The Alaska daily empire., 1918-01-17
Attorney General Says FiI- ing Fee of Oath of Candidacy Not
 Obligatory.
ARE NOT 'SALARIED' MEN
Therefore Members of Leg isIature and Road Con- miSsi0nerS May
 be Exempted.

Considerable speculation is being indulged in by prospective candi dates, Territorial and Federal off cials, and lawyers as to the effec- tivcness of some of the provision: If Chapter AS, Session Laws oi 1917, which provides for the hold ing of primary elections in the Ter, ritory of Alaska.
 The law as passed by the Legisla- ture provides that all candidates for member of the Legislature and Ill candidates for road commission CTS shall file with the Clerk of the Court of the Division in which they reside their declaration of candi dacy together with a fee equal to one per cent of the annual salary received for such office, not to ex- ceed $40, which money shall be paid to the Territorial Treasurer. This money by the terms of the act, was intended to finance the holding of primaries.
 The question now arises as to the salary of a member of the Leg islature and also the Road Com missioner The Legislator is paid s15 per day for the time the Leg islature is in session. This may mean 60-day session or it may mean more or less Thus the sal try provided is strictly a per diem compensation. The Road Commis- soner is paid five per cent. of all moneys expended, not to exceed $2,- 300 per annum.
 Clerk of the Court J. w. Bell to- day said that the Federal law pro vides a regular filing fee of ten cents for every paper filed in his office. A declaration of candidacy rendered with the ten cents filing fee cannot be refused by him, and any declaration filed must appear on the ballot.
 An opinion on the provisions Of the law has been issued by Terri torial attorney General George B. Grigsby bearing on this subject in which he advises clerks of the court that they may not refuse to file declarations not accompanied by the fee as provided by the Ses sion Laws.
 The opinion of MT. Grigsby fol lows:
 ''The Secretary of the Territory has referred to me your letter tc him dated Jan. 10, 1918, in which you make an inquiry as to the pyoper charge for declaration O. candidacy for nomination to the offices of Territorial Representative Territorial Senator and Road Com missioner under the primary law (Chapt. AS, Session Laws 191O.
 "Section 13 of the above act pro. vides that each candidate shall pay for filing his declaration of candi- dacy fee of one per cent. of the annual salary of such office, not to exceed $4000.
 "The members of the Territorial Legislature do not receive an annu- al salary, their compensation being fixed by section of the Organic Act as follows:
 Each member of the legisla-
 ture shall be paid by the United
 States the sum of $15.00 per
 day for each days attendance
 while the legislature is in ses-
 sion.
 h tes tc n nl co I. ary but strictly per diem. The limit of attendance possibly in two years at regular sessions is 60 days but it cannot be presumed as a mat. ter of law that any legislature will continue in session for that period ; also, the Governor of Alaska is au thOrized to convene the legislature in extraordinary session for per iod not to exceed 15 days. There is nothing to prevent the Governor aconvening the legislature in extra ordinary session more than once; consequently it is impossible as g strict matter of law to fix the fee chargeable to candidates for the legislature. The act of the legisla- ture in this regard is defective.
 q would advise you, however as a matter of eXpediency to pro- mitigate the schedule as indicated in your letter-that is to say, tC fix, the charge of candidates for mem mers of the legislature on the basis of $450.OO per annum, the amount paid each member being usually s9OO.0O for two years. Should 2 candidate, however, refuse to pay this fee and insist on having his de claration of candidacy filed do not believe you would be justified ir refusing to cause same to be filed Probably there will be no disposi tion on the part of any candidates to decline to pay the fee.
 AS to the office of Road Com missioner: The compensation of tho road commissioner is fixed at per cent. of the amount of Terri