Douglas Island news., 1904-01-20
Legislation for Alaska.

The senators who visited Alaska dur ing the last summer have prepared a number of important recommendations which they will make to congress in the line of legislation for the district. They will advocate liberal appropria- tions for wagon roads for the develop ment of the district; thorough revis- ion of the mining laws; and an addi- tional judicial district. They will not recommend territorial form of gov ernment, or delegate to congress to be elected by the people, but they will recommend that the district be repre- sented in congress by delegate to be appointed by the president.
 The refusal to recommend territor- ial government for the district was not unexpected. The senators did not ap-. pear to be very favorable to the project when they returned from the district last summer. A delegate to congress appointed by the president will certain ly be novelty, but not such novelty as will appeal very much to the people of Alaska.
 If congress refuses to permit the peo- ple of Alaska to have full territorial government and local legislature, but insists on making all the laws for the district at Washington, the people of Alaska should at least be given the privilege of selecting their own agent, to lay before congress their necessities and speak on their behalf when meas ures affecting Alaska's interests are pro- posed in congress.
 The complaint has been in the past that congress has not been able to leg islate intelligeutly for Alaska, because it was bonn barded at Washington by various delegations, each one pretend ing to speak for the people of Alaska, but really representing conflicting pri- vate interests. The question always presented when any legislation was pro- posed was whether the people of Alaska really desired it, or was it put forward merely by the private interest then rep resented in Washington? A delegate i in congress who really represented the people of Alaska and who was chosen { by them would have obviated that difi- | culty; but what right can any delegate appointed by the president have to claim to represent the wishes of con- stituents who have no voice in his se- lection and who cannot call him to task if he absolutely ignores their interests?
 All political parties in Alaska have gone on record as favoring, at the least a delegate in congress elected by the people. The Republican party, in two separate conventions, has demanded a full territorial government. The visit iting senators, after travelling through the country on hurried visit, have ar rived at the conclusion that the people of Alaska either do not really know what they want or are incapable of ex- ercising intelligent judgment on the subject, for the wishes of the people of Alaska are absolutely ignored in the recommendations which the senators will make to congress.-P. I.
 Col. c. l.. Andrews of the customs office sizes up the weather bureau of Alaska in this manner: "You see the warming up of the Jap population on the serious question of war lately has also affected the Jap current to such an extent, that Alaska being in the same course of this current that is has also changed the climatic conditions of our temperature.n We guess he is right