The Nome nugget., 1962-10-24
TO THE ALASKAN VOTERS


 I am opposed 10 the election of Ernest GruenIng to the Senate and Ralph Rivers ie the House and here with are h4y reasons for my opposi- t1en aad sebs.a stiated facts as to my opposition.
 The Enabling Act creating a Ter rltorlai legislature. stated the num- Der of Senators and House members. set the day of election and the date they We're 10 be sworn in.
 The law set the number of days that the legislature was to sit in session at 50 days with provision that the governor might again call them ln session for period not eX- ceedin9 90 days
 In December. l948. the Secretary of the Territory upon instructions from Gov. Graening. at that time in Wash inston. called an extraordinary ses- sion for Is days ahead Of the regular | session.
 He included in this call members who had been elected but who were ! not to take office Gntil % days later. ! Was holdover Senator from the l filth legislature so I had to attend ! When the members had been sworn | in by the Secretary of the Territory and the Senate organized I asked for and was granted the privilege Of the floor and asked that Atty General Ralph Rivers be brought be- lore the Senate for questioning as to the legality of seating members in q speelai session. when the law speci- fieally stated that the governor might again call them. stating at the time that there were six members who had been sworn in with whom I had never sat in session with BEFORE 50 how could be sitting with them AGAINo
 rny,tX was confusing tenure of office with term of office-and went on to say that the call was perfectly legal repiled was not confusing tenure nor term of office at all. but statine my whole act o n on that word AGAIN have never sat with these six people BEFORE so under any interpretation I could not be sitting With them AGAIN
 Later Tn the session a test was made before Judge Folta. whose de
 cision and reasoning published in | Alaska Reports No. 1e upon pages
 440 and Al. in which he stated as
 follows: Obviously the word again In the foregoing provision would be | meaningless if any extraordinary ses-
 sion of the legislature was called
 subsequent to the issuance of the
 certificates of election or before the
 conVenina of the regular session -accordingly it is my opinion that
 the extraordinary session was not
 constituted in accordance with law ;"
 MT. Gruening as governor and Mir
 Rivers as attorney general had taken
 the oath of office to uphold and de
 fead the laws of the United States
 as we legislators had done.
 In my opinion it was gross vio-
 lation of their oath of office when
 they undertook to get around the
 law 10 accomplish some purpose of
 their own. If MT. Rivers. as an at
 torney. did not know that what he
 had stated was illegal. it would in-
 dicate he was not versed in law.
 If he yielded to pressure from Gov. Gruening motivated by actions
 to give him stricter hold on the leg
 islature. then Gov. Gruening was guilty of not living up to his oath of office and MT. Rivers of not stand
 ing up to him.
 A man is known by his acts any
 citizen can go into the law library. Folta's decision.
 To me lie is a statement made to deceive one entitled to know the | facts. All I ask is that when you | come to vote. do not be led to vote for them for party reasons nor ridi- culing of the opponents, but to judge them by what is proven fact as what they did.
 I have lived at Nome for 62 years. know many of you personally, and at no time in my life have I ever knowingly lied to you. swear that the above statements are true-so let sense, not sentiment, rule your actions and vote for the best in terests of Alaska.
 Sincerely and respectfully yours, = CHAS. D. JONES D.: