The Wrangell sentinel., 1950-09-15
THROUGH TIFF SENTINEL PERISC0PE

this period of political campaign ing is the noise being stirred up over the expenditure of money oy the Alaska Statehood Committee in trying to push the statehoou uln through Congress. Sid Charles aown at the ketchikan News, who opposes statehood under the pres eut biu. blared out with photo static copies Of the warrants pad to Delegate Bartlett to hire assis- lance ln battling the statehood biil technically known us an en- aDnng aet-through Congress. The Juneau Empire, also against state hood on grounds of costing too muen, joined the ,tumult. The main cry is that the expenditure or the money appropriated by the Leg islature 10 the Statehood Com mlttee is somehow illegal. an i'm plleation which comes in handy In this year or smear campaign.
 The fact is that the law creat- ing the Alaska Statehood Com mlttee, enacted by the 1949 Leg 1siature, provides specifically for exactly what was done and it's Just as legal as the bird on Sid's masthead. This is what it says un- der Section three Of Chapter 10S, session laws of 1949, page 271 under powers and duties of the committee:
 Make available to the Delegate from Alaska at the earliest reaao- able time pertinent information and suggestions, and such other assistance in obtaining passage of the best possible enabling legis- lation by Congress as the Commit tee may deem necessay or adYis- able
 In other words, the law gives the committee virtually blanket athority to try and get a state hood bil enacted. The Delegate, Alaska's man in Congress, is auto matically the man to do the job. To give hm assistance the com mittee decided to give him S25,oOO or the SoU.UUJ appropriation to help do the job. At the time the committee So acted, the State hood Committees funds were un- der the Board of Administration freeze order. The Board, realizing the intent Of the Legislature to try and get Statehood, dug down and released the money regard less of some of their personal views on the statehood issue. Of the $25,000 authorized, $15.0O0 has been expended by the Delegate in hiring some help.
 And that nbrings up another bub- ble the opponents are making stink about. The committee obtain ed the services of Randolf Feltus and Associates, lobbying firm in Washington, on presentations to the Delegate that Feltus could do Senator Andrew F. Schoeffel of Kansas up in the Senate with the charge that Feltus lobbied for So- viet Poland, implying some com munistic leanings, thus getting Alaska Statehood tied up the na- tional Communist rin government controversy. Out of it all comes, naturally enough, some potent anti-statehood fodder, all of which is used by the anti-statehood group in Alaska.
 Whether Feltus is red, white or blue, or all three, we have no way of knowing At any rate. he doesn't work for the Statehood Committee any more. Perhaps, too, the committee erred in their sell eetion of a lobbyist, but 1t must be remembered that usually pro fessional lobbyist is a person who will work for almost anybody if he gets paid enough money. So if Bartlett and the committee erred in obtaining helper it doesn't follow that the efforts of the Dell egate and the Statehood Committee were illegal or even wasteful. They were trying to do just what the Legislature in Chapter IOS told them to do.
 (Incidentally. Sid, Perilscope doesn't belie.e there are any Reds on the Statehood Committee as we look over the list and see the names of such Alaskans as Andrew Nerland, Mildred Hermann, Boh Atwood and Percy Ipalook, mem bers of your own party).
 
 Gov. Ernest Gruening flew tc Washington this week where hs qdssof IolpuaS sIoysq 6JEssl II!A 0'Mahoney's Senate. committee oI Interior affairs The Senator has indicated he wants a full hearing
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