The daily Alaskan., 1907-07-30
suTHER1ANDs' ISLANDER

and has been widely clrculaseu Auu copied throughout the east. While the article is without a semblsnCe of truth, nevertheless 1t will do Alaska an un- told amount of harm, The delec'abla "Coloner Sutherland, who poses as having large mining interests in Alaska" is an !tlnerant resident of Juneau and IS supposed to be, at the present tlms, somewhere in the east in connection with mining venture in which he is interested at a point near that place.
 "Whue Alaska is 8 modern FL Do. rsdo, the development of it's resources depends upon careful nurture and intel ligent effort by the government to protect property rights" This is the opinion of Col. W. J. Sutherland, who was in St Paul yesterday on his way from Alaska to New York. Col. Sutherland has large mining interests ln Alaska and his trip to New York Is in connection with these interests.
 t'What Alaska needs, said Col. Sutherland, ".is 8 continuation O. the present style of government. We do not waut and it would be @ great calam. ftv to have a territorial form of govern ment lhrus; upon Us aJ this time. Alas ka should be governed for some time from Washington with intelligent In- 7esugatiou of the needs of the district, The district shoulj,be policed by United States troops. and the governor should have the authority to use the troops 10 Quelliug Indian uprising or iu putting down mob rule of any kind. The federal government should open up wagon roads into the interior, so that the cOa! field may be developed and the present travel congestion may be relieved. Railroads will be welcomed, but they should not be secured by land grants. We need good, competent judges, prob ably Western lawyers who have 8 good know edge of admiralty, contract, min ing and criminal law iu all it's phases. The government in dealing with Alas sa should use ordinary good sense, doing for the district what is required because of the peculiar conditions eN- isging there.
 Only Two IndustrioB
 "'It must be borne iu Tind at sl. times that Alaska has only two indus tries of any consequence, and can have only two-miuing and fishing. or course, aloag the coast we can grow garden truck ou a limited scale. Any thing which can be planted toward the end Of May and which will mature before the first frost by the end Of August is possible a,ong the coast, but it Is easy to see that extensive garden lng is out of the question. We can raise just about enough to give us 8 few green things three months Of the year. Grass grows quite rapidly on the coast, reachtug a height of three or four feet. l. grows rapd'y but con tains little nourishment, although horses can live on .t. In the interiJr horses cau pick up a sclnt living two or three months in 8 year. Agriculture is not and cannot be an industry in Alaska.
 Need Good Judges
 "One Of the sources of much trouble fn Alaska has been the administration Of justice. To the states it is generally thought that any good lawyer will make 8 good iudge, that experience is not ab. soluteIy necessary. But conditions are such in Alaska that 8 judge to be com petenJ must have special qualifications. Our industries are such that 8 judge should have 8 good knowledge of admir- atty, mining and contract law, and, of course, he must be well up in criminal procedure. The lack of this knOEledge has been the foundation Of much of our trouble. for with some exceptions, Judge Wickersham for example, some of the men who have been sent up there to sit as judges have not had special qualidca, tious. The work in some of the courts is two years behind time, and in some instances causes which wore heard as much ss two years ago have not been decided by the judges.
 Judge Wlckersbam, whose dislric; taxes in the territory around Fairbanks, was recently called to sit in Judge Gun rison's court, and it is said that when he gets the calendar cleaned up in the southeast district he will sit in Judge Moore's court at Nome for the same purpose. Judge Wickersham is giving general satisfaction, for he is we'll h. formed on maritime and mining law and is known to be an honest, fearless judge.
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