The weekly Alaska citizen., 1918-10-28
SULZER AIDS FARMERS


 termaster's department of the army to pur- chase Alaska farm products, such as vege tables The immediate result of this was to open much wider market for local farmers.
 The lower river post, at Fort Gibbon, has been established for a number of years, and up to 1917 all potatoes required by that post have been purchased on the Outside mar kets and transported there while tons of home grown potatoes have been wasted for lack of buyer. Since that time, however, the farmers of this district have been of fered an opportunity to bid for the contracts hitherto placed in the states
 It IS matter of common knowledge that this is the direct result of Delegate Suzers personal efforts. The matter was first brot to his attention in the summer of 1917. When | he took the matter up with the war depart ment he found that contracts for that year had already been placed in the states. Now this might well have ended the matter. at least as far as 1917 was concerned But it never stopped MT. Sulzer for one minute He immediately took up the matter with the quartermaster general at Washington and succeeded in having the contracts, already executed, nufied and new bids called for from interior farmers by which contracts were secured. In the year just closing, the con- tracts were again awarded to interior farm CTS by which 100000 pounds of potatoes from this immediate vicinity were sold to the army for use at Fort Gibbon.
 There are few people who forget these things. We have heard few who seek to produce the impression that Delegate Sulzer has accomplished nothing for Alaskans. Yet in this one instance, few days earnest work by him did more for this one particular class of Alaskans than all the legislation Judge Wickersham ever succeeded in getting through congress.
 During the time when Mr. Wickersham was Alaska's delegate, an act was passed by congress, called the farm loan act, which ex- tended financial aid to farmers from the government. It is well known fact that our delegate at that time did not secure the ex- tension of the provisions of this act to Alaska. Why he did not, he has never made known, presumably because he was too busy fighting his personal battles MT. Sulzer took up this subject last summer and has introduced bill covering the defect and this bill is now before a committee for recommendation. He prac- tically has assurance that a favorable report will be made and the bill passed Of course ac- tion will not be had until all war legislation is disposed of, but at least the delegate has shown that he is on the job by going after something that we should have had from the beginning and would have had if our repre- sentative at that time had been as diligent in our behalf as he would have us believe.
 In inducing the department of interior to entertain requests for a reduction of the amount of cultivation required to be done on homesteads before proof could be granted, the delegate performed another service of note for Alaskan farmers Heretofore, under the regr- lations, homesteaders were required to culti- vate one-eighth of their homesteads. of 32O or 16O acres as the case might be. In numer- ous instances to do this was practically in1- possible, but at the earnest request of Dele gate Sulzer, the general land office issued in : structions to its field officers that it would entertain requests for the amount of acreage to be cultivated and already final proof has been granted to at least one homesteader under the new instructions and others have been approved. The department now con- siders the good faith of the applicant of more value than the amount of land cultivated, and of obtain final proof.
 !; The records of congress show that the ; delegate has been just as diligent in behalf of all other classes of Alaskans as he has been with the farmers and homesteaders He is known today by his fellow members ii, con- gress as one of the most earnest workers and real representative members in the entire membership.
 Il PERsHING has not yet announced where he will take his Christmas dinner. Perhaps 1t will be with the kaiser, but if it is Pershing