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Unpleasant Obligation. Alaska's economy was not too secure in the first place. The last of a $28.5 million federal grant, bestowed at the time of statehood in 1959, was exhausted last year. The fishing industry was healthy, and oil exploration was beginning to pay off. But Alaska was still in great need of risk capital, and it was not forthcoming; a Wall Street syndicate last year was able to sell only $5.3 million of a $9 million bond issue. As a territory and as a state, moreover, Alaska's economy had long been largely dependent on big federal expenditures, and one day the tap would probably have to be turned off.
With business ripped to shreds and consumer spending sharply curtailed, Alaska's bankers met with federal of ficials in an attempt to find some temporary solutions to the financial crisis. The banks' loan capacity, never very great, was probably less than $100 million, not nearly enough to satisfy the demand. Some banks have already made construction loans. All of them, said Anchorage Banker Jacques Roth, have "the unpleasant obligation of deciding who will survive and who will go under."
Exodus? President Johnson requested a congressional appropriation of $50 million in emergency funds. But most Alaskans were convinced that the Congress will have to pass special legislation to make as much as $500 million available, preferably in outright grants rather than long-term loans. Governor Egan and other state officials hoped at the same time to kick off a $50 million reconstruction bond issue. But in any event, Alaskans agreed that they had better get the money soon or suffer a depression and a mass exodus of the populace. Said Anchorage Times Publisher Robert Atwood: "Uncle Sam can't let this place fold up. They need us."
Notwithstanding their fears, the Alaskans were also exuding confidence. To many, the earthquake was a blessing in disguise: an opportunity to rebuild the state, a chance to tear down the rest of the antiquated and otherwise unsuitable structures in the towns and to create modern cities that could blossom in a fresh and viable economy. "The history of areas like this," said Anchorage Banker Elmer Rasmuson, "is that they rebuild and get much better than they were before. I'm satisfied that we have the basic soundness on which to rebuild in a more modern fashion. This is not going to be done just because we're courageous Americans. It will be hard work, and I don't underestimate its difficulty. But it will be done."