NEWSPAPER 3S ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRES
63rd Year No. 45
NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 1962
Per Copy 15t
Two Japanese Fishing Boats Seized
... Charge Poaching in Alaska Waters
KODIAK (Fft — A second Japan- |
ese fishing boat has been seized
and the captains of three Japanese
fishing vessels charged in Alaska
Superior Court with poaching in
Alaska waters.
The seizure of Japanese fishing
fleet vessels began Saturday night
when Capt. E. L. Mayfield of the j
Alaska State Police boarded the j
65-foot herring catcher Ohtori
Maru No. 5 at the mouth of
Uganik Bay in Shelikov Strait.
The Ohtori Maru’s skipper, Higa
shima Tadao was charged with
fishing commercially without a
license and without having regis
tered his gear or boat. The Ohtori
Maru was escorted to Kodiak by
the Alaska State Fish and Game
Department vessel Teal and held
in lieu of $25,000 bond.
A second boat, the Soicha Maru
No. 7 was boarded in Shelikov
Strait last night and escorted to
Kodiak by Alaska Fish and Game
Department vessel Widgeon.
The Soicha Maru’s skipper, Abe
Tarashi, was charged with violat
ing Alaska’s inland waters.
The two seized Japanese boats
were part of a fleet of five ac-!
companied by a 5,000-ton mother
ship, the Banshu Maru which has
123 people aboard. Alaska officials
claim the Japanese have been
taking herring in Shelikov Strait
for about two weeks.
Judge E. Davis, who mSSmajim Ky j
diak from Anchorage yesterday,
released tadao and Hanasaki to
the Japanese mother ship on con
dition they return for a later hear
ing.
One Casualty
The only casualty of the inci
rfent rwiiirtvl last. nioVit w?hi»n Rri
Gerald Williams of Anchorage State
Police Department slipped and
broke a leg while boarding the
Soicha Maru. He was evacuated to
Kodiak by a U.S. Coast Guard
rescue plane. v ^
hi Washington, officials said to
day the question of Japanese fish
ing" operations cia&aed by Alaska
is in the process of being resolved.
Until the U.S. determines whether
the waters are U.S. territory, of
ficials would not comment on the
weekend incidents.
In Tokyo, a spokesman for the
Taiyo Fisheries Co., which owns the
vessels, commented:
“We have ordered the fleet to
operate at least five miles off the
coast of the United States, two
miles outside the accepted terri
New Fillings For
House of Representatives
JUNEAU UPi — Douglas Gray of
Juneau, a delegate to the State
Constitutional Convention and a
former member of the legislature,
filed his candidacy today for the
House Cot Representatives from
Election District No. 4.
Gray, a Democrat, served in the
Tctritorial House of Representa
tives in 1857 and the first State
House of Representatives in 1959
and I960. At the present time he
is Southeast Alaska Democratic
chairman. " .'ft- W M
Diners to file with Secretary of
State Hugh Wade were If, S.
Mitrovich of Sitka, treasurer of fee
Republican State Central Commit
tee, and State Rep. Andrew Hope,
also of Sitka.
Mitrovich, a Republican, filed for
the Senate from Senate District C.
Hope, a Democrat, filed for the
Hot&e of Representatives from
torial water boundary. We are con-!
fident no violation is involved.”
Shelikof Strait, varying in width
from 30 to 21 miles, lies between
Kodiak Island and the Alaska
Peninsula. Alaska claims it as in
land waters, reasoning that it is
an extension of Cook Inlet.
Inland Body of Wafer
Gov. Wm. Egan said the strait
“traditionally has been an inland
body of water.” He said it had
been regulated by the U.S. Pish
and Wildlife Service before Alaska
was a State and by the State ever
since Statehood.
Egan wrote and wired George
Ball, Undersecretary of State, ask
ing the federal government to act
when the fleet was first sighted. He
said this weekend’s action was
taken without notification to fed
eral authorities, because he had
not received any satisfaction from
them.
Alleged poaching by Japanese
fishermen has been a hot issue in
Alaska for at least 25 years. In
1938, the Alaskan delegate in Con
gress, Anthony Dimond, even sug
gested that the United States bomb
Japanese fishing boats encroach
ing on Alaska waters. Tension
continued until and after World
War II, but this is believed to have
been the first time arrests were
made.
| .. - 1
I Pilot Diverts ;p
Hi-Jack Attempt
Of Dutch Plane
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands Uh—
An airliner bound for South
America returned to Amsterdam’s
airport today after an unsuccess
ful effort was made to hijack the
plane and divert it to East Berlin,
a KLM Airlines spokesman re
ported.
A man described as a former
Poiraiguese employe for KLM Air
lines, aged 30, was taken into cus
tody by government police.
The plane had been airborne
only 20 minutes.
The KLM spokesman said the
man entered the pilot’s cabin short
ly after takeoff and ordered the
captain to go to East Berlin, mak
ing a threatening gesture toward
his pocket.
The pilot at first feigned fear
and then informed Amsterdam
control he was returning, after
apparently convincing the intruder
he had to return because of engine
trouble, the spokesman added.
Police found a pistol on the de
tained man.
The plane was bound for Santi
ago, Chile. After the Portuguese
was taken off the plane, the flight
continued.
KENNEDY TO VIEW
AIR FORCE FIREPOWER
WASHINGTON 4# — President
Kennedy will witness a demonstra
tion of Air Force combat power
at Eglin Air Farce Base, Fla., on
May 4, the White House announced
today.
By witnessing Air Fo|jEe exer
cises, Kennedy will complete the
cycle of major exercises. He ob
served a show of Army firepower
and guerrilla warfare capabilities
last fall at Ft Bragg, N.C., and
saw a display of Navy and Marine
Corps strength off the Atlantic
coast and on the North Carolina
beaches last Saturday.
Tax Deadline Is
Midnight Tonight
WASHINGTON <#> — “Baby, I
don’t get the message,” wrote a
beatnik lady to the Internal Reve
nue Service. “Are you for me—
or against me?”
This thought will be crossing
the minds of several million Ameri
cans as they put the finishing
touches on federal income tax re
turns that must be filed by mid
night tonight.
Taxpayers get an extra day of
grace this year because April 15
fell on Sunday.
To help dispel last-minute tax
woes, IRS made available its an
nual collection of offbeat happen
ings recorded during 1961.
For example, one man who was
due a refund pinned this note to
his return: “You can take 2 per
cent discount if you get this check
back to me in 10 days.” And another
wrote, “Please send my refund
check by return mail. I must have
it to bury my mother-in-law.”
A woman seeking assistance at
an IRS office wanted to know if
she could claim as a dependent
her son who had just entered high
school and was holding a part
time job. Asked how much her
son was earning, she replied: “Oh,
around $5000.”
The taxpayer assistance section
at another office received the fol
lowing telephone inquiry:
“We have 57 gallons of paint.
The boss said to send 40 per cent
to one customer and the rest to
another. How much do I send to
i in nit? urnicx wets luiu,
“but that doesn’t seem to have
anything to do with tax informa
tion.”
“Well, I know that,” said the
taxpayer, “but I can’t think of any
body better to call to get the
answer” •
Equally unusual was the case
of the man who received a “no
tice of error in computation” — a
form showing how much he owed
in additional taxes. He took the
card to his travel agent, cashed
it, and left on an extended trip.
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
American League
Baltimore 5-4, Boston 1-5.
Chicago 8, Kansas City 3.
Los Angeles 6, Minnesota 3.
Washington at Cleveland (snow).
New York at Detroit (cold).
National League
Pittsburgh 7, New York 2. (Sec
ond game mow).
Cincinnati 4, San Francisco 3.
Milwaukee 6, Los Angeles 3.
Houston at Philadelphia rain.
St. Louis at Chicago cold.
OVER 200 EXPECTED
AT DEMO CONVENTION
LATER THIS MONTH
Ren. Rill Erwin stated tndnv that
over 200 delegates and other repre
sentatives will be attending the
Democratic convention at the end
of the month. There will be a
charter flight from Juneau of 40
people including Gov. William A.
Egan.
Erwin said that Sen. John Mc
Nees is scheduled to arrive today
to assist with arrangements for
the convention. r T
Erwin said he behevig that this
will toe one of the most important
Democratic conventions held in
Alaska for over 20 years because
differences existing within the
er for the con
ed to be
Squatter Closes
Alaska Highway
For Two Hours
FAIRBANKS G?) — In sub-freez
ing temperatures a North Pole,
Alaska, man, Harry E. Underwood,
yesterday claimed a portion of the
Alaska Highway by closing it to
all traffic for two hours.
Underwood posted signs halting
traffic on a 4.05 acre tract of land,
42 miles south of Fairbanks, at 2:15
p.m. yesterday.
Back in 1959, the Bureau of Land
Management in Washington, D.C.,
through error deeded Underwood
the quarter mile strip of highway, j
At that time he thought he had
bought a lot near Harding Lake,
about 50 miles from Fairbanks, for
which he had applied. But instead
he got a patent to the portion of
the road.
The error was not discovered
until this January by a title search
company in the course of a routine
check.
In the meantime, Underwood
built a cabin on the lot near the
lake. Now it appears that he
doesn’t own the cabin at all—it’s
government property.
While Underwood’s broadblock
was in progress, a nearby home
steader, John C. Richards, appear
ed. Richards claimed he had a
patent from the Bureau of Land
Management to a portion of the
4.05 acre tract claimed by Under
wood.
During Underwood’s roadblock
which lasted two hours, cars
trucks «iid eampsrs honked the!;
barrier erected across the road
Underwood and his wife stood be
hind a 3 by 11 foot sign proclaim
ing the closure and renaming the
stretch of highway, "The Under
wood Turnpike—shortest stretch of
Alaska Highway under private
ownership,”
Assistants passed out mimeo
graphed sheets to motorists ex
plaining the situation.
“To assert ownership of this
tract of land it is necessary that
this small section of the highway
be closed for a brief time. Please
be patient while photographs are
being taken of the closure and you
may proceed on your way uninter
rupted,” the notices read.
Most motorists, after reading
the sheets, seemed pleased at being
stopped. Some got out and took
photographs too. The Alaska State
Police Highway Patrol did not ap
pear.
SEN. LES BRONSON
NAMED POET LAUREATE
y v ’ ■' '
Sen. Lester Bronson was named
Poet Laureate of the Alaska Sen
ate because of his knack of in
serting humor in the meetings of
Senate with his poems. This poem
was read about noon time oh the
80th day, when tensions were
tight:
“The final day has now become
The day of definite finality
When tempers rise up to the skies
And ring with cruel brutality.
Each year seems shorter by
many a day
When many a legislator goes his
way
Back to the place from whence he
came—never to return again.
I’ve seen them come and I’ve
seen them go
Some right out into the Umbo.
Now come or go-go or come
Matters not or matters some,
No matter how you cut the pie
| love these words, “Adjourn
—Senator Lester Bronson
Isaac Okleasik of
Teller Takes Top
Honors at Races
Good weather and excellent trail
made the 1962 Dog Derby a big
event, which was well attended
and in which everyone had a good
time and an enjoyable experience.
Following are the official times
and places for each of the two
days events and total scores:
Sat. Sun. Total
Okleasik 1:50.03 2:01.39 3:51.42
Topkok 1:54.34 1:58.36 3:53.10
Mitchell 2:00.34 1:58.44 3:59.18
Tocktoo 2:10.10 2:15.49 4:25.59
Simon 2:21.25 2:23.11 4:44.36
Ahwinona 2:28.04 2:22.04 4:50-08
Trigg 2:28.05 2:34.15 5:02.20
Isaac Okleasik won first place
Sat., $200; third place Sun., $65,
best elapsed time, total $565.
Chester Topkok, second Sat..
$100; first Sun., $200; second
elapsed time, $200, total $500.
Charley Mitchell, $65, $100, $100
$265.
Robert Tocktoo, $50, $50, $75
—$175.
Aaron Simon, $25, $20, $50
—$95.
Sam Ahwinona, $20, $25, $25
—$70.
Art Trigg, won U.S. Mere
groceries both days.
The Arctic Club wishes to thank:
Frank Couch at the N.C. Co. for
use of his apartment as race head
, quarters.
, The manager of the U.S. Merc
^ donating groceries making > up
s the 7th prize.
City, State Police and Boy Scouts
for handling the crowd.
Merchandise tickets drawn:
No. 1—Ticket No. 416, $300.00,
Harry McCann.
No’. 2—Ticket No. 132, $100.00,
Robert Lewis.
No. 3—Ticket No. 558, $100.00,
V. Wamke.
On the big trophy, Isaac Okleasilc
of Teller will have his name and
time engraved as 1962 winner.
Thanks are expressed to John
Fagerstrom for use of his weasel
and his time in running the “
and acting as observer during the
race. Also on the trail as judges
for the two days were Barrow
Morgan, Danny Walsh, Jim Blan
ning and Bob Emmons. Carl CJ&- .
vinovich reported in from the head
of Steadman.
As chairman of the 1962 races
I would like to thank the mer
chants and people of Nome for their
cooperation. We hope that the 1963
races will be bigger and better
with a larger purse, stated Tom
Martin.
Thanks are expressed to all the
mushers for their show of sports
manship and hope they can come
back in 1963. Mushers are requested
to turn in their trophys to Tom
Martin to have them engraved and
later will be sent to them.
Merchandise winners can con
tact Tom Martin to pick up their
gift certificates.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
Continued fair. Little change in
temperature. In the last 24 hours:
High of 22, low of 0. Max. wind 23
from the north. Sunrise at
am., sunset at 7:43 pm.
ps, a year ago today: High of
13. low of 2. Extremes on this
date since 1907: High of 49 in 1940,
low of -16 in 1927.
At Nenana it was cloudy with
a temp, of 32 above.
At Barrow it was dear, with ft »
minus 6. ^
8