The Wrangell sentinel., 1948-05-14
THROUGH THE SENTINEL PERISCOPE


 otherwise instructed by Congress, which plans to adjourn June Is, department negotiations with var ious community claimants pointing toward a settlement is expected to go forward this year in time to present a bill of particulars to the next session of Congress. This in substance is the information brought to the Territory by Will liam E. Warne, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, who flew back to Washington yesterday from Ann ette after spending two weeks in Southeast Alaska.
 Arriving in Juneau on May 2, the Secretary held hearings there on the request of the armed forces for reservation of certain areas in the Aleuaans for military purposes and then visited the various Indian communities of the Southeast, holding meetings in Hoonah, An. goon, Rake, KlaWock, Hydaburg and Met katla, discussing the var ious community problems.
 Early settlement of the Indian claims is imperative at this time both as a protection to the native people and as a means of encourag- ing risk capital in the development program for the Territory, Secre- tary Warne, who heads up the inter-agency development commit lee for Alaska, pointed out at var ious meetings. He explained that the Tongass Timber Bill which passed Congress last year definite ly gives authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to sell timber in the Tongass forest, indicating that efforts of some of the Indian com munities to sell timber in their own right is without jurisdiction. Based on this premise, it is the plan of the Interior Department, he said, to proceed with settlement of Indian claims by negotiations with the Indian communities in similar manner to the procedure carried out with the Indians in the States in settling claims in the west. This, he said, has been the policy of Interior since 1870 and he sees no reason why it should not work out in Alaska. While re- mctant to comment on what lands, if any, would be granted the In dians, there was indication in his remarks that lands immediately ad- jacent to some of the villages might be set aside for Indian use with definite eXtinguishment of their rights in other areas.
 Optimistic about the pulp devel- opment, the Secretary said that if necessary appropriations are made by the present Congress, as anti cipated, an actual engineering survey of water power sites in Southeast Alaska will be made this summer He pointed out that devel- opment of water power on a large scale is essential to establishing the pulp industry in this region. After 15 years in the reclamation service, particularly concerned with the big power developments of the west, Assistant Secretary Warne knows his water power just as does Secretary Julius A. Krug. head of Interior, who is one of the top power men in the United States.
 Discussing the overall develop ment program for the Territory the Secretary explained the inter agency committee considers Alaska in five zones - Southeast, Central, and Interior, or the rail belt, the Aleutians, Bristol Bay region and the Arctic. Attention for early ex- pansion is directed toward the SEE and the rail belt In the Southeast pulp industry is No. l. In Central and Interior, encompassing An chorage and Fairbanks, the Alaska Railroad is being rehabilitated at a cost of several million. Effort al so is directed toward furthering mining, some agriculture develop ment and air transport It is anti cipated that major international airports will be established at both Anchorage and Fairbanks Senator Homer Capehart, who visited Alas ka last year, already has sent in he committee endorsement for a field to cost around $S,000,00o at Anchorage. Incidentally, Warne re- ported that the department be- lieves Fairbanks to be the fastest growing city under the American flag. It certainly is No. 1 boom town of the north.
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 The official Republican Terri. torial convention will be held at Sitka May IS, according to a call sent out this week by Territorial Chairman Elton E. Engstrom of Juneau. Delegates will be named to the national convention in Phil adelphia and a platform and resol-
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