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THE ISLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY
Box 1307, Kodiak, Alaska
Sig J. Digree, Editor and Publisher
Betha Digree, Executive Secretary
Staff Photographer.George C. Ameigh, Jr.
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in this paper and also the local news published herein.
We Have Been Labelled
We have been called soft-mind
ed Americans by an editorial
writer in a newspaper of recent
vintage, who claims we Americans
are afflicted with the disease of
“Deadly Apathy.” The truth of
what the writer says is so ap
parent, we reprint it herewith:
“Deadly Apathy” A disease —
in fact, an epidemic now afflicts
the American people. It is a
psychological, ntelleotual and
spiritual malady which can be sum
med up with the word: apathy.
There was a time when the big
problem among our people was
to find out which side they were
on. If more people were on the
wrong side of a great issue than
on the right side, then we had
some thing for which to be con
cerned. It was up to the patriots
and the Christian leaders to speak
out, write, campaign and organize
so that the people on the wrong
side would be converted and come
over and join the right side in
their defense of Constutional
government and Christian tradi
tions.
“The problem in America to
day is not the people on the wrong
side, or too few people on the right
side. The real problem is that we
have millions upon millions of
people who are on no side. They
never think. They never read.
They never take a stand. They
never indulge in anything involv
ing a life and death issue because
they are frightened to death of
this thing we call controversy. We
have a great gray mass of citizens
who are becoming human vege
tables. They never think of attend
ing a public meeting. They don’t
know how to sit down and listen to
an intelligent address. They read
nothing but the horse racing re
ports and the numbers report and
the sexy scandals in the news
papers. They watch television
murder 300 people a week, and
then drop into bed exhausted.
God save America from the dry
rot and leprosy of apathy.”
Mirrored Reflections
By Sig Digrpe
That jolt you felt Monday after
noon wasn’t some politician mak
ing an earth-shaking statement. It
was definitely an earthquake.
The quake was felt generally
throughout the City and the Naval
Station, although a cross check
revealed that in some places it
was not even felt. We here at the
Mirror office feel these “tremors”
all the time, in fact when ever a
truck or heavy equipment goes by.
But this was a decided jolt. No
damage has been reported.
It’s well for candidates for of
fice in the coming National and
State elections not to forget wo
manpower as well as manpower
when it comes to getting the vote.
Despite the fact that the good
looks of a candidate may figure
heavily in whose elected, it is a
statistical fact that more than 53
million women will be able to exer
cise their privilages in November.
It’s also a fact that women cast 50
per cent or more of the total vote
in recent elections. It is estimated
that their vote this year should
exceed men’s by two million. This
year, by the way, is the 40th an
versary of women’s suffrage.
* * *
Some time ago we received a
letter from William P. Cogle.v,
who was stationed here for three
years. “Those three years will
always have a close and warm spot
with my family and self ... we will
always have nothing but the best
word for the people of Kodiak.”
Cogley continues: “There is so
much difference between the
Naval Station, Kodiak and Naval
Station, Annapolis, Md. that there
is no comparison. The people
of the two cities or towns which
ever you prefer are as different as
night and day in friendliness.”
An unsigned letter by a mem
ber was sent to us recently when
we published a picture of a dancer
which she considered unfit for
publication because it would be
seen by a child. We are whole
heartedly in accord wth keeping
pictures of this nature to a min
imum. But we would not apply
censorship rules that would bar
pictures of young ladies disport
ing themselves on beaches in.
bikinis, which certainly reaveal
more than this picture did. This
is an accepted attire on beaches—
society has accepted it—why
should we bury our head in the
sands?
It must be remembered a news
paper—be it big or small—must
be all things to all people—neither
condoning or condemning in such
matters as this—allowing each
and all use of its pages. Our record
in the past emphasizes that little
if anything of a questionable na
ture enters its pages.
* * *
We also were raked over the
coals for an error in last weeks
issue, when we gave a govern
ment official the wrong nomen
clature. We called him a union
official, which we should never
have done. The official was Mr.
Johnson, Commissioner of Labor.
We haven’t quite figured out what
all the smoke was about because
of this error, which was not meant
as a reflection on Mr. Johnson, or
the party who took us to task.
These errors creep in, and we
don’t mind criticism for them, but
the attack didn’t have to be so
vitriolic. We’re only trying to do
a job. Anyway, it was nice to have
someone about the same time
commend us'for an accurate, com
plete account of another item of
news, which appeared in the same
issue. That’s life!
LIFE ISN’T ALWAYS SER
IOUS. We gleaned these little in
cidents from somewhere: Wife to
husband as tailor measures his
Ambition Still Wins
Gordon Patterson, recently-elect
ed seventh president of the Yale
& Towne Manufacturing Company,
is the China-born son of American
missionaries who fought his way
from a steel mill open-hearth to
industrial leadership.
Like most self-made men, how
ever, Mr. Patterson refused to
allow circumstances to deprive
him of the advantage of higher
education as an aid to a successful
career. He had worked his way
through prep school and begun his
freshman year at Wooster College
when he learned his father had
been taken ill. Next day he quit
the campus and turned up as a
slagger at the Youngstown plant
of Republic Steel, where he got
five days work a week instead of
two—'because he could read and
write!
In 1929, after six years of day
waist; “It’s quite amazing when
you realize that a Douglas fir with
that girth would be 90 feet tall.”
-Denver Post.
* * *
A parting thought on the elec
tions which about sums up our
views: Donald I. Rogers, business
editor of the New York Herald
Tribune, writes: “To any and all
candidates who this year are seek
ing election to public office. I
hereby serve the following notice:
I will cast my vote, positively
pledge it, for whichever candidates
do not promise me a single, soli
tary ‘benefit’; conversly, I will
vote against and militate against
any who promise to improve my
lot. I’ve been improved all I want
to be, and by golly, my lot can’t
afford any further improvement.”
* * *
We have been asked to state
that Mrs. Ranger’s daughter does
not have epileptic fits.
time work in a Pittsburgh bank
and nighttime study at the Uni
versity of Pittsburgh, Gordon Pat
terson received a BS degree, mag
na cum laude—and continued his
nocturnal study until he had won
a law degree from Duquesne!
Thus, the Patterson saga adds
fresh luster to a company that was
founded in 1868 by the self-made
inventor, Linus Yale, Jr. and
Henry R. Towne, young engineer
from the University of Pennsyl
vania, to manufacture Yale locks—
which have been about the only
security the world has known since.
More recently, there was the
late Board Chairman, Joseph A.
Horne, who began his career as a
foreman in the Stamford plant.
And today, there’s Leo J. Pantas,
for instance vice president in
charge of all hardware operations,
who was brought into the lock fac
tory by his foreman father to be an
apprentice tool-maker. Once he
achieved this goal—which has sat
isfied many a good man—Leo quit,
went to college and played semi
pro baseball to pay for it. Armed
with a degree, he came back to
Yale & Towne to become a junior
executive—this time with his feet
firmly on the ladder.
And there’s Elmer F. Franz,
vice president and treasurer, who
worked his way through the Uni
versity of Cincinnati and became
a certified CPA and a member of
the bar. John A. Baldinger, vice
president in charge of materials
handling (an operation begun by
Mr. Towne in 1875) worked his
way through Williams College and
on up the sales and management
ladder.
The obvious moral of this story
is that, after all, the Alger boy is
not dated. He still lives. It is equal
ly apparent that success still in
volves some extra effort. Also it
should be pointed out as a hearten
ing fact that today’s publicly
owned corporations are not in
herited by sons from fathers and
grandfather?. And lastly, we should
say, President Gordon Patterson is
in good company.
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THE KODIAK MIRROR