The Daily Alaska empire., 1947-03-17

the weekend breathed new life
 into the uniform salary act
 which the Alaska Senate killed
 last Saturday. The Senate this
 morning hOnored Author Gun
 nard Engebreth's request to re-
 Scind the death dealing vote,
 and the bill was returned to
 the calendar in amendment
 stage.
 As rewritten this morning and finally passed, l31, with Rivers and Walker rc, voting, s. B. 6l provides:
 Salaries of $660O per year for tCp-drawer department heads - a boost of $l,000 from present rates but $500 less than originally asked; $500 per year for heads of minor agencies; $500 per year for chief deputies in major departments; S5,000 per year for Assayers; 14 percent increase for other employ ees. The Commissioners of Health and Veterans Affairs, now drawing more. than the top salary provided, were excluded from coverage by the measure and the escape clause which would have their higher sal aries to continue, along with that of the General Manager of the Alaska Development Board was aeleted No special provision was made for the ADB Manager and under the bill now, his S12000 per year would be cut to $6600.
 Senator Victor Rivers paved the way for his refusal to vote on passage of the re-amended revived bill (tantamount to mo" vote) by stating the $7200 pay figure, which the bill carried when it was i defeated yesterday, was the least he could support-it would have ! merely put the chief Territorial , administrators nearly on a pay i par with bartenders in Anchorage. Senator Frank Peratrovich frankly voted mo"
 Effective date of the proposed new salary rates would be April l, 1947.
 Hopes of Territorial department ] heads, and employees right down , the line, that the present Legisla- ture would see fit to vote them salary raise blinked out Saturday afternoon when the Senate killed the salary raise bill
 s. B. 61, by Senator Gunnard M ngebreth-termed a Uniform Salary Act"-was voted down, ' yeas to nays
 Once before the measure had been on the Senate floor and an amendment written into it. Then it was sent back to Finance Commit tee perusal Saturday all measures of the Finance group except Chair man Joe Green joined in voting it ! down, after further amendment at tempts had failed.
 ! As it came back, the bill called [ for salaries of the heads of IA ma ] jor agencies to be hoisted to $7,500 , per year and that figure was the basis of attack on the whole bill No objection was voiced to boosting ! heads of minor departments to 1 S6,500 annually, chief assistants TO S5,5O0, Assayers to $5,000, or to general IA percent yap increase { for clerical, stenographic and other minor employers.
 Coffey Tries Fail
 Senator Edward D. Coffey first attempted to cut the S7,500 rating to an even $7000, but the amend ment failed Later, though, the fi- gure was cut to S7,200.
 Coffey also tried to strike out the escape clause which would al- low salaries in excess of S7,200 for essentially qualified department heads, such as the Commissioner of health who is now drawing S10,- GOO, and the Commissioner of Vet erans Affairs at $8,0OO annually. That amendment too failed. Seven l to nine was the vote in each case Coffey argued for his first amendment that a raise of the top pay bracket from $500 to $75O0 a year would cost the Territory l $l04,000 for the biennium. Author ] Engebreth answered that his state ment cutting that rate of pay to S7,200 left difference of only i S200 year each over what Coffey i had said he would go along with lot enough difference. Engebreth i held, to defeat the bill. He argued that the salary raise is necessary to draw top men.
 New Bill Passes ; A new bill, s. B. 1l6 brought in Saturday afternoon by the Finance