The Wrangell sentinel., 1946-03-22
THROUGH THE SENTINEL PERISCOPE

Upon veteran legislation appear ed to be hinged what might be ac- eomplished at the special session Of the Alaska Legislature. now in is third week in Juneau. The Sen ate had passed and sent to the House the so-called Walker bill calling for loans and bonuses, and carrying sales tax feature as means of raising revenue. The House had passed and sent to the Senate a veterans bill calling for leans eliminating the sales tax feature. Senate indefinitely post poned the House bill Meanwhile, tEe House amended the Senate vet erans' measure to read about like it's own bill tossed the sales tax provision out the window and fired il back to the Senate with it's com pliments Obviously, compromise must be reached Or no veteran leg fsIature will be enacted. If no vet eran legislation is agreed upon, don't expect much other legislation to pass this session.
 As the lines became more close lv drawn around what. if any thing to give the vets. the two houses plodded through a maze of other bills. few fl any. of which will ever reach final passage Meanwhile. the fires of animosity were being famed to flaming heat. The Senate had tossed in a memor- q missal of Ernest Gruening as Gov ernor. Reasons: alleged political pressure of legislature. Over in the House. a similar memorial in praise of the Governors efforts n behalf of the Territory was intro duced. It looked like time for the veterans to crack down-and hard if they expected anywhere near fair break out of this session. and the vets were mastering their forces
 It was the same old story-lots of lip service from the crowd that stayed at home while somebody else fought in the foxholes but political pickering when it came to paying off. The House, with seven ex-service men of the first World War on it's Veterans com mittee was determined to do something. but in the Senate con- servatism ruled. The boys who 1eyer fought in any war were willing to play political football at the expense of the returning soldiers. They appeared eager to tie a tax bill up with a veterans bill: the idea. Of course being that the veterans would get the blame for causing an increase in taxes. It was a gag as old as politicians. It was a atinkeroo as far as the vets were concerned. Representa- tive Oscar Gill probably sounded d majority note when he said:
 If we want a sales tax bill, gross income tax bill or some other. let's make it stand on its own feet. Why hang it on good veterans bill?'
 Gill with Almer Peterson both of Anchorage, is the author of the gross income tax bill which has passed the House, but as yet not the Senate However, in his re- marks he said he would sooner support a sales tax measure than have any sort of tax provision tied up with the vets legislation.
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 ,e the famed Walker war front who fathered the idea of putting the sales tax rider on the vets bill. Legionnaire Walker apparently wanted the ex-service men to car " the burden. Doc. still inflated with a desire to be Governor and continuing his One-man war a. gainst the incumbent Governor al- so is the author of the much dis cussed Senate memorial which hit the upper house this week demand ing that the present Governor be removed from office with all pos sible dispatch"
 Docs allegation in his memorial that "the present Governor during the past three regular sessions of the Territorial Legislature, has at tempted to wrest the control of the Legislature from the people and place it in the hands of his off, flee. and by so doing has disrupt cd cooperation and brought about stalemates between the two house. of our Territorial Legislature and his office g Just how the Governor .. .zoir. r.. aan.rnst cnntrnI,- uhar