The Alaska daily empire., 1921-08-16
COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION MAKING
 CONSISTENT RECORD.

In complying with the request of Delegate Suth- erland for aid in convincing the Public Buildings and Grounds Committee of the House of Representatives that work should be commenced unit of a capitol building at Juneau the Juneau Commercial Association simply following consistent, long standing record in its efforts to public building at this place. In the days before the wal this organization, well it's predecessor, the Juneau Commercial Club, tried to appro- pration in addition to the $175,000, which already had been made for this purpose The matter was pressed the House Committee Public Buildings and Grounds reported it favoraby in 1916. Th7 action was the result of a memorial passed by the Alaska Legislature the effects of Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo and the activity of Delegate Wick ersham, who took the matter up when Secretary McAdoo called his attention to the necessities of the case. The whole movement originated with the Juneau Commercial Club. in the winter of 1912-13, which the necessity for larger appropriation.
 In 1917 officers of the Juneau Commercial Asso- citation called the attention of Delegate Sulzer to the matter and he took up the question with the com mittee. He assured that the additional appro- priation would be allowed by Congress; that the item was in the general public buildings bill and would be retained there Later it decided not to pass public buildings bill on account of the financial necessities caused by In 1918 representatives of the Juneau Commercial Association and Delegate Sulzer again took up the matter with the Public Buildings Grounds Committee, and they were that the Committee recognized the of the very clearly and said that the very hrs public building bill to go through Congress would carry the Juneau appropriation, promising that it would be kept in the bill.
 No public buildings bill has passed Congress since 1915.i However considerably than year ago the matter of getting the consent of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department to the pro- position of building the capitol in units, and making available the $175,OOO already appropriated for the first unit. taken up Delegate Grigsby presented the proposition to the Supervising Architect both to the proposed Juneau building and the proposed Cordova building b The Supervising Architect immediately reported in favor of that procedure the Cordova appropriation, and said he thought plans could be prepared that would permit of similar action in the of the Juneau appropriation. The Leg 1slative Committee of the Juneau Commercial Asso- eaton, with the endorsement of the Executive Com mitee, backed up Delegate Grigsby's efforts in the premises Finally last January Representative Shell Republican of New Torn. objected to the passage of the bill permitting the of the former Cordova appropriation for the construction of a unit the proposed building there and the whole matter was dropped until taken up again few weeks ago The bill was on the unanimous calendar and one objection, of course, killed it. It is understood that the Supervising Architect favor the plan for the Juneau building. 8
 There has never been any wavering in the matter at all, and the only period in the last eight years when neglect might be charged is that between the passage in 1913 of the by the Alaska Leg 1slature asking for additional appropriation and the spring of 1916 when Delegate Wickersham at the suggestion of Secretary McAdoo took the matter up with the House Committee It is possible that if the question had been pressed promptly and ener- getically in 1913, 1914 and 1915 the additional ap- propriation would have been included in the 1915 public buildings bill