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Statehood for Alaska
i »
What Are the Benefits?
"t* "One oi the major immediate results of statehood for Alaska
will be an emotional and spiritual boost for all Americans plus an
inevitable re^kihdlihg of the pioneer spirit of the U.S.” former Gov
ernor of Alaska,'Ernest Gruaning, stated in an editorial appearing
in the Bremerton "News recently. He .went on to say:
“Statehood, 1 know, will encourage many business firms in
v^it~in Alaska now that the handicaps of territorial status have been
lifted. Alaska offers tremendous new business opportunities.”
Gruening expects to see a great influx of ex-GIs into Alaska.
»\ 'rr World War II, hundreds of American GIs who had been sta
tioned there, and fell in love with the land, stayed to raise families
or quickly returned. There were thousands of others GIs who have
always wanted to move to Alaska. But they have been kept from
doing so by the second-class citizenship they would have to accept.
Now that barrier is soon removed and the movement to Alaska is
sure to be great.”
Gruening envisions othei*s coming to Alaska, too. “Other thou
sands of Americans, who have the same pioneer spirit in their souls
which inspired the early settlers to come to this country, will heed
the call of a new frontier now that it is an integral part of their
own country.”
The former governor thinks the effect of Congress granting of
statehood to Alaska will be tremendous. “What America is doing is
a'demonstration to the world in a dramatic fashion that she practices
what she preaches. This is an extension of the fundamental concept
of American philosophy that government operates only by consent
of the governed.a startling contrast to the way Russia has been
handling her satellite countries, which has been by armed, brutal
repression of satellite citizens and murder of leaders who dare to
speak out against the Russian Iron Controls.
“The fact that Alaska once belonged to Russia makes this state
hood action even more dramatic in the eyes of the world.’’
The Tennessee plan “Senator” brought out another interesting
point, as regards conscription. In the participation of Alaskans in
the defense of their country, “they will no longer be subject to the
draft without representation”. “even our colonial forefathers
did not suffer this injustice under their English leaders,” he added.
Gruening concludes the editorial in these words: “It is difficult
to explain to Americans, whose own enjoyment of the rights and
privileges of statehood are such an intimate part of their thinking
that they are not conscious of these things, and just what this move
means to Alaskans.
“1 oar assure you that the prospect of shedding the shackles of
long range bureaucratic and Industrial control is thrilling. These
shackles have prevented Alaska from realizing its full potential,
economically and socially.
“Statehood will change all that for the better.”
Here There Everywhere
Acting Postmaster Bill Lamme
has come up with the reason why
it took Christmas cards recently
received from December to July
to get here from Homer, a dis
tance of approximately 125 miles.
He says in part: ‘The cards in
question were found in supposedly
empty surplus bags put into use
again in Boston and discovered
with the tied packet of cards at
the bottom It means someone at
Christmas time did not shake the
pouch hard enough (we under
stand even Santa Claus has this
trouble) and the cards were left
in, the pouch later went to the
surplus depot in Seattle, much
later got shipped to Boston before
•being put. into use again.
‘■MAIL EARLY,” HE SAYS:
Lamme says the P.O. wages a
constant campaign against not
completely emptying sacks, but it
can happen and more so at busy
Christmas. Its uncertain if it hap
pened at Kodiak, but he assures
us “we will all dump the bags en
thusiastically and vigorously this
Christmas, which is 145 days away.
Do your Christmas mailing early!”
... (Ed. note: Does that mean
mail in July to be sure to get your
mail to its destination in Decem
ber?) ...
* * *
COMFORTING THOUGHT. Pros
pects for August weatherwise
aren't expected to be much im
proved, according to past perform
ances as recorded by Fleet
Weather Central over the past
years. We refer specifically to
rain, of course. If you can go by
the past, with precipitation of '01
inches for an average of 14.6 days
in August, this month should
prbve a wet one.- Last month- for
the same amount of rain, ^he.
average was chalked up as 13.3
and you know what happened. It
rained regularly, continually, con
stantly and almost without ceas
ing. Clear days recorded in the
previous years summary for July
was 4.6, which was just about
what it was last month. The sum
mary for August is 5.7, so you see
we will have about one more day
of sunshine. What are you going
to do with it?.. OK, OK, before
we get in bad with the Chamber
of Commerce, we’ll say no more.
* * *
THE WAGS HAVE IT. Some
choice sayings gleaned from the
press: “Alaska is 46 years old, but
she doesn’t Anchorage.“The
most photogenic town in Alaska
is Kodiak (Don’t Juneau?).
“Did she Kiska me or was it only
an Aleutian?.“Does Hawaii
want to be a state?" “I don’t
know, Alaska.”
* * • *
MIXED UP POLITICS. From
all reoorts appearing in the news
recently, neither party appears to
have reached as yet that “political
maturity" so necessary according
to a recent speaker here. There
has been considerable maneuver
ing of party candidates in both
parties, in the coming elections,
and it doesn’t seem to be a ques
tion of who is best qualified for
the job so much as who is the best
vote getter. This method is to be
deplored for a new state tackling
the momentous job of forming a
new government in the frame
work of an untried constitution.
We still think the two party
system, with its checks and bal
ances, is the best—but we think
the emphasis has been put in the
wrong places. The man and his
abilities for the particular job is
still by far the best criterion by
which a candidate should be
selected by his party and certainly
the best for the voter to bear in
mind when casting his ballot.
* * *
HARD TO SATISFY HERE
The most satisfying part of yard
work on his day off, notes Justin
Hammond of the Corona (Calif)
Independent, is moving the hose
around. “It requires almost no ef
fort and yet it gives you the feel
ing you’re really doing something
worthwhile.” .He wouldn’t
even get that much satisfaction in
Kodiak these days.
Griffin Memorial
Hospital Notes
—ADMISSIONS—
Those admitted to Griffin Me
morial hospital the past week in
cluded Emil Berikoff, Unalaska;
Lynn Nelson, Clatskanie, Oregon;
Joan Chouinard; Alice Aga, Lar
sen Bay; Edith Swan, Harvester
Island; Clara Borenin, Sanak;
Mike Pudmaroff, Kent, Washing
ton; Tommy Nachand, George
Trudnich, Tacoma, Washington;
Larry Kelsey, New Lisbon, Wis
consin; and Thayo Noya, Afognak.
—DISCHARGES—
Those discharged were Ben
Peterson, Mrs. Leta Lohse and in
fant, Julia Adonga. Lloyd Shive
ley; Mrs. Lydia Pemberton and in
fant; Donald Valen; Mrs. Julia
Knagin and infant; Emil Berikoff,
Lynn Nelson, Joan Chouinard,
Tommy Nachand and Bill Fitzger
ald.
—BIRTHS—
Denise Alexandra, weighing 9
lbs. 6 ozs., was born on July 25
to Julia and Dennis Knagin of
Afognak.
Paul Alan, weighing 7 lbs. J
ozs., was born on July 28 to Pa
tricia aiuL Allen Truehart.
World in Review
New government in Iraq; Mar
ines landing in Lebanon; possible
overthrow of one more reigning
monarch pro-West in Jordan—the
relentless march of Egypt’s Nas
ser hand in hand with Russia’s
Kruschkev—with a possible sum
mit meeting between the big pow
ers on the Middle East question—
this is the picture this week.
Generally speaking, the people
of the United States back Eisen
hower’s plan for the summit meet
ing. Generally ,too, they back him
on landing troops in Lebanon.
Most observers believe nothing
will come of the summit talks.
What does Kruchkev want? It’s
clear as refined oil he wants to
pinch the pipelines to Europe. But
it is also clear that neither the
East or the West want war, de
spite the fact that Israel, Jordan,
Syria, Iraq and the Persian Gulf
Sheikdoms are being bombarded
with shockwaves of propaganda
from Radio Cairo and Radio Mos
c°w.
The paltry few millions it’s
costing. to maintain Marines in
Lebanon may be a cheap price to
pay for a dubious peace.
On the domestic front, the pic
ture is improving.
Due to present economic recov
ery across the nation, the U. S.
deficit for fiscal 1959 will be $5
billion instead of $10 to $12 bil
lion predicted earlier_Govern
ment outlay, too, will be less—a
total of $71.9 billion instead of
$73.8 billion.
Vice-president Nixon is men
tioned strongly to replace gift-re
ceiving Sherman Adams as spe
cial assistant to the President, in
the event the former is replaced
- The Senate’s labor reform
bill is expected to be pigeonholed
by the House committee. A
new car is to go into production,
this one by the Checkers Motor
Corporation (cab makers). It’s
unique in that it will be good for
150,000 miles, the company will
not change models every year, nor
will it be mass produced.
The new rocket, the Explorer IV,
launched recently, entered a new
wider orbit than the others.
Balloonists Ross and Lewis reach
ed the dizzy height of 82,000 feet
in a 3*6 hour flight. At 80,000
feet Lewis said: “We couldn’t be
happier or more at ease.’’
POLICE SLOGAN
Drive with caution, courtesy and
common sense.
Oiftdoorsmen
To Meet Tuesday
The Kodiak Outdoorsmen will
meet next Tuesday, August 5, at
8 p.m. at Abercrombie Park.
Thik is a regular meeting. Fu
ture plans of the club will be dis
cussed.
Read The Mirror Classified Ads
WANTED:
Insurance
Salesman
FULL OR PART TIME
AUTO — LIFE — FIRE
&
HOSPITAL
Write to:
Robert Pfeifer
2603 Spenard Rd*
Si AvjlvA
A “live” match is all it takes
to start a fire that could
easily ruin you. Avoid fi
nancial loss should fire
strike your home or busi
ness by insuring to value
now. >
High replacement costs
today make complete fire
insurance coverage abso
lutely essential. May we
help protect your property
investments? We sell prop
erty insurance but our
service is given free.
Art Brooks
Kodiak Insurance
& Building Corp.
Ph. 3401 or 2561
THREE STEPS TO STATEHOOD
It’s Important to Vote “Yes”
on All Three
The people of Alaska must vote affirmatively in the primary
election on three propositions set out in the statehood biH:_
(1) Shall Alaska immediately be ad
mitted to the Union as a state?
(2) Are the boundaries as set out
in the bill approved?
(3) Are the provisions of the bill au
thorizing defense withdrawals
in northwest Alaska approved?
VOTING “YES” ON ALL THREE OF THESE PROPOSITIONS
, ASSURES ALASKA OF IMMEDIATE STATEHOOD