The Daily Alaska empire., 1947-06-25

precipitous mountain ranges cut by wide and deep fjords laden with glacier The of bridges alone would be astronomc
 Worst blUnder of all, however. made by Rep resentatve Smith when he urged that statehood for Alaska not only possible at this time, but lis vitally needed for defense purposes.
 The wide publicity given to the utterance of this misinformed member of Congress is to be deplored. Nothing this time would mudde the Alaskan de- fense situation thoroughly than it's premature conversion to statehood.
 Even if the question of defense not in voved statehood for Alaska would not be financially feasible at this time of it's sparse population Of it's 75524 residents G940 census), only 45000 are whites the rest Indians many still primitive and without taxable property or income. This tiny popula- ton occupies an empire of 100000 square miles most of it centered in the seaports of the southeastern panhandle and at Anchorage, Valdez Seward and Cordova farther north.
 Last October the voters of Alaska expressed them selves, 9630 to 6822, in favor of statehood. With statehood the ultimate hope of every Alaskan tired of remote control and bitterly resenting the appoint ment of "cerpetbaggers' to high administrative and executive positions. is it not reasonable to suppose that the 6822 who voted against statehood-at this time-had potent reason for doing SOP
 That large minority comprises the intelligent con- tingent of Aiaskans who realize that, deprived Of large Federal appropriations, State of Alaska simply could not make ends meet. Opponents of Bill 206 providing for Alaskan statehood, esti- mate that the moneys which would have to be raised by revenue in addition to sums now annually ex- pended by the Territorial government would total S15 35964 per year
 They point out that the little man" simply could not supply even a szable fraction of this sum and that increased taxation of Alaskan corporations h ing mining canneries, etc1 would drive them out of the Territory and deprive the population of US Livelihood
 Alaska's wide-flung ports of entry are connected with the United States only by boat and plane; all freight and most transportation is by water Even under Federal wartime control, however with expense no object shipping disrupted by strikes to a point where the people of the Territory were threatened with starvation. Alaska is not self sufficient area It must import practically all it's food except nominal quantity raised near Anchorage and in the much -ballyhooed but vastly over-rated Matanuska Valley With mining and fishing crip- ped by Communist dominant strikes State of Alaska vated by confiscatory taxation, would soon be drained of all, most of, it's white population
 At present the inclination e. the Interior Depart ment to throw open to pulp and paper development the billions of board feet of virgin timber in Alaskas coastal forests offers the plausible hope of in creasing its permanent population but this prospect is becouded by Indian aboriginal claims which, under present Federal laws, have priority over all land mining homestead claims already established by white men The pulp and paper prospects are further styied by refusal of the to protect pros pective paper mill investors against excessive sumpase charges, which might make arge-scale manufacture unprofitaple after expiration of the initial five-year contract period The estimated S20000000 needed for a paper mill probably will not be invested on so hazardous gambles
 The restoration of the public domain now with held from prospective Alaskan settlers is also con- sidered prerequisite to more rapid development and eventual statehood.
 Reprt, sentative Smith of Wisconsin, is quite right wher lie points to the possibility of invasion of Alaska by q potential enemy. Invasion of the Aleu- tians by the Japs proved that those islands are tempting stepping stones The westerly tip of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, is only few miles from Soviet Siberia But protection against such ag gresson be achieved only by more, not less, Federal control of Alaska-as unit-and by the establishment there of adequate naval and air bases.
 An easing of Federal control in certain directions however, might appease the resentful Alaskans The Governor of Alaska should be an Alaskan who knows his Alaska More home rule could easily be granted the Territorial Legislature Federal judges for its four judicial districts could perhaps be selected from its able attorneys But for statehood being an aid to defense, that, Alaskan sourdoughs used to say, is just so much "bushwah."
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