motely suspected of illegality include
one boat sunk last winter another is
patrol boat of Beegle Company an
other is reputable fish buyer of in
dependent seiners includes others
against whom Selig and Burckhardt
have grudge. One friendly cannery
reports Selig said his purpose destroy
seiners to create market his trap
fish. Entire proceedings highly il
legal and yet abetted by public of
ficials. Please lay matter before
Stone immediately /considering vio
lation antitrust act also slander of
innocent citizens also if no relief
nearly two hundred thousand salmon
will rot within next two days as
Gore adamant even where men of
fer affidavits fish obtained lawfully.
Methods of Beaumont and Burck
hardt donwright blackmail on those
cannerymen who have not agreed to
blacklist.
WILLIAM L. PAUL.
The answer came as follows:
William Paul,
Ketchikan, Alaska,
Your telegram sixth Dan on way
Alaska submitted matter to Holland
of Department of Justice he took it
up with attorney general and wired
Shoup complaint had been made and
to give matter his attention and re
port. Have transmitted your wire
to Dan at Hotel Frye and when he
reaches Ketchikan will no doubt see
you and send detailed letter to de
partment.
H. E. SUTHERLAND,
Secretary to Delegate from Alaska.
The only trouble with that is the
investigation is left to Mr. Shoup,
the boss of Mr. Gore. If Mr. Shoup
will telegraph the facts, then we will
find out if Attorney-General Stone
for the United States will stand for
a blacklist published and maintained
by federal office holders.
This outrage cannot be allowed to
rest here. A crime has been com
mitted. These matters must be at
tended to by the Grand Jury and
proper action taken.
The Pybus Bay Floater Trap No.
3, east of Cape Bendel, Kupreanof
Island, was arrested for fishing dur
ing the closed season.
Miss Dorothy Grandon, twenty
years old, of Martinsburg, V., was
tarred and feathered for being
caught with her arm around Lloyd
Shank, husband of Mary.
* * *
A trap belonging to the Beegle
Packing Company has been arrested
for fishing during the closed season,
and about 22,000 fish were released.
The trap is undoubtedly guilty as
charged, but the packing company
has offered a good moral defense
even if the law is such that it may
not be a good legal one, towit: that
the watchman deserted his post
without notifying the packing com
pany.
NOME. ALASKA
Nome has the smallest number
of voters in all /the Divisions of
Alaska; and it has so happened that
the entire character of our Legisla
ture had depended upon the kind of
persons elected and sent by Nome.
I am not personally acquainted
with the people of Nome, and so 1
cannot give you a sketch of the
candidates who are running. But one
thing that I can do, I can tell you
something about the members of
the last legislature, and then the
people of Nome can judge the new
candidates for “Birds of a feather
flock together.”
Nome has always been progressive
in intention. Every person coming
from Nome has run as a Progressive
whether they were known as Republi
cans, Democrats or Independents.
But these candidates did not stay
progressive in actions when they
reached Juneau, for some of them
still talked progressive while acting
reactionary.
The key men this year are Sena
tor Fred Ayers and Senator Charles
W. Brown, the latter being a can
didate for re-election and the former
a hold-over. Opposing Senator
Brown, an independent, is Mrs.
Welch, running as a Republican.
And because she is a candidate who
is entirely to close to Senator Ayers
socially, and it will throw light upon
what she will probably do in Juneau
if elected, I will print in part the
record of Senator Ayers.
The issue at Nome was a “decent
workmens compensation act.” All
candidates were pledged to that.
Such a bill was introduced in the
Senate by Mr. Brown. It was mod
eled after the United States Act
under which the Alaska Railroad
was built; and the Panama Canal,
and under which all the transcon
tinental railroad lines are operating.
The act was endorsed by the Federa
tion for Labor Legislation. The
principle has been adopted by many
states including California, Minne
sota, Michigan and New York. The
bill provided for payments of 65 per
cent of their wages to beneficiaries
for life or during disability. It pro
vided for hospital and medical ex
pense, including transportation to
hospitals.
Senator Fred Ayer voted against
this bill and so the bill was lost by
the vote of four to four.
Then this Senator who talks like
a progressive but votes with the re
actionaries introduced the old Alas
ka Compensation Act and proposed
an amendment increasing the a
mounts 30 per cent, but restricting
the law to miners only. Many other
bad features were retained.
Upon the demand of Senator
Brown, the bill was sent back to his
committee and there the bill was
made half-way respectable by making
it to apply to all employees, extend
ing the time when claim could be
filed, and compelling the employer
to pay for temporary disability as
long as the injury lasts.
No other improvements could be
made in this bill because of Sena
tor Ayers and he had the deciding
vote.
The serious defects in the present
law which are still there because of
Senator Ayer are: there is no time
set in which the employer must pay
the benefits provided; there is no
guarantee that the employer will
insure his risk; the benefits pro
vided can be defeated by bankruptcy;
no medical or hospital or travel ex
pense is allowed. This last omis
sion is such that oftentimes nothing
is left for the injured man after
paying the doctor bill.
The voters of Nome should con
sider Mr. Ayer’s record when ho
asks them to vote for his friend
Mrs. Welch, who is otherwise a very
fine lady.
How did Senator Ayer vote on tax
measures ? Did he consider the de
mands of the small business men?
Did he protect the large companies ?
Did he represent the big mining
company of which he is the manager
as against the people who elected
him to represent them? Will his
friend Mrs. Welch follow his lead?
The mining companies are not tax
ed unless they make a net profit
of $10,000, after deducting better
ments and improvements. Then upon
the first million dollars of net pro
fit, mines are taxed $15,000. The
proposal was made to tax the
mines $5,000 on the first $500,000
net profits; tax a total of $12,500
on the first million; then $17,500 tax
on each million above the first mil
lion. A mine that makes a net pro
fit of $2,000,000 would then pay a
tax of $30,000.
Senator Ayer voted against this
proposal because he said that was
too big a tax. He thought $20,000
was enough. When this Senator
saw that he was outvoted, voting
with Chamberlin and Dimond in the
minority, he asked permission to
change his vote “to save the re
cord.”
He talks like a progressive but he
votes with the reactionaries. Read
the story of old man Isaac in the
book of Genesis: when Jacob fooled
the old man, Isaac said, “Your voice
is the voice of Jacob, but your
hands (camouflaged by goat’s hair)
are the hands of Esau.”
--- —
No doubt George Sexton was
among those present.
* * *
Some day the Juneauites will quit
trying to keep the capital for the
benefit of one or two prominent
citizens, and perhaps then, Juneau
will get a federal building.