The Alaska daily empire., 1916-09-18
NOT AN ISSUE

The question of immediate Statehood is not an issue in the present campaign. Even Delegate Wick ersham has abandoned that position, and it was the crack his whip that caused his following to change overnight from opposition to the extension Of the powers of the Territorial government to advocacy Of immediate Statehood-and overnight is used liter ally because it was between March $1. 1915, and Alp ri l. 1915.
 It did not take the Delegate as long to discover that the people saw the eat as it has taken some of his more stupid toIlowe-s to make the discovery and to stin popular dersion he placed in his most recent platform a declaration for:
 .The enactment Of laws by Congress extending the powers of our Legislature os to permit the full development of an American type of Territorial government in Alaska with powers to enable her citi zens to protect their own and the public interest and Co increase the general prosperity without limit
 Following this came:
 statehood for Alaska AS SOON AS IT CAN BE ORGANIZED IN THE INTEREST AND TO THE ADVANTAGE OF THE PEOPLE" Capitals are oursJ
 The Delegate has been forced from his former position and has taken one that is not far ad- vanced on the Statehood question the Democratic party has taken. The Democrats declared for State hood in 1912 and in 1914 and agen this year, but they have consistently opposed permitting the demand for i, to stand in the way of immediate selfgoyern ment The Democratic platform this year. adopted -t'-+-~--~N Territorial form of government platform following the precedents Of former years declares
 The most urgent immediate political need
 Of Alaska is the enlargement of the powers
 of our Legislature and the enactment or
 law by Congress granting Alaska full Terri
 torial form of government. The Democratic
 party founded with the birth of a Nation,
 rocked in the cradle of liberty and freedom,
 and true throughout the life of the Nation
 to the principles laid down by Thomas Jef-
 ferson. has stood for local self-goyernment.
 The Democratic party stands today consist
 ently for Statehood. as t has stood in the past,
 but with sound Judgment it recognizes the
 fact that the securing Of Statehood will be a
 long fight as has been the case with practi-
 cally all the former Territories of the Union.
 If our opponents sincere there could be
 no possible issue between them and the Dem
 ocrauc party this natter but their present
 promises must be judged by their past per
 formances. and the Democratic party in AL
 aSka does not propose Go permit any set of
 politicians to blind the eyes of Aaskans un-
 der a cloak of Statehood while remain
 indefinitely without any adequate legislative
 powers under so-caled Territorial Gov
 ernment Wickershams organic act does not
 in any sense give selfgovernment. and
 serious effort has been made by him to have
 the powers Of the Legislature enlarged"
 Accepting this theory that the people want seltgoyernment. how shall We vote to secure it.
 On the one hand we have Delegate Wckersham's record-opposing any kind Of selfgovernment for years. writing the Gale commission government bill. introducing a Territorial legislative bill that would require Congress to approve the acts of the Legisla ture betOre they would become euectlVe reiuctanty consenting co improve his bin in order to get Demo- cratic support for it. contending that the cost Of full Territorial form of government would ruin the Territory declaring for the costly Statehood as a sub,erfuge to switch the selfgoyernment demand into channels that would delay any kind of action. and at last introducing full Territorial form of gov ernment bill that he permitted to sleep uudisturbed where it fell from his hands
 On the other hand we have Senator Sulzer, for thirteen years consistent supporter Of selfgovern ment and whose candidacy and platform are the embodiment Of the American spirit Of government. who is supported by President Wilson who declared for a full Territorial form of government in 1913 and still stands for and who is running for reelection for President upon a platform that declares for it.
 On the one hand we have Delegate Wickersham, always on the public payroll declaring for selfgov- ernment while under fire in the midst of political campaign but for fifteen years previously either an opponent of selGgovernment or weak exponent of it's shadow when forced to be so by the exegiencies Of politics
 On the other hand we have Senator sulzer. com ing to Alaska boy. for thirteen years an Alaska