Mr. REED. The original traffic went out what they called the Trainer Gate Road. It was on the north side of the Alaska Railroad here which is this single line running down through here. After these people put this road in condition by their own efforts then the Armed Forces took that over as an access road because it is the nearest road to reach the bridge and the surrounding areas and Fairbanks where a great many employees of the Ladd Field live. Mr. ABBOTT. Mrs. Green reminds me, incidentally, that contiguity is not the final measure in many instances of whether annexation can be effected. Some courts have ruled on annexation either on petition of the to-be-annexed area or upon petition of the municipal corporation. The measure may be one of contributorily common problems or so clearly proximate that the problems are common. There is no intention to suggestion annexation, but it points up again perhaps that there is somewhat of a vacuum in the governmental subdivision where you have created public-utility districts which are neither fish nor fowl as far as our normal municipal corporate setup is concerned. Mr. REED. They are the nearest thing we have to the county system. Mr. DAWSON. There would be no reason for these people to be annexed when they are only paying 5 mills tax in that area and Fairbanks is paying 20 mills and they still got their own utilities in there. They would not be helping themselves, would they? Mr. REED. They are still subject to the school tax. Mr. O'BRIEN. Do you people feel the military has some responsibility in this matter? Mr. LANGBERG. That is my point. I think as an access road they have an obligation because before the road commission came in and opened up this particular road at the end of Third Street, which you will see runs up against the base, it was made accessible to the base at that time. Up to that time we were very happy. We did not have the problem of all of the heavy traffic, the dust and everything that caused the health hazard but when they opened that particular part of the road up they brought all of the traffic from College to Slaterville, all these particular areas that is on the north side of the river right through Third Street into Ladd Field. Ladd, in turn, changed the railroad bridge to one-way traffic to allow all the people to come in that way that was possible. Mr. O'BRIEN. They have insisted they have no responsibility? Mr. O'BRIEN. Let me ask you this: Does the road commission believe that this job you want done should be done? Mr. LANGBERG. Correct. Mr. O'BRIEN. But cannot do it because it does not have the money? Mr. LANGBERG. That is right. Mr. REED. I will confirm that. Mr. Ghiglione feels as I feel it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to pave this road. Mr. BARTLETT. Mr. Chairman, I wonder if I might ask Mrs. Roach if she could tell us where the public health problem arises? Mr. ROACH. It is the dust problem. You cannot hang a wash out at all. The dust is just terrific. ainer here Forts it is and ity ran ion -or on on. up n ts al Mr. O'BRIEN. Has it reduced the value of the property there, do you believe? Mr. LANGBERG. It has reduced the value and stopped the increase of anyone building out there. Our place came to a standstill a year ago this last summer over the dust problem. They moved out of there completely. Mr. O'BRIEN. And the total investment in there would be substantial? Mr. LANGBERG. Yes, very much so. We have about 500 families in that area and I mean they are moving fast. Mr. O'BRIEN. All we can do, as I explained, will be to file with the Appropriations Committee a sympathetic report. Mr. LANGBERG. I wish you would encourage the Federal Government to give us some relief on that particular deal. Mr. DAWSON. I would suggest, Mr. Chairman, we get a report from the Air Force as to their views on this subject; why they have declined to assume any responsibility. And then perhaps we will refer it to the Appropriations Committee to be referred to the Armed Forces Appropriations as well as the Interior Subcommittee on Appropriations. Mr. BARTLETT. Would it be helpful, I wonder, if we too, addressed, an inquiry to the Alaska Road Commission to ascertain if they are making a budgetary request again for this? Mr. DAWSON. I assume you will, will you not? Mr. REED. I am not the Alaska road commissioner. I am Territorial highway engineer. Mr. O'BRIEN. They have made that request at least twice. I know this last time it was turned down. He is very hopeful of getting it. Mr. BARTLETT. You say it did not reach Congress? Mr. REED. That is right. It never reached Congress. Mr. ABBOTT. It is a matter, of course, which can be brought to the attention of the commanding general of the Alaska Command along with a number of other questions which will arise here. We have been assured that the military will develop for us the necessary background information on these questions as they are raised. Mr. DAWSON. I might say we have to be very cautious because if we give aid out there for that street I have been through enough in Fairbanks in the last few days to convince me they are all going to be in and all say it has something to do with national defense and therefore let us fix all of these roads up. Mr. LANGBERG. You are probably right although we have run a petition through 2 years and have not had any relief. I imagine we could take a court order and shut the road off which would not be the right thing to do. Mr. O'BRIEN. You said 500 families. About how many people? Mr. LANGBERG. Grail and Hamilton Acres which is involved in this particular deal would probably be in the neighborhood of 1,500 people, I would think. Seventy-five percent would be military. Mr. O'BRIEN. I should think the military would have a sympathetic viewpoint. I think that will complete the hearings for today. Mr. ABBOTT. Mr. Chairman, I have a list of 11 people who have contacted me with respect to appearances, 4 of whom will be in a group on a common,interest problem and I would simply like to announce again if there is anyone else in the room who has not handed their name to me and desires to appear or submit a written statement, that should be done. Additionally, pointing to the fact again that we will have approximately 3 hours of hearing time remaining, the same time limitation which we referred to earlier would necessarily apply. Mr. O'BRIEN. We will adjourn until 9 a. m. tomorrow. (Whereupon, at 5:30 p. m., the subcommittee recessed to reconvene at 9 a. m. on Friday, September 16, 1955.) have in a to not Eten fact me lier -ne ALASKA, 1955 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1955 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, in Car The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 9:20 a. m., Mr. GILLAM. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to appear as a private citizen and a local merchant in reference to Government competition with private enterprise. More specifically, the Armed Forces competition with local retail merchandise and retailing and services. I have here a prepared statement I would like to read. I might say before presenting this statement that this is a problem that has continually grown to the point that it has gained the attention of all organized labor and of all the chambers of commerce and specifically the All-Alaska Chamber of Commerce in Alaska and the resolutions have been passed by all including the All-Alaska Chamber of Commerce, requesting that most of this stop and that the usual services given by a free competitive economy be turned back to the people of Alaska. The policy of the Department of the Interior has been to populate the Territory of Alaska. This has been shown in many ways, but none are better than the withdrawal of the Alaska Railroad from competitive enterprise. It is gratifying to see that this withdrawal has enabled the railroad to produce the first profit in its history. However, it appears to be the express policy of the Department of Defense to run out the civilians brought in by the Department of the Interior. How else can one explain their destruction of jobs for labor, destruction of profits for merchants; and the prevention of normal taxes being paid to the Territory of Alaska? These conditions are territorywide and not limited to Fairbanks. Kodiak is being boycotted even now, by the naval forces on the island. Business is down as much as 50 percent and several merchants have closed their doors. The boycott is carried through by a Navy airlift, operated at the taxpayers' expense, and bringing daily bread, milk, and produce along with semiweekly shoe repairs, dry cleaning, and similar items-all from Seattle, Wash. Mr. ABBOTT. If I may, what do you mean by Kodiak "being boycotted"? Mr. GILLAM. Mr. Abbott, a number of years ago the mayor of Kodiak went to Washington, D. C., and objected to civilian housing being placed on the Navy base. As a result of that, Navy civilians with real picket signs walked up and down in front of the buses on the base stating, "Do not go to Kodiak." Within 30 days the business of the town dropped 50 percent, the bank deposits dropped, and since then there has been a planned campaign against the businesses of the city of Kodiak. That is what I mean, sir. Mr. ABBOTT. What was the explanation of those people who were doing the picketing? Why the "anti-Kodiak" attitude? Mr. GILLIAM. Because the mayor of Kodiak had dared go to Washington, D. C., and request that housing for civilians be built off the Navy base. The port of Seward has been relegated to comparative obscurity by the creation of the all-military port of Whittier. Whittier was created by the military, for the military; and is completely operated by the military. This to the exclusion of Alaskan longshoremen and similar laborers and all civilian business. As for Fairbanks, the military has carried out the fulfillment of a statement of Fairbanks' first commanding general, General Gaffney's 1950 prediction that "The day will come when not a single soldier will go to Fairbanks." And the tragic part of this carrying out is: The Federal taxes paid by the Fairbanks businesses being hurt are being used to impose on Fairbanks conditions hitherto reserved for occupied foreign countries. It has been said that a person could drive into Ladd Field, a quarter of a mile from Fairbanks, completely nude and emerge fully clothed, fully equipped to person and car, and buy everything below the Fairbanks wholesale price. This may be a slight exaggeratior-but it is very slight. Ladd Field and similar military installations throughout this Territory are rapidly becoming cities unto themselves. Cities which have the highest standard of living in Alaska--and the lowest standard of cost. They have clubs selling whisky and beer on which no Territorial tax has been paid. There are restaurants retailing meals. for less than a Fairbanks restaurant owner would pay for the ingredients. Tires, gasoline, photographic supplies, ladies' clothes, dry cleaning, dog food, movies, pinball machines, baby clothes, and on and on, are all available at a subsidized price, a price below the Fairbanks wholesale landed cost. Nor does it stop with the sale to the military. Sales are also made to civilians working for the military and bootlegging of purchases to civilians not military connected is a common practice. I objected personally to this procedure with a preceding general and the net result was a boycott, active and real, of my store. Military trade became as scarce as could be under an edict handed down by a commanding general. I am happy to state that this boycott as such no longer exists under the present general. But my personal losses are little compared to that suffered by the city and the Territory. According to the best sources among the wholesalers of alcoholic beverages, one-third of all the liquor sold in the Territory is tax-free military liquor. The tax on this liquor is |