The Daily Alaska empire., 1950-09-30
Irene Ryan of Anchorage.

Irene Ryan of Anchorage.
 Mrs. Ryan, mining engineer by her own statement, as you are no doubt well aware, received $37 ,235.73 from the Alaska aeronautics revolv- ing fund during a period of approxi- mately eight months. This. for your information is equal to the tax on a million eight hundred sixty-one thousand gallons of motor fuel. And now Mrs. Ryan has been appointed to organize the Democrats. As I said before, we have a Territorial en- gineer but his office does not ap- pear to function to provide engineer ing service for the Territory, not withstanding his campaign promises of economy to the Territory because he is an engineer.
 Travel Expenses
 mentioned a few moments ago that engineers employed by the vari- ous departments receive the usual S1O per day extra while travelling Travel expense is large item in the expenses of many of our Terri torial departments, and in some in stances the figures are truly stag gering. Between April 1, 1949, and Aug. Is, 1850, for example, the Ter ritorial department of health ex- pended $165,261.07 for travel ex- penses. This does not include the operation of motor vehicles or boats. I repeat those figures-$165, ,26l or. Now the members of the Territorial legislature are reimbursed at the rate of fifteen cents per mile for travel to and from Juneau. believe this generally actually covers the expense of their travel. Figuring from that rate, the health depart ment travel bill would account for 1.1O1,74 and four-tenths miles. Some of you who are quick at fig ures could no doubt calculate how many times around the earth at the equator this would be, or how many trips to the moon and back it would represent. Alaska may not have the largest department of health in the country, but I would be willing to bet that it has the most-traveled department of health in the world.
 The law provides that is shall be the duty of the governor of Alaska to look into the conduct of the off ces of the Territorial government. Does our present governor do that? You have heard some of the facts about the conduct of those offices and can guess the answer. cannot at this time give you all of the facts disclosed by our Investigations, but I can say that the Territory is in sorry mess. Many taxpayers may be- lieve that somewhat higher taxes are a necessity because of increased cost, but I think none of them feel that their tax money should be stolen, wasted and thrown away. l can say in deep sincerity from what I know that the four horsemen are loose upon us, the taxpayers of Alaska. They are-dishonesty, cor ruption. malfeasance and miSfeaS- ance.
 Correct Abuses
 You, the taxpayers and voters, have it within your power to make a start toward correcting these abuses at the election in October. The Democratic administration can didates vii come before you with the same old talk about welfare and pensions and the public spending they are doing for your benefit. Do not forget that every single dollar comes out of the pockets of the tax payers-and that you are the tax payers. By their use of the taxpayers money they have built up vicious political machine. The purpose of the machine is to get more and more money out of the taxpayers pockets.
 At Nome they have Colonel Mar ston, who is on the payroll at $6500 year. At the time of the last elec- ton he was a major. His business was and is to get out the vote, and the vote, you may be sure, will be for the administration candidates. He delivered the goods at the last election. He subsequently, received the promotion, at a further cost to all of us. There may have been no connection between the results of the election and his promotion, but I suspect that there was.
 The governor of Alaska wrote to Mrs. Grace Kohler at Hope, Alaska, and to Mr. c. Heurlin at Barrow, Alaska. These letters are now before Congress and they were recently published by the newspaper, the Fairbanks News-Miner and it's cour- ageous editor. These letters, it seems to me, are a clear violation of the federal statute known as the Hatch act.
 Foster Letter
 Don c. Foster. recently depOSed