The Visiting Congressmen
By Sherman Dougan
X
The visiting congressmen have
come and gone. They came to
Ketchikan, but escorted and
guarded by government officials
and members of commercial
clubs, only the select could meet
them. Whether they desired to
meet th people of Alaska, I do
not know, but such is the fact.
They spent not more than
three weeks in the Territory
travelling constantly, attending
Chamber of Commeice ban
quets, where you better believe
no fishermen or workingmen
were present or invited, all while
in the tov7 and under survei’
ance of Government Officials.
They travelled on a government
boat for a considerable time, ate
there slept there, lived there.
The Bu e«.us fed +hern, dressed
ad undressed them, and put
them to bed.
It is unavoidable of course,
that even a congressman could
go through so much to do with
out acquiring an opinion about
Alaska. Does anyone for a mo
ment d ffit that it w i; to assist
in forming this opinion that the
bureaus took them in tow, and
led them around like the blind?
It usually happens that juketing
officials who come here and
spend a few days can settle off
hand out of the depths of re
cently asquired wisdom, ques
tions that have perplexed Alas
kans of 30 years residence. And
this was no exception. Listen to
Congressman Dickinson, speak
ing in Seattle, of course:
. .“Before we went north we of
ten heard that bureaus were
handicapping development of
Alaska. Whenever you find a
man running down bureau con
trol, you will find a man who is
wanting to do something the
Government won’t let him do.”.
Possibly obtaining a deben
ture lav/ for farmers!
aiie following by the Seattle
paper is supposed to have been
inspired by the same congress
man:
“The congressman added that
he found governmental regula
tions were designed to aid the
Territory rather than retard de
velopment.”
We wondered if this trip, free
board, lodging, adulation and
whispering by the bureaus would
return no dividends, and wheth
er they, the bureaus, would get
their money’s worth, when we
ran across the following in the
same paper Congressman Sum
mers of the State of Washington,
where they can discharge the
President of the University but
not the football coach, speaking:
“The regulations adopted for
fishing promise to put the sal
mon production back on a stable
basis, while the schedules for
cutting wood pulp are designed
to establish that industry on a
permanent basis from the start.
The Congressman has killed
two birds with one stone. He
lakes charge of both our fish and
our timber, and informs us that
the bureaus know what is best
and will save us if we are not too
obstinate and do not refuse to
heed the voice of bureaucratic
wisdom. It is quite evident that
some other bureaus besides the
Bureau of Fisheries are on the
job and Mr. Sommers is not
afraid to tackle two big problems
and solve them in three weeks’
study and investigation. Con
gressman Dickinson must have
wasted considerable time, being
able to solve but one small prob
lem, while Mr. Sommers has al
ready settled two, and God only
knows how many more he has
under his hat already solved and
awaiting only oracular utter
ance.
Congressman Winters spoke of
putting the “salmon production
t ack on a stable basis.” How
comes it ever to get off a stable
basis? This industry has always
been under one or more Govern
ment bureaus, always, and if it
became unstable, what were the
bureaus doing, and who but the
bureaus were to blame? If they
permitted it to become unstable,
which in the language of com
mon sense means that the fish
eries are depleted, is it not a bit
far fetched to leave these same
bureaus to replenish them. And
is it also not crowding the
mourner’s bench for Mr. Dickin
son to indulge in such abuse of
us who somewhat distrust these
bureaus who are admittedly to
blame for present conditions.
But nevertheless and notwith
standing we are sure glad to
have the advice of that Old
Sourdough, Congressman Dick
inson and that Ancient Mariner
and Fisherman, Congressman
Summers, from the Seaport of
Spokane. A word to the wise is
sufficient. We have been advised
and warned and we know what
to do, and if we are not saved
end go to Hell in spite of all this
good advice, it is no fault of the
Congressman. They told us and
they warned us.
Let it be said m fairness that
the Democratic Congressmen do
not seem to have been so cock
sure about it all, for they kept
quiet. They may have been con
vinced that questions as large as
these could bear some study, and
they may have further suspicions
that bureau chaperonage was
not altogether conducive to as
certaining facts and truth or