The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-03-02

We are going to hear whole lot before the year is out about the Al. aska Commission Bill introduced by Delegate Wickersham.
 It's a commission form of Govern, mcnt bill, but it does not affect any actual status of the relations be- tween the Territory of Alaska ant. the United States.
 What prevails at the present time is identical with the system will prevail hereafter, with this differ ence that whereas at present gove- ment in Alaska is divided into a number of different bureaus under different heads in Washington, they will und-r the proposed Commission be vested in one Bureau under ore department.
 There is therefore no sense or meaning in considerable of the crl- ticism already heard, and certainly none that is not justified at present under the present system.
 Alaska rejoices or grieves in 2 long distance government which even the popularity of the appcintcu representatives in Alaska of such long distance administration, canno, overcome in any wcy.
 Tho bureaucratic government ex- ists today just 2s it will eXiat under the WickershGm bill or Gg it woulG exist under BCvcridge Bill that made the Wickersham blood boil :n bygone days.
 Nevertheless we can rest Gs0ured that the Wickarshcm bill will be used by his political opponents with great effect and with just the same freedom of criticism that Wicker sham mctcd out to the Bovoridge Bill.
 It is quite remarkable as nes often been pointed out that the United States tho home of represen- government and demo. cracy according to the very best authorities, should be the last to yield a representative to countries like A asta.
 One of the facts in connection with the reservations made by Con gress as to the legislative control of things Alaskan is that with one ex- ception almost all the economic ac, tivities are vested in tho federal government as such, which alone preserves the right to administer them.
 Thus the fisheries, the coal mines, the timber, the land, tho power sites, the liquor business. the schools to a great extent and the roads as well. are all controlled by certain Bure- aus.
 Now it is one of the clements ot government that without control oi -he economic factors in any nation, state or territory, political contro! IS as empty of real administration IS air. Unless the territorial legis. ature actually controls the adml- | listratiOn of the resources of the it's power is moro nominal han real.
 Instead the real power is vested n those bureaus at Washington ! which administer these particular | resources and not in the legislature which is mere y as legislature the shadow of a great name which merely misleads | he people into believing they exec .ise a control whore they exercise 1 lone at all
 The Industrial Worker is not the system as it now pre- ,aiis, or says that if Alaska had ac- ual control of these resources that hey would be better administered han by the federal control
 That's very well debateable l ,oint. The matter which this paper would insist upon is that in Alaska here is only nOminally local gov ,rnment by Alaskans, the real gov is vested far away and Is by appointees over yhich Alaskaps have not-soati on st control direct or indirect. Political freedom as a matter of act therefore cannot really De said 0 exist in Alaska. They do not here ete for President, nor has their z