THE OXLT NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHED Ilf THE
KUSKOKWIM COCNTET
! EDITORIAL PARE OF THE KUSKO TIMES
THE KUSKO TIMES
COVERS ALL PARTS OF
THE RIVER COUXTRT
<Tlt* Uuckfl (Time*
* » *• *
T. R. McROBERTS and ALASKA E. BGAN,
Pna&sbers
PgUiiM Every-Frtiay, a* Tdwtaa, Alaska
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“Entered as second-class matter February 1, 1987,
at the post office at Takotaa, Alaska, under the Act of
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Represented Nationally by
J. W. GREELY and ASSOCIATES
803 Stewart Street, Seattle, Wash.
NEW SCHOOL BUILDING BADLY NEEDED—
Now is the tin* -to start crying- to Jur.aau for next
rear’s needs.
We have a number nf heeded projects to be started
and some to be finished, in the Kuskokwim area. First
>f all w* most p utthe pressure to bear" on the “absolute”
r.:ed of a new school building' in Takotna. If we are to
take care of and educate our -fast growing number of
children in this town, we must have a schoolbonse con
siderably larger and .more adequate than the preset*
:ne.
The teacher is -doing "her best to crowd in the in
creased cumber of children-over last year. The little
school room is more that* crowded to capacity now and
n?xt year promises another increase.. The number of
desks are insufficient but tn£ro is no troem for additional
>ues» even if they were to t>e had. Every bit of available
spaoe is being used. Children are studying at the teach
er’s desk, some sitting at tables, new supplies and books
are crowded on the' shelves and "stacked in the corners
in the absence of a suitable. 4)lace to put them neatly
away. The small, tmdaquat* hallway and wash-room is
jammed to over-flowing with wraps even now; what will
it be when cold weather seta in?
If w* expect to have a new-- school house by the
start of the next fall term of school, now is the time for
the parents to let their needs be known. Write a few
letters, get out petitions and. use every possible means
to explain and picture the necessity of a new school, the
construction of which must start in time to finish, by
next September.
The future of Alaska, depends on the children of to
day.
VOTERS PAT AND PAY UNDER MACHINE RULE
(The Alaska Daily Press)
From out Chicago way come rumblings indicating
that that, high-spirited city is, once more, about to dem
onstrate the price that can be paid for government of,
by and for the people.
Chicago’s new tar rata, announced recently, touched
a new all-time high with a figure of $9.52 for each $100
of assessed valuation.- But a high tar rate, in-itself, is
nothing particularly new fort any American city. What
the Chicago case interesting, is its background.
Eight or nine years ago-Chicago Janded itself in the
headlines with a taxpayers’ strike. Tares went uncol
lected, city services languished, city employees went on
skimpy rations—and, aH tb* while, the city was blithely
going ahead on borrowed money/ supporting one of the
most malodorous political rings in America.
That got itself settled, finally. The politicians were
chased out, the ty odgan to pay its way once more,
and it locked as if everything was going to he lovely.
Bat one of the -rarer,jcad little' axioms of 'American -pol
itics is that if you resign - the worries of government to
politicians you are going ur pay for the privilege; and
Wore long this old saw began -to prove it* worth anew
The old gang was ehated ou'.. but a new gang came
gaily in. The Kelly-Nhah machine took Chicago over
as its private fief, and the tax rate began to soar. In
1933 it stood at $6.49/* It has gone up every yerr since
+*.». In addition, new gas, vehicle and liquor taxes have
been created in recent years, each collecting its mite
from the taxpayers in addition to his real property lev
With ail tins money being collected, you would sup
pose that Chicago was at least getting some excellent
government for .its money, and that all of the city-em
ployes were being paid* regularly. But it isn’t quite work
ing out that way. Most of the city employes have been
getting undsb a.lCTH per cent pay cut for two
years.
Fast as the -city's income mounts, it does not seem
to mount fast enough to enable the city to pay its -work
ers their full wages and salaries.
Aa a result, lohd murmurs of discontent are being
heard. The beads bf fen electrician's union talks omin
•usly about turning aH the street lights off and leaving
the river bridges open. School teachers talk at forming
a “united front.” And orr-top of everything else, a tax
payers’ strike is freely predicted.
A picture like this is,eminently worth the study oi
the inhabitants of-Other cities. Fdr it is perfectly ob
that what 13-retppecing in -CMlcago is nothing more
the mevitfejpfe result qf jpvteg a political machine
If yo* permit a machine to fasten itself npoz
ate going to pay for 111 TSe pHghff of the Chi
is as object lesson dot all.
SIXTEEN YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
(TA11N ROM THE FILES OF THE KUSKO TIMES)
W. W. Lukens, Alaska Road Com
mission superintendent, one down,
from Takotna on the Alaskan
WASHINGTON — In an interview
today. Senator Calder told Presi
dent Harding that he intended to
. submit as an amendment to the rev
enue revision biH a plan which would
. legalize three-fourths per cent beer,
and also to provide for a tax of $4.00
i per barrel on same.
McGrath Improvements
Tom McLean is budding a large ad
. ditien to his cabin across the river.
Louis Gorman is starting a cabin
for Captain George Green on the
high ground across from the Tana’s
winter quarters.
The addition to the McGrath road
house is about finished and will add
! greatly to the sleeping quarters, as
a part of it is to be divided into pri
vate roams.
| -
HOI Werner is putting- an addi
! tion back of his pool room, which is
to take tbe form of a retreat from
high water.
Michael OTlealy, Red Richardson,
D. Peck and John Savola arrived
this afternoon from Berry Landing,
coming down with Captain W. J.
Widman in bis launch.
Bert Eldridge returned from Nix
on Landing Monday evening, after
having landed at that point supplies
for Blackburn, Eldridge A Goebel
and several other outfits, taken up
on the Doughnut King. Coming
down on the Doughnut King was A.
- D. McDonald, who. after attending
to a few business matters, returned
on the Alaskan to Nixon Landing.
Paddy Carney and Jack Pike had a
jayful meeting here the other night
after having been apart for 14 years
Their first meeting, on Long Creek
in the Yakm country. was not sc
joyful. On that occasion they fought
in the mud for four hours and ther
had to call it a draw.
Charles Knnig and family arrivec
here last evening, having made the
trip from Bethel in a gas-boat. Mr
Knnig will locate here.
Ice was reported flowing in th<
Takotna River on Monday morning
and Captain Charles Nicolet, of th<
Alaskan, who hiked in yesterday af
tern non from the Forks, stated tha
the Takotna River, above the Forks
was practically frozen over, the flov
s' •cr stopping about noon.
Small batches of skim ice in th<
Takotna in front of McGrath, fell 01
the night of September 22, one-hal:
inch or more.
Captain J. M. Berry says that on<
morning, while coming down tb<
North Fork, he swept from his boa
over six inches of snow.
Visitor—“Is this village lighted b]
electricity T”
Poke!—“Only when there's a than
derstorm, guv nor!'*
The schoolmistress was talkinj
about birds and their habits.
“Now,” she said, “at home I havi
a canary and it can do something
cannot do. I wonder if any of yoi
know just what, that thing is?”
. Little Eric raised his hand,
j “I know, teacher.” be said. “Tak
a bath in a saucer’*
Remember the Advertiser*
FIRST NATIONAL
BANK
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
Capital and Snrplus $100,000
WILL ADVANCE MONEY ON GOLD
AND
Ship Gold at Very Reasonable Rates
VANOERPOOL’S
FREIGHTING SERVICE
Haf Established A Dependable
asd Quick Service on the
TAKOTNA RIVER
Careful attention to all freight
orders, whether large or small
WOODROW
VANDERPOOL
TAKOTNA, ALASKA
BATES FREIGHTING
SERVICE
We Haul Anything
Heavy or Light
Where You Want It
i
WliU ****** BBmBUTOKS FOR l liMBiat FROM THE
KILLER SAWMILL
JOE. OATES, FREIGHTER
TAlOrNA, ALASKA
TIMELY EDITORIALS
Culled From Our Exchanges
ALASKA’S CRYING TRAFFIC NEED—
(Fairbanks News Miner)
The use of airplanes in Alaska is 70 times as great
, as that in the States on the per capita basis. The speed
; of the planes on the average is 170 times as great as
! that of the dog teams on which Alaska was once de
pendent. These figures are from the office of Hattold L.
Iekes, of the Department of the Interior.
Last year Alaskan planes carried nearly two and
a half million pounds of freight as compared to 119,000
pounds seven years before. Passenger traffic stepped up
correspondingly.
These figures put in a nutshell tell the story of the
rapid growth in popularity of the airplane as a means of
Transportation in Alaska. They emphasize the need of
more and better airfields in Alaska. And airfields in main
bases, where the air traffic originates and where the
i great majority of take-offs and landings are made, should
i be provided with modern facilities.
The fact Alaska is 70 times more air-minded than
i the States, and the further fact Alaska is not provided
, with the elaborate system of roads, rail and water lines
■ found in the States, points plainly to the necessity of
providing everything possible to facilitate airplane traf
fic in the Territory.
The federal government may look upon the building
of adequate airfields at this time as an extra heavy task
.! and calling for an unusual cash outlay. But it must be re
, membered that once these fields are provided they will
j be of service for all time.
; | It is far less expensive to prepare the comparatively
small spots known as fields than to construct thousands
[ of miles of highway to lace the country together. It is
i obvious that the first traffic necessity of Alaska is air
| fields.
i Delegate Dimond is quite right in urging the im
mediate appropriation of $2,900,000 estimated as re
| quired to provide a system of airfields to meet present
day Alaska requirements. Every Alaskan organization
. should keep this ir. mind and not permit those in cen
ters of legislative influence to go to sleep on the . -atter.
Fairbanks is vitally concerned in these matters. As
the main aviation base of Interior Alaska, she is sore'y
in need of a larger and better field. The present field is
j municipally owned. The city has been unable to provide
the kind of a field the city should have. It must be re
I membered that the Fairbanks field is not of purely local
concern. I is of great concern to the greater number of
communities and their people who travel in and out of
this hub. If the city of Fairbanks csr.not finance the
building of a proper field here, the Teiriurial or Federal
i authorities should. Red tape should not stand in the way.
The Territory and the Federal government have a
moral obligation to the people in the outlying regions of
Alaska, people who isolate themselves to produce the
wealth that flows from the gold mines, trapping and
other industries into the national coffers and channels of
trade.
Build for Alaska a system of modern fields, give her
the facilities for safety end spe<dy flying which these
super-airminded and fearless builders of an empire de
serve—and the investment will yield a handsome, per
manent dividend to the nation.
■o
MINERALS J-UK .> A V 1 —
(Engineering &. Mining Journal)
Spending for the Navy next year will be generous,
insuring big demand for many of the mineral products
and metals required in shipbuilding. But plenty of prob
lems remain before actual sales will be accomplished.
Assistant Secretary Edison admits that the copper
and the steel problems have been “solved.” But the ad
equacy of supplies of manganese, chromium, tin, and
certain non-mineral commodities provide plenty of head
aches. Members of the House wanted the Navy to build
up rapidly a reserve stock of strategic war materials
and provide a $5,000,000 special allotment for next year
to start stockpile building.
In conference with Senate officials, who do not like
this general idea, the sum was cut to $3,500,000, and the
provision eliminated which required that these commod
ities be built up from supplies of ore originating in the
United States. Representative James G. Scrugham, from
Nevada, major advocate of this plan, forecasts prompt
building up of reserves of manganese, tungsten, chrom
I ium, tin, antimony, mercury, and nickel. He does not
conceal his disappointment that foreign sources of these
metals may be tapped.
| TODAY’S TAXOGRAM—
I
(The Alaska Weekly)
Do the rich pay all the taxes? Not according te a
study of hidden taxation recently completed by the Fam
ily Economics Bureau of the Northwestern National Life
Insurance Company. This study shows that a laborer
i or clerk making $18 a week pays $115 a year in hidden
taxes on the tilings he buys. This is 12 per cent on every
! dollar he makes. The mechanic or minor department
head making $150 amonth which permits him to have a
used car pays $229 a year in taxes even though he is a
I family man and exempt from income tax.
1. S. LIVING STANDARDS HIGHEST—
Geographically the United States has only 6 per
cent of the wrold*s acreage and 7 per cent of its popula
tion, but it has half the world’s communication facilities;
it has nearly half the world’s railroads and electric en
ergy; it-consumes half the world’s coffee, tin, rubber; it
consumes three-fourths of the world’s coal and t—
>.thirds of the world’s -crude -oil- •
.a