MEDDLER WHITE OF MAINE
The two little political twins,
White of Maine and Free of
California, who visited our
shores last summer as guests
of the fish trust (paying their
fares out of their own pockets)
appear to have spent a busy
winter at Washington in car
ing for the interests of the
fish trust.
The twins announced that
the object of their visit was to
s6e things at first hand, and
the trust attended to the rest.
We are of the opinion that
the trust invited them to come
and arranged that a represent
ative of that organization should
travel with them at every
stage of their journey through
the Territory, in order that no
occasion should arise whereby
any person of the fishing frater
nity might talk to them. We
do not intend to have the
reader infer that either White
or Free had any particular de
sire to talk to a fisherman
while in the hands of their
hosts, and knowing well the
hard-boiled, reactionary records
of these men in Congress, we
did not look for any sympathy
from them. We did, however,
think that White would take
some notice of the distress
among the native people at
some of the points of his tour,
but we realize now that he
was just as impervious as Free
to human appeal.
1 hey both came to Alaska
in the interest of the fish trust
and returned to Washington
with a purpose of strengthen
ing the strangle hold of the
trust upon the Territory.
White promptly introduced
a bill in Congress prepared by
A. J. Dimond, attorney for the
trust, for the disfranchisement
of all voters who are unable to
read and write such sections
of the Constitution of the
United States as an election of
ficer may select.
White’s own state of Maine
enacted, some years ago, a
much milder test of education
for voters than the fish trust
insists upon for Alaska, but
the State of Maine provided
that illiterates who had pre
viously exercised the elective
privilege should not be dis
franchised, but the trust is
merciless in its requirements
of those who serve it, and
consequently Mr. White would
not permit the Territory of
Alaska to operate under the
laws of the State of Maine,
even though the Alaska Legis
lature had unanimously ap
proved the Maine law.
When Mr. White returned
from his trip he hot-footed to
Swampscott to tell the Pres
ident that certain officials in
Alaska were all right and
should be re-appointed. Mr.
White knew that these officials
were backed by the fish trust,
and without any personal
knowledge of their fitness or
unfitness for office, he hasten
ed to do the bidding of the
trust. The recent rejection of
several of these same officials
by the United States Senate
must lead the President to
wonder why White took such
a deep interest in their reap
pointment, but we doubt if
White will come through and
tell the truth, namely, that he
was acting solely in the in
terest of the trust and knew
nothing of the qualifications
of these men.
lo our mind White ot Maine
presents a pitiful spectacle as
an errand boy at Washington,
D. C., for the packing com
panies. He comes of patrician
stock, said to be of the oldest
and most aristocratic of Maine.
But, White happens to be liv
ing in a day of wealth worship.
He knows that the packers are
rich as a result of their ex
ploitation of the natural re
sourcs of Alaska. Why should
he inquire into the methods by
which this wealth was obtain
ed, and why should he inquire
about the qualifications of the
Alaskan Federal Officials who
were backed by the trust. The
trust wanted them reappoint
ed and that was enough for
White. He fooled the Pres
ident in pleasing his hosts of
the trust.
We wish that the residents
of White’s Congressional Dis
trict might know that he is
not the guileless individual
that he pretends to be. Alas
ka is a long way from Maine,
and the people of that State
do not know that their rep
resentative in Congress de
votes a large part of his time
to serving the big packing in
terests that opqrate in Alaska.
They must have some one to
hamper the Alaska Delegate in
Congress and White can turn
little tricks for them at all
times and his constituents will
know nothing of his actions.
We believe that one Con
gressional District is perhaps
more than White can well rep
resent, and therefor we wish he
would keep his fingers out of
Alaskan affairs and devote his
time to the work of his own
district.
“S UTHERLA ND A GA INS T
THE FUR FARMERS”
So is headed an editorial in
the Juneau Empire. The fal
sity of this charge is confessed
in the second paragraph, to
wit; “While, it is true that
Chairman Sinnott of the Public
Land Committee, who put the
leasing bill through for the
benefit of fur farmers, said that
MR. SUTHERLAND HAD
CONSENTED TO THE PAS
SAGE OF THE MEASURE
when it was first considered,
Mr. Sutherland was not pres
ent at the critical time when
his friend opposed the bill at
the last moment.”
Th fact is that Mr. Suther
land supported that bill, and
so did the Alaska Native Bi*q
therhood.