The Wrangell sentinel., 1956-01-27
THROUGH THE SENTINEL TELESCOPE
An Excellent Idea

All GACCIlCuL 4uCd
 With all the apparent chaos centering around the Employment Security Commission, it strikes us that Robert L. Jernberg of Ketchi- kan, chairman of the commission, has come up with an excellent idea. He proposes that all members of the present four-man body resign and let the Governor appoint d new commission which might be able to functicon. In fact, he has presented his resignation effective upon receipt. by the Governor of all four notices of resignation.
 The commission is presently made up of Jernberg and Lyle An derson of Anchorage, management representatives, nd John Van Housen of Anchorage and Bob Dixon of Fairbanks, labor repre- sentatives. Effort to get somebody to be the fifth member of the com mis ion as a representative of the general public apparently has been without success so the four go bat ting along, divided two and two on just about everything.
 Latest outburst was at the ESC meeting in Ketchikan last week Jernberg and Anderson wanted to continue A A. Hedges as acting di- rector of the agency while Van Housen and Dixon opposed. The re- suit: Hedges was out, lacking d three-man vote of confirmation: no one else was appointed, and unem- ployment checks in the amount of some $250,000 and effecting about 5000 unemployed were held up be- cause there was no official desig- mated to sign checks. The law pro Vides that the checks, though sign ed by the Treasurer of the Terri tory, must be countersigned by the executive head Of ESC. At the mo- ment there is no executive head or acting director.
 Why the routine action of ap- pointing some employee of the agency to sign the checks during the impasse was not taken is one Of the mysteries surrounding the ESC sQua bble. Failure to do so lends weight to Chairman Jernberg's pro- po5al that they all resign.
 Spur to Lumber Industry
 Alaska's growing lumber indus try was given fresh impetus this week with awarding of contract Wednesday in Juneau to the Alas ka Lumber and Pulp Co. for har vesting five and quarter billion board feet of timber in the Sitka area over the next 50 years. The company, Japanese controlled and operating in Tokyo as the Alaska Pulp Co.,, Ltd, deposited checks for $l00,0O0 with the Pores. Service to apply on the timber purchase. (See story elsewhere today's paper for price deails.)
 Alaska Lumber and Pulp plans to erect a 300-ton daily capacity pulp mill in the Sitka area at cost of some $5O,OOO,OOO. Contract schedule calls for its being in Op- eration by 1862. Preliminary en- gineering surveys already are un- derway.
 The Sitka development brings to the Territory it's third big step in pulp and lumber manufacture. Ket- chikan pulp mill was the first, es tablished at a cost of some $56,- O00,000. and which in its first nine months of operation showed a net return of $790,OOO. The second IS .l fn11 rr the awarding to Pacific Northern Timber Company a year ago of a co t act for 399,000 acres of tim Der in this area. Its plans call for en S0-ton mill and also lumber manufacturing plant.
 Awarding of the Sitka unit con tract to Alaska Lumber and Pulp means continuing operation of the Wrangell Lumber Company. an affiliate of AL&P, which is .Operat- ed under lease from the c. T. Taka- hashi O., of Seattle As logging operations get underway in the Si - ka unit, the local mill will be as- sured of a steady saw log supply to continue its production which is now being barged south and dis patched largely into the retail mar kets of the middle west. Tom Ogawa. vi president of Wrangen Lumber and also the Takahashi company, said here this week that the outlook was bright from both the production and market stand
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