The Ketchikan miner., 1915-07-15
FROM MONDAYS DAILY HICKMAN IS OPPOSED TO DELAY IN SECURING ROAD MONEY
Nome, Alaska,


 Ketchikan, Alaska. Allotment by our board for road work in your district was based on presumption that division of For. estry Funds would be accepted as fixed by legislature. We understand that injunction has been filed against disbursements under this distribution. Unless this action is withdrawn, our board will be compelled to readjust allotments and suspend work on new projects in your district.
 RICHARDSON,
 Chairman Alaska Road Commission.
 The above telegram, received last Friday speaks for itself, and puts the question of the division of the dis tribution of the Forest Service funds now in the Territorial Treasury squarely up to this division.
 It will be remembered that after a hard fight during the last session of the Territorial Legislature, the major ity from the other divisions refused to allow this Division to have the cash rightfully belonging to it which had come from the sale of timber in the Tongass Forest reserve. Then when Col Richardson, the head of the Alaska Road Commission went north this spring, the matter was brought to his attention, also the urgent need for roads in this division, and he promised he would try to get us some money to take the place of that flich cd by the other Divisions. That he had secured $30,000 for us he notified Messrs. Hickman and Sulzer several weeks ago. this amount being suf- fient to take care of the road work wanted in this region. Then, acting On. the instruction of the members Of the Senate and House of Representa- tives from this region, Representative Held recently undertook injunction proceedings to prevent the other divisions getting any of the Forest Service money, except that from the Chaugash Reserve which is located in the Third Division. On hearing this, Col Richardson sent the telegram, a copy of which appears at the head ofthis column.
 Yesterday the writer hearof had toll vryif bo subject, and found that our repre- sentative was most emphatically in favor of dropping the injunction suit.
 "Why,' said MT. Hickman, "com- mon sense demands that we make the best of bad bargain and drop this thing We have been robbed by the other three Divisions. This is ac klowledged by every fair-minded man in the Territory, and to make up for it Col. Richardson has taken from the money he had planned to spend 1T the other districts the thirty thous- and dollars he stated was available for use in this Division, and of course, if our action in applying for an injunction against the other Div isions is going to interfere with his plans, 1t is no more than right that we should drop the injunction pro- ceeding and thus clear up the matter. An injunction, even if we won, would tie matters up for another two years, and if we lost, we would be out not only the cash in the treasury but also the $30,000 the Road Commits sion is ready to allot for Southeastern Alaska. To my notion that $30,000 available for use this summer will be far and away better than a lawsuit with possible defeat, and the assur ance that even if we won we would have to wait for another session of the Legislature to make the neces sary appropriations for us to have the cash, and that will be my answer to Col Richardson and the different members of the Legislature. I wo-. to see the Charcoal Point Road and the repairs and extensions on the Prince of Wales portage taken care of this season, 80 that we can get some use out of them without further delay"
 The Miner Man sent copy of the telegram over to Senator Chas, A. Sulzer in today's mail, and will an. nounce his attitude when his answer comes.
 As far as this paper is concerned. it looks as though this region has lit tie if anything to gain by pushing the injunction suit now pending. Ket- chikan needs the Charcoal Point Road, and it needs it NOW-not next year or two years hence-hence we had better drop the injunction and thus make it possible for the Road Com mission to get busy at once.