The Alaska prospector., 1903-10-29
The Grand Jury.
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respect ;o these misdcmeancrs which are not already prohibited by d congressional law.
 Valdez is the only municipality ill this division outside of the Yu. kon valley which has adopted mu- nicipal or town government, and in considering criminal causes arising in this town you should bear in mind the right of the in- habitan;s to govern themselves in accordance with the act of congress. The purpose of that act was to broaden the right and place the duty upon the people of Valdez and other like communities. to look after and punish in their local courts all minor infractions of the law occurring in such towns. The system of government in the Unit ed States, national, state and mu- nicipal, is organized by and its right to exist depends upon the will of the people. As water will not rise higher than it's source, neith- CT will the effort to enforce any law. no matter how just or ethical it may seem, rise, higher than the moral sense of the people upon whom that enforcement depends. The ten commandments do not of themselves make the people or Il community good. They will be obeyed and respected only by those whose moral sense is active and who are willing to acknowledge their principles to be right and of benefit to themselves and commun- ity. A community which lacks this appreciation of these principles will not punish those who violate them.
 The same thing is true in relation to acts which congress has de- clared to be wrong and for the do- ing of which a penalty is imposed by statute. If the people of com munity have no sense of the wrong done in the performance of that act, they will not aid in its punishment. The court must depend upon the people to punish crime; the court cannot do it without their aid. Be case the people have right to rule in local matters, congress has slowly but steadily put the burden of the punishment of crime, more and more, upon the people of this terri tory. You should not, therefore. burden this court with indictments for those minor offenses committed within the town of Valdez, which the town may, by ordinances passed by the town council, lawfully pun ish in the police court; but you should leave the punishment there of to be inflicted by the local court and local officers under the laws passed by the town legislature.
 There is another class of misde meanors for the punishment of which specific penalty is imposed by the penal code or statute of Alaska. This class being defined by an act of congress is beyond the x jurisdiction of the town council of an incorporated town like Valdez. However you are instructed that congress has provided, by a prior law, that a commissioner, sitting as a justice of the peace, shall have jurisdiction to punish this class of CIiIicS, dIu dS tlicIc IS COiIltllle- siOner in the town of Valdez, who has power to hear all misdemean- ors above those which the local police magistrate may hear, the same public policy will justify you in imposing on him the duty of trying all such statutory misde- meanors.
 You are instructed, however, that an incorporated town such as Val dez, has no authority to punish any person for the commission of felony, which is the highest grade of crime. A felony is a crime pun ishable with death, or which is or may be punishable by imprison- ment in the penitentiary. Every other crime is misdemeanor.