WASHINGTON
bf Mary Lee Council, - Secre
tary to S. L* (Bob) Bartlett,
Delegate in Congress from a1
a«k*.
ALASKA ROAD COMMISSION .
Bearings on the operations
of tho Alaska Road Coitsnission
Wire completed this week when
% atbccmuiittee of tho House
Somrittee or. Government Cpor
ation** heard Ccnmnssloner of
Public Roao.3 Curiiiss and Del
egate -Bartlett'-in a discus
sion of findings cade by the
General Accounting Office in
ite recently-issued audit of
the road agency*
The tiro principal points
discussed covered the state
nente made in the audit tor
the 1954 fiscal year that:
"The Congress may wish to
revise the necessity for the
existence of two separate
federal policy-making, road
bilHding/: and maintaining
agon dear in Alaska.and
"The Congress may wish to
**Vlew the relationship be
tween federal and territorial
participation in highway con
struction, operation, and
maintenance in Alaska and
consider limiting federal ap
propriations for construction
repair, and maintenance of
roads In Alaska to a ratio
based on cooperative funds
eontributed by the Territory!?
- Cces&lssioner Curtiss did
NEWSLETTER
not recommend consolidation
into one federal agency of
the government?s road build
ing program in the Territoiy,
.pointing* c/at tfcst there is no
duplication cf work (tone by
the Bureau of Publits Hoads in
national forests of Alaska
and by the Alaska Road Com
mission on the public domain.
Interior Department officials
last week had also stated
their belief that no consoli-.
da t ier. should take place.
Commissioner Curtiss, however
stated that if such consolid
ation did take place that the
Bureau of Public Roads should
become the one road-building
.agency in the Territory. Both
he ana A* F* Ghigllone,, Alas
ka Road Commissioner for Al
aska, agreed that the saving
to the' government through
consolidation would amount to
approximately $60,000, if
that imicha
Delegate Bartlett in his
appearance before the com
mittee on the role of the
Ta/ritqry in ' making road
building "contributions took
issue with a statement made
by an official of the General
Accounting Office in the
first day of the hearings.
That statement had read, "The
Congress has made available
for Alaska road construction
and maintenance from 1905 to
June 30, 1954, about $190
million The Commission had
$17*6 million of appropriated
funds, for fiscal year 1954
and #20.3 million the year
before* The participation by
the Territory of Alaska in
the road work in the form of
contributions, plus a smal1
amount from Private sources,
totalled only #267,229 in
fiscal ye&r 1954 and #250.883
for fiscal year 3.953* Our
first finding is that Con
gress may wish to review the
relationship between the fed
eral and territorial partici
pat ion in the* Alaska road
program because of the low
contribution by the Terri
tory."
Delegate Bartlett stated
that it should be remembered
that the.re have been two
road-building eras in the
Territory, one running from
1905 until the late 40*s and
the second from a period- of
about 1947 or 1948 when sub
stantial appropriations have
been made by the federal gov
ernments Ha pointed out that
federal participation from
1905 through 1941 to the Al
aska Hoad Commission and its
predecessor amounted to some
thing on the order of $I9§
million, or an average annual
appropriation of #525,000
and for the first 25 yeays an
average of #420.000 a year
being made available* During
the period of 1920 to 1940,
Delegate Bartlett stated, on
ly two Dew roads were started
and finished, the St*ese and
Elliott Highways* During the
1905-1941 period the terri
torial contributions for
roads amounted to $9 million*
The Delegate went on to point
out that the substantial ap
propriations made in recent
years were based solely on
military necessity In which
period and for the same rea
son the government rehabili
tated the Alaska Railroad for
something in the neighborhood
of $80 million* In addition,
Delegate . Bartlett informed
the subcommittee that a vast
sum of the road appropria
tions has gone for paving and
now that the paving programs
are nearing completion the
appropriations on the “federal
level are rapidly decreasing*
"You will ramembeb. I know,
in all of this," Delegate
Bartlett stated, "over 99
percent of the land area in
Alaska is federally-owned*
Much less than one pefceat is
in private ownership, so to a
very unusual extent and de
gree the responsibility is
that of the federal govern
ment*"
WEINERS GST NSW SON
Rev* and Mrs. Paul Weimer
are the proud parents of a
new son, Daniel Paul, bora
April 2 at the Seldovia hos
pital* Weight of the baby
was 7 pounds, 5 ounces*
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE K.PU.Q
Bgr Henning Johnson, candidate for the'office Of director
I
la view of the election to be held for the Kenai
Public Utility District on this coming April 12th, it is
now proper that as a candidate for the board of directors
I should state my ..views regarding the many local problems -
axid the policies I intend to pursue if elected to this
Office*
It is first, of greatest importance that the poser
rested In this utility district by law remain solely in
the hands of you, the people, and that issues coming be
fore the board are disposed of by t xue democratic proces
ses as defined and practiced <under the constitution of
the United States of America# !*; • ' -\i
During the past months I have spent considerable
time in reviewing how similar unincorporated communities
in the States conduct their affairs under the township
form of government, which is and has been in existence
since the founding by our Pilgrim Forefathers# particu
larly, we note that all major issues coming before or
proposed by the town boards are brought before a duly
announced public hearing, where, at the discretion of the
voters, a referendum may be called to decide the issues
by secret ballot. Ordinarily, it is only necessary to
conduct such a meeting once a year# However, should the
need arise, a special hearing and referendum may- be^
called#
Regarding-tho hospital issue, wo roniaabor not lohg ago -
one hundred thirty or more good citizens of this communi
ty thought it wiser to seek a location and structure that
would be more accessible and less, costly to build and
maintain# By political maneuvering this issue has evolved
to tie point ashore the only course is to go ahead if pos
sible at all# We sincerely hope the interests in the
immediate vicinity of the hospital will, he as willing to
help pay for and maintain this hospital as they are to
build it.
There are times when-organizations in this community
go to great lengths to promote end proclaim the natural
beauty around Honcr, hoping to attract visitors who may
spend a few dollars here. While our Visitors are viewing
the panorama, they cannot help noticing the garbage
strewn along the beach from Beluga Slough to the end of
the Spit# The issue of a proper garbage dump is one the
P. U# D# has thus far failed entirely, and which reflects
directly on the people of Homer. * believe there are
sites available that are far removed from any residential
area and yet conveniently accessible*
Any ordinary business man must find it difficult to
restrain himself after learning of the lengthy and costly
process of auditing the F* U. D# books* This is not a
reflection on the manager,however, as I believe the board
has been lax in' infoiming themselves or the manager as to
the methods to he carried out. since the previous audits
~ /It is my bpinion that much of this difficulty would not
have occurred had the hoard operated less secretly and
TTith more willingness to make available information that
was restricted* Definite steps must be taken to bring
the administrative costs of the P. U. D. into a healthier
proportion with the overall gross income* However| I am
definitely not in accord with disposing of the manager
at this time.,. The. situation must- never *a$aln occur where
the rev-is any doubt as to/ the financial' Status of the
i P. U**D.
As to the snail boat harbor,- I do not believe any
immediate obligation regarding the P. U. D. concerns this
project. There may be several years before any attempt
to build a larger harbor is-made, at which time the econ
omical feasibility of sdeh a project may bo marc apparent.
Regarding taxation, X believe,a more equitable pro
gram could bo achieved! Certainly, the solution will not
be to fictitiously valuate. property in excess of its
true value in order to pay for projects that: were initi
ated by previous administrations whose apparent belief
was tbr t there is no^ limit .as to what you ern buy on the
installment' plan* I note tint townships and villages in
the states publish the annual tax list, thereby helping
to keep an honerst appraisal of the property.
X would like to mention that ordinarily small com
munities such as have been mentioned are managed by older
people ~ho are bettor established and have demonstrated
at least fair success in the management of their own
personal lives,and whose wisdom and judgment is respected
by all. I will definitely state that should you choose
to clcqt mo to this office, I will not contract with the
P* U* D. nor work for my financial compensation what
soever, during the time of office. I believe my exper
ience as an engineer md surveyor could save the P..TJ* D.
time **nd money. Above all I w~nt Homer to be a decent
1 conmunity where your neighbor is your friend.
Many fine people came to Homer forsaking other
opportunities to find peace and contentment. The senses
of the so people are not blurred by the thoughts of oil
or'phenomenal government spending to the extent of for
getting the goal th*-y sought* Rome wasn’t built in a day;
neither will bo Hemci’c Lets live within our means and
gain the respect and admiration of all Alaska*
As a closing tnougat, I would recomncnd that you
extend your vote for Margaret Anderson who I believe is a
fine person who would add dignity and efficiency to the
p. U. D. Board.
tPd. Adv.)