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' &{<nvs of (America's Last frontier
Alaska's Resources Should Be A
Constitutional Focal Point
“Many things have been done for
us; even more has been done to us.
But now something will be done
by we Alaskans.”
In these ringing words, former
Governor Ernest Gruening of Al
aska called upon the Constitutional
Convention delegates to shape up
a constitution for the new state
that will be a shining example of
what we call the American way of
life. To say we have the potential
of a great new State is a truism
that cannot be denied. Seward did
a great deed for us when he ne
gotiated the purchase of Alaska. As
the former governor says, “many
things have ‘been done for us.’
Wihh the writing of the constitu
tion begins a new period when
something will be done by we Al
askans.
Delegate Bob Bartlett sounded a
note of warning to the delegates
that we feel was timely and of
great import. “Upon assuming
statehood,” he said, ‘^Alaska be
comes heir to 100 million acres of
land and an additional undeter
mined acreage of submerged lands.
A very high percentage of these
lands will contain mineral re
sources of one kind or another.”
“Where such vast resources po
tential exists one need not be clair
voyant to forsee an influx of inter
ests wanting to develop these re
courses.”
The Delegate to Congress then
warned that development must not
be confused with exploitation at
this time. He pointed out that Al
aska’s resources, both mineral and
fisheries, have been exploited to a
great extent these many years. He
mentioned two instances in partic
ular. The Kennecott Copper opera
tion was only one instance of min
eral developmept soley for the pur
pose of exploitation with no con
cern for permanent and legitimate
growth. Bartlett stated further:
‘The decline of Alaska’s once great
fisheries is traceable in great de
gree to this same* attitude With its
concept of ruthless plundering of
a great natural resource without
regard to the welfare of the mass
of average citizens who make their
living from the sea.”
Bartlett, in his concluding state
ment, said: “A failure to write in
to fundamental law basic barriers
to minimize fraud, corruption, non
development, and exploitation may
well be viewed fifty years from
now as this Constitution’s greatest
omission.”
The wisdom of the Delegate’s ob
servations is obvious.- Developing
Alaska’s great resources can be
fraught with dangers. Principal
among them, the “grab” system of
large companies, who thereby
would bave control of large hold
ing without thought of their devel
opment until a future date, a time
that may be in the far distant fu
ture.
Our conception of the future
state of Alaska is not as a “wel
fare state," but still with the bene
fits acruing from Statehood going
to the people who have pioneered
this country, and who amidst de
nials and self-sacrifices have help
ed make it what it is today. Power
ful interests with money to burn
will be here to tap these resources.
The question to be asked is, “Will
it be to the good of the people of
Alaska and Alaska generally, that
these resources be turned over to
them?” It is the future of Alaska
that we should be concerned with.
Veteran** Day
Veteran’s day is passed, but the
message and its significance should
linger for some time to come. The
focusing of our attention for one
day on the veteran who in some
cases gave his life for our continu
ed liberty, and others who suffer
ed the hardships of war, but man
aged to live through it all, is a hal
lowed tribute most American are
eager4 to pay.
A cherished hope is that no more
veterans need be created. The
world and its complex problems
may not allow for this in the
scheme of things, but one fact re
mains clear. Veterans of past wars
are still with us. They should be
given the consideration due them.
Observance of Veterans Day has
a two fold purpose. It brings to
the mind of the youth of our coun
try love for country, loyalty to
their flag. It instills in them a re
spect for the man who endured the
fires of war so that he too could
enjoy life.
The mere fact of being remem
bered is worth something.
How True!
A move is under way to abolish
the exclamation point. People
aren’t surprised at anything any
more. _ Onawa (Iowa) Sentinal
<Junizet cJubt /tes
Present Program
It is expected the 27 members
of Congress (fourteen Republicans
and thirteen Democrats) who tour
ed Soviet Russia this year to exert
a big influence on legistlative at
titudes toward foreign policy at the
next session, according to News
week.
The travelors represented all
shades of political opinion (Ke
fauver to Malone). Yet they arriv
ed at almost identical conclusions
about the strength, the intentions,
and the growth of the Russian Em
pire.
In a general way, according to
Newsweek, they decided that pre
sent U. S. foreign policy and mili
tary planning were on the right
track. Their tendency will be to
support the Administration.
These are their conclusions: One,
the Soviet Union is here to stay;
hopes for revolutionary change in
the Communist system are base
less;; two, The U. S. S. R. is not
ready for a major war and won’t
be within the next few years;
three, Russia is stronger economi
cally than the West realizes; four,
its ultimate objective, of course, is
still world domination.
This view of the Soviet Union.
Newsweek concludes, tends to jus
tify a long-range armament pro
gram, continued foreign aid, and
an attempt to regularize U. S.-Rus
sian relations “in the Geneva
spirit.”
These conclusions bear out a
contention of ours of many years
standing. There is no fear of an
imminent war. The prospect of a
war is always before us. Yet, we
feel, it will be years before Russia
or any other nation has built up
sufficient strength for attack. To
achieve world domination, which
according to the Congressional par
ty members is still their ultimate
objective, requires tremendous
power, armament strength and the
resources to be self contained at
least at the beginning. Russia has
all three, but still to a limited ex
tent, and not for the tremendous
task of “world domination.”
The accoutraments of war are
not enough. The desire of the peo
ple for war has to be there. Are
the Russian people so imbued with
their ideology as to be willing to
fight for “world domination” of
that ideology? We think not.
EleMentary
Many a girl is just attracted
by the simple things of life - men.
Algona (Iowa) Upper Des Moines.
May Have More Sense
We doubt that the meek want
to inherit the earth, anyway. _
Washington (Iowa) Journal
Bingo Stirs Largest City
The nation’s largest city is in
volved in a rather amazing and
farcial hassle over the game of
bingo. Bingo has long been con
sidered a lottery, and outlawed in
most parts of the country. In New
York, in recent years, ^)ingo games
have been getting by unmolested,
especially when the games are car
ried on by the various churches.
In New York bingo has become
a political issue, with some chur
ches trying to get a license to car
ry on the bingo games,which pro
duce much revenue, and those op
posed to lotteries of all kinds
fighting ardently against opening
the floodgates to a game of chance.
As a result, Mayor Wagner re
quested an opinion on the question
from Corporation Counsel Peter
Campbell Brown. Brown’s opinion
passed the buck to the Police De
partment, which had already pass
ed the buck to City officials.
Brown said bingo is generally a
lottery, but had to have three ele
ments to be a lottery; chance, pay
ment of consideration for the
chance, and a prize. He said that
if any of these three elements are
missing, the game might not be a
lottery.
Moreover, Brown put it up to
the Police Department to go into
these factors and determine which
were there and which were not
there. However, Police Commis
sioner Stephen Kennedy had said
earlier that the police do not in
terpret the laws, they only enforce
them, and it is obvious that the
police are not going into the law
interpretation business in New
York, or anywhere else.
The result is that City officials
and the elected Mayor of New
York City are hedging on what co
do about bingo in the nation’s
largest city. The way bingo play
ers, and sponsoring organizations
get around the law is to charge an
admission fee at the door to bingo
players and then let them play
free. That eliminates one of the
elements, the, fee paid for a bingo
card, and enables them to escape
police interference.
If people want to play bingo, or
indulge in any kind of lottery,
there always seems to be a loop
hole, if you but look for it.
DEATH CONFIRMED
An official report has just been
received that Esther Magnuson,
who was well-known in Kodiak,
until her departure here several
years ago, died in California April
27, 1955.
Mrs. Magnuson was a resident of
Kodiak for over thirty years. She
was the wife of Pete Magnuson,
whose death preceded hers by
about three years. She went to live
with relatives in the Southern
state, but was later confined to the
Agnew State Hospital in California
where she died on the above date.
She was more popularly known
as Maggie Magnuson.
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ADMINSTERING OATHS—Judge Vernon Forbes, of the District Court, Fairbanks, administered
that they were not members of any subversive organization and that they would do justice to all men eouallv Th* ■*' Cy
jammed the auditorium can be seem Spectators were seated behind the delegates;
men equally. The capacity crowd that
News-Miner Photo by Jim Douthit