The Alaska daily empire., 1915-04-01


 monies received from forest reserves be paid to che various States for the benefit oi counties in which the re- serve IS situated Is incorporated in the Act Of Congress making approp- riations for the maintenance of the ! Reserves in the various States cannot ! be construed "oniy to mean chat Con. gross intended this money to be ex pended in the section suffering from Forest Reserves
 NO other possible legitimate con structlon can be placed on the law, he continued. Congress certainly never intended that this money should be expended q thousand miles rom any reserve. it is no more reason. able to maintain such an assumption that 1t would be for the First Diyis- ion to assume that it was entitled to percentage of an appropriation for a dyke at Valdez. bridge across the Yukon or harbor at Nome
 "l feel absolutely satisfied that when the Legislature considers this matter in les true light and in 9 sense of justice, there will be no question about this matter Take the town of Craig for instance. every person having lot or foot of ground in this town must obtain a permit from the Forest Service and pay an an- nual occupation tax Congress clearly purposed to return % per cent of this money 10 partly compensate the people In such section for the with. irawals the government had made In other words Congress clearly said that Che peaople living on the Re- serves and suffering it's restrictions and penalties were entitled to this 25 per cent. rebate for the benefit of their roads and schools.
 No Time For Cuibbllng
 There is no time for Quibbling ov- CT a technicality because # we do and confine ourselves strictly to mere words we win find we arc not entitl- ed Go this money at all. lt is main talned by some chat We have no coun- ties in Alaska and that the enabling act forbids g county form Of govern. ment and that therefore this Forest Reserve Fund must apply to the en. tire Territory, and Alaska as a whole be considered as a county What Is tho difference whether there is one county oT four counties so far as a county form of government is con cerned. lf Alaska as a whole is Go be considered 8 county then we are violating the enabling act which for bids a county form of government, just as much as if we consider the Divisions as counties
 Fair Play Expected
 "The whole proposition is absurd and violates the spirit and intent Of the law So far as this Forest Re, serve fund is concerned the Divisions of Alaska are the political equivalent of counties in the States, and to deny this plain fact is to denp any right to the fund whatever.
 'I have received many letters and petitions regarding the crying neces- sities for the roads embraced in my bill and know the people are in- tenseiy serious in this matter The children cant go to school and the people can't transact their ordinary affairs of life in a reasonable man ner and they are in frame of mind not to be trifled with This is a very important matter to the people Of the First Division and their only hope of obtaining relief from the bur dens they are suffering. lt is an i'm provement they have earnestly look ed forward to for several years. and if they don't got it they will be bit terly disappointed They have been broad minded and generous and they expect fair play from Legislature composed of Alaskans."
 'sAii the officers in a Division in Alaska act in a dual capacity They are both Federal and Territorial of- fcers. They are performing che same functions as county officers in the States and the other Territories per formed and the Divisions must be considered the equivalents of coun- ties. Are not the Commissioners more than Federal officials? Certainly they are. They are our Justices of the Peace. our Probate Judges aud our Coroners. There is separate and distinct governmental machinery in each Division and they are separate fiscal units also if any one wants to argue along that line. The clerks of Che Court and others disburse funds in each Division, but in any case Congress says nothing about fiscal un- It's and it's only intent was to provide unit that most nearly conformed to the Reserve.