MEAD TREADWELL: John, that's tremendous. John has some time for questions, I think, if anybody has any.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: Have you been down to the Lyndon Johnson Library to check out the oil drilling speculation documentation there?

PROFESSOR JOHN WHITEHEAD: I've been to the Lyndon Johnson Library, couldn't find anything. I talked to people who knew Lyndon and they still say the fact that he wouldn't even show up for the vote tells us that maybe Lyndon was only half hearted. He reported himself as being absent but in favor, but I even wrote Lady Bird and asked her if she had ever heard anything like this and she said no. But this oil question will remain the great hidden mystery for years and years. Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: I gather from your comments you would say the Alaska Tennessee Plan was very beneficial?

PROFESSOR WHITEHEAD: I would say the Alaska Tennessee Plan was beneficial. Bob Bartlett, and this is all in my book, was very annoyed with the Tennessee Plan delegation particularly Ernest Gruening. And Bob said the Tennessee Plan had absolutely nothing to do with the vote. But when I talked to Leo O'Brien who was the floor manager for the House bill he said oh, yes, there were many of us in Congress who were very touched by Bill Egan. And when Jim Wright said that it was Ernest

Gruening more than anyone else who brought his vote for Statehood I think clearly that every Alaskan who went to Washington helped bring in the vote.

In addition to the Tennessee Plan you have Bob Atwood going to Washington all the time and Bill Snedden the editor of the Fairbanks Daily News Miner worked very closely with Ted Stevens not so much to win votes, but to neutralize the opposition. As Ted once told me we used the power of the press with some of the obstructionists to let them know what would go out on the associated press wire if they were too resistent. And so I think all of those Alaskans who went to the Congress and knocked on doors made a positive impression on someone.

I said to Leo O'Brien if we were going to do it again we should have a Tennessee Plan, he said, by all means. So yes. Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: Alaska had strategic location during the Cold War. How significant of an impact was that in the overall decision?

PROFESSOR WHITEHEAD: The Christian Science monitor announced in January 1946 editorial that Statehood for Alaska and Hawaii would show that the United States had a permanent commitment to the Pacific. And that that Statehood would indicate the importance of that strategic location. And I agree with that. I agree with General Billy Mitchell who said to the Congress in 1935 he who holds Alaska controls the world because it is the most strategic place in the world. And I think Alaska's, Hawaii's strategic location has been greatly important. And as I've said on more than one occasion the strongest bipartisan cooperation in the United States Senate is Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and Ted Stevens of Alaska and they've maintained the Pacific military presence.

MR. TREADWELL: One more question.

PROFESSOR WHITEHEAD: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: I was curious (indiscernible - away from microphone).

PROFESSOR WHITEHEAD: No one quite knows why Tony decided to retire in 1944 and come back to Valdez and be a judge, but Tony was very influential in persuading the Congress to vote military appropriations for Alaska in 1940. He made a famous comparison to Alaska and Hawaii which was well fortified by 1940. Very little in Alaska. He looked at the strategic location as Billy Mitchell had pointing to both Alaska and Hawaii's closeness to Japan and Dimond said on the floor of the Congress it makes no sense to close one door to Japan with the fortification Hawaii and leave the other door wide open to come through Alaska. So Tony was heavily responsible for getting those initial military appropriations to Alaska in 1940 and '41. So he had influence with the members of Congress. Of course had he stayed he would have been the senior delegate and Alaska might have been pushed in first before Hawaii. Yes, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: Did the rapidness of Hawaii's Statehood follow as expected or were there other factors that (indiscernible - away from microphone).

PROFESSOR WHITEHEAD: Once Alaska was in all of the arguments against Hawaii failed. The states were noncontiguous, it was too far away. Leo O'Brien said to me once Alaska was in my grandson could have handled the Hawaii Statehood bill. The Congress opened in mid-January, January 20th of 1959, the Hawaii Statehood bill was voted by March 10. That meant it got through all the hearings, was voted in the House, went to the Senate, got through all the hearings, was voted in. It went through instantly. To the effect that poor old John Burns who had been elected territorial delegate of Hawaii was out a job two months after he got there dawdled too much and filed to be elected Governor of Hawaii.

So I was told by members of Congress and many people I talked to, Leo O'Brien, Jim Wright of Texas, Russell Long of Louisiana, they told me that everyone knew that voting in one state was automatic to voting in the other. I think the Senate bill for Hawaii was endorsed by 57 Senators when it went to the Congress and so there was no question that it was going to be voted in. (Applause)

49th STATE FELLOW: I hope everyone can hear me. On behalf of the 49th State Fellows I'm up here to present Professor Whitehead with an award, but before I do so I'd like to just point out a few things about Professor Whitehead's speech. First of all, I have your book at home.

PROFESSOR WHITEHEAD: Good. Have you read it?

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: That's not the question. I have your book at home, but also your speech today has made me think of three of my favorite things. Chocolate, football, and the future. Now in considering the future now, we're not going to talk about chocolate or football, but in considering the future it's proper to think of the past. To think of how far we've come and to think of the things we've overcome. And in order to think about the future in the first place I think it's necessary to know that we can overcome such things as becoming a state, such things as moving on from being a territory to becoming a state in general.

What Professor Whitehead has told us today is as people we can overcome such obstacles as becoming a state and doing things in the United States as a whole. People can overcome conflicts. People can overcome obstacles and people can in general be something more than just (indiscernible) to the rest of the world. Professor Whitehead is a great professor and as such he's brought us today with a great lecture on the past. And I hope that today on Alaska Day you will consider the future as well as the past and know that we can overcome and that we can move on and become more than just a state (indiscernible).

Professor Whitehead I'd like to present you with a Jefferson cup. For those of you who don't know the significance of a Jefferson cup in 1806 Thomas Jefferson was given this cup -- or he was given two silver cups by his friend and teacher Charles White. He took those two cups to a friend of his who's a silversmith and had eight more made that are small and delicate like this. They would fit in the palm of his hand. They served a more practical purpose and they also serve as 49th State Fellow gifts to our speakers. And Professor John Whitehead, on behalf of the 49th State Fellows and everyone else in attendance thank you for coming. (Applause)

PROFESSOR WHITEHEAD: Thank you. Just remember on a per capita basis you need fewer votes to become a Senator of the United States from Alaska than any other place in the country. (Applause)

MR. TREADWELL: Thank you for coming. And we can adjourn to the atrium for further questions and conversation. Thank you so much.

(END OF PROCEEDINGS)