Statement on Legislative
Action
August 15, 1929
Flat, Alaska
Mr. William Pav.l,
Editor Alaska Fisherman,
Ketchikan, Alaska
Dear Mr. Paul:
Your June issue of the Alaska
Fisherman which, in this out of
the way place, reached me only
a short time ago, was read by
me with a great deal of inter
est, my attention being especial
ly drawn to your comments on
the various members of the 1929
Legislature.
Some of your points are, un
doubtedly, well taken, but in
many of them you are greatly in
error. I do not wish to enter
into a lengthy discussion in de
fense of the other members but
would like to set you straight on
one or two points in regard to
myself.
X realize, of course, that you
were not present at the recent
session of the Legislature and
therefore have not firsthand in
formation as to what really
transpired there, and naturally,
when one has to look to others
for an account of the actions
and attitude of the Legislators
it is very easy to get things a
little awry. May I not state my
stand on the most controversial
questions?
I did not, at any time, nor did
any other member of the House
advocate an appropriation of
$262,000.00 for the Alaska Col
lege. The ways and means com
mittee, of which I was a mem
ber, recommended an appropria
tion of a little more than $135,
.000.00 and the House Journal
will show that I concurred in
this report. Therefore I feel it
a trifle u.niust to state that I
stood for the larger appropria
lion. As to the Controller Bill,
let me assure you that my stand
would have to be the same re
gardless of what provision was
made to eliminate the affairs of
the Alaska College from the
control of the board suggested.
If the system of appointment of
officials is, in principle, vicious,
and there seems to be a general
concensus of opinion that such
is the case, why transfer the
appointive power to a board of
control? The only remedy for
such a condition is to make the
offices elective and give the
power to the voters of the Ter
ritory, where it naturally be
longs. Nearly every member of
the House, myself included, ad
vocated such a move from the
very opening of the session. This
will put you straight on these
matters. In justice to myself,
as well as to the other members
of the Legislature, I trust that
you will publish this letter in
the next issue of the Alaska
Fisherman.
Very Truly Yours
HARRY DONNELLY. . . .
--x
THE REPLY
Ketchikan Alaska
Sept 13, 1929
Hon. Harry Donnelly,
Flat, Alaska.
Dear Mr. Donnelly:
I am glad to get your letter of
August 15th excepting to the
published account of yourself as
a legislator. It is true as you.
state that I had to gather my
information from others since I
was not present during any part
of the session.
The Fairbanks College
From your lette” I take it
that you did not approve of Mr.
Bunnell’s request for $262,000,
but would have and did approve
the sum of $135,000.
I might not have disagreed
with you had I been there.
The Conti*olier Bill
You take the position (altho
attributing it to the “concensus
of opinion”) that the system of
appointment of officials is “vi
cious.”
It seems to me that you have
missed the point entirely.
The entire point within the
Controller Bill was the question
of responsibility. Under the
federal system, the appoint
ments, whether good or bad,
came from Washington, D. C.,
and from a source not of the*
people of Alaska. Under the
Controller system (or elective
system) the source of power was
with the people of Alaska. You
would declare appointments by
each system equally vicious.
This is not true. Where the
people elect their officials who
appoint, the officials are answer
able to the people for all their
acts and nobody can complain if
the official is reelected. But wo
certainly object when these ap
pointments are made by officials
responsible to outside influen: as.
I have no quarrel with the ap
pointment system providing the
ultimate appeal is *e the people
of Alaska. You did provide ad
ditional elective offices (as to
the commissioner of educatic > a
debatable question as to its wis -
dom), but you really established
the Controller system, a fact
which you do not seem to real
ize even now.
Your tirade against the Senate
was ill-advised for they were
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