The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, January 29, 1941, Page 2

TEXT, GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE (Continued from Page One) with it certain problems. With these problems it will be our duty to grapple. But it should be an agreeable as well as a challenging assignment. For, fortunately, we are deal- ing here with problems of prosperity, not with problems of adversit) We face the inspiring task of putting together constructively the mew assets which have come to us, not a few of them without effort on the part of Alaskans. To incorporate these new materials into a better and more en- during structure, to build for a greater, more prosperous more self-sufficient, more nearly self-sustaining Alaska— that is our responsibility. I'believe that the time has never been more ripe nor the moment more opportune than now, as we move into the fifth decade of the twentieth century. Within the next biennium (next year indeed) we shall have passed the 75th anniversary of the great purchase. Three quarters of a century will have elapsed since William Sew- ard established his place in history’s role of fame by bring- | ing Russian-America under the Stars and Stripes. | Alaska’s history under the American flag falls into! two periods. First the generation from the purchase in| 1867 to the closing years of the century. During that period1 Alaska lay empty, dormant, undeveloped. : Its population, | almost wholly native, was stationary. This was the era! of governmental neglect. | The rest of America was too| busy settling the West to concern itself with its vast un-| known Northwestern empire—Alaska. The great gold strikes in the Klondike, the Yukon Basin and Nome ushered in the second period. A rush of prospectors came to the Territory, each hoping to make his pile quickly. * Alaska was viewed by the overwhelming majority of them as a place in which to get rich over night and then to retire from. They ‘were a hardy race of men. They wrote a great chapter in the American epic—the final chapter perhaps of the Westward mareh of the pioneer. To their struggles, their privations, their dogged: persistence, we owe the open- | ing up of Alaska. But certainly, few if any of them planned | to settle here. What they won through their physical ef-| forts, enterprise and hack; they hoped to take “outside” with | them. This expectation has to a considerable extent been that of Alaska’s second'generation. Such an attitude clearly was not conducive to permanence, to the improvement of environment, to the founding of homes. However, as mining continued and improved its methods of extraction, many stayed on. Some earlier communities vanished; some! dwindled; some grew. Meanwhile the fisheries, with a| st_)mewhat different but in some ways similar kind of pioneering, developed into big business, largely financed, | directed and manned from “below.” In the last decade has| come, in part through normal development, in part through| governmental activity, a sew stability, evidenced by the| population growth to which reference has been made. Today a third generation has begun—a third generation, Alaska- born and bred, which has no sentimental ties with the states| “outside,” a third generation which knows only Alaska and| Joves Alaska, a third generation which wishes and expects to stay here, to found homes here, to bring up its children| here. It is to this third, this present, this growing genera-| tion, which holds the hope and future of Alaska, that we must dedicate our attention and our efforts. { y For it must be clear that today still far too much sur-| vives in Alaska of the earlier practice of take-it-all-out, take- it-down-below, leave-as-little-as-possible, spend-nothing-in-| Alaska. [ Indeed, the most serious defect in our Alaska economic and social structure is just that. Too much going out. Not| enqugh staying here. This is not said in any critical spirit. It is the natural consequence of conditions which existed | and which to a considerable degree have persisted. Absen- teeism is a natural product of circumstances which sur- rounded the earlier history of a territory which freely of-| fered to the world for the taking vast stores of natural re- sources in earth and sea. We like to boast in restrospect | how wise old Bill Seward was and how in exchange for the $7,200,000 he paid for the territory, it has poured two billion dollars’ worth of fisheries, minerals and furs into the na-{ tion’s economy. Quite true. It was a wonderful buy. Alaska | has _ennched the nation. But it has done relatively little | fg:r itself. The time has come when an increasing propcr—‘ tion of that wealth should be kept in Alaska for the further development, progress, and improvement of Alaska and the Alaskans. That is the fundamental issue which faces usl here today. That is the challenge which we should meet. | T}_\e time has come, in short, when Alaska should move as rapidly as it can with soundness and safety toward build-| ing up this territory as a place of permanent abode, as a community of more and better homes, as an American com- {numty.mcreasingly self-reliant, increasingly self-governing, increasingly supplied with those necessities and conveniences of modern life which we like to believe are an integral part of the American standard of living. This is no selfish pro- gram. This is no narrowly exclusive policy. It is, however, an effort to realize for Alaska a new era in which Alaska sha_\l be less and less a mining camp or a cannery camp to whic€ thousands come seasonally to extract what they can and take it all “down below.” It is time for us to exhibit a greater and a more enlightened self-interest in terms of the people of Alaska. And when I say the people of Alaska, 1 mean those who want to live here and stay here and create here qnd build here. - Our task is to speed the permanent establishment in' Alaska of the American breed of ‘home- gxegkers and home-builders. For it must be apparent that it is people primarily who make a nation or part of a nation, that it is their character and their joint purpose in building a society which makes a community:. The mountains and the streams running from them which store the great min- eral wealth that has been, is being, and will be taken out, am‘! the rivers and seas which hold the great marine wealth which has been, is being, and will be taken out—these by themselves do not constitute Alaska. It is the people who come and make their livelihood ayd settle, establish the American principles of self-government and the ideals of a democratic society on the basis of the products which they develop—they constitute the Alaska to ‘which we should dedicate our efforts. 4 Alaslga, entering its third generation; hitting its stride in a genuine growth of population; no longer a distant and lnac(:(jsslblc territory ; linked by air to the nation; incorpor- ?ted in the system of national defense; defense for all the ideals and principles which we Americans hold dear—this Aln_xka .shuuld now aim to secure for itself those things which hitherto it has lacked, those things which are its right and privilege to obtain, those things which will make its life fuller, more nearly complete, more in accord with what other, older, American communities throughout this great land ‘of ours have largely achieved. What do we need? Treasury Balance Our treasury shows a net cash balance on December 21 of $637,436.91. This is a good showing. It is, to be sure, some $240,000 less than the balance of two years ago re- to the last legislature, but it is substantially larger than the balances of 1936, 1934, and 1932. Deficits 1 However, some deficits have been incurred—the Terri- | | | | |in Alaska was $600,0! |in which our funds can be expended more fruitfully. { for an armory | city desires. THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE, WEDNESDAY, JAN. 29, 1941. deficiency of $60,000 conditional upon the legislature’s ap- proval, incurred by the Department of Public Welfare for those unfortunate indigent Alaskans suffering from tuber- | culosisror other serious diseases, hospitalized in sanatoria !in Alaska or in the States. faced the alternative last May of suddenly removing these | unfortunates from the sanatoria and hospitals or asking those institutions to carry the patients on credit until th(-‘ | matter could be presented to the neéxt legislature. Likewise |it should be recalled that, fearing an empty treasury aid | exercising proper prudence, the Board of Administration | temporarily rescinded some $200,000 of the allocations for | roads and trails, and one or two other projects authorized by the last le in hand. The determination as to the reallotment of these | funds is a matter for this legislature to decide. It should | however, be noted that if appropriations had been made to |eover the requirements for hair seal bounties, hospitalized indigents, and to carry out safely the last legislature’s| <hes for roads and other projects we should now have a| | wis | balance of $357,436, the lowest on record since 1933. | Increases for Regular Departments As for the requirements for the next biennium, the | the government show increased re- to about $600,000. The chief items in this increase are some $42,100 for schools and for the office of the Commissioner of Education requested by the Board of Education; $56,650 for the running expenses of the University of Alaska; $160,000 for Old Age Assis- tance; $6,000 for Mqthers‘ Allowances; $48,000 for admin- istration for the Department of Public Welfare; $28,700 for the Pioneers’ Home, including both Sitka and Goddard, and various lesser items. Decreases There are some decreases. by the Board of the Budget for ei $10,000, or for Dolly Varden trout bounties, $25,000. The Territorial Highway Engineer has decreased his request substantially, for reasons set forth in his biennial report which I commend to your attention. National Guard Armeries There are other needs. National Guard were formally spring while Congress was in s authorization, every effort was made to secure federal funds for construction of the armories which are required by fed-| eral regulations. The estimated cost of these four armories 00. Delegate Dimond and I personally | sought the assistance of the War Department for legislation | from Congress to secure funds for these armories. How-| ever, it has been the established policy of the War Depart-| ment not to appropriate money for armories and to con-| sider that a responsibility of the states and territories. War | Department officials further pointed out that in the com-| ing year some $25,000,000 would be expended on national | defense in the Territory of Alaska, and that under the cir-| cumstances the precedent that had been established should not be waived and the funds should come from the territory.i The legislature was not then in session and there was authority. to commit it to any expenditures. Neverthe in the face of the national emergency, it was unthinkable that Alaska would not do its part—and do at least a part of what the other territories, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, had done much earlier and on a larger scale. The sum involved is substantial. Nevertheless, I shall ask this legislature to appropriate that amount for the four armories in guestion. These armories will be of great social value beyond the de- fense purposes for which they are required. For National Guard needs, the federal requirements are merely for a building of certain floor dimensions which must be abso- lutely fire-proof and burglar-proof so as to permit the safe storage and custody of arms, ammunition and other eguip-| ment provided by the federal government. The actual mili- tary use of the armory is rel one night a week for drill used for community purposes and need in our Alaska life. One o it is our duty to face here that of our youth. Alaska communities do not at present creational facilities for their youngsters provide adequate re during the long winter months. The intensive use that is made of such few facilities as there are, such nasiums in the high schools,” where they exist (and wher- ever they exist they are seldom sufficient) is an evidence of the great need of such additional facilities. In the ab-| sence of these sorely needed opportunities for exercise and | play, youngsters drift into undesirable places. I know of | no greater responsibility that Alaska faces than to provide adequate facilities for exercise and healthful recreation for| this growing generation 'of youngsters. I know of no \.\'ayl It is an investment in good citizenship, in public health, in com- | munity. morality, in Americanism. These armories would six nights and seven days in the week, offer facilities for basketball, volleyball, handball, for a great variety of games, the physical facilities for which are now lacking. The desires of our four largest cities to which these National Guard units have been allocated are not necessar- ily the same. It is my suggestion that the sum of $150,000 in each of them be appropriated, giving each community the opportunity to modify and to add to the armory plans so as to furnish such special recreational facilities, such use of the building as a civic center, as each regular departments of quirements amounting No request has been made agle bounties, a matter: of Last July four companies of authorized for Alaska. Last sion, in anticipation of this | But these structures can be | they respond to a basic tribute some $25,000 additional or maybe more, if necessary, so that their armory may contain the variety of facilities | which that city feels are badly needed. Federal and Territorial Building In Juneau, while the recreational needs are fully as great as anywhere in the territory, we have also another problem ' confronting us which is not merely local—the shortage of office space for the steadily increasing and ex- panding federal and territorial agencies. When the present Federal and Territorial building was completed, it was des- tined before long to be overcrowded; three years later a new wing to house the additional personnel was deemed neces- sary. Plans for such a wing were drawn, and steps taken to.see whether an additional federal appropriation could not be secured for that purpose, but these efforts proved un- availing. Meanwhile the congestion increased still further, new agencies came into existence—a situation only slightly relieved by the expenditure of $20,000 for a small Territorial building. ~ Still other governmental agencies are coming into being and existing agencies are further expanding 80 that before long another building of almost the capacity of !the present federal and territorial buildings will be re- | quired: at this moment half again as much office space as we now have is imperative. Some federal and territorial agencies ave scattered throughout the city in rented space. | It has been suggested that a new building could include the | armory, the necessary governmental office, the territorial museum and library, which has likewise outgrown its pres- ent qz{arters: anq e bly by arrangement with the Juneau ‘mumcmal i.authormea. based on a proportionate djvision of costs, provide adequate quarters for the municipality which are now lacking. I urge the legislature to give this matter the fullest consideration. Territorial Museum In connection with the territorial museum, I would like here to quote from the report made by the Alaska Histori- cal Library and Museum Commission—consisting, as you know, of the Treasurer of the Territory, the Auditor, the | torial Treasurer estimates that $20,000 will be needed for hair seal bounties in excess of the $60,000 appropriated for, that bounty by the last legislature, There likewise is a Attorney Gen_eral,_the Commissioner of Education, a mem- ber-of the Historical Society, - who is Dr. J. P. Anderson, gislature, but for which funds were net surely | The people of Ketchikan have offered to con-! The Board of Public Welfare | | | | | and the Governor, because I am in complete accord with that recommendation. I quote: “The Library and Museum has never had the financial support from the Territory that its im- portance demands. Funds appropriated for its support have been barely sufficient for its main- tenance. It has remained almost stagnant at a time when there should have been a rapid growth, in keeping with other Territorial institutions and the increase of the Territory in population and importance. Every year large quantities of ma- terial of historical, ethnological and other scien- tific value are shipped out of the Territory to en- large the institutions of the States. Some of this material is simply priceless and can never be dupli- cated. If Alaska is to have a museum of which the Territory can continue to be proud it is imperative that much of this material be retained here. To do so requires more liberal appropriations than we have had in the recent past. Thousands of dollars have been appropriated for temporary and transient objectives while the Library and Museum was peing cramped for funds and its growth all but checked. Pieces purchased for the Library and Mu- seum not only retain their value but become more valuable as time goes by. The time to act is now before many kinds of valuable material are too badly depleted. “In this connection we wish to call attention to the Wickersham Library. This is one of the very best reference libraries dealing with the history of Alaska and of the times and nations concerned in its discovery and development. In this respect few if any libraries in the world surpass it in value. It would be a shame and a crime to let this valu- able collection leave the Territory if it could be prevented by any reasonable means. We recom- mend that library be acquired for the Territory should it be available at a fair appraised value. “The Commission also considers it very desir- able that several of the famous paintings of Alas- kan scenes by the late Sydney Laurence be ac- quired. Paintings by other artists depicting native races and some of their fast passing customs are of great historic value and should be acquired for the Museum. . . “The past several Legislatures have appropri- ated $200.00 per biennium for the purchase of rare )| goes on and that his hundreds ' them latively limited—an average of Laurence was unique in that he and throughout the territory is ¥ <7hich fone .c | | | as the gym-| . voq this start and provides an appr books with no funds whatsoever for purchase of other books and specimens. This is the chief reason for the lack of normal expansion. We recommend that the sum of $5,000.00, at the very least, be appropriated for the coming biennium for the purchase of books, pictures and specimens and for the hire of extra temporary help, especially during the tourist season. . . .” That is the end of the quotation.. 1 would like to add my belief that the late Sydney Laurence was not merely a great painter but that his wture will increase as time of paintings—so mang of ssion of an Alaska home—form a the prize poss tural record of Alaska. Man does not unique scenic and cul live by bread alone. Museum Commission, if accepted by the legislature, would provide some $5,000 during the next two years instead of $200 for the purchase of books, specimens, paintings, etc., I would like to urge specifically that the legislature in the first session after Mr. Laurence’s death authorize in what- ever form seems most desirable the acquisition by and for the territory of not fewer than six Sydney Laurence paint- ings, those six to represent what appear to me the six chief themes of which the late Sydney Laurence was so fond and which he pictured so inimitably: a Mount McKinley; one of the “Off to the Potlach” paintings; a marine (for Sydney was a great painter of sea- 1l as of landscapes); a scene typical of the scapes as wel od cache, a trapper’s Alaska frontier, showing pérhaps a fo f the great problems which | .10 o1 o prospector in action; one of his winter scenes an fairly feel a temperature of 50 degrees below; a scene of native life such as his famous “The Van- ishing Race.” In this connection I feel confident that if the legislature opriate place where these paintings may be exhibited, the collection will grow without further expense. One long-time resident of Alaska has assured me that he would leave his notable collection of Sydney Laurence paintings to the territory if the terri- tory provided a suitable and safe place where the public could see them: and later he added that he would do this before his death if and when such a place were provided. 1 need not point out that the cost of acquiring the six type pictures to which I have referred is really negligible when one considers what is involved, and that there has -been and ever will be only one Sydney Laurence. University of Alaska . The University of Alaska has made a request for new buildings and equipment amounting to $386,500. If there is one institution of which the territory may rightly be proud, it is the University of Alaska. No other agency has pioneered so usefully in the very direction in which I believe we should now be headed—the direction of furnishing ade- quate educational opportunities for Alaska youth and of making the territory increasingly self-reliant and self- dependent. But for the University of Alaska, many of anr bovs and girls would have been denied the opportunity for a higher education and for the technical training which it has supplied. My contact with other colleges, and par- tienlarly with the other territorial universities—in Hawaii and Puerto Rico—has led to the conclusion that our unpre- tentious institution on the hill at College is. of the most practical usefulness, completely integrated with the needs of the Territory, adapted, as far as funds to date have per- mitted, to serving Alaska’s special needs. Moreover, 1 know of no one who has been able to make a dollar go further than its president, Dr. Charles E. Bunnell. The re- quests now made by the president and trustees for new buildings and equipment are in response to the demand and desire of Alaska young men and women to attend our Uni- versity which cannot now accommodate all who want to go there unless these additional facilities are granted. I sin- cerely hope that the legislature will not hesitate to appro- priate for this construction. Vocational Education There is another aspect of our educational problem that I would like to stress at this time. and territories of the union, Alaska today does next to nothing in the important field of vocational training. Back in 1934, under new federal legislation, a program was de- vised by which the federal government would match dollar for dollar the funds.provided by a territory and state for vocational education. In the 1935 legislature, $30,000 was appropriated, federal funds in like amount were thereupon allocated, and the program was launched. Like many new undertakings in their initial stages, it was not altogether suceessful ; there were grounds for criticism of the federal- territorial setup and upon recommendation of the Board of Education the territorial appropriation was not made again by the 1937 and 1939 legislatures, and of course the federal contribution likewise lapsed. I have no hesitation in saying that the set-up of those early days left much to be desired, and that the fullest benefit from the federal funds was unquestionably not secured, partly indeed because of the very special conditions which exist in Alaska with our widely scattered and relatively small communities. How- ever, since that time, vocational education—training the And while the recommendation of the g Alone among the states! youngster for a trade or craft, equipping him in a practical manner to earn his livelihood, giving him a fair start in the world with technical skills—has gained immense headway Vocational education has spread tremendously in the last three or four years, and it is no longer right that Alaska boys and girls should be denied these opportunities. It has been esBecially noticeable in the last year when the Gover- nor’s Office was making an intensive effort to secure the employment of Alaskans, particularly on the new federal construction projects, that many a boy would have been assured of an excellent job at high wages had he possessed even a moderate degree of skill as a earpenter, in any of the building trades, or in one of several forms of mechanics. There is today and will increasingly be throughout America a shortage of skilled workers. Every state in the union is now heavily engaged in providing its young people with this type of education in addition to the older classical instruc- tion. Alaska should not do less. However, it is desirable that the program be intelli- gently adapted to Alaska’s special requirements. 1 have discussed this matter with several members of the Board of Education and found them open minded and receptive c_oncerning the newer needs for such training. It is my be- lief that industrial schools, specializing in the particular fields that offer good prospects for employment—the build- ing trades, engine and machine shop work, navigation, radio operation—should be established, and that vocational or industrial training be re-introduced in a practical and useful way appropriate to our special conditions and needs. 1 hope that the Board of Education at its meeting here in February will devote itself to this problem and in conjunc- Ition with 1_:he legislature make a tangible beginning in_this ifleld. It is no longer fair to our boys and girls to limit them to the old-fashioned type of academic education, which, whatever its merits (and I do not decry it) in the case of so many of them who cannot afford to go higher and are not particularly adapted to ‘book learning, equips thém to do nothing well. A feeling in Southeastern Alaska which has been expressed to me is that the University, for geographical reasons, serves that part of the Territory less than it does western Alaska. It might be well for this new industrial and vocational schooling which has been discussed in connection with the possible establishment of junior col- leges to be included in the work of the University by the establishment of a southern branch or branches. The University now conducts extension courses through- out the Territory. Some training in fisheries and in fur farming is contemplated. for its students at the new Fisher- jes Products Laboratory in Ketchikan and the Experimental Fur Farm near Petersburg—both of these joint federal and territorial undertakings. I see no reason why, as in some states of the union, the state university—here the territorial university—cannot be expanded by means of branches in different parts of the territory in order to serve our widely | scattered areas more effectively. It is clear that some subjects can be more effectively taught in one section than in another. If the interior of Alaska is ideal for instruction in mining then the coast is certainly indicated as the region in which to teach occupations related to the sea. ! Summarizing, I feel that nothing is second in impor- tance to the furnishing of opportunities of every jety | educational, technical, recreational, mental, physical tual—for our growing generation of Alaskan boys and |girls. We want to make sure that they here and find in Alaska those things, those opportunities and incentives | which will automatically lead to their staying here. | Pioneers” Home No more unique! and ly Alaskan institution exists than the Pioneers’ Home. It is there that the veterans of the con- quest of the Alaskan wilderness receive, intheir declining | years, the care, security, and support which the Territory | has rightly felt was their due. During the past biennium the Pioneers’ Home has cared for a daily average of between 180 and 190 men. Of these Some 20 have been domiciled at Goddard. There has been a constant waiting list of be- tween 30 and 40 men. Worthy and qualified applicants have sometimes had to wait a year before admission, and many have had to wait | six months, often thereby undergoing considerable mental | and physical distress, which we surely should try to relieve. In an effort to alleviate the situation, even if tempor- arily, the 1939 legislature purchased Goddard Hot Springs for $20,000, and made a further appropriation of $20,000 “for necessary repairs and improvements to the buildings and grounds and for operation and maintenance costs for the next biennium.” Superintendent Eiler Hansen in his | biennial report declares that acquisition by the territory of Goddard Hot Springs was essentially that of the land only; that the main building is an old delapidated frame struc- ture the upkeep of which is progressively expensive; that such equipment as has not already been junked will _ha\'e to be replaced within a brief time; that the dock is in need of repairs; that the fresh water system should be repiped and properly dammed. It is a serious fire hazard. Coupled with the need of expensive repairs and rgplace- ments Superintendent Hansen believes, based on his two years’ experience with Goddard, that it is too small a unit to operate economically. His report reveals that whereas the average daily maintenance cost at Sitka 1s_$1‘24, at Goddard it is $1.87; at Sitka the daily food cost is $.25, at Goddard it is $.51—differentials, respectively, in mainten- ance and food costs, of 519 and 104%. These facts zm‘nl figures are sufficiently startling to call to the legxs_latun-.\; special attention. The Board of Trustees of the Pioneers Home recommends that in relation to the annual visit of the legislature’s committee to Sitka, this visit be made early in the session so that the whole important problem may have full study and careful consideration in time for reasoned and well-deliberated action. This investiga't.lon'should in- clude an estimate of the total cost of rehabilitating the ex- isting structures at Goddard, rendering them f_l!‘e-pr(l()l, plus the added costs of maintenance and operation. The legislators could then weigh these costs of re}.\ablhtaf,um plus the higher costs of maintenance apd operation against Superintendent Hansen’s recommendation to abandon God- dard, and to build an annex at Sitka connected .w1th the present Pioneers’ Home sufficiently large to eliminate the constant and growing waiting list. The cost of the pro- posed annex is $175,000. Likewise there are no funds for the transportation of pioneers from different parts of Al- aska to the Home. An opinion from the Attorney Genera indicates that funds appropriated for the operation anc maintenance of the Pioneers’ Home are not available for the transportation of Pioneers. Since April 1, 1939 the funds for their transportation and maintenance en route have come from the Relief of Destitution fund of the De- rtment of Public Welfare, the total cost in t'he_su 21 glaonths for 95 pioneers being $3,765. An gippropnatmn o $4,500 for the next biennium would therefore appear suf- ficient for that purpose. Need for Additional Revenue ! ek 1t seems obvious that even with the determination to hew to the line for efficient and economical administration. more revenues will be required in the next biennium anc henceforth. “Economy,” a favorite and useful watchword, and one 1 thoroughly endorse, does not mean how much you save but how much value you get for what you spend. The farmer who tries to raise crops from his fjeld without ever using any fertilizer is not economical. Nor is he fore-sighted or intelligent. We cannot expect to reap a good harvest in any field of human activity unless we are willing and ready to plow back substantially into the soil of our endeavor. Nor is it to be expected here in Alaska that with an incréase (Continued on Page Three)