The daily Alaskan., 1905-02-25
TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT

against terrltOrlAl kO'oA
 night, ADd he advanced as an argument to sustain his opposition that Alaska is not in position to maintain an "expen- sive form of government" To sub s,AntiAte this claim he asserted that Alaska possessed s population of only 2s,5OO. He also quoted Mark Smith, delegate in congress from Arizona, as .Ayiug that territorial government is inherently bad.
 No, one of these arguments is sound.
 Iu the first place a territorial form of government is not an expensive form of government at all. It can cost as little AS the people see st to make 1t. It is no. necessary that it should require one cent more than the present government ia costing the district. The people could make it far less expensive. It is the form ui government that congress has provided in the past for those im- migrants, taxpayers and traders who have been on the outskirts Of civiliza. tion.
 Let us illustrate. When Washing toa territory was organized it eomPris' ed all of that territory that is now in- included in Washington and Idaho and the western portions of of Montana and Wyoming. The country was inhabited by thousands of hostile Indians The means of transportation were such that it took a longer time and cost more money to make the trip from Co'vil Q to Olympia than it now takes and costs To travel from Nome U Ketchikan. There were scattered over this vas area less than 1000 white people They were not prosperous and wealth producing people such as we hLye 10 Alaska. They were poor aud hal no market tos such things as they did pro- duce. Yet the people of Washington maintained a terri orial government, .,d b-fore their number had increased to 10000 they fought an Indian war.
 It was nearly three decades after the organization of Washington terri ,ory before the assessed valuation of all the property in the territory amounted to as much as Alaska pro duees for export in a single year, yet the territorial tax never exceeded 5 mills on the dollar. The year the val uAtion of the taxable property in the territory reached sum greater than ths exports from Alaska were last year, the levy for territorial purposes was re- dueed from 3 to 2i mills, Two years later 1t came down to ? mills on the dollar.
 ItIs true there were county organiza- .lons to maintain, but here a similar condition existed. Taking the poorest and most backward county iu the early days of the territory, Clsllam, for an illustration. It was organized by the arss territorial legislature in 1853. It was about 100 miles in length and about 90 or 8 miles in width. In 1860 it's population was l4e; in 1870, 374; in 1880, 63s. In 1880, the assessed valuation of all Lhe property in the county was less than Sl5O,OOO. At DO time in the his tory of the county during territorial days did the tax levy for county terri toriAl and school purposes amount to more than two per cent.r and most of .hs time it was under II per cent. The debt of Ihe county never exceeded o3OOO at any time, and it had DO paper oat in 1880 that was one year old. It had DO bonded debt at any time.
 In 1880 Washington territory had nc bonds outstanding, though it was suI' porting ln addition to territorial gov srumsnt S university, penitentiary and insane asylum.
 These statements are set forth tC show that A territorial government l; not expensive. It is not 80 because un' der It all the expenses connected wttf the legislature, the governors salary the salary of the district judges, the coss of the supreme court and most oi the other costs are borne by the federal government.
 The facts do not warrant the state ment of the governor as to the ,Popula- ,..t.,, oF Alaska. The last enumera-