Government In Alaska—Bureaucratic or
American—Which ?
Do the people of Alaska prefer a
government composed of Federal
officials, appointed by the Depart
ments in Washington, D. C., or one
composed of Alaskan officials elect
ed by the people of Alaska, and di
rectly responsible to and controlled
by the people of Alaska? There can
be but one answer to this question,
for the people of Alaska are filled
with love of liberty, and firmly be
lieve in the American system of gov
ernment.
THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE IN
ALASKA
In 1906 Congress authorized the
people of Alaska to elect a Dele
gate to Congress to represent them
in that body, with all the rights and
Powers which Delegates from form
er Territories, now States, possess
ed during their days of Territory
pupilage.
On August 2 4, 1912. Congress
passed the Organic Act creating an
elective Territorial Legislature in
Alaska, and giving it ample power
to legislate for free American citi
zens in Alaska, in the formation of
an American form of government in
this Territory.
That Organic Act provides:
“That the Constitution of the
United States, and all the laws
thereof which are not locally inap
plicable, shall have the same force
and effect, within the said Territory
as elsewhere in the United States."
That clause promises Statehood
to this Territory when its growth in
population and material resources
shall justify that action, and when
its people shall demonstrate by
their creation of government that
they are worthy to he trusted with
that responsibility—and not before
that time.
That Organic Act also provides:
“That the legislative power and
authority of said Territory shall be
vested in a legislature, which shall
consist of a Senate and House of
Representatives.”
That Organic Act also provides:
“That the first election of mem
bers of the legislature of Alaska
shall be held on the Tuesday next
after the first Monday in November.
1912, and all subsequent elections
for the election of such members
shall be held on the Tuesday next
after the first Monday in November
biennially thereafter.”
That Organic Act further pro
vides:
“THE LEGISLATIVE POWER OF
THE TERRITORY SHALL EXTEND
TO ALL RIGHTFUL SUBJECTS OF
LEGISLATION NOT INCONSIST
ENT WITH THE CONSTITUTION
AND LAWS OF THE UNITED
STATES.”
And, finally, the Organic Act of
1912 contains the general outline
l’or the organization of an American
Territorial form of self-government,
such as all other American Terri
tories had in their day, and by the
exercise of the powers of which the
people builded them up from
Territories into sovereign states in
the American Union. Alaska has
the same machinery for creating
an American government leading
from the Territorial form to State
hood that all the western Territor
ies used in building the great States
of the West. There is not a single
limitation upon the power of the
people of Alaska to form an Ameri
can plan of government in this Ter
ritory, which is not equally in force
in every other State in that Union.
The people of Alaska are fully auth
orized by the Organic Act of 1912
to create in this Territory that
form' of self-government which
Thomas Jefferson, the “Father of
Democrary,” assisted to create in
the western country in his day. and
which was approved by Abraham
Lincoln in his famous phrase as a
government “of the people, by the
people, for the people.”
THE POWER OF FEDERAL
BUREAUS IN ALASKA
When the first elected legislature
gathered at Juneau in 1913, its in
experienced members were welcom
ed at the wharves by the appoint
ive officials of more than twenty
Federal Bureaus, and the usual
group of “glad-to-meet-you” attor
neys and lobbyists for the non-pub
lic interests engaged in exploiting
Alaska. This combination of skill
ed Federal bureaucratic officials
and their inseparable hangers-on,
led by the appointed Federal gov
ernor and secretary, soon convinced
the elected representatives of the
people of Alaska, that their on»'
object in life was to assist them and
the dear people to create a simple
and inexpensiv# form of self-gov
ernment for the Territory; that the
most simple and least form was to
accept the use of the machinery al
ready organized by the Federal of
ficials and put the present burdens
of Territorial Government upon the
shoulders of the Appointed Federal
Governor and Secretary of the Ter
ritory and permit them to carry
the load until the Territory was in
better shape to assume the weight.
It was suggested that the Territori
al Legislature could also create a
few Bureaus after the Federal
type, and place the duty of apoint-j
ing their members upon the Federal
Governor and Secretary, with over-,
sight and control of their work
This all seemed, and was, so easy of;
accomplishment, and so in accord
with the cooperating Federal ap-^
pointive bureaucratic plan that the?
scheme was adopted, for the'}
time being,—and is in effect, with
greater strength and danger today!