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Published Weekly ft The Interest Of TheWork^Ctess
No. !9
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, 0ct. 24, 1914.
Vol. I
©
James Wickersham, Dele
gate to Congress will soon
arrive in Fairbanks in pur
suanee of his campaign for
inon, seeking thevotes
of all classes necessary to ac
complish that result. He will
no doubt appear on the plat
toi ui ^01 tne purpose of giv
ing an account of his labors
nnd activities in Congress on
behali: of the interest's of A
laska and its people, for Im
probably realizes that his be
ing James Wickersham is
sufficient reason for his re-el
ection--that he must stand
rail on the record he lias
made during has six years in
cumbency of the delenate
ship from Alaska.
in view of thus it is proper
that we should examine to
some extent the record he
has made and as he is look
ing for working class vote;,
enquire particularly into
what he has done for labor
and his attitude toward that
question, both in and out of
Congress.
ihe first four years hlr.
Wickershani spent in Con
gress was devote,1 for the
| most part to fighting corpo
ra t io n v/ i n d m i!! s a n cl c, u a rreI -
ing with everybody in Wash
ington in a position to do
| anythmgior Alaska. Because
no wanted the credit of do
ing everything that was done
he was continually at war
with Colonel Richardson, who
nonestly sought to secure
sufficient appropriations to
build a system of roads am
trails in Alaska that was nec
essary to open the country
up, and which are of even
more importance than w'in
roads, and the antagonism ex
is ting between these two is
more responsible for the
small appropriations of the
past three years than any
thing else; and it is well
known that that is the rea*
son y;o iihv. c r.o ijovsriv'o^^t
h|nV]'Vo of f. 1-Vnnl^
ul A cl XX. . wt t
it seem: that Mr. V* icker
sham never did anything
worth while for Alaska of
his own free will.
Among his notable achieve
merits was the Home Rule
bill that he gave us, yet it is
known that he was opposed
to Home Rule until it was
forced on to him. He even
went so far as to write to
Governor Hogget I saying in
effect that no oneinAlr.sk:
wanted home rule c"cm dn
a lot ofgamblers, saloon kee
pers and stew burns. Finally
however, because of ceaseless
agitation not only in Alaska
j but in the states, sentiment
I m favor of home rule reach
jCtl the pomt where something
; had to be done.
I>uJ the pressure seems to
! have been felt by other, aw
makers in congress more than
by Wickersham himself, for
we see Senator Beveridge in
troducing a bill which pro
vided for a sort cf comm is
non term of government.
Then Mr. Wiekersham gut
busy for 'the Beveridge bill
threatened to raise Colonel
Richardson, his mortal ene
my to a post of power in A
laskan affairs, and relegate
the delegate to a position of
insignificance. Then we got
the Home Rule that we are
now.living under, but we are
hedged about by limitations
that were never imposed up
on a teritory before- not ev
en upon Hawaii, aland inha
vitcd by only a few thousand
w-lutes and a large popula
tion of Kanakas and Chi
And so it was with the rail
road. Delegate Wickersha.m,
regardless of his pretended
enmity to the corporations,
was opposed to the govern
ment building a road until
public sentiment both in and
v
' " * f*3* ‘H* ^ ** f <f» rf * B 2-\
^uggoicdiiOin
preamble,
W e, ihe representatives of * he
.grand old parties of bunk dupli
city and machine politics, believ
ing in the eternal principles of
graft an 1 gouge, and the perpet
ual bamboozlement and exploita
tion '.jj cur fellow men, that our
days may be many and our bur
dens light, reaffirm solemnly be
iore Almighty God, cur maker,
our undying allegiance to the na
tional platform and principles of
our compatriots in the States,for
it is only on such principles that
we, the salt of the earth and the
quintessence of respectability,
can hope to maintain our position
of ascendancy over the rabble of
the street, who of recent years
have displayed such effrontery as
to question our God-given right
to run the universe, and gobble
up and appropriate to our own
use and benefit everything in
sight.
We view with alarm this dan
gerous tendency of the common
herd, who, led by the pestiferous
Socialists, are beginning to see
through our schemes and hypo
I ..... .
.critical pretensions, are wont to
: bawl us out and insert the scal
1 pel under c;,r unctions hides
, where it hurts the worst. Such
i sacriligious conduct merits our
severest condemnation, for no
[ set of parasites, shyster law yers
I and political confidence men can
‘ hope to long maintain their su
prcmacy if it is allowed to conti
nue. .
And while we point with pride
to the long unbroken record of
of success of our patriotic and
God-fearing counterparts in oth
er lands and climes in taking ev
erything no*- nailed down, we in
stinctively feel that all is not
well, that the coils are slowly and
surely tightening around our
kind; and especially do we of
this community tee! something
slipping, and that unless heroic
measures are taken, our days are
numbered. Recognizing this fact,
we therefore come together in
anxious conclave and construct a
platform making the following
[outside of Alaska, forced him
to act. Here again the pres
sure was felt elsewhere be
fore if had any influence or,
Mr. \V ickers.hani. So strong
was it that the Democrats
went into power practically
pledged to open up this coun
try by means of railroads.
Now he likes to claim the
credit when it is a certainty
that the railroad would have
been built if Wickersharn had '
never, been heard of, and it is
doubtful if he could possible
have stopped it if he had
tried. Even at that he sue
ceeded in getting a lav;
through thr.t contains a leas
ing-clause that may fasten a
transportation monopoly up
on this country as burden
some ac the one we are now
staggering under.
The coal leasing bill has
has"just become a law. Our
delegate worked hard for
this bill, although it turns o
ver to corporations the great
coal resources of Alaska, al
lowing them to be monopo
lized. and the employ
ees and public, 'to be skinned
to the last farthing after
the manner of all coal corpo
rations; and all the govern
ment gets out of it is two J
cents per ton. There was a
1’LATFOUM.
We demand an eight-hour da"
for all those who work fora liv
in r,
v- I
We demand that at least two |
full shifts be put in every o_i
hours.
We demand that shaft:- in hen- j
or of Candidates Driscoll anrlj
Collins for their stand on the 8- j
hour day in the legislatur. ,’ .e rai-.
sod in front of every steam f.uii-'
dry in Alaska, the same to be of j
imperishable marble and to be1
paid for by the women laundry I
workers.
We demand that the mantle, of
charity be drawn over the legis- '
lative record of candidate W, T.
Burns.
We demand that all those who
I say that Candidate Gaustad head
led a movement to cut wages, be
|sentiment .in,Washington in
! favor of the governmcif cp
• ening up these ccal deposits
1 r.r.d if there had been a dele
gate in congress to cultivate
that sentiment and work for
government operation of
these mines there is no doubt
but the government would
have adopted such a policy.
Then there would be no mon
opoly. no skinning or plunder
ingof employees cr people in
the mining and distributing
of coal in Alaska.
Mr. Wickers ham has been
in congress for six years,
and at all times has pretend
ed to have a Herculean sask
on his hands to prevent Alas
;.a being swallowed up. blood
raw, by the corporations but
for ten years interior Alaska,
his home district, has
wr'th.ed in the clutches of as
merciless a transportation
monopoly as ever choked the
hfe out of any community,
yet in his six years of service
he has never made one effort
to curb its rapacity, a >d with
his leasing clause in the rail
road law, he has provided a
way for a cor an.ee of
thi.;monopoly. What ex;san
ation of all this will he .. e?
Will he tel! us that the torri.
Continued on A : * ■
considered infernal liars.
We demand that a : • ' - be
granted the receiver jf the de
funct W. A. Bans: * pay in sT
Candidate Grifnn .. of
the bank funds clown is ter
the institution dosed its •.
We demand thar. I'fis'ri err
ney Crorsley be fir <>d f.
the N. C. Company t<
taxes, and before !n •, . ,.-](■
crooked politicians. ’! ,n
tial.
Av e demand that no « ,-y
be called till Cross!.m is
We. demand that' , ■ ,nv
vote for u\ The Di-u
ket is. especially roc.mi: > ... r0
prohibitionists.
We demand that all ; h0
&a if at lorn J.IcGowni '"vilow
Dai Callahan, Its all ■:••••.. Ui USt
Continued on 1 a a •. ,0