Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (Newspaper) - March 9, 1955, Fairbanks, Alaska f Lawmakers Work It Sure Pays to in the Daily Miner You get the best and the most the fastest Economical too Just phone 2261 Big Calendar LATE Daily News America's Farthest North Daily of The Associated Press 11 41 I VOL XXXIII Per Copy FAIRBANKS ALASKA WEDNESDAY MARCH 9 1955 Twelve No 57 FIRE DESTROYS TANANA SUPPLIES House Passes 14 Measures Senate Six Constitutional Convention Faces Another Hurdle By HUTCHESON JUNEAU March 9 ing to reduce bulging calendars Alaska legislators worked over- time yesterday with both houses passing key legislation before ending one of the longest ings of the 1955 session The house passed 14 bills be- fore calling it quits at 7 p.m The senate session ended after 6 Statehood bills were on the in both chambers and the senate before adjourning lifted the measure setting up a hood constitutional convention over one more legislative hurdle Convention Passes The senate passed the calling for a November tion at the University of Alaska after amending it to provide for election of delegates from dis- throughout the territory The two no votes were by Re- publicans Doris Barnes of gell and Charles Jones of Nome The was returned to the house where a deadlock is ble over the principal ment for the election by districts It was rejected by the house ier In the house members voted for a new appropriation for the Alaska state committee created by the 1949 legislature to coordinate activities in behalf of statehood The senate completed ive action on another measure It is a resolution from the house to provide for the territorial auditor to remain as insurance until a new commissioner Continued on Page 2 Oh for the Life of a City Manager SEWARD March 9 port community was seething Tuesday over the action of the Seward city council Monday night which resulted in ance of the resignation of City Manager Raymond F O'Hara and appointment of Hans R Autor as acting city manager Autor whose home is In Anchorage recently opened the company in Seward a service firm dealing with ness management tion tax work and accounting At a spirited session the city council unanimously resignation submitted January 18 to be immediately It was because of lack of con- The action climaxed a round of controversy as various groups In Seward either lied to defense or joined with factions against him la resignation O'Hara said his action came in the interests of harmony had developed over a proposed cut In his salary and the general conduct of hia of- fice QUICKIES By Ken Reynolds Might as well call that repairman in the Want run out of and Controversy over ESC Stirred Afresh in Juneau JUNEAU March 9 security tion came back controversial front seat again in the legislature today The latest activity on the on which the senate and house are at loggerheads came after a wire from regional headquarters of the employment security bureau in Seattle that the Washington office raised a question about several points in the restrictive which has passed the senate The revived controversy over whether the senate might not be in conformity with federal regulations first came into the open in the house where Rep Harry Palmer re- ported flatly that the wire said SB 56 is not in conformity At about the same time the house passed a resolution calling on the Alaska employment curity office to call upon Daniel Goldy the regional director at Seattle to fly here for a second conference on the legislation Raised New Questions It was learned that the wire from the ESC raised new questions on the conformity angle and on the of the plan financial Some of the points were technical in nature The telegram said however at one point that the adaptation of the senate after the ing law in part raises problems because it is not designed to nance the unemployment ance system In Alaska whose economy differs greatly from Wyoming's Legislators disclosed that a joint meeting of labor tees of the two houses had ed exploring a compromise plan but labor union leaders ed Tuesday night that they would oppose it as one which they con- tend would still fall far short of giving adequate unemployment insurance coverage Against Raise Sen Marcus Jensen one of the senate bill's sors who has been adamant any raise in the payroll tax said amendments had been drawn to meet the federal bureau's tions He has said he fears the setback the would cause the attempt to bring new industries to Southeast Alaska Jensen said one proposal on which the conferees appeared to be in agreement at a meeting Monday was for raising the tax base from the present 000 to The house poses a base for the roll tax with an additional one per cent contribution up to the income figure by worker's Jensen said an amendment so had been prepared to knock out the provision that a person must have worked in the same month last year if he is to get benefits in that month this year He said the amendment would provide that the applicant could qualify if he had had substantial work in the corresponding month period of either of the previous two years Other Other points would be an ad- justment to a a week mum benefit payment to ing workers in Alaska from the existing and the senate bill's original figure and the house bill's plus a week for each dependent up to three The payment to workers who leave Alaska to draw benefits would be cut to maximum without any dependents allowances Two AFL union ert McFarland president of the Territorial Federation of Labor and Seman executive secretary contended a y night however that the proposal Continued on page 2 Spectators Asked to Stay Out of Street for Races Viewers of the business men's and business women's dog races downtown tomorrow have been requested by the police ment to stand out of the street at all times during the running of the races Police Chief Stanley Zaverl asked today that everyone enter into the spirit of dog mushing and stand back on the sidewalks during the race He asked that children be watched in particular These dogs are not used to running among crowds and the mushers are Zaverel explained Although every precaution possible is be- ing taken it is conceivable that a team might injure someone or the dogs might be in- jured if the spectators get into the street racing area No parking will be allowed on the racing streets after 10 so that the streets may be ed in preparation for the races which begin at 11 The streets involved Third avenue from Turner street to Noble street Noble street from Third avenue to Second avenue and Second avenue from Noble street to Turner street No ing will be allowed on these streets after 10 Turner street from Second to Third avenues will be closed to traffic from 10 to 1 p.m while the street is being used for harnessing and dog teams 26 Perish in Worst Mexico Air Disaster Four Americans On Plane Which Hits Mountains MEXICO CITY March 9 Rescue workers battled a raging forest fire today in an effort to reach the bodies of 26 persons killed in Mexico's worst plane crash The dead included four Calif The ill-fated airliner a two- engine of the Compania Aviacion wooded mountain Mexicana de crashed into a yesterday shortly after taking off from Puerto on the coast It burst into flames touching off the forest fire A rancher who reached the scene before the surrounding trees caught fire said there were no survivors among the 23 sengers and three crewmen The passengers included two dren The U S citizens aboard were identified Edd Johnson a staff member of the San Chronicle who had been on leave at Puerto He formerly was an editor of the New Republic azine and a foreign dent for a Chicago newspaper Dr Clifford Hays 32 a dentist Arcadia Calif Dr Russell Ingle Jr 31 a dentist Montebello Calif R S Hall 47 a grocer tier Calif On Trip In Whittier a friend of Mrs Hall said the grocer left there last Friday with the two dentists for a fishing trip in Mexico She said they were expected home next Tuesday The plane was en route from Puerto to Guadalajara when it hit the mountain 16 miles north of Mascota in the state of Jalisco The area is about 400 miles west of Mexico City CMA spokesmen said weather conditions at the time were good CMA is a subsidiary of Pan American World Airways WEATHER Mostly cloudy this afternoon and tonight with a little light snow tonight Partly and not so warm Thursday The low tonight 20 High Thursday 24 low last night 21 high day 29 Temperature at noon today 32 Sunrise Thursday March 10 1955 set p.m THREE-TIME Berry wildlife artist took both first and second prize in the water color division of rent art exhibit and received honorable mention in oils Berry is here photographed with his oil painting of a moose which he sketched in McKinley park last summer The artist has done work for the Audubon society and for museums California 400 Attend Winter Carnival Art Exhibit at VSO Club By FLORENCE STRAND An estimated 400 persons attended the Winter val's art exhibit last night in the USO while hundreds more viewed the variety show at the Lacey theatre The light of today's events will be the Mrs Fairbanks fashion show to begin at 9 p.m in the Lacey street theatre One unassuming quiet wildlife walked off with most of the bons at the art show sponsored by the Farthest North Art Guild The winner was William Berry Fairbanks resident since last summer who placed first and ond in water color honorable mention in oils and took home two of the three plaques for best paintings of any division Wins Blue Ribbon Mrs Margaret Lundberg won the blue ribbon in oils and also the plaque for the best painting in the show Her prize painting was a still life Second place winner in oils was Velma Dayton with a large painting of the Oregon coast E B ing took third in oils with a try road scene The reason for Berry's honorable mention in oils was an Alaskan moose placed against a background of autumn in the Interior The exhibit opened at p.m and the past presidents of the Fairbanks Women's club and Uni- versity of Alaska faculty wives were present to serve coffee The exhibit was organized by the planning board of the art guild whose members are Norm Holve Dovey Myers Claire Fejes and Pat Kniffen all of whom con- guest paintings Other guest artists were Eudora ton and Jule Dahlinger of Homer Watercolors Win Berry's winner in water color was a painting of white birds against a snow background His second place winner was a ries of six Alaskan huskys in poses The bon was won by J Cameron for his country scene with a child strolling down a road Honorable mention in the water color sion went to Viola Auer and to Velma Dayton in oils In the children's category Jere Haley won two honorable mentions and Mark Fejes won one Tomorrow is the day for the business men and women's dog races down the streets of banks Portions of Second and Third avenues will be roped off as well as Cushman and Noble streets The Alaska Dog Mushers association teams and is its furnishing president the Jeff Studdert will put 36 of his down on Second avenue in a freight team during the noon hour First Event The first event is the business women's race to be staged at 11 and followed at 1 p.m by the men's contest The Continued on page 2 Ben Potter Issues Public Statement Editor's Ben Potter prepared the following ment as his reasons for moving to fire the city manager We herewith present bis statement without editing or alterations By BEN POTTER It has been said that I was un- available for comment on day maybe that this is so but I figure that I was very much able being in and out of the offices a couple of times Tuesday morning It is mentioned that it is to eternal credit that he chose not to walk the plank A very pretty phrase I congratulate the editor upon it In his action by not resigning gracefully he has only further demonstrated the main basic reason for bis dis- attitude has been so stubborn that right or wrong he has in the past refused to take any specific orders from the city council ing his own stubborn way ing himself who is after a city employee hired by the elected city council a veritable dictator Finding a successor for him constitutes no problem at all there is nothing to lose the cil possibly find a worse administrator The papers tion the city manager as an en- gineer heaven help the city from getting any more city managers who are engineers The city needs a manager who can co-ordinate the different branches of city business and ad- minister them in an efficient manner We have a city engineer and staff and when necessary other engineering services are secured Budget Late Take a look at the managers proposed city budget for 1955 which by the way he has been three months late in submitting for consideration See the sums alloted for check what the city has been tapped for in the past few years under en- I do not blame the city manager for not wishing to get off the gravy but the of the city of Fairbanks have been long overdue for a break I promised the voters when I filed for the city council that I would do all in my humble power to clean out the deadwood from city employee set-up and I shall continue to work toward that goal TMk It has taken me five months to find out just what is the root and cause of this situation in the city As you stated in your Inside I do not man to fast I Investigate the angles and the situation first But what you may not be aware of once I have arrived at the solution of the blem to my own satisfaction I WILL NOT BE MY PURPOSE BY PRESSURE FROM GROUPS OR THE PER It was also stated in Tuesday's paper that there has been no public clamor for dismissal of the city manager Such a statement would and does demonstrate the ignorance of the toward the true situation Who may I ask are the hundreds and yes literally of people who come to the places of ness of the mayor and city cil to protest who call at their homes demanding action swamp them under with who tele- phone calls about the action of an inefficient city ager and employees Figure that one out Pertinent Details It Is also stated that the city manager could not possibly iml up a list of pertinent details for a successor in three weeks time I to this wholehearted For five months of the winter son the council has requested that all details of the son be completed and ready if certainly have not been informed thei It has been my observation that the city manager has taken a pride in his ability to stall ple off and to talk ing nothing in the end Perhaps he has considered this as acy I have not asked him This city of Fairbanks is NOT going to continue to go around in circles it is going to go AHEAD in an efficient manner and per and I believe the council is agreed upon that point Comes End There comes an end to all good things And it has been a very good thing for some individuals In this 1 am only one ber of the council and can speak only for myself of course but I have faith in the council that they will not be de tared from their duty to the city by pressure groups The ir entirely right on the premise that voters make themselves felt through the ballot box Last October the est turnout of voters in city tory expressed their views and I was top man lor the council tion In a field of eight These people that voted for me were not drifters or stooges they were people who KNEW ME and knew that I would be there pitching against confusion and in- in city government Flames Sweep Through NC Store Food Supply Leveled Volunteers Fight Losing Battle in Effort To Badly Needed Food New Supplies Will Be Rushed There TANANA which swept through the Northern Commercial company's store and warehouse at yesterday destroyed between and worth of groceries and other supplies Almost immediately a shortage of food hit this village which depended heavily on the store for its supplies The store was completely destroyed with all of its contents Ronald Tanana NC agent said the cause of the fire had not yet been de- termined The NC company store here serves a wide area between Ruby and Manley Hot Springs pers CAA personnel and natives for a distance of 100 miles to the not let them down and the good Lord give me strength to con- the battle I will NOT do Not Illegal Since when has it been a sneak trick or Illegal for the mayor to call an executive session of the council without notifying the when it is deemed that an emergency exists in city And believe me and emergency does exist ly is the city going to blunder through another in the slipshod methods of the past or it is going to be on the and get something Tuesdays ed my character hinted at ery by refering to me as being also in the same gory that the plan was greased This about -a man whose record will show has in the past literally given his all for the ple and the city of Fairbanks In day's paper the no whatsoever Mr Potter's honesty We did tt elear that we felt ho had by he this retard to being able for comment the reporter assigned to contact was to reach him Letter to Utter pace W north aad 100 miles to the south depend on the store for virtually all of their supplies The store was a the region as the NC company has maintained it since early gold rush days Battle Flames Volunteer firemen in the lage attempted to save the ing and the badly needed in it but the flames quickly spread out of control and destroyed the entire structure No Supplies Residents of the area today were existing on whatever food they had in their homes at the time the flames broke out There is no new supply of food able but it is expected that ad- supplies will be flown in today or tomorrow Firemen Work on Two Blazes Here City fire fighters worked on two fires Tuesday a small fire on a downtown building and a blaze in South Fairbanks which aged a quonset hut considerably as well as an attached frame structure The basement walls ceiling and roof of the quonset hut were damaged by the fire The ing was located at 1621 Turner street The fire department has not determined the damages or the identity of the owners and occupants The occupants left the scene of the blaze before men culd get their names The blaze occurred at about 5 p.m Firemen quickly quelled a small blaze on a cornice of the Pastime bar building at First avenue and Cushman street shortly after 8 p.m Damages were estimated at about Cause of the fire was listed by firemen as a neon sign Chimney Fire Damages House A chimney fire broke out at p.m yesterday in the home occupied by Wayne and owned by Ray MaHaney Gatchell Fifteen members of the fire department rushed to the blaze and quelled it in approximately 20 minutes The fire at 216 Ina street was reportedly caused by an over- heated stove No damage was listed Greuel Would Simplify Recalls JUNEAU March 9 to simplify recall of municipal officials was house today dropped into the by Rep Richard Greuel a Fairbanks city man It provides a recall can start after an office has been held for six months instead of nine only 20 cent of the previous city election would have to sign instead of the present 25 the recall could be by a bare vote in the recall election instead of the present law's 63 per cent Accused Forger Pleads Guilty Robert L Listen accused er currently In the federal jail Tuesday changed his plea of not guilty to guilty in the U S dis- court Judge Vernon D Forbes set sentencing for p.m day Listen was accused of four counts of forgery on two ent City News In Brief Club Party There will be a Curling club party at 7 p.m Thursday in the new American Legion hall This will be a welcoming party for Canadian curlers who are com- ing north for competition here A buffet dinner and a dance will be held All curlers and guests are invited to attend Mushers Drawing The drawing for the North American Championship Races will be at p.m Thursday in the studio All mushers are requested to be at the studio by 7 p.m The drawing will be broadcast over radio and televised by Range There will be firing on Moose Creek dike gunnery range from April 1 through May 7 1955 and May 16 through June 20 1955 during daylight hours Maximum feet Meeting Postponed The Great Books discussion group meeting slated for tonight has been postponed until next Wednesday at the same time Rose Festival Queen Due Jan queen of the 1954 Portland Ore Rose festival will arrive in Fairbanks at tomorrow and will be ed by of all things a dog team As the beauty steps off the plane five Siberian kies will be there to pull her to a nearby station wagon Sid will drive the team Miss will be given a parka to wear during her visit here which promises to be no dull affair The festival queen will be ent at the downtown dog races tomorrow to pass on trophies to the winners The lass's full schedule of events while in banks will be announced row Miss is a freshman at Oregon state college The Rose queen will be one of the judges in selecting the carnival queen here Friday she will see the start of the North American Championship sled dog races She is being chaperoned here by Mrs James C Dezendorf Per a little towm we sure have a let going on Puts a strain an eid man I kin hardly rest there's se I gotta fee seta
