Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-11-12
NO AID IS PROVIDED
FOR POOR IN ALASKA
Migrants Arc Compelled to Go to
Jail in Order to BE
Cared For.
CRIMINALS NOT UMEROr>
Many Customs of the Early Mining
Days Still Survive In Fairbanks.
Nearly Every Man Called by Some
Nickname.
nj EnANK q. cAuplNrr:l,.

may l.. atle to take care az him"
THIS rcmnrk gives IN Il nutshell one
pf the strange conditions ,ha, obtain
IN the heart OF Alaska. rh!n country
has 40 accommodations for "aarau,s
and 40 laws for the needy poor II
has one pioneer home. bat that is Il,
'itka. on Harsnoi Island. about 2.Vou
miles from where Mont. lives
Monte Terrili IL "A character, His
whole life has been 81 hight against mis-
fortune. and now. although blind Hnd
lame, he Is not willing to give up the
battle. do not know his age but
ne las long passed ,hrcesco-c AMI ten
Years ago. when nc first came to the
kl"ndikc. he waa ono or the most am
bittous. determined and industrious Of
N: SourdoughS. lie underwent ALI
sorts OF ha rdships. and one day when
out trapping sank through some rotten
zee he attempted TO cross. and WAS wet
10 the waist. The thermometer Was
twenty-five degrees below. zero. and
his vet feet were frozen TO such an
extent that one had to be anpu;4tcd
70 the ankle and tho other taken or
halfway II the knee liz had q pair
OF artificial feet made. and With them
again took UP the battle OF life. lie
got about we'll OIL his wooden pms
that but fe" knew OF his troubles
and he succeeded ia obtaining a Job
"ith a gang working on tho Conner
River Railroad =, that time he was
chartered with Il number ~ o.her men
in Il hunkhousc. lie did not want hi.
state known. for fear he would lose
his position iiu; one night when IL
his bunk. having taken of his falss
fec, and laid them beside him tho
string attached 70 one OF them hung
down and tickied the maa in Tho bunk
below. The man gave the string =
Jerk. and the wooden foot came down
and kicked hita III the face. The man
vas mean fellow. and lie reported
Montc's condition to the hoss. and Is
result me WAS Hred
After that, Monte went about doing
odd jobs. He worried ut anything Ii.
could get. drifting from camp 10 camp.
Finally. he settled w n cabin on tho
River chccna not far from FAIRBANKS
whcr. ht cut wood for ;l.r steamers
For several years IN earned hi. living
q that wa. Then h.S eycsiLh; failed
and il was pitiful 10 sec how h. tried
u hccp ia. p.opl. from showing his
misfortune. when hc heard q man
coming no would strengthen up and
t'iart 70 walk about boldly. often run
n1nE mt" a tree or Il fence. liz was
offered assistance. hut would not take
- Last year h" Was known 20 be
suffering for lack Of food and wns ar
rested on charge ~ vmeran,y and
sentenced TO Jail for tho winter. Tnts
was in order shat tho citizens might
nay" legal right TO TAX. care o: him.
Even then. he complained. saying he
wanted 10 20 haci: Ia his cabin and
that hc knew hc could III some way
natrll "a f,,r Ia
United STATES MARSHAL.
HAS sTuENUOuS JOH
Tn. above story was told III. by Mr
l.. I. Erwin. who - now chief Of po-
lice and United States marshal n, Fair
banks Judge" Erwin came origi.
nally from little town In C;corr!e
ne'ng born on the same street :s sam
Jones. /, is related that Sam Jonce
"as eight years old at ;hc tim, ana
that he was anxious to see the ncw
nihy. when IL was shown him. hc
remarked: .Dh. my. ain't he red
Wei. Marshall Erwin il still rcd. ana
he has Il red hot job in Alaska ne
has 10 keep order in district hair
again as large as either GERMANY or
France. and hc does thts with the AZ.
Of large number of deputies In I'll.
number o. assistants employed. H.. tei!s
nc. his marshalship is second among
The districts OF the Cnitcd States The
first is Southern New York State, in
Guiding New York City ana isruoklyn.
Its population is millions. ana the mar.
shall there has twcnty-s,X deputies
who aid hin, III spending the $685., 200
required for his duties The second is
this part of Alnska The district ha.
only 10000 population. but these arc
so scattered that twenty deputies ara
required to watch over them. and the
annual expenses arc $4,000. The
amour, per capita Is high. but as to
area It la not 81 per square mile. The
deputies are scattered over the whole
country running from the Canadian
boundary near Eagle TO tile Russian
mission on the Lower Yukon and from
the Arctic Circle TO the edge OF the
Kusk okwim region.
! have already written how we'll the
mounted police keep order in the Yukon
territory adjoining Alaska. Its men
have the right to arrest criminals. in
vcstigate crimes md settle disputes
on the ground. Here in Alaska tho
marshals and their deputies have to
refer almost everything TO Washington
before they can act. When n crime IL
committed. not n cent can be spent to
detect the criminal without authority
from the Attorney General. five or six
thousand miles away. The other day
terrible murder was committed Just
outside the city No one knew who
was the murderer, and it was import
ant to scour the neighborhood and be-
gin the work OF investigation at once
l;cfcrc he could proceed. the marshal
had To send this cable to Washington:
'Attorney-Gcneral
washington. d. G.
woman f0u1ly murdered last night
along the railroad track within five
miles OF Fairbanks. Authority re-
uncstcd to pay expenses OF office dcpu
ties and make Investigations in the
surrounding country.
tS.gnrd)
"UNITED STATES MARSHALL"
Aitcr some days the reply to 90
ahead came and tho marshal got the
money. In the Yukon territory the
mounted police would have hccn on tho
job before the murdered woman grew
cold and the arrest would have been
made almost jmmedintrlv