The Wrangell sentinel., 1948-04-16
THROUGH THE SENTINEL PERISCOPE

Statehood was at least step nearer. Last week the full House Committee On Public Lands ap-I proved the Bartlett bill, which would set mp the machinery for statehood, and sent if 10 the whole House for action Its chances ofI getting through the House appear ed to be good. A similar bill. pro yiding statehood for Hawaii, had gained House approval last year Statehood for both Territories hadI yet to face the Senate. Whether ac- tiOn would be taken at this ses- sion of Congress before ii adiourns possibly in June. was prcblematl-I cal. After all, it is an election year and there was fence mending to be done as well as attention directed toward both major party convent lions in Philadelphia in June andI July. 0z
 Noting the progress of the driveI for statehood. advocates of state-I hood for Alaska this week held Statehood Tea Parties in ariovus communities in the Territory, rais- ng 50-star flags and otherwise marking the occasion. Sparked byI the Alaska Territorial Federation of Labor. the ceremonies punctuat- ed the fact that Alaskans had vol ed for statehood in the last general election by a margin of about three to two and were still after it. In Anchorage sonic 400 attended A flag-raising which was followed by. statehood ball in the evening. Juneau had a turnout at the Gov ernor's House where a flag design ed by Gov. and Mrs. Gruening and made by Mrs. Maude HamGn, All aska's Betsy Ross" was raised by Acting Gov Lew M Williams and Mrs. Gruening with a tea party following in the mansion where the ATFL boys carpenters, electm-l clans and other w9rkmen who had laid down their tools for the enjoyed their "coffee and" along enjoyed their "coffe and" along with office workers and officials.
 Simultaneously in Washington Congressman Fred Crawford of Michigan who visited Alaska last summer as chairman of subcOm- mittee of the House Public Lands Committee had this to say on state hood: a
 "I think Alaska is one of our strategic areas of defense, and look upon Alaksa as the buffer state between Russia and the Uni ted States, and now I look upon the United States as the buffer state between Russia and the bal ance of the world"
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 William E. Warne, Assistant Secretary of the Interior in charge of Alaska affairs, is schedued in the Territory the fore part of May. The Secretary will hold hearings in Juneau May 4 on the question of military reservations in the Al eutian Islands. Army and Air Force departments and Navy has asked for withdrawals from the public domain of certain islands for military purposes, including portions of Amchitka, Atka, Shem- va, Umnak, Attn, Adak and others. Delegate Bartlett, for one, has en- tered protest sucCinctly saying: T cannot understand why it should be necessary to ask for such huge ! withdrawals now that the Aleu- tians are surely of not more than secondary importance militarily. I am mindful of the fact that the federal government has already through it various agencies with drawn nearly one-third of the im- mense land area of Alaska. If this sort of thing continues to go on, it will be idle to talk of settling AL aska and developing Alaska, be- cause it will be only one vast re- servation."
 Also due in the Territory latter part of this month is James P. Davis, Director of the Division of Territories, who, after visiting the Westward. will attend the hearings in Juneau.
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 Proposal for transferring three bureaus of the Interior Depart ment to the Department of sAgri- culture is in works in Washing ton. A bill has been introduced by Clifford Hope. Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. which provides for taking the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service and cer- tain functions of the Reclamation Bureau from Interior and combin ing them as an agency within Az | riculture.
 Territorial titbits: Leonard ! Evans of the Territorial Depart ment of Labor has been recom- ]