Douglas Island news., 1913-08-13
Progressing Backward

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 The state of Washington is unfortun- ate in being represented in the United ! States senate by Miles Poindexter He ! is an obstructionist, not progressive, and a disgrace to the state of Washing ton. Poiudexter has butted into the Alaska transportation situation by in- troducing a bill whose only purpose is to obstruct the passage of other bills. Poindexter belongs to that party of misguided zealots directly responsible ! for AIaska's condition. The Roosevelt- Pinchot.Poindexter crowd are the ones who believed in conservation in Alaska which caused the coal lands to be tied up for all time. That action held up ! all progress in the territory. Poindex- ter knows as we'll as any man living that had it not been for the Roosevelt orders of withdrawal, private capital would have built all the lines of raj road necessary. Poindexter also knows that even at this date there is one easy, simple way to settle the whole difiicul- ty and that is, to open the coal lands of Alaska for entry when private capital will build all the railroads that are necessary. The Poindexter crowd has made it impossible for private capital to either work the coal mines or build railroads. They are the ones directly responsible for the final results in the last seven years throughout Alaska.
 At last Alaska sees a ray of hope. At this late date the United States govern ment takes up the question of doing something for downtroddeu Alaska, having been goaded to the action by the flood of publicity that has swept throughout the East aud the insistent demands of the thoroughly aroused people that something must be done to help the northern territory. So taking up the last action of the republican ad
 ministration, the democrats in Wash ington secured a firm grasp of Alaska sportation needs and it really looked as if something were going 10 be done, when up comes Obstructionist Poindexter and deliberately plans to hold ap the entire proceeding by in- troducing a bill calling for wholesale railroad construction upon plan that is SO utterly nonsensical, that it can only serve to stop progress in Alaska. Poindexter represents the state of Washington, or rather, he misrepre seuts this commonwealth, and it is the state of Washington that suffers more than any other section of the country in the holding back of Alaska's deveI- oUment. There is no question as to this. The ports of Puget sound send to Alaska practically the entire supply of merchandise and food=tuGs used there, and the blight of Pinchotism having particularly held back the de. velopment of Prince William sound and the Copper river country, meant direct loss of millions Go these mer- chants and business men during the last seven or eight years Poindexter knows all this, and yet he again seeks to obsuuct the paseage of bill that would not ouly build up the Alaska and Puget sound shipping ports, but would help Puget sound as a direct bearing upon the entire state of Wash iueton; and Miles Poiudexter, United . States senator, is thus for the second time taking an action that which is in direct opposition to the wishes of the majority ofthe people and against the best interests of all commercial and agricultural interests throughout the state. They succeeded years ago in preventing the coal being used for the upbuilding of an industry on Prince William sound that would have meant everything to that section of Alaska, with far reaching trade relations throughout the Pacific ocean, with most important bearing upon all meth ods of traus-Pacifc shipping, and now after all these years of stagnation showing such action, the same crowd is attempting to block the one attempt that bas been made by the government of the United States to help build up the territory. Every progressive in the state of Washington should hang his head in shame on account of Miles Poindexter's asininity.-Railway and Marine News.