The Cordova daily times., 1917-01-03
PROH|B. LEAOER WRITES 1T THE
 DRY FIGHT


 for the Copper River & Northwestern railway, and at present secretary to Governor Strong, writes from Juneau to the New Republic, published at Waterville. Ohio, by the National Pro, hibition party, as follows:
 Returns from Alaska are as yet quite incomplete, although sufficient data is at hand to show that the ter ritory has gone dry by a large ma jority.
 In the First judicial division (coast section, extending from Ketchikan to Yakutat. commonly called southeast ern Alaska), the vote is practically two to one in favor of prohibition. All but a very few of the small outlying precincts have been heard from, and but one shows wet majority, and that is the little community of Tena- kee, some 50 miles from Juneau. which voted 21 to IS in favor of the vets The incorporated towns of Ketchikan Wrangell, Petersburg, Douglas, Sitka, Haines, Skagway and Juneau are all in this division, and all gave large dry majorities Two of these towns Skagway and Sitka, are now dry un- der our local option law Sitka hay ing been dry for more than two years while Skagway voted dry in June last
 It is at present estimated that some 14,000 votes were cast on the seventh of November, and that the drys car ried by a majority of from three to four thousand
 Much good work has been done in various parts of the territory by the w. C. T. U. organizations, which are now found in nearly all of the incor- porated towns, and by other local or ganizatiOns. as we'll as individuals. But after giving due credit to all of these, the result shows that the vote repre- sents not only recent change of sen ttment on the part of many, but a gen eral feeling that the liquor traffic has
  long enough dominated affairs, and that the people have grown weary of tolerating in their midst such men, ace to the best interests of the ter ritory.
 The wave of resentment which has been gradually rising against the H. quor traffic in this territory (and which here as elsewhere Haunted itself in the face of all that is decent) at last broke in an overwhelming flood of dry ballots on the 7th of November. and the liquorites had no difficulty in read. ing their doom in the returns.
 Some accept the decisions with philosophic resignation; others talk of fighting. However, the main fact is that the people of Alaska have spoken and in no uncertain manner, and the rest is simply a matter of working out the details and securing the en- actment of the law to carry out the wishes of the people as expressed at the polls. Plans are already under way to this end, and the next session of congress will be asked to pass prohibition law for Alaska, which shall be not only whisky tight, but water tight"-no leaks in it.
 The dry workers in Alaska are in debted to the Anti-Saloon League for valuable aid in the campaign in the way of posters, some 50 sets of the Scientific Temperance posters having been donated for the work, which were distributed to the most strategic points in the territory. Reports from various workers show that these were used and that they helped in moulding public sentiment
 In the Fourth judicial division Gin teriOr Alaska, with Fairbanks as the Ccnter) a splendid dry organization accomplished most gratifying results, not the least of which was the defeat of Tom McGOwan, attorney and paid agent of the liquor dealers, who was a candidate for the territorial senate tan exhibition of asinine judgment on his part as we'll as that of the politi- clans who acquesced in the schemel and who was elected by good major ity-to stay at home. The fight in this division was led by Miss Margaret Keenan, territorial vice-president of the Alaska W. c. T. U. and principal of the Fairbanks public schools. Dr. Aline Bradley, of Fairbanks. woman of splendid executive ability, who took personal charge of the circularizing of the voters of the division, and many other prominent Fairbanksans aided in securing a large dry majority for that division. The slogan was "2 to l Dry" and they came very close to making it.
 The work of the Second (Nome re giOn1 division. and the Third (centraI and western coast section. Yakutat tC end of the Aleutian island chain) was not carried on under any general or ganization, but depended upon the eff forts of local w. c. T. U. and other or ganizations. missionaries and citizens generally. Splendid results were Ob tained in these two divisions. as showr by the fact that nearly every precine went dry, and every incorporated towI did so.