The Alaska daily empire., 1915-08-16
mARsDEN coMMENTs
 ON DUNcANs ousTiNc

NNilol-la 1eNl.l-i A
 ON DUNcANs ousTiNo
 The Rev. Edward Marsden, native minister, well known In Juneau, writes In the Kelchilgan Progressive on "rhe Elimination of MT. puncan,' from Metlakahtla. as follows:
 "rhe public is very well aware Of an the troubles that have been going on at Metalsahila between Father Duncan and his own Indian converts since about six years ago over the subjects of business and education, and the rights pertaining to tho same. We need not recount the history Of these troubles. They are simple mat ters Of record
 "On the 2fth of July, Dr. P. p. Clax- ton, Commissioner of Education, ar- rived here from Washington City at lhe request of the Secretary of the Interior. On the morning of the 26th he went over to Metlakahtla. Father Duncan absolutely refused to see him, claiming that the government had no rights over him. his things nor his work. However. acting on tho orders of the Department the Commissioner sent In to Father Duncan @ full writ ten statement as to the Departments Investigations and final decisions and SO forth.
 "On the afternoon of the 27th. the town council convened and to it for the whole Metlakahtla people the Com missioner read the conclusions and the legal actions of the Interior Depart ment. in the Metlalzahtla question. Af- ter thorough investigation of the matter by an unprejudlced attorney of the Department, and which inves- tigations covering period of three months, Che Department has acted ac- cordingly and both Father Duncan and the people now know where they stand.
 without attempting to use any le- gal phrase, the cannery buildings with their machinery, the wharf including the warehouse, the sawmill plant, the public water works including the spare pipe joints, the store building exclus- i've the merchandise, the guest house the supposed to be boys and birls' homes. the town hall and the church building. and as such the law will protect them in their peaceful posses. sion and the use of the same. The goods in the store building the seine boats and salmon tins in the cannery, and tho cannery steam tender are the private property of Father Dun can
 "The accumulated earnings of the whole plant which is on deposit in the states in the name Of William Duncan and such other funds as have been given to him from time to time for the work by American Christians and by the Indians themselves, are left out for the present. The Department has claimed that it has not sufficient facts and evidence to so by in regard to that part Of the trouble, but that if the Indians insist upon 1t the matter can be well adjusted in @ court of equity
 "The council reiterated It's former position in the matter in that 1t desir- ed no equal division of the net earn ings for which the whole people had worked for many years, but that like all other business undertakings. the same be EQUITABLY divided between themselves and Father Duncan accord Ing to the bare facts in the case. The council farther assured the Commits sioner that the possession of O part of the deposited money in the banks by the Metlakahtla people would en- able them to start an W with the cannery. sawmill, and other things.
 According to the council. so the commissioner was assured. if in the end the Metlakahtla people finally fail to share in the profits of the whole plant and possess only the old houses, which will soon be chopped up for firewood and out of which SO much money was made between the years 1887 and 1911, under Father Duncan as Manager and Treasurer" |" 1t would be the case Of a white man under the guise Of religion having the best of the poor Indians It would be like an adopted father sending up his boy to secure an overhanging nut on the tree with the promise of an equitable division of the meat but when he descended with his success ful prize only found that after crack ing 1t the crafty old man gave him only the shell while he gobbled up the whole blessed meat"