THE
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
64th Year No. 27
NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1963
Per Copy 15£
Senate GOPs
Turn Down
Wilma Rhodes
Nomination
JUNEAU UP) — Gov. Wm. Egan
today nominated Mrs. Wilma
Rhodes of Juneau to fill the State
Senate seat left vacant by the
death Jan. 30 of Elton Engstrom.
The appointment was rejected
within minutes by the four re
maining Republicans in the upper
chamber, as they are permitted
to do by law.
Mrs. Rhodes was the third per
son to be nominated by Egan to
replace Engstrom, a Juneau Re
publican, and bring the Senate up
to its full strength of 20 members.
Egan’s first two appointments,
which went to Albert White and
Elton Engstrom Jr., both of Ju
neau, were also turned down by
Senate Republicans.
The vote on Mrs. Rhodes was
unanimous, with Sens. Vance Phil
lips, Brad Phillips, John Butro
vich and John Coghill all voting
against the appointment.
Mrs. Rhodes, a long-time resi
dent of Juneau, is chairman of the
Southeast District Republican
Committee and is a member of the
GOP State Central Committee.
In nominating Mrs. Rhodes, Egan
again by-passed three names rec
ommended by the Southeast Senate
District Republican Committee it
self, Joseph McLean, A. W. Boddy
and Linn Forrest Jr., all of Juneau.
Egan has maintained stoutly
that he is not required to follow
the recommendations of the Re
publican organization in making
the appointment, although the ap
pointment is subject to the approv
al of Senate Republicans.
The Republican organization,
meanwhile, issued a statement
highly critical of Egan, saying
Egan apparently “has failed to
recognize” the existence of a two
party system in failing to con
sider the names submitted by the
GOP group.
“The time has come for the gov
ernor to realize that he is the
governor of all the people of this
state and not just the Democratic
party and demonstrate to all Alas
ka citizens that he intends to
support a responsible two-party
system.”
The Republican organization
said it congratulates the Republi
can members of the Senate for
“standing behind their party or
ganization in their support of the
locally suggested appointees.
“If the governor and the Demo
cratic party continue to play
politics with the local representa
tion of the Senate seat, the re
sponsibility will rest squarely on
his shoulders for depriving the
people of this district of their
rightful representation.”
The vote of the four Senate
Republicans was taken without
debate, but Vance Phillips later
commented:
“I believe the people of Alaska
and especially those who reside in
the late Sen. Engstrom’s Senate
District are unanimous in their
thinking, that the governor has
the names of three outstanding
men from this district before him
for selection.
“It is about time the governor
became a statesman and quit
being a small time politician.”
A survey indicates that up to 50
per cent of the chronically unem
ployed are “functionally illiterate”
—they can’t read and write well
t enough to learn new skills.
Rep. Whitehead Wants
Abortions Measure to Be
Held Over for ’64 Session
JUNEAU UPi — Rep. William M.
Whitehead said today he has asked
that his bill dealing with abortions
be held over until the 1964 legis
lature, so it could receive further
study.
The measure, HB23, is now be
ing considered by the House Ju
diciary Committee.
“This bill is not a bill to legalize
abortions,’’ Whitehead said, “but
rather it is designed to protect the
public against indiscriminate ab
ortions except in certain instances
where there would be consultation
of physicians and hospitalization
required.”
He said he felt some changes
should be made in the bill, includ
ing one which would spell out re
quirements for doctors in consult
ation.
Whitehead, a physician, said
postponement of action on the bill
for another year would leave the
state “with no law protecting the
public against the abortion prob
lem.”
But he added that it appeared
to be best to allow for “better
public understanding of its pur
poses, which are now widely mis
understood.”
Supreme Court Upholds
Railroad’s Right to Make
Work Rules Changes
WASHINGTON W — The Su
preme Court unanimously upheld
today a lower court ruling that
the nation’s railroads have the
right to make sweeping work
rules changes.
The Supreme Court in an un
signed opinion rejected a union
protest against plans by the car
riers to eliminate what manage
ment calls “featherbedding” work
practices.
The railroads contend unneces
sary jobs are costing them $592
million a year.
Five operating unions, repre
senting about 210,000 men who
man the trains of 195 railroads,
had asked the court to overturn a
decision by the U.S. Circuit Court
in Chicago.
The Circuit Court had ruled in
favor of the railroads and their
plans to make working rules
changes.
The Supreme Court’s opinion
said that there was no bad faith
or misconduct on the part of either
the railroads or the unions that
would justify either side’s “uni
lateral imposition of changes in
working rules.”
“What is clear, rather, is that
both parties, having exhausted all
of the statutory procedures are re
legated to self-help in adjusting
this dispute, subject to the invo
cation of the provisions of Sec
tion 10 of the Railway Labor Act
providing for the creation of an
emergency board.”
The Supreme Court decision
means the railroads, having gone
through required bargaining pro
cedures of the Railway Labor Act,
are now free to put desired man
power economies into effect.
If they do this, a nationwide
rail strike would be immediately
threatened.
However, the carriers and the
unions have an informal agree
ment with the White House not
to make any moves for 72 hours.
This armistice will give Presi
dent Kennedy time to invoke pro
cedures that will delay any show
down at least for 60 days.
CAB Approves Round
Trip Excursion Fare
Rates for Alaska Airlines '
WASHINGTON UP — The Civil
Aeronautics Board approved to
day reduced round-trip excursion
fares between Seattle-Tacoma and
Alaska which Alaska Airlines
plans to introduce March 10.
The proposed fares are $150
between Seattle-Tacoma and Fair
banks and $174 between Seattle
Tacoma and Anchorage.
Effective only until next Sept.
10, they would apply in the coach
compartment of Convair 880 jet
equipment leaving the terminals
between 6 p.m. Mondays and mid
night Thursdays.
They would be available to
groups of 10 or more persons, and
the travel must be completed in
21 days.
The CAB dismissed complaints
filed by Northwest Airlines and
Pacific Northern Airlines.
Malaspina Traffic Has
Doubled Its Prediction
SEATTLE UP) — Traffic handled
by the Malspina, the first ferry
built for Southeastern Alaska, is
twice as great as Alaska’s traffic
consultant had forecast for this
time of year, the naval architect
who designed the ship said today.
Philip F. Spaulding, who de
signed the Malaspina and two
sister ships under construction by
the Puget Sound Bridge & Dry
Dock Co., is back in Seattle after
a visit to Alaska.
“On her first three complete
round trips after her inaugural
run,” Spaulding said, “the Mala
spina carried over 700 passengers
and 110 vehicles.
“I think this is remarkable for
this time of year. The Haines
Highway is not open, so there is
no direct way for automobiles to
go from Haines to Fairbanks and
Anchorage.
“Cars going to the interior are
being taken by ferry to Skagway
and then shipped over the narrow
gauge railroad to Whitehorse, on
the Alaska Highway.”
Most of the traffic, however, is
between cities in southeastern Al
aska, Spaulding said.
Measure Would
Create Oversight and
Scrutiny Committee
JUNEAU UPi — The creation of
a legislative Oversight and Scru
tiny Committee is provided for in
a bill, HB142, introduced in the
House today by Reps. Wm. Sand
ers and Warren Taylor.
The seven-man committee would
be composed of three members of
each House, plus one member from
the joint membership of the House
and Senate.
The at-large member would
have to belong to the opposite
political party as the governor and
would serve as chairman of the
committee.
At least one member of the
minority party in each House
would have to be a member of
the committee.
The committee would be charged
with an annual review of all
state agency regulations, to deter
mine if legislative intent is being
followed correctly, a job now as
signed to the Legislative Concil.
An annual report of the legisla
tive Oversight and Scrutiny Com
mittee’s work would be required
for submission to each legislative
session.
Robert Erwin Named
District Attorney for
rhird Judicial District
ANCHORAGE Ufi — James
Merbs, District Attorney for the
rhird Judicial District since Janu
ary of last year, has submitted his
resignation. Atty. Gen. George
Hayes made the announcement to
day.
Hayes said Merbs had resigned
for “personal reasons.” The resig
nation takes effect March 12.
The Attorney General at the
same time announced he had ap
pointed Robert Erwin, District At
torney for the Fourth Judicial
District at Fairbanks, to succeed
Merbs.
Erwin, 29, was raised in Seward.
He is married to the former Monica
Boucher of Nome. He attended the
University of Washington Law
School.
He became Asst. Alaska Attor
ney General in 1959 and a year
later was appointed District At
torney of the Second Judicial Dis
trict at Nome. In January he re
ceived his present appointment at
Fairbanks.
Hayes said he would name a j
new District Attorney for the Fair
banks office “within several days.”
Merbs’ office here has been sub
ject to growing criticisms in recent
weeks after failure of the office
to have representatives at a num
ber of court proceedings, proceed
ings in which charges were sub
sequently dropped for lack of pro
secution.
Kodiak and Eielson
Meet In the Finals
ANCHORAGE — The Kodiak
Bears and the Eielson Ravens
meet here tonight in the finals of
the disqualification-plagued West
ern Alaska High School basketball
tournament.
Kodiak won its way into the
title bracket Saturday night with
a 42-36 victory over the Palmer
Moose. Eielson had moved into the
final round a night earlier.
Kenai’s fired up Kardinals grab
bed third place tourney honors
Saturday night with a solid 59-54
victory over West Anchorage.
Eielson goes into tonight’s game
heavily favored to walk off with
the championship.
Watching on the sidelines to
night will be the East Anchorage
Thunderbirds and the Fairbanks
Malemutes, pre-tournament favo
rites to meet in the finals. Both
had ineligible players on their
rosers and were barred from the
meet.
Red China Claims U.S. Is
Nothing But a Paper Tiger
TOKYO (jfl — Communist China
charged today that Red leaders
who spurn Mao Tze-Tung’s theory
that the United States is nothing
but a paper tiger are cowardly
and muddled in the head.
This was considered a clear at
tack on Soviet Premier Khrush
chev who has warned that the
U.S. paper tiger “now has atomic
teeth.”
The Chinese ideological journal
Red Flag sneered that “those who
fear the enemy and dare not seize
victory, can be nothing other than
cowards; they can be nothing
other than reformists or capitula
tionists; they can certainly never
be revolutionaries.”
Red Flag denounced Communist
handling of the Cuban crisis in
which the Soviet leader played
the leading role.
Labor Dept. Marks
50th Anniversary
WASHINGTON W* — The La
bor Department looked back on a
half century today to celebrate
the astonishing change time has
brought to the lot of the American
working man.
This is the department’s 50th
anniversary. President Kennedy
will help mark the occasion at a
banquet tonight attended by some
3.000 department employes and
representatives of labor and man
agement.
It was on March 4, 1913, just be
fore riding to the capitol on his
last day in office, that President
William H. Taft, a Republican,
signed a law creating the depart
ment. His successor, Woodrow Wil
son, a Democrat, immediately
named William Wilson, no rela
tion, as the first Labor Secretary.
Through the years since then,
the nickel beer and free lunch
vanished along with the 10-hour
day and 22-cent hourly average
wage.
In their place have come the
| dollar-plus lunch, extra if served
1 with martini, the eight-hour day
1 and $2.40 an hour average wage.
1 Some may long for “the good
1 old days,” with their more leisure
: I ly pace, but the hard economic
■ 1 facts show workers today have
-1 more conveniences, more extra
money to spend and more leisure
than ever before. Even with high
, er prices, they are better off.
| In 1913 it took 40 per cent of
a worker’s pay to keep him and
his family in food, drink and
smokes. Now it is 25 per cent.
The 1913 worker lived in fear
that sickness or old age might
cut off his income. Nowadays most
workers have protections against
illness, injury or layoff.
The 50-year period since the
Labor Department was established
has been a spectacular rise in
America’s middle class. The aver
age worker owns his home, car
and television set. He can buy
almost anything he wants on
credit.
The present Labor Secretary,
Willard Wirtz, said in anniversary
remarks that times will change
even more during the next half
century. He said adjusting to
the new machine age in the face
of an expanding work force is the
nation’s real problem.
CASTRO CHARGES GUN PLAY
HAVANA — Fidel Castro’s
government has accused American
forces of shooting a cow and stag
ing a drunken gun battle along
the 27-mile fence rimming the U.S.
Guantanamo Naval Base.
A communique of the Armed
Forces Ministry said a U.S. sol
dier drew a bead on a Cuban
border guard Wednesday night,
missed and killed the cow.
The following night, it claimed,
two groups of drunken U.S. Ma
rines “engaged in an intense gun
battle.”
There was no immediate com
ment from the American Navy.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
Cloudy with snow and blowing
snow. North to northeast winds
30 to 40 mph and stronger gusts.
Low tonight 10, high tomorrow
10 to 15. In the last 24 hours: High
of 9, low of 2. Max. wind 45 mph
from the north. Sunrise at 7:00
a.m., sunset at 5:28 pm. Temps,
a year ago today: High of 24, low
of 20. Extremes on this date since
1907: High of 33 in 1913, low of
-32 in 1922.