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Strong Eisenhower Support Seen as
Only Key to Alaska Statehood in 1957
By FRANK W. VAILLE
WASHINGTON, lS)—Hopeful
but cautious, advocates of state
hood for Alaska and Hawaii to
day looked to President Eisen
hower for the key which could
open the door to their long-sought
goals.
Any change in the administra
tion attitude, previously one of
all-out support for Hawaii but
cool toward Alaska, might be dis
closed when the President goes
before Congress with his State of
the Union message on Jan. 10.
Typical of the congressional at
titude toward the need for presi
dential support was that of Sen.
Jackson (D-Wash), chairman of
the Senate Territories Subcom
mittee.
“If the President will take a de
cisive stand for statehood and
will rouse enough reluctart Re
publicans, we can win the historic
fight this year,” Jackson declared.
“Even so, the vote in the Senate
will be close.”
Executive Branch Is The Key
Chairman Engle (D-Calif),
whose House Insular Affairs
Committee can be counted on to
push statehood bills for both ter
ritories, also said success or fail
ure of the drive depends on how
“vigorously” the executive branch
backs the bills.
One veteran Republican leader,
himself lukewarm toward admit
ting either territory, said private
ly that anything short of all-out
presidential endorsement will
leave the two territories on dead
center as in past years.
With the extent of current ad
ministration support still a ques
tion, statehood supporters never
theless still assess .their chances
in the coming session as “better
than ever.”
Definite Gains
They see two definite gains in
recent months:
1. For the first time, platforms
of both major parties call for im
mediate statehood for both Alas
ka and Hawaii. But Republicans
conditioned their endorsement of
Alaska to call for proper recogni
tion of strategic defense consider
ations.
2. Appointment of Fred A. Sea
ton as secretary of the Interior
placed a strong statehood sup
porter within the administration.
Observers believe Seaton’s pre
decessor, Douglas McKay, sup-*"
pressed his personal support for
statehood in the face of opposi
tion within the administration.
They expect Seaton to be more
forceful in trying to sell his po
sition.
The net effect of two other re
cent changes is open to further
question.
Statehood Desire Obvious
Advocates believe that Alaska’s
approval of a constitution for the
proposed state and adoption of
the Tennessee Plan removes any
question of its willingness to as
sume responsibilities of statehood.
At least one supporter, Rep.
Miller (R-Neb), however, has
foreseen publicly a danger that
the two senators-elect and a rep
resentative-elect sent here to
plead Alaska’s cause under the
Tennessee Plan may make them
selves “obnoxious” if they seek to
“demand” statehood.
Miller also mentions “defiance”
of the Senate Internal Security
subcommittee by leaders of the
International Longshoremen’s and
Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU)
and Hawaii’s election of a Demo
cratic delegate to Congress with
ILWU backing, and sees in these
developments a “serious handi
cap” to that territory’s aspira
tions.
On the other hand, the Hawaii
an election in which the island
sent Democrat John A. Burns to
succeed a Republican delegate,
■Mrs. Elizabeth Farrington, is seen
by some supporters as a possible
lure to Democratic votes in Con
gress. They feel it disproved the
earlier contentions that Hawaii
was a Republican stronghold that1
could be counted on to strengthen j
that party’s position in Congress. 1
i
Statehood supporters for both
territories have made one tactical
change as they maneuver for po
sition in resuming their long
fight. Because both Alaska and
Hawaii now have adopted consti
tutions for their proposed states,'
Delegates Bartlett (D-Alaska) and
Burns will present admission bills
to Congress rather than the cus
tomary enabling legislation.
If approved, the new procedure
! would shorten considerably the
time required for actual admit
tance of the two territories into
the Union.
Enabling legislation of past
years set up. the mechanics for
admission, including adoption of
a constitution subject to still la
ter ratification by Congress. The
proposed admission bill calls for
approval now by Congress of the
state constitutions, thereby elim
inating the need and delay in
volved in obtaining a second ap
proval by Congress.
Of the two territories, Hawaii
in the past has come closest to
attaining its goal. Bills to grant
statehood to the Pacific territory
passed the House in 1947, 1950
and 1953 and cleared the Senate
in combination with Alaska in
1954. Alaska got House approval
only in 1950 and, except for the
1954 companion bill, has not come
■ before the Senate.
A combined Alaska-Hawaii bill
was rejected by the House in
| 1955. |
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| Anchorage Named
One of 11 All
American Cities
ANCHORAGE — Elation was
voiced by those who helped pre
sent Anchorage’s case as one of
of the top 11 cities in the nation
in citizen participation.
“The All-American city award
for Anchorage is an outstanding
example of the cooperative ef
forts of the people of Anchorage
to make their ci1;y a 'better one,”
said George Byers, president of
the Government Employes Coun
cil which submitted Anchorage’s
name in the contest.
“Their vision to see, their faith
to believe and their courage to,
do, will as it has in the past,
continue in the future to make
Anchorage the pride of the north,
an all-American city at the air
crossroads of the world.”
Three other Far West cities be
sides Anchorage are among the
11 United States communities
named as the year’s all-American
cities in the annual contest co
sponsored by the National Muni
cipal League and Look Magazine.
The three other Western cities
were Tacoma, Wash., Oakland,
Calif., and Torrance, Calif.
Other winners were Altus,
Okla., Brattleboro, Vt., Elgin,
111., Laurinburg, N.C., St. Louis
and Springfield, Mo., and Zanes
ville, Ohio.
Awards were made on the basis
of alert action taken by citizens
to meeting pressing community
problems and to push for needed
civic improvements.
Brazil exported about as much
rubber in 1920 as it did in 1910,
but in 1910 the 16 to 20 thousand
ton export was 90 per cent of
the world supply and in 1920 it
was only about 10 per cent.
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ALASKAN BOOKS
New Titles Include - - -
i
Blood on the Arctic Snow, which includes
a stoVy by Bill Munz
Tatuk— A child’s story by Helen Lomen
Tale of a Whale, A child’s story by Linn
Forrest (architect for Nome School)
Story of Alaska—Beautifully Illustrated—
by Harold McCracker
State of Alaska, by former Gov. Gruening
Through Hell to Alaska, by Myers
| s
Alaska Sourdough, the story of Slim <
Williams.
■
Journey of Enchantment—A Texan’s Tall
Tale of Alaska—by Johnson
i :
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