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ft N. 15. Publishing Company
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THE FITNESS OF CANDIDATES
By James Wickersham
-x
If the people of Alaska ap
prove of self-government and
oppose a Federal Bureaucratic
control cf their local affairs, they
must look to the patriotism and
character of the men whom
they elect to the legislature, and
see to it that no Tory in dis
guise shall be elected to betray
them.
-x
THE BUFFOON COMING TO
THE LEGISLATURE
It is hard to believe but it
seems true. The people of Fair
banks and the Fourth Division
are seriously thinking of send
ing Robert Sheldon, otherwise
known as “Bobby” Sheldon, back
to the next legislature.
It has long been suspected
that legislative material in that
Division is very scarce, but we
hardly thought that Fairbanks
had nobody whatever. What else
can we think when that Divi
sion proposes to send the “King’s
Jesier” down?
As a clown, “Bobby” is a great
attraction to the tourists who
come to McKinley Park, with
his cute mustache his short
stature, his bantam rooster
strutting, his efforts to lower his
voice to a manlike quality, all of
these are very entertaining. But
why not keep him in a gilded
cage at Fairbanks?
The Marquam Brand
Have the people forgotten that
Bobby Sheldon was one of the
original Tom Marquam boosters.
It is a shame to bring Tom into
this campaign, but how else are
the people to know where Bobby
belongs morally? Or are we mis
taken about what the moral is
sue weighs in the minds of the
people of Fairbanks? John Troy
says that the moral issue makes
no difference, and by that token,
the people of Fairbanks might
very easily defeat Marquam and
yet elect one of his “trained
seals.”
The Trained Seal
Bobby Sheldon came to be
known as one of Marquam’s
trained seals during the legis
lature of 1925. During the early
part of the season, Bobby was
wholly lost for his master had
not arrived. But when Tom ar
rived, then Bobby began cutting
up the cutest of all the two
seals, who that year came to the
legislature from Fairbanks.
It would be a great mistake
to allow Bobby to come to the
legislature without his master.
Perhaps Tom will have returned
from Washington D. C. by then.
It hardly seems likely because
Tom still has to satisfy the
grand jury there concerning his
enormous campaign expenses
the source of which he has kept
secret.
Part of his Record
Bobby helped to defeat the
bill to give Pioneers an increase
in pensions in 1927. He has in
part succeeded in making the
people believe that he and his
friends supported that bill, and
yet the record shows that when
it was moved to suspend the
rules (House Jr P419) and pass
both the bill to increase the
pensions of the pioneers and al
so to make the office of Trea
surer elective, Bobby Sheldon
and his friends voted NO.
The only bill Sheldon intro
duced in the 1925 legislature was
house bill number 4, “An Act***
to permit the appointment of
corporations or national bank
ing associations*** as excutors
or administrators of estates of
deceased persons.”
When the Senate (Pratt lead
ing) struck out watchmen of
mines from the lien law, Bobby
made no effort to protect such
watchmen.
When the memorial asking
Congress to place Alaska in the
same class as Seattle and allow
Canadian vessels to bring freight
north as they now aliow these
vessels to take ireight south,
Sheldon (faithful to the steam
ship company which sends him
many tourists) voted - NO and
thus placed his private inter
ests above his puolic interests.
Sheldon voted to postpone in
definitely the model Workmen’s
Compensation Bill approved by
the American Federation of La
bor (Journal 238).
Sheldon in 1927 introduced bill
number 19 “an Act to encour
age prospecting in Alaska” and
then let it die without making
any effort to advance the cause
of prospectors.
Sheldon then introduced a bill
making it lawful to sell cigar
ettes etc. to minors of an age
13 in lieu of 18. Believing in
[giving the youth an eaily start.
Sheldon voted against the Wo
men’s Community Property Act.
.-heldon voted against requiring
public service corporations (who
nave been given a monoply) to
idle an annual report showing
ilieir gross income, and gross
'xpense. This bill was to protect
he people from monoplies which
.tre created by law. (Light and
power companies).
Sheldon voted against the bill
(Journal 300) “to protect labor,
establishing regular pay days
and modes,” etc.
?heldon voted against requiring
econd hand dealers to keep a
iccord of purchase and thus dis
courage thievery that seemed so
prevalent in second hand goods.
Sheldon voted in favor of al
lowing alien mothers only 50%
•'as did Gaffney now candidate
lor auditor) merely because they
were aliens. The result has been j
that the mines give preferential |
employment to men with alien
mothers. It does not cost so
much to kill them (only 50%
the regular rates), p. 338 House
journal 1927.
Sheldon voted against the bill
“to prevent the spread of vener
eal disease” (as ded Gaffney and
Rydeen). This bill was similar
to that of the District of Colum
bia and was designed for use
among criminals.
But we Suppose
But we suppose that the
Fourth Division cares little about
records. They want the adver
tising. And so tliey must seno
their prize buffoon. In this they
will have no competition.
GEORGE GRIGSBY
-x
George Grigsby is out on the
l;ne building up or trying to
build up his political fences. H>
went south last summer to soli
cit help from the canners but
they refused to contribute. Per
haps because they were tired o"
doing so and feeding a machine
that made many promises with
out being able to or intending
to keep those promises.
He returned to Alaska and j
now promises to legislate th |
trap system out of the Terri
tory—or he will “try to legislate j
them out.” Is this turn against
the trap system because the
canners refused to finance hi
campaign? We wonder!
George is against the trap
system. His immediate sponsor
the Juneau Empire and its
henchmen are not in accord
with that plank. Will George
sincerely throw the Empire over
board and support and fight for
a principle which his main sup
porters absolutely oppose? Can
you feature George and Troy
working iso eliminate all traps
from Alaska waters? Will Troy
give George any support if he
(Troy) thought for a moment
that George would put the traps
out of business or even intended
to keep his promise Not on your
tin type.
Then why be fooled by such
bunk?
GEORGE AND HOOVER
-x
George Grigsby entertained
his political audiences last April
primary campaign by damning
Delegate1 Sutherland for oppos
ing the O’Malley administration
of Alaska’s fisheries. He termed
it as being opposition to the
present Hoover administration.
The inference he wished the
voters to have was that he, the
Democratic candidate would
work with and in harmony with
O’Malley and the administra
tion.
Now, is George going to sup
port the Republican administra
tion? How can he justify his op
position to the trap system with
his pledge of administraion sup
port? Was his pledge of last
spring true and the pledge of
the present campaign wrong; oi
ls it right and true now and the
p omises of last spring all bunk?
The voter may judge for hurt
s' If considering the company
George keeps.
-x
ULMER FOR ENGINEER
It is being generally predicted
that Joe Ulmer, Republican can
didate for Highway Engineer will
go into office with a landslide
of votes. Hesse the Democratic
nominee is not getting the sup
port of the democratic machine.
Perhaps he is not amenable to
their directing minds. Johnson
of Douglas also is a bit too in
dependent for the old democratic
machine to swallow. The votes
will be split up three ways. Joe
Ulmer is more popularly known
all along the coast and up and
down the line into the interior.
With the vote split two ways
against him, Joe wili be in a
position to make the Empire
mighty sore at attempting to
engineer and manipulate the
Republican primary election.
Bob Sommers is their choice
even to the point of urging him
to run “stickers” on the ticket
from which he was skidded oy
the Demo politicos of Juneau.
Bob was too astute a man to be
kidded into making a political
funeral party of himself.
A QUESTION FOR GAFFNEY
TO ANSWER
How can an Irishman vote
against Home Rule? What is the
difference between a federal
governor of Alaska appointed
from the states and a federal
governor of Ireland appointed
from London?
Gaffney, “Friend of Labor”
fought the election of men who
would have the direction of
purely territorial matters—audi-'
ter, treasurer, etc. These offices;
are now elective and not even
its bitterest enemies can point;
to a single phase of the direction j
of these offices that make it such
a bad proposition to vote for.
x
THE RECORD ON LABOR
“An industrial insurance bill,'
which would have been an ap
preciable burden to the fishing
industry, was killed in the House.
—Pacific Fisherman.
i
This bill was defeated by the j
leadership of Thomas Gaffney of |
Nome. This man voted against;
every bill to improve labor con-,
ditions. His speech just before
voting usually was this: “In
principle, this bill is fine. I be
lieve in it because it seeks to im
prove labor conditions BUT the
time is not right and so I will
have to vote against the bill.”
A curious record for a man
who had been the President of,
the Western Federation of!
Miners in Nome.
Ccmpare that record with that j
of Cash Cole, Republican candi-,
date for the same office. Cash;
from his first induction to an
elective office and prior to that!
even, supported and fought for
measures for the betterment of
labor and wage conditions. In
office he has continued indepen
dently and efficiently and in a
manner that would be creditable
to any person.
-x
STANDING ON HIS RECORD
-x
Tom Gaffney, “Friend of La
bor,” points with pride to his
record as legislator. He befools
the electors of Nome who are
not able to learn of his record
except as it is dished out to
them by Gaffney himself or by
the Lomenized press of Nome.!
The workmen’s compensation
law, is known in national labor
circles as being one of the worst
three such laws in the United
States. It was written up by at
tornies representing certain big
corporations of Alaska. From!
time to time, William Paul and
his friends tried to amend the
law to make it more fair to the
workmen. In every instance,
while Gaffney was in the legis
lature, he fought the amend
ments. He stood, up in a com
bination of Lomen and the Em
pire crowd that opposed the in
terests of labor.
When the compensation bill
came up for final passage, Tom
Gaffney, “Friend of Labor” vot
ed against its passage. Amend
ments to the bill were not ap
proved by the corporation at
tornies. Their whispers were
louder than the insistent and
urgent calls of labor.
The following are some of the
amendments opposed by Tom,
the “Friend of Labor”: (1) In
crease of compensation for tem
porary disability from 50 per
cent to 65 per cent; (2) station
workers to be considered “em
ployees”; (3) burden of finding1
out names of beneficiaries to be'
un employer instead of employ- j
ee; (4) to make it easy for em- j
ployees to reject the act as the
employer.
The worst features of the bill
were retained by the Gaffney- j
Lomen combination. For ex
ample, (1) the right of compro
mise was retained. This in view
of the fact that there was no
specified time when compensa
tion must be paid. By waiting
long enough the designing em
ployer can always “settle.”
(2) Widows, parents and chil-j
dien in foreign countries were to
get only 50 per cent under the I
Gaffney plan. Thereby putting)
a premium on the employing of
foieign labor, lor it is fifteen;
*li
MdMiOUlMir
per cent cheaper to kill a for
eign laborer in Alaska than to
kill a citizen. Therefore the cor
porations preferred foreign to
citizen labor. I
Let Gaffney, ‘Friend of Labor’
tell his own record in the First
Division. See how far he will
get.
What does this have to do
with the auditor’s office? It has
much to do with it. And the;
man in that office cannot be the
hireling of the vested interests.
-x-;
TOM AND THE FISHER GIRLS
Tom Gaffney, “Friend of La
bor, wished it known by the
electors that he was a “friend of
labor.” The records show that
on every occasion, mines, fisher
ies, compensation, wage bill,
et cetera, Tom, the “Friend of
Labor” opposed those measures.
He now comes before the elect
ors of the Territory, on his re
cord, as a candidate for Terri
torial auditor to supplant Cash
Cole, incumbent, whose record
is and has been consistantly in
"he aid and interest of labor.
Every season several hundred
girls have been shipped to Alas
ka to gib and pack herring. The
fish run on an average of 700 to
the barrel and the remunera
tion was “75c R£r barrel of fish
gibbed and packed.” Down in
our Division, the herring are so
small that they run 1,000 or:
more per barrel—which meant
the girls had to do more work
per barrel without an increase
in pay. After they arrive at
place of labor they must accept
the work and be wage slaves—
quit and walk out or sell them
selves into prostitution. When
they signed the contracts a rosy
picture of a fine summer’s wage
was pictured to them.
Attorney General Rustgard p
prepared a bill which provided r;
that where the contract was si- i\]
lent on the subject of size of g
herring, it should be presumed
that it referred to herring of the g
size of not more than 700 to the
barrel. This would be fair and
protect the girls and create no
hardship nor injustice upon the
\
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AWAITING YOUR APPROVAL l
3 BLOEPLHTE LOM<gH J”
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| Grand Cafe [
^ SKYMAN’S
BARBER SHOP
BEAUTY PARLOR AND BATHS
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John R. Kolstrand
General Blacksmith
!l Petersburg
M
: Alaska
Fresh
Reef
Pork
Mutton
Fresh
Fruits
Vegetables
Staple and Fancy Groceries
Sanitary Market
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James WicKersham j
Republican Candidate For Delegate to
Congress, Election Nov. 4, 1930. t
I half always sioco, aid rciv stand, frr Metre Pile for Absha, -
and secured the passage of the Act of Congress of August 24, 3
1912, creating ihe Alciha Legislature. 1 will support self- j
government in Alesha game, fur erd fisheries, cr.d, full territor
ial Government by ihe people of Alaska
James Wi^kersl am.
Lath
rir
Dedar
spruce
rlardwood
"actory Lumber
lout Lumber
Ioulaings
Ihelv ng
Iilwork
Shingles
Veneer
Doors
sash
LUMBER
Concrete Products
Patent Shingles
Chimney Blocks
Building Paper
Plaster Board
Balsam Woo*
v Wall board
Celotex
Ah* D
\
BUILDING
MATERIAL
I. SO.-SEATTLE, WASH |
Roofing
Brick
Lime
Nails
Plaster
Cement
rassenger accom
odations on all th
Admiral Line Ves
sel* have been |
completly and ma
terhaliy improved.
You will find them
very attractive and
comfortable.
Northbound from Seattle
Queen Oct. 1
Rogers Oct. 8*
Queen Oct. 15
Southbound from Petersburg
Queen
Rogers
Oct. 15
HOUKU'&aBak.