The Daily Alaska empire., 1945-02-26
CONGREGATION

Juneau, Alaska, February 24, 1945; To the Editorials resident, and
 ncidently one who pays taxes, the writer cannot understand by what process of reasoning all of our thought are at this time directed .oward spending We like to tell ourselves that the prosecution of the war to a successful termination is the most important duty of the gov ernment and its people, but our ac- tions betray our declarations.
 To cite a little Territorial history that some may not know and that others may have forgotten, we start sd our little Territorial government in 1913 with an appropriation for the oiennium of exactly $64,893.75 and we established the Pioneer Home and operated it for two years out of that appropriation. W os We had larger and happier resi- dent population at that time than we have today, census returns and expert opinion to the contrary not withstanding, and now it is proposed to increase the appropriation one hundred fold! Of course it takes money tc spend money and the more ways we de- wise to spend it, the more methods we will have to resort to to get it. But why this epidemic of spend- ing at this time when the country is in a war that is being fought to determine whether our philosophy of government shall survive or per- ish?
 The Territory is in a healthy fi- nancial condition at the present time and ordinary prudence would seem to dictate policy of sitting tight until this thing blows over. All American wars have been followed by periods of depressed business and unemployment. Would it not be sen- \ sible to assume that this war might run true to past history and that it might be handy to have this money which we have accumulated during an unprecedented boom. in- stead of blowing it in like drunken sailors?
 The writer believes that he is qualified to discuss one item propos- ed in the appropriation bill, and that is the item of $500, 900 for roads. As result of the war we are con- fronted with a situation that renders the expansion of the road building at this time, inadvisable if not inn possible. The labor is not available, the equipment with which to carry on the work is not available and ali costs are so abnormally high that to undertake anything in the way of road work at this time that is not absolutely essential would, to say the least, be poor business manage ment, if not unpatriotic because it is not even remotely related to the war effort.
 While the writer believes that all underpaid employees of the Terri 1 tory should be fairly compensated, he also believes that all Territorial officials are at the present time being overpaid and there Is no law to prevent them from quitting their jobs if they are dissatisfied with the emoluments.
 He would like to know by what au- thority the legislature would increase the salaries of those already elect ed or appointed; certainly not under 1 the authority of the Territorial Or ganic Act, which specifically for bids that very thing and moreover, no person was compelled to run for a $5,000 job if he regarded the sal- ary as not being commensurate with his accomplishments and abil- ities. F
 1 While the compensation of Terri torial officials is but a mere drop in the bucket, it is nonetheless in line with the general mania for spending and there is no longer any incentive for anyone to be thrifty and frugal because the spend- thrifts are going to take his money away from him and spend it them selves, as, when, and however they see fit.
 Wm. 4. HeSSe