The Nome Nugget

SENATE COMMITTEE PASSES BILL
FOR ALASKA-HAWAII STATEHOOD

WASHINGTON. A—The Senate Interior Committee voted yesterday to approve statehood for both Hawaii and Alaska.

Chairman Butler told reporters the vote to add Alaska statehood bill was "as close as could be." Presumably 8 to 7. Butler declined to make public the roll call vote which was taken in a closed door committee session.

After voting to combine the Alaska and Hawaii statehood bills into a single package, the committee voted to delay its report to the Senate until the Alaska statehood section can be "perfected."

President Eisenhower twice has asked Congress to pass the Hawaii statehood bill in time for the first state elections to be held this fall.

Alaska statehood, however, lacks administration endorsement and was not mentioned in the President's state of the union message.

Butler said he did not believe the process of "perfecting" the Alaska bill, now Title II of the Hawaii bill, would require more than three or four days. This consists mainly of choosing exact legal language.

He said that after the close vote adding Alaska to the statehood bill, the committee was unanimous in voting to report the combined measure to the Senate, and also unanimous in deciding to perfect the Alaska portion in the committee before the report goes to the Senate.

Butler conceded that the committee again could reverse its action on one or both of the territories.

He also said it would be his opinion that the two bills would be separated on the Senate floor.