The Daily Alaska empire., 1947-02-14
Development Board lnterrogafors ot
 Senate in Action
Entire Morning Session Is Devoted 10 Question:
 ing of Sundborg

Senate Bill 4, proposing to abol- ish immediately the Alaska De- velopment Board, launched the AL aska Senate this morning into one of the most prolonged question and answer sessions yet developed. As the uuestioners recessed for lunch, the biggest question of the moment was: Who will wear out first, 16 senators or the General Manager of the Alaska Development Board George Sundborg. Sundborg was due to return to the stand when the Senate took up again this af- ternoon at 3 o'clock.
 A new angle to the ADB contro- versy was opened earlier today with introduction, by Senator N. R Walker, of s. B. Al, which would remove from the Governor of Alas ka the chairmanship of the ADB and the power of appointing other members of the Board. Instead Walkers bill would put the High way Engineer in as Chairman, with four additional members to be ap- pointed by the Highway Engineer one from each judicial division subject to confirmation by the Leg islature.
 The bill specifically provides that the divisional representatives on the Board shall have special or gener- al Knowledge" as follows: First Di- vision member-of forestry; Second Division member-of mining; Third Division member-of fishing; Fourth ! Division member- of agriculture The bill was referred to the Judi ciary Committee.
 Sundborg Called
 Sundborg, called before the Sen ate at the suggestion of President Nerland which was made request by Senator Walker, was first quer- ried by Walker concerning 6 re- port attributed to the ADB Mana ger that ground breaking for pulp mill would start at Ketchikan with in 60 days. Sundborg replied that he had not been correctly quoted that he had stated ground breaking for such mill could commence SC days after timber contracts are completed with the Forest Service and that he had been careful not to state location at Ketchikan or anywhere. He quoted an editorial correction in substantiation.
 Referring to his new bill, Walker asked if the requirements of spec ial knowledge of board members would assist the working of the Board. Sundborg asked for time to study the matter.
 Senator Victor c. Rivers then asked Sundborg to outline briefly the major accomplishments of the ADB to date. These were listed by Sundborg as:
 |. Foremost-Paving the way for a pulp and paper industry He said that good many of the obstacles to development have been removed but not all of them. The greatest remaining obstacle is the terms of Forest Service timber contracts. The Board is attempting to have these terms rewritten, he said.
 Second, Sundborg listed ADB in- tervention which resulted in rejec- ton of considerably higher freight tariffs asked by the VISA and op- orators. Rejection, he maintained was accomplished chiefly because of ADB intervention. At later point in the questioning he stated that the greatest part of the burden had been carried by David Scoll admiralty attorney employed by the Board.
 Trouble Shooting" Sundborg also gave examples ot , trouble shooting" chores for both established and contemplated in- dustries that had been handled by the ADB. On a motion carried over objection by Senator Edward c Coffey, Sundborg read, as examples of correspondence that comes tc the Development Board, two letters out of approximately 60 he saio had been received in the past two or three days. One was from 8 Boise, Idaho, resident seeking in formation regarding pulp; the other from New York City veteran in- terested in opening an Alaska Highway trucking service. In reply to Rivers, Sundborg also recitec steps taken toward developing g tourist agency.
 Asked il projects underway would "go by the boards" if the Alaska Development Board were cancelled out now, Sundborg replied that ht hopes not. The U. s. Forest Ser vice has been seeking for 20 years