ALASKA NATIVE BROTHERHOOD CAMPS
The admission fee into the Alaska
Native Brotherhood is ten dollars of
which one dollar must be sent to
Ralph Young, 'Grand Treasurer, ad
dress Sitka, Alasjka.
. The dues are six dollars per year
of which amount two dollars must
be sent to the Grand Treasurer.
The benefits to which active paid
up members are entitled are as fol
lows: no sick benefits if the member
is not sick two weeks; but if he is
sick two weeks or more, he must be
paid at the rate of ten dollars a
month from the date of his sickness.
Such payments shall not be paid
longer than six months.
The local Camp shall not contrib
ute more than forty dollars toward
the funeral expenses of any member.
The usual practice has been for the
local Camp to take charge of funer
als, the members seeing about dig
ging the grave, and getting the cof
fin, frequently taking up a collection
where the money is short.
Each Camp is required to make a
report each week concerning any sicjk
member. This must not be omitted.
There is no place where the seed of
brotherly love and affection will grow
faster than when planted in a sick
bed.
A number of our Camps are having
trouble. It is our experience that
trouble only comes where members
forget that they are brothers. Stick
to the ‘"Rule by the majority/ and
don’t crab.
We have heard fine reports about
the Juneau Camp. Since the return
of their delegates from the Conven
tion at Kake, they have gone after
the “moonshine” trouble and seem to
be getting results. The only hin
drance at Juneau is the United
States Commissioner, V. A. Paine.
This man is dismissing liquor cases
with nominal fines, and acting with
condescension where Indians try to
enforce the law among themselves.
Juneau reports that they are getting
fine cooperation from the prohibition
officers.
Douglas reports that things looked
bad for them for a while but that
they have gotten some more “pep”
since Dan Joseph joined them. Dan
Joseph is a credit to his people. He
has raised a big family, sending
them to the public schools, even be
fore the Brotherhood began pounding
the question.
Kasaan is going with flying colors.
The other day this Camp paid up all
their admission fees, and two years’
dues. Julius Frank is the new presi
dent, and we will say that Julius is
in earnest. The encouraging thing
about all our Camps is that the best
minds of the race are with us.
In Wrangell we are still handi
capped because the boys who have
gone to school and are best equipped
by birth and training to be leaders,
fail to see that they are “their
brothers’ keeper.” We hope the day
will come when the younger educated
men like Dave Lewis, Fred and
Clarence Lewis, Lawrence Taylor and
others will put their shoulders to the
wheel. But still Wrangell is doing
very well and for a small camp hav
ing the fewest number of people to
draw from, we doubt if any camp
has as fine a record. Frank Des
mond and Eddie Berkeley, George
Sha(kes, Charlie Jones of Wrangell
and several others are not afraid and
are keeping up the honor of Wran
gell, once a proud nation, and now
still proud but few in number.
Kake is a young man’s Camp and
we believe they will average up bet
ter in a clear understanding of what
is needed among our people than anjr
other town. Haines DeWitt is no
body’s fool. He is the new Vice
Grand President this year, and in
time, we feel sure that he will just
naturally grow into the higher job.
We think that the wholesome spirit
of this Camp is due largely to the
influence of Charles Newton, who is
also the Envoy of the Salvation
Army there.
Hoonah sent three determined del
egates to the Convention this year.
They had their own resolutions and
when it seemed that one of them
would be sidetracked, they up and
got full consideration by simply de
manding it. They raised the ques
tion of hasty marriages by many
of our native girls with Filipinos
and other cannery workers, and
warned the natives that they must
go very slowly when such marriages
are proposed. David Charles will de
velop into a strong public speaker
when he gets more confidence in him
self. He was strong enough so that
after he made his speech inviting the
Convention to Hoonah next year it
carried unanimously.
We will stop this time with Bay
view. Many people thought this
Camp was dead, but they were only
sleeping. They came to the Conven
tion wide awake however, in three
boats with over fifty people. Nothing
was quite so encouraging as the
sight of Charlie Demmert and his
fine wife there. It was not so much
what they said as just our seeing
them. James K. Williams again im
pressed his personality upon the
leaders of the different towns. It is
easy to see why he is President of
the Bayview Camp. Fred Williams
though, is one of the younger men
whose abilities are just beginning to
have the chance that they deserve.
That may be, but the force comes
from his thinking powers and not so
much from his speaking powers. We
want more men like him in every
Camp. George Demmert does not say
much, but everybody knows that it
is the secretary who makes the good
camp. He does the hard work, and
keeps the camp awake. That is
why we have strong hopes for Bay
view.
The next time we will speak of
Ilydaburg, Ketchikan, Haines, Yaku
tat, Kluckwan, Petersburg, Sitka,
Angoon, and other towns.
“Ka-to-auk” is the motto.
FOR LITERACY TEST
(Seward Gateway)
“The Foster Literacy Bill should be
indorsed by every believer in good
government and one hundred per
cent Americanism. The bill provides
that to vote in Alaska one should
be able to read and write the English
language. The object of the bill is
to shut out the half-civilized Indian
who has not sufficient intelligence to
know for whom he is voting. It is
a good bill and should be indorsed
by every American Legion Post in
the Territory as well as by every
citizen who believes his or her vote
to be worth more to the government
than an Indian’s.”
We remember when the women of
the country were howling about that
“Taxation without representation is
tyranny” and that this republic was
founded upon “the Consent of the
governed.” We are trying to be
lieve that “all men are created
equal” but our teachers are setting
us bad examples.
-♦- .
There is very little complaint
complaint about inadequate parking
space coming from those who drive
to church.