THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
Telephone 443-2381 $1.50 PER MONTH
P.O. Box 610 $16.00 A YEAR
E. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor
CLINTON GRAY . Production Manager
Entered at second class matter October 14, 1943, at the
post office at Nome, Alaska, under Act of March 3, 1879.
Vote “YES*’ Tomorrow
MORROW NOME has another election and your vote is
just as important as your neighbors. A good turn out means
a healthy town interested in progress, interested in future develop
ment and interested in good American citizenship.
Apathy, as shown by a small number of voters hist week, is
throwing away a valuable right and your vote tomorrow may be a
deciding point in this election. History records that Thomas
Jefferson was elected by one vote to the Presidency; Texas was
admitted to the union bv one vote—this bonding election could
be decided by one vote, too.
The Nome Power & Light Utilities is only eight years old,
having been purchased in 1954. Its board is made up of solid
citizens who have given their time so that Nome may have better
power and light service. The utilities has, under this guidance,
been run on a businesslike basis and has prospered so that in
this short time we are enjoying rates which are 25 per cent lower
than at the time the plant was purchased.
During the eight years of operation it has absorbed all in
creased operating costs and still managed the cut in rates.
In 1962 it has provided $74,000 in salaries and has paid over
$10,000 in taxes.
Its revenues last year totaled over $240,000 and it is from
these revenues that the bonds on which we vote tomorrow will
be paid and not from increased taxes or increased rates.
When the needed expansion is completed so that the voca
tional school, expanded FAA and other governmental agencies
can be served, it is indicated that the volume will warrant another
reduction in rates.
The Utility Board has approved; an engineering firm which
made a thorough study has approved; it is now up to us, the
people who will benefit, to say the final w'ord by voting in the
affirmative tomorrow'.
Commissioner of Revenue
Beats the Tax Deadline j
I
WASHINGTON UP) — Mortimer
M. Caplin, the nation’s chief tax
collector, has safely beat the in
come tax deadline — but not by
much.
At the dinner hour Saturday,
Caplin deposited Form 1040 in a
letterbox near his northwest Wash
ington home. The deadline is mid
night tonight.
Caplin doesn’t want to be
known as a Hairbreadth Harry al
though, like millions of other Am
ericans, he concedes he did dilly
dally a bit.
The Internal Revenue Service
Commissioner told a reporter Sun
day night he got the adding and
subtracting done a week ago.
When the Internal Revenue Ser
vice sent out its tax forms and
instruction booklets this year they
were accompanied by a letter from
Caplin which advised “file early.”
It was suggested to the 46-year-old
tax chief that perhaps he wasn’t
following his own advice.
Caplin laughed, then said the
advice is primarily for the 40 mil
lion or so taxpayers who get re
funds. The government wants to
send them out early, he said. Cap
lin isn’t getting one.
Like other Washington residents
Caplin recently received his new
auto tags. Because “somebody had
a cute idea,” the number assigned
to him is a constant reminder oi
.his job: 1040.
Fine Job Printing at the Nugget
Liberals Prepare to Take
Over Canada Government
OTTAWA Lft—The Liberals pre
pared today to take over the gov
ernment of Canada after nearly six
years as the loyal opposition to
the Conservatives.
Prime Minister John Diefen
baker summoned Lester Pearson,
Liberal leader, to an afternoon
neeting to arrange for the change
Dver.
It will be another minority gov
ernment, such as Canada has had
to struggle along with since Die
fenbaker’s Conservatives lost their
big majority in June 1962. In re
turns from last Monday’s elections
the Liberals wound up with 130
seats, three short of a majority in
the 265-member House of Com
mons. But Pearson appeared to
have enough backing from one of
the two minority parties to get his
government off the ground.
Barring a hitch in the change
over arrangements, a Liberal gov
ernment is expected to be sworn
into office later in the week as
soon as Pearson picks his cabinet.
The new parliament probably
will be convened after the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization min
isters meeting in Ottawa May 22
24, Pearson said.
The NATO meeting will discuss
the nuclear role of the alliance
partners. One issue that helped to
bring down Diefenbaker’s govern
ment was his refusal to accept
U.S. nuclear weapons for missile
defenses in Canada and Canadian
air forces under NATO.
Miners & Merchants Bank of Alaska
"The Friendly Bank”
FULL BANKING SERVICES
To Northwestern Alaska Since 1904
BRANCHES IN KOTZEBUE and BARROW
i
Sub Thresher
Sounded Like It
Was Breaking Up
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. W — The
navigator of the submarine rescue
ship Skylark said Saturday the
last sound to come from the lost
submarine Thresher “was the
sound of a ship breaking up — like
a compartment collapsing.”
One minute later Watson con
tinued, Skylark requested the
course of the Thresher and its dis
tance and direction from Skylark.
“There was no reply,” Watson
testified.
Watson said the commanding of
ficer of his ship then took over
the microphone and beginning at
9:15 a.m. called out to Thresher
“are you in control?”
There was no reply, he said.
He said the skipper repeated the
question at least four times.
Two minutes later Watson said
there was a garbled message from
Thresher, but only the last two
words were distinct— . . set
depth.”
Watson estimated two or three
words preceded the clearly heard
ending.
“What then did you hear ” he
was asked.
“We heard sounds that are
familiar to me from having seen
ships blown up by torpedoes in
World War II — the sound of a
ship breaking up — like a com
partment collapsing,” he said.
He went on to describe the
sound as “a muted, dull thud.”
Lt. (J.G.) James Watson testi
fied before a naval court of in
quiry that the sounds came from
the submerged Thresher a few
seconds after 9:17 a.m. Wednesday.
He said that five minutes earlier
Thresher radioed to Skylark “have
positive up angle, attempting to
blow up.”
Watson explained “to blow up”
in submarine language means the
crew was using air to blow out
ballast to bring the boat to the
surface.
At 9:14 a.m. Watson said Sky
lark messaged by underwater tele
phone that there were no vessels
in the immediate area and it was
clear for Thresher to surface.
Soviets Blame Sub Disaster
Dn "Hurried Construction"
MOSCOW (J5) — The newspaper
Soviet Russia said Saturday' the
loss of the U.S. submarine
Thresher may have been caused
by hurried construction.
The paper asserted the United
States has been “feverishly”
building submarines in recent
years.
“In this hurry to increase as
soon as possible the number of
submarines, one can see a possible
reason for the Thresher’s loss,” it
added.
Gus Wheeler, former dredge
master in the Nome district for
the USSR & M Co., is in Swedish
Hospital in Seattle where he un
derwent a limb amputation. Gus
Masick reports that he is making
good progress.
Dial 2217
ARCTIC OIL
DELIVERY
—•AUTOMATIC SERVICE—
Furance
Oil
Stove
Oil
Legislature Calls It Quits After
Agreeing to a Budget of $151,607,830
JUNEAU W — The 1963 legisla
ture, after burning the budget at
both ends all night, called it quits
Saturday after apprpving a fiscal
1963 appropriations bill adding up
to a grand total of $151,607,830.
Of this amount, $90,176,330 will
come from state funds, including
$79,096,730 from the basi9 general
fund, and $61,431,500 will come
from federal program receipts.
Gov. Egan, in the budget handed
the legislature more than two
months ago, had asked for total
expenditures of $150,004,000, in
cluding $78,972,000 from the state
general fund.
During its meetings, the legis
lature also approved supplemental
appropriations totaling $3,913,714.
These expenditures, coupled with
the general fund expenditures
provided for in the main budget
bill, will cut the state’s general
fund balance to an estimated
$6,077,030 on June 30, 1964.
With an estimated $63,353,915
in state income to be received by
the general fund during fiscal 1964,
starting July 1, the legislature had
a total of $85,173,760 in general
fund moneys available in consider
ing the fiscal 1964 budget.
The budget bill approved by the
legislature Saturday was a trimmed
version of the big spending bill
passed by the Senate Wednesday
and sent to a House-Senate Free
Conference Committee Thursday
forenoon. ,
The Free Conference Committee,
after some skillful dodging on the
part of the three senators assigned
to the group, didn’t get to the joint
talk stage until shortly before 5
p..m.
The parley was the prelude to a
night of a series of brief meetings
by both houses, of innumerable
caucuses and of hard-nosed bar
gaining within the Free Conference
Committee.
The committee went into ses
sion with $2,193,500 in state fund
expenditures separating the Sen
ate version of the budget bill from
an appropriations bill which had
passed the House last Monday.
The Senate bill was actually the
measure worked out by the Joint
Senate-House Finance Committee.
The House Finance Committee
wrote its own version for the
lower chamber.
Tne Free Conference Committee,
consisting of Sens. Howard Brad- j
shaw, Harold Z. Hansen, John
Coghill, and Reps. Harold Strand
berg, Walter Kubley, and Carl
Lottsfeldt, cut $1,042,000 from the
Senate bill, in three changes.
The Free Conference Committee
pared $617,000 from an item of
$1,054,000 for highway maintenance
camp construction and pencilled
out $530,000 for an addition to the
Alaska office building in Juneau.
In the operating budget, the
committee scratched a line appro
priation of $75,000 from the Agri
cultural Revolving Fund.
The session wound up as it
started, steeped in politics.
— FOB —
• WELDING NEEDS
• ELECTRIC ARC WELDING
• OXYACETYLENE WELDING
Call . . .
Northern Metal Works
DIAL 2591
The 20-20 split of Republicans
and Democrats in the House mag
nified every political difference
and added days to the session.
The House belabored organiza
tion of the lower chamber for
seven days before the Speakership
went to Rep. Bruce Kendall and
control went to the Republicans,
on a secret ballot.
Democrats had tight control of
the Senate.
With four years of transitional
work behind it, the legislature
did not find too many major prob
lems facing it when it convened
on Jan. 28.
Insofar as the effect on the
state’s people is concerned, the
two most far-reaching bills ap
proved dealt with the mandatory
incorporation into boroughs of
eight major population areas and
the required local tax effort under
the Public School Foundation Act
of 1962.
The Foundation Act becomes ef
fective with the 1964-1965 school
year.
The legislature also cleared leg
islation calling for teachers’ pay
increases amounting to $1.3 mil
lion and for the creation of a
Human Rights Commission to en
force the state’s anti-discrimina
tion laws.
RUSSIAN COSMONAUT
CALLS AMERICAN SPACE SHIP
"UNRELIABLE CONTRAPTION"
LONDON UR — One of the So
viet Union’s space twins says he
wouldn’t want to try orbiting in
an ‘‘unreliable American contrap- *
tion.”
Maj. Andian Nikollayev, who
orbited 64 times last August, told
listeners to radio Moscow he saw
America’s Sigma 7 on display in
Sao Paulo, Brizil.
“To be frank,” he said, “I would
not like to find myself in (the
American astronaut’s) place. You
have no idea how cramped and
uncomfortable this capsule looks
in comparison with the cabins of
our remarkable Vostok Cosmic
ships.”
Mrs. Ella Jones Back in Seattle
Mrs. Etta Jones, the only woman
to be removed from the North
American Continent during World
War II, is back in Seattle to make
her home.
Mrs. Jones, a teacher on Attu,
after the slaying of her husband,
was in a concentration camp for
three years in Japan with a group
of Australian nurses.
After her return she lived in
Florida, but longed to be nearer
her oldtime friends, so returned
to Seattle and the Frye Hotel.
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