The Daily Alaska empire., 1945-05-04
"A Message to the People of Alaska
(The Alaska Weeklyl

With the publication and wide distribution this month of what he terms message to the people of Alaska" Governor Gruening took the almost unpre- cedented course of analyzing for the people of commonwealth the performance of it's elected repre- sentaves a legislative assembly as seen through the eyes of an appointive bureaucrat
 Ever since Governor Gruening passed through Se- atte en Juneau to take over the duties o the office to which he had been appointed The Alaska Weekly has been ear.ng for itself the criticism of countless Alaskans by it's support of various of his statements and policies which ran counter to the convictions of the majority of Alaskans. We nave steadfasly maintained honest opinion as to Gov Gruenings ability an administrator as to ms sincerity purpose with regard to Alaska and as to the sound nature of his judgment concerning many matters of vital interest to the future of the Territory
 We nave at times found ourselves in disagreement with him and have not hestated to so express our selves but we have never hitherto found occasion to question lis motives.
 The Message to the People of Alaska, a report on the 17th Territorial Legislature is not only in extremely bad but it lays the Governor open to than the suspicious of attempting to bulld machine amenable to his every demand and Wiling by open statement and by nnuendo to discredlt and mpugnn the motives of all who disagree With nm
 It is no part of the function Of the representative the Department of the Interior who chances to be named to the governorshp of Alaska to dictate egs- lation Certainly it is not within the scope of his official duty submit MUST legislation lobby for 1t 
 failing to achieve the full program to attempt purge of all those members of the legislature who did not dance to the crack of the gubernatorial lash.
 Reading between the lines of this piece of official propaganda gets the feeling that ii 1t were fash onabe in this country certain of those members who opposed the governors program would be llqlldated in the Stalin manner.
 A considerable space is given over to acrimonious sarcasm di ected at the salmon canning industry and berating certain members of the Senate for failure to impose excessive rates of taxation that industry
 This legislature including the Senate of which the governor speaks in such dsparaging terms, passed bill creating Alaska Development Board, the prime objective of which is to bring capital into the Terri tory for the establishment of diversified in- dusria economy This bill has been widely acclaimed as a constructive measure and had the full and enthusiastic support of the governor.
 It is somewhat difficult for the ordinary person to square the obiectives of this measures with the tirades against the chief capital investment now in the field and with the constant attacks on absentee ownership" In one breath we seek capital, in the next we attack it viciousy and seek to tax it out of the field.
 And while on the subject, what constitutes ab- sentee ownership? Does canneryman, machinery dealer a mining a merchant who spends a large portion of each year within the Territory, con- tributes heavily to it's industrial and business life pays int othe Territorial treasury by far the largest portion of it's revenue ana works construcvey toward Terri torial development qualify as strictly an absentee Do we want that kind of money and that kind of people in the Territory, or do we want to save It strictly for the Native population for whom we have Iece1tly become soiioitous?
 We believe that not only want these people and their capital but that must encourage them and we are equally convinced that we do not want bureaucratic control of the Alaska Legislature the one crumb of democracy allowed Alaskans by a paternalistic government.