San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-01-13
TROUBLE in ALASKA.
NOT ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH
MINING MATTERS.
It is aQuarrel Over Schools Between the
Orthodox and Un-0rthodox
Russian System.

New YORK, Jan. ia dispatch 10
the Herald from Paris says: The st.
Petersburg correspondent of the Flu
ropean edition of the Herald writes
that, serious complaints against the
existing state of affairs in Alaska are
brought by the Svet.
1t is alleged the handful of Russians
remaining in the territory suffer under
all sorts OF vexations and even oppres-
sive acts on the part American ira
ders who run" Alaska.
1t is claimed that a number of COM
panies' agents entered a Greek Ortho-
dox church during services with fire
arms in their hands to drive the con-
gregation out to work, and that the
Russian teacher having refused to give
his lessons in English, Americans
threatened TO burn down his school.
General condemnation is against the
government at Washington for leaving
the American in Alaska too much in
the hands of a trading company which,
II is claimed, finds it's interest in de-
bauching the natives.
New York, Jan. ia special to the
Herald from Washington says:
Absolutely no official Information has
been received in Washington in regard
to the outrages in the territory of Alas
ka by the North American commercial
company. The state and treasury de-
partments have heard nothing from
their representatives in Alaska and
Russia on the subject.
The statements that agents of the
company invaded a Russian school and
chapel may have some basis State
department officials believed in the re-
ligious troubles existing in Alaska.
There are three classes of schools in
Alaska: First, The territorial schools
under the direct supervision of the
government; the second, the Orthodox
Russian schools, governed by Arch
bishop Nicholas, of the Russian Greek
church. who is a close personal friend
of Emperor Nicholas. and which the
United States is obligated by treaty
provisions to protect; and third, the
Un-Orthodox native Russian schools,
The Russian government last August
protested to the state department
against the action of the Un-OrthodoX
school authorities in seeking the with
drawal of pupils from the Orthodox
schools The state department turn
ed the matter over to the treasury de-
partment with instructions to inves-
tigate the matter, and its result so far
as can be learned, has not yet been re-
ceived at the department.
In view of the trouble existing last
summer, the state authorities are in
clined to believe that the outbreaks
Just reported are the result of the re-
ligious disturbances existing between
the Orthodox and Un-OrthodoX native
Russian churches. They do not see
what connections the agents of the
| commercial company could have had in
the matter. The company's rights
are all confined to the seal island, and
so far as can be learned they have no
authority on the main land. The sug-
gestion is also made that the agents
may have visited the main land and
perpetuated the outrages reported, but
this can only be settled by an investi-
CATION, which will be made by the
treasury department when the report
of the occurrences are made to the
state department, either through the
Russian minister, or the agents of the
treasury department in Alaska.