The Wrangell sentinel., 1952-07-11
THROUGH THE SENTINEL PERISCOPE
He Probably ssoonded Somebody


 As We sit down to write the Per iscope for this week. there's an ambitious politician on the radio proclaiming to the Republican con yeution in Chicago that he k about to second for maybe it's thirdl the nomination of Senator Robert 4. Taft. With the demonstration for Taft still going on it's probable that only he and his stenographer will ever know what golden words he was giving the world. It's ob- vious nobody else is listening. It must be a thankless job to give the seconding nomination address in a national convention. Idea must be to keep a copy 10 send to your guy" if hes successful. when you make application for a job.
 Which makes one wonder who's seconding address [. s. Attorney Cooper of the Third Division in AL aska made at some time or other. His name was recently sent to thd Senate by President Truman for confirmation as District Judge in the Second Division, Nome. after the Second Division party organiz- ation had recommended the ap- pointment of Attorney Harold Butcher of Anchorage. Meanwhile Delegate You Cant Audit-Me" Bartlett is reported to have adyis- ed the Second Division Democratic committee that he was helpless. al though he is said to have endorsed Butchers appointment. A higher authority" is reported by the Dele gate to have side-tracked the But, cher request from the Second.
 Bob's higher authority no doubt is Ernest Gruening. who got former Second Division Judge Joe Kehoe the job of Secretary of Al. aska and is now attempting to fill the Second Division bench with on of his boys First plan was to put Rep. Wendell P Kay of Ancho-a go over for the position. but that didn't jell at all in the Second so Cooper became the fair-haired boy particularly in view of the fact that then Democratic National Committeeman Howard Lyng of Nome and the narty organization favored the appointment of But cher. The Governor was never one to heed the advice of the party if it conflicted with his ideas of dom ination.
 Interesting sideight on the Sec ond judgeship situation is that Ne vada's Pat McChrran. head of the Senate judiciary committee which passes on such appointments, ask ed the Anchorage Bar Association for an endorsement of Cooper and at last report it hadn't been forth coming.
 Ah Me. The Audit
 In a letter to Territorial Auditor Neil Moore. Mildred Hermann. Sec reary of the Statehood Committee. reports there is s196.56 left of the SIS, ,000 advanced Delegate Bartlett for statehood purposes and she q like to endorse it over to the Aud itor so it may be properly credit ed"
 What the voters of Alaska would naturally like to know is how the other S14,SO344 was expended. And, normally enough. why the Delegate refused an audit while the funds were in his custody in the Second National Bank of Washington. D. C., but now that the account has been closed out and the $19656 turned over to Secretary Hermann. wants an aud it?
 Governor No Talkee
 Tn response to questions by Ed itor James Beard of the Daily tF- aslsa Empire in Juneau relative to the Palmer airport deal and the Comptroller Generals action in re- fusing Federal aid to the project on grounds of "collusion," Gov. Ernest Gruening. who was Chair man of the Alaska Aeronautics and Communications Commission at the time of the now infamous trans action. was strangely silent. He did say that "at an appropriate time" he expected to comment full ly.
 Could be that the appropriate time" was two years ago when the deal was. in the works and the Gov ernor was quoted in a speech in Palmer as describing it as a high ly conservative and intelligent piece of work" and completely correct and honorable
 This. according to the Congess- ional Record is what Lindsay c. Warren, Comptroller of the United States. though of the Governors completely correct and honorable" undert@ king:
 "As a result Of the methods used by Territorial officials to control the true nature of the estimated costs of the project and the failure of raof0noI oFFfnfof1 &n Ss-aIz-~ <,,f