The Alaska daily empire., 1917-02-26
rHE EEDERAL pRoHLBIrION BLL

The Ke:chiBan Prog-esstye-AIiner in an editorial that was reproduced in ,he Dispatch Saturday morning said by inueudo. that The Empire had torteitel its right to complain of tae W.ckersham Fedora! proht h.DirOn bill because ot failure to protest in ;mr |; said that protest should have gone up before the pas sage of the bill. anJ claimed that the Progressive Miner was the only newspaper so Go protest,
 The leading editorial in The Empire Of January g. l9l7 was on th.s subject. and was as follows:
 Delegate WirEersham's answer Co the vote
 of the people of Alaska on the prohibition
 question should be an earnest effort to secure
 for Alaska the power Go pass the necessary legislation to give expression to the popular will This could best be secured by the pas sage of 8 full Territorial form ot government
 measure, so that school questions, municipal questions. fisheries questions, questions Ot tax at.ou and all other matters could be settled by the people. It would be far more SatiS- factory than the yTdDstereuce or selt-Soyern- ment Co the Territory p.ecemeaL It would make it so that the people could regulate all the matters requiring regulation in such manner as Co make legislation harmonious and cooperative. There are so many things in- vo,ved in the settlement Ot any Of these questions which organic act limitations have kept out Of the hands Of the people of Alaska, that power tO act over all Of them IS needed in order properly Co act on any one Of them.
 For instance questions Of revenue and taxation and governmental police powers. and consequently. questions of schools and roads and other matters, which are effected by revenue and taxation problems, are involved in the wet and dry question. All the activities and functions Of government are so closely affiliated by a sort Of dove-tai.iug process that all are involved Go gIeater or less extent in any Ct them. Properly Co regulate all these matters and Co make the regulations equitable would require all the powers of local seItgOvernmeut that people of the States eS- ercise and that those O.: other Territories have exercised
 "It would be a lot better for the people of Alaska to prepare and enforce prohibition law than to have the Federal government do We are already crying aloud against too much Federal government and not enough Territorial government in Alaska If the Fed eral government should pass prohibition law, and provide the machinery enforce it it would another Federal body interfering in local matters. It would make matters worse rather than better.
 This Illustrates why The Empire believed that the prohibition question was thrust into local matters too early. It illustrates why The Empire believed that the people should have been granted the power tO control local mat ters before any more perpIcxing problems were forced tO the front The Empire has a ways favored Territorial control of the liuuor question as well as all other local questions It has only desired that people proceed about it in logical and orderly manner It has urged that the power Co act be secured be- fore taking up the manner or action.
 However, the fact that the people have i voted on the question of prohibition first has i not changed the situation except Go indicate the manner in which the people Oi the Terri tory would likely exercise power to control the T liquor proposition if they had it. It is gen h orally conceded that the election was but a straw ballot indicative of the condition of public opinion. It is also generally conceded S