IT1TTT-I
JL JL JL JmhH
m
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
63rd Year No. 28
NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 1962
Per Copy 154
Two State Officials Disagree On
Need for $4 Million Appropriation
JUNEAU (JP) ■— George Nichols,
State Planning Director, told the
Senate Highways Committee last
night every cent of a $4 million
supplemental appro priation is
needed to fully fund the 1962
road program.
“Your choice is simple,” Nichols
said as the committee wound up
a month of hearings. “If you want
to fully fund the federal aid high
way program, appropriate the $4
million.
“If you don’t, appropriate less
and be satisfied with a smaller
highway program.”
Deputy Public Works Com
missioner L. D. Wilson, who ap
peared on the stand with Nichols,
was just as adamant that only
$2,246,893 was needed to fully
fund the federal aid highway pro
gram through the balance of fis
cal 1962.
Wilson also repeated a state
ment made in a letter to Public
Works Commissioner Richard A.
Downing last week that if the
state funds only that amount of
work it can actually engineer and
contract during the balance of
fiscal 1962, the supplemental ap
propriation need toe only $603,767.
Before the start of the testi
mony toy Nichols and Wilson,
committee chairman R. J. Mc
Nealy read a long letter from
Downing into the record.
, Downing noted that formei
Highways Director Thurman D
Sherard had testified he had bifeen
sick and away from his office dur
ing the time the fiscal 1963 budget
was being prepared and did not
see the document.
Downing Scores Sherard
Downing said records show
Sherard was on sick leave or
away from the office for 23 days
from Oct. 1 through Jan. 31 and
“this record of travel and leave
makes It fully clear that Mr.
Sherard had ample time to give
some thought to as important a
document as the overall budget
for his division for a full year.
“Without this information one
wonders how- he could have
knowledgeably talk of the finan
cial status of his division. His
actions regarding this budget cer
tainly border on fiscal irrespon
sibility.”
The Public Works Commissioner
also said Sherard misrepresented
the facts in some portions of his
testimony and distorted the facts
ip other areas of his testimony.
Under questioning by McNealy,
Wilson said the abrupt dismissal
of Sherard, prior to the opening
of the Senate investigation and
the probe itself has had a great
effect on the morale of Highways
Division personnel.
“I do know that many of the top
people in the Division of High
ways are now looking for other
fjobs, Wilson said.
Nichols told Sen. W. O. Smith
that there were no cuts in the
fiscal '1961 budget as submitted
by the Highways Division, al
though there were some cuts in
WEATHER OUTLOOK
Mostly cloudy with occasional
* light snow. Fair tonight and to
morrow. Low tonight 10, high to
morrow 20. In the last 24 hours:
High of 30, low of 20. Max. wind
13 mph from SW. Sunrise at 6:49
am., sunset at 5:36 pm. Temps,
a year ago today: High of 4, low
of -16. Extremes on on this date
since 1907: High of 16 to 1049,
low of -32 in 1956.
unnecessary requests in the fiscal
1962 highways budget.
“In light of what has been pre
sented to this committee, in your
opinion, could Mr. Sherard have
kept Mr. Downing properly in
formed about finances of the Di
vision of Highways?” Smith
asked.
“No, it would not be possible,”
was Nichols’ reply.
Nichols told Sen. Vance Phil
lips:
“I can’t say who made the mis
take which has resulted in the
$4 million supplemental appro
priation request, but the respon
sibility for the highways budget
rests with the Division of High
ways.”
Wilson told Phillips that the
trouble spot was not in funding
the highway program but in pro
cessing documents which result
in the payment of federal aid
funds to the state.
“There are now outstanding
somewhere around $6 million in
recoverables,” Wilson said. “They
have let documentation lag.”
“Do you think Mr. Sherard ex
ercised fiscal responsibility?” Sen.
Brad Phillips asked Wilson.
Too Much Trust in Subordinates
“I don’t think he was irre
sponsible in fiscal matters,” Wilson
replied. “I think he placed too
much trust in some of his subor
dinates. I thirds they let him
down.”
(Continued from Page Two)
LIONS CLUB BENEFIT
NETS $204 FOR LOCAL
’GLASSES FOR KIDS’ FUND
It was reported at the Lions
Club meeting last night that their
anniversary party had netted
$204.58 which will be turned over
to the Public Health Nurse to be
used for glasses for the deserving
needy. This local program is part
of International Lions’ world
wide program of sight conserva
tion.
The club expressed its appreci
ation to Lions Jim West and Ros
coe Wilke for their good work on
the refreshment and dance com
mittees.
It was also reported that Lions
District Governor, North, Mr.
Murlin Day is expected to arrive
on Saturday with a charter flight
from Bethel.
The Lions have scheduled a
dinner meeting at the Seaview
Room with Governor Day start
ing at 8 p.m. Saturday, with their
wives as guests.
The Lions last year contributed
about $150 to the “glasses for
kids” fund and Public Health
Nurse Margaret Swanberg re
nfirts that hac ncorl the* rnrvrtnv
for repairs and purchase of about
60 pairs of glasses.
In addition to the glasses fund
the Bering Sea Lions Club of
Nome also support the School
Milk [Fund with a monthly con
tribution. Another project of this
active service club this winter
was to provide the school skating
rink with a warm-up shade.
Report Suicide Case
State Police officer Joe Rychet
nik and Deputy Magistrate Arlene
Muller have returned from Teller
after investigating the death of
Horatio Esenituk.
A coroner’s jury returned a
verdict of suicide. The 44 year old
man was a bachelor.
British Peer
Urges Raising
The Price of Gold
LONDON UP) — Lord Chandos,
British industrialist and former
cabinet member, declared today
the present world shortage of
credit should be eased by raising
the price of gold.
“There is not enough money in
the world. We ought to create
some more and increasing the
price of gold is a good way to do
it,” Chandos told a luncheon of
the American Chamber of Com
merce.
Gold is now pegged at $35 an
ounce.
“Gold,” said Chandos, “is the
only commodity which you can
buy at the same price as you
could 28 years ago. I do not pro
pose that any single country
should raise the price, but that
it should be done as a concerted
common sense measure. That way,
international currencies would re
main at their present ratios.”
The 68-year-old peer said he
did not believe an increase in
the gold price would prove to be
inflationary.
THIRD CASE OF DIPTHERIA
TURNS UP IN KETCHIKAN
KETCHIKAN UPS — Another
case of diptheria, the third since
Jan. 19, has turned up in Ketchi
kan, it was announced today by
Dr. Arthur Wilson, city health
officer.
n- tirilmn nnU 4l--4.*_4 111-.
the other two, was a woman, anc
had frequented the same estab
lishments as the others.
The health official said he
would not call for any more mass
immunization clinics as a result
of the discovery of the latest case.
Instead, he appealed to all per
sons who have not been immun
ized to immediately have it done.
Dr. Wilson also said that of the
145 nasal cultures examined by
the U.S. Public Health Service,
only one was found to be positive.
That was the second case here.
The latest case turned up in a
routine examination of a nasal
culture taken when the woman
complained to he physician of a
sore throat.
OBSERVATORY SATELLITE
FIRED INTO ORBIT TODAY
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. UP) —
A solar observatory satellite was
fired into orbit today to learn
how solar radiation influences the
weather and other conditions on
earth and how great a threat it
is to manned space flight.
The satellite, nicknamed 050
for Orbiting Solar Observatory,
was packed with instruments to
give scientists their first clear
look at basic mysteries of the
sun.
The 485-pound OSO payload
roared awav from this snacenort
aboard a Thor-Delta rocket. All
three space stages ignited as I
planned and propelled the craft
into orbit about 350 miles above
the earth at 17,000 miles an hour.
One of the most complex sci
entific payloads ever sent aloft,
OSO was designed to make the
first comprehensive study of the
sun from a vantage point above
the distorting influence of the
earth’s atmosphere.
Provide Retirement for Judges
JUNEAU W) — The Senate Ju
diciary Committee today intro
duced a bill providing for retire
ment and other benefits for jus
tices and judges of the Supreme
and Superior Courts of Alaska.
II
NOME UNEMPOYMENT
RATE SET AT 24.9 PCT.
JUNEAU U?) — The state’s in
sured unemployment rate for the
week ending Feb. 24 was 17.3 per
cent, down from the 18.5 rate of
the previous week, Labor Com
missioner Gil Johnson said today.
The rate for the same week
last year was 19.3 per cent.
New unemployment totaled 497
and continuing unemployment in
sured by state law was 5,817.
The insured unemployment rate
by area included Anchorage, 17.3
per cent; Fairbanks, 18.4; Ket
chikan, >16.2; Nome, 24.9; Peters
burg, 31.3; and Sitka, 12.1.
Ed Note: Last week Nome’s un
employment rate was quoted as
54.6—which is considerably above
this week’s rate. Since there has
been no noticeable increase in
employment here, the Nugget in
quired of the local employment
office the reason for the smaller
rate, and were told: “It’s because
of the weather.”
What happened was that the
mail from native villages in this
district, was prevented from de
livery by the past week’s storms
and as a result the unemployed
in the villages were not included
in Nome’s report to the Juneau
j office of ESC. The local employ
ment office serves about 40 vil
lages in the surrounding area.
ANCHORAGE CARPENTERS
REJECT WORK CONTRACT
1 ANCHORAGE t/P> — Anchorage
carpenters rejected a new three
* year contract proposal this wee!
because it contained a restrictior
against contractors calling oui
specific individuals unless the
man has worked for the con
tractor within the. past three years,
the Anchorage Times learned to
day.
[ This provision would have less
effect on the small union locals
which have thus far approved the
agreement.
The Times also said the terms
of the contract proposal include
a 22-cent an hour raise beginning
March 15, free board and room
—valued at more than $5 a day
—beginning March 15, 1963, and
another 20 cents an hour raise in
1964.
The proposed increase this year
would bring the hourly rate to
$5.20 for a journeyman.
Additional fringe benefits would
include 15 cents an hour to be
paid into the Health and Welfare
Fund by the contractor, beginning
July 1, 1962, the Times reported.
Ratification of the contract will
be dependent on the total vote by
all locals in Southcentral and
Southeastern Alaska. A decision
is expected late this week when
all votes have been tallied.
Fairbanks is conducting sepa
rate negotiations for that part of
the state and, at last report, no
agreement had been reached.
EGAN WILL PRESENT
CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION
PROGRAM TOMORROW
JUNEAU Uh — Speaker Warren
Taylor of the House of Repre
sentatives said today Gov. Egan
will present his capital construc
tion program to the legislature
tomorrow.
Taylor said the governor would
present the six-year program al
a joint session of the House and
Senate at 10 am.
Egan adfVised the legislature in
his budget message that the capi
tal construction program would
! be financed through the issuance
of general obligation bonds.
Powers’ Story
Capped with Praise
By U.S. Senators
WASHINGTON M — Praise
from several senators has capped
Francis Gary Powers’ story of his
U-2 flight over the Soviet Union,
his capture and imprisonment in
one of the cold war’s hottest epi
sodes.
It was an exciting story the
soft-spoken pilot told yesterday
in a 90-minute appearance before
the Senate Armed Services Com
mittee — of a mystery explosion
12 miles up, a spinning plane and
long hours of questioning.
Then as secretly as he came,
the high-altitude flier slipped
away for a vacation.
CIA Director John McCone
told reporters Powers will con
tinue to be employed by the CIA.
“We have additional work for
him to do,” McCone said. “I hope
today’s hearing has cleared up
any cloud that may have been
hanging over him.”
After the hearing Powers linked
arms with two sisters and went
off for what he said will be a
vacation at an unannounced place.
He indicated he plans no news
conference such as President Ken
j nedy said the pilot would be free
to hold.
I In the faint country twang of
| southwest Virginia Powers toldi
lthe committee in a packed hear
, \ ing room, where spectators often
[ \ broke into applause, that her
I rfnpsn’t rv know what r'anawt
‘ the explosion that downed his
plane.
He said the blast, which tired
the sky with orange, "sounded
like a ‘shump’.” He conceded it
might have come from a near
miss by a Soviet rocket.
Powers’ recital of his efforts
to destroy the secret equipment
in his stricken craft, his agonizing
fight to get out of the U-2 and
his disposal of a map while riding
his parachute down obviously im
pressed senators and spectators.
Senators nodded approval as he
testified that when his efforts to
invent a cover story failed he de
cided to tell the Russians he was
linked with the OLA — as he said
he had been instructed to do if he
was captured — but withheld
some vital information.
The biggest outburst of applause
came when Powers raised his
voice to say that during his ordeal
of capture, imprisonment, end
less hours of questioning, trial and
sentence he always remembered
that “I am an American.”
At another point he cried loud
ly, "Oh, no,” when he was asked
if he were under obligation to
iviii Aumocii. ii capvux cu.
Even before Powers testified
the CIA said in a report the 32
year-old pilot had lived up to his
instructions and “his obligations
as an American.” The Teport said
he would get his back pay,
amounting to about $50,000.
Not all the senators commented
during the session, but Sen.
Leverett Saltonstall, CR-Mass.),
led off the praise when he told
the flier he wanted to commend
him as a “courageous, fine young
American citizen who lived up to
his instructions and did the best
you could under very difficult
circumstances.”
State People Must Travel Tourist
JUNEAU UPt —The Senate gave
its approval 15 to 2, today to a
bill which would require state
officials or employes to travel
tourist class while on state busi
ness. IplllFf