The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, July 13, 1950, Page 2

PAGE TWO 500 TONS PULVERIZE RR CENTER (Continued from Page 1) name this William M Wash.,, tail gunner on our abortive flight and veteran of the Euro- pean air war. “But mebbe it's bet- ter to get it over with now instead of getting pushed & like we've been doin They know they have the pl and the experience to master th kind of war—and they know, what it was like for the Infantry- men on the ground, most of them | untested before two weeks ago, to wumbered and outgunned hope our bombs help,” Robert Asher told Flint former Dallas news- be ou T sure Tech. Sgt O. Dupre, a paperman. | EARLY MORNING | FIRE DESTROYS | THANE SAWMILL (Continued from Pa e 1) the all-electric plant resumed pro- duction in March ing both yel- low cedar and spruce. It employed seven persons and sawed 8,000 board feet of lumber per day “All our future was wrapped up in that mill,” Martin said Future plans of ti low Cedar Company “We're not quitti Durocher YL‘E-l H said. “We'll open another mill \\]wn} | Alaska DOUGLAS NEWS HAINES arrived herc where she e will turyi . Go- HERI Mrs. Fr Godine vesterday from Haines is spending the summer attend to busine e and shortly to Haines, where M dines is employed ROM CTION AUG. 1 At Monday’s meeting of the Douglas City Council, August 1 was the date set for a special election of p . e e the dee sue of $29,500 in City Bonds. The Bond issue if property own- ers vote in favor, will be the city’s share of the cost of improvements in sewer, water and streets on Fifth Street, St. Ann's Ave. and Knobb Hill area, An equal amount will be furnished by the Alaska Public Works agency which is let- ting out bids for the project by July 27. The vote will be confined to property owners only, who were on the tax rolls last year The council also read for the third reading, Ordinance No. 31, which trades a portion of city prop- erty for a equal portion of the old Gallwas store lot, in order to square up the property -in antici- pation of a new Masonic building to be erected in the near future. No money is involved in the trans- action. Five city fathers Councilmen Wm Whyte, Rex Hermann shall, and Wm. Dore. Pusich presided SPECIAL F were present: Boehl, Charles M. L. Mav- Mayor Mike NEWS FROM SCOUTS In letters home this week, Thom- as Cashen wrote on July 5 from the Boy Ecout Jamboree at Valley Forge, that the Scouts had Jjust listened to Gen. Ike Eisen- hower in a talk, that the Fourth | fireworks display was most beautiful and that a large Navy blimp was soaring over the encampment at the time. He said that there was altogether too much heat during Ask for it either way . .. both trade-marks mean the same thing. BOTTLED UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE COCA-COLA COMPANY BY but tk the nights were sleepir 8 he Iotel in New wrote from the 1 York, sayiih; nd others in the group had returned from a ball game in Yankee Stadium and witnessed the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees 4 to 2 were anticipating a da Coney Island and the zoo. The two Boy Scouts re Tom Cashen, Jr. and ensen. Tom Cashen Sr. is in charge of the Ala and \ John J assit- group. HOME home this months field with the Health nece will family head- He DURANCE liam Durance i after over six in westward Alaska torial Department to his Anchorage in areas out of mobile unit. here, then quarter: has been Anchorage retu base at working with RETURNS FROM SEATTLE Leonard has returned f Seattle he visited his receiving medical cate t ring his absence, his son Robert and J. Burns were in charge b Douglas Trucking Company from FROM ANCHORAGE C. E. Walters was home yester- day from a 10 day business trip to Anchorage RETURNS FROM Miss Dorothy Tassell returned home Monday evening via PAA from Three Hills, Alberta, where she has been attending high school during the past term. She is the daughter of Joe Tassell SCHOOL FIRE MEETING TONIGHT A regular meeting of the Doug- las Volunteer Fire Department is scheduled to be held tonight at 3 o'clock at the Fire Hall, according to announcement by Robert Ander- son, President of the Department. . PICKETS—PICKETS For the first time in years, pick- ets marching in the city of ts arrived this morning from Juneau, picketing the two con- truction jobs, one the apartment house on Front Street and the Mike Pusich home on Fourth Street, both under construction by Wm. E. Boehl, contractor. Apparently, the pickets are in sympathy with the present labc s strike in Junea Both jobs here are closed down as 1 result MAGICIAN'S SHOW from Douglas | PLUMBERS VOTE T0 | "HOLD OUT FOR 50¢ HIKE IN FAIRBANKS | | | FAIRBANKS, Alaska, July 13—® | The plumbers and steamfitters | |are still deadlocked with Fairbanks | plumbing contractors } Their strike, already in effect | (more than a month, was lengthened Tuesday night when members voted | [to remain on strike for higher | wages. Members said they would | stay on strike for their original de- mands ‘“no matter how long it takes.” | They are asking a 50 cents an hour pay increase and double time | for overtime. The wage hike would | give plumbers a wage- of $3.50 an hour for straight time and $7 an hour for all time over 40 hours. No other craft in this area is re- ceiving double time pay except on Sundays and holidays. | { Three offers by the five contrac- | tors, including one of $3.30 an hour | and another for $3.65 an hour were | handed the union executive board Monday night. These offers were | separately rejected at the union | meeting Tuesday night Plumbing work on several large| construction projects is being de-) layed by the strike. These jobs in-| clude the McKinley Manor Apart- ment, an addition to a hospital, an addition to the Eielson Building at the University of Alaska, hous- | ing projects in town and military defense projects at Ladd and Eiel- son Air Force bases. It was estimated today that the| 90 plumbers present at the Tues-| day night meeting have lost $10,800 | a week while on strike. This figurei is based on a 40-hour week at the present rate of $3 an hour. It does | not include overtime, which prob- | ably would have boosted earnings to more than $12,000. | | No meeting has been set for fur- | !ll]nx‘ negotiations between contrac- tors and the union. The contractors | ‘m(‘l. again yesterday. 780 Passengers Are Removed Affer Liner in River QUEBEC, July 13 | taunc hes shuttled the St. Lawrence | River early today removing 80 | passengers from the 20,000-ton liner | | Franconia which rammed into a | shallow reef during the night one | mile out of Quebec. veteran »—Tugs and The Cunard-Donaldson the shallows at |cruise ship hit | A Taurea, i el 2 Quebec | Liverpool ~15 RATED TOPLINER = 45 minutes affef The magic show sponsored by the port en route to Lions club and produced by Mitchell Cain and magic queen Gladys will be given for the final time tonight at the grade school auditorium | Nsavous starting at 8 o'clock | i | STOMACH It is a good show and thoroughly | ALLIMIN relieves distressing symptoms | entertaining from start to end ac- cording to Art Hedges and Curtis Shattuck who were in the audience last night. There is mystery and comedy in the various acts, none before seen in Juneau, in fact it is the first show of the kind presented here in recent years. of “nervous stomach” — heaviness after meals, belching . bloating and colic due to gas, ALLIMIN has been scientifically tested | By doctors and found highly effective. World | famous—more than a % billion sold to date. ALLIMIN Garlic JTablets JUNEAU DRUG CO. | THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE—JUNEAU, ALASKA on,” Kir Kotze Juneat frienc |4n L | ober, Norser The 1LOT MAURICE KING | SENDS GREETINGS HERE FROM BAFFIN ISLAND From far-off Baffin Island, some 1700 miles north of Montreal, confes news of Maurice King, noted Al- now is a here. September . or an aircraft, formerly of Fairbanks and resident and sends greetings to his He expects to return early Oct- ringing back the Institute's Arctic Institute expedition | guest at the Juneau Hotel. next summer will continue scien fic work on Seward and Malaspina | Glaciers, where research was done | last summer and the year before. | of AT JUNEAU HOTEL James D. Ray of Anchorage is a aska bush pilot As pilot In charge oI air oper- ations for the Arctic Institute of North America, he has been btsy since May 1 establishing bases on and near the 90-by-40-mile ice cap centering the island, and ferry- ing supplies from Frobisher. He writes that everything is going ex- ceptionally well, saying “I left five | camps—two on the ice cap and | three at the heads of Clyde, Ritchie and Gibbs Fjords—well supplied to | take care of the expedition until | the middle of August or longer. Now there is no reason to hurry | back except that they are all very | eager for their mail. The ice pro »l‘ ably won’t go out here for two | weeks. | “Tell Clarence Rhode (who ha asked about wildlife on Baffin) that | the Canadian Wildlife made a cari- bou count of the entire island, estimating about 3,500, mostly on | the southern end. Caribou are| very scarce where we are—none of our” bunch has seen more than 16 at a time. Usually it is only thrée or four. There is very little game | of any kind—a few fox and ptar- migan, and even fewer Arctic hare and ducks and geese. They expect | to see lots of ducks and geese laf: Your Depeosits ARE SAFE BUY and HOLD UNITED STATES SAVINGS BONDE FIRST NATIONAL BANK of JUNEAU, ALASKA MEMBER FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION ' Canning «Pickling Season is here! Give your picklesh and preserves zestful, old- fashioned goodness with Schilling Spices— the world’s finest. The name Schilling means e DEPOSITS IN THIS BANK ARE INSURED the best, a quality famous for 69 years. For Best Results Schilling WHOLE SPICES PICKLING SPICE - CLOVES - MUSTARD SEED CINNAMON - CELERY SEED - DILL SEED PEPPER - TURMERIC - GINGER - 14 OTHIRS ALLSPICE The Alaska Line Resumed Iis Service 1;|= Antitrust suft brought against the Alaska Steamship Company charges that we have “‘conspired” to effect a virtual monopoly of the water transportation business in the Alaska trade. Here in bricf are the facts behind an incident every Alaskan will re- member because politics were plac- ed ahead of public interest with the result that all competing carriers were forced from the trade leaving The Alaska Line alone in the field. " THE POST-WAR PROBLEM / During World War II and for the jmmediate post-war period, all Ameri- can shipping was requisitioned and operated for the government under sup- , ervision of the U. S, Maritime Commis- sion. During two post-war years under government operation, losses in_the ! Alaska trade were enormous. For 1945 the deficit amounted to $2,500,000 and " for 1946 approximately $4,000,000. «+«« WAS THAT "'CONSPIRACY''? NO PERMANENT ; SOLUTION PREPARED Despite the complete cooperation of the Alaska Steamship Company, and presumably all of the other parties to the Inferim Plan, in submitting full rec- cords and information, by the spring of 1948 it became apparent that no per- manent legislation would be prepar- In December 1948, follow- ing the termination of the Interim Plan and at the end of a long and costly Ma THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1954 time Strike, Alaska’s ship- ping industry faced an al- most total collapse. Only the ‘Alaska Steamship Company accepted the responsibility of serving all Alaska ard re- ed in time to become effective at the ter- mination of the Interim Plan on June 30, 1948. As a safeguard against complete chaos in the Alaska Shipping industry, the Alaska Steamship Company began a determined effort to have the provi- sions of the Interim Plan extended. We discovered an amazing and an incred- jble thing—we found that Governor Ernest Gruening was actively sabotaging | any hope for this urgent extension through both the Maritime Commission and the Congress. | After general agreement had been reached on House Joint Resolution 396,' sumed its operations. The record shows that the cause : of that crisis was politics— not “‘conspiracy.” IR, Call 416 when in need of a— BASEMENT, FIREPLACE or CHIMNEY Don’t accept inferior work from unskilled “tradesmen”. FARL CRASS & SON GENERAL CONTRACTORS PHONE 357 Glacier Construction Co. New Building — Remodeling — Cabinet Work Plastering — Concrete Pouring Sand and Gravel Hauling EYES EXAMINED LENSES PRESCRIBED DR. D. D. MARQUARDT OPTOMETRIST Second and Franklin PHONE 506 FOR APPOINTMENTS T Juneau Refresh... add zest to the hour travel refreshed JUNEAU COLD STORAGE CO. © 1950, The Coca-Cola Company Previous to return of vessels to pri- vate owners, joint studies of the Con- gress, the Maritime Commission and the Alaska Shipping operators showed | that an 88% increase in revenue ° would be necessary for the private operators to maintain service. Of this 88% about 13% represented the cost of marine insurance, 43% the charter hire on government vessels required and the remainder was accounted for in increased cost of labor, ' fuel, repairs, etc. It was agreed by all, however, that this 88% increase would be a heavy burden for the Alaskan economy to shoulder. It was then determined that by the Maritime Commission’s furnishing the needed cargo ships to service the trade and assuming the necessary hull insurance risks, the required 889% revenue increase could be reduced to an increase of approximne‘liy !359. Accordig#fy, the carriers in the trade filed their new tariffs ‘reflecting this increase — which, incidentally, is the last increase that has been granted despite subsequent events—and the Maritime Commission made available the necessary vessels at an annual charter rate of $1.00 per vessel which covered the remaining amount of needed revenue. RATE SUBSIDY TO ALASKA This arrangement was known as the Interim Plan (Public Law No. 12) and it was fostered with the intent of saying considerable money for the Alaska people. Simply stated the Interim Plan was a rate subsidy to the Territory because it eliminated a major portion of the revenue increase required to continue service. The carriers received no “cash in hand.” Their decreased operating expenses resulting from the Interim Plan were reflected directly and proportionately in the tariff schedules. The agreement went into effect in May, 1947 and was to continue until June 30, 1948. Parti- cipants in the Interim Plan were the Alaska Steamship Company, Alaska Transportation Com- pany, Northland Transportation Company and the Santa Ana Steamship Company. ‘At the time of the inception of the Interim Plan it was the objective of the act to provide a period of time in which an accu- rate study could be made of the costs of operation of the shippin; companies under the agreement. This was to provide a yll‘s'h k for the preparation of permanent legislation, .~ = which would extend the provisions of the Interim Plan, Governor Gruening in- stigated a substitute bill (L. J. Res. 401) | which would have tied Alaska shipping to the apron strings of the Interior De- partment, vesting in that agency final authority in determining what carriers would be permitted to serve Alaskg and how. When it became’ apparent that this bill had no chance of passing, the Governor withdrew his opposition to the extension | of the Interim Plan and publicly stated he favored it. When the extension of the Interim Plan was finally passed, the authority to: place it into effect was discretionary and not mandatory. During this ! whole period the Governor continued his argument that Alaska shipping rates were “out of this world’’ and that operators were getting rich without Government aid. | In the end, the Maritime Commission refused to allow the new bill to take effect and consequently the Interim Plan benefits to Alaska Water transportation were terminated on June 30, 1948, The result was that all shipping operators were thrown entirely upon their own resources, AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED ' - Almost immediately the Santa Ana Steamship Company re- turned the single vessel it had under charter and declined to con-: tinue its service. i As a direct result of the termination of the agreement, aggra- vated by the three months long shipping strike which followed, both Alaska Transportation Company and Northland Transporta- tion Company found it impossible to continue. Both of them with- drew from the trade in December 1948. i Even the Seattle/Seward barge line which had been heralded with such fanfare as the “white hope” of the Alaska trade sus- | pended service permanently — although their collapse was not a | result of the termination of the Interim Plan. { | Only the Alaska Steamship Company remained of the five carriers which had served the trade only six months before. f Was this chaos the result of “conspiracy” and “monopoly” on i the part of the Alaska Steamship Company? | We contend that it was not “unlawful” or “monopolistic” for the Alaska Steamship Company alone in that shipping crisis to set about serving all the Territory of Alaska — without increas- , ing rates even though we were sustaining an operating deficit. ALASKA STEAMSHIP COMPANY Serving All Alaska’