LETTERS
Every now and then something hap
pens to make me wonder if I am
mistaken about the views of certain
public men. I have in mind the fol
lowing incident. The people of Kluk
wan have to travel 23 miles in or
der to vote. They want a voting
precinct within reasonable walking
distance, and so they wrote Gover
nor Scott C. Bone saying “As we
consider ourselves true American
citizens, I don’t think that it is more
than right that we ask the Rights
and Privilege as such. I was in
hopes that we could of had this mat
ter all fixed up by election time, so
as we could get our votes in. Will
you please see what you can do?”
The reply came promptly, “The
petition of your Camp of the Alaska
Native Brotherhood for the estab
lishment of a voting precinct in the
town of Klukwan is at hand and will
receive proper consideration. As
suring you of my interest in the wel
fare of Native Citizens and readi
ness at all times to be of every
possible service to them, I am, Very
truly yours, (signed) Scott C. Bone,
Governor.”
It would be very easy for our Gov
ernor to win the solid support of the
Native Citizens and for that matter
the great majority of citizens of
southeastern Alaska, because they
start with no ill feeling. They re
gard public officials as these offi
cials affect their welfare.
It would be idle for any public
man to wish the Natives or others
well and shut his eyes to the meas
ures that would guarantee it.
First in line would be schools.
What is the Territory of Alaska do
ing for the Natives in schools?
What is the attitude of the Gover
nor or his administration on that
subject ? Is there any evidence that
the ambition of these people can be
realized, namely, that their children
should have the same chance for an
education as the whites, the blacks,
the Japs, and others who are freely
admitted to the public schools.
The second important subject is
fisheries. What has Alaska done
for the fisherman about one third
of whom are Natives? What has
Governor Bone done ? What has he
said, I mean, outside of mere plati
tudes that “something should be
done” ad infinitum. The record
stands that the single commission
that gives expression on the subject
of fisheries is squarely against the
interests of fishermen and for the
big cannerymen. The members are
all cannerymen or their spokesmen.
The record of the administration to
date is that they have done noth
ing for the common fishing citizen,
but on the contrary, they have done
everything for the big canneryman.
The third subject of interest to the
Native is the care of their aged poor
and the unfortunate orphan. The
laws of Alaska, one bill passed dur
ing Governor Bone’s administration,
greatly increased the pension of the
whites, provided also that men and
women should receive help, but spe
cially declared that no man or wo
man who has the slightest amount of
Indian blood in his or her body
should be entitled to these benefits.
On this subject, I take the view that
all unfortunate persons are entitled
to the help of the State.
If a person is very old, poor, help
less, with no relative to help, he be
comes entitled to the help of the
State. The matter of color makes
no difference. The suffering of un
fortunates is not a matter of color
of skin. I feel just as sorry for un
fortunate orphans who are pure white
as I do for the Japs, Blacks, Indians
of the whole or mixed blood. The
State cannot be the father of its
little white citizens and throw the
ethers out on the street.
All of these matters which Natives
have urged on the Governor are based
upon the undisputed fact that Jus
tice is Blind and should be color
Hind as well. Further than that, the
State taxes the Indian and makes no
exception there. Then why make an
exception when it comes to spending
the money secured in part from them.
The platform of this paper grows
out of the needs of the Natives and
fishermen; 1st. abolishment of the
fish trap; 2nd. enrollment of all chil
dren of this Territory in public
schools; 3rd. justice and not pity.
Is the Canneryman of
Alaska a Business Man?
We start with a statement of fact,
to-wit: that the same men in con
trol of the cannery system of Alaska
twenty years ago are still in con
trol.
Secondly, in spite of this fact,
the cannery business of Alaska IS
NOT STABILIZED.
The conclusion must be that the
business has been mismanaged.
Joe Ulmer was talking with Carl
Strong, a leading canner, the other
day and he made this very state
ment, at which Strong said, “What
dc you mean?”
“I mean that you cannot tell from
one season to the other what your
season’s pack is going to be,” Ulmer
answered, and Strong agreed with
him.
In contrast, under the European
system, the British for instance, the
packer knows just what he can pack.
He plans for that pack, and puts it
up. Supplies, capital, energy,—ev
erything is conserved until today
the English fish market is worth
three times that of the United
States.
The Alaska system is not a busi
ness but a gamble. The Alaska
Packers are the gamblers, and yet
these gamblers control the machinery
of government that pretends to reg
ulate (?) the fisheries. Traps are
allowed and every fish is caught,
the streams become depleted where
upon the Bureau of Fisheries dis
covers (?) that the stream needs
protection.
No packer, no employee of the
Bureau of Fisheries have yet learn
ed that NO FISH STREAM HAS
YET BEEN DEPLETED WHERE
ONLY SEINES WERE ALLOWED,
but that MANY STREAMS HAVE
BEEN DEPLETED WITHIN FOUR
YEARS AFTER THE TRAP FOUND
ITS GOOD (?) LOCATION.
HONESTY—WHAT IS IT?
“Honesty, in the sense in which
we usually speak of it, is negative.
We call a man honest when he does
not steal or trick or lie. But real
honesty is the kind of thing that
makes you take every project into
a corner of your own soul and ex
amine it by that internal standard
every man possesses. When you
have examined your proposition in
that light of honesty, go out and
ask for what you konw you have a
right to ask for, and you’ll get it.
If you don’t get it, fight for it.”
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