CONCERNING TAXES
(Continued from Page Three)
General expenses of
Fish Commission 2,500.00
Secretarial work including
11,500.00
1,000.00
83,500.00
at
163,360.00
stream survey
Equipping office for
records
Total Fish Hatchery
appropriation
Agricultural College
Fairbanks total
Ship subsidies
Kuskokwim route
Nome route
Nome Telephone to
Candle subsidy 4,000.00
This will give you a quick
idea of what was expended.
I am running for reelection
and asking for your support on
my record, to-wit;
10,000.00
17,000.00
I was the only man who suc
cessfully reduced any tax rate.
Due to my work on the Ways
and Means Committee, the tax
rate on Shingles was cut 50%
equalizing it with lumber.
The rate on Mild Cure Sal
mon was reduced from $1.45 a
tierce to $.45 which together
with the federal tax makes it
90c. I have saved the mild
cure men on whom so much of
our prosperity depends $1.00
per tierce. A man like H. R.
Thompson who packed about
800 tierces last year saved thru
my efforts the sum of $800.00.
The Ketchikan Lumber &
Shingle Co., in which Fred
Heckman, Selig and other can
nery and trap men are interest
ed save thru my efforts about
$250.00
I opposed our entire fish
hatchery system and had I been
successful I would have saved
the territory and you the sum
of $83,500.00. We have spent
over $300,000 to date on fish
hatcheries, duplicating the fed
eral government, and learning
absolutely nothing. Most of
the fish hatched at Ketchikan
were lost at Pond Lake on
Duke Island due to bungling
on the part of the hatchery of
ficials. The wire fence was
washed out by the tide and
the salmon escaped before time.
The entire production of the
Cordova hatchery was lost last
fall because no provision was
made to guard against the
freshets that ,come every fall
to all coast rivers in Alaska.
The Seward hatchery is built
at a place where there is in
sufficient water supply so that
in a dry season, the attendants
have to carry water in buckets
or boats from distant places.
•I also opposed the appropria
tion to the College at Fair
banks for the reason that I
consider it poor business for
the territory to appropriate
$163,000 to educate TWENTY
SEVEN bona fide students
practically all of whom come
from points OUTSIDE of Al
aska.
1 give you warning now that
the Fairbanks people are plan
ning another raid on the treas
ury. The raid is now being
engineered by Pres. Charles
Bunnell, recently endorsed by
the “Independent Voters of
Ketchikan” many of whom be
long to this Commercial Club.
I opposed ship subsidies, but
was in a hopeless minority. I
am still opposed to subsidies
on this theory that I believe
it wrong to tax all the citizens
of the territory in order to
make a particular business pay
a profit. You know what we
would come to if every bus
iness received a subsidy.
I forgot to list in the appro
priations $4,000.00 for an En
gineer of the Territorial Road
Commission, an office that has
absolutely no duties to perform
for the reason that the entire
appropriation for roads is turn
ed over by the Territory to the
federal government. This of
fice is strictly a political office
and came into existence with
the need of certain politicians
in Juneau.
I am hoping that this letter
will receive your careful con
sideration and that you will go
into the matter of appropria
tions which you must admit is
the controlling factor. I intend
to print this letter, and shall
also print your reply for other
candidates should have their at
tention called to what business
men think of the tax situation
Respectfully,
William L. Paul.
Subscribe for The Fisherman.
THE LIST LEGISLATURE
House Bill No. 25
The Probate Bill
This bill was introduced by
William L. Paul at the request
of Attorney General John Rust
gard, on March 19th. It was
referred to the Judiciary Com
mittee of which Joseph Mur
ray was chairman. On April
11th it was still in that com
mittee, having had no consid
eration whatever. Perhaps the
fact that it was a bill contain
ing 137 pages had something
to do with that fact.
It was a bill that deserves
careful attention and with some
changes should become a law,
but it soon became apparent
that the House would not give
the bill any consideration on
the ground of lack of time.
Many in the House told Mr.
Paul that they could not sup
port the bill simply because
they would not have time to
even read the bill. After con
sulting with friends of such
legislation like H. H. Ross of
Fairbanks, W. D. Grant, J. J.
Elliott of Nome and others,
Mr. Paul asked for and obtain
ed unanimous consent to with
draw the bill, providing at the
time that the copies of the bill
should be collected and deliv
ered to the attorney general
for introduction in the next
legislature on or about the first
day of the session.
While Mr. Paul acted with
entire innocence in withdraw
ing the bill, he made a serious
mistake in not consulting with
Mr. Rustgard who was the real
father of the bill. The trouble
was that Mr. Paul did not
realize that Mr. Rustgard want
ed a record vote on that bill
altho realizing that it could
not pass, for the purpose of
making it a campaign issue in
1926. As a result of this act
however, John Rustgard raved
around the streets of Juneau
like a wild man, cursing Paul
in language that had never
been heard to come from him
before as he strode about the
streets of Juneau in those gar
gantuan boots of his. He had
considered that Paul had pur
posely done the “dirty” deed