r
"Our Motto is truth and accuracy”
JESSErrsmUEEKLY
"The All-Alaska Weekly"
RATION A l EDITORIAL
lAS^c6T'
;n
INCORPORATED
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA
“For flip cause that lacks assistance; for the wrona that needs resistance
for the future in the distance, and the good that we can do.”
Home Owned. Controlled, and Edited. Jessen's Weekly was established Jan. 22. 19-12.
Published every week at Fairbanks. Alaska; Post Office Box 970. Enteied at the Post
Office at Fairbanks, Alaska, as second class matter under the Act of March 3. 1879.
£. F. JESSEN, Publisher; RICHARD J. GREUEL. Editor; E. J. SANDBECK. Business
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Investigating Committees . . .
What's in a word? Plenty, when it pertains to Legis
lative Committees.
Take the word "investigating" for example. When
applied to a Legislative Committee it means plenty of
headlines and no real accomplishment.
It means plenty of committee members jockeying for
position to grab the limelight on page one. It means plenty
of expense to the taxpayer without any real benefits to
show for it.
Try to think of one "Investigating Committee" that
has ever really accomplished anything. The reason is quite
simple.
Legislators don't create "Investigating Commit
i tees" when they have constructive accomplishment in
mind. There are several reasons for this.
First of all, there exists in the Legislative branch of our
State government a Legislative Council and a Legislative
Audit Committee. These are permanent committees that
function all year long.
Second, there are Standing Committees in each House
of the Legislature to consider any subject that might come
up. These committees function all the while the Legislature
is in session.
Anytime the Legislature is interested in construe*
tive accomplishment, they utilize the facilities of an
existing committee. If an inquiry is to be made into
the operations of a portion of the State government,
then the pertinent existing committee holds "hear
ings" on the subject.
un some occasions sucn nearings nave proaucea
evidence that resulted in remedial legislation and better
government. When this is true, the findings have been
brought to light. Otherwise the subject of the "hearing"
has been quietly forgotten.
Not so with "Investigating Committees. These
groups, generally formed in the heat of Legislative pas
sion, are on the spot unless they produce something sen
sational to back up the initial, and usually wild, charges
that caused the formation of such a superfluous committee
in the first place.
Probably there is no remedy for the occasional rash
of special "Investigating Committees". They appear to be
a human frailty of our Legislative process.
More serious as far as the taxpayer goes, is a
measure which has already passed the House of Rep
resentatives to create a permanent "investigating"
! committee. This recalls the 1953 Session of the Leg
islature, which created a like group.
The 1953 group earned considerable pay and per
diem, hired a high priced professional "investigator" from
the Outside, and accomplished virtually nothing. In 1955,
the committee was silently put to death.
That same 1953 Session created a Legislative Council.
This group is still in existence and has accomplished great
good for the State of Alaska.
The Council and its companion Audit Committee
I have conducted plenty of "hearings" since their crea
! tion. They are fully capable of handling the work of
the Legislature between Sessions.
The only possible justification for a permanent "in
vestigating" committee would be to give added per diem
and prestige to additional members of the Legislature. We
v/onder if the taxpayers will consider it to be worth the
added expense?
Caught In |
The Sluicebox i
(Continued from Page 1)
ernmint wud be run by Boards.
Our Party Motto is gonna be...
“Keep politics out of govern
mint.”
The Boards wud all be ap
pointed without regard to politi
cal party affiliation. (This will
guarantee that only members of
the Buckwheat Party will git
appointed.) To make sure, the
Board appointments will be
made by the Party Secretary.
Anybody what complains
about the Boards will be guilty
of injecting politics into govern
mint an will be theowed in
prison after being give a fair
trial in front of the Central
Committee of the BWP.
There will still be a governer
elected by the people. He will
hav important jobs to do like
launching ferry boats and greet
in approved visiters.
There will also still be a
elected legislature (except we
will call it The Presidium) to
pass all the tax bills an git
blamed for everything. (They
will also hav power to conduct
investigations about how the
governer is d o in his job of
launchin ferry boats.)
While we is at adopting the
Board System, we will abolish
the demacrat and republicun
parties cuz they is too political
an politics in governmint is
BAD. BAD, BAD.
With only the BUCKWHEAT
PARTY on the ballut, the Board
System should run real good . . .
the educaters kin run the school
board . . . the fishermin kin run
the fish board . . . the contrac
ters kin run the highway an
public works board . . . the
criminals kin run the law board
... and so on . . .
BIG PROBLUM: There is jist
one problum . . . we has still
got to figure out some way of
keepin the taxpayers frum run
nin the tax board. If they does,
the whole Board Systum would
be spoilt.
Wal+ Jessin’s made it big with
ole Buck’s scoop about Lowell
Thomas junior bein interested in
Ralph Rivers chair. The An
chrudge papers has bin full of
it . . . since.
Speakin about Anchrudge . . .
see where the J.C. Penney com
pany is gonna build their
“FIRST store in Alaska” down
there. It is gonna be the BIG
GEST departmint store in Alas
ka an one of Penney’s biggest of
there 1700 stores. Ole Buck
PREDICTS that Fairbanks will
be next.
Its about time too, cuz some
of the clothes I bought from
Penney’s twenty years ago is
beginnin to wear out.
See where one of the first
graduates of the BUCKWHEAT
INSTITUTE course in “How to
1 be a Big, Bad Wolf” has passed
with flyin colors. . . . Ole Mayer
; Ribar huffed an puffed an
j blowed that Pioneer Park right
! down.
Business on our BUCK
WHEAT GOVERNER KITS has
slowed down quite a bit . . .
(Ever since everybody found
out it costs a hunert dollars to
file.)
PASSINPRADE: The Plumb
ers Union got a JAYCEE award
for there supplimental unem
ployment plan, but you ain’t
read about it in any daily pa
pers. . . . Why don’t the Senute
Investigates forgit the penny
ante stuff an git to work on the
phantom pavin job the City has
done on Noble Street? . . . Looks
like the State Aviation Depart
ment already has a Board run
nin it. That should make the
republicuns happy. . . .
Wal, got to git back to the
PARTY meetin. We is workin
right now on the Coop ’de Grace
. ... it will be a Board to do
people’s votin for them, so they
kin concentrate on the job of
payin taxes full time.
msssi'.- w - • - ^ ■■—
Capitol Hill lobbyists getting bolder and bolder; Lib
eral Morse impresses Latin Americans; Army complains of
neglect. _
w AoniiNUi — ijuuuj'iaia vu
Capitol Hill are getting bolder and
bolder. They now throw their par
ties right inside government build- i
ings and serve liquor in areas where
it is forbidden.
Last week, the National Defense
Transportation association, which is
the high-falutin’ name for the air- |
line, railroad, and steamship lobby,
backed a liquor truck up to the Sen
ate office building and took over
the Senate caucus room, all of it
owned by the taxpayers, to throw a ;
party to influence legislation affect
ing the taxpayers.
This particular lobby specializes
| in plying members of Congress with
free food and liquor, also negotiates
plane tickets home for Senators or
Congressmen when reservations are
filled. In return, the NDTA expects
the legislators to vote the way the
NDTA wants them to vote on bills
affecting transportation.
The big party in the Senate office
building, however, was a flop. A
number of Senate administrative
aides and stenographers showed up,
but no senators. Rep. Gracie Pfost,
the attractive lady from Idaho, put
in a brief appearance without sam
pling a cocktail. Other House mem
bers at the shindig included Reps.
Ralph Harding of Idaho, W. R. Hull
of Missouri, and Richard Poff of
Virginia.
Charles Kraft, a vice president of
the United States Lines, was the
chief greeter, aided by two pretty
hostesses from the Combined Air
lines Ticket Office. Kraft may have
had some misgivings about the ca
pacity of his guests. When the party
j broke up, there were 29 cases of
! whisky and other alcoholic potables
left over.
Blunt Liberal
The reputation of Sen. Wayne
Morse of Oregon as the Senate’s No.
1 liberal had preceded him to Punta
del Este where he was a delegate
to the OAS meeting on Castor. And
the fact that Morse, the liberal, took
j one of the toughest stands against
Castro had a profound effect on
Latin Americans.
This was emphasized by a small
incident that occurred after Brazil
: ian foreign minister Santiago Dan
1 tas made a speech opposing the
United States. The Brazilian delega
tion had scheduled a cocktail party
that afternoon and Morse failed to
i turn up.
Finally newsmen dornered the
senator from Oregon and asked him
whether he was going to attend the
Brazilian party.
“When I go to a reception,’’ Morse
replied, “I want to be a polite guest.
In this case I fear I might be rude
to the host.”
Neglected Army
In an unusually frank discussion
behind closed doors, Secretary of
the Army Elvis J. Stahr complained
' that the Army was still playing a
i stepchild role in our defense setup
and that it still lacked essential
weapons and equipment for modern
warfare.
“Speaking plainly, those are the
facts and I hope Congress will do
something about it,” Stahr told the
r
House Armed Services Committee.
"We do not have a single division
of troops anywhere in the world
that is presently equipped as I think
it should be.”
The Army spokesman said this ap
plied to all 14 of the Army’s mobil
ized divisions, including five in Eur
ope and three in the Far East. The
eight overseas divisions, Stahr
added, are m much better shape
than those stationed in the United
States, and their equipment prob
lems could be overcome.
“But there is plenty of room for
improvement at home and abroad,”
he emphasized.
Chief problem is a shortage of
modern rifles and M-60 tanks. Stahr
said the latter were superior to Rus
sian tanks, but that they weren't
being produced fast enough to meet
the needs of even our Army divi
sions in Germany.
“Have you asked for enough
money in the current budget to
answer the need?” inquired Rep.
Carl Vinson of Georgia, chairman of
the House committee.
“Well, we have asked for all the
budget will bear,” replied Stahr.
“The way things are now. the Army
must cater to the needs of the bud
get rather than the budget catering
to the needs of the Army. The more
money we provide for missiles and
other top priority requirements, the
more we have had to cut down on
defense funds for the Army.”
Vinson promised that his commit
tee would get busy “at once” to
' remedy the situation.
Behind the scenes
There was one moment during the
recent foreign ministers conference
in Uruguay when Congressman
Armistead Selden of Alabama got
into a hot backstage hassle with
Richard Goodwin. Kennedy’s No. 1
i adviser on Latin-American affairs,
now a member of the State Depart
ment.
Goodwin had accused Congress
man Selden of trying to blackjack
; Latin leaders into a tougher policy
! toward Cuba, and the Alabama con
gressman resented it. He in turn ac
cused Goodwin of telling the Ar
gentines that the United States
would be satisfied with a resolution
merely condemning Cuba.
Selden has traveled extensively
in Latin America, knows its lead
ers, and had been telling them quite
frankly that Congress was not like
ly to vote money for any countiy
which refused to take a definite
;tand against Castro.
When White House adviser Good
vin claimed that Selden only of
ended Latin leaders and made it
nore difficult to do business with
hem, the congressman suggested
hat Goodwin, onetime Pa?0*a pr^*
!r for the Harris committee, wa=,
till wet behind the ears.
The two finally made up when
Godwin brought Argentine dele
rate Dr. Oscar Camilion to Con
'ressman Selden to get him to vouch
tor the fact that he had not said
he USA would be satisfied with a
•esolution merely condemning_•
1
MASONIC TEMPLE
Masonic Temple, 809 First Ave. Dial 61 2-2836
Tanana Lodge No. 162 F&AM
2nd Degree, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 7 P.M.
Elmer A. Lanstra Worshipful Master
Forbes L. Baker, Secretary
Midnight Sun Chapter No. 6, O.E.S.
Second Friday of Each Month
Pearl Scherer, Worthy Matron
Mary Helen Chaddon, Secretary