Sitka, Alaska
104 a copy
April 17, 1958
Vol. 1 No. 2
This week
'Round the
World
I
(by REX KING)
A long look at the week in
review around the world
makes this reporter feel
strangely like he’s heard all
this before not once but
several times. The President
says we ought to be out buy
ing things and the Presi
dents Secretary of the Trea
sury advises the citizens at
almost the same time to sock
their money away in savings
accounts. The Presidest saw
clearing skies recession-wise
and labor spokesmen saw
deepening storm C louds but
more of that later .Let’s take
a look at the work!.
FRANCE
La Belle France is repeat
ing herself again as her gov
ernment led by Premier Felix
Gaillard, fell Tuesday night.
The fall came indirectly over
the Tunisian problem and
over rising charges that the
Premier had come under
American influence.
Anti-American feeling was
rampant and security mea
sures were taken to protect
Amer. diplomatic personel.
The fall of Gaillards gov
ernment points to an end of
US-British attempts at work
ing out a settlement of the
Tu nisi an- Frencl i difficult ies.
Where France goes from
here is anyone’s guess. Her
unstable government qieture
has already weakened the
nation with her allies, and
the time might well come
when no country will fell
confident enough to treat
with*her on important issues,
lest her government fall and
all plan, be swept away.
CUBA
The Cuban revolution spot
ters on with all indications
shoving that the revolt is
all but wiped out. Cuban re
bels from Mexico made a
landing in Southern Cuba
bringing with them small
quantities of ammunition.
Cuban army units quickly
siezed the arms and are clean
ing up the estimated 50
rebels who made the land
ing.
Rebel leader Fidel Cast
ro’s hopes of seizing control
of Cuba’s government are
fading fast.
RUSSIA
At the moment all that
Russia has to offer outer
space is the fact that she was
there first. Spudnik the 2nd
entered the earth’s atmos
phere and came to its expect
ed though protracted end.
Spudnik 2nd was the dog
carrying satellite.
Predictions have come out
of Russia that her scientists
expect to hurl a satallite
weighing upwards to six tons
into space with an orbit that
will circle both the moon and
earth. Don’t sell the predic
tion short.
We have three tiny orbs
and a rocket casing still in
orbit.
An interesting sidelight on
the Soviet Union is a report
by presidential economic
advisor Dr. Gabriel Hague
that clothing is currently
better in that country but the
average diet has not improv
ed much since the days ol
Imperial Russia. Their hous
ing is the lowest in Europe.
ENGLAND
Most of the news out of
England has to do with the
coming visit of Prime Min
ister Harold MacMillan to
the US in June. Like Church
ill, MacMillan’s mother was
an American. He is to be
honored by a degree from
De Patiw university in Green
castle, I ml. From there he
will have meetings with the
President and will visit Can
ada. Princess Margaret will
also make an extended tour
of Canada.
WEST GERMANY
The rise of West Germany
from her complete defeat
and total economic collapse
following the end of World
War 11 to a current posi
tion of political importance
in the world picture is lit
tle short of miraculous. Fig
ures recently released show,
among other things, that she
has now passed England in
the production of passenger
cars. The tough little Volks
has become a familiar sight
on American streets. Strang
ely enough the Volks plant
in West Germany was put
hack in business bv the Brit
ish in whose zone of occupa
tion it was.
The plant had been bum
by Hitler to put out his high
ly publicised People s Car
very few wen* made and the
sprawling plant then turned
out tanks and jeeps.
British authorities forced
the plant into operation
building small cars in order
to combat unemployment in
their zone. Little did they
know that that action would
eventually literally almost
push them from the small
car field in the foreign mar
ket through the popularity
and dependability of the
bug-like Volks.
THE HOME FRONT
With the Easter recess
over Congress has returned
to work with a zest. Con
centration of efforts seems
to be on the recession and
ways of combating it though
little agreement seems evi
dent on how that job is to
(con’t on page 12)
Workmen begin task of vvi dening Lincoln Street. Wall
of Pioneer Home will be moved back in process.
Jaycee Charter
Night
Sitka's new Baranot Jr.
Chamber of Commeree will
hold it’s Charter Night fes
tivities this evening at the
Kiksadi Club.
Featured speaker of the
evening will he Mr. Edward
A. Monies, State president
of the Territory's Junior
Chambers of Commeree.
The Charter Night Pro
gram will include an invoca
tion In Bill Satterfield, the
introduction of community
leaders by president Chuck
(doiiwav, two brief addresses
bv Mayor Mitroviteh and
Frank Richards, the intro
duction ol Juneau Jayeees
and the introduction of Jim
Paterson State Vice-Presi
dent. This will be followed
by short talks from Juneau
chapter representatives.
Vv’T Present Charters
The Jayeees Charter and
}. C. 1. Chart“r will then be
presented by Mr. Mcities c\
Jim Paterson will present the
local president with his pin.
The main address and bene
diction will close the meet
ing.
Mr. Mercies was born in
Leetsdale, Pa. and was grad
uated from Cornell Univer
sity in 1951. lie is a veteran
of World W ar 11 where he
served with the Army Air
Corp. lie is practicing law in
Fairbanks with his partner,
R. J. M eNealy.
Active in Civic Affairs
The speaker has been
active in eivie affairs in the
jnneau-Douglas area and in
Fairbanks. He has been a
scoutmaster in both areas &
is president of the junior Bar
Conference ol Alaska. His
work with the* Jaycees
brought him the honor of the
presidency this year.
Thank You Sir..
There can be no doubt
that a tremendous amount of
ink rest has been generated
in the publication of 'File
Baranof Banner. Many kind
things have been said to us
about the first issue and we
are grateful. This one we
think, however, is the nicest
compliment we received.
A subscriber who lives at
the Pioneer Home waited
patiently through the after
noon hours of last Thursday
no paper came. Finally,
fearing that he had been mis
sed in tht1 delivering, he
went about the home mak
ing inquiries. Most of the
Home was aborted for the
missing paper. Then as the
evening hours lengthened,
our subscriber prevailed up
on the nurse* on duty to make
a call to the Baranof Banner
office she did: “One of the
gentlemen here is very dis
tressed because he has not
received his copy of the first
edition of your paper. He
insists on having it. He got
his paper special delivery,
for you see our subscriber is
Mr. Harry Jacobsen who is
blind!
Louis Quilico sings for
Music Trail, April, 21.
Trevor Davis of juneau receives first Certificate of inspection
Tyler of the Coast Guard.
from Captain Games
Boat Harbor
Meeting
indecisive
Like some troifical storm
gathering momentum the
last two weeks have seen
many local citizens taking up
their cudgels over the site
of Sitka’s long hoped for
small boat harbor. On street
corners, in restaurants and
at social gatherings the taiK
turned to the where’ of the
subject. Tempers mounted,
U tters flew back and forth
and it all climaxed in the
open meeting Tuesciay eve
ning, called by the U. S.
Army Engineer District,
Alaska.
Agreement was evident on
only one point we do need
a small boat harbor and we
need it quickly. From this
point on the hearing came a
part at the seams.
“It was a most depressing
meeting,” was one comment
made. “We should have been
able to get together on a
site and go forward realis
tically with the problem.”
"Too many people weren’t
for a site, they just expended
their energies being against
one of the three, was anoth
er sage opinion.
Of the three areas under
consideration, the Crescent
received the most attention
from the 100 phis citizens
who attended the meeting.
Channel Rock was second,
with Jamestown Bay run
ning a very poor third.
Major objections to the
Crescent site stemmed from
Dr. Earl Jackman who re
presented the Presbyterian
Board of Missions. Those ob
jections were largely based
on the reasoning that boat
Attend
Church Sessions
Twelve delegates from Sit
ka have left for the annual
Alaska Presbytery being held
in Petersburg. They are, Rev.
W. H. Gavin, Sam Sing, Mrs.
Leslie Yaw, Mrs. Vesta Scott,
Mrs. Jessie Price, Miss Jessie
Frazer, Dr. R. R. Armstrong,
Mrs. R. R. Armstrong, Rev.
Fred Koshman, Austin Van
Pelt, Herb Wells, and John
Mead.
The week-long sessions
opened Tuesday and Dr.
Harold Martin, Presbyterian
Moderator will be the feat
ured speaker.
To Open Business Sessions
Mrs. Leslie Yaw, president
of the Presbyterial (womens
sections) and Rev. Ron Snel
ling. moderator of the Alaska
Presbytery opened the bus
iness sessions of their re
spective groups yesterday.
Election of new officers is
expected to be completed by
Monday afternoon.
Over 1(H) persons are at
tending the sessions from ‘he
19 Presbyterian Parishes in
Southeastern Alaska, the mis
sion vessels and the* school
ahd radio station here in
Sitka.
e
« o
harbors, large or small, in
troduce elements that are not
in the best interests of youth.
Other objections came
from those who looked upon
the building of a boat har
lx)r in the Crescent as a viol
ation of Sitka’s claim to
scenic beauty and thus a de
secration of a valued asset.
Ben Stewart privately of
fered the thought that a
breakwater there would pro
duce a large area of still
water into khich debris
would float and stand to say
nothing of the sewage that
is emptied into the Cresent.
lie raised the question of
how this problem would be
handled.
Warren Christianson, city
attorney, attempted to offer
one of the most constructive
thoughts of the evening when
he reecommended that a
vote be taken in order to find
the site what was least ob
jectionable and then every
one get behind that seleeteo
site.
Of interest was the fact
that no conclusive poll of
opinion was forthcoming
from the meeting. It would
be incorrect to say that a
majority of those present
favored any of the three
sites, or that a majority were
against any of them.
Col. P. F. Kieffer,
Alaska District Engineer,
moderated the meeting with
masterful tact and under
standing. lie stated as he left
Sitka on Wednesday that all
that could be done now was
for the reports of the meet
ing to be sent in and then
wait for action.
scraps from
Father Gander's
notebook
Roses aren't Red....
Violets aren’t Blue.. .
Sugar isn’t Sweet
But I can Wait!
I joined the Lions and now
they’ve asked me to bake a
cake! Am trying to figure out
how I can manage to cook it
in the lead pot. The one who
buys it will no dought want
to borrow our saw to cut it.
A friend in the Pioneer
Home informed me the other
day that after giving it a
great deal of thought she had
reached the conclusion that
she really wasn’t ‘marriage
able’. She will be 91 come
next birthday.
Was really worried that
the brair rose hedge around
the Home was gone the way
of all hedges when streets
are widened. But no! The
hedge has been transplanted
and will be re-set when the
work is done. Good ...briar
rose hedges are something of
a rarity in these parts.
How’s your ulcer?
» e • •