The Wrangell sentinel., 1950-09-22
THROUGH THE SENTINEL PERISCOPE

s,s.
 some ot the papers which had made such a furor about tue eA- pendlturs of money by the state hood Committee in trying to help Delegate Bartlett get statehoou enabling act through congress were starting to hedge d little this Week. Their innuendo against the Delegate that everything wasn quite on the up-and-up in his hand- ling of the funds allotted him by the Statehood committee apparent ly was backfiring.
 The Anchorage News, opponent of statehood which had joined in the hue and. cry, had this to say in discussing the matter:
 We feel that MT. Bartlett, an Alaskan we have known personally for many years, would not use any money entrusted to him illegally for it must be said that MT. Bart lett is fortnight and honest
 The Juneau Empire also reVer- ssd its field: Said the Empire:
 aThe Delegates honesty is not questioned nor do we find anything in Senator Schoeppel's statement that would suggest anything more serious than, perhaps, b judgment for his part in the em- ployment of MT. Feltus. And we would disbeheve any implication of dishonesty or disloyalty were 1t made against MT. Bartlett"
 Cordova Times not hedging had this to say:
 Bob Bartlett merits an over whelming vote of confidence be- cause of the unmerited smear at tack made upon him by Senator Sehoeppel of Kansas in an effort to defeat statehood every eff fort to smear him is being made, even to the point of branding him a communist"
 While apologies to Bob Bartlett were the highlight of the week, the old political pot was boiling with renewed vigor with the gen. erhl election around the corner on October 10. Republican Boss AL bert Write of Juneau, who labels himself this season the Chairman of the Republican Committte for the Investigation of Corruption in the Government of Alaska, had gone up to Fairbanks and reitera- ted the smear charges the GOPers are using against the Democrats such as corruption, malfeasance, misfeasance and few other eight dollar words. The Fourth Division donkey riders fired back with an accusation. that Al had supported Oscar Olson, the defaulted Demo cratic Treasurer, four years ago as against his Republican opponent, Cash Cole of Juneau, a strong statehood man. Al says it isn't so. Actually, the charge has previous ly been made in Ketchikan when White stated the COP campaign.
 In the Second Division they were hewing fairly close to the party lines. The Democrats were point ing to record of achievement while the Republicans were con- tending they hadn't done . good job of administration. In the Third the hottest turnip in the political kettle was the Palmer Airport deal. Although the field was con- plstsd, the tdansaction approved by both the Federal and Territorial governments, 1t was still good for little political hay-the old in- uendo smear that somebody might have gotten something for some thing and something might be hay wire. Factually, all anybody got out of it was Palmer which got an airport, and a right good one, too.
 In the First the candidates were beginning to do a little travelling. A party of Republicans house can didates had taken off from the Capital City on Sim MacKinnon's boat to visit other towns in the in- terests of their campaign after having rally in Juneau. Best des- cription of the Juneau rally was given by a Republican, who said heck, there was nobody there but a few Republicans who are going to vote tht Republican ticket any M&y and an observing Democrat or two" Democrats were talking about rally over in Sitka and some of their candidates were get ting out and about.
 The Democratic sideshow had closed down for week or two Mark Jensen, the one-man investi- gating committee, had gone over 10 the Susitnh to shoot moose, leaving the Republicans holding the Palmer airport bag.