The Wrangell sentinel., 1944-09-08
ALNDklChSON NEW UEFARTmENT COMMANDER
 UF AMERICAN LEGION

! l ha. at the annual convention of Che Legion held in Juneau last Satm- l day. Sunday and Monday Hu s h l Savage of Anchorage was chosen First Vice Commander, Harry Leagy of Ketehikan, Second Vice Com mauder and II. Van Horn of Sitka, ergeant-at-arms Dick Stock was again chosen national executive committeeman and Past Commau- der J. (. Morris of Anchorage was chosen national alternate
 Close race for second vice fed lured the convention with a real contest between successful Harry Leavy of Ketchikan and Ed Locken Of Petersburg. On the roll call Leayy won out by four votes. 4o to 36.
 Legion in it's resolutions went on record endorsing the perpetuMiou of the militia. or National Guard, after the war, urged the maiuten- ance and expansion oI military es-. gabltshments in Alaska after the war to guarantee the adequate pro- lection of She Territory; recom- uended the establishment of tuber-I euIosis and veterans hospitals iuI Alaska to care for Alaska veterans and those thousands of veterans eA-| pected to come to the Territory; recommended to the Legislature che. creation of an Alaska Development commission to coordinate the post var development program.
 Coy. Ernest Gruening in his mes sage 10 the Legionnaires. of which he is one, called the veterans att Jention to the needs of the Terri . tory and the part the Legion would have to play as it grew ill force with the return of many veterans of World War II to swell it's ranks.
 All signs point to Alaska's com- ing of age" he said. But much remains to be done to make ours well-rounded, co mplete, thriving community with the ad. and opportunities which We have come to consider a part of the American heritage The Al
  Legion in the past has supported splendid measures which have been enacted into law. They are all re- lated to the essential problem ol making democracy work and pros per in our Territory.
 We need far better health faeill- ties. We need a full-fledged Health under full-time Com missioner of Health who will be an expert in that field. The present law, which makes the health com a part-time sideline physician, is inadequate and obso- lete.
 We need sufficient hospitals in the Territory to take care of and our more than 200O ac- tive tuberculosis cases. A hospital program both for our variety of civilian s-tuberculosis, h Q general ailments - and hospitals for the retraining of in- jured and crippled veterans are es- sential. Our Legislature can play an important part in bringing this about, although I believe that the larger part of the cost should be borne by the federal government However, territorial willingness to carry a reasonable portion of the financial burden would be a great help in securing the necessary fed eral assistance.
 Our cities and towns need many things to which an American com munity is entitled They need bet ter housing. There is an acute housing shortage in nearly every Alaskan community The situation will grow worse, to the detriment of each town and the impairment of it's growth, unless prompt action is taken. Through the efforts of Delegate Dimond, Alaska, originally omitted from the provisions of thel Federal Housing act, was included by special act of Congress three years ago But enabling legislation by the Territorial legislature is re- quired to enable us to take adYan- tage of the splendid Federal Act
 Our cities and towns need better recreationaI facilities for our chil- dren. I know of no better expendi-I ture that an American community can make than an investment in it's future citizens. Alaskan chil- dren have hitherto been under privileged in this respect compared with other American youngsters. The American Legion was solidly behind the Juvenile Code bill. After several legislatures failed to adopt it, it passed at the last session. That was a fine achievement. But is it not better to try to prevent juvenile delinquency than to try toI cope with it after the event? Bet, ter recreational facilities will goI far to meet this problem before itl becomes such.