The Wrangell sentinel., 1948-02-27
THROUGH THE SENTINEL PERISCOPE

While the Maritime Commission Was fighting the issue on every turn, there was growing strength developing in Congress for an g. mendment 10 the merchant marin act which would permit the carry ing of passengers and mechandise between the States and Alaska ln Canadian vessels Delegate Bartlett and Senator Butler of Nebraska had previously introduced bills pro- viding for service by the Canadian ships. Now Senator Homer Cape hart of Indiana has come along with a supporting bin which goes further than the Bartlett-Butler measures Capehart would have the foreign vessels handle freight and passengers between Alaska ports as well. if tariffs are filed. whereas. the previous bills are intended to permit flow of freight by rail into Prince Rupert and thence 10 Alas ka ports by Canadian steamer 1 Capehart's measure would permit Use of Canadian service interport
  lines are fighting the proposals on grounds that they cannot compete with the Canadian lines. due to the latter's low operating costs. In [ this they have the support of the ! Maritime Commission which. natur- ally enough, is uphOlding the con tract it entered into last spring i with the American lines granting the latter exclusive right to oper- ! ate in Alaska. Whether the Sena- ! torial weight will be hefty enough i to give Southeast Alaska the add | ed service remains 10 be seen Both Senators Butler and Capehart when they were in the Territory last | summer with their respective com mittees deplored the lack of ade- quate water transportation to Al aska. They felt it was No 1 need.
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 Meanwhile, the port of Rupert and it's yearning for the $150,O00.- 900 Alaska trade was given nation al attention by a recent article Tn the Saturday Evening Post by Richard Neuberger, Portland, Ore. l. writer who was stationed in Alas ka during the War Neuberger, ev- CT an Optimist, in his story visual izes Prince Rupert as the Terri tory's big gateway as a result of the U. s. Army development there during the war. He stresses the possibility of trade with the Twin Cities with a rail haul to Rupert over the Grand Trunk and thence to Alaska by water as cheaper ana shorter than Via Seattle. The arti- cle, appropriately enough, is entitl- ed "Seattle's Headache"
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 Off to Washington past week went Dr. c. Earl Albrecht, Terri torial Commissioner of Health, to see if he couldn't talk Congress into giving the Territory a finan- cial helping hand for health pur- poses. All Alaska's hospital and doctor troubles hadn't been con fined to Wrangell, which had been without a regular physician for months but was now reported to have one on the way Other towns in the Territory were without either doctor or dentist service There was difficulty at the Sew ard hospital which was being run by the Methodist Board of Missions under contract with the Territory The Alaska Native Service had run out of money to pay for it's pa tients there, veterans organization were complaining that veterans be- ing hospitalized there were not getting proper care and the man. agement was being harassed with shortage of funds, inability to get nurses and other problems of hos. pital management. Recently Con gress, in a bill,, gave the Alaska Native Service $176,OOO which probably would enable it to pay its bill. But the hospital itself was a make-shift Army turnover so the troubles were far from over Fact
 (Continued on Page Four)