The daily Alaskan., 1916-12-08
EDITORIAL
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SKAGWAY'S CLEANUP OF
 BOOTLEGGING

The roundup of the bootleggers fu Sd4gway is oyer for the present, and Governor Strong, who sent Geo. Maud here for the purpose of secur- fuy evidence, District Attorney Smi- ser. who prosecuted the cases, Unit eI States Commissioner Rasmuson, before whom the cases wele tried, and the juries who sat on the cases, are al to be congratulated up on the successful prosecutions. In every case where charges were pre- la..eL, conviction was secured, and punishment justly meted out.
 The difference in the sentence imposed on the three defendants nay at first appear as though there had been prejudice against one of them, but to those persons attend .us the trials throughout, it was evident that such was not the case, but rather the attending facts and a@-rayatug circumstances coupled with a sense of justice, which we must recognize, that rhe same fine IunUse' on persons very much diff tr~eut'y situated financially would not be a fair punishment, which prompted a heavier fine in the one r.sg than in the other.
 In the fine which the court im- posed on J. F. Anderson, propriet- CT of the Pantheon, Judge Rasmu- son look into consideration the five charges which were pending against r~e accused man, and which were temporarily withdrawn, any one of which, had Anderson been. brought 10 trial, and had been found guilty, by reason of the penalty fixed by the statute, would have of neces- si.y, resulted in a jail or prison sen reuce for him.
 Believing that the ends of justice would be fairly met by imposing substantial fine, just as much as though 8 jail or prison sentence had been imposed, by stipulation with tae District Attorney, these cases were temporarily withdrawn and tha defendant was permitted 10 plead ggity, even after he had been found guilty by his peers, and the second and third, and fourth and fifth offenses with which he was charged were Quasbed, and the ma.i made to pay for his error. He BOW is punished, and he has stated that he does not again intend to ea:er the liquor traffic. With such a promise, We believe that justice has been appeased, for from this time On this man will engage in rle pursuit of some business that is act looked down upon, but One wGicl will be Q credit net only to himself, but to his neighbOr. The -tugr two men, Bender and Childs, have had their lesson. They have been fined, and in their cases just ice has been appeased. They will consider long and earnestly the probable consequences before they again break the law. No doubt but tEat the law will be broken, but it is safe to surmise that not one of the three men who have just been punished will be parties to such breaking.
 As MT. smiser said, "the fair i name of Skagway had been smirch- cd, and had been dragged in the mire," but he can now go back to | lis cffice feeling that he has talk eu aa active part in assisting the 1 citizens og Skagway in remoYng the | grime which has besmirched the | city's fair name, and so can MT. | George Maud, the young man whom Alaska's chief executive dele gated with the disagreeable task Of uumasking the breakers of 1