The Alaska daily empire., 1921-03-29
THE CAPITOL APPROPRIATION.

Appropos of the Cole memorial regarding the Jul capitol building it is fair to the Legislature and those who have not lived in Juneau long that statement of the situation be made that the facts might be known. Those who have lived in Juneau for any length of time and who have followed the situation know how the land lies, and have never lost sight of it for minute.
 When Gov. Clark chief executive of this Ter ritory Senator Warren, then chairman of the Appro- pratons Committee, very close friend of Gov. Clark a compliment the latter as much as anything eise included in the public building appropriation bill. an item of $200,000 for a public building at Juneau. This in 1910. At that time the Super visng Architect of the Treasury Department was two three years behind with his work for in those years, Congress was passing omnibus public buildings bills each creating great deal work Before plans for the Juneau building prepared Congress passed the Alaska Organic Act, resulting in a Terri tcrial Legislature and various Territorial officials requiring offices. The Commercial Club of Juneau since extinct but at that time an organization having most of the Juneau business and many othera then in the city in it's membership. prepared and cir culated a petition, which generally signed rep resenting to Congress that, of the change in conditions, the sort of building planned originally would be wholly inadequate. and asked for q larger appropriation. In 1913 the First Territorial Legis- lature passed memorial to Congress, approving the position of the Commercial Club of Juneau and pray ing Congress to pass additional appropriation of *500000 for the construction of Territorial Capitol Building, provided that certified copies of the memorial should be sent to the President of tho United States. the President of the Senate, Speake of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Treasury Sometime later Secretary of the Treas ury McAdoo wrote letter to then Delegate Wicker sham calling his attention to this memorial of the Territorial Legislature and asked him if he intended 10 ask congress for the additional appropriation in dlcating that the Treasury Department thought it should be made Judge Wickersham introduced a bill, making the additional appropriation He finally succeeded getting of tho Publ 1ngs and Grounds Committee of the House of Repre- sentatiyes to approve the provision and to include an Item In the public building bill of 1916 allowing S3O0,0OO additional for this purpose On account or the Administration preparedness program of that year. which included the so-eaed 1916 Naval Program, Congress decided not to pass an omnibue public buildings bill make any other appropria- tons Tor public buildings. Congress has not passed an omnibus public buildings bill since that time but the Public Buildings and Grounds Committee has kept up its work and the Juneau item has been kent Tn It. Members of the committee have assured the Alaska Delegate to Congress many times since tber that whenever such bill passed the Juneau item "ouid De retained in If because it regarded as emereent proposition l. is conceded that general public buildings bill be passed soon 10 meet many emergent cases like that at Juneau.
 In 1920, when it became evident that Congress would not pass general public buildings appro- prtlon Dill that year, then Delegate Grigsby and Gov Riggs asked the Supery ising Architect of the treasury Department if it would not be possible for him to prepare plans for building for Juneau that could be erected in units 10 make statement to that effect. It purposed when q report that such plan would be feasible could be procured from the Architect of the Treasury Department to intro duce and urge the passage of d resolution or bill making the $l75,0OO, which remains of the original s20O0 900 appropriation, available for immediate use in the construction of unit Of the Alaska Capitol Building, The last word received this subject from