharged. Those few
| tons of freight, however, are just
as important to that, small town
as thousands of tons tire to the
more important port or Seward.
Someone has to serve the small
ports, even though it is done at a
loss.
Cheaper {■ rciuht to Rail Points
The subject was brought up
tliat it is cheaper to unload
freight into a rairoad car, move
it seven miles to Woodrow and
truck it back to Seward, than it
is to take th>‘ same freight direct
ly over the dock.
Mr. Peterson said that this
would not apply to every kind of
freight, but he said he would not
be able to tell which types of
commodities were excepted with
out Veferring to complicated sta
tistics.
The Alaska Line, he stated,
could book passage for any num
ber of tourists it wished to accept.
The trouble is that there are not
adequate accommodations for
them when they arrive in Alaska.
The best tourist season lasts
over a period of 75 days, and it
would not pay to build big hotels
for such a short season. Many
Alaskans, however, believe that
the Kenai Peninsula could be a
winter sports area second to none
in the world.
DANGEROUS WEAPON
ASSAULT
It was reported today (Friday)
that Bobbie Slaydon was arrested
on charge of asshnlt with a dan
gerous weapon. The complaint
was sigrted by Clarence E. De
Wolfe, and the hearing is set for
2:00 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7.