The Wrangell sentinel., 1945-08-17
GoV.. Gruenin9 Offers Views
 On Statehood

upon receipt of the statement bl hhe Department of Interior, il which the Department declared it self for Statehood for Alaska, is sued the following statement con taining his views on the matter.
 "The official announcement tha Hhe Department of the Interior favors statehood for Alaska is al event of major importance to the Territory. Coming on the same day as the word of Japan's surrender and the consequent termination oi war, it marks August 10 as a red letter day in Alaska's history
 "The Interior Departments en- dorsement of statehood is there fore timely in every sense. The in- leaving the issue between the peo- is considerable. By it is removed one source of opposition to state hood which has existed hitherto, leavin tghe issue between the peo- pie of Alaska and the Congress of the United States If the peope of Alaska desire statehood and so re- cord their desire at the referen- dunn established by the last Leg islature for the coming general election in October 1946, I have little doubt that Congress, respon- sive to the wishes of a vast and increasingly important area of America, will grant statehood.
 This historic moment furnish es the opportunity for me to ex- press again the view that I have voiced on various occasions, that statehood is not only desirable but indispensable to the welfare. de- veopment and progress of Alaska As one who has for the past eleven years been dealing with various branches of the Federal govern ment. legislative as we'll as ad- ministrative, I know that until AL aska is represented in the capital of the nation by two senators and at least one representative, all with a vote, Alaska will not se- cure that share of beneficial leg islation and of appropriations to which it is entiteld. However ef- fective may be our Delegate to Congress-and Alaska has been more fortunate in the last twelve years in having Anthony J. Di- mond and now E. L. (Bob) Bart lett as its Delegates-a voteless representative can do little more than go with hat in hand to com- mittees of Congress and to govern ment agencies which play so vital part in our Alaskan affairs.
 Out of our immediate present may be cited any number of in- stances of discrimination against Alaska which would not have oc- cured had We been a state. Among them are:
 "1. The denial of overseas cred it points for discharge to Alaskans in the Army.
 "2 The attempt to remove the twenty-five percent differential from Alaskan Federal employees and yet give it to those coming from the States to work in Alaska.
 "3 The difficulties that we have to secure adequate shipping and to permit us to continue 60 secure the advantages brought by continued suspension of the Jones Act.
 "4. The failure to include Alas ka in the Federal Highway Act under which millions of dollars for road building have been den- jed the Te- ritory to which it was rightfully titled.
 "5. The denial to Alaska of the increased appropriation for agri- cultural experiment stations re- gently granted to these stations in the states. These are only a few of long list, but I mention these because they are all timely
 'It was precisely this type of experience that long since con- vinced our devoted former Delegate to Congress, Tony Dimond, of the imperative necessity of securing statehood at the earliest possible moment, and similarly convinced Delegate Bartlett.
 Finally, it is not only proper and desirable but in conformity with the basic principles of democ. racy that the people of Alaska should have the right to elect their own Governor, and also the Secretary of the Territory who is, in effect, the lieutenant Governor.
 One need not, therefore, go into the abstract and imponderable ad- vantages of statehood, which are themselves clear, in order to grasp that statehood will be tangibly and materially beneficial to AL aska. As for the abstract reasons think We need not argue that American citizenship is the most precious possession in the world