TIIE ALASKA FISHERMAN
Published the 15th of each month at Ketchikan, Alaska
WILLIAM L. PAUL, ATTORNEY FOR THE
ALASKA NATIVE BROTHERHOOD
Entered as second - class matter at the Post Office at
KETCHIKAN, ALASKA
SUBSCRPTION PRICE $2.00 FOR TWELVE ISSUES
OUR PLATFORM:
ALASKA FOR ALASKANS.
FULL TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT.
ABOLISHMENT OF ALL TRAPS.
COMPETENT CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP.
LIONS DEVOUR A LAMB
Our sympathy goes out to W. R. Hanlon, who
had the honor to be elected Mayor of Sitka last
Spring, thru the united Native vote. On a
recent trip to the Capital City he was led to
the dizzy heights of Mount Juneau, and the
Corporation false prophets pointed out the
Promised Land. He was tempted and fell—a
dupe to the Brigands who have privately and
publicly been cussing he and his Native sup
porters for many moons past,
On the first day of the Mayor’s arrival in
Juneau, Sept. 16th, he was given honeyed words
and headlines in the Subsidized Empire. The
next day he was inveigled to break bread and
swap fairly tales with the “Independent” lead
ers at the Chamber of Commerce meeting; fol
lowed by more kind words and headlines in
the Organ. The third day Mayor Hanlon com
pletely capitulated and found himself securely
fastened in the trap set for him. He then al
lowed the Cannerymen’s Organ to make him
say in a column of words, with headlines, that
he would support the “Independent” ticket.
Poor Hanlon. After five years of support
he is suddenly convinced “that Mr- Sutherland
had entirely lost his unsefulness at Washing
ton as far as Alaska is concerned,” and that W.
L, Paul “is a false leader.” Pity the man who
is tempted and falls. His conscience is his own
greatest accuser. He needs prayer rather than
curses. Be it remembered to the honor of the
Indian race that the faithless Mr. Hanlon is
not a Native.
THE WICKERSHAM LETTER
The citizens of Alaska are invited to read
the letter of James Wickersham printed as the
leading article herein. This letter was writ
ten long before the Hearst articles were print
ed, long before Dan Sutherland made serious
charges against any public official in Alaska.
If you will read it carefully and then com
pare it with the Hearst article, you will find
that a great deal of the material, is a verbatim
quotation from this letter.
The very title of the Hearst article is taken
verbatim from Mr. Wickersham’s letter. He
makes the charge that—
“The Red Light District, the prostitutes, the
bootleggers joints, the criminal refuse, the Bar
bary Coast of Ketchikan, is maintained on these
Indian Reserved Tide Lands, under charge of
the United States-”
He says, “This is the worst spot in Alaska,
and it is on Indian lands, on tide lands reserv
ed by the Secretary of the Interior for Indian
use.” * * * The title to this land held by
the United States. Its presence there, on Unit
ed States property, protects 200 prostitutes,
pimps and their kind, who sell “Bootleg"
liquors and narcotics, etc., the title being in
the Government of the United States.”
He adds, “This crime hole, on Indian and
tide lands, under the control of the United
States Government, shelters more criminals,
and costs the Department of Justice more for
the suppression of crime than any other place
in Alaska.”
Who is to blame for these conditions?
Are these statements of facts slanderous?
If they are true, they are not slanderous, and
must be sured.
THE GRAND JURY REPORT
The report of the last grand jury (for Septem
ber) is significant because one of its members
was EDWARD G. MORRISSEY, the editor of
the Ketchikan Chronicle and the foremost de
fender of the “fair name of Ketchikan” from
the “Slanders of Dan Sutherland.”
You would naturally think that Morrissey
and his friends would investigate in their of
ficial capacity the charges which have been
made by the Hearst papers.
What did they do?
They made absolutely no reference to the
charges of lawlessness in the vice district of
Ketchikan.
The Morrissey grand jury owed it to them
selves, to the citizens of Ketchikan, to the peo
ple of Alaska, to the people of the United
States, to have met the issue squarely,