The Wrangell sentinel., 1945-03-23

was in it's final day with the ap- propriations bills and several other controversial measures still staring 1t in the face. It had actually en- acted Into law 84 bills which had been signed by the governor. Now it was in its dying hours and leg islation was due to be passed hur- riedly. Next week this peerless col umn will attempt to summarize just what the 17th session accom- plished.
 St Patricks Day may have had nothing to do with it. but be that as it may, past week end in the legislative halls of the Territory marked one of the most bitter ti-| rades between house and senate yet seen in the l7th session. Tempers, Irish. Scotch. Norwegian, Swede and what-have-you flared and sig zled until. as one reporter said he was afraid to light a match for smoke for fear of an explosion.
 First breath of flame came while the house was considering senate Joint Memorial No. ', by President of the Senate Coffey. Memorial asked s1OO.O0O for construction of s road from an airfield at Hot Creek to Naknek in the third dlEl- sion, and stated people residing Tn the area were ready to put up S2o'- 0OO of it. Memorial also cited in third paragraph: Whereas, the said airplane landing field offeIs the only means of transportation 10 the fisheries in the Bristol bay section. from which at least Al per cent of the total revenue ot the territory is derived and was tol- lowed by several other whereases' But the third paragraph was the one to ruffle the fur of Rep. war ren Taylor. representative Of the third division.
 Tavlor moved that the words S25.O0O be struck and the words 1 s50.OOO be substituted as the amount the people of the vicinity 1 would put up on the basis that IL il was so rich an area as to pay l such .a.ge per entage of the rev | enue Of the territory it could well l afford to put up more money. It was niofeu by McCutcheon, sec onded by Mrs. Cross the amendment i be adopted but a close roll call saw the amendment killed, 12 to Il. | Although the house passed the memorial by a 2U to vote 1t was the amendment offered by Taylor that, like a buzz bomb. caused all explosion in the senate.
 In the meantime senate hal passed a health department bill, | Senate bill No. 31, and sent it to | the house; house also passed its | own health department bill. substi- ute for H. B. 52 and sent it to the | senate Senate bill was delivered to house five minutes before it re- ceiVed the house substitute So | house substitute was laid on the l table" pending action of the house on the senate bill. Both bills were almost identical in setting up a de- partment of health.
 However, after almost a day passed and house had not got around to acting on senate health bill. Senator Nerland made a mo- tiOn in the senate to take the house substitute off the table and act upon it on the ground that crea- tion of a health department might not take place if house let the sen- ate bill lay in committee in order to force the senate to take action on it's tabled bill. UpshOt was, the senate finally passed the house sub stitute, amending it until it was identical with it's own bill and then asked the house to return Senate bill No. 31 so it could be with drawn.
 But President of the Senate Ed Coffey did not like the procedure. house substitute from the table and his and Senator Leo Rogge's votes were the only ones against final passage of the bill.
 It was just before final passage vote was taken that President of the Senate Coffey asked for the floor under special privilege. Then he let the house have it" He ae- cused two house members, one of them Rep. Taylor, of course, Of having attempted to kill his Hot Creek-Naknek road memorial with the amendment to boost the ante for people of the area to s50,00e and said Taylor was seeking retali- ation because he, Coffey, had voted against the graduated tax on fish traps. He accused house members of attempting to put pressure on sen ators to force them to vote for the tax. He did not approve of pam pering" the house by passing its