take a season or more to bring
results, but this move will bene
fit Ketchikan more than quib
bling over forms of government.
—Seward Gateway.
-x
Republicans-Democrats
-Which?
Voters before long must choose
between candidates of two
parties.
“I will vote for the man” some
say.
This is dangerous doctrine be
cause the two parties this year
have directing minds.
The situation among the Re
publicans may be as bad as you
think with Wickersham, Rusl
gard, Keller heading the ticket,
and pulling in different direc
tions, and we must admit that
Governor George Parks does not
stand for the advancement of
the people of Alaska, and that
Judge Harding is famous for
nothing except his love for hi?
family, and yet
What if the Democrats should
win?
John Walker Troy of the Ju
neau Empire would be your next
governor; Jim Connors would be
your collector of customs; and
Jim McClusky would be the next
United States Marshal.
Of one thing the Republicans
may be certain—they will not be
appointed to office—That is a
Democratic promise.
-x
The Board of Road Commis
sioners of Alaska, now operated
under the Department of the In
terior, will have $494,310 to ex
pend during the current fiscal
year. For betterments, opera
tion and maintenance, the
Washington - Alaska Military
Cable and Telegraph System,
operated by the Secretary of
War, will have $161,285 available.
Is Progress The Goal Of Civilization?
-x
Not long ago, v/e were talking
with Mr. Edwards of trapwire
fame, and he told us that we
were standing in the way of ‘pro
gress’ when we opposed the fish
tiap. He went on to say that all
history shows that nobody could
stand in the way of progress, or
efficiency. The handworkers of
Liverpool, the cotton workers of
the south, the handprinters be
fore the linotype, and many
others only proved this point, he
said. So he argued that the fish
trap justified itself because (1)
it produced the cheapest caught
fish; (2) it provided the most
sanitary.
We disagree with Mr. Edwards
first because Progress is not the
goal of society; rather the goal
is the contentment of each mem
ber of society. If machines
bring this about, we are for the
machine; but if the machine
c’oes not, then we are against
them. Society has something to
answer for when it permits a
machine in these days to dis
charge nine men out of ten
without providing for the nine.
Unless these nine can readjust
themselves, somebody has to
feed and cloth them however
poorly. A simple electrical device
for closing the doors of the New
York subways threw 9,000 men
cut of employment. Does Mr.
Edwards (or you) have the right
to shut his eyes to the needs c.f
these men and their families In
the name of “progress and let
them starve or resort to the Red
Cross or petty stealing?
We finally pinned Mr. Edwards
down by making him admit that
he was a communist for he said,
“I believe in cooperation of all
for the greatest good of all.” In
other words, we said, “You be
lieve in community effort for
community benefit, don’t you?”
He answered, “Yes.”
“Then” we said, “you are
nothing but a communist.”
But why quarrel with a word—
“bolshevist,” majority rule;
“communist” the greatest good
for the greatest number; “so
cialism” the effort of society to
protect its members from ex
ploitation.
The people of Alaska must be
allowed to feed themselves.
We conclude our editorial by
saying simply that the fishtrap
is not the cheapest way of catch
ing fish and those who base their
argument, on “cheapness” must
advocate the use of “weirs in
the fishstreams themselves” be
cause this form is the very
cheapest—one weir manned by
two persons to each stream
would guarantee the escapement
and economy and would replace
some four hundred traps costing
about $2,000,000 employing about
GOO men with one hundred weirs
or less and employing 200 men.
Mr. Edwards’ second reason is
more quickly answered—the en
tire Bristol Bay pack of about
2,000,000 cases is from movable
gear (seines and gilinets); like
wise the 1,500,000 cases from
British Columbia. The reports
that seine-caught, fish (movable
gear) are inferior is false. The
truth is that whenever fish is
condemned, the packer excuses
himself by blaming the seine
when more often it is trap
caught fish.
-x
We are sure to get the better
of Fortune if we do but grapple
with her.
* * *
Labor and trouble one can get
through alone, but it takes two
to be glad—Isben. i