The Daily Alaska empire., 1940-11-15

ivory tower it is part of it's surroundings
 Neither the President the Business Manager of The Empire attended the Chamber of Commerce meeting of week ago. Neither the President nor the Business Manager of The Empire read the edi- toral which appeared in last Fridays paper until after it was in print Neither the President nor the Business Manager of The Empire attended yes- terdays Chamber of Commerce meeting. All they know about the controversy which has arisen be- tween their editorial writer and the Juneau Cham Der of Commerce is what people tell them, Natur- ally enough most of the people they have heard from are those who feel they have legitimate plaint against the action of The Empires employee Naturally enough, they wonder They spot not of their own making. And still they are willing to stand behind me and take it" with me
 And I won't let them
 This then, is my personal apology to the mem- bers of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce have offended I said I thought their action in voting down a proposal by Chamber President Charles Beale, proposal which MT. Beale and thought was about national unity but which most of the rest thought was about Harold Ickes not rep resentative of the community of Alaska I said still with the opinion that the majority of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce had voted down a national unity move, that their action the action of men short on vision and long on prejudice. What said exactly that the vote was representative of men "on whose backs the had grown thick they had become impervous to noble thought or human impulse" I should have said that. It was as Curtis Shattuck has remarked, name calling" and, as H. L. Faulkner has said, very of- fensive and very uncalled for" I should have said that about my worst enemies and here I went and said it about of my friends. For this do humbly apologize.
 I believe the national unity resolution passed unanimously by the Chamber yesterday was excel lent, and speak here for The Empire well as for myself do not see how any organization could go any further in pledgng it's allegiance to the newly reelected President. This resolution happily, was written before the Empire editorial did not know it at the time of course. But that it written before the editorial is demonstration that the Cham Der headed in the right direction all the time and not influenced by the chidng it received in my editorial, not that ever entertained thought that it would be so influenced
 Much has been said about MT. Ickes in connec- ton with this little controversy If the Secretary the Interior is the avid reader of Empire editor ials which of the members of the Chamber of Commerce to think he is, he knows better than to take aid comfort in my attack upon the Cham ber The Empire is against his Alaska colonization scheme, it is against his eight percent gold tax it is against his 8O-rod land reservation bill and it has said so in this column numerous occasions.
 To those who have congratulated upon my editorial and to those members of the Juneau Cham Der of Commerce who have told they agreed with me and admired my stand at yesterdays meet ing I only say hope I not letting you down too hard You will realize I letting myself down a whole lot harder.
 This is my apology. I hope it will toI heal wound which should never have been made hope it will contribute toward unity in this com munity which in it's way is important as unity in the nation
 GEORGE SUNDBORG.