The Alaska sourdough., 1911-12-12
SEATTLE GETS ANOTHER SHOT

frineds. In letter to it's president, Governor Clark this week says:
 My Dear MT. Piggott: I have re ceived in the mail copy of circu lar letter bearing date of December, 1911, which bears the facsimile sigma ture of Rufus R. Wilson as secretary of the Alaska Square Deal League. It is not usually worth while to reply to circular, but in this instance there IS a specific invitation to offer sugges tions in regard to the aims and pur- poses of the Alaska Square Deal Lea que, and, moreover, l am deeply inter ested in the letter and the printed mat ter which accompanies it.
 "'Since I am invited to offer sug gestions, it is fair inference that l am invited to express whatever opinions I may have in the premises. To put 1t rather bluntly, it is my opinion that the organization which is sending out this circular letter is not exactly worthy of it's name-if we are to judge by the contents of the circular which accom- panies it. The subject which is most prominently mentioned in the circular and it's accompanying printed matter is that of an elective legislature for Alaska, Now, there are a great many people in Alaska who do not believe at all that it would be square deal to give this territory an elective legisla- ture at present. These people honest ly believe that the territory would lose more than it would gain under what is commonly called "home rule. ' Ostensibly, the Alaska Square Deal League is trying to do something bene- fcial for Alaska.
 "1How was it determined that just such things would be- beneficial for that territory, and just what things would not be beneficial2 1 observe that near ly all of the officers and the members of the executive committee as printed on the letter head of the league, are I Alaska Can you assure me that all of these men who are prominent as of- fcers and committeeman in your league are fully informed as to the conditions in Alaska, and whether these condi- tions warrant at the present time the establishment of an elective territorial legislature? I am among those who ap- preciate the great interest shown by the people of the whole Pacific coast in the development of Alaska; but the members of your league will certainly be exposed to much just criticism by the people of Alaska, and your efforts fail to be. appreciated, if you champion measures which are essentially politi- cal in character, and upon which the people of Alaska are themselves divid- ed. The most important question which concerns Alaska's progress today are not political questions at all, and are not those upon which the people of Al aska are seriously divided in opinion. If the Alaska Square Deal League wishes to accomplish something bsneze- ial and useful, would it not, in your opinion, entertain a better chance of success if political questions were let alone and the efforts of the league di- rected towards securing for Alaska those things which are not matters of politi- cal discussion at allf
 I observe that there are two organ izations in Seattle whose names indi- cate that their purpose is to secure square deal for Alaska. Yet I hear that the two organizations are not en- tirely in harmony with each other. The question naturally arises, since they are not in harmony, which organiza- tion proposes really to get for Alaska a square deal; and if both are going to get a square deal for us, does one prom ise any greater degree of squareness for us than the others''
 (Signed) WALTER E. CLARK.