SOME SIDELIGHTS ON DEBATE
IN ALASKA ELECTION CONTEST
Argument on Soldier Vote—Sulzer on Rights of
Natives—Australlian Ballot Law Is “Scrap
of Paper”—Wickersham a Republican
Iii the debate which attended the
hearing of the report of the elections
committee in the house of represents
lives at Washington on January ;t
and f>. in the matter of the contested
Alaska delegateship. there were many
interesting sidelights. The great in
terest shown by the members of the
house in the contest, which is said to
have been more marked than in any
similar case in recent yearn. is at
tested by the frequent interruptions
to the speakers by members who de
sired certain points more fully eluci
dated, and sometimes for the purpose
of asking more or less awkward ques
tions.
* * *
Nothing more typically characteris
tic of the present delegate was ever
littered by him than his opening re
marks to the house, in which he said:
Mr Speaker and gentlemen of the
house, some question has been made
here as to my politics and as to how
I received the nomination for delegate
from \laska two years ago As to J
politics permit me to say that I was ;
appointed I'nited States district judge !
m Alaska by William McKinley, and |
four years after that I was reappoint |
>d by Theodore Roosevelt I have
always been a Republican. Now. as j
to my nomination two years ago fori
delegate from Alaska, permit me to j
say that the territorial legislature of 1
Alaska has provided by law for nomi
nation by petition It is the only way
in which one can get on the official
ballot; it is the way that my oppo
nent's name got on the official ballot ;
and it is the way mine got on the of
ticial ballot this time, although last
year we had a primary election in the
territory of Alaska, and I was nomi
nated as a Republican in the primary
election. and my name came on the
ticket in that way I do not see the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Long-;
worth! here lie asked some ques
tion about my politics, and I want to
say to him that among the most pleas- 1
ant tilings I ever received in a politi !
cal way have been the telegrams re-1
ceived^rom Theodore Roosevelt con
election, p.4J
Sr
of Ala* L 'there vill
be no question about that. I do not
want to appear before these Demo
cratic jurors under any other than
my true colors. I do not understand
ih.it that has anything to do with the
ca*-* . however, but since the question
has been raised by the gentleman
ir. . Ohio. 1 think it is perfectly fair
to put flu* laets before the house."
* * *
lb-lathe in the soldier vote, which
wu- broil1’lit into the contest by al
I- • d ill* il voting by soldiers sta
tioned at i ort Gibbon. Fairbanks and
K be. Chairman Wilson of Elections
Committee No. 1 said:
N< w re ative to the vote of the
s.ddie in Alaska. ! do not believe
there C any dispute about the law in
respie to the matter. There was
practically nme before the committee.
Ami while different members might
reach different additions in running
through the record I have been over
li it number of times, and I went
over it again last night and made it
:t7. because there are quite a number
more soldiers involved in this matter.
Those shown in this report and held
to lie not qualified electors are those
who the records of the adjutant gen
eral's office show had enlisted in
states outside of Alaska, as follows:
Ten from Missouri, eight from Cali
fornia. one from Kansas, one from
North Dakota, four from Washington,
three from Ohio, four from Colorado,
two from Texas, ope from Louisiana,
one from Minnesota and one from
New York. Now, it is possible to
imagine that those soldiers lived in
Alaska and wandered down into the
Stales and then went into the army
and went back to Alaska and already
had citizenship there. But that is an
imaginary matter. But more than
that, every one of these men men
tioned in this report testified that he
came to Alaska in the service of the
government as a soldier and that that
had been his occupation ever since
he came to Alaska, and was such on
the day h<' voted: and that brings
them all directly within the law. and
the whole mistake occurred there, if
you wish to read the report; not be
cause these soldiers wanted to com
mil perjury or to eommit any wrong,
hut because they were advised legally
that if they had been in Alaska for
one year and thirty days they could
vote there, provided they intended to
make Alaska their residence. Hut. as
the report states, this assumes that
a man in the military service, be
cause he testifies that he went there
as a soldier and that that had been
his occupation since he went there,
and the official papers show that his
enlistment was in the States, can.
while in the service and subject to
the orders of his superriors. form the
necessary and requisite intention to
acquire' a new domcile. a proposition
which is absolutely contrary to the
law and which, of course, ought to be.
“1 think it would be mo*t,un(orjii^
“fruie it *7nrr~Bfra\iia Vftn>t a doyenne
that would notify the soldier that
congress was placing a construction
upon the laws of this country by which
he might find when ho had returned
home that while absent in the service
of his country he had forfeited his
citizenship. And it would he very un
just t«i the various communities of this
country if you should adopt a eon
strueUon «>i the law that would make
i*_ possible to involve in local polities
the various organizations in the mili
tary establishment in the different
states of this Union tit this time or
in the future.” * * *
* • •
(‘ongressman Dallinger, another
member of the committee, also had a
fc'\\ words to say about the soldier
vote, as follows:
“Now. T want to say a word in re
gard to the soldier vote. That is an
other question of establishing a prece- !
dent of the most vital Importance to 1
this republic. As I said a minute ago. ,
I do not believe thqt this louse Is j
going to override the well-established
law In regard to directory and nianda- j
tory provisions of election statutes j
and establish the unfortunate prece
dent of permitting technical Informali
ties to disfranchise whole precincts of
voters. Neither do I believe that this
house Is going to establish a prece- !
dent by which soldiers of tnr Ameri
can army can be voted by at admin
istration of any parly in any part
of the United States, regardless of
their former domiciles. The law upon
thiK question today is absolutely cer
tain. and there can be no real con
troversy in regard to It. The law is
that a soldier of the United States
can not gain a legal voting residence
In any state of the Union during the
time that he is in the military serv
ice; that when he enlist* he has a
certain domicile, and thi? Jlomieile
continues as long as he Is A/ 'he mili
tary service of the United Stales gov
ernment. If any of these soldiers
now in Alaska, after their discharge
from the army, wish to settle in that
territory and live there the, ■year re
quired by law, then they ni» become
citizens of Alaska, and ml I tied to
vote. But until they do they can not
vote. Just stop and think a minute
what the establishment of any other
precedent would mean, with the large
standing army that we are liable to
have in the future, or with the im
mense army that we have at the pres-1
cut v.ontent. It would be possible, i
cut moment. It would be possible, |
istration at Washington to send
Northern troops coming train Repub
lican localities to different camps and
cantonments in the Southern states
and absolutely dominate the polities
of those Stales not only In national
but in state and local elections. And.
vice versa, it would be possible for a j
Democratic administration at Wash
ington to send troops from the South. :
Democratic in their adulation. Into
the close states and congressional dis
tricts of th(> North and determine the
elections there. I believe that the
law as it is now is sound, wise and
vitally necessary for the protection of j
free institutions, and I trust that tills
house will not override the law and
establish any such dangerous prece
dent."
• • •
Charles A. Suizer, the defeated con
tosteo. discussed the Australian ballot 1
and the Indian vote as follows:
"Now, Mr. Speaker and gentlemen
of the house, one of the principal
issues involved in this case is the
sanctity of the Australia^-Jsallot. the
secrecy ot the ballot..aiAu<j, in order
to arrive at the fTiimrtdtii TdolS UtllOtlM 1
in Alaska. In order to arrive at a
proper conclusion as to how this Aus
tralian ballot law of ours should be
interpreted, 1 wish to call attention
to another very important part of
this record, in my judgment possibly
the most important part of it. a part
that the committee have quite ig
; norod, and that is the question of In
i dian voting in the territory. The com
: mittee say that the record is indefi
nite, confusing and unsatisfactory in
! regard to the Indian vote, and there
I fore they take no cognizance of it.
or practically none, and make no do
! cision in regard to it. Now . what is
the result of that opinion? The re
sult is simply this, that in the terri
tory of Alaska today we have a popu
lation of 2K.OOO Indians, according to
the bureau of education. We have
(Continued on Page Eight)
French lessona, private and class, i
for children and adults. Ida Dowald
er, experienced teacher. Adams build
ing. C street. 34-3t
-♦—
Private lessons in dancing. Apply
at American bakery. tf
-♦—
Your eyes fitted Compound and
stigmatic lenses replaced. See Os
borne.
-
Lessons in dancing every evening
at American bakery. tf
-♦—
The Daily Times job plant is
well equipped for all classe of com- ,
mercial printing.
Job printing at Dally Times office.
1 I
| |
Mr. Business
Man
:•:• :j:j
By the recent addition of many new |
type faces and other equipment we have
made of our JOB DEPARTMENT one J
of the finest in Alaska. We are now in |
|| a position to handle your orders with I
even more neatness and dispatch than
before. How about that order for sta
tionery you were wanting right away? |
Just step to the phone and call us—
we will do the rest.
Prices? Well—, you will find them
always RIGHT.
• vi
Cordova Daily
Times
....
| Good Printing
Is Essential to Good Business
Better Let Us Figure on your
jggffi Work and Save Money.
| The Daily Times Job Dept.
. ::::
MINING MACHINERY MARINE HARDWARE CANNERY SUPPLIES
-MARINE ENGINES
„ IN CORDOVA STOCK
NEW PACIFIC NEW CLAY ANDERSON MILLER
The World’s Recognized Fishermen’s Engines, Medium and Heavy Duty, Four-Cycle, Extended Bases
NOTICE.- We are making new additions to our Machine Shop in Cordova, which before April the first will be complete, and comprise the fol
lowing new equipment: One 18-inch Monarch Lathe, 16-foot bed; one 13-inch South Bend Gap Bed Lathe; one Wilmarth & Morman Universal
Grinding Machine; a Vulcan 60-ton Hydraulic Press; one Buffalo Boiler Plate Slitting Shear; a Buffalo 4-inch Furnace; one Oster Pipe and Bolt
Threading Machine; a Becker-Brainard Milling Machine, 20x80-inch table; one Baker Key Sea ter; two Buffalo Upright - Geared Drilling and
noam;nff Machines-a Universal Wood-Working Machine, and many other electric and universal hand machines, including an Ox-Weld Acety
lene Welder and Detroit Electric Hardening Furnace.
1