The Wrangell sentinel., 1948-01-16
GOVERNOR STOPS IN
 WRANGELL: NCENSED
 OVER KODIAK SITUATION

Governor Ernest Gruening was .an overnight guest in Wrangell last night when the plane on winch ue was flying to Juneau was forced to stay here Dy bad weather.
 The planes an Alaska Coastal Grumman, had Pilot Hunt Gruen- ing, the Governors son, at the controls.
 Governor Gruening, in au inter view said, IL is always a pleasure To come to Wrangell aud although l have beeu away from Juneau for len days, and should be back at my desk, weather Is sOmthing over which We have no control and 1 am happy to spend the night here"
 Flying from Anchorage to Jun eau the fore part of the week, the Governors plane could not make the scheduled landing at Juneau because of weather and he was landed at Annette Island
 Asked about sentiment aa to a special session, Governor Gruening
 
 persons in favor of it.
 What mostly concerned Alaska Chief Executive was an appeal he had from Mayor Lee Bettinger of Kodiak to see if something could not be done as to the economic plight of kodiaks merchants. The Navy commissary at Kodiak is selling merchandise, not only 10 Navy personnel but to all res idents of the town, and you can get anything from a toothbrush to women's dresses, nylon stockings. food - anything a big department store carries" the Governor said.
 Merchants of the town will sim ply have to go out of business, the Mayor of Kodiak told the Govern or. because the Navy, paying no freight or making no profit on ts goods, sells at drasticalIy low pric- es.
 The Governor said he had immed- lately telephOned Lieut.. Gener- al Nathan F. Twining, Fort Rich ardson, supreme commander in AL aska, and Twining, investigating, was told by the Kodiak Navy com mander that the move was neces- sary to keep our defense workers in Alaska"
 That raised the counter ques- lion immediately in my mind" the governor said, what about keep Iug Alaskans in Alaskan" He add ed that it made a serious situation .,r kodiak merchants who have to compete with the Navy and still uffer the regular overhead expens- es normal in any business. Our government stands for the promo IiOn of free enterprise not it's destruction" he said.
 In Ketchikan Governor Gruening held a three-way telephone confe.- ence with Mayor BettingeT in Kod- iak and Delegate E. l.. Bartlett in l Washington and requested Bartlett to immediately contact Navy head quarters in Washington to see what could be done.
 Tt seems that when things look bright and Alaska seems ready to forge ahead something always hap pens to stop it," the Governor fin ished, Tt is the same battle 1t has been through the years - Alaska the step-child of Uncle Sam. It re- minds me of what the lateJudge James Wickersham said 20 or so years ago when he was Delegate to Congress and returned to Jun eau at tre end of a session. Friends asked him what he had ac- complished in Washington and the Judge replied: It isn't what l ac- complished, my friends, it's what prevented from happening.
 The Governor ended by reiterat- ing that staterood was the only remedy for the Territory's ills.
 Representation in the House and Senate at Washington is all Alaska needs"
 While here Governor Gruening Gruening was a guest of the F. G. Hanfords.