The Ketchikan miner., 1915-08-26

rutcots. iue HUhey IS pdlu uNtI py
 reason of an Act of Congress which
 provides that this money shall be ex
 pended by the Legislature for the
 maintainance of schools and the con,
 struction of roads and trails in the
 county or counties where the money
 has been derived. The purpose of this
 law is to partially compensate the sec.
 tions embraced within the forest re.
 serve for tn, withlrawl of the lands and the restrictions imposed. No serious person questions the fact that it was the clear purpose of Congress
 that this money should be spent at its source. Unfortunately. when the
 law was enacted, Alaska had no Leg. islature at all and evidently was not
 taken into consideration. Again. when
 Alaska was created into Territory
 with a local Legislature, the method adopted was radically different from any previous Territorial creation by our Government and the various divis- ions of Alaska were allowed to re-
 main as Divisions and were not des- ignated as Counties. In many other respects the Alaska enabling act re-
 stricted the activities of the people
 of Alaska beyond the limitations of previous Territorial creations. Doubt less the on-contiguousness of Alaska had something to do with the case, and also the vast size of the Terri tory and it's conflicting interests and radically varied conditions, as we'll as gross popular ignorance as to the true facts about Alaska However, be that as it may, I found during the l carly days of the last Legislature, that there was a disposition among some of the members to hide behind
 these teehnicalities, and notwithstand- ing it was generally acknowledged that the First Division was morally entitled under the law and under the past and present conditions in Alas ka, to the full amount of $52,000 which this division had paid into the fund, still finally, with three noted
 exceptions, the members of the other divisions voted solidly to take this
 money and divide it among all four divisions. The first day of the ses- sion I introduced Senate Bill Number One, which provided for the expendi- ture of the First Divisions portion of the fund, on the various projects in $. E. Alaska. A few days later a joint committee of the Senate and House was appointed to take this forest fund under consideration and make recommendations. We made the best fight we knew how and this committee, one Saturday, generally agreed to report the bill back favor ably provided 25 per cent, of the
 amount was set aside for general school board, which we agreed to. Before Monday certain influences
 
 agreement and prevented the just settlement of this question through out the remainder of the session. The present law On the subject was finally enacted by the Legislature and 8, road supervisor was appointed in each division to expend the money. There is an ancient writing which starts by saying that all Gaul is divid- cd into three parts, and permits me to say that, after having for years the bulk of the rosl appropriation from ai gress and the tax funds. and after obtaining $35,OO0,0O0.0O from Congress for railroads, it was all
 Gall" that divided our poor little forest fund into four parts. The
 members from three other divisions were very adverse to any suggestions that forest reserves might be creat- ed in the other divisions so that they
 might have the opportunity to con tribute on an equal basis to this for est fund Some of the newspapers in the other divisions are now accusing the people of the first Division of an attempt to create dissensian in Alas ka but this is not the truth. The rep resentatives from the First Division have at no time asked for. anything ! other than what was just and fair in
 the premises, and it was the members of the Legislature from the other three divisions who created any dis
 satisfaction that may exist, by mar
 row-mindedly playing small politics. The people of Alaska can never be firmly bound together in an united
 and harmonious spirit by narrow legal technicalities. It requires broad
 minded desire to be mutually fair and | just in our dealings with greatly varying conditions over an immense
 area of Territory. The recent decis-
 ion of the Court says that Congress