The Daily Alaska empire., 1931-04-13
HOUSE MEASURE IS IN RODUCED
 THIS TERN00N
Representatives Allyn and Hellerich Sponsors
 for Law Repeal
SUBMIT MEMORIAL
 EXPLAINING REASONS
Believes Legislature Has Power to Act-Asks
 Congress to Approve


 A bill to repeal the Alaska Bone Dry Law, accompanied by an ex- planatory me m orial, was intro duced in the House this morning by Representative Allyn and Hel- lerich of Nome.
 The memorial, in addition to explaining the reason impelling the movement for repeal, admits there is doubt as to the power of the local Legislature to pass repealer and urges it's validation by Congress
 Not Anti Prohibition
 It disclaims any Prohibition or Prohibition feeling actuating in the matter, and asserts that re- peal is demanded by the dictates of humanity. The text of the memorial follows:
 In The House
 Whereas, The Alaska Legisla- ture has repealed the Alaska Bone Dry Law, Chapter 53, Revised Sta- tutes 1917, and
 Whereas, There is substantial doubt upon the question of wheth- CT the Alaska Legislature is au- thorized to do this, your memor- ialists petition Congress to ratify what the Legislature did.
 And in this connection your memorialists represent that the action taken by the Legislature was not taken either to endorse or re- pudiate Prohibition, but was taken solely to promote the interests of humanity.
 The Alaska Bone Dry Law is not an enforcement act, since there are no Territorial enforcement of- ficers. The law enforcement ma chinery of the Territory is en- tirely in the hands of the Federal Government, so that the Volstead Act can be made to serve every purpose required of a Prohibition law
 Mischief Results
 Much mischief results from the fact that this law is in force be- cause of the peculiar conditions existing in the Territory. The United States Commissioners un- der our laws have jurisdiction over all misdemeanors. The Bone Dry Law provides for penalty of imprisonment for one year and a fine of one thousa dollars ($1 .00000), in case of violations, which are all classed as misde- meanors. This makes it possible fer the commissioners in the out lying precincts, who are, as a rule, unqualified and inexperienced men to exercise powers so extensive that they should not be intrusted to men so notoriously unfit to exer- else them.
 Serious Objections
 But the most serious objection to the Alaska Bone Dry Law lies in the fact that it prevents the use of intoxicating beverages for medicinal purposes. When the law was first adopted it was supposed that medicinal liquors could. not withstanding the provisions of the law. be supplied under the general statutes of the United States, but the courts held otherwise. This. did not at first, present very ser ious situation. for the reason that there were in the Territory many small private stocks from which medicinal liquors could be SUD- piled; and later when these be- came exhausted the situation was met by supplying the hospitals and physicians with liquors taken from the liquors which were seized by Prohibition officers. This was, of course, illegal, but under the circumstances no one could att tach any blame to the action taken by the officials; it was necessary in order to save human life and therefore justifiable. Under the existing agreement between our
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