The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-12-09
President Roosevelt
Sends His Message.

Continued from Sixth Page3
laws easy OF enforcement against the
man VINO has no money, and difficult
of enforcement. even TO the point Of
sometimes securing immunity, as re-
CARDS the man who has money. In
criminal cases the writ OF the United
States should run throughout it's Dor
ders. The wheels Of justice shoEid not
be clogged, as they have been clogged
in the cases above mentioned, where il
has proved absolutely impossible to
bring the accused u the place appointed
by the Constitution for his trial. OF
recent years there has been grave and
increasing complaint of the difficulty
of bringing to justice those criminals
whose criininality, instead OF being
against n person in the Republic, is
against all persons in the Republic, be-
cause it is against the Republic itself.
Under any circumstance and from the
very nature of the case il is often ex-
c~eedingly difficult to secure proper pun
isnment Of those who have been guilty
of Wrongdoing against the Government.
by the time the offender can De brought
into court the popular wrath against
him has general subsidized; and there
IS in most instances very Slight danger
indeed of any prejudice existing in the
minds OF the jury against him. At pres
ent the interests of the innocent man
are amply safeguarded; but the inter
ests of the Government, that is, the in
terests of honest administration, that
Is the interests of the people, are not
recognized as they should be. No sub
ject better warrants the attention of the
Congress. Indeed, no subject better
warrants the attention of the bench
and the bar throughout the United
States.
Alaska
Alaska. like all our Territorial acquI-
%sitions, has proved resourceful beyond
the expectations Of those who made the
purchase. 1t has become the home of
many hardy. industrious, and thrifty
American citizens. Towns of a perma-
nent character have been built. The
extent of it's wealth in minerals, timber,
fisheries. and agriculture, while great,
is probably not c~omprehended yet in
any just measure by our people. We
do know, however, that from a very
small beginning its products have
grown until they are a steady and ma
terial contribution to the wealth of the
Nation. Owing to the immensely of
Alaska and it's location in the far north,
ii is a difficult matter to provide many
things essential to it's growth and to
the happiness and comfort of it's peo-
pie by private enterprise alone. 1t
should, therefore, receive reasonable aid
from the Government. The Government
has already lone excellent work for
Alaska in laying cables and building
telegraph lines. This work has been
done in the most economical and eff
Client way by the Signal Corps of the
Army.
in some respects it has ouJgrown its
present laws. while in others those laws
have been found to be inadequate. In
order to obtain Information upon which
] could rely 1 aused an official Of the
Department of Justice, in whose judg-
ment l have confidence, to visit Alaska
during the past summer for the pur-
pose of a~scertaining how government
IS administered there and what legis-
lation is actally needed at present. y
statement of the conditions found to
exist, together with some recommended
tions and the reasons therefor, in which
! strongly concur, will be found in the
annual report of the Acknowledgement.
In some Instance / feel that the legis-
ration suggested is so imperatiVely
needed that I am moved briefly to en-
phasize the Attorney Generals propo-
sails.
Under the Code of Alaska as it now
stands many purely administrative
powers and duties, including by far
the most important, devolve upon the
district judges or upsn the clerks of the
district court acting under the direction
of the judges, While the governor, upon
whom these powers n duties should
logically fall, has nothing specific to do
except to make annual reports, issue
Thanksgiving Day proclamations, and
appoint Indian policemen and notaries
public. | believe it essential to good
government in Alaska, and therefore
recommend, that the Congress divest
the district judges and the clerks or
their courts of the administrative or
executive functions that they now
exercise and cast them upon the
government. This would not be
an innovation; it would simply conform
the government of Alaska to fundamen-
tai principles, making the governorship
a real instead of a merely nominal Of
fee. and leaving the judges free to give
their entire attention to their judicial
duties and at the same time removing
them from a great deal of the strife
that now embarrasses the judicial office
in Alaska.
I also recommend that the salaries Of
the district judges and district attor-
neys in Alaska be increased so as to
make them equal TO those received by
corresponding officers in the United
states after deducting the difference in
the cost of living; that the district at
Iorneys should be prohibited from en-
gaging in private practice; that United
states commissioners be appointed by
the governor of the Territory instead of
by the district judges. and tina a fixed
salary be provided for them to take