letters
TO THE
EDITOR
February 11, 1963
F.ditor
The Frontiersman
Dear Sir:
The Valley Hospital Associa
tion meets tomorrow night. It
is fitt.ng that those citizens of
our community who have de
voted much energy and eflort
to leading our local hospital
through a very successful year
r publicly thanked for their
i v c contribution. Thanks are
also due the entire hospital
taff, still relatively underpaid,
for loyal and devoted service
to our community.
It is timely to note that the j
hospital brings considerable
b siness to Palmer. Its 1962 [
payroll was $105,000. For the '
second year cash income ex- ,
ceeded expenses, if deprecia- I
tion is ignored.
Unfortunately, depreciation j
cannot be forever neglected. 1
The new Board must cope with
a leaky roof, with worn and
unserviceable equipment. In j
view of these pressing needs,
the new Board must be encour
aged to stand firm against the ;
demands of the Unemployment!
Security Commission. Discour
aged by repeated bludgeonings
of the Commission, this year’s
Board paid the principal in
debtedness arising out of the
1955-56 debacle In view of the
needs of the hospital, I believe
th s was an error in judgment
although I can offer no grounds
othi r than moral for this stand.
Some $2,600 in interest is now
claimed by the Commission
The association can recognize
this claim as a notation in fu
ture financial reports. Actual
payment is not necessary and
is. in fact, a detriment to our
community.
Sincerely yours,
ALLAN H. MICK
Dear Editor:
On January 10, 1963 there
was an article on the editorial
page of THE FRONTIERS
MAN in regard to the 27Vi%
oil depletion allowance. The
article was written with the
view to justification of the al
lowance. I understand this
may become an important is
sue in Congress this year, and
for that reason I believe infor
mation should be given to
point out the other side of this
issue. May I outline the fol
lowing points which in my
opinion are pertinent:
(IV It cost the oil companies
nothing to put our oil deposits
in the ground, and their rights
to these deposits are authoriz
ed and regulated by state and
federal laws and regulations.
For this reason, it does not
seem fair to label it a deple
tion allowance.
(2) . It is no doubt true that
the cost of drilling has risen,
just as the costs connected with
coal mining or the cost of our
automobiles have risen. I be
lieve that cost of operations,
whether it be farming, coal
mining or oil wells can be am
ortized or deducted from in
come before taxes.
(3) . Let it be emphasized
that no other industry enjoys
a 27*’Srv credit against income
tax in tiie United States. To me.
this means a drilling company
must be able to show a profit
in order to realize a benefit un
der this allowance. No matter
what terminology is used, this
allowance to me is a govern
ment subsidy, and it differs
from other subsidies mainly in
;ts application and administra
tion. In short, it is the only
subsidy system in the U. S. of
■which I am aware which
awards the spoils to, and only
to, the already successful busi
nesses.
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(4). The importance of this j
issue can be realized by noting i
the size of political donations '
to both political parties and the !
willingness to offer representa
tives from the industry to gov
ernment advisory status and
regulatory commissions.
(5). Even though some of the
Nation's richest men are a pro
duct of the oil drilling business,
it is only fair to also point out
that in years past, even more
than today, this method of sub
sidization has had a benefici
al effect for the American peo
ple. It has assured us of abun
dant resource of oil at all times
and particularly during war
time effort. If we, the Ameri
can people, feel this is still the
logical, most appropriate ap
proach, to an industry’s pro
blems, we might well investi
gate the posibility of extend
ing these benefits to the other
industries throughout the Un
ited States.
Editor’s note:
Name of writer on file in
Frontiersman office.
University Professor Has “Washboard”
Theory; No Solution to Problem Yet
COLLEGE — “Washboard”
roads, a condition well-known
to most Alaskan drivers, are a
problem in nearly all areas
with gravel and dirt roads.
Motorists from Australia to
Africa and from Alaska to In
dia are plagued by stretches of
“washboard” which send ve
hicles into teeth-chattering vi
brations.
In an article in the January
issue of Scientific American,
Keith B. Mather, associate pro
fessor of physics at the Geo
physical Institute at the Uni
versity of Alaska, explains his
DEPENDS ON HOW
YOU LOOK AT IT
Valentine’s Day with its
hearts inspires most lads to
think of love, courtship and
dainty morsels of chocolate
candy.
But to Robert Janus, the
heart means an organ that does
enough work in 12 hours (ob
viously a non-union heart) to
lift a 65-ton tank car one foot
off the ground.
Not content with such an un
happy comparison, Janus goes
on to report that the heart
pumps blood through about
100,000 miles of blood vessels
—a distance equal to five round
trips between New York and
Sydney, Australia.
A man’s heart is only about
the size of his fist, yet it pumps
approximately 1,800 gallons of
blood through his body each
day.
In its first stage of develop
ment, the human heart is like
the heart of a fish—only a sim
ple tube. Then it resembles the
heart of a frog, then that of a
snake. When it’s fully develop
ed, it resembles the heart of a
bird.
Janus, unfortunately, should
know. He’s science editor of
World Book Encyclopedia. Mrs.
Janus doesn’t care—she’d bet
ter get her heart-shaped box
of candy, or else.
theory on the cause of wash
hoarding.
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Mather states in his article
that although washboarding is
best known from gravel and
dirt roads, it also occurs on
paved roads, railroad track, ski
trails, and even weavers' shut
tles.
Mather first became interest
ed in washboarding at the Uni
versity of Melbourne. In the
dry “outback” of Australia
there are hundreds of miles of
dirt and gravel roads, much of
which are “beautifully corru
gated.”
After much observation.
Mather and his associates were
able to draw several conclu
sions about washboarding: the
corrugations occur on roads
after the surface material has
become dry and loose; the cor
rugations are regularly spaced;
and the spacing between the
corrugations depends on the
speed at which traffic moves
over the road, the faster the
traffic, the more distance be
tween the corrugations.
Mather then conducted a
series of experiments using a
simulated automobile track on
a small dirt track. The results
showed that when the wheel
strikes a small object on the
road it bounces or hops, and,
when it lands on the road, it
digs a small hole. Successive
passes of automobiles dig new
holes, and before long, a whole
series of corrugations has de
veloped.
Although the cause of the
corrugations has been deter
mined, no corrective or pre
ventive measure has been de
termined, other than paving
the road.
“Nevertheless,” Mather re
marks in closing, “there is the
satisfaction in exploring the
causes of things, and one can
never tell who else may turn
the work to practical advan
tage. There was one other sat
isfaction in this age of high
priced science: the total cost of
our equipment was $25.”
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ATTEND
THE
PARK
PRANCE
LIVE
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| Saturday, February 16
| 8 P.M. - Armory
f PALMER
I *2.50 couple Refreshments Available
£ Sponsored by the Citizens Park Committee
| PROCEEDS GO TO PALMER PARK FUND
| THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITY-SPIRITED BUSINESSMEN INVITE
C/
YOU TO SUPPORT THE PARK FUND
EVAN JONES COAL CO.
AL 8-2020 Sutton
BERT’S DRUG STORE
PI 5-4515 Palmer
MATANUSKA VALLEY BANK
PI 5-3280 Palmer
MATANUSKA TELEPHONE ASSN.
PI 5-3000 Palmer
MATANUSKA HOTEL
PI 5-3330 Palmer
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CRAIG TAYLOR EQUIPMENT CO.
PI 5-4888 Palmer
MAC’S PLUMBING 8 HEATING
A PI 5-4393
Palmer
DR. VINCENT H. S. HUME
REED’S HARDWARE
PI 5-3370 Palmer
KETCHIKAN SPRUCE MILLS
PI 5-3530 Palmer
WRIGHT TRAVEL AGENCY
PI 5-4500 Palmer
WALT DRIGGS FUEL
PI 5-2200 Palmer
MATANUSKA ELECTRIC ASSN.
PI 5-3200 Palmer
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PI 5-3550 Palmer
LEA’S DRESS SHOP
PI 5-3061 Palmer
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PI 5-3300 Palmer
SEARS ROEDUCK and CO.
PI 5-2500
Palmer