The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1945-11-03
Congressional Coercion
ALASKA Weekly


The report of the subcommittee of the Committee
Appropriations the House of Representatives has
recently come off the press. This Woodworking ane
doubtless conscientious committee spent 50 Gays IN
specting Alaska and returned to settle all questions
concerning the development of the Territory from
agricultural possibilities to statehood in tone Of
pedagogic finality
The committee was repeatedly reminded" said
the report that the Territory of Alaska has no basic
tax laws gas tax no property land tax outside
of incorporated towns and villages and no income
tax" We cannot doubt that the committee was
repeatedly reminded" Of such deplorable condition
the committee accompanied most of its trip
by Governor Gruening.
There follows page right from the Governors own
tax book wherein the cannery and mining industries
are held up to for the paucty of their con-
tributions to the Territorial revenue and the high
crime of absentee ownership.
Now comes the lead pipe: 1T is therefore recon-
mended that before the Congress considers proposals
building of urgently needed bridges in Alaska,
be made clear to the citizens of that Territory and
especially members of both houses of the Territorial
Legislature, that Alaska must accept its full share of
the financial responsibility in any future ad-buidng
program or other Territorial Improvements. While
neither passage of adequate tax legislation by the
Territory of Alaska the passage of legislation by
Congress putting Alaska parity with the United
States in connection with the receipt of Federal aid
highway funds is actually under the jurisdiction of
this committee it is, nevertheless called upon to
recommend substantial appropriations for the con-
structon and repair of roads in the Territory and
it believes that serious consideration should be given
to the proposal that future road building in the
Territory be carried on under basic law similar to that
provided for continental United States"
In other words, unless tax program pleasing
to this group of Congressman is passed, it will with
hold perfectly proper and normal appropriations for
essential bridges it, itself, characterizes as urgenly
needed
Also the comparatively few thousand people who
are trying to develop the wealth of Alaska and open
up its resources for the national good will be asked
to place themselves on a par with the citizens of
populous prosperous and highly industrialzed COM
munties of continental United States in the matter
of road building.
Just what is Alaskas full share of financial
responsibility" in the matter of road building in this
Territory which these gentlemen claim not to be ready
for statehood and in which more than 80 per cent
the is still owned by the Federal government
with millions of acres bottled up in one kind and
another of reservations? Who is to decide the
people who will pay the bill this group of perpatetc
congressman?
Just as one Alaskan to another don't like the
attempted coercion of this report AS we said IN the
beginning of this editorial, these Congressman were
hard working and undoubtedly conscientious. The
fact remains that the report is superficial in its
conclusions it necessarily would need be because
of the superficiality of the information upon which
the conclusions reached.
We have said it before and more we voice
the earnest prayer, God save Alaska from Con-
gressmen.'