Iditarod pioneer., 1911-12-16
THE HIGHER RESPONSIBILITY

The charges preferred against the judge of the district court for this division are reprinted today because with the publicity already given to hen scandal would be spread rather than confined to bounds by excluding them from the columns of this paper.
 In reading the charges one's first thought is that though every one of them houd be proven true to the letter the one whom they directly aimed and those who are indirectly included M them will not merit one half the odium that will cling to the person persons who made the scandaOus and secret accsatons The work of more than one contracted and sitefu mind must have found employment in the debasing work; and the truth will be knoWn-rest assured of that.
 But there is higher responsibility this scandalOus work which is ntrenched in the strOngholds of niqu tous federal system and is hard to reach. There an official in Alaska who is not subject at any time to be ed by secret agent We have in the past va grants and all kinds of Irresponsible schemers furnishing evidence to be submitted to the department of justice against judge SleUths, under the of nvestiga tors agents of departments and personal representatives of this that high muckamuck find frequent employment for their peculiar talents in Alaska. No selfres pecting menia would remain ill place where his employer should treat him object of suspicion and hold open tale bearer that along but would hunt another job; if he did stay would do at the expense of his own manhood and of his usefulness to lis employer. in the honorable position of judge, when he falls der the suspicion dispeasure of superior position and not openly faced, but instead is treated like suspect and probable culprit resign his job but with his usefulness destroyed he continue his post and endure the of the malicious and thoughess until the federal system has worked its
 No matter how wise and upright judge Peter D. Overfed be- his capacity is impaired by these charges Every member Of the bar atache of the court every uryman and every itigant will remember the allegations of the unfair treatment of District Attorney Crossley and will be impossible for them to be without bias way the other at every motion made by the attorney and passed upon by the judge. IL will be remarkable if the judge himself discard from his mind all thoughts natural
 whose integrity is questioned and act the part of strict mpartiaity that the attorney forget his part ill the jealousies alleged to eXistfor Mir Crossly less involved in the charges than is Judge Oyered, al though he is made to appear e injured party ill the alleged official wrongdong. It will furnish spectacle unique even in Alaska where strange things are rather be expected than otherwise if the Barnee say, to be heard before court at lesent constituted In such the chief interest would lie in the factiona fight expected to be pulled off, with officials of the court prin cpals and the multitude divided into groups of respective paTtisanshp and the umpire of the game disguised tally ing the score for transmission to Washington
 There something bad the matter with system under which such spectacle is possible Who is to blame if the department of justice chooses men for Alaska judgeshps in whom 1t has less confidence than in the professional de- tecves sent to spy upon them Why the judges them selves required to appoint United States commissioners whose judicial and other acts the judges must be ble tor and from whose petty anagOnisms the judges cannot escapeE This very matter of the United States commissioners makes impossible the impartial performance