The Wrangell sentinel., 1952-06-20
THROUGH THE SENTINEL PERISCOPE
The Famed Audit

a
 You'll recall, of course, the fam ous "you-can 't-audit-me" position of Delegate E. L. Bob" Bartlett in connection with the Alaska Statehood committee funds?
 Well, this is the way it is worn ing out. The books. record. docu- ments and the balance of the funds have been turned over to 'we-can-eat- beans" for statehood Mildred Hermann of Juneau, sec retary of the Statehood committee. and now Robert Atwood of An chorage. chairman of the statehood committee, demands an audit by Auditor Neil Moore of the accounts in the custody of Mrs. Hermann
 Says Chairman Atwood in a let ter 70 members of the Alaska Statehood Committee. Delegate Bartlett has now asked me to re- quest the audit upon the closing of the accounts with him and the transfer of the books and records and bank balance to the custody of Mrs. Hermann at Juneau"
 In case you've forgotten, this is the report in the Congressional Re- cord, official record Of the act o9 Congress. during the statehood hearings last winter:
 "When the Territorial Auditor, Mr Neil Moore, demanded an ae- counting of the money from MT. Bartlett. the delegate flatly refused to give such accounting. Territor- ial law requires that the Territor- ial Auditor shall audit. or cause to be audited each biennium, the ac- counts of every officer. department head or individual handling Alas kan funds. Following MT. Bart let's refusal to submit to an ac- counting voluntarily, MT. Moore, in pursuance of his duty as auditor commissioned an auditing firm to visit Delegate Bartletts office and audit his accounts The auditor ap- peared in Mr Bartletts office and presented his credentials but was refused access to the necessary re- cords"
 Now that the accounts, and the balance of the funds have been turned over to Secretary Hermann, who, incidentally, is a candidate for a Senate seat in the First Divi- sion on the Republican ticket, Del egate Bartlett, writes Atwood to the members of his committee, now wants an audit.
 The old saying is that there are more ways than one to skin a cat Yep, guess so. We, like a great many other voters in the Terri tory, are trying to catch on to the Bartlett technique. After all, it isn't everybody who can refuse an audit of public funds under his control and get away with it.
 Transfer of Fisheries
 In the public prints Delegate Bartlett is quoted as expressing surprise that the Interior Depart ment cold-shouldered the congress- ional hearings on the subject of transferring the Alaska Fisheries from the federal government to Territorial control.
 Bartlett. probably spearing a. round for few votes in this cleo ton, had led his constituents in the Territory to believe that every thing was all hunky-dory and dear old Interior would be in there pitching for the transfer with the advice and admonitions of Bob Bartlett and Ernest Gruening, head man for Interior in the Tar- .ritory. Both very likely knew bet ter.
 Back in the old Biological Sur vey and Bureau of Fisheries days. before the two were united in In- terior as the Fish and Wildlife Service, there was what amounted to a fixed policy in both agencies against state or territorial control of these resources on grounds that politics would dominate local con- trol with the result that the re- sources would be dissipated This policy was enhanced with the amalgamation of the two agencies in the Interior Department, partic- ularly under the regime of Ira Gahrielson, a strong and thorough ly sincere foe of state control When "Gabe" retired a few years aoo. Albert Day. trained in the old Biological Survey school where all true conservationists were born took over as director of F'WS.
 When present Interior Secretary Oscar Chapman was a do-gooder in Denver with Judge Lindsay, Ernest