The Wrangell sentinel., 1947-10-03
THROUGH THE SENTINEL RERISCOPE

special treatment following an ill- ness which confined him to a Ju- neau hospital for some weeks De- fore going south He suffered a kidney ailment. Frank Metcalf of Juneau, who has been handling Leonard's work during the latter's illness, will continue on in that position pending the election to fill the position which comes up next year.
 Smith, longtime Alaskan, first came to Alaska as a government engineer in charge of building the bleakWater at Wrangell. He later went to Nome and was engaged as a mining engineer in the Second Division for more than a quarter of a century. He served in the 1887 Legislature as a member Of the House from the Second DiYi- sion. He was elected Highway Ell gineer in 1944 A Navy veteran of World War 1, Smith, 53 years old, had two sons who served in the more recent war He is also sur vived by his wife and one daugh- ter.
 The death of Leonard Smith takes from Alaska one of it's best off cials and one of its finest citizens. As phrased in the lingo of the day, he was "a great guy.'
 * * * #
 Labeling the Republican record as "one of lamentable failure," AL aska Delegate E. L. Bartlett, speaking before a Democratic rd.- ly of more than 200 people at the Salmon Creek Country Club in Ju- neau Tuesday night, struck out at. Federal control of Alaska fisheries, at the eXorbitant steamship rates" and at a civil service sys- tenn which causes 'too many high CT officials, shielded by civil sery- ice, to subordinate everything else 10 their desire to stay on the pay roll until reaching retirement age.'
 Charging the Republicans with failing to bring about the 'saylngs in government which they were so blithe to assure us could be done so easily" the Delegate declared the COP has set us out on the path of an imitation which is be- coming well nigh ruinous." He laid al the door of the Republican par ty the blame for the spiraling high cost of living, declaring, they achieved power but they would have been better off without it and the nation as a whole would Inf i14it faIx nf
 Referring to what he termed the Republican approach" Bartlett said:
 First the Republicans shout to high heaven that all laws enacted during the Roosevelt adminiStra- tion were born in sin and admir- istered in inquity and then they solemnly assert they will retalr most of the Roosevelt laws but will give them the proper kind of administration. The American vot er is not gullible enough to believe that gulf"
 The Republican-controlled Con- gress tossed out the wartime con- trols on the theory that prices would go down, the Delegate said, pointing out that the contrary has been the case. Tt would be idle to tell the percentage increase in the cost of living since abolition of controls" he declared, but ask the American housewife W h o knows the sequel. She is the lead ing economist of them all. At this stage her reply may be a bit on the blistering side but it will be fact ual. The demand is there but the supply and tke money are not"
 Striking at federal control, par ticularly that of the fisheries, Bartlett charged "the fish are go- ing and in some places are gone. '" He said Alaska control of fisher ies was paramount, adding, 'I tell you the Territory could not have done so badly if it had made a le- liberate effort toward that end What has happened here ought to explode forever more the nonsense that wise and beneficial admins tration comes only from Washing ton.3
 The Delegate said the Democrat ic party was the party of "home rule" and as such was urging statehood. That" he said, is the last and greatest home rule strug- gle of all and it is one we shall Win.'
 Declaring that he, with the aid of other government officials, would carry on the fight to get a reduction in steamship rates, he charged the water carriers with serving Alaska at the most ex- orbitant rates in the history of the American merchant marine" ana said that mot single carrier in the entire American merchant marine today enjoys the phenom- enal increase in rates which the