Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-12-21
1 IIbERAL POLICY IN
 ALASKAN MATTERS
 URGED ON TIE ]. 5.
Resources Undeveloped Caus- ed by Short-Sightedness
 Declares Governor

that TOT ldCh oI lHIelilSenl gov ernment assistance the truly great rosources of Alaska must perforce lie in idleness," Governor Thom as Riggs, IT,, in his annual report today. voiced a plea for the aaop- lion by the government of more liberal Alaskan policy. The re- y,,crt said lawlessness "particularly What fomented by proGermans, l. Wv, w., and ,bolshevik elements" was becoming a menace. Appropriations are placed at such a low figure as to preclude effectiveness; rich n1ining re- gions are made unavailable for lack of transportation facilities; fisheries are threatened with ex- haustion for lack of protection; natives, in time of epidemics, are allowed to die of disease and star yation, and, as a result of law and regulations, at every turn ap- pears the huge teutonic sign sVerboten,' the governor said. The people of Alaska, he added, "hold cut their hands to Wash l ngton, not as supplicants for l bounty, but in petition to be al- lowed to develop as were the west ern territories, now the great west ern states"
 Referring to the menace of in- creasing radicalism in Alaska, the report said:
 Indications point to a continued immigration as the result of army demobilization and the closing of wartime industries. Alaska is receiving the extremes of the so- cial scales. On the one hand the fine young men of the type who developed the great western states are becoming evident in in- creasing numbers and, on the oth- CT hand, the I. w. w., alien enc my and bolshevik, knowing the unprotected condition of the terri tcry. are arriving in force and making their presence known. The great numbers of foreigners in Alaska who can hardly speak the English language fall easy vic tins to the insidious propaganda l of the .seditious agitator. It does not seem right that the de- cent, honest law abiding majori- ty should not receive full protec- tion at all items"
 The governors report deplored the action of congress in failing to appropriate money for the re- lief of the native population dur ing the recent severe outbreak of influenza in the far north. There were more than 1,500 deaths chief ly among the natives, Governor Riggs reported, and conditions in the interior of the country were beyond description. The entire Adult population of many villages Jas wiped out, the report stated, 4nd hundreds of children starved Or succumbed to cold.
 Despite this serious situation, said Governor Riggs, "a bill in- troduced in the senate appropriat- ing S100,000 for Alaskan relief passed that body, but failed in the house "altho at the same time congress was considering approp- riations of $10O,OOO, O,OOO, for the relief of the destitute in Europe and S1 100000 for fighting influ- enza in the United States.
 Great credit was given the Am erlcan navy and the Red Cross for voluntary assistance during the epidemic. The report incorporat- ed the following recommendation
 reimbursement of the territory ca the following recommendation TOT money spent for the relief of natives.
 Consolidation of all governmen. tal authority possible in the de- partment of the interior.
 Removal of restrictions on ex. port of birch timber from public lands.
 Establishment of a uniformed constabulary.
 Assignment of naval or coas, guard ships to continuous duty ii Alaskan waters.
 .;.l Transfer of jurisdiction ovel llsneries to the territory.
 Assistance to farmers by loa1
 VI money and cattle.
 restoration of national forest
 Fo .he public domain.
 appropriation for Mount Me
 Ainiey National park.
 increased telegraph service.
 increased appropriation for worl
 Tong natives.
 n~aa mancreased appropriations for tn
 proseetlon prose of game and the sup
 pfgsslon of the liquor traffic.
 os41 increased appropriation for tn
 ton. '''' oi aios to naVlga
 coaa. increased appropriations flo
 to, renewal of mail contract sys
 '''n TOT the delivery of mail.
 lr9mn C+nc