Senator BARTLETT. Would the tourist business in the summer months be very helpful or not? Do you think it could be built up? Mr. STEPETIN. It would be very helpful if they could stay here more than 1 or 2 days. If they could stay here a week, if the captain would stop on the islands, it would help employment. Senator BARTLETT. Have the people here ever made anything that could be sold to tourists, like the Eskimos make ivory articles and sell them? Mr. STEPETIN. Yes. Through the efforts of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the Secretary of the Interior, I believe, they have started making different things from fur sealskins. Senator BARTLETT. What do they make? Mr. STEPETIN. They make dolls, pouches, gloves, hats. Mr. STEPETIN. Yes. Senator BARTLETT. Do you have many tourists come in now? Senator BARTLETT. Those that do come in, do you find they will buy some of these things? Mr. STEPETIN. I believe the canteen manager can answer that question better than I. Senator BARTLETT. Can we have an answer to that right now? Senator BARTLETT. You thought when the wage plan went into effect it would provide year-round employment for all people, all men? Mr. STEPETIN. All men. Another thing, we were asked if we had any objection to having the St. George people transferred to St. Paul, and we put in the question : When they are transferred, will everybody be employed? The answer was, "Yes," so there was no objection. If we knew at that time that as the transfers from the St. George people would put some of our local residents out of work, we would have objected. Senator BARTLETT. You wouldn't have been for it. Mr. STEPETIN. We would have objected to it. Senator BARTLETT. I don't want to be cynical, and I don't want to be facetious, but if you were all employed here the year round you would be about the only people so favored in all Alaska. Mr. STEPETIN. I realize that. But we didn't think it was going to be this bad, that 70 percent of the working men would be unemployed. Senator BARTLETT. And 30 percent are employed the year round? Mr. STEPETIN. The year round. Senator BARTLETT. What would be the average income of one of the men constituting the 70 percent? How much do they make a year? Mr. STEPETIN. Anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000. A little over $3.000. Senator BARTLETT. That is the average Mr. STEPETIN. That is an average. Senator BARTLETT. We will call upon the Bureau to amplify on this, to see where we stand. Thank you very much. Mr. STEPETIN. May I say one more thing? Senator BARTLETT. Anything you want to, as long as you want. Mr. STEPETIN. I notice on this bill it is mostly St. Paul. If this bill passes, will the St. George people be able to buy their plot of land as we will be doing in St. Paul? Senator BARTLETT. Apparently they will not. There is no provision made here for St. George. We will inquire very closely into this. Mr. STEPETIN. That means they will be transferred over to St. Paul Island? Senator BARTLETT. I shouldn't be answering that, because I am not in the executive part of the Government. I am in the legislative part of the Government. My understanding is that when he was here with Secretary Wade's group, Mr. Rettie, speaking for the Department of the Interior, categorically informed the people of St. George that there would be no requirement imposed upon them to move or come over here. At least that is what I read in the newspapers at the time. I took this as being a clear-cut definitive answer from the Department of the Interior related to this matter. We will find out more about that before these hearings close. Senator BARTLETT. That is a very good point which you brought up and one which we will surely want to explore rather deeply. Thank you very, very much. Mr. STEPETIN. Thank you very much. Senator BARTLETT. The committee will stand in recess, the hour of 5:30 Pribilof time having arrived, we shall reconvene again at 7 o'clock. Thank you. (Whereupon, at 5:30 p.m., the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene at 7 p.m., this same day.) EVENING SESSION Senator BARTLETT. The committee will be in order. Who would like to testify next? STATEMENT OF ELARY GROMOFF, ST. PAUL, ALASKA Senator BARTLETT. We will be glad to hear from you, Mr. Gromoff; anything you care to say. Mr. ELARY GROMOFF. About this bill, S. 2102, how soon will this pass? Senator BARTLETT. No man can make a statement that would have any meaning as to when a bill will pass Congress. I would think sometime next year a bill will be passed. Not this year. Mr. ELARY GROMOFF. Not even this year? Senator BARTLETT. No chance this year. Congress is too near adjournment now. Mr. ELARY GROMOFF. Maybe we have to make changes on that bill, Senator. Senator BARTLETT. What changes would you recommend? Mr. ELARY GROMOFF. Some, not all. I recommend, the people on the island have been with the Government for so many years, they were talking about incorporating, but that shouldn't happen right away, Senator. It takes time. Maybe 5 or 6 years, 7 years. It shouldn't be right away, because the people are not ready for that yet. I shouldn't say about the silver platter. The silver platter has been given. The Government has been furnishing, giving for so many years on a silver platter. They don't know. I don't know how many families on this island would make their living: how they would make their living. I doubt it. They have to learn. Now they are trying to learn how to make a living. For instance, this unemployment matter. People are laid off. We don't know how many people are saving their money for the winter. I don't know how they will be by February. Don't you think, Senator, that if they are in need by that time, short of money, would the Government help, giving fuel, food, rent! Otherwise how would they? That is a big question in my mind. Maybe you can ask several. They will tell you. I wouldn't say that they are having a hard time. But this new way of living, years ago they didn't know that. They were given free coal, free food, shelter. I call that a silver platter. Now they are getting away from that, getting away from that platter. So many of them will tell you they had a hard time last winter. Senator BARTLETT. They had a hard time last winter! Mr. ELARY GROMOFF. Yes. Mr. STEPETIN. Senator, may I interrupt? Senator BARTLETT. Would you please wait until he has finished and we will keep it in better sequence. We will be glad to hear from you again. Mr. ELARY GROMOFF. Budgeting: how many of these families know about budgeting? It is not my business that they throw their money away on foolishness. They should save. I might do the same thing. Later on they will find out that they were wrong. They all have to learn, to make the dollar last. About the budgeting, if the subject is on budgeting, does someone have to be here and have like a school on budgeting, like they do stateside? Can they do that. Mr. Senator? Senator BARTLETT. If they do that, I want to come and attend the school to learn something about the subject, too. Now, I am about the world's worst. But I am comforted because I think the majority of American men are no better equipped than I. Mr. ELARY GROMOFF. I haven't much to say. But we must learn how to make our dollars last, to save them. It is too bad there isn't a bank on the island, a savings account, so people could save their money, put it in the bank for the winter. That would help. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries on St. Paul Island is trying to help put money away for them for the winter. That is a very good idea, so they will save, instead of spending on something that is really not worth buying. I am very glad that the Fisheries is doing that right now. Is that right, that they have to put money away for these people for the winter? Mr. EUNEAU. We encourage people to put money away for the winter. Mr. ELARY GROMOFF. They should have done that last year, but they didn't. This year it has been a great help. I don't know anything else to say, outside of that. Gabe, do you want to come back now? Mr. STEPETIN. Mr. Gromoff just mentioned that the Bureau of Fisheries was in jurisdiction of the island, and after that the Fish and Wildlife Service and Commercial Fisheries. He said that we got free coal, free food. When anyone says that it makes me angry. I want this to go in the record. The so-called free was compensation for our labor. It wasn't given to us free. That is the only thing I want to put in. Thank you. Senator BARTLETT. Thank you very much. Reverend Gromoff, would you care to testify now? STATEMENT OF REV. SMILE GROMOFF Rev. SMILE GROMOFF. I am Smile Gromoff. I work for the Federal Government as a warehouseman, and on my own time I am a deacon at the Russian Orthodox Church. Senator BARTLETT. Any statement you want to make we will be glad to receive. Rev. SMILE GROMOFF. If you asked me some questions, perhaps. Senator BARTLETT. Do you have an opinion on the bill? Rev. SMILE GROMOFF. There is one section that I wanted to ask about, these free facilities, food and so on. Who would be in the category to get this? Senator BARTLETT. Would you please point that out to us in the bill? Rev. SMILE GROMOFF. It is section 203, page 8. The Secretary is also authorized: and I am quoting: (1) to provide, with or without reimbursement, the natives of the Pribilof Islands with such facilities, services, and equipment as he deems necessary, including, but not limited to, food, fuel, shelter, transportation, education, and nonemergency medical and dental care. Mr. Baker, may I ask you if you are prepared at this time to give some background on that particular subsection? Mr. RALPH C. BAKER. Yes, sir; Mr. Chairman. This continues in effect, as I understand it, pretty much the same type of authorization we have in our 1944 act. You will notice that line 23 says "to provide, with or without reimbursement." And under our current pay plan those who are employed, and perhaps even those who might be seasonally unemployed, could be provided under this authorization, as I read it, with virtually all the necessities of life on a reimbursable basis. This would be housing, quarters charges, food supplies at going prices, and so forth. However, we have always had situations on the islands where there were indigent people without means of support. This phrase "without reimbursement" could be applied to take care of such cases. In other words, this is substantially, although perhaps in somewhat different words, the authorization that exists in he 1944 act. Senator BARTLETT. Thank you. Ber. Sama FRONTY The par 1 Sed ray dh was the one ་པོ་ང1:v༴ཅ Det for weds for the res we worked before 226. Rer. SM GROMOFF. 1992. Senator BARTET. You would retreats benefit. Rer. SMLE GROMOFF. Yes. sz. Senator BARTLETT. Can I make the assumption that you, in general terms, approve of the bill! Rev. SMILE GROMOFF. PA of the ball would be amended, like the Chairman suggested. Senator BARTLETT. You approve the amendments be suggested? Senator BARTLETT. Do yon ke the provisions relating to the right which it gives the residents of St. Piul to own their own land and their own homes? Rev. SMILE GROMOFF. Yes. I think that is the time I will really feel free, when I can own my own home and land. Senator BARTLETT. You don't feel free now! Rev. SMILE GROMOFF. Not exactly. Senator BARTLETT. Tell us some more about that. Why don't you feel free? Rev. SMILE GROMOFF. If I left my home and went out to visit, and if I came back or didn't pay for my rent, I would lose my house. If it was my own home I would go out and come back and it would still be there, or I could rent it to somebody. Senator BARTLETT. I don't understand exactly how this relates to freedom. |