The Alaska daily empire., 1917-08-22
DONOHOE MAKES
 HASH OUT OF THE
 RUSTGARD CHARGES

VALDEZ, Aug. 1S.-oT the Editor: Replying to purported interview with John Rustgard appearing the the Daily Alaska Dispatch of July 29th, under the caption Democrat ic Plans Upset by Natives" I have to say that for inaccuracy, misstate- ments and some deliberate false hoods this interview, or purported in terview, is very remarkable.
 | In the first place Mir. Rustgard was not at Bristol Bay at all, and was not within 1000 miles, measur ed by the usual course of travel, of Bristol Bay. The nearest point to Bristol Bay reached by MT. Rust gard was the town of Kodiak there fore all the statements in this re- markabe interview concerning Bris- tol Bay are simply Mir. Rustgard's | imagination or that of the Dis patch.
 The precinct of Ouzinki, which MT. Rustgard described as being on Wood Island, happens to be on Spruce island MT. Rustgard was i within that voting precinct, and there was not word of testimony taken regarding the election last November at the Ouzinki precinct. Mrs. Grimes, the government school teacher, re- ferred to by MT. Rustgard, was never mentioned in any of the num- erous dispositions taken, and any in formation obtained by MT. Rustgard regarding the election last fall at Ouzinki must have been obtained from the unsworn statements of John Falstad of Afognak. Falstad, you may remember, was tried and convict ed about three years ago of the crime of election frauds. committed by him at the election held at AfOg- nak in 1912, at which time Falstad was a member of the election board and voted a great number of natives for Wickersham who on the day of election were not within 30 or 40 miles of the polling place.
 The sworn testimony taken estab- fishes the fact that at the precinct of Afognak at the last election, not more than 15 white people voted, and one of these testified that he was not an American citizen but voted for Wickersham. The testi- mony also establishes that there were 60 votes cast and that there was not more than 27 or 2S that rcould read or write the English Ian guage; that nearly all the rest who voted were pure Alieuts, and could not read or write the Russian or English language, and knew no Ian guage but the Alieut. A number of these witnesses had to be examined through an interpreter. That John iTaushwak, an educated Alieut, who was the henchman of John Falstad and who worked on election day for Wickersham, and who was not la member of the election board went into the voting booth with at least eight of the natives who voted and made out their tickets foI them. Several of these natives tes whom they voted and others testi fled that they voted for Wickersham The question was asked of these witnesses if they voted for any per son for Attorney General. but the interpreter was unable to put the question to the witnesses because they have no words in the Alieu' language meaning Attorney Genera or Territorial Senator.
 In Seldovia precinct, the testi mony taken established the fact that there 27 or 28 natives, members ol the Kenai Indian tribe, voted at the last election; that these people lived under tribal relations and have chief. Some of them testified the, had no idea for whom they voted They all testified that Mike Dolchok a rather intelligent native. rounded them up in the Indian village and took them to the cabin of Shorty Stoffer, a Wickersham ward heeler