The Former Shows Practical Friendship for Labor
While Latter Is “Friend” for Political
Purposes Only.
I By Chas A. Derry I
Tin decision in the eight.tour i.i.-e
j, ini.- i mi i iii' I tally Tune ■ y< terday
should III 11 III and studied e.iretully
hv nil " le. would inform I ’ 'I"'
as to tin true status of lull legisla
non It appe 1 tli.it there , ;i well
organized |.n>|iuganda whose iuir|iose
is to make It appear tliat Itemoeratie
ot |i i - in I • are responsilde lor nuilitytug
tin- eight liour law. The lael is that
this law was passed by the Alaska
legislature in response to a relereii
(Iutn vote wliieh it was impossible In
eomply with legally, and every tnetn
I ,-r ol tliat legislature understood this
when it was passed. They merely
"passed the tank" up to the judi
ciary. \nd when the ease eamo up
fot trial it was dealt with by a judge
who knew tile law and was not pol
troon enough to shirk the duty im
posed upon him.
There is not a lawyer in the ter
ritory of Alaska who \alues his pro
lessioit.il reputation who will take
issue with Judge Bunnell on his eon
elusions as to the validity ill the law
in question, and the attorney general
of the foiled Slates, through' she
lieitor general, onnouneed that "this
department does not see any ground
upon wliieh argument could he hast- 1
in support of the validity ot »h ■
statute."
Yet James Wickersham. who is a
lawyer, attempts to make political
capital out ot this incident, by an
nouncing that Judge Bunnell
"obligingly" declared it invalid Had
Judge Wickersham been on the bench
himself, could he have rendered any
other decision?
Anyone who has followed the his
tory of such legislation in the country
knows that the only excuse tor gov
ernment intervention between em
ployer and employe In the matter of
hours of labor is on the ground of
protection to men, women and chil
dren working at hazardous or un
healthy occupations. In the exercise
of the police power the state and na
tion have taken it upon themselves to
enact laws shortening the hours of
labor in underground mines, especially
coal and quartz mines; in factories
where poisonous substances are han
dled; on railroads, where there is con
stant danger to life and limb; and oc
casionally there have been instances
where laws were enacted in the inter
est of future generations by restrict
ing the hours of labor of women and
children. Time ami again courts have
ruled, and been sustained, that to
limit the hours of labor on any other
grounds than these is an invasion of
the right of private contract expressly
guaranteed by the constitution of the
United States.
So well known is the status of such
legislation in the labor world, and so
generally conceded is this interpreta
tion of the constitution, that a year
or more ago Samuel (lotnpers, presi
dent of the American Federation of
Labor, urged trades unionists through
out the country to cease agitation for
these special laws, pointing out that
were this constitutional guaranty
overridden in the supposed interest of
labor it might very well he used to
its detriment. For if it is possible for
a legislature friendly to labor to
shorten the hours of service it would
he quite as feasible for a law-making
body hostile to the workers to enact
legislation lengthening those hours.
(lotnpers and the Federation of La
bor urged that the unions devote
their efforts to securing shorter hours
through organization and agreement
as has been done in numerous trades
affiliated with the great central body.
There is already on the statute
hooks of this territory a law limiting
the number of hours of miners, smelt
ermen and tulllmen to eight In one
day. There are other dangerous and
unhealthy occupations that from time
to time may he added to this, hut n
is the dictum of the supreme court
which is the final arbiter itt matters
of constitutional interpretation, tint
limiting the hours of labor other than
those of public servants, except for
the reasons noted above, is an in
fringement of guaranteed individual
rights. And Ibis rule is borne out by
numerous decisions.
Any attempt To mislead the labor
ing men of this territory on this sub
jeet is regrettable, especially by those
who do so knowingly. It Is the pari
of good citizenship to give due respect
to the rulings of the courts; if thej
are erroneous there is always an ap
peal to the higher court But to abuse
courts for rulings made In conformity
with their sworn duty is to bring them
into disrepute, and tends toward an*
i rrliy.
Then arc now. a there always
have been in \meric.m politits, men
v. Jim announce themselves "friends of
! 1 ••»!**■ ini "in favor ot the eight hour
«1;«> tor political effect alone. The
i• -! oi a man’s friendship for
labor is his dealing with labor.
< 'll irle< \ S il/.er. a - n whom f In
,l.i. of Wickersliam are exported to
rellee 1, showed years ago. and in tin
most practical way. his attitude to
ward labor. Almost fifteen years ago
he granted the eight hour day to the
men employed by him. because he was
"convinced that eight hours was the
proper standard for a day’s work
Unwarranted Attack on Gov. Riggs
A local Wickersham organ publishes
an absurd article to the effect that
tin* "swing around the country” of
Governor Thomas Riggs. Jr., "osten
sibly to learn the needs of the people,
reilh is nothing more than a cam-,
paign in the interests of t’harles A.
Sul/er. made at the expense of thei
public ”
Personally I have seen nothing to
indicate the ni'ture of the .• l lr > •»
(:••! ve-ed by the go\ernor ot Mask i j
in his trip through the territory. Rut
! h ■■ i* on tin* authority "f a i :u"
i i : evil! 1> pa .d t h: ough <'< r>i v
v. 1:m had the opportunity to hear sc\•
eral of the governor's addresses, that
tin* article in question does him a
great injustice This traveler is one
of the* most respected and best-be
loved among the old timers of the
North, and he reports that Governor i
Riggs did not mention polities in the |
speeches which he heard
Rut supposing he did Gan tin* gov-'
ernor of a great and undeveloped ter
ritory such as this view with equanim
ity the* possibility of Ala.ska being
again represented at Washington ' y
James Wickersham? Having in mind
the turmoil, the '‘rag-chewing” (as
one Alnska newspaper inelegantly but
expressively puts It), the denuncia
tion of everyone who has the temerity
to run counter to his purpose, the
lack of ability to work harmoniously
with others for the territory's good
could any man in (lovernor itiggs'
position view this possibility without
resolving to try to prevent il? if
(lovernor Itiggs should have put itt it
good word for the able and energetic
Delegate Sulzer, who ran blame him?
The article under discussion informs
the governor that he "must not inter
fere with the politics of tlie country."
which is rathe'- arrogant language
I, is more that! probable that (lovernor
Itiggs will continue to oxer ise all his
prerogative,-, as a citizen of Alaska, as
well as thgate pertaining to his office.
Hut why should Alaska's governor be
denied the same right to talk polities
that was exercised by the patron
saint of the W'ickersham press
Theodore Roosevelt— when he was
President? And other presidents and
governors who have been known to
discuss politics and candidates in a
more sane and deliberate manner than
was the wont of the strenuous one?
—♦—
Filipinos Being
Re-Examined for
Military Duties
SAN JUAN, P. K.. Oct. 1.—Men ex
empted from military service after
examination by the local boards are
being called for re examination in San
Juan and in many other municipalities
in the islands.
In San Juan those being re-examin
ed include chiefly those called for
the second draft of 1.1.000 who proh
ably will he called for active service
i:i October, in other towns It is said
that boards art- generally going over
their lists and calling men previously
exempted for re-examination.
This action by tin- examining hoards
is said to lie voluntary on Iheir part
but comes in response to general crit
i iclsm that throughout the island men
I of the hotter class have not found it
I (litllcult to find grounds on w hich to
obtain exemption.
♦
Times clarsified ads get the results
TRAINING CAMP
LIFE IS GREAT
SAYS MITCHELL
William Leonard Mitchell, who was
in Cordova two years ago. writ* ol
army life at Camp Kearney, Califor
nia. to his sister. .Mr Daniel dree nig.
as follows
"Well at last I am a oldier in
Uncle Sam's army training hard pre
paring to "strafe the Hun."
"Your letter was received while I
was still in the Westwood hospital
where I had my arm broken over and
straightened so that I could get in '
The life of a civilian in the States
now is an unenviable position, espe
cially if he ran ‘tote a gun.’
This life isn't half had inasmuch
as they take care of you like a little
haby. They make you go to bed at
IC.'IO; then you are allowed to sleep
until a. :;n next morning; then that you
might not miss the glorious sunrise
(which you never see down here on
account of tin* tog) you arc very nice
ly reminded that you are still in the
world by a fellow whom they give a
horn t<» play with. Seems that he is
in some way related to the owl inas
much as he never sleeps nights. Just
as you roll over he is in front of your
tent playing something which he
seems to think is a tune. Of course
it wakes you up; one can hear him
a mile away; and then you just natur
ally climb out. being reminded that
a cold shower is as good an eye open
er as a glass of rum. which last we
are forbidden to taste as it makes
one’s breath smell bad.
"After the shower you are surprised
to see that the dear cook has remained
up all night preparing your breakfast
which he serves to you in li little tin
pan Uncle Sam bought for you along
with the knife and fork and spoon
of the same material, that you may
play you are with Kit Carson or Dan
iel Hoorn*.
"After breakfast a lot of boys come
over to play We decide to play sol
dier and so line up in two lines and
march out on the parade ground which
is two miles square, and parade all
around it. crosswise- and otherwise.
So that we may think we are men
Uncle Sam gives us a pair of shoes
size nine and a half (this is the truth)
and while my foot only calls fur a
small live and a half. 1 wear them all
tin* time. It kinda takes a load a
load off my mind
"After we have leveled a hill into
a prairie by marching over it we play
drop the handkerchief, only the hand
kerchief is a whip four feet long. One
of us drops it and then runs around
tin* circle twice into the place left
by the one to whom you gave the
whip. All the time you are running
he is running also and each time he
catches you he swings the whip
Kvery time he does that you know it r
without looking back and my back r
is all sunburned
"How did if get that way? Well,
you se. this is a new neighborhood
and when | came down tie boys
iho'.p'ht thex d have some fun so te xt
d«».* .1 lot of US stripped to the waist
and the sun was !*s in the shade, and
there's no shade in ( amp Kearny.
We went up to call upon tie* doctors
and there were one hundred of us
playing and it took about ten or fifteen
minutes for eaeh of us to < all on all
the donors, my bark g«»t Jealous of
the brightness and strived to glow
the same wa>. lint it couldn't do it
and it got o chagrined that it now
hlusle s from my waist to my mck
"There were some mole doctors in
camp and we will tn . *< them but
they were mean doctors and hurt us
Om of them grabbed my left arm and
rut it three times near the shoulder
and then put some germs in the cuts.
He calls it vaccination. Then we went
a little further into the room and one
I painted my right arm yellow; he said
lit matched the streak up my bark l
don't know what he meant, for my
I bark was red and didn’t have streaks.
Then we went down the room and
another doctor grabbed my right arm .
Look out the window." he said; I
turned by head to look over my left
shoulder and he jabbed a needle in
my arm about an inch and a half and
then pushed a long handle on the
| other end. He hurt me worse than
the other one. which was some He
i called that innoculation.
Tomorrow I’ve got to go get an
other one and they say that if knocks
a lot of them on the spine and even
puts some in the hospital.
' Well, after playing drop the whip
<»r Hun and Yank" as we like to call
it, we play leap frog After we’ve
leaped over fifty fellows and as many
have done the same to us we go back
and do it again only they add "spats
and spurs." Sunburned backs and
lean ribs get harsh treatment in this
game, so we play it hard Then we
go in and rest an hour and then eat
dinner, then rest an hour and then go ;
"Ut and swing our guns around up.
down and sidewise until 4:00. Then
vi* go in and rest until 5:00 and eat
again. Then we can play baseball or
football or tug of war. or anything, un
til 0:00.
"We got this worthless old carcass
insured for ten thousand dollars, so
i’ll be rich If I should get killed or
hurt while playing tag. or 'Get the
4t&iser.'
I tell you this is a great life and
1 am tired, but happy."
FOR SALE
FOR SALE:
Choice business and resi
dence property.
FOR RENT
KurnlBhed and unfurnished
apartments and cottage*
INSURANCE
Fire and marine, life and ac
cident.
BONDS
Fidelity and surety.
CORDOVA ABSTRACT and
REALTY COMPANY
ROOM 1. AOAMS BUILDING
r i
S'ljllr £luiy
BEAUTY
PARLORS
. _ I
VIOLET RAY
for all treatments
Baths In Connection
Winifred Swnnberg In Charge
JUST RECEIVED
A Lagre Shipment of
LIVE
CHICKENS
Excellent Fryers
FRESH EGGS
FOR SALE
JOE FREY
Phone 22
I
Alaskan Grill
JAMES & DOUGLAS, Proprietors
“The Home of Quality and Attention”
The Popular Restaurant of Cordova. Everything First-Class
Special Attention Given to Parties
j I
One Visit to the Alaska Grill Will Make You a
Regular Patron
_11
=31- -1 □
When Spending
Is Saving
The energies of the United States are being re organized
and directed toward one purpose winning the war.
Elimiination of non-essentials, saving of all commodities
needed by our big fighting machine and the cultivation of a
cheerful and helpful mental attitude are duties of the non
fighting population.
“Silent Smith" typewriters may he found in every de
partment of the Government and in every industry, doing
their part in the great struggle. They arc conserving time,
labor and money.
Expenditure for "Silent Smith" is a saving,
j Illustrated booklet will !• nt tree on application.
L. C. SMITH & BROS TYPEWRITER CO
Factory and Home Office, SYRACUSE, N. Y.
Branches in all Principal Cities
J
/
“Bevo” Is Here
It’s a drink that surely fills the bill.
Delivered to the trade or families in
large or small quantities
FRED II.\EF, Distributor
.._.. .___I
11 1 ■ .. ■■ — ■— ...... —....
--
(Paid Advertisement *
See. 21. Election Iaivvs. That In any precinct where the election
has been legally called and no official ballots have been received the
voters are permitted to write or print their ballots, but the judges of
election shall. In this event, certify to the facts which prevented tile
use of the official ballots, which certificate must accompany and !>■■
made a part of the election returns.
SAMPLE BALLOT
THIRD JUDICIAL DIVISION
MARK "X” IN THE SQUARE AT THE LEFT OF THE NAME
OF THE CANDIDATE FOR WHOM YOU DESIRE TO VOTE IF
NAMES OF CANDIDATES FOR WHOM YOU DESIRE TO VOTE
DO NOT APPEAR ON THE HALU)T. INSERT WITH PENCIL IN
BLANK SPACES.
For Delegate to Congress (Vote for one.)
0 JAMES WICKERSHAM
For Territorial Senator t Vote for one. I
0 ' J. W. WARD
For Territorial Representative (Vote for four.)
0 HENRY SLATER
0 JOSEPH H. MURRAY
0 JOSEPH L. REED
0 J. LINDLEY GREEN
For Road Commissioner (Vote for one.)
0 JAMES L. GALEN
i ; ■■ --
WHEN YOU VOTE FOR THE ABOVE CANDIDATES YOU
WILL BE VOTING FOR THE BEST INTERESTS
OF ALASKA
ELECTION NOVEMBER 5th, 1918
_ _i
V