The Alaska daily empire., 1921-03-31
SOLDIER BONUS
 MEMORIAL LEADS
 TO HOUSE FIGHT
Effort to Amend Land Bonus Memorial Defeated
 Passes Second Reading.

After argument extending over a period of more than two hours, the House shortly before o'clock this afternoon passed through it's second reading unamended the soldier bonus memorial, all efforts to have it amended being defeated. The amend ment proposed by MT. Ross provid- ing for placing of restrictions on the l sale of land by the grantees was defeated by a vote of 10 to 6, in the committee of the whole, MT Tripp being in the chair.
 The memorial will come up for if ssal passage in the House tomorrow It's supporters, following their vic tory today, are confident that no further difficulty will be experienced in the House.
 1 The expected tilt in the House Of Representatives over the memorial seeking authority from Congress to permit the Territory to grant not to exceed 160 acres of Alaska az ricultural land as bonus to Alaska ex-service persons was precipitated this morning Fwhen, in the commit tee of the whole, Representative Ross of Fairbanks proposed an fanfendmenl to toS'tfffe 'ttffffe memorial specf- flying that grantees under the me morial could not sell such land ex cept to bona fide settlers.
 In a short statement, MT. Ross defended his course, declaring that Congress had long since ceased to recognize the policy of issuing script for land, on the ground thai such script had proven of little benefit to the persons to whom il was issued but was gobbled up by land speculators He urged the adoption of the amendment, which, he said would work no hardship on the beneficiaries and would safe guard the interest of future gen erations.
 Frame Opposed.
 Representative Frame, of Anchor age, opposed the amendment, de clared that objections to the me
  tain visionary idea which were re- sponsibe for the so-called "conser- ration" era that swept the country some 15 years ago and which have been tried out on Alaska by the Federal Government since that time with the result that the resources of the Territory have been bottled up since that time. It has gotten to be, he said, that the final outcome is when some man is about to be benefited by any proposal someone comes along with .ne suggestion that the beneficiary is robbing posterity and taking away the property which belongs toI future generations He said that the rule was working out so that it seemed almost impossible to ge- through anything that would bene- fit any person.
 No Strings Wanted.
 "If we are going to give the soldiers anything, let's give it tol them," he declared. And if we don't want to give them anything let's come righ: out and say so. He said he saw no need for re- strictiOns.
 Cochran for Amendment.
 Chairman Cochran, of the Judi | ciary Committee who did not con cur in the favorable report of the committee on he memorial, cook the floor in favor of the amend | ment He declared that if the ne- morial was passed in its present form, 1t meant that some 500. 900 acres of the best agricultural land in the Territory would be placed where it could be gobbled up by land spectators, either individual or corporate interests. He urged the placing of restrictions on the manner of its final disposition. He charged that it was conceded byt the supporters of the movement that only a small percentage of those tol whom grants might be awarded would settle on the land and that they only wanted it so they could sell il to anyone who would make them a cash offer for it.
 MT. Getchell denied the statement and said that a substantial pro portion of the grantees would take