Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1898-08-25
fl RED-HOT OFFICE.
Held by a Lancaster
Boy at Sitka,
Alaska.

Qualnted with Joe lVeY VINO was
reared in Lancaster He'll the broth
er CT Mrs Frank VandeWall. and at
one time clerked in the store of Alex
Ivey. and for Charley Baxter. Joe
was schooled in Lancaster, studied a
little law. aud being filled with the
spirit of ad venture turned his back
on the old home Ga little brick house
in the southeastern part of the city,
now occupied by Frank Cooley and
was swallowed up in the fretful waves
of the great west.
We clip the following from the
Voice, newspaper published in New
York City. which will be read with in
terest by everyone whether acquaint-
ed with Mr.. Ivey or not, as it treats of
one phaze of life in new mining
country:
SITKA. ALASKA, Aug. let me
say, end | wish could say it in tones
which could reach the ears of every
Senator and Representative at Wash
ington, the prohi bitory law in Alaska
has never had a shadow of a chance
for success. Send us conscientious,
faithful, fearless officials like Collector
Ivey and we can soon prove to the
world that Prohibition in the district
of Alaska is not a failure.
These are the words of the Rev. M.
L
airy at Sitka, to your correspondent.
They sum up the exact condition of
things in this territory, and the read
sers of The Voice. in view of the at
tempts now on foot at Washington to
repeal Prohibition and enact a High
License law for Alaska, will be inter-
ested in few particulars. The state
ments which | make are absolutely
trustworthy. and from them it will be
easy to discover why Prohibition in
Alaska is failure, and why any other
law distasteful to the criminal classes
would be equally a failure.
j. W Ivey, the collector of customs,
assumed the duties of that office on
the fifth day of Aug. 1897. He found
that, Notwithstanding the fact that
the law forbids the importation Of
liquor, under his predecessor practic-
ally no attention had been paid 10
the law, and that liquor was freely
imported at every port of the terri
tory. This was done about the time
that the great rush of people seeking
gold in the Klondike mines began. and
as a natural consequence the demand
for liquor and the attempt to supply
that demann were both very greatly
increased
Mr.. Ivey set about it to fulfil the
obligations of his Office and enforce
the law forbidding the importation
and sale of liquor. With what result
and against what obstacles may be
iudged by the following sample Incl
dent: Frank Kane has for some eight
years been the chief smuggler of Alas
ka He has grown rich importing IL
quor in defiance of the law, and it was
his common boast that no officer
dared touch him, and he would kill
any officer that attempted it. About
three weeks after taking his office,
Collector Ivey himself arrested Kane
and seized his boat and a cargo of
some six or seven hundred gallons of
whiskey Kane was bound over to
appear before the grand jury. wa. IN
dicted by that body, and his case was
set down to be tried at the term of
court recently held. A few days ago
the Judge and the district attorney al
lowed Kane's lawyer to enter for him
a plea Of guilty, and the Judge inflict-
ed the terrible punishment OF 800
fine upon this notorious outlaw.
This is merely one illustration out
of many of the way that things have
gone. by the ~connivance of the
courts
The United States district attorney
is Burton f. Bennett. The United
States district Judge isC. S Johnson.
The appointment Of johnson is as yet
unconiirmed 50 far as the news has
reached Alaska, and serious charges
are filed against him before the SEN
ate committee at Washington. These
charges are understood to be inability,
dishonesty and drunkenness. He as
sumed the duties of his office last
November, and some of his decisions.
even in matters aside from the liquor
law, have been VIGOROUSLY outrageous.
The writer has it from a source which
he believes to be reliable that the
Judge has appealed to certain OF the
parties that were instrumental in
bringing the charges before the SEN
ate. committee acknowledging that
the charges are true, but begging
that they would have some mercy on
him on account of his family. 1t is
sad that on account OF this plea a
telegram has been sent to Washing
ton practically withdrawing the
charges.
The district attorney has held his