a talk before a special
g ol‘ tho Alaska Develop
Board in Anchorage Now
E. Skinner, vice president
a Steamship Company.
that the ‘'bottle neck in
‘d should be on. of the con
lions ol the Development
for immediate remedial
res.
tion should be taken im
tely, he said, ‘‘to alleviate
filiation. To begin with,
er should be opened as an
ate port. Up to tit.1 present
re have been successful in
t permission from the
t Defense Command to un
■argoes at Whittier when
d has been closed due to
troubles. Otherwise, com
1 cargoes may not be han
trough that port. However,
v ot the Seward situation,
er should be opened per
tly to private carriers for
ischarge of commercial
? second action that should
en to help eliminate the
i bottleneck is the further
ion and modernization of
•eseni terminal facilities
This, of course, cannot be
dished over night. There
fore immediate attention should
be given this project, which is
essential to the smooth move
ment of traffic through Seward,
and every effort should be made
to complete a thorough survey
of the present facilities and plans
made for new construction at the
earliest date possible so that the
work can get under way with a
minimum delay. The Anchorage
Seward highway presents an
other problem to those interested
in transportation. This should
most certainly receive the De
velopment Board's attention.
" 1 ie development of the ter
minal faeililie:; of Anchorage
and the ope * of those t'acili
ties for commercial ear40 is tie
imul step in a program that
must be undertaken if the traf
tic mow men! to the rail belt is
to flow evenly.
"As a matter of interest, on
the basis of the present rate
.-tin. are, if il were possible to
hand! commercial cargo ewer a
suitabi dock at Anchorage,
there would be a considerable
saving to the Anchorage con
signee whoso cargo now moves
throush Seward. If the Develop
er rates this feature in itself—
not to mention the faster dis
nient Board is interested in low
charge of cargo—should require
some attention.
“As you know, each of the
terminals mentioned — those at
Seward, Whittier and Anchorage
atv owned by government
agencies, and while little action
is being taken to put these ter
minals in condition to provide
the maximum service for mili
tary and civilian needs of the re
gion, other government ag ncies
are spending hundreds of mil
lions of dollars on airport con
struction to make Alaska a bub
wank oi defense. This points up
a most irregular situation--mil
ho: is for Interior Department
establishments but practically
nothing for terminals for the
only ! ' isible mean.', of transport
ing suppli s and equipment to
sai:! establishments. . . .
“In addition io the problems
ol inadequate terminals, there
ar ’ two other obstacles that need
1o be removed in ordm- to de
velop satisfactory efficiency in
terminal ship operations. These
are th shortage of labor and the
shortage of railroad ears.
“By labor shortage I mean a
shortage of longshoremen and
stevedores — the personnel who
unload and load our ships. This
shortage is not limited to Sew
“What have I
got to lose if they
break you up?7'
Aside from any question of fair
ness, people wonder how they'll be af
fected personally if the Antitrust lawyers
succeed in cutting big companies into
smaller ones. We hear such comments as
"What have 7 got to lose if they break
you up ?”
The answer depends on who you
are. Most people gain in many ways
by the fact that there are both large
and small companies competing for
your patronage, trying to get ahead.
Here’s what you stand to lose:
New products and improvements in old
ones flow steadily from our laboratories — new
gasolines and oils, raw materials for new fabrics,
‘'soapless soaps": many others. You may take
such progress for granted. Hut Standard has put
some 40 million dollars into research since 1910.
We can't go on this way if they break us up.
- ^u&aagiz
Motorists pet the finest service at Western
pas stations; Standard led the way Our tech
nical counsel helps many industries cut produc
tion costs of poods you buy. We’ve pioneered in
taking needed petroleum products into undevel
oped farm and frontier areas. We can’t pive these
services if we’re forced to be small.
You are assured of ample supplies of petro
leum products at reasonable tiriees. Standard is
constantly seeking out new crude oil reserves in
this country and abroad. This sometimes costs
millions before the first gallon is found. We can
do jobs this big, which benefit you as well as the
country, only by being integrated.
America’s military strength depends heavily
on industry. Our fighting men are backed by
the world's greatest production capacity. Should it
now be limited 'by breaking up big companies?
We are at work for the U. S. on atomic research,
synthetic rubber, aviation gasolines, other jobs.
We believe we perform them best by being big
You have a lot to lose if they break us up. As a big, integrated company, Standard
is able to operate more efficiently in serving you and helping to make America strong.
STANDARD OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA
• plans ahead to serve you better
ard by any means. In Southeasl
ern Alaska the problem is at
limes even more acute. There,
even though a berth is available,
it is the exception when a ship
can work cargo more than 15
hours per day and more than
two hatches at one time. In all
fairness to ihe labor unions in
volved, the size of most docks
limit the number of hatches to
this number. However, insofar
as the railboli area is concerned,
the labor shortage in the port of
Seward will be overcome to a
considerable degree by opening
Whittier and Anchorage and us
ing the larger labor forces avail
able there. Nevertheless, this
matter should be thoroughly
studied and efforts made to in
sure that ihe orderly movement
of cargo is not interrupted and
vessels are not delayed due to a
shortage of workmen.
"The lack of sufficient rail
load cars is aggravating the car
M> congestion in the Seward ter
minal. and this is a matter that
is. I know, receiving consider
attention from The Alaska
Railroad. Howev r. the problem
still exists, and I believe that it
is possible that the Alaska De
velopment Board could be help
ful in finding a solution, possibly
by helping work out a program
to speed up the discharge of
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MAIN 168
336 4th AYE.
Height cars by both military and
private shippers so that the pr-s
ent rolling stock is effectively
employed in moving cargo a
maximum portion of the time.
Furthermore, it may be possible
lor the Development Board to
assist the Railroad in obtaining
addit ional cars, if this is their de
sire. Many tim s in the past the
unions in Scwnrd luivc boon un
justly criticized by claims of
‘labor shortage' when actually
tne probk m has been a lack of
railway cars to receive the
cargo. . . .
Again 1; t me say we arc1 most
desirous of working closely with
tne Development Board in pro
moting a constructive program.
Tiie cities and Chambers of Com
merce of S; attic and Portland, I
am sure, will welcome line op
portunity of working with you
as will the Alaska Chambers of
Commerce.
Working together in a spirit
oi helpful cooperation cannot
fail to achieve for Alaska the de
velopment, the expansion, the
bright future that is the rightful
h.ritage of this great land.”
OLD RAILROAD TIMECHECK
FOUND; WHOSE IS IT?
Les and Jean Fink of City Cab
have turned in to the newspaper
office a brass employee’s time
check, dating back to the old
days of the Alaska Engineering
Commission, which was found
along the track between Moose
Pass and Hunter and brought to
town by Engineer James Cone.
It is an oblong brass check,
perforated at the top, bearing
the inscription;
“A.E. COM.
1012
Employ, e
Seward Division"
The low number would indi
cate that it once belonged to one
■of the first group of workmen
hired after the government took
■over t li e railroad, possibly
around 1915 or 1910.
Road Trips or Light Hauling—
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P.O. Box 621
SEWARD, ALASKA
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