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Editor’s note: The following editorial appeared in this column on Oct. 1, 1959. As we recognize the 50th anniversary of President Dwight Eisenhower’s signing of the Alaska statehood proclamation on Jan. 3, 1959, the Daily News-Miner is reprinting a sampling of its statehood-related editorials from that era.

Announcement of the new uniform closing hours for the sale of liquor in Alaska probably will set off a battle between those who have instituted the move and those who feel they will suffer from it.

The new regulations do not impose unreasonable restrictions on any liquor dispensary. They provide that all bars, clubs, taverns and package stores must close no later than 3 a.m. on weekdays and 4 a.m. on Sundays and holidays.

Already, opposition to the move has sprung up in Fairbanks. Warren Taylor, speaker of the house during the last session of the Legislature, has announced he will take court action in an effort to prevent the new law from going into effect.

Similar opposition probably will be expressed in other major Alaska cities.

It is doubtful whether all this hue and cry can be translated into any effective barrier to the new regulation. Although some opponents of the new measure declare that the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has not authority to impose or enforce the new regulation, it certainly does not appear likely that they would institute such a sweeping measure throughout Alaska without satisfying themselves beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had this authority.

But whether or not the board is vested with authority for setting uniform closing hours throughout the state, the wishes of the people of Alaska should be given some consideration.

There is little likelihood that a majority of the people of Alaska would join a crusade to keep out-of-town bars open day and night. On the other hand, there is considerable evidence that Alaskans want some restriction on operation of liquor establishments.

No real hardship should develop because the state has decided to permit bars to remain open only 19 instead of 24 hours a day. ...

There was a time within the city of Fairbanks when bars here were permitted to operate around the clock. Restricting their operations to a normal schedule of hours has been accepted as a good thing for all concerned.

Undoubtedly, when the first shock of having to comply with the new closing hours wears off, the establishments outside the limits will begin to find there are also advantages to closing at a reasonable hour.