SEWARD’S
All-TVeatkec
SEAPORT
Is Alaska s
Greatest Asset
Vol. VI. No. 7
SEWARD. ALASKA. TUESDAY, JULY 26 1949
Price 10 Cents
New Work On
School Passed
By Inspector
All work on tlie new five room j
addition to the Seward Public]
School building was approved
when inspected last Saturday j
morning by Francis Mayer, a mem- ,
ber of the Anchorage firm of ar- ;
chitects, Manley and Mayer.
Two members of the City Coun
cil. Russell Painter and Forest Ken
nedy, accompanied the party along
with Fire Chief Fred Kielcheski.
Mayer made a thorough inspec
tion of the structure and took a
great deal of time to explain just
what stresses and strains the build- j
ing might be subjected to.
One of the chief points of in-1
terest was the type ‘of roof trusses j
which are built of two-by-four j
inch lumber and plywood. Their!
light weight makes it possible to I
support the roof because of the
different directions in which the
grain of the wood runs, Mayer
pointed out.
The architect showed that heavy
solid wood beams use up a great
deal of their strength in support
ing. their own weight. When (pies- ■
tioned as to his confidence in the
light trusses, Mayer, who weighs i
well over 200 pounds, climbed up ]
and swung back and forth by his j
hands about 12 feet above the
lloor.
A; one point he pointer! to a
piie of rock lath which weighed
four and a half tons. With that
weight, he said, the floor could
have an allowable sag of a half
an inch. The sag proved to be less
than one-sixteenth of an inch.
As a disinterested spectator,
Mayor Eugene Lanier asked a local
contractor, A. G. McRae, to make
the inspection along with the
group. McRae? said he could find
no fault with the work, and made
a point of saying the construction
and workmanship were excellent.
While this is the first building
in Seward with a roof constructed
in this maner, the architects have
put up several buildings with the
same type of roof, but with much
greater span.
SABINO GONZALES FUNERAL
Funeral services were held Tues
day morning for the late Sabino
Gonzales at the Sacred Heart Cath
olic Church. The Requiem Mass
was celebrated by the Rev. Martin
Borbeck, S. J., pastor, who also
conducted the service at the ceme
tary. Gonzales died last Friday
after a year’s illness. His home
was in Ketchikan.
The Blue Shop announced that
Mrs. Grace Jenkins has been elect
ed to full paid up membership in
the Savings Club and will receive
a Blue Shop suit this week. '
Safety Ordinance for
Fuel Oil Tanks
To Be Enforced
The City Council made a promise
to enforce the new ordinance on
storage of fuel oil to the full ex
tent of the law when that body
made the new law effective by
a unanimous vote Monday evening.
The full text of the ordinance,
which is printed in full in this is
sue. gives in detail the restrictions
placed on storage of fuel oil within
the city.
The ordinance does not state, '
however, that its purpose is to pro
tect the lives and property of Sew
ard residents. The members of the
council said, when they voted for
the law, that there should be a
great deal less danger of fire when
tanks are buried or moved a safe
distance from buildings and that
there should be much less danger
to firemeh from exploding oil
tanks when fighting fires.
To Be Enforced
For the tanks which have to be
buried some provision will have
to be made by the owners for
bringing fuel «o the stoves or fur
naces. There are a number of auto
matically operated pumps on the
market from $20 to $30 in price,
it was said.
Although not specifically in
cluded in the ordinance, the coun
cil held that it is the duty of the
fire chief to make inspections and
report all who have not conformed
to the new law. Those who do not
cnform will be liable to fine of not
(Turn to Page 6>
Work Underway at
Smafi Boat Harbor
Work got under wav this week
at the Seward Small Boat Harbor
on the building of a mooring
float for boats and the approach
to it.
The work is being done by the
Date Construction Company of
Cordova and should be completed
in less than three weeks. The
Date Construction Company has
just completed the repair job on
the Army Dock here.
The sum allocated for the float
and approach was $18,000, and the
sum of $50,000 has been set aside
by the engineers for dredging. The
two jobs will give a total of $68,000
in work to be done this year on
the local Small Boat Harbor.
In the future there should be ad
equate harbor facilities for fishing
boats that put in at Seward. This
lack was one of the points which
had made fishermen reluctant to
come here in the past.
.Meanwhile, the Seward Fish and
Cold Storage Company, which op
erates the municipally owned cold
storage plant and Marine Ways,
has been improving and enlarging
its facilities continually.
Malaria Control in Turkey
Stressing a “new outlook” in international health, the U.N. World
Health Organization (WHO) is now attacking international health
problems with tactics based on preventive rather than curative
techniques. Here, under the guidance of a WHO Malaria Engineer
assisting the Turkish Malaria Services, workmen spray insecticide for
mosquito control in a swamp near a town in the i ■;?. of Ankara.
Sailor Caught
With Narcotics!
By City Police
Seward police believe they fin
ally have a lead on the source of!
marijuana coming into the Ter- j
ritory. Chief of Police Clark arrest- :
ed Sidney Warren, chief janitor, on
the SS Alaska, Tuesday afternoon
with marijuana cigarettes in his1
possession.
The 23 year oh) colored crew
member was observed by Chief
Clark as he left the city dock
shortly after the ship docked here.
Warren was just about to knock
on the door of a house in the alley
between Third and Fourth Avenues
that runs between Washington
Street and Railroad Avenue.
He was brought to the Federal
tail and a search disclosed one of
the cigarettes in his clothing. Later
police noticed a bulge under the
cushion of the chair he had been
sitting in and found six more of
the cigarettes under the cushion.
Warren told police his home is in
Seattle, where he has a wife, hut
he says his real home is in Detroit.
Police said he appeared to he shy
about answering questions, but
they believe he is only a minor
figure in the ring peddkng mari
juana and other n rcotics in
Territorv.
After Warren’? arrest, a search
of his effects aboard ship was
made, but no further evidence was
disclosed. Customs officers have
nlayed the old hide and seek with
dope smugglers for many years,
and usually when evidence of such
smuggling is discovered the ship
is worked over by a large crew
of experts
Seward police d:d not say what
the charges against Warren would
be, but the possession of the drug
is a felony. It is only in the past
12 years or so that the real dan
ger of the drug has become recog
nized. since it is non-habit forming.
It does, however, often induce
fits of ungovernable rage and some
of the worst "murder and rape
cases on record have resulted from
its use.
Seward police have been work
ing for some time now on the
narcotic traffic, which has not di
rectly affected Seward, but be
cause it passes through here. Tues
day’s arrest was the result of a
routine procedure of meeting ships
here for this purpose.
Shipping News . . .
The Coastwise freighter James
W. Cannon left Portland Saturday,
July 23. carrying 7000 tons of
freight, and will call at Valdez and
Whittier before docking at Seward.
The Sailor Splice of the Alaska
Line was at the Seward Fish and
Cold Storage Monday to take on
100.000 lbs. of frozen halibut for
Stateside markets.
The Square Knot is now enroute
from Seattle and should arrive here
about August 1. and the Flemish
Knot was due to sail from Seattle
Monday.
The passenger ship SS Alaska
was scheduled to reach Seward at
1 p.m. Tuesday and the SS Denali
should arrive Thursday.
Besides the regular passenger
train which leaves Seward Tuesday
morning, a special train for Anch
orage was scheduled to leave Sew
ard two hours after the arrival of
the Alaska.
RAISE OPERATOR'S PAY
One of the questions taken care
of at Monday’s special council
meeting w'as the pay of the heavy
equipment operator for the street
department. Until now the pay has
been $350 per month, which is far
under the scale of pay for such
work.
The man who has been doing the
work quit recently, and Monday
night the council approved raising
the operator’s pay to $400 per
month in the hope that he would
return to the job.
Rev. Edw. M. Turner
Officiates at
Famous Church
Friends of Father Edward Turner,
former rector of St. Peters Mission
Church in Seward, received word
recently that among his other du
ties in New York City, he has held
mass in the famous “Little Church
Around the Corner.”
Father Turner writes that he is
homesick for the people of Seward.
The weather in New York is pretty •
difficult after that of Alaska, but
that he is so busy he doesn’t
have too much time to think about
it.
His wife and small son, known
to all of Seward as "Neddy,” will
join Father Turner in their Man
hattan apartment the first of Sep- '
tember after spending the summer
with Mrs. Turner’s parents in Wis
consin. l
A surprising number of people
who have lived in Seward or vis
it >d here have called u; on Fatl . *
Turner upon their arriving in New ,
Yoik. Mr. George Green had din
ner with him last week, which
makes the big city seem not so far
away after all.
C.A.B. Board Head
En Retirement
The Civil Aeronautics Board an
nounced today that Raymond W.
Stough, Director of the Alaska
Office of the Board, is retiring on
July 31, after 38 years of distin
guished service in the Federal Gov
ernment.
“Mr. Stough’s retirement, follow
ing an outstanding career as a pub
lic servant, will be keenly felt by
his associates in the Board,'’ Civil
Aeronautics Board Chairman Jo
j seph J. O'Connell, Jr., stated in
Washington. “Mr. Stough ha>
worked untiringly to aid in devel
oping American Civil Aviation in
. the public interest. Our sincere
I good wishes for the future go with
j him.”
j The CAB chairman declared that
; Mr. Stough had served in various
important posts in the Civil Aero
nautics Board since its inception
on August 22. 1938. Following his
tenure as Director of the Board's
Economic Bureau iti Washington,
he was named Director of the
ington Board's Alaska Office where
he served since September, 1944.
Prior to his service with the
Civil Aeronautics B-o a r d. Mr.
Stough was connected with the
Interstate Commerce Commission
for 26 years in various capacities,
including confidential assistant to
; various commissioners, as ; n ICC
Examiner, and finally as assistant
director of the Bureau of Air Mail.
He assisted in the preparation of
the "Interstate Commerce Com
mission Acts Annotated" and ful
filled extensive duties in the codi
fication of legislation affecting the
Interstate Commerce Commission.
He was also active in the prep
aration and drafting of the Federal
Regulatory Statutes which later
became the Federal Communica
tions Act of 1938, under which
American civil aviation today op
erates.
A testimonial dinner honoring
Mr. Stough will be sponsored by
the Anchorage Chamber of Com
merce, of which he has been an
active member since 1944. The din
ner will be held at the Idle Hour
Club in Anchorage on Wednesday
evening, July 27. Friends of Mr.
Stough throughout the Territory
are invited to attend. Arrange
ments for attendance may be made
through the Anchorage Chamber of
Commerce.
FORESTER WILLIAMS IN
SEWARD ON BUSINESS
Ward C. Williams, forester at the
ranger station at Lawing, was in
Seward Tuesday on business. He
reports that so far this year there
have been 16 fires. Fortunately
none of the fire has gotten out of
control, due to the quick and effi
cient work of the Forest Service
and Kenai Peninsula residents. He
also stressed the fine cooperation
given by The Alaska Railroad.
City To Rush
School Heating
System Work
In order to complete the reno
vation atjd extension of the heating
system in the Seward public school
before school opens in September,
the council has authorized a change
in order to include the work in the
present school job.
According to a survey by the
architects the present' boiler would
he adequate with some revisions
and a new firebrick iining.
The entire system will have to be
overhauled, however, to the tune
of $19,000. This will include rear
rangement of radiators and some
new radiators, thermostats to con
trol the temperature in each room,
vacuum return system, and a num
ber of other innovations.
As it is now. without separate
thermostats, some rooms are over
heated and have to open windows
while other rooms can not he
brought up to the proper temper
ature. The architects claim that in
ten years there will he enough sav
ing in fuel to pay for the changes
being made, nad meanwhile a more
healthful condition will result.
The council had two choices in
the matter of the heating system.
It could call for bids which would
make the work too late for the
opening fo schol. In that case all
work would have to be done at
night and weekends at overtime
rates. The second choice would be
to make a change order on the or
iginal contract so that the job could
begin immediately and be ready
.for the opening of school.
If the work were to he done on
an overtime basis, the cost would
have been far beyond the financial
possibilities of the city.
Buildings Grow With
Honesty Policy,
Assessor Discovers
A new honesty policy instituted
by the City of Seward in letting
the property owner assess his own
property with a sworn statement
has paid off.
Assessor Mrs. Carl Ling told the
City Council Monday evening that
the business buildings in town
average about 20 feet longer ac
cording to the owners’ measure
ments than they did when meas
tyed by a former assessor.
This wild outbreak of honesty
in Seward will net the city quite
a little bit more in real property
taxes than it has collected in the
past.
One of the businessmen who was
hit hard by his own honesty is
Councilman Oscar Dahl, proprietor
of the New Seward Hotel. Dahl
assessed himself out of a couple
of hundred dollars. He may have
quailed a little, but when the mo
tion was offered to accept the
assessments, Dahl seconded the
motion.
Newborn Taxpayers
While a few of the assessments
appeared to be too low, not over
eight or ten of them; most of them
show that the taxpayers have ac
cumulated more property during
the past year.
The climax of the evening's dis
cussion came when the assessor
announced that she had found 40
new taxpayers. She read a petition
recently presented to the council
which began, “We the undersigned
taxpayers . .
The assessor then pointed out
about 40 names on the petition
which do not appear on the tax
rolls. A quick check showed that
many of the 40 signers actually do
own property, and probably all of
them should be paying taxes.
There have been rumors of under
cover honesty in Seward jn recent
months, but this is the first time it
has broken out into the open on
such a large scale.