terests are not to be served and
have not exerted an influence,
Joe’s voice and vote do not ac
complish much. Then he appears
to be only a frail member of the
Lower body.
Altho always elected as a Re
publican, Joe is really not both
ered much by politics. He can
and does work just as well witl}
Democrats and Independents as
he does with weak-kneed mem
bers of his own adopted party.
Personally he is very likeable
but as a member of the Legis
lature, the Third Division sets
him up as a standard that is not
altogether creditable to the Ter
ritory.
Without his leadership pos
sibly the Division would demand
more from its House members.
JAMES N. McCAIN
x
This Representative from the
Third Division came to Juneau
very much impressed with the
feeling that if he could get a bill
passed providing for an experi
mental fox farm at or near An
chorage, that he would be doing
a great service to a valuable
growing industry. He started out
to line up enough votes to pass
the measure and from the man
ner in which it was received felt
that his was to be an easy task.
Everything went along lovely
until the time came for roll call.
Then a majority of the House
favored the bill, providing the
fox experimental farm were lo
cated at the Agricultural College.
And a great light dawned on the
new member who realized that
he had been jockeyed out of the
race. Why even Alfred Lomen
was so friendly (until he got his
own $17,000 ship subsidy bill
thru) that he was willing to vote
for the Board of Control Bill.
Representative McCain had the
pleasure of telling some of his
colleagues what he thot of them
and of the Governor, but they
had gyped him and he was out
of the saddle.
HARRY DONNELLY
-x
Donnelly has lived too long as
the little frog in the little pool
without realizing that his was a
little pool. He early gave the
members of the House the im
pression mat he would show the
old duffers just how politics
should be run.
As long as he kept to general
ities, he impressed people—be
cause they did not know what
lie was talking about. But when
he began to condemn the pre
valent methods, he was promptly
classified as “too narrow mind
ed to be given serious attention.”
His statesmanship is encom
passed by the “needs of the Fair
banks College.” When someone
asks the question “What solu
tion do you offer to the great
question of Alaska’s future?”
Donnelly’s answer comes with
the speed of reflex action “Give
the College the appropriation
that Mr. Bunnell asks for.”
His independence rapidly van
ished (except of course his theo
retical independence) for soon
he was vieing with Allen Shat
tuck for the honor of being the
Governor’s messenger boy. And
when that became known, the
federal machine troubled itself
no more for Donnelly’s vote was
safe. Because of his seeming
success, he thought he was one
of the leaders of the House,
whereas, everybody else realized
that he was merely carrying out
orders.
He made a bid for editorial
praise of the Juneau Empire
when on the last night, he told
how glad he was that he was a
member of the House and not of
the Senate, and then proceeded
to condemn the majority mem
bers of the Senate. We can un
derstand how majority members
can condemn minority members
for obstructing legislation, but
we cannot understand how any
one who believes in our form of
government can condemn ma
jorities. Donnelly certainly feels
that hs acted properly when he
voted with the majority in the
House. How can he object to
the exercise of the same privi
lege by the Senate members?
And particularly when the prin
ciple for which the Senate was
fighting was government by and
thru the people of Alaska as
against Donnelly’s system of
government by the federal gov
ernor responsible only to Wash
ington.
Donnelly’s system of govern
ment is not based on principle
but like Allen S'>, at tuck’s. is mo
tivated by his hates and loves.
Shattuck would support a Con
troller Bill if he were assured
r*
that James Wickersham would
not be elected by the People of
Alaska. Donnelly would vote for
the Controller Bill if he was as
sured that the Board would not
disturb the “peace and har
mony” of Fairbanks College.
But what difference does that
make—if the citizens of Alaska
want James Wickersham, why
not? We have not complained
that the people of the First Divi
sion preferred Allen Shattuck
to ourselves, nor would we abol
ish the system of election be
cause of our disappointment.
Likewise we argue, the people of
Alaska have the right to deter
mine for themselves—without
the interference of special inter
ests—whether the College at
Fairbanks is entitled to $200,000
for educating fifty young people
for two years.
Donnelly is an example of the
evils that arise from the “rotten
borough” system of government
wherein seven hundred votes
can gather in two senators and
four representatives as against
three thousand required in the
First Division. Small minds
from small towns are puffed up
by the clever schemers of the
federal machine. They still
laugh at Donnelly’s gullibility.
JOSEPH MCDONALD
-x
One of the real popular and
gentlemanly members of the
House was Joe McDonald, the
mining operator who resides in
Fairbanks. It was his first
term and he early realized that
there were many things he
would first have to learn before
he could qualify for real val
ue. Altho elected as a Democrat
he at times gave evidence of in
dependence of thought and re
fused to follow the dictates of
the bosses who just assumed that
Democrats were only good to
vote as they were told. But Joe
was earl^ impressed with the
importance of the Governor’s
position and with the necessity
of securing a large appropriar
tion for the College. These con
siderations at times led him
astray, but he was not blinded to
the fact that the Senate was
putting it over the House when
it came to getting concessions
that were provided in Steel’s
Board of Control Bill. He was
one of the few who realized that