The Alaska daily empire., 1917-06-28
Fish Commission Perfect Organization and Make a Move which Will
 Result in Test.
OFFICIALS ARE CHOSEN
Senator Heckman Chosen Chairman and BehrendS Secretary; Test
 Order Placed.

The Territorial Fish Commission
 for the First Division. which is tt have charge of the establishment and operation of the fish hatcherie' under the act passed by the last Leg
 islature. perfected the permanent or ganization yesterday afternoon at meeting held in the office of B. M
 Behrends.
 J. R. Heckman, Territorial Senator for the First Division and member manent chairman, with B. M. Beh rends as secretary. The commis sion has placed an order for printed letterheads and envelopes for the purpose of contracting an account on which the law can be tested.
 On the delivery of the printing order, the bill for the printing will be presented to the Territorial Sec retary, who will draw a warrant for the amount of the bill against the fund appropriated for the mainten, ace of the hatcheries. Territorial Treasurer Walstein c. Smith will re- fuse to honor the warrant and suit will immediately be started to deter mine the legality of the law.
 There is some question about the law being legal as it was not de livered to or signed by the Cover nor until after the adjournment of the Legislature. The bill, providing for the establishment of hatcheries and the commission to govern them, was passed by both houses but through an oversight was not sub mitted to the Governor for sigma. ture while the Legislature was in session. After the adjournment of the Legislature NJ. s. Perkins, Leg islative representative of The Empire, in checking over the bills signed by the Governor, discovered that the fish hatchery bill had not been signed, and hunt for the missing bill was started. It was found late at night among a number of papers of the Secretary of the Senate, and was submitted to the Governor for signature and was signed at twenty to twelve, just twenty mn- utes before the threeday period al lowed for the signing of bills was up.
 The Organic Act is admittedly am biguous as to whether or not the Governor must sign all bills before the Legislature adjourns to make them legal. It is plain that he can not veto a bill, except by refusing to sign it Ga method usually called a pocket veto), but it is not so clear bill can be signed after the adjourn ment of the Legislature and within three days of it's passage by both houses But there is another phase of the question in connection with the hatcheries bill that lawyers re- gard as more important than the fail ure of the Legislature to deliver the bill to the Governor while it was in session It is contended by some of the lawyers who have looked in- to the question that the LeSlSldIuTe can do nothing after it adjourns, therefore it was powerless to make a lawful delivery of the measure and again therefore there was no legal delivery of the bill to the Governor at all.
 Tis question will be tested and should the bill prove illegal, the $SC- 900 appropriated for the maintenance of hatcheries will be held by the Territorial Treasurer as an unexpend. ed fund. If the law is legal the hatchery board will immediately start work and establish the three hatch cries as provided under the bill.