The Wrangell sentinel. (Wrangell, Alaska) 1909-current, 1949-07-22
THROUGH
THE SENTINEL
PERISCOPE

This week the Board of Admin
istration eased the situation a lit
tie for city schools districts by
nnfreezing the $4,000 appropri
ated by the last Legislature to pay
interest where school boards had
to borrow money to meet their
running expenses due to inability
of the Territory to pay school re-
funds on time. School boards would
do we'll to get their vouchers in as
soon as possible in connection with
these interest payments.
=szs
If the proposal which has been
made to Territorial banks
handle general fund Territorial
warrants at face value. pending re-
eeipt of tax revenues to clea
them, is finally agreed upon school
districts and other creditors of the
Territory may soon be getting
their money Of the about a mil
lion and a quarter in unpaid bills.
biggest item is refunds to schoo
districts. Territorial Treasure
Henry Roden, who has been nego-
tiating with the banks, report
most of them appear to be agree
able. Under the plan, the banks
would take the warrants at full
value and hold them until the
Treasurer received enough tax re
eeipts to clear them. Request would
ha 81
ture to allow the banks six per
cent interest for the service. The
proposal concerns only general
fund warrants. There is money to
meet special or ear-marked fund
warrants. Fact is that if the Terri
tory could use its special funds
for general purposes it could pay
its bills and have a million or so
on hand.
- = -
Unless something unforeseen oc
ours to jar it out of the House
rules committee, the Alaska state
hood bill appears to be a dead
duck at this session of Congress.
Delegate Bartlett is not optimistic
other committee in the Territory
studying statehood before any fur
Their action is taken The cooling
off on Hawaii statehood un
doubtedly has a bearing on the Al
aska proposal However, the old
stumbling block is still there. 1t
is pretty hard to convince men,
bers of Congress from heavily pop
ulated areas that sparsely populat
ed Alaska should have two Sena-
tors and a Representative.
= = = 80
Alaska miners hope for a boost
in the price of gold as a stimulus
to the gold mining industry in the
Territory isn't very bright. Re
ports from Washington indicate
gold is going to remain pegged at
$35 an ounce Any raise in the
price of gold would devalue the
American dollar, according to the
financial experts, and this isn't
looked upon with favor at this
time, the good old American buck
as it is, being about the most i'm
portant thing in the world at the
moment. The last Legislature in =
memorial suggested that a bonus
of SIS an ounce on all gold mined
in Alaska be paid in an effort to
bolster the industry which has
been begged down by high costs in
the Territory.
$50 50
The new Territorial Department.
of Fisheries. created by the last
Legislature. has been getting un-
derway under the direction of Dir
ector Clarence L. Anderson.
small headquarters has been set up
in a couple rooms of the old Gas
tineau Hotel in Juneau Louis Nc
Donald, who used to be with the
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
has been added to the staff as as
sistant with Mrs. Gertrude Naylor
in charge of the office work. A
bout Is stream watchmen and Ell
forcement men have been put on
in the strategic fishing areas,
working in cooperation with the
Fish and Wildlife Service. They
are men with boats and outboards
OF their own and work the areas
where they live for the most part.
Operating under a limited budget,
the new department is trying to
keep its costs down while at the
same time. trying to do an effec-
tive job. While the department
was given an appropriation ci
$250.000 for the biennium, all but
$4,000 allotted for this seasons
operations. was caught in the "big
freeze" recently ordered by the
Board of Administration.
CONTINUED on page four)