STATEHOOD ISSUE AGAIN REVIEWED'
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Additional
Facts Aired
On Vital Bill
I
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<EDlTOR'S NOTE: Howard
Lyng ha* served ibree lerrcs in
the Alaska Legislature: was ;
Speaker oi the House ot Rep- j
resentatives, 1939 Ses*!on: :s a
member oi Alaska's Ecerd ei
Public Welfare and Democratic
National Committeeman for I
Alaska.)
By HOWARD LYNG
PART I
Your editor ha.- asked me toj|
write a second article on state-1
hood tor Alaska—a sort of com- j
panion piece to the one hat. 1J
wrote for the Christmas edition |
of The Nugget—this one to deal;
with the mechanics o< acquiring!
statehood, including an explana-1
tion oi the method and details
involved in the process of becom
ing a state.
However, before getting around
to this. I would like -o call your |
attention to some of the monkey ;
w renches that have been thrown I
into die Congressional machinery j
that has been appraising and
studying Delegate Dimond’s state-,
hood bill for the past several
months This, of course, was to
bp expected, and is merely the
normal result of rampant beauro
oraev in action
Bill Introduced by Dimond
When a Bill pertaining to
Alaska is introduced by Delegate
Dimond in the House of Repre
sentatives. it is handed over to
the committee on Terri'ories, who
in turn hold hearings on the bill,
inviting those who favor or op
pose it to step up and give their
reasons. The Committee on Ter
ritories, after concluding their
hearings and investigation, report
the bill back to the floor of the
H*use. recommending1 either for
or against the passage of the bill.
Among those who appeared be
fore this committee in the matter,
of Statehood, either in person or
by delegated authority, were the
Secretary of the Interior, the j
Secretary of War, the Secretary;
of the Navy, the Secretary of Ag
riculture, and the Secretary of
Commerce—all members of the!
Roosevelt cabinet, and all heads j
of the various national depart- \
ments of government, who, j
through the many bureaus work-j
ing under them in Alaska, control,
the destinies of our Territory.!
If you think I’m kidding, look;
up the record — There has never
yet been a major piece of legis
lation passed by Congress that in
volves Alaska Without the O. K.
of the above-named gentlemen.
All of the above-mentioned in
dicated they were favorable to
statehood for Alaska—after the
war—with the exception of Sec
retary of the Interior Ickes.
As the Department of the In
terior has by far the major man
date in the management of Alas
ka with respect to Ps natural
resources, we are therefore prin
cipally concerned here with the
objections of Mr. Ickes, who runs
the Interior Department as a one
man show. Mr. Ickes. through
his department, has charge of the
public domain—four-fifths of
Alaska—national parks and mon
uments, Bureau of Indian Af
fairs, coal and oil lands, fisheries,
fur and game. The governor and
the secretary of Alaska are em
ployes of the Department of the
Interior, appointed by the Presi
dent.
Mr. Ickes lists as his objections
to the passage of Mr. Dimond’s
statehood Bill: Cl) Sparseness of
population; (2) Insufficiency of
public services; (3> The Treritory’s
economy is unstable and unsound:
•(4) The natural resources belong
to the entire nation, and if trans
ferred to Alaska would be unwise
ly used or looted by absentee
ownership.
The first three of his objections
were covered in my first article
—the fourth, and principal one,
will be dealt with here.
Mr. Ickes has long regarded
Alaska is his special oyster, and
long ago staked out his claim to
-overeignity over it. He has con
iatuly and aggressively reached
a lor more power, not only here
ou; nauonw.de, brooking no in-1
terlerecnce from any source—cas- i
ligating those who disagree with1
bim. with his special brand ofi
vituperat'on and venom. This ap
pointed public officer and cabi
net member, who ran. for various
oubiic effaces in his home town of
Chicago, over a period of 25 year *
—and elected to none—is a per- !
feet example of a frustrated ego-'
centric plaeed in a position of au
thority and power.
This s the man who demanded j
of Governor Troy and the 1939
Legislature, an eight per cent gross
I \
tax on gold, plus a graduated net
' tax. When the Legislature righ‘
fully and indignantly refused to
| comply with this pre-emtory or
j der, Mr. Ickes vented his spleen
! on Governor Troy in the nature
i of a telegram that 1 would not j
i send to a yellow dog.
Troy Accused As FitM
Among other things, he accused
: Governor Troy of being false to
, his oath of office. I know 'his tq!
1 be true because I read the tele-!
i '
gram and helped write the reply.
■ This illustrates the u'ter contempt
! in which Mr. Ickes holds Alas
i kans, for Governor Troy was one
of our best loved and respected
citizens, who was then completing
40 years of honorable service to
his Terri ory as our foremos'i
newspaj>er publisher and editor,
and six years as governor. Gov
ernor Troy resigned shortly after
this typical takes ian episode, bro
ken in health and spirit. Needless
to say, if Mr. takes’ order had
beei^made into la&’ by the Legts
latiuf#, it would have sounded the
death knell of the gold mining in
dustry in Alaska.
This man, who seems to pos
sess the power of absolutism over
Alaska, states in part, regarding
the Sta'ehood Bill: “With certain
specifications. this provision
^statehood* would in effect, turn
over to one state ‘he tremendous
natural resources acquired by the
United Sta'es and held as a na
tional asset for the entire people.''
The Federal Government’s es
tablished practice has always been
to hold in trust the natural re
sources of all Territories during
the periods preceding statehood.
When statehood Is achieved they
are turned over to ‘he newly
created state. This procedure has
been followed in every Territory
that has bceome a state, and is
one of the reasons for America’s
erea'ness. accomplished through
the settlement and development
of the 48 states that comprise the
Union. It should he remembered
‘hat all but the original 13 states
were once territories. There if also
another bas s for this practice,
other than custom. In the year
1787. there was promulgated what
was and is still called—the Ordi
nance. 1! was under the terms of
'his Ordinance that all of our
western Terri'ories developed in
to flourishing states.
Now conies the oniniscent Mr.
Ickes, who totally disregards this
long-established custom, inform
ing Congress that Alaska has no
right to its natural resources, ei- y
their as a source of revenue to
mad its operating expenses, or
for the purpose of legitimate ex
ploitation under the American
system of free enterprise.
•Continued on Page 19)
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