The Cordova daily times., 1918-09-21

litical BunCOmbe," goes considerably out Of its way to make political cap ital out of a recent telegram sent by Delegate Charles A. Sulzer relative to the carrying of mails to and from Alaska. The message, which was also received in COrdova and published here at the time. was as follows
 Please wire me Immediately any disadvantages caused in your section by failure of pOstOffCe department to make a mail contract with steamship companies and present system of ship ping mail as express and freight The postoffice department advises steam ship companies claim they will not agree to maintain a fixed schedule, and the department claims that there r. q great saving in expense and equal service by express and freight as long as no schedule can be guaranteed by steamship companies Owing 10 war conditions, such as loss of vessels by disaster and communicating. high cost Oi operation and Ot!.er uncertain ties they can not make guarantee of schedule as to future. Postoffice de pdrtment is reluctant tO subsidiZe steamships owned or controlled by Guggenheims. believing Alaska peo- pie do not desire such action. Advise me fully of all facts and your sug- gestions.
 The Anchorage newspaper calls this d remarkable message, which was an unconcealed attempt to play politics" Quoting the sentence, "The post0fficc department is reluctant to subsidize steamships owner or con trolled by the Guggenheims, beliey- ing Alaska people do not want such action" Editor Shaw proceeds as fol- lows:
 Now, it is quite evident that this bit of political buncombe was thrown into this message for its effect on the people. His intimation that the government does not like to subsidize the big corporations has no merit, for the reason that he presents no evi- denCe that the steamship lines sought to charge anything other than a fair and equitable price for the service performed. The assumption that the corporations are being subsidized, when in fact they are performing a very necessary service, is pure rot, injected into the situation for politi- cal purposes only Such amateurish political methods do not fool the peo. pie of Alaska. The motive is too ap- parent"
 The editorial recites the unsatsfac. tory condition of the mail service and concludes with a diatribe on the de merits of the postoffice department which may be said to be entirely un- merited and not altogether in ac- cordance with the facts
 The mail service ever has been source of dissatisfaction to Alaskans The unusual obstacles to be over come. the lack of proper transporta- tion facilities, and even a lack of knowledge on the part of department officials as to the true conditions ex- isting here. have been the source of much irritation and annoyance. Sad to relate. these conditions prevailed under Republican administrations as well as under the present efficient ad ministration. No one in Alaska de- sires to become an apologist for the postofiice department, for 1t has been found that denunciation of the mail service is the one and only question upon which all Alaskans agree.
 But the reading of Delegate Sulzers message given by the Anchorage newspaper can not go unquestioned. Calling 1t political buncombe" and rot" is not very convincing argu- mcnt, but that can go unrebuked. But in the absence of the figures which the steamship companies presented as their price for carrying the mail, it is certainly presumptious to infer that they sought to charge "a fair and equitable price" Does the An chorage newspaper Intentionally over look the statement made by Delegate Sulzer that the steamships Twill not agree to maintain a fixed schedule! Is it not possible that there may have been terms involved in the rejected bids, aside from the proposed compen- sation. as to which the Anchorage Times, in common with other Alas kans. has not yet been advised. and which were largely responsible for the rejection of the bids?
 The main point of the editorial is,