PROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
Wo think it is very noteworthy
when a person is specially noted in
the New York Times, so we reprint
their comment on the success of
the Indian boy who, picked as only
a third rater by (he Seward “Judg
es,” was unanimously given first
place in the flag contest. The trouble
with the Seward “Judges” was that
they could not overlook the fact
that Benny Benson was part In
dian. The “Times” article follows1
SCHOOLBOY IS DESIGNER
OF A FLAG FOR ALASKA
A flag that will float over the
great Alaska country and later,
perhaps, over the State of Alaska
has just been designed by a boy
half white and half Aleut Indian.
The winning design was the out
come of a contest, held under the
auspices of the Alaska American
Legion, in which school children
from all parts of the Territory com
peted. The winning design consists
of the Great Dipper and North
Star in gold, mounted on a blue
field.
Benny Benson, the winner of the
contest, 16 years old, is in the sev
enth grade in school. He has been
an inmate of the Jesse Lee mission
ary home for native and half-caste
children since 1916,
Benny is small of stature for his
years and swarthy of skin. He
speaks with the staccato clipping
of words common to the Indian race
and knows more about fishing, hunt
ing and trapping than about any
thing else. Until a year and a half
ago, when the mission home moved
from Dutch Harbor to Seward, he
had never seen a train or an auto
mobile.
“HONOR4’
Senate Rill No. 4 was a bill in
troduced by Senator Hunt to re
quire canneries to maintain sani
tary conditions about the plant.
After many hearings, the bill
passed the Senate in a form suit
able'to the canneries.
In the House, it was accepted
unanimously by the Committee on
Public Health. But on the floor of
the House a motion was carried
striking out paragraph 28 which
forbade the canneries within the
city limits from dumping fish offal
within city limits.
The Committee on Conference re
turned with the following report:
page 22 of House Journal of the
00th day.
“That the House amendments to
said Senate Bill be accepted ex
cept that in lieu of the House
amendment to said sub-section 28
the following amendments be made
and ADOPTED: *** “except in
those municipalities where the
common council shall by ordinance
so permit.” (Signed) Ralph Lomen,
Charles Benjamin, R. N. Sundquist
for the House; Forest J. Hunt, Ar
thur Frame, Thomas D. Jensen, for
the Senate. The vote followed:
Yeas, 8: Benjamin, Ferguson,
Johnston, Paul, Ross, Sundquist,
Worth1, Mr. Speaker.
Nays, 8: Fisher, Gaffney, Grier,
Sheldon.
Even Gaffney said, “It was a
sharp trick—Mr. Lomen.”
STROLLER AGAIN
The only trouble with the Alaska
Indians is that, while exercising the
rights of citizenship, they want to
adhere to their former modes of liv
ing without exertion or best with
but as little exertion as will enable
them to get by—from six weeks to
three months exertion in a year.
There is no desire on the part of the
whites to make existence of the In
dians more difficult than it is but
at the same time the whites do not
intend to retard the growth and de
velopment of the Territory by ca
tering to Indian whims and tradi
tions—pampjiing them as the’r
herders’ endeavor to persuade them
they deserve to be pampered.-Strol
ler’s Weekly.
These Indians that Stroller White
talks about are not much different
from Stroller. Or did the Stroller
refuse the $1200. per year which
his wife got as a “political reward
for services rendered” by the Strol
ler?
Advertise in THE FISHERMAN.