Seward daily gateway., 1932-09-14
he remainder of the nation.

the remainder of the nation.
 What we need most" continued Delegate Wickersham, lis more in- i itiative and energy. Here is won derfully rich country, and all that is required is to get together and realize on these resources.
 When Representative McDuftie, chairman of the Committee on Economy, attacked Alaska, he was afflicted with a lack of knowledge of the country. He was aStounded when I approached him with a compilation of the Department of Commerce, the Fisheries Bureau and the Department of the Inter for which showed that Alaska'S balance with the United States showed more than two billions in her favor. This was represented in the $4OO,C00,000 of gold production, $200,000, ,000 in copper and many millions spread over fisheries, furs and other products and the goods purchased from the merchants of the United States. Alaska cost the United. Sattes $7,200,000. The gold !, production of the Territory each year not only repays the purchase price each year, since the date of purchase, but pays 25 per cent ad- ditional. Of the $150,00O,000 ex- pended by the Federal government in Alaska, the Territory has repaid 25 per cent each year.
 "As I pointed out in Washing ton, Alaska does not belong to any particular section of the nation any particular set of public off, cials-but to the whole people, and when an accounting is made it is to the nation, not individuals or any particular set of government officials.
 "The great tragedy is that Con- gressmen are good men, but they simply don't know. It has been ne- cessary to get out a sort of "A, B, c, on Alaska. This shows that every time the U. S.. spent a dollar l in Alaska it has received 25 cents in return. This is pretty good in- terest on public expenditures, and it applies to the Alaska Railroad as we'll as to other public expendi- tures."
 Delegate Wickersham announc- ed that he would reserve all poli- tical reference to this evening, Wednesday, whe nhe will speak at the Liberty theatre.
 In introducing the Delegate, President Leon Urbach of the Sew ard Chamber of Commerce, first called on Mayor D. c. Brownell who pointed out that it was unfortu- nate that the Delegate did not visit Seward more frequently.
 In response, Mir. Wickersham said that Alaska is one-fifth as large as the United States and that it was a problem to visit all parts of it, save by plane. Tt is like swinging south to Alabama, up the Pacific Coast to Washington and back to the Missouri river and return" said the Delegate. Few public officials can make this extended trip"
 Dick Lane, who announced that he had been away from civilization SO long that he was not sure he had returned to normalcy, when called upon for few remarks, dwelt upon the steady drain from the Territory of money which should be dis bursed locally to fishermen. He said:
 "A man comes up here from the States, accumulates from $1 300 to S2,OOO in a season in wages, starts for Seattle to be paid off, and when the poker players aboard the boats finish with him he has not sufh- clent money with which to pay his grocery bill. One of the important steps is to try to keep this money in Alaska and spread among resi- dent fishermen"
 More than 20 members and guests were present at the Mer- 1 chants Grill for the luncheon, and among those, in addition to the Delegate, to make impromptu re- marks was Fr. Merrill Sulzman. who said he welcomed the gather ing of men of more mature minds to improve his knowledge of af- fairs in general.