The Nome daily nugget., 1908-07-21
WtckERsHAm's TERRITORIAL
 BILL.

BILL.
 II mdee wieEer-hlm Is really s,rt- az ju his announcement th1t Hr is q candidate for delegate Co congress lrem Alaska. II Is to laugh' Yet IW5gk,r-b5m is a man WHo has always taken himself very seriously. The oaiz bar 10 his success has been hts rradInttian Ice misiudge the mtcllt- esula and memory uf other people.
 Nar. rHan ukyfy h, fs uugefuE him- @eif iB the d,Iustou that tbr electors of Nama and other parts of Alaska are uaf aware that after his gambling hlusr at Fairbanks had been closed. he wrote Inc territorial government .bm which Delegate Gale. his crouy. introduced in the house of representa- titrz The bin referred tn i= thc one known as "Cale.s second effort which he introduced after he had withdrawn ths. measure prepared far him by Caa- eres-man William E. SHIzer. and which lHaid,l that tae veto power should hs appaiutiva m other words. which uaHid Hsea naHguratsd in Alaska q ralIfIeaI power similar ta the House uf Lords H EHglaHa= an incubus If which the poor Hritons have been endcavor- me ta rid themselves for The past hum dred years.
 Just to show what T great liberatar Is this man Wiekersham. and tp dem uustrale faW he really yearued to give tHe people of Alaska samr form of zelf government. Me print one section of the biu t reads.
 "Sec. 3. Executive ,omcers. - Ex- eeHuvr Council That there shall he appointed by the president by and aHh the advice and consent of Inc senate for tbc period Of four year un- less =uauer removed hy the president. n secretary an attorney general. a treasurer Who shall be ex-oilieia audi tar. and commissioner of education. each of whom shall reside in Alaska during his official incumbcncy and nave the peWers and duties hereinafter pro- yidgd for thclu respectively. and who. together with one of the judges of the district court of Alaska. to be dcsig- ufted bz the president. and two other persons of good repute. actual residents pf Alaska, to be also appointed by the president. but without confirmation by tHe senate. shall constitute an execu- tiys council. and. in addition to the legislative duties hereinafter imposed upon them as body, shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as arc hereinafter provided for them. respectively. and who shall have power to employ all necessary deputies and assistants for the proper discharge of their duties as such officials and as such executive council'
 Now. who do you suppose, after gly- ing The matter a little thought would have been the men chosen to form that executive council?
 Governor Hoggatt for the chairman ship General Distln. the surveyor general. not bad man as far as he goes, but carpet -bagger never really goes very far beyond the limits of the payroll The attorney general would assurodly have been one of the off cia.s rpW in office appointed from one If the eastern states. and who has no further interest in the country than that of the collection of his salary. The commissioner of education. another ap- pointec, would have made the fourth. aud the fifth would probably have been Judge Reed, cf Fairbanks. a violent prohibitionist.
 There would nave been still two more to select. This $ a bill giving home riie tr Alaska, 70 it might be ex- aec-ed that tra Alaskans would be ai- bowed to choose two members out of ! the seven forming the upper house of congress. But not so. The bill says. and two other persons of good repute. actual residents of Alaska. to be ap- pointed by the president. but without confirmation by the senate" Bearing in mindthat they must be two men "of good repute" who would you have pick ed out2 Of course you would never think of choosing Judge Wickersham. especially after the gambling and other scandals at Fairbanks. but he was to have been one. and Tom Gale. the deI- egate. was to have been the other one. You will notice that the bin provided that they were to have been appoint ed by the president without the con sent of the senate Judge Wickersham knew. from bitter experience. that hIs | chances of receiving senatorial con- | firmation for the job of poundkeeper are about as remote as the south pole. so he provided against 1t. when he wrote the bill.
 Five of the members of Alaska's