The daily morning Alaskan., 1903-01-30
ANswERNe GOV. BRADY.

"Lst any sober minded llwmlker, says Gov. John c. Brady, "tlke the census bulls,ln and with a map of Alaska spread out before hlm loeate the communities and their distances, and then ask himself if be would be bettsrng the eondIlon Of thls people at this juneturs by chlnglng the form Of government from what lt now Is Co that Of a regularly organized territory" "Slnes the recent insular dsei' slons many O. US are not 10 love with a territorial form ot government, and think R Is not necessary, like New Mexico and Arlzonl have done, to spend forty end fifty years To tutsllEs under It before arriving at s,a,shood." However, were lt ever so desirable, Alaska Is not ready foi h. lt would lnean a more :omplsx organ lzltlon than we have. such as counties and townships and all their eoncOmltnnts Oi buildings, officers, courts, etc, as we see ln territories today"
 Exactly how the distances between the several communities could operate to the Injury Of the people under territorial or Eanlzltlon, or why because of such dls- tancss from a eomm'n center the people Of the several communities should not be per mlttsd ,o govern themselves, he does nol assume Co say, and lt therefore may be as sumsd that hls attempted argument ln- wolves only the question of prlclielbIlity, lf that be SO, then let the 'sober-mlnted lawmaksr," following the suggestion and spread out beside hls map of Alaska tha, of the Northwest Territory, organized in i7S7, and which embraced an Of the pres snt states vf Ono, Michigan, Indiana, IL llnols, wisconsin and an that part oi Minnesota lying east Of the Missls- slppl river, with capital at ChillIeoths, and settlements far more divergent and distant from slch other con. sldeiing the means of travel and ccmmuni- cation, than arc tLoss of AlIskl, and an aggregate population of less than 500 white people. Or in lieu of that ls, him take the map of ,h, territory of Michigan at ths tlms of lts organization, with e'p'- tai at Detroit, and embracing at one tim all Of the present state Of that name. llli nois. wisconsin, and sll that part Of the Erslt LoulsIlna purchiis Heinz east of the Missouri and Peace rivers, (ths latter sm- braclng what are now the states of Iowa, large part of the Dlkotas, a part of Mis- souri and by ilr the l,rgsst half of Mime. sota.) There were no s,elmbolts, rail- roads and practically DO wagon roads, in those days, and ys: the question Drae,ic-- bllity was not held to be a barrier to a csS- sion of the right of local sstt- govsmustt to the people. Or let the Sober Minded" person take s,lll later territorial maps, vlth the census bulletins Of comp ratlve perod and lay them alongside of those Of Alaskl, and he will find that in nssriv every instance, but more notably in tte cases of Oregon and washlngtoa, the quss- tIon of impractlelbllity could have been agued Nlth ten fold more force than lt Can bs urged To the case of Alaska, having rsf- srsncs either to population, diysrgenev of settlements or means of communication or travel. Re wIl find further, by a udy Of the history of territories, that the quss tlon of pracilcabllliy has never been held Of any lmpo-t1nee 10 a consideration Of The rlght of any fragment of the American people to make their own local laws.
 If followed further this assertion of im- practleablll,y of territorial governmsn, for Alaska Involves the question of sxrenss only. The Mining Journal has alre dy shown lneontesilbly by facts ani figures 80 lncontsstlbly at least that they have no, been denied In any auirtsI-that the cost of a territorial government would bs far less than plrt of the people arc now paving in license taxes alans, and lt here and now Challsi gss Gov. Brady, who has a answspaper at his command, to give to the people facts and figures.