The Nome Nugget

Sen. Gruening Secures Permission from U.S. Public Health Service For Doctors and Dentists To Give Medical Care In Alaska To All Who Request It

Sen. Ernest Gruening has gone to bat for the residents of Nome and Kotzebue and their need for dental care within their own areas.

He states in a letter to Gov. Wm. Egan that he has obtained permission from the U.S. Public Health Service for doctors and dentists to give medical care to all concerned contingent upon the "State moving to correct its medical and dental licensing laws to permit these procedures and upon the approval of the state health authority, the Medical Association and the Dental Association."

His letter to the governor continues: "To sum up the situation as it now exists, everything that was needed to be done in Washington has been done. The matter is now entirely up to the state officials and Alaska's doctors and dentists.

"I have battled for many years to secure fair treatment for our native people. I sponsored the anti-discrimination act which was finally passed in 1945. Subsequently the legislature passed the F.E.P. Act but we are in danger of getting and indeed already have, a reverse discrimination against the whites.

"We should have absolute equality regardless of race. There are historical reasons for what has happened. But now that Alaska is a state we should insist on equality and fair play for all. It is highly inconsistent to have the political equality which is manifested by the presence of natives in the legislature, which is most desirable as an evidence of our democracy, but at the same time have the persistence of the above mentioned social and economic inequalities sanctioned by law."