record will show that no action has been taken to implement the law that was authorized which might have provided the protection we need. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. THOMPSON. Any further questions? Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Chairman, one further question. Governor, I want to express the same concern that all the other members of this committee have expressed; we certainly want to do everything we can to possibly help you. We may furnish money but time seems to be the essential thing right now and we cannot do very much about that. Do you have any knowledge that your competitors' ships were either damaged or sunk, or were they not in your waters at this time? I am thinking of Russia and Japan. Mr. EGAN. The Russians would have been out at sea quite a ways off the coast, but I will say that here again you have the situation where they operate a large and very modern fleet. Their smallest catcher boat, or trawlers are probably not less than 125 feet long. They are constructed of steel, and are very modern, whereas our fishing boats run from 40 to 42 feet to 60 to 70 feet on the average. So you cannot compare their type of operation or their ability to withstand the terrible storms and even hurricanes with regard to what the damage would be to our fleet. By being out in the ocean with that kind of oceangoing fishing fleet I would think that they probably escaped, at least in large measure, any ill effects of the tidal waves which hit inshore so hard. Mr. GOODLING. It is reasonable to expect then that they are going to take advantage of your misfortune? Mr. EGAN. Well, I would not want to say that they would deliberately do that, but they have shown up in the king crab beds off of Kodiak since this disaster occurred, and the U.S. State Department has already made representations in this matter to the Soviet Ambassador here in Washington, D.C. Mr. GOODLING. Thank you. Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Lennon, do you have any questions? Mr. LENNON. Governor, what percentage of the fishing vessels that were lost are covered by insurance? Mr. EGAN. Well, that is something that is very difficult to determine at this time, too. But finding the vessels, for those who may have had insurance, locating vessels that would be suitable or usable in this situation would be difficult, too. I would say that a large percentage would not have had insurance. Mr. LENNON. Well, has an effort been made to take a check by the owners of the vessels to determine the type of insurance they had, if any, and the type of insurance? Mr. EGAN. Yes, that kind of a check is going on at the present time, Mr. Lennon. Mr. LENNON. That is all I have. Thank you. Mr. THOMPSON. Thank you very much, Governor, for having appeared. As I stated awhile ago, this subcommittee intends fully to take action today. I am quite sure the full committee will follow it up immediately with action. Mr. EGAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. THOMPSON. We thank you very much for coming. Mr. EGAN. I am surely appreciative of the interest of the committee. Mr. THOMPSON. Senator Gruening, do you have a statement to make to the committee? STATEMENT OF HON. ERNEST GRUENING, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF ALASKA Senator GRUENING. I do. Let me state I appreciate the promptness with which this committee has acted regarding this problem. If it is agreeable, I would like to submit a statement for the record and make a few comments because I realize how pressing the matter of time is. There are one or two aspects of this which I think should be emphasized. There is the immediate issue to act before the fishing season begins. There is the intermediate situation. You have this fact that was illustrated by what happened at Kodiak. In Kodiak, Seward and Valdez, the breakwaters and the small boat harbors have been swept away, so that whatever ships remain are without protection, and the week after the earthquake, after a great many ships in Kodiak had been destroyed and damaged, the remaining ships were hit by a tremendous windstorm, winds blowing up to 75 or 80 miles an hour, and whipping up great waves, which wrecked additional vessels because they were no longer protected by the breakwater, and in their berths of the small boat harbor, and that is one of the problems. We have the great diversity which has taken place in which the land in certain places-Seward, Kodiak-has gone down 51⁄2 feet, which means that canneries, for instance, formerly above water are now flooded, and Cordova, where you have the opposite effect where the land went up about 6 feet is high and dry. So it is a highly complex situation. I want to refer to a statement of our friend Representative Tollefson on the subject of grants. I believe very strongly that this disastrous situation does call for grants. In many cases people are ruined, have indebtedness on the property lost, and I find it difficult to see how they can be rehabilitated by giving them loans on top of loans which they have not yet paid, when the property on which those loans were secured has ceased to exist. There are lots of precedents for relieving such a situation. It is an interesting fact that in the large amount of mail that I have received expressing sympathy because of the Alaska disaster, not fewer than a score of these letters have said, "Why don't you take some of this money from foreign aid and give it to Alaska?" I took pains to ascertain how much money there was in the foreign aid pipeline, and receiving it from a very competent authority a chairman of one of your committees here, it is not less than $10 billion. It seems to me that some of that money could be transferred if the Congress chooses, and later if it wished to restore it, it could be restored and that could be done without imperiling or unbalancing the budget. I think we ought to do something like that. There is another interesting analogy in our foreign aid program which I think is very pertinent. In Kodiak, for instance, there were four canneries processing variously fish, shrimp, Alaska king crab. All but one have been totally destroyed and that one was very badly damaged. That is the cannery of which the mayor of Kodiak, Peter Deveau, is the manager in private life. It processes Alaska king crab, shrimp, salmon and halibut. About $250,000 is needed to rehabilitate it. I think he should have a grant. Well, he is going to get a loan. On what terms is he going to get that loan? They will be terms that are more generous than given before for domestic projects. There will be 3 percent interest and there will be, as I understand it, no request to repay the principal and interest in the first year, and a moratorium of 4 years on the principal. Well, contrast that with the development loans which we have given all over the world, billions of dollars of them. Terms such as these: A 40-year loan with a 10-year moratorium on principal and interest, and then three-quarters of 1 percent for the rest of it. I was present in Cairo, Egypt, a year ago last February, when our U.S. Ambassador signed jointly with the corresponding representative of the Egyptian Government a $30 million loan to Nasser for the creation of a powerplant in West Cairo, which is a profitmaking enterprise as soon as it starts. It was a 40-year loan. The terms were no payments for 10 years, and then three-quarters of 1-percent interest for the next 30 years. Well, I don't approve of that sort of thing, but if it is done all over the world for foreign countries as it has been done, why can we not do it for our own? I think that is something we should very seriously explore, and do it in the case of a mammoth disaster such as has overwhelmed our fellow Americans in Alaska. In the case of our domestic loans those people would be immediately rehabilitated by such treatment and begin to pour revenue back into our own Treasury. Whereas if we do it abroad, all of the benefits stay over there. Meanwhile the American taxpayers are paying all the costs. In the case of this particular $30 million loan to Egypt or any others made on these terms, we are borrowing money at about 4 percent from the American people. So each of those 10 years before repayment at three-quarters of 1 percent begins, we are out by $1,250,000, which is 4 percent of $30 billion, in the first 10 years. Look at the money the U.S. taxpayers are losing before this even begins to be repaid. I can see no justification for not applying the same treatment for our own people in the face of unprecedented disaster for which insurance was not available. These loans are being given to people all over the world where there has been no disaster. I believe you can't rehabilitate Alaska unless we have a more generous system than merely giving loans on top of loans. I think that is something we should very seriously consider and I hope it will be done. Mr. THOMPSON. Thank you, Senator, and your written statement. will be made a part of the record. (The statement referred to follows:) STATEMENT OF HON. ERNEST GRUENING, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF ALASKA Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to have this opportunity to appear before the Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee today as hearings are held to discuss the effects of the March 27 earthquake and tidal waves on Alaskan fisheries. I commend you for this prompt action to help ascertain the needs of the most important segment of Alaska's economy--its fisheries. The Good Friday twin destructive forces of earthquake and tidal waves have grievously injured the private and public sectors of Alaska's economy. Estimates of the damage to our fisheries vary. The figure of $15 million in assorted damages to privately owned boats, vessels, and plants provides a starter, and I understand that Mr. James K. Carr, Under Secretary of the Interior, and Mr. Donald L. McKernan, Director, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries of the Interior Department, have collected available statistics which they will provide the committee this morning. I want to emphasize that the tentative figure of $15 million does not include the damage to public facilities-the docks, the small boat harbors, the breakwaters, for example, which were crumpled and then washed to sea by the force of the seismic waves. The March 27 catastrophe surpasses in magnitude that suffered by any State of the Union in our Nation's entire history. The intensity of the quake and the area struck are unprecedented in size. Damage was wrought over an area 1,500 miles from east to west and 300 miles from north to south. In Seward, the port of entry to western and central Alaska, all the waterfront structures-the breakwater, the docks, the small boat harbor, all but 4 of 70 fishing vessels, and the cannery, have been destroyed. The tidal wave, some 40 feet in height, swept over much of the town. Its force plucked railroad locomotives up like matchsticks and carried them some 200 yards. On Kodiak Island, where more than 7,000 persons live, the economic base is provided by its fisheries. I hope that the committee has, on occasion, had opportunity to enjoy the delicious king crab, salmon, and shrimp which come from those fisheries. Right now the men who catch the crab, salmon, and shrimp face massive problems. Mayor Peter Deveau of Kodiak had hoped to appear before you to answer questions and to tell what happened to his home area, but he returned to Kodiak last night. He asked me to convey his regrets, and he prepared a written statement which has been given to the committee. Mayor Deveau recounts how the tidal waves destroyed three of Kodiak City's canneries, partially or totally destroyed 40 percent of Kodiak Island's fishing fleet, knocked out the docking facilities of the fleet, and generally devastated 80 percent of the city's economy. His picture is realistic. It is grim. But it is not final. It will be restored by the men and women on the scene and by those of us elsewhere who know the value of being 50 United States. My colleague Senator Bob Bartlett and I flew to Alaska with the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning, Ed McDermott, within hours after learning of the March 27 earthquake. We saw the devastation. We saw the wonderful spirit of the people. Subsequently, we have seen the action of the President who on April 2, 1964, established the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska, headed by Senator Clinton P. Anderson of New Mexico, who was appointed by President Johnson. This week the Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, sitting as a special Committee of the Whole, held hearings on S. 2719, a bill introduced by the Pacific coast Senators which would provide for earthquake insurance in Alaska by amending the Alaska Statehood Act. During the hearings it became apparent that while prompt action must be taken to get Alaska's economy back on a firm footing, it also will be necessary to get more facts. One important unknown is what has been the effect of the earthquake and tidal waves on Alaska's fisheries? Have these disturbances covered the stream spawning grounds of the salmon fingerlings? Have these earthquakes made significant changes on the ocean floor to the extent that the migration of shellfish and other species will change? These questions and others will have to be answered. The Coast and Geodetic Survey teams in Alaska have found significant changes in land heights. Kodiak Island, for example, has lowered more than 5 feet, creating difficulties with the tides. This means that canneries along the coast may, when restored, have to be moved to higher ground. In central, mainland Alaska, the ground has risen by as much as 14 or more feet. Cordova, Alaska, has a dry boat harbor. Let me read to you the text of a wire I received from Pro Tem Mayor William Sherman of the city of Cordova dated April 12, 1964. APRIL 12, 1964. Boat harbor wiped out; no water; 209 out of 215 moorings unusable. Low tide 6 a.m. today; one vessel laid over. Spilled 500 gallons of diesel. Enormous fire hazard. Alaska State ferry slip not usable three-quarters of time. Only contact between coast and interior Alaska other than Anchorage. No grids for repairs and bottom painting north of Juneau Marineway Servicing. Four hundred vessels out of service due to low water; 7 canneries out of service due to low water; 450 boats stored in canneries cannot be put in water. Only available fishing fleet between Southeastern and Bristol Bay with prospects of excellent year is out of service due to low water. Harbor only one of all-year use available for service to interior Alaska if dredged. Alaska Steamship Co. and Standard Oil Co. cannot lay at dock in low water. Coast Guard moorings in very poor condition. Only station between Juneau and possibly Kodiak. Thirty-five hundred people this area depend entirely on fisheries for livelihood. Without immediate assistance to restore harbor the economy will suffer catastrophic decline with resulting disaster effects to State of Alaska. Urgently request dredging and approach on north breakwater rehabilitating entire harbor area. City of Cordova Protem Mayor, William Sherman. Valdez, Alaska, needs docks. Both cities need many other aids. Meanwhile, the urgency of the moment is how can the fishermen make their catches and how can these catches be processed? The salmon run starts June 11. King crab are being caught now by Russian fishermen. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries has a loan fund which I understand contains approximately $2 million or more which under a Fisheries loan program can be made available to good credit risks in Alaska at low interest rates over a period of from 10 to 15 years. This will provide a start, but it offers small succor to the fisherman who has to repay outstanding indebtedness he has incurred previously. The fishing fleets of Alaska should be modernized. As we go about this, we must also make sure that there are adequate boats available now to replace those destroyed or out of commission. I am told that at least 10 percent of the assorted 3,600 boats and vessels in central Alaska, the area covering Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, Seward, Veldez, Kodiak, and Homer, are destroyed and damaged. I understand that a major section of those destroyed are used by men fishing for king crab and the larger salmon. Boats aren't built like cars. Regrettably we have no assembly line from which come many boats each day. I hope this committee as it considers the problems confronting Alaska's fishermen will move with utmost speed to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. Senator GRUENING. I think the committee also has a statement from Mavor Deveau. (The statement referred to follows:) STATEMENT BY HON. PETE DEVEAU, MAYOR OF KODIAK, ALASKA Mr. Chairman, 80 percent of the economy of the city of Kodiak depends directly or indirectly on its fishing industry. Before the tidal wave of Good Friday hit Kodiak City, there were in operation three major canneries and one minor cannery. Today two major and one minor canneries are destroyed completely. Kodiak Island's fishing fleet of more than 250 vessels has been approximately 40 percent partially or totally destroyed by the tidal waves or storms in the days that followed. We have no docking facilities for our fishing fleet. In some areas the island of Kodiak sunk by as many as 5% feet. This means that the tide now enters the main business district in the city. The damage to the private and public |