Seward daily gateway., 1927-04-19
WAS WASHINGTON WRONG?~

Despite the fact that there remains vivid back ground of precedent born of experience succeeding gen. eraons productive of those who believe that these peences being of earlier age do not fit the everyday affairs of men, and wish to scrap them and substitute therefor expedencies having nothing than specula tive inquisitiveness to recommend them.
 This spirit is in evidence in the Territorial House, where few astute parlaentarlans endeavOr1ng to rush through Comptroller bi which, according to those in position to know differs little from the killed in the Senate.
 Ordinarily and according to precedent in legislative bodes this rejection by the Senate of the bill originating in that body would have been the end of the matter Yet the House. which is considered in political society as n feor to the Senate insists upon forcing the upper body to reconsider the Comptroller bill through instructions from the House and not through motion by member of the Senate who voted negative in its consideration
 This is the usual parliamentary procedure with spect to such matters member voting with the maori ty a reconsideration.
 However there appears to be those in the House who believe they camouf1age the bill and its ceptance in the Senate.
 This diehard spirit of the House is claimed to be pro- ductive of knowledge that the voters wish such bill passed Nothing short of plebiscte of the people can confirm this position. This has not been taken. 1t would that if there sincerity in the action of the House members this matter would have been attended to when the votes cast for members of that bodv Why did the sponsors of the Comptroller bill wait until just before the Legislature assembled to spring it?
 The Comptroller bill aims at changing the Consttu- tion of Alaska, the Organic Act.
 Forseeing just such contingency, George Washing
 
 warning:
 (The Constitution till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredy obga tory to you all. Let there be change by usurpation, for this in instance may be the nstr men of good it is the ensavng weapon by which free governments destroyed"
 How we'll the master mind saw into the future and was possessed of uncanny powers of penetration into the wiles of the demagogue
 The Comptroller bill accomplishes just what Wash ngton warned againstusurps power of the people with out having been submitted to them for ratification It seeks to change the Organic Act when that power rests solely with Congress.
 Such matters belong logically, to the duties of the Delegate to Congress The originator of the Comptroller bill knew this when he presented the Organic Act.
 Why try to deceive the people by claiming virtues in the act that do not exist? Why claim is the mandate of the people, when they have overlooked the opportunity of securing expression of the popular will?
 Whose counsel is best that of him who the archi tect of America and her institutions or that of those who seek to usurp the powers of popular by the very acts Washington warned against?
 If Wilkins and Eielson will just tell how far the Arctic circle has moved south since they started out to explore the blind spot we'll know whether to dig I'D the