The Alaska citizen., 1912-07-29
Phone 262 Phone
MARTIN HARRAlS.

There is scarcely a man in this camp that is better. or more favor ably known than Martin HarraI& We all take him seriously for tn, reason that he has stood the test III everything that goes to make up a real man Without pomp or show. or play to the gallery. he has won the confidence of all who know him He is honest honorable. and trustH orthy. and for that reason he Is entitled To serious consideration in this campaign where the motives and environments of the other candi- dates are surrounded with so much doubt.
 MT Harrais is before the people of Alaska as a candidate for dele gate to congress He tells us that he is the regular nominee of the Democratic party in Alaska. and the mere fact that he makes that claim entities it 10 great weight. He claims also that he took the nomin- alton for the sole and only reason of keeping the ring of Seattle poli- ticians from getting control of the Democratic party in Alaska. This statement of his is deserving also of the grayest consideration. We be lieve that Martin Harrais would not make these claims if he did not be lieve them to be true. for his rep utation for truth and integrity is questioned by no man who knows him.
 But aside from Mr Harrais' stand upon these subjects. the facts war rant. a belief in their truth The convention was regularly called to order on the 29th day of March at Valdez. by the chairman of the cen tral committee All of the ere dentials of the delegates to that con of the central committee. and the question arose as to the method of preparing the temporary roll. At all of the previous Democratic con yentions this temporary roll was made up by the secretary of the central committee. and was made up by him by placing the names of all delegates who were present at the convention on the roll. provided that their seats were not contested. This method of procedure was attempted to be changed by the Seattle con tingent at Valdez. A. J Daly, who was then the national Democratic committeeman, was candidate for delegates to the convention were bitterly opposed to his candidacy. for the reason that he resides in Seattle and had resided there for more than three years. Daily knew that if the matter were left to the delegates present at that convention he would stand no show whatever to manipulate the fifty proxies that he trumped up in Nome four months before the convention was even called. and would fail to pluck the plum of national committeeman. To beat Alaskans out, this is what he did He stated that he wired to Dr. Hill. of Nome, who was a mem procured from Dr. Hill a wired proxy as central committeeman; i; and Robert Jennings showed up with a wired proxy from member of Ket- chikan and those two worthies took the chairman of the committee and the secretary of the committee. and Attorney Ostrander, of Cordova. who was a member of the committee, and by the way was campaign manager for Ed Orr at Cordova two years ago, into a secret conference, call ing themselves the central commit tct oI AldShd, anu actually dtltlllpt- ed to make up the roll for temporary organization.
 No notice of any meeting of the central committee, at Valdez, was sent to it's members. No call was ever made by it's chairman of such a meeting. and it's absent members had no chance to be present in per son or by proxy. The attempt to hold such a meeting was simply a crooked deal to defeat the will of the Democrats of Alaska in their opposition to Mir Daly. of Seattle, getting into control of Alaskan poli- tics. The meeting was illegal. and every one in that convention knew that it was illegal and crooked; but the worst of it is the nerve displayed by both Jennings and Daily Jen- nings, the candidate for delegate to