The Daily Alaska empire., 1932-07-13
NO HOME RULE INVOLVED.


 Delegate Wickersham who frankly acknowledges he did not oppose the enactment of the Legislation that destroyed the Board of Road Commissioners for Alaska, commonly known as the Alaska Hoao Commission declares he "favors the home rule prln- ciple in the bill" If there is any such principe involved we have missed it entirely. The language of the act passed by Congress to effectuate the transfer successfully conceas anything that could resemble home rule It declares the powers ana duties of the Alaska Road Commission are trans ferred from the War Department to the Interior Department If it had said they are transferred to the Territory of Alaska, then it would have been real home rule. As it is, the whole transaction IS nothing but change from one Federal department to another; the abolition of one Federal bureau and the creation of new one to take It's place And the extent of the change in personnel was to send some six highly qualified Army engineer or ficers away from Alaska without replacing them by even an additional civilian engineer. If that were not the case and even though six other engineers, resident in Alaska long enough to have qualified to be members of the Pioneers of Alaska, had been appointed to succeed them, still that would not be remotely akin to home rule. Judge Wickersham has, apparently, confused the principle of home rule with the selection of ministerial servants. Home rule is concerned with the authority to make and administer laws affecting the general public and 
 Secretary Hurley of the War Department, the Delegate said, recommended" the transfer along with Secretary Wilbur of the Interior Department. The record does not wholly substantate that claim. It does prove Secretary Wilbur not only recommend ed it but pushed it through to successful com pletion But the correspondence placed before Con- gress. to support the cannot be construed to show that Secretary Hurley recommended it,
 The official report of the Senate Committee on Commerce dated May g, sets up in full the steps that led to the eventual favorable action on the bill introduced by Senator Howell, who was, seemingly, the original The first document is a memor- andum signed by E. O. Finney, Solicitor of the Inter for Department dated March g, saying the transfer of Richardson Highway by Executive Order of the President could not be legally done. and could be effected only by Congressional enactment.
 The next step seems to have been taken by President Hoover. Under date of March II, he wrote Senator Howell advising him of Fnney's opin- ion and asked if Howels committee would intro duce the necessary legislation to transfer Richard son Highway to the Interior Department. The first time the Secretary of War appears in the matter in a letter to the Secretary of Interior dated April 4, in which he said in part
 Acknowledging the receipt of your letter
 of March 25 1882, relative to legislation to
 transfer to the Interior Department the
 charge of the work of the Board of Road
 Commissioners for Alaska, beg to state that
 the enactment of the legislation proposed IS
 AGREEABLE TO ME
 That does not constitute recommendation as the term is generally accepted It a liberal interpretation of Secretary Hurleys attitude would be that he was passive factor in the whole mat ter. If the Interior Department wanted to take over the job, and backed in that desire by President Hoover he would not oppose it. But il is clear that MT. Hurley, at least this occasion did not recommend the transfer
 In his interview given The Empire last Monday Delegate Wickersham commenting on this measure said:
 The measure was recommended by both
 Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley and Sec
 retary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur It
 was urged by President Hoover. It n-
 troduced into the House of Representatives
 by Congressman Edward T. Taylor, Demo-
 crat of Colorado member of the Appropria-
 tions Committee and Chairman of the sub-
 committee having in charge Interior De-
 partment appropriations. It considered
 by Democratic controlled committee, fav-
 orably reported after hearings, and passed
 by Democratic House. after having been
 first passed by a Republican Senate. The
 measure not regarded from partisan
 standpoint.
 In Alaska, the opposition to the transfer ws neither partisan nor sectional Chambers of Com merce from Nome to Ketchkan, excluding Anchor age which tabled a protest, and Seward joined asking Congress to defeat the measure The Alask Territorial Chamber of Commerce, backed by rel erendum vote of its members voiced Alaskas pro < test in brief sent Judge Wickersham to file wit the House Committee Territories which had tn bill in charge That brief set forth many reason which we believe sound and should have bee