The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1950-04-28

meant much to the development
of Alaska; bottled up and kept in
tact for the benefit of vague and
nebulous people" never for the in
dividual Alaskans who were actu-
ally here and in a position to use
and develop them.
Oldtime memorial
Alaska's Home Rule" fight has
been carried on by individuals, py
corporations and by elected and
appointed representatives OF the
people of Alaska. The first Alaska
Legislature, 81 years ago, memori-
allied Congress: THAT no further
reservations be made, that some OF
those already in existence be abol-
ished or diminished, and that the
Tongass and Chugach National
Forest Reservations be thrown open
for general use of the prospector
miner and settler" so
The Memorial might as well have
been sent to the furnace room OF the
Elks Lodge building in Juneau
where the Legislature was thct
holding its sessions, for all the re,
suits it brought. Reservations havs
increased and multiplied SO thai
there is in Alaska today scarcely
an acre of land or square mile OF
water over which the Interior De
partment, through one or more ol
it's agencies. does not assert some
sort of jurisdiction.
The best present hope of the PEG
pie of Alaska in securing Home
Rule" for the PROPOSED state. ir
fighting off the bureaucratic fea'
lures of H.R. 331 and regainins
some of the liberal provisions Of
H.R. FOG lies, it seems to me, in the
Alaska Statehood Committee creates
by the last Territorial Legislature
l confess that at the time tn.
committee was created / saw n.
necessity for it's existence. At thai
time there was a widespread notion
in Alaska at least, that our state.
hood enabling act would be along
the lines of Delegates Bartlett's H.R
FOG or a very similar measure.
Importance of Committee
In view of subsequent events, II
which the Interior Department go'
| its heavy hand into the Legislative
pie and grasped at most Of the
plums, the Alaska Statehood Com
mittee has grown greatly in inn
| portance to Alaska's future.
Although a major portion of thu
funds appropriated for the work o.
the committee are unavailable be-
cause of the Territorys financia
plight, number of its members arr
presently in Washington to appear
before the Senate committee anc
give their views on statehood.
Several members of the AlaSks
Statehood Committee and other.
who are now attending the Wash
ington hearing have previously madt
public their views on the dispo-
sition of Alaska's resources under
| statehood and we can assume that
they will make determined effort
to remedy the defects of the pre-.
sent bill.
Delegate E. l.. Bartlett is an hon.
orary and ex-officio member OF the
Alaska Statehood Committee. Dele
gate Bartlett is well aware OF the
throttling of Alaskan development
by bureaucratic control OF the re-
sources and three years ago he at
tempted to remedy the situation
with his statehood enabling bill. He
can, therefore. be expected to re-
main at the forefront in fighting
continued Interior Department con-
troll of our resources through the
substitute statehood BILL
Another honorary and ex-officic
member of the committee is Judge
Anthony j. Dimond, former Dele
gate from Alaska. At hearings IN
Washington three years ago judge
Dimond expressed him elf as
strongly favoring an end to bureau
cratic control of Alaska's resources
and even advocated that the Ma
tional Forests be turned over to the
new state. 1t can be anticipated
that Judge Dimond, both as
member of the committee and as a
citizen and longtime resident OF
Alaska, will ably challenge H.R
331 which, in its present form, would
sell Alaska down the river to In
terror Department slavery.
Disillusi0nment
An active member of the Alaska
Statehood Committee is William L.