THE
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
64th Year No. 18
NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1963
Per Copy 150
Asian Flu Assumes
Epidemic Size
WASHINGTON — A shock
wave of Asian flu — a wintry
friend of death — is hitting the
eastern seaboard and leapfrogging
inland as far as Kansas. U.S. Pub
lic Health Service officials can’t
say for sure, but the odds are it
will spread in local outbreaks
across the country.
In a sampling of 108 cities, the
Public Health Service reports
that pneumonia - influenza deaths
have been running over the epi
demic threshold for four weeks.
Especially vulnerable are the
elderly, the chronically ill and
pregnant women.
The Public Health Service warn
ed earlier this year that follow
ing the normal cycle Asian flu
likely would strike the nation hard
this winter. For a while it looked
as though the warning was wrong.
Then, in mid-January, the pattern
of Asian flu appeared. Now it is
expected to stay until mid-March
when it generally declines.
Asian influenza is one of the
“A” type influenza viruses which
seem to strike every two or three
years. It was first seen in the win
ter of 1957-58. Vaccines were hur
riedly made against the virus and
distributed widely across the
United States.
Officials believe that the vac
cines took the top off of the epi
demic that year — but it still was
of great proportions. A wave of the
disease in the fall of 1957 was as
sociated with 39,300 excess deaths
above the normal death rate. This
winter has left 20,000 excess
deaths.
It struck the United States again
in 1960 and there were 26,700 ex
cess deaths.
From those epidemics, experts
have determined that people over
45 are in the risk category—with
those over 65 in the area of great
est risk.
Secretary Ball Calls for
An End to Congressional
Attacks On Cuban Policy
WASHINGTON (jP) — Undersec
retary of State George Ball has
called for an end to congressional
attacks on the Kennedy adminis
tration’s Cuban policy.
His plea, delivered with visible
emotion Sunday in a television in
terview, capped a weekend of con
gressional pro and con on Cuba.
“It is a little extraordinary that
we keep hectoring one another,”
Ball said. He also had harsh words
for “voluntary intelligence gather
ers” who like to make speeches.
But he declined to say political
motives are behind the criticism.
Ball’s appearance came a few
hours after Republican Sen. Hugh
Scott of Pennsylvania revived the
charge that President Kennedy and
Soviet Premier Khrushchev had
made a missiles deal in the Cuban
crisis.
Scott said that while he can’t
prove it, he suspects there may
have been some kind of under
standing “between Khrushchev and
our President whereby before the
election Khrushchev would remove
the missiles and after the election
we would abandon our bases along
the Mediterranean.”
Pennsylvania’s Democratic Sen.
Joseph Clark sprang to the admin
istration’s defense. Calling Scott’s
statement “inaccurate and untrue,”
Clark said such “rash talk does
grave disservice to our foreign
policy and is not in the national
interest.”
Kodiak Fishing Skipper
Survives Shipwreck In
Which Two Persons Died
KODIAK (jW — A veteran Ko
diak fishing boat skipper walked
into the police station here yester
day afternon and told of hiking
through rugged mountainous coun
try after surviving a shipwreck in
which two persons died.
“Lucky” Eckenberg said his ves
sel, the Barracuda, went onto the
rocks about 10 miles north of here
and sank Thursday night. He said
the two other persons aboard, Mike
Brehken and Agnes Shrump, were
washed overboard.
Eckenberg said he made his
way ashore, recovered the body
of the woman, and left it in a
place protected by rocks. He said
he did not find Brehken’s body.
“It’s a miracle he made it back,”
said James Bashline of the Kodiak
Police Department. “He was soak
ed clear through and had nothing
left but rags on his feet.”
Eckenberg told police he found
a trapper’s cabin with some
matches and dry wood in it and
was able to warm himself.
He said he had been headed for
Afognak Island, where his family
lives, when he encountered heavy
seas, headed back and was washed
onto the rocks.
The Coast Guard had been con
ducting an extensive search since
the Barracuda radioed Thursday
night that it was taking on water.
Eckenberg, who had survived
two previous shipwrecks, is gen
erally known here by his nick
name: “Lucky.”
Would Prohibit Residents
Of Indian Reservation
From Getting Commercial
Fishing Licenses
JUNEAU UP) — Rep. Frank
Cashel today introduced a bill
which, in effect, would prohibit
residents of the Annette Island
Indian reservation from obtain
ing state commercial salmon fish
ing licenses.
Under provisions of the meas
ure any person resident in an In
dian reservation which has been
authorized by the federal govern
ment to use and uses commercial
fishing gear prohibited by state
law would be ineligible for any
type of commercial salmon fishing
license.
While the bill did not specifical
ly mention it, nor was Cashel
available for immediate comment,
the legislation was aimed at the
operation of fish traps by the resi
dents of the Annette Island re
servation.
They have been permitted to use
traps this year, even though Ordi
nance No. 3, voted on by the
state’s residents when they rati
fied Alaska’s Constitution, speci
fically forbids the use of traps in
state waters.
LEGISLATION WOULD LOP
OFF PAY AND PER DIEM
JUNEAU UP) — Legislation which
would lop off the pay, per diem
and allowances of legislators under
certain conditions was introduced
in the House today.
The cut would be made on the
day:
1. Of the filing deadline if a
legislator fails to file for re-elec
tion.
2. His failure to be renominated
is certified by the Secretary of
State, or
3. His failure to be re-elected is
certified by the Secretary of State.
Highways Report
Asks $133,833,000
For Road Building
JUNEAU (ffi — A Deparment of
Highways report outlining the need
for the expenditure of about $133,
833,000 in the construction or re
construction of local service roads
was handed to the legislature to
day by Gov. Wm. Egan.
The report said that about half
of the figure would be needed to
bring 545.4 miles of existing serv
ice roads up to maintainable stand
ards. The rest was earmarked for
an estimated 692.9 miles of new
construction.
In an accompanying message to
the House and Senate, the governor
suggested that the lawmakers di
rect the Legislative Council to
make a comprehensive study of the
report and the whole problem of
local service roads, including means
of financing them.
“The problem of initiating a pro
gram for construction and main
tenance of an adequate system of
local service roads is important
and requires the development of a
solution,” Egan said.
Before such a program can be
started, he said, three basic de
cisions must be made. These are:
1. Establishment of responsi
bility for local service roads;
2. Scope of the program which
can be feasibly undertaken on a
statewide basis; and
%». mtuiuus imancing me costs
of construction and maintenance.
Noting the interest of borough
study groups throughout the state
in the problem of local service
roads, Egan said that if a decision
is reached to assign part of the re
sponsibility to boroughs, those
persons outside of the boroughs
using roads also should pay their
share.
“While there are many possible
alternatives on financing local
service road construction and main
tenance, it is obvious that no pro
gram can be reasonable developed
which would require borough resi
dents to pay for part of their local
service roads while exempting
those living outside boroughs
from paying their share for their
roads,” the governor said.
Fur Rendezvous Art
Show Slated for Feb. 18-24
ANCHORAGE — The 14th an
nual Fur Rendezvous Art Show has
been set for Feb. 18 thru 24 in
the Community Center, formerly
Central School. Exhibits will in
clude work in oils, water colors,
prints, drawing, arts and crafts,
photography, sculpture and pot
tery. All exhibitors are requested
to make entries betwen Feb. 13-16.
Parcel post entries must be ac
companied by' return postage and
must be mailed to Greater An
chorage, Inc., Box 773, for 'arrival
on or before Feb. 16.
As in recent years, the art show
will be divided into two classes,
the open show and the juried show.
Winners will be decided by popu
lar vote in the open show and by a
visiting juror, Gervais Reed of
Seattle, in the juried show. Mr.
Reed is associate director of the
Henry Gallery at the University
of Washington.
Artists will be limited to two
entries per category in each show—
oils, watercolors and prints and
drawings. All work must be framed
or matted and wired for hanging.
A two dollar fee will be charged
Mining Conference
Condemns U.S. Pegging
Price of Gold at $35 Ounce
DENVER UP — The National
Western Mining Conference con
demned by resolution Saturday the
government’s insistence of pegging
the price of gold at $35 an ounce.
The resolution adopted at the
final business session, followed a
talk to the conference by Leland
Howard, director of the U.S.
Treasury’s domestic gold and sil
ver office, who said the govern
ment would adhere firmly to the
$35 price.
“Stable money is indispensable
to our country and will not long
remain possible without a change
in the value of gold, unless fiscal
responsibility is demonstrated by
our Treasury,” the resolution said.
Rep. Ed Edmonson, chairman of
the Mines and Mining Subcommit
tee of the House Interior Commit
tee, told newsmen the administra
tion has a “ploughed under ap
proach” to the gold problem.
“The straight $35 an ounce price,
he said, “rules out of existence all
domestic gold mining in this coun
try. There is not a gold mine of
any size now operating.”
Edmonson also urged an attack
on what he called the basic ail
ment of the mining industry —
the competition of low cost imports
of concentrates and ores.
“A very high percentage of
these imports are heavily subsi
dized by the foreign governments
where they originate,” he said.
“We must counter with some new
approach.”
Missing Ship Is Mystery
NEW YORK — The mystery
of the disappearance of the sul
phur-carrying tanker Marine Sul
phur Queen continued to deepen
over the weekend.
Did the 524-foot ship sink in the
severe Atlantic storm that lashed
the southeast coast with 40 mph
winds, churning up 14-foot waves?
Are the tanker and her crew of
39 in Cuba? If so, was she hijacked
or did she become disabled and
drift into Cuban waters?
Six search planes were ordered
to scan the southeast Atlantic from
Cape Hatteras, N.C., to Fort Pierce,
Fla., covering an area roughly 250
miles offshore.
Shamrock Crop hit by Cold
DUBLIN, Ireland GP — The
severe winter has wiped out most
of Ireland’s shamrock crop, and
it’s a poor outlook for St. Patrick’s
Day in America.
“We fly out a ton of shamrock
every year,” said one American
pilot. “This year our suppliers say
we can’t have it.”
Growers are worried that foreign
manufacturers will grab the mar
kets with sham shamrock.
RESOLUTION OUTLAWING
POLL TAX PASSES HOUSE
JUNEAU GP — A resolution rati
fying an amendment to the United
States Constitution to outlaw poll
tax in election of federal officers
drew a mixed reaction in the House
today before its was approved
27-8.
The opposition came on the
grounds that the measure might
be considered “another attempt to
take away state rights.”
Speaking for the resolution, Rep.
Joseph Josephson said that the
measure applied only to elections
for President and Vice President
of the United States, and members
of Congress.
He said that the poll tax had
been eliminated in every state ex
cept Mississippi and Alabama.
Vigorous Weekend
For Kennedy (Jan
WASHINGTON UP — It was a
vigorous weekend on the New’
Frontier. President Kennedy took
his wife on three short hikes and
Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy walk
ed 50 miles in 17 hours — all in
the cause of physical fitness.
Ethel Kennedy, the Attorney
General’s wife, added to the aura
of vitality by declaring she’d wel
come twins to the busy routine of
her family of seven.
But Ethel, who is expecting her
eighth child in June, added there
is no medical evidence to indicate
twins are in the ofifng.
The one discordant note was
sounded by Joan Kennedy, wife of
Sen. Edward Kennedy. Joan wrote
in Look magazine that the Presi
dent, because of persistent back
trouble, can barely pick up his
2-year-old son, John Jr.
Reporting that young John now
weighs about 35 pounds, the White
House said “the President’s back
is improving but his son is getting
heavier.”
If President Kennedy’s back is
slowing him down, this wasn’t evi
dent Sunday during his three
walks with the First Lady.
Kennedy set such a brisk pace
that it almost seemed he was train
ing for a 50-mile wike of his own.
Fifty miles became a magic
number on the New Frontier after
Kennedy learned about a 1908 ex
ecutive order in which President
Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed this
distance an appropriate fitness test
for Marine officers.
At tne ^resident s suggestion, 20
Marines will take the Roosevelt
test at Camp Lejuene Tuesday. On
Friday, volunteers from the White
! House staff and press corps will
embark on a similar expedition.
Robert Kennedy jumped the gun
on these endeavors Saturday by
walking 50 miles rom Washington
toward Thurmont, Md. The 37
year-old Attorney General was
accompanied by four aides who
faltered before the finish line.
The Attorney General reached
his destination at 11 p.m., attend
ed a 9 a.m. Roman Catholic mass
the next morning, and then went
ice skating.
President Kennedy and the First
Lady started their walking binge
in New Yirk, where they spent
the weekend of theater-going,
fancy eating and partying.
Joint Resolution Calls
For Federal Funds to
Transfer Nunivak Deer
JUNEAU (#> — A joint resolu
tion asking for federal funds to
transfer a portion of the Nunivak
Island reindeer herd to the main
land of western and northwest
Alaska passed the House unani
mously today.
The measure was described as a
follow-up on requests which had
been made by previous legisla
tures.
“In 1937, the federal government
purchased all reindeer owned by
white people in Alaska and Con
gress ruled that raising reindeer
be a purely native industry,” said
Rep. Robert Blodgett.
“At that time there veas in ex
cess of 75,000 head of reindeer in
Alaska.
“Under Bureau of Indian Affairs
control, Alaska now ‘boasts’ only
in excess of 43,000 reindeer, and
the bulk of those on Nunivak Is
land.
“Because of this over-population
on Nunivak Island, the industry
is dying a slow and agonizix^t
death,” Blodgett said.