Published every Saturday at Kodiak, Alaska
• ^ Yearly Subscription Kate $6.00
Entered in the Postoffice at Kodiak, Alaska as Second
Class matter under act of Congress of March 3,1876
THE ISLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY
Sig J. Digree, Editor and Publisher
Betha Digree, Executive Secretary
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tlte Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use or republics
i*on of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in
this paper and also the local news published herein.
WATER PROBLEMS
Nine property owners signed a
petition seeking the City’s aid in
alleviating the flood conditions
that arise from the drain off the
-hills above North Brooklyn. Since
we at the Mirror office are direct
fir concerned with the problem we
•we naturally in accord with the
ftiea that something should be
done about it.
We differ only in one respect
to the property owners signing the
petition. They ask that provision
be made for drainage before hard
surfacing of North Brooklyn. We
r.'r Why wait that long? Spring
«Paw mg ?'j us in the near
future—a fact to some extent it
is here now. The owners of the
Mirror budding have gone to con
siderable expense recently to pro
vide drainage for the building, and
much time has been spent other
wise in coping with the situation.
Nevertheless, the problem has not
been licked entirely—and never
will until adequate provision is
made to drain off the mountain
side, and diverting the waterflow
to the creek across the road.
Though we don’t subscribe to
the Pollyanna philosophy of “sing
ing in the rain”, actually we don’t
mind it—if we did we would move
to a rainless belt. But we like it
on the outside, where we can
^ess -or it from head to foot. Tt’s
when it comes into the building
that we object. Also, when it af
fects our sleep, as it has done on
nights when rains o*f torrental
proportions come down, filling not
only our lakes, streams and reser
voirs, but also the shop.
Watching one day a City grader
traveling along Brooklyn Ave.,
blade down, swooshing the inch
or two deep water that lay on the
road, right on to the sidewalk and
into the Mirror office has prompt
ed these remarks. Any effort we
make can’t cope with a situation
of that kind.
We might consider stocking our
own private lake, known as Mirror
Lake, located right in front of the
building, with fish. But hanged if
we want to stock the inside of the
building, too!
Here There Everywhere
Walter Reuther, president of
the United Auto Workers, has
shelved his 4-day work week pro
posal, and has come out favoring
a share-fche-profits program. This
is something of a bombshell to the
auto industry—a direct blow where
it will hurt the most—profits.
-! Reuther still makes' the usual
•demands—an immediate general
.wage increase, modification of sea
sonal unemployment benefits;
higher pensions, improvement of
:«x*tH*fi4iving formulas, etc.—but
,hw plan would provide that all
profits above 10 per cent on net
capital before taxes would be
d^vkleot in three ways: (1) One
•tfcfllf of the profits above 10 per
cent would be retained by the
corporation for its stockholders
and executivec: (2) One fourth
would go to all hourly-paid and
salaried employees other than
executives eligible to participate
in executives’ bonus plans and (3)
One fourth would go to consumers
in the form of a rebate to those
who have bought the company’s
products during the course of a
year.
These are revolutionary ideas,
despite the fact that management
has proposed and instituted pro
fit-sharing ideas of its own. Com
ing from labor makes it revolu
tionary,. but will it be palatable to
industry? Some modified form of
r
|
March of
Dimes Dance
Elks Hall
From 9 p.m.
Live Music
fey Several Dance Bands
Public Invited
Help Fight Polio-Tickets at the Door
the plan, will, we think, come out
of it when bargaining starts in
April.
Profit-sharing is not new, but is
good for a business, and might
bring industry and labor more
closely together.
However a warning note must
be inserted. According to a letter
on the subject of labor and indus
try, the Guaranty Trust Company
has this to say: “Spokesmen for
er’s profits. They have never re
prone to quarrel with the employ
the workingman have always been
conciled themselves to the fact
that those profits are really the
workingmans best friend. It is the
prospect of profits that creates the
job,, and it is the realization of
profits that maintains the job_”
This same kind of letter and
advise should be sent to the Gov
ernment, for the same application
could be made as regards income
taxes. Profit, under our system, is
the motive for expansion, which
in turn creates purchasing power
all down the line.
* * * The five cent cigar, and
the five cent magazine, as well as
the five cent cup of coffee has
been gone for a long time. Now
cow-punchers and smokers of Bull
Durham, who have for about a
century paid 5 cents for a bac of
this popular roll-your-own, will
now pay 8 cents. Inhale deeply,
men—get that extra cents worth
out of your bag of smokes.
Missiles Again
Should we strike the first blow
in a missile war or should we gear
ourselves for defense in a retalia
tory capacity?
There are two schools of thought
on this. According to a recent issue
of U.S. News & World Report, the
experts are disagreed on this. Gen.
Gallois of the French Air Force,
feels that “the threat of massive
retaliation will be a more effective
defense policy in the missile age
than it is today.” His reason is
that missile launching sites can be
constructed by the thousands, and <
that each would be more difficult ,
to destroy tfyan<a largo air base
with its planes. He is backed up in
his views, by a former Marshall of
the Royal A5**' ; sir John
Slessor, and Gen. Norstad, com
mander of NATO.
All don’t agree on this, accord
ing to U.S. News. In some quarters
there is a very real fear that the
chance of war grows con^tq^^iv
greater,, and that the men in the
Kremlin will move without warn
ing once they have a real or seem
ing major edge in modern weap
ons. Capt. W.D. Puleston, U.S.N.
(Ret.), a top military analyst,
thinks the missile age means the
outmoding of the massive retalia
tion policy. He says there is a
prudent and honorable alternative
to conceding an enemy the first
blow. We should, he believes, make
it absolutely clear what areas of
the world we will light to defend
and back our stand up to the
letter. Then, we should make it
equally clear that when we see
evidence that any nation is pre
paring ^ attack us we will im
mediately deploy our forces for
war, and serve notice that we will
attack in self-defense unless the
aggressor nation dismounts its
attack preparations. “The time in
history is past when this nation
can afford to let the enemy deliver
the first blow,” he says.
So goes the great debate of the
missile age. What comes out of it,
here and abroad, may determine
whether civilization as we know it
is to survive or not.
GIRL SCOUT WORKSHOP
NEXT MONDAY AFTERNOON
There will be a Girl Scout work
shop for shell classification and
shell craft at the Girl Scout hut,
Monday, January 27 from 1 to 3
p.m.
The Girl Scout hut is in the
Quonset hut located next to the
old elementary school downtown.
Anyone interested is invited.
NOTICE ’
Attention P. O. Box Holders:
Phone number for appointment
with Dr. E. E. Bach, optometrist,
should read 5451. 25-ln
Policy Pointers
By Art Brooks
Each week this column will
publish news and rating infor
mation concerning insurance.
V/e will endeavor to explain
the functions of insurance from
the layman’'1 viewpoint. Any
questions you may have con
cerning the subject will be
answered promptly.
AUTO insurance rates were
increased recently. Collision,
Comprehensive and Liability
rates were increased, effective
January 22nd. Liability rates
were increased an average oj
15%, Collision 3% and Compre
hensive 25%. These rate in
creases were for the Territory
as a whole. Several states had
rate increases for all classes up
to 25%.
These increases are outcome
of the staggering number and
cost of the losses involved. Last
year, insurance companies paid
more on auto losses than during
any other period in their hist
ory.
We in Kodiak can help keep
our insurance costs down by
observing good driving habits.
It’s the little things that count,
such as signaling for turns,
stops, etc., use of chains on
snow and ice, lights all in work
ing order...
Drive carefully—The Money
you save is Yours.
Qualified Counsel
Kodiak Insurance &
Building Corp.
Phone 3401 or 2561
You’re Invited
to open a
Special Checking Account
No minimum balance is required, no service charge. You buy
these special checks bound in a neat compact folder for
which you pay when purchased.
Come in or call us up and we will be glad to explain the
convenience of this new and easy way of having a
Special Checking Account.