THE KUSKO TIMES
A. X. Grant, Publisher, Sole
Owner and Editor.
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Entered as secona-ciass matter Au
gust 29th, 1923. at the post.oftice at
Tokotna, Alaska, under the Act of
March 3, 1379.
Takotna, Alaska, March 11, 1933
KELLER TALKS ON PROB
LEMS OF ALASKA SCHOOLS
(Stroller’s Weekly.)
In one of the ablest addresses ever
given before the Juneau Women’s
.Club, W. K. Keller* commissioner of
•education for Alaska, held a smal but
appreciative audience breathless with
interest as he pointed out with force
and clarity some of the difficulties in
the way of efficient administration of
schools of the Territory. The addess
•was given at the Club’s regular
monthly luncheon. It was one of a
series of speeches arranged for this
year’s program, all of which deal with
the various departmentts of the Ter
ritorial Government.
“The system is not effective and
sneve can be effective,” he said, “and,
regardless of propaganda to the con
trary, Alaska’s schools are being seri
ously affected by the lack of organ
ization in the school system, and the
•way it is being made a political foot
ball.” We can gain nothing by dodg
in gthe facts. Our only hope is to
face them squarely and try to devise
remedies for the evils that unques
tionably exist.”
That one of the most pernicious of
these evils is the fact that has no real
head, that there is actually no single
person to whom one can point the
finger of responsibility, cannot be
questioned, he declared. At the pres
ent time the authority is divided three
ways, the Territorial Board of Edu
cation, composed of the four senior
Senators headed by the Governo, the
Commissioner of Education, and the
local boards of education in the vari
ous communities. The personnel ol
the board is thus is thus subject to
constantly shifting changes, as aside
from the Governor none of them re
; mains in office long enough to formu
! late a definite educational policy, ever
though they had the qualification tc
do so, and men who are elected t<
office on such platforms as their
stand on fish traps, their zeal in be
half of Pioneers or their promise t<
subsidize something for the local di
vision that sends them here, are nol
■ usually especially qualified for a po
sition on tile Board of Education.
ii pointed out the great need for
economy in administering the schoo
system, citing instances after instnci
of places where money had beer
ol.uu out lii.e water with no com
mensurate benefits to the'schools. H<
| showed, aiso, the great fallacy of hav
ing theTeritorial Government solelj
responsible for financing the schools
: ;n the unincorporated towns. “Makt
the people who profit by the schools
i assume at least a small part of the
i expense of their maintenance, anc
you will automatically have botf
greater interest and greater attend
ance, as w-ell as fewer demands or
the Teritorial treasury,” he declared
i erty tax except in the larger towns
and a sa consequence thousands anc
thousands of dollars’ worth of taxable
property, lying outside city limits all
over the Territory is exempt from
taxation. He gave as a striking
; illustration of this the holdings of the
♦Fairbanks Exploration Company, ly
ing entirely outside the town of Fair
banks, but enjoying for the children
of its employees all the benefits of a
school system on which residents of
Fairbanks pay them pat.
Taking the office of the Commis
| sioner of Education out of politics,
having a Board of Education that is
i non-political, appointed in much the
; same way as the Board of College
I Regents, and composed of members
having some qualification for the
i work, and devising a system of taxa
‘ tion that will require every property
! holder in Alaska to pay his share, re
• gardless of where his poperty is lo
cated, were the remedies he offered
j to correct the vils of the situation as
it exists today and which, he says,
spells the ultimate ruin of the schools
I of the Territory, if not corrected.
GOOD PROSPECTING NEWS
(Anchorage Times.)'
Good news comes to theT mies to
! day from the Alaska College. Dean
| Patty, i ncharge of mining instruction
| in the institution, announces in an ar
4 tide appearing in another part of this
; issue that 18 prospectors have just
completed the mining short course at
College and are preparing to get intc
the hills. He says more young met
are preparing to get into the hills anc
SOURDOUGH TRADING POST
McGrath, alaska
Groceries Clothing
ANYTHING FROM A NEEDLE TO AN ANCHOR
Except a Few Missing Links
Come and Look Things Over.
W. T. VANDERPCOL - - PROP.
FIRE INSURANCE
You should carry a literal amount of fire insurance
for the sake of your credit and your peace of mind,
Needless to say this insurance should be of the very
' highest quality.
That’s the Kind Written By
Alaska Insurance Agency
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA
Irqnfre of Kusko Times.
1 are desirous of going into the game
bette equipped for finding outcrops
| than w ere the oldtimers. These
] words, coming from an authority, are
significant.
The dean a<}ds the further import
ant observation that the young man
of today, with the same incentive, will
1 dig as fast and furiously as any other
group—and that the problem is not
so much the shortage of prospectors
as it is to properly equip them. This
; is a fact that should go home to ev
' eryon interested in the welfare of
I Alaska. j
Many are in position to hiep the :
new man and to share the returns
wfilch may come from his efforts. It1
not only w.ll help Alaska m a genera,
way to get more men into the field
j but will yield a reasonable return to
; to those who back the men. who need
a grubstake and the preliminary I
I knowledge of prospecting.
Lode mining, as the dean points out,
is giving great promise in Alaska to
day. This is true for the present in
particular as respects gold-bearing
properties. The world never offered j
greater inducements to the gold miner
than it does today. Alaska is second
to no field for opportunities in gold
lode and placer operations. Many
areas in this Northland empire hold
out signal opportunities.
Now is the time for the man means
to assist the prospector to initiate the
movement of getting more well
equipped men into the hills—and
young men in particular—and the re- i
wards will accrue not only to the in
dividual participant but to evefy
phase of Alaskan life.
Alaska’s College is doing good work
in schooling the prospector. The only
regret is that more men have not
availed themselves of the opportuni
ties offered by taking up the winter
courses. It is to be hoped another
winter will see the mining classes at
College multiplied in number of at
tendants.
WHY PEOPLE SMILE.
That’s Right!
“This is the only candlestick of its
kind.”
“Pity yqu haven’t a pair.”
“Nonsense. If I had, it wouldn’t
be the only one of its kind.”—A lit for
Alla (Stockholm).
Horse’s Tale
Diner—Hurry up, waiter. I’m hun
gry enough to eat a horse.
Waiter (under notice)—Yoo’ve
lome to* the right place, sir.”—Bhen
Humor (Madrid).
A Match
“Old Tom’s going to marry Miss
Flighty. She can ride, swim, dance,
sinp, drive a raciny car, and pilot an
airplane. Real all-rounder!”
“They ought to get on fine. Old
Tom’s quite a good cook.”—Tit-Bits
(London).
A Sermon
Uncle: “Now, my boy, I’m giving
you this money box for your Christ
mas, present, aind I hope you’ll make
good use of it. No getting money out
of it with a penknife, mind!”
Nephew: “Of course not. Uncle.
But I say, you d ohave some Jolly
fine ideas, don’t you?”—Illustrierto
Presse (Munich).
Wain, the Wit
“Your parson seems to be a very
dogmatic sort of man, Mr. Wain.”
“No, not very. He’s only got two,
and both of them are mongrels.”—
Answers, (London).
f
Frank J. Guskey j
Notary Public I
Takotna, Alaska |
Takotna General Stroe
>TAJlOTNA,-ALASKA
We shall continue to handle, atCom
plete Stock of Merchandise,
•CROMI'T SEKVAtK' 1„ Our
Takotna Pool Hall
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Fresh Fruits
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Apples
Candies . Softi Diiihks!
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Oranges j
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Best of Meals and Rooms
Where Everything Is Fletneftke and
"here Vou Are C«rdi«ll\' " eteomr.
tffwn DOG HOUSES
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Miners’, Prospectors’ and
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