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Published every Friday at Kodiak, Alaska
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THE ISLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY
Box 1307, Kodiak. Alaska
Sig J. Digree, Editor and Publisher
Betha Digree, Associate Editor
Staff Photographer.George C. Ameigh, Jr.
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tion of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in
this paper and also the local news published herein.
Mirrored Reflections
By SIG DIGREE
For one who loves to travel, we
are perhaps the most consistant
stay-at-home there is. Largely due
to the nature of our job, but also
due to the fact that airlines, hotels,
and other enterprises catering to
travellers have a nasty-habit of
wanting to get paid for their serv
ices, we remain year after year at
our desk.
Nevertheless, as we sit here as a
frustrated would-be traveller, we
cogitate on methods and means of
overcoming the handicaps that be
set our urge to travel, and visualize
the many interesting corners of the
earth that beckon to be explored.
Ironically, the writing field lends
itself beautifully to a fulfillment
of this urge—of course it calls for
special talents—observing powers,
keen perception, quick assimila
tion of material, ability to analyse,
and a flair to put facts and figures
in readable writing.
This trend of thought was
brought about by a visit with a man
from whose Ups flow mention of
far-a-way places—in South Ameri
ca, Mexico, Spain, Europe, Egypt,
Russia, as well as various places
on the North American continent—
many of them with off-the-beat
characteristics.
He is J. B. McGinnis, editor and
founder of The Farm Quarterly,
and lately an associate editor of
The Readers Digest. He has worked
on many foreign assignments
throughout his career as a writer,
tvhieh has spread over a lifetime.
McGinnis will tell you about such
things as a wild boar hunt; shoot
ing a tiger when he was in the
French Foreign Legion; his meet
ing with Trujillo, assassinated dic
tator of the Dominican Republic;
of buying a castle in Scotland for
$12,000: and a host of other jaunts
he has made.
He has been in Alaska before—
Nome and Kotzebue, and, of course,
Fairbanks and Anchorage. This is
his first visit to Kodiak. He ar
rived Tuesday, and was to connect
with Reeve’s Airlines for a flight
to Umnak Island in the Aleutians.
But due to the vissitudes im
posed by weather on the traveller
in Alaska, he was grounded here
until today.
But that didn’t deter McGinnis—
for a writer, no matter where he
may be—will always find material
for an article. Notebook and cam
era in hand, the Editor of The
Farm Quarterly looked over Nix
on’s Dairy and the Joe Beaty ranch
to see and learn of the conditions
peculiar to this section of the coun
try, under which these enterprises
are operated.
One of the strictly Alaskan traits
of travel in this vast State that
came as something of a shock to
McGinnis, who, as we said, has
make your home a BETTER home
WINTERIZE
with a home improvement loan
from National Bank of Alaska
A fully winterized home is more comfortable
to live In, more economical to heat, worth more
when you sell. Insulate, weatherstrip, install
a new furnace or storm doors and windows
with the help of a home improvement loan at your
nearby National Bank of Alaska. Stop in soon.
KODIAK BRANCH
NATIONAL BANK
OF ALASKA
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Carp,
and Federal Reserve System
travelled the world over many
times, is the high cost. Travelling
between points in Alaska, he says,
costs more than it does to go to
Europe. Understandable, but still
annoying.
And that brings us back to our
stay-at-home problem. Maybe it’s
that initial fare to get out of Alaska
that we should concentrate on, and
let the rest take care of itself.
But one fact that becomes ap
parent—.Kodiak as well as the rest
of the world—has something to
write about, which is of general
interest to the man in Montana,
Kansas or New York, as well as
elsewhere.
• * *
One last word on the subject of
travel. From the Inlet Courier, in
Homer, we learn: Fred Haechler,
mechanical engineer and world
traveller, left his home in Switzer
land last Christmas in a French
2 h.p. Citreon. He toured through
Italy, crossed the Mediterranean
to Africa and travelled the length
of the continent to Cape Town.
From there he went to Montivideo,
then from Buenos Aires he came to
McNeil Canyon, the end of the
North American system.
After arriving in Homer the Cit
reon was still going strong on its
original tires and has consistently
done 60 miles on a gallon of petrol
(gas to you).
Does that give you would-be
travellers any ideas?
The principles of geometry and
trigonometry are once again being
applied to the streets of Kodiak,
and the little posts, with their
pretty little red cloths, are duly in
place. In other words, surveying
is again being accomplished for the
road paving of Benson Ave., Rezan
off and way points—for the last
time,, we hope.
We may yet drive along this
paved thoroughfare—well, in 1962,
at least.
• * %
Here’s an item sent in by Jack
Hinckel, Union Oil consignee here:
The Cali fornia Automotive
Wholesalers Association (CAWA)
has asked the State of California
to rescind the personal property
tax on wholesalers’ and retailers’
stock inventories.
In a resolution adopted by its
board of directors at Fresno last
month the CAWA declared that
the California tax interferes with
free flow of goods in interstate
commerce and that it discriminates
against merchants and in favor of
banks and professional occupations
who do not have to pay this tax.
The resolution also declared that
the tax partially “confiscates” a
merchant’s stock investment.
Stocks are taxed over again each
year as long as they remain on the
shelf, and some wholesalers pay
the tax as much as four times on
the same merchandise, the resolu
tion declared.
Pelly Attacks
P O. Department
WASHINGTON UP) — Rep.
Thomas Pelly, Washington Repub
lican, called “reprehensible” the
Post Office decision extending the
mailboat contract in Alaska with
out calling for bids.
Sen. Gruendng (D-Alaska) said
the contract “very properly is go
ing to an Alaskan company. The
government is “making the best
possible arrangement from the
standpoint of fiscal responsibility.”
The decision to extend to 22
months the Seward-Nikolski mail
run contract, held by the Aleutian
Marine Transport Co., prompted
the strongly-worded letter from
Pelly to Postmaster General J.
Edward Day. Pelly, representing
Seattle, had pressed for competi
tive bids on the contract to serve
Kodiak Island, Alaska Peninsula
and Aleutian Islands.
Kodiak Bear Hunting Important
To The Economy-$343,437 Expended
By WILL TROYER
Refuge Manager, FWS
How much money is spent by
sportsmen in hunting Kodiak Is
land bear? According to a recent
hunter survey conducted by the
U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service in
connection with the management
of bear on the Kodiak National
Wildlife Refuge, a total of $343,
437.85 was expended by sportsmen
in 1959 alone in taking 147 trophy
Kodiak bears. A total of 133 hunt
ers from various parts of the
United States and other parts of
the world traveled to the Kodiak
Islands in 1959 to hunt the world
famous Kodiak bear and 139 Alas
kan sportsmen participated in the
hunt.
Eighty per cent of the non-resi
dent hunters succeeded in bagging
a trophy while only 30 per cent of
the Alaskan hunters were success
ful. The higher success ratio of the
non-residents was due to a greater
portion of these sportsmen hiring
guides who are familiar with the
hunting areas Although the guide
law was not mandatory in 1959, 95
per cent of all non-Alaskans em
ployed the services of guides.
The average non-Alaskan hunter
spent $2,343.54 of which $1,578.94
was spent in Alaska. This compares
with $301.15 spent by the average
Alaskan. Since not all hunters were
successful, the average expendi
ture per bear taken was $2,911.94
by non-Alaskans and $996.91 by
Alaskans
The largest single expenditure
by hunters was the guide fee which
totaled $126,033.85. During the
year-of the survey, a total of 31
people were employed full time or
part time in guiding bear hunters.
Other important expenditures
were:
Transportation from home to
hunting area .$69,843.10
Taxidermy fees. 41,570.20
Cameras and film used on
hunt . 16,796.30
Guns and ammunition 20,823.55
Food and lodging .... 10,894.70
Purchase of outdoor clothing,
camping equipment, license fees
and miscellaneous expenses con
stituted the remainder of the ex
penditures.
Although hunting the Kodiak
bear is important to the economy
of Alaska, it should be remem
bered that the aesthetic value of
the bear is of far more importance
to most people, even though aesthe
tics cannot be measured in dollars
and cents.
Road Building
Program Delayed
Due to equipment breakdowns
mainly, it is unlikely the City will
begin the road construction
planned this year.
According to City Engineer, Jim
Barr, road material is being stock
piled, survey work on much of the
roads completed. If breakdowns
continue as they have, he said, it
will be impossible to get into actual
construction.
George Cornelius
Attends Convention
George Cornelius returned re
cently from the seventh annual
sales congress of the Alaska Life
Underwriters Association, held at
the Anchor age-Westward Hotel in
Anchorage, July 21-22.
Program included speeches by
William E. (North, C.L.U., presi
dent, National Association of Life
Underwriters; C. E. “Chuck”
Childs, Minnesota Mutual Life In
surance Co., and others.
As evidenced by voting
through the National Federa
tion of Independent Business,
over 70% of the nation’s in
dependent businessmen, 74% to
be exact, favor enactment of
the bill presented by Sen. Ken
neth Keating to tie import
duties on foreign imports to the
wages in the
country such
merchandise
is made.
* * *
For just as
it was once
said that this
nation cannot
endure half
slave and
half free, it
is becoming c. w. Harder
more apparent that 100 years
later the nation’s economy can
not endure with goods from
free labor competing in mar
ketplace against goods made
by labor at near slave wages.
* * *
Aggressive Japanese busi
nessmen realize fully the ad
vantage they have in cheap
labor and are exploiting it to
the fullest in their bids for
U. S. commercial connections.'
* * *
For example, Japanese firms
are carrying on direct mail
campaigns to American mer
chandisers, asking for the op
portunity of getting their mer
chandise requirements made
for them in Asia.
* * *
One firm in Tokyo, is offering
as bait, to send to the recipient
of their letters a nine piece
carving set which they say is
available in Tokyo for $7.96.
* * *
As a matter of fact, they are
using this offer to illustrate
their sales “pitch.” This carv
ing set, they point out, was
made at the request of an
American firm to duplicate a
set that they retailed at $104.35.
^^^NitlonjlPedeMtlonjDfJnd^rtndent^BuilnMi
They claim the Japanese
made set is not only less than
l/10th the cost of the American
item, but due to the fact it
was handmade by craftsmen
long skilled in making Samurai
swords it is quite superior to
the American made article.
• * *
Interestingly enough, the Jap
anese do not claim to be in any
way competitive with products
where the principal cost is raw
materials. But on the other
hand, if the major cost is la
bor, they quite bluntly say their
chief resource Is cheap labor.
• * *
It is this cheap labor, they
claim, which is causing major
American firms to establish
plants in the Orient, and which
will account in 1961 for a per
capita purchase of $6.02 in
Japanese made goods, or over
a billion dollars.
* * *
And herein is highlighted the
major fallacy committed by
the internationalists when seek
ing to defend the lack of tariff
protection for the U. S.
• * *
These people will invariably
point to a set of figures which
shows, for example, that while
a billion dollars worth was im
ported from Japan, U. S. ex
ported similar value to Japan.
* * *
This is not a proper measure
ment. While America’s exports
are valued in their U. S. pro
duction costs, the imports from
Japan are valued in their cheap
labor costs of production. Thus,
every billion dollars worth of
Jap goods flooding into this na
tion replaces in actuality some
where around 10 billions of dol
lars in American production.
It is estimated in many Jap
plants the labor payroll in total
is no higher than just the em
ployee welfare assessments and
taxes paid by U. S. plants of
similar size.