[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 147 (Tuesday, November 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12517-S12519]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ALASKA CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, today marks the 50th anniversary of the 
Alaska Constitutional Convention. I speak to pay tribute to those who 
contributed to this milestone in our State's history.
  When the Constitutional Convention began on November 8, 1955, Alaska 
was a territory foundering under the weight of discriminatory Federal 
legislation.
  Alaskans were denied control and management of our fisheries. We were 
denied our share of Federal highway funds. We were denied the ability 
to expand our economy because of unfair land laws. We were denied the 
right to vote for our President and Vice President. And we were denied 
full representation in Congress.

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  Our economy had been damaged by article 27 of the Jones Act, which 
Congress passed in 1920. This act specifically excluded Alaska from the 
United States' ship and rail system. It required all goods and services 
be diverted through Seattle, which drove up prices and pushed many 
Alaskans out of business.
  As former territorial governor Ernest Gruening told the convention 
delegates in 1955, Alaska was ``no less a colony than were those 
thirteen colonies along the Atlantic seaboard in 1775.'' Governor 
Gruening then quoted the United States Declaration of Independence and 
told the delegates it was time for Alaska to ``let facts be submitted 
to a candid world.''
  Fifty-five men and women were chosen to serve as convention 
delegates. The number 55 was selected to reflect the Philadelphia 
Convention of 1787, which produced the Constitution of the United 
States.
  On November 8, 1955, the delegates met at the University of Alaska in 
Fairbanks. They worked for 75 days, and their efforts produced a 
precedent-setting constitution, which formed the basis for 
Congressional approval of statehood.
  Thanks to the dedication of George Lehleitner of Louisiana and C.W. 
Bill Snedden, publisher of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, our 
constitution included Alaska's version of the ``Tennessee plan,'' which 
had been used successfully by Tennessee, Michigan, California, Oregon, 
Kansas, and Iowa to gain admission to this Union. Under this plan, our 
territory elected a Congressional delegation without waiting for 
Congressional approval.
  When they began their deliberations 50 years ago today, no one could 
have predicted how successful our convention delegates would be. They 
considered the needs of Alaskans who lived in the territory and the 
needs of those who would later live in our State. Their foresight gave 
us the document that has stood the test of time and been hailed as a 
model of state constitutions. And their efforts set in motion the 
series of events that led to statehood.
  Before the Constitutional Convention, there were many who questioned 
whether Alaskans could be entrusted with statehood. They thought we 
were too far-removed from the lower 48, too different. Those who 
participated in the drafting of our constitution changed this. Our 
constitution affirmed our commitment to the democratic ideals upon 
which this Union was founded.
  The 55 convention delegates were devoted public servants who became 
Alaska's founding mothers and fathers. Today, five of those delegates 
are meeting in Anchorage. They are:
  George Sundborg, Sr., a newspaperman who served as chair of the 
convention's committee on style and drafting. George later served as 
Senator Ernest Gruening's top aide in Washington, DC.
  Dr. Victor Fischer, who served as chair of the convention's committee 
on the Executive Branch. Vic was later elected to the territorial House 
of Representatives and served the State he helped create in the Alaska 
State Senate.
  John ``Jack'' Coghill, who was chair of the convention's committee on 
administration. Jack was a member of the territorial House of 
Representatives and later served as mayor of Nenana, State Senator, and 
Alaska's Lieutenant Governor.
  Seaborn Buckalew, a member of the territorial House of 
Representatives who later served as a State Senator, Assistant Adjutant 
General of the Alaska National Guard, and U.S. District Attorney and 
Superior Court Judge for the 3rd Judicial District.
  Burke Riley, who served as chair of the convention's committee on 
rules. Burke was a special assistant to Governor Gruening and the 
Secretary of Alaska from 1952 through 1953, a position similar to 
today's lieutenant governor. He also served in the territorial House of 
Representatives.
  Today, these delegates are joined by:
  Thomas Stewart, who served in the territorial legislature and chaired 
its Joint Committee on Statehood and Federal Legislation, which drafted 
the Convention Enabling Act. Tom served as secretary of the convention 
and later became an Alaska Superior Court Judge. He played a key role 
in establishing our State's court system.
  Katherine Hurley, who was the long-time executive secretary to 
territorial Governor Ernest Gruening and secretary of the territorial 
senate. Ms. Hurley served as chief clerk of the convention.
  Doris Ann Bartlett, the daughter of my predecessor, Senator Bob 
Bartlett. Doris served as librarian of the convention.
  Also in Anchorage today are three consultants who advised the 
convention delegates:
  Dr. George Rogers, who served as temporary secretary and economics 
consultant,
  Dr. Vincent Ostrum of the University of Indiana, and
  Dr. Earnest Bartley of the University of Florida.
  On behalf of all Alaskans, Senator Lisa Murkowski and I have come to 
the floor today to thank these men and women whose hard work laid the 
foundation for the 49th State.
  In his speech closing the proceedings, Bill Egan, the president of 
the Constitutional Convention who later served three terms as Alaska's 
Governor, said:

       I say to each and every Alaskan: If it had been your good 
     fortune, as it has been mine, to have witnessed the 
     abilities, the diligence, the devotion to duty, of these 
     delegates . . . you would say of their labors, ``well done!''

  Bill Egan's words endure today. Well done, thank you, and God bless 
each of you!
  I yield the remainder of my time to Senator Murkowski.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The junior Senator from Alaska.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I thank my colleague and I, too, thank 
the Senator from Virginia for allowing us to speak today on the 50th 
anniversary of the convening of the Alaska Constitutional Convention.
  Although it has not quite been 50 years since Alaska's statehood, it 
was half a century ago today that 55 delegates from around the State 
met to debate what would become the Alaska Constitution.
  Prior to the Constitutional Convention, the Convention's secretary, 
Thomas Stewart, traveled around the country for 6 months looking at 
other States' constitutions and how their provisions may work in 
Alaska. Later, 55 delegates were elected from every region in Alaska, 
and on November 8, 1955, the delegates met in Fairbanks at the 
University of Alaska. As the country was shrouded in the Cold War, 
Alaska's Territorial Governor Ernest Gruening stood to address the 
Constitutional Convention, and said:

       Alaska has a great, great destiny. We are here situated by 
     geography and by history in the farthest north and our 
     farthest west in a unique position to achieve that destiny. 
     We were formerly part of a country which today, under changed 
     government, represents the antithesis of everything that we 
     believe in and of everything we hold dear. We have a 
     geographic juxtaposition to that area. We can see it from our 
     mainland with the naked eye. What a challenge then to create 
     in these far northern latitudes a shining and eternal example 
     of what we want to call the American way of life, to make 
     Alaska not merely a bulwark defense for the whole hemisphere, 
     for the free world, but a spiritual citadel of the American 
     idea. It can only be done by the application to Alaska of 
     basic American principles, the most basic of which is 
     government by consent of the governed. So you have here a 
     thrilling opportunity, and I know you will live up to it.

  Those were the words of Governor Gruening.
  Alaska did. The Alaska Constitution was the result of the hard work 
of the pioneers of the last frontier. Five of those delegates to the 
constitutional convention are still alive today, as Senator Stevens 
mentioned. I take a brief moment to recognize the accomplishments of 
these outstanding Alaskans.
  First, Victor Fisher was a member of the Alaska Territorial House of 
Representatives and the Alaska State Senate. Mr. Fisher was born in 
Germany, with an American father and Russian mother. Mr. Fisher has 
also worked at the University of Alaska, primarily as the director of 
the Institute of Social and Economic Research.
  George Sundborg, Sr., began his life as a newspaper journalist, an 
editor, a publisher, and owner. After the constitutional convention, 
Mr. Sundborg continued his service to Alaska as a staff member to the 
territorial Governor.
  John B. ``Jack'' Coghill was a representative in the Alaska 
Territorial House of Representatives. After the convention, Mr. Coghill 
continued to

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serve the State as president of the Alaska School Board Association and 
then as our State's Lieutenant Governor.
  Mr. Burke Riley served as the Territorial Secretary of Alaska and 
served two terms in the Alaska Territorial Legislature. As a delegate 
to the Alaska constitutional convention, Mr. Riley served as the Rules 
Committee chairman. Mr. Riley also served as a chief of staff to 
Governor Egan and assisted in setting up the government of the State of 
Alaska during Governor Egan's extended illness.
  And Seaborn Buckalew served in the Territorial House. After the 
convention, Mr. Buckalew was appointed to the superior court where he 
served many years. He was also an Active National Guard member.
  The result of the hard work of these delegates was a constitution 
that the National Municipal League said was ``one of the best if not 
the best State constitution ever written.'' The Alaska constitutional 
convention would not have been a success without the assistance of 
staff and consultants. I mentioned the contribution of Thomas Stewart. 
There was also that from Katherine Hurley, Dr. George Rogers, and Doris 
Ann Bartlett. I also thank the two surviving consultants, Dr. Vincent 
Ostrum and Dr. Earnest Bartley, for their service to Alaska.
  I was not yet born at the time that Alaska's Constitution was 
created, but that document continues to serve Alaska's leaders as a 
roadmap to our State's future. Alaska's constitutional convention 
didn't just set the wheels in motion toward statehood, it has guided my 
generation and my children's generation and will be a guide to future 
generations of Alaskans forward.
  As Governor Gruening put it, ``a shining and eternal example of what 
we want to call the American way of life.''

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