The Alaska citizen., 1917-02-19
CITY COUNCIL MEMOR|AL|ZES
 LEGISLATURE

| la De DIE uci!Cll III Cllg IeFtuucS. ! In view of this fact. the city council 1 has had under consideration for sev- eral weeks different ways and means | of securing the necessary aid in l making up this deficit. After much l deliberatiOn and discussion. not only
 among the members of the council, | but also with various representative | citizens from other parts of the ter ritOry, it was decided to send me
 morial to the territorial legislature setting forth the need of assistance | and the reasons for it
 In addition to sending the me morial to the legislature. copies of i it will also be forwarded to the vari- ous councils of the different incor porated towns throughout the entire territory in order that concerted ac- ton may be taken by every town. As practically the same condition that exists in Fairbanks also pre- yaIls in the other incorporated towns. it is thought that they will be glad to join in the movement.
 The memorial follows:
 Be 1t resolved by the Mayor and Common Council of the Town of
 Fairbanks. Alaska, that the follow
 ing memorial be addressed and pre-
 sented to the Senate and House of Representatives of the Territory of Alaska. at their March, 1917, Session. and that true copies thereof be for warded by the Municipal Clerk to
 the Senators and Representatives from the Fourth Division attending said Territorial Legislature.
 fairbanks. Alaska, Feb 6, 1917. To the Honorable Members of the Senate and House of Representa- tives, Juneau. Alaska:
 Your memorialists, The Mayor and City Council of the town of Fair
 banks, Alaska, do hereby submit the following to your kind consideration: The enforcement of the general Prohibition Law recently passed by the Congress of the United States to take effect January 1, 1918, will ! result in reducing the revenues of this municipality heretofore available for school and municipal purposes to the extent of fifteen thousand five hundred dollars, that being the | amount derived from liquor licenses ln this corporation for the fiscal
 year ending June 30, 1916.
 The withdrawal Of this amount from the revenues of the town an nually hereafter will create very difficult situation, and will have a | C'itNiANtb II iApI olItpily ouppllSu from other sources, to hamper and perhaps permanently impair the efll- ciency of the city schools and re- tard the proper education of our l children in future.
 In this connection We respectfully call your attention to the impos- Sibility and inexpedienCy of our at. tempting to raise this amount local ly by additional taxation Our citi-
 zens and residents are now heavily | taxed by Federal, Territorial and Mu- | nicipal laws; our present rate of
 taxation here is one and half per cent, and this rate Of taxation is only maintainable by keeping the | assessed valuation of property at | what is generally claimed to be an | excessive valuation. For these req sons we submit that the only source left from which to expect the much ! needed aid and financial assistance
 in the emergency in which we now find ourselves. is from the Legisla- | ture of the Territory, either by di- | rect appropriation or such other | means as may suggest themselves to your Honorable bodies.
 Our annual expenditures for school l maintenance approximates Twenty | thousand dollars and for the present school year will exceed this sum by at least Two thousand five hundred dollars
 In view of these facts, we respect fully request that you take immedi ate steps to enable us to maintain
 our schools at the same standard of | cost as heretofore by supplying the deficiency caused by the proposed en- ,orcement of the Prohibitory laws,
 to the full extent of the revenues heretofore derived by us for both
 school and municipal purposes from | that source
 And your memorialists will ever