WASHINGTON NEWS-LETTER
By MARY LEE COUNCIL
Secretary to E. L. (Bob) Bartlett. Alaska’s Delegate to Congress
Settlement of Land Claims
Hearings on Delegate Bartlett’s
bill providing means for settle
ment of native land claims in
Alaska are scheduled to begin on
August 27 in Washington, D.C.
The hearings will be held be
fore the subcommittee on Indian
Affairs of the House Interior and
Insular Affairs Committee of
which Congressman Toby Morris
of Oklahoma is chairman. Dele
gate Bartlett has urged that any
one will not be able to come to
Washington for the hearings but
is interested in having his views
made part of the record should
write either directly to Congress
man Morris or to him.
The legislation would create an
Alaska panel within the existing
Indian Claims Commission to
hear and determine claims of in
dividuals and communities of na
tives and to award lands and
money judgements when deter
mination was made. Copies of
the bill are on file with all the
Chambers of Commerce, newspa
pers and radio stations in Alas
ka. the Alaska Native Service of
fices at Juneau and all Alaska
Native Brotherhood and Sister
hood camps. Anyone interested in
the legislation may obtain a copy
by writing Delegate Bartlett at
1029 House Office Building,
Washington, D. C.
HOSPITAL FOR INSANE
Delegate Bartlett introduced
legislation this week providing
for the construction of a hospi
tal in the Territory for Alaska’s
mentally ill.
Under the terms of the legisla
tion the Secretary of the Inter
ior would be authorized to lo
cate, establish, construct and
equip such a hospital which
would be transferred to the Ter
ritory upon the appropriation of
funds by the territorial legisla
ture for the care and treatment
of mentally ill individuals in Al
aska.
At the present time Alaska’s in
sane are hospitalized at Morning
side Hospital at Portland, Ore.,
through a contract arrangement
between the Interior Department
and the hospital. The 1952 ap
propriation bill for the Interior
Department contains $502,141 for
the care and custody of Alaska’s
insane.
The legislation sponsored by
Delegate Bartlett sets forth de
tails of commitment and adminis
tration. Under arrangements be
tween the Secretary of the Inter
ior and the territorial Department
of Health, the Alaska agency
would assume responsibility for
the administration of the provi
sions of the bill. The legislation
also authorizes in or out-patient
mental health facilities required
for the establishment and opera
tion of a “comprehensive mental
health program in Alaska.”
INTERIOR APPROPRIATIONS
The conferees on the 1952 In
terior Department appropriation j
bill sustained the Senate allow- j
anee of $2,900,000 for operation
and maintenance of roads in Al
aska but accepted the House ap
propriation of $7 million for the
Alaska public works program
rather than the 81i million al
lowed by the Senate.
The conference report, how
ever, was not accepted by the
House and was recommitted to
the conferees because it did not
contain a ban on filling more than
25 percent of job vacancies in the
Department during the current
fiscal year.
The Interior bill now contains
$20 million for road construction
in Alaska. $2 million for the re
habilitation and construction
program for The Alaska Railroad,
$502,141 for the care and custo
dy of Alaska’s insane and $96,140
for the Governor’s office.
The full budget request of $5,
761.400 for the Eklutna hydroel
ectric power project near Anchor
age was allowed by the Senate
committee, the House having re
duced the funds for the project
to $5,478-040. Conference action
reduced the over-all construction
funds requested by the President
for the Bureau of Reclamation
but allowed increased funds over
those approved by the House.
However, the difference was not
earmarked for any given Recla
mation program, and the final de
cision is left to the Secretary of
the Interior. It is not known at
this time what effect this will
have on the Eklutna project.
Estimated allotments for other
Department activities in Alaska
are as follows: $10,194,141 for
the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
j $763,763 for the Bureau of Land
Management; $2,752,000 for the
Geological Survey; $401,384 for
the National Park Service; $512.
000 for the Bureau of Mines and
$1,896,037 for the Fish and Wild
life Service.
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
Favorable action is anticipated
on a bill introduced by Delegate
Farrington of Hawaii which
would place Alaska and Hawaii
on the same basis as the States
in the apportionment of funds
for the school-lunch program of
the Department of Agriculture.
If Delegate Farrington’s bill
amending the School Lunch Act
of 1946 becomes law. Alaska and
Hawaii would receive almost
three times more in appropria
tions for the program than they
do at present under the 1946 act.
During the 1950 fiscal year, out
of the $83 Vz million appropriated
for the states and territories. Al- j
aska received $11,684 for the
school lunch program. Under the
terms of the bill now under con-;
sideration, Alaska’s share would
have been $28,904. In 1951 with
the same amount appropriated,
Alaska received $10,551 but would
have received $28,134 under Del
3
OFFER TRANSPORTATION
FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN
Mrs. Jennie Perkins announrt
ed this week that two local per*
sons had kindly offered their ser
vices in answer to a Health Coun
cil appeal for transportation of
Valley crippled children to and
from the local bus station when
they attend the orthopedic clin
ic in Anchorage.
They are Emil Ganschow and
Mrs. Frances Plack, R. N.
WINS TONI DOLL
Mr. Alex Fuller of Sutton, Al
aska won the Toni doll with her
glamorous wardrobe awarded
last Friday by the St. Michael's
Altar and Rosary Society. *
There was no consolation to
Palmer’s very young ladies in the
revelation that Mr. Fuller is the
father of a baby boy.
egate Farrington’s bill. For the
same two years Hawaii received
$89,972 and $73,320, respectively,
but would have received $211,3i 7
and $195,516 for 1950 and 1951.
respectively.
BUY NOW—PAY LATER
KOSLOSKY'S
FURNITURE DEPARTMENT
Interior Freight Lines
Clay Prewitt and Cliff Steadman, Owners
Freight Hauling Between Valdez and Palmer t
Phone 62-J-3
| B. F. Goodrich Bicycle
| (New complete deluxe model - horn, light, carrier, and accessories)
| Made by Schimm
0 THE BOY OR GIRL SELLING THE GREATEST NUMBER OF |
JBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE VALLEY FRONTIERSMAN. |
iRADE SCHOOL STUDENTS LIVING IN THE MATANUSKA VALLEY ARE «
TE EXCEPTING FRONTIERSMAN EMPLOYEES OR THEIR RELATIVES. \l
a
Starts fflonday, duly 23
Saturday, September 8 f
md instructions are available at Frontiersman office where s|
bicycle is on display.
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