The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-02-04
BEVERIDGE ON ALASKA.

Senator Beverdgc in his capacity as
Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Territories. has drafted bill for the
local government of Alaska, which is
not what the people of Alaska want
and is not what President Taft wants,
but it has received the approval of his
committee and will be reported favor
ably to the Senate.
The bill provides for legislative
council of eleven, eight of whom are to
be elected by the voters of Alaska, and
three appointed by the President. The
Governor of the Territory is given abso-
lutte veto power, and back of him the
President of the United States will have
the authority within his Judgment to
suspend or approve of any Territorial
legislation, pending the action of Con-
gress upon it, provided Congress
chooses to act at all. The three ap-
pointive members of the Commission are
the Governor, the Attorney General and
the Commissioner of Interior and Mines;
these being appointed by the President.
If the Council and Governor approve
an act, that act may be vetoed abso
lutely by the President. A bill vetoed
by the Governor may be passed again
by the Council and be approved by Con
gress and the President in spite of the
Governor s veto.
This is sort of "double shuttle -
proposition, which has never been here
tofore practiced in any of the Terri
torial governments of the United States
AT first look, it would seem to be abso-
lutcly impracticablc. If there is TO be
legislative council, that council should
clearly take the place Of a Territorial
legislature and the Governor should be
no part of it.; neither should the Attor-
ney General, nor the Commissioner of
Interior and Mines. These officials
would have enough to do to attend to
the proper functions of their Office with
out forming part Of the Legislative
council; and this blending of legisla
tive and executive duties is contrary to
the spirit of American institutions, and
contrary to the precedenss of the Re
public, which have always been directed
to the separation of the executive and
legislative functions.
We notice that some Of the Eastern
papers complain because the bill pro-
vides that the receipts from customs
and internal revenue should be turned
directly into the Treasury of the United
States in place of into the Territorial
treasury. In this. however, the Bever.
idge bill is absolutely aud necessarily
right. There is no way whereby the
Federal revenue from customs or in
ternal taxation can be turned into a
local Territorial treasury, any more
than into State treasury. Necessar-
lily, payments on these accounts go
directly into the National treasury.
Criticism is also made on the cut down
of the Governor S salary from $4,000
year to $500, the New York CONNER.
cial, calling the latter sum ga most mig
gardly allowance for the executive head
of great Territory with large moas.
ure of dignity to maintain in region
where everything which is for sale at
all is at an abnormally high price" But
$500 is more than double the salary
received each by the Governors of
Arizona and New Mexico, and in these
latter Territories everything is also alb.
normally high in price. In fact. sal.
airy Of $500 is very good indeed FOB
the Governor of Alaska. Few Cover
nors Of States receive so much
The Beveridge bill, however. is essen.
TALLY wrong in principle, and when it |
comes up in the Senate il will be sharply
criticized and probably amended to con.
form to precedent and adjust it's pro-