AN EASTERNER WRITES
Elizabeth, New Jersey,
May 25, 1924.
Editor Alaska Fisherman,
Dear Sir:
I received copy of your last issue
and I am delighted to get it. Es
pecially gratifying was the news of
your victory.
The two advertisements enclosed
with your paper gives a fair idea
of the character, I might say, lack
of character, of your opponents.
They use the same old buncombe,
the same old appeal to prejudice,
the same old mess of lies and half
truths served in livery of Truth, the
same old demogoguery that have
been used by designing men since
Cain tried to hoodwink the Al
might. The only really surprising
thing to me is that supposedly
shrewd and intelligent men should
have presumed that they could gain
the support of Alaskans by any
such method. Imagine anybody who
knows anything about Native state
craft being impressed by the charge
that five thousand or so of them
were being exploited! And that the
exploiting was being done by a man
whose forebears have through many
generations been their trusted lead
ers; whose father “gave the last
full measure of devotion” to their
service; whose mother has served
them for forty years as teacher,
nurse and friend, with a devotion
and self-sacrificing love as nearly
that of the Great Teacher as can
be found in Alaska or anywhere
else! The charge of exploitation is
absurd and foolish. The men who
make it must be stupid. Indeed,
such a charge exposes the desperate
extremities to which they are re
duced. It does you no substantial
harm. Some there are who may
be influenced by it, but not many.
It does you much good, by uniting
and steadying the support of the
natives and all true friends of Alas
ka.
As I read their “ads,” it seemed
to me that their fundamental weak
ness lay in the inconsistency of their
main planks. In one breath Davis
Shepard-Ashley and Gurr Company
declare that the most important mat
ter in Alaska affairs right now is
the regulation and control of the
fisheries, which should be turned ov
er by the Federal Government to
the Territory; and in the next breath
they advocate the practical disfran
chisement of the Indian who, of all
citizens of Alaska knows most about
fish and is most interested in their
conservation! Those fellows must
be an awful bunch of dummies to
think that they could “put over”
such a grossly unfair proposition.
Their hope, of course, was that the
racial prejudice would win them
enough votes to carry them through;
and in this again they erred. Their
own prejudices and self-interest ran
away with their judgment.
Stand bravely by your guns on
the high and commanding ground
you have taken: 1. The complete
recognition of the Indians’ citizen
ship; 2. Equality of opportunity
for whites and Indians alike. Your
big fight is to achieve for the In
dians the full measure of citizen
ship vouchsafed by the Constitution,
resisting any effort to restrict or
deny those rights, unless the re
st! iction applies to all citizens
whether white or Indian; and to in
sist with equal determination upon
all citizens properly learning and
performing the duties that citizen
ship imposes. The most direct route
to that end is through Alaska self
government. This can be reached
only by the vigorous, united and
unremitting efforts of all the people
of Alaska. And the demand for
self-government must be both insis
tent and unanimous. Alaska is a
long, long way from the seat of
government. It's population is in
significant in numbers. We have
twice as many people in our little
town of Elizabeth as you have in
the whole Territory. Your contact
with the States is limited and the
ignorance of the average American
citizen with respect to Alaska af
fairs is amazing. All of which
means that there is no interest;
therefore no pressure on Washington
to adopt and pursue an enlightened
policy with respect to Alaska. What
ever attention is obtained must be
by the united effort of Alaskans.
Their cry for relief, for autonomy,
for right is hardly discernible. When
confused by discord and angry dis
agreements among themselves. Point
your guns along this line. Bend
your great energies and influence
steadily toward co-operation, under
standing, mutual respect. Get your
people lined up behind you for ter
ritorial self-government. When you
get that, the other questions will be
quickly settled, and I have no fear
that the native will be neglected or
denied his substantial rights.
Yours very truly,
SAMUEL KENDALL,
Elizabeth, N. J.
EAGLE CAFE
S. Nakamura, Prop.
OPEN DAY AND NIGHT
Best Meals in Ketchikan
f-\
Candy, Cigars, Ice Cream
Fruit, Soft Drinks
BEN SIMPSON
Metlakatla, Alaska
k.___/
ROY BAKERY
Also Has Fine Ice Cream and
Fruit
SITKA, ALASKA
Chinese Noodle House
Noodles and Chop Suey Upstairs
Pool Tables Downstairs
Green 46
Ketchikan, Alaska
O. K. Barber Shop
Shower and Tub Bath
Ketchikan, Alaska
VIOLIN MAKER
and Repairer of Musical
Instruments
P. B. HOGAN
Ketchikan, Alaska
Newtown Laundry
GEORGE S. SATOW, Prop.
Cleaning and Pressing
Phone 221 Ketchikan
Alaska Home Bakery
132 Stedman Street
Ketchikan
Alaska
C. E. REYNOLDS,
D. C. Ph. C.
Palmer Graduate
CHIROPRACTOR
Phone White 167
Gilmore Building Ketchikan
CONSUMER’S
STORE
H. V. Sully, Prop.
QUALITY GROCERIES
FRESH FRUIT and
VEGETABLES
Phone 174
JUNEAU