Valdez daily prospector., 1915-05-21
MAY 60 AFTER
 ALASKA CLUB
District Attorney Spence Thinks Mem. bers Under Moral Obligation To
 Pay License

The question of private clubs pay ing back liquor licenses nas been az itating some of the professional poli' ticians of Valdez ever since the de- cision of the circuit court of appeals few days ago in the test case brought by a Nome club. The per petual Wickersham claquers are con- science-stricken over the failure of the Tillikum Club to pay a license and have been whooping up de- mand that the club pay a back li- cense for several years.
 District Attorney Spence sympathiz- es with this notion. He has gone so far as to urge that the club is under a moral obligation to pay something 1 to square it with the world 1nas- much as the circuit court of appeals of the Ninth circuit decided in the case of United States vs. Jourden, which went up from Nome in 1911, that no civil action lies to recover back liquor license, but that the per son who has sold liquor without a li cense may be prosecuted under the penal laws, it seems that no other so- lace can be offered to the feelings of the patriots who are suffering mor- al convulsions over these lost licen- ses.
 II The Alaska Club.
 However, attention has been di- rected to the fact that in 1912 an in stitution called the Alaska Club was in the retail liquor business over a store on Mckinley street. Also it ran a poker game whenever enough of it's members felt so inclined. Its membership was largely composed Of the aggregation who now call them selves Progressive Democrats" and pray to Wickersham morning, noon and night.
 It is not believed that District At torney Spence will shrink from the plain course of duty indicated by moral obligation" since his attention has been called to the dereliction of the Alaska Club. Some of the lager beer politicians who complain that they feel an abnormal activity of conscience over local crimes and mis- demeanors are believed to be suffer ing in fact from Arrangement of the gall bladde1 but no such imputa' tion rests on the district attorney.
 Believing that the district attorney wants to bring all offenders to jus tice whenever they disregard mor- al obligation to pay back license which cannot be collected by law the Prospector appends nearly complete list of members of the Alaska Club.
 Star Performer Missing.
 It will be observed that while this list includes most of the active pro gressive" statesmen of this burg "the loudest bagpipe of the squeaking train" is missing from the array. This may be due to the fact that at the time the club was organized he was suffering complete financial dis ability. Having successfully wrecked a paying newspaper which had been presented to him at cost of $2,000 by sundry misguided local citizens he was not winning factor with folks possessing mazuma and he was divid- ing his time between ward politics and earning his board by propelling a grocer's hand-cart. His room rent he stood off until the hotel propri- etor locked the door of his room with his trunk and typewriter inside. There they remained until a citizen signed a note to effect their release from the landlords custody.
 Under all these handicaps it may have been difficult for even pro- gressive statesman to dig up $500 in order to join a popular club with un. lie ensed liQuor-selling privileges ap- purtenant thereto. However, that is all ancient history that cannot be l revived without disseminating i'll od- ors.
 The Barnette Blowout. Among the achievements of the Alaska Club before it fell victim to financial embarrassment late in 1912 was the entertainment of Captain Barnette and party, who were in town on business with the district court. Street gossip said the func-