The Alaska citizen., 1911-10-02


 'Iub on Thursday night. Judge Wick er>ham took up rhc question oi transp r'ariou and explained al length what has been done in the matter U; getting the Interstate Commerce mmiSsIuu IO assume jurisdiction in this country. The following Is what Ire had to say on th- subject.
 T understand that this Commer. ,ial club k organized for the purpose pf having some independence in this camp, and 1 think it Is q very good idea CT course you know that the Northern Commercial company has large interests in this community. and the Alaska Syndicate has large interests in southern Alaska These large interests. of course. take great interest in all these matters. but they d;e just like you and l. they are selfish. We cannot Criticise them Tor il. because We are selfish too We come into this country To make money. and N. are all looking for the chanc, ui making money just as they are. Well. We are here in our various lines oi business. and it iS just as well to he honest with oul- selves. and talk business and not politics And l assure you I came her, with no other idea of talking anything else but just sensible bus mess But assure you | am going to talk honestly. II this organization isn't going 70 work plainly and fair. ly. and honestly with itself and its members and this community. il had great deal better be disorgani2- ed, and get out of the way and l,r someone come in who will be h nest and fair. because that is the nly way you are going to do any good
 Now ou friend Jack Healy. here. k interested as every other man in this community is, in transportation. Ncr, ,haut. miner and every man in tuIS community is interested in trans pullatlUH. In his repOl for 1909 Ot the Mineral Resources Ut Alaska. mr Aired Brooks, whp has giver great attention To these matters. states that the whole output of this central portion ot Alaska for enc y,a3 amounted 10 about ten million cullars--Ihe gold ut-put which is
 
 source We have ill this interior country; and in that report he pre- seutcd the figures tu show that the transportation charges amounted 10 five million dollars, In other words. nuc-halt Ot all the output of this whole interior country was paid out for freight alone \ W that ought to make every man stop and think for a m meut. Fifty per cent of all the gold taken from this country is paid for freight. Now, l haven't gone into this matter as NIT Brooks has. but l think. gentlemen. he has gone into il very carefully. If One-half is paid for freight alone, what becomes of the other half? The other half goes 10 the man who takes il out of the ground. the restaurants, hotels and business men scattered over the country. One-half only of the out put of gold goes to the business men f the country, aside from the transportation,
 "Gentlemen. l have done what could 10 get cheaper transportation Into this country cheaper rates. And | want to say this: that have met with every possible opposition to the efforts that have been made by me to get control Of the transpor- ton rates in the territory Of Alaska, 1 am going 10 tell you what l have been doing along that line. The Alaska Steamship COmpany's steam ships meet the rails at Skagway. the White Pass route. These people have, or had, an arrangement with inc White Pass road. by which they had special advantage over an in dependent line running 10 Skagway, The COnsequence was that the Hum b ldr Steamship company found it. s5lt pushed away from the wharf at Skagway, and under such disad- vantage that il was put out Of busi- ness. And il brought suit before The Interstate Commerce COmmls- sion. in WaE hiLgton, jO SC cure some lcli,t from the eNtor- rionate Iates which were charged against il, and which were not charged against the Alaska Steam ship company, The matter came before the Interslate Commerce Com mission. The attorneys for the Alaska Steamship company appeared anu lli't tI'ii bI iNIot S'AN o'ii'i attorneys appeared for the White Pass and Copper River railroads. and other transportation companies all appeared against the Humboldt Steamship company. They raised the question that the Interstate Con- merce laws did not apply to Alaska The Interstate Commerce laws apply io q territory, but they raised the question that Alaska was not ter ritOry; that Alaska was district l prepared a brief on behalf of rhe Humboldt Steamship company on that question. The Interstate Com mrlce Commission decided against us by a vote of tour to three. It de- cided that Alaska was not territory within the Interstate Commerce laws. and therefore these laws did not extend to Alaska We immedi- ately went to the courts. and suit Vas brought on beAalf al thf Hum boldt Steamship company in the low CT court of the District of Columbia; and the same questions were raised there, and the same briefs filed as before the Interstate Commerce Commission The couI1 ruled there that Alaska was territory, but that that court had no Jurisdiction over the InteIstate Commerce Commis- sion. They held that Alaska was 8 territoly; that tue interstate Com. merce laws applied here; that the Interstate Commerce Con- mission ought to take jurisdiction over the rates in the territory VI Alaska, but that it was d matter