The Daily Alaska empire., 1940-12-27
Alaska Miners Association Meet, Pass Resolution Making
 Requests of 1941 Legislature


 ago among the small mine opera tors of the Fairbanks district, and which has now grown by the ad- dition of practically all operators in the Territory, held a meeting in Seattle last Friday night, De- cember 20, which was attended by 65 operators. The meeting was held in Seattle for the reason that It was more convenient for represen- tatives from all divisions of the Territory than Fairbanks or any other place in Alaska. Many min ing men are generally in Seattle at this time of year. This is true of these engaged in placer mining, who necessarily must go to the States in the late fall to arrange for finances for the next season and for the purchase of equipment and machinery.
 Many matters affecting the in- dustry in Alaska were discussed at length, as the stream pollution bill now pending in Congress, the pulp lie land withdrawal bill, the dras- tic increases in Federal taxes. ana the probable effect of the excess profits tax law recently passed. A full discussion was had of the pend- ing proposals for increased expen- ditures and consequent increased taxes which will be brought before the Alaska legislature in January
 The following resolution on that subject was passed and copies mailed to Governor Gruening and each member of the Legislature:
 RESOLUTION
 WHEREAS, the Alaska Leglsla- tre will convene in it's fifteenth session next month, and there will be placed before it and presented to it's members singly and as body, proposals for greatly in creased activities of government and of administrative agencies, in volving a very substantial increase in taxes, or else a departure rom solvency and from the Territory S traditional policy of keeping ex- penditures within its revenues, and it's revenues within the ability of it's industries to furnish;
 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RE- SOLVED, that the Alaska Miners Association make the following representations:
 The Alaska Miners Association, an organization composed of the mining operators in the Territory, representing them all and speak ing for the thousands directly and indirectly dependent dn them, res pectfully represents to the Cover nor of Alaska, to the members of the Alaska Legislature, and to the public:
 That aside from the fisheries il the coastal waters, Alaska is es- sentially a mining country with certain known reserves of gold, and some platinum and coal ob- tainable in commercial quantities, but with indications that other es- sential minerals will probably be discovered and developed, bringing an increase in population and wealth to the Territory and great advantage to the nation;
 That the discovery and develop ment of mineral deposits is some thing which cannot be forced, hast ened or facilitated in any other manner except as capital is gradu- ally accumulated from the working of known deposits and applied to the exploration for, discovery and working of other mineral resources. That such expansion and growth is naturally slow but orderly and gradually brings about an increase in population as it already has in Alaska where the very substantial growth reflected in the 1940 cen- sus returns may be attributed al- most wholly to the mining indus try;
 That except for the fishing indus try and those who depend on it either directly or indirectly, prac- tically all the people of the Terri tory depend for their livelihood on mining, so that the whole popula- ton, including those on the public payroll of both the Territory and the nation, depend upon these two industries for their living and their very presence in Alaska; for fl there were no private industry, there would be nothing for the government to administer or regu- late;
 That the Alaska mining industry well recognizes the fact that 1t must contribute within the limit of it's ability to the cost of nec- essary government in the Terri tory and to the support of such essential things as schools, roads, airplane landing fields, and such desirable social and welfare agen- cies as are possible and can be uisely and beneficiaIly adminis- tered in a country so vast and with such a small population in proportion to it's area,
 That we also recognize in the