The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-11

President Has Been Fibbed to
so. Much That He Knows
Not What to Think
Globe Special Washington Service


1417 c Street
WASHINGTON, d. c., June 10.-The
coming investigation into judiciary
and other matters in Alaska will be
perhaps the most significant official. in
qulry that has ever been made in any
of the territories. President Roosevelt
hopes to accomplish nothing less than
the permanent reform of federal az
fairs in Alaska by appointing officers
who can be relied on in every Office in
the district. II does not follow, Of
course, that none of the present officers
Will be reappointed; and in fact some
of the places are not in question. The
object of the inquiry is to determine
the fitness of all those officers in
Alaska who are candidates for reap
pointment at this time. and some of
the others as we'll
The investigation is the direct out
come of the bitter fight made against
the reappointment of Judges Brown
and WlckerSham. The president has
listened to all sorts of stories about
these men. Some of them, he knows,
are false. AS TO others, he is in doubt.
The plain truth is that Mr.. Roosevelt
has been so much lied TO about persons
and affairs in Alaska that he hardly
knows where to turn for an honest
and disinterested statement.
Hopes Inquiry Will Yield Truth.
Through the investigation about to
be begun by James S. Young. who is
the United States district attorney at
Pittsburg, but who has been appointed
special assistant attorney general for
this extraordinary inquiry, the preSi-
dent hopes to arrive at the truth.
Last winter and spring there was a
motley crew of AlaSkans in Washing
= l..
10 any Alaskan he is at liberty to eX-
cept himself from this. class; for, OF
course, there were some honest repre-
Sentatives of the territory here. But
probably two out of every three had
1t in for somebody or something, and
there was almost always an ak to
grind. The president is notoriouSly ac-
cessible to all visitors. 1t was easy
Tor any man who called himself an
Alaskan to call on the president and
prate about good government, and a
delegate in congress and wagon roads
and other projects, while really hay
ing knife in his sleeve for some fed
eral office holder in the territory.
Few men have been attacked as have
Judges Brown and Wickersham have
been. Lies out of the whole cloth have
been told about both of them. and the
net result is that the presumption at
this time is against Judge Brown and
III 4dNpE VI W1CkSISHdfI. 60OIu
have had their friends here-nOt by
their own arrangement, but through
the loyalty of persons who believed the
Judges were being unjustly attacked
and who spoke accordingly to the
president and the attorney general.
Still, the president is as far as ever
from having a correct knowledge of
the situation.
Hearings in Principal Towns.
Mr.. Young viii go to Alaska posi-
lively without any precenceived no.
tions as to the eulpability of the per-
sons who are TO be investigated. He
has avoided talking with persons who
wished to knife" this or that office
holder. He wishes to learn for himself,
after he reaches Alaska. Hearings will
be given in all the principal towns Of
the territory. The investigation will
probably occupy three months.
Mr.. Young intends to leave for Seat
tie about the 25th of this month. and
he will be in Southeastern Alaska by
July. He will visit Wrangell and
Ketchikan in Southeastern Alaska, as
well as Juneau and Skagway, for it
was from these towns that some of the
ugliest charges against Judge Brown
have come. A visit will also be made
to Valdez.
The president and attorney general
are anxious to have the Nome Scan-
dals Sifted also, and this will be one
of the most important features Of the
investigation. Judge Moore stands
we'll with the administration, but the
clerk Of the court will be investigated
and the marshaIs office will be looked
into. Grigsby, the district attorney,
was forced to resign several weeks ago.
An amusing sequel Of the Grigsby
matter was a letter recently received
in Washington by high official of the
government in which it was represent
ed that the state of Washington would
certainly go against Roosevelt unless
Grigsby is reinstated as district attor-
ney at Nome. Walter E. Clark