The Alaska daily empire., 1918-11-01
The Main Issue.
(CHARLES A DERRY in Cordova Times

(CHARLES A DERRY, in Cordova Times.) Delegate Charles A. Sulzer and his friends consider that the most important work undertaken by the Delegate in his home rule bill, whereby he hopes to have extended to Alaska the rights and privi- leges of home rule that given to all the other territories of the United States By this bill, which is pending before Congress- the people of Alaska given full powers to legisate for themselves. By the opposition some attempts have been made to read into the bill provisions which it does tain and false propaganda was started in which people of Alaska believe that the Delegate trying to Saddle upon the country home rule bill that woud ruin it.
 shams home rule bill, passed when he Deegate to Congress, gives the Territory practically His friends argued first that that bill the beginning, that he had done well to secure its pas sage, and that it would be followed by another more liberal bill That these followers were either badly fooled themselves or trying to deceive the public is shown by statement made by Wickersham himself when he appeared before the election committee of the House of Representatives. In that statement MT. Wickersham said that his home rule bill drawn as it was in order that the people of Alaska might not destroy themselves..' He showed thereby that he did consider the people of Alaska capable of handling their affairs.
 MT. Sulzer, on the other hand introduced a bill whereby the people of the Territory will be given complete control of their affairs And he thereby showed conclusively that he does consider the people of Alaska entirely capable of handling their own fairs In fact he stated emphatica1y in Congress that no peope on earth are more capable of legislatng for themselves.
 Mr. Wickersham asserts strenuously that the Legislature of Alaska did not have the right pass honest election law, and he did wish the leg islators of the Territory to have that power The following is taken from the official report of the hearings before the Committee Elections No. l. House of Representatives Sxtyffth Congress. Sec ond Session. in the contested election of James ersham Charles A. Suzer, and is found page thereof: v
 MT. Wickersham Now we thought that
 covered very largely the situation with re-
 spect to the election laws in the Territory.
 but here we were creating elective Terri
 torial Legislature in Alaska, and it
 thought that it would not do to give that
 Territorial Legislature authority to destroy
 itself. and to that situation and
 put it beyond any possibility of question l
 prepared section in the act of 1912"
 MT. Lloyd: What page and section is
 that?'
 MT Wickersham It is Section g. on
 page 513, 37 Statutes at Large Now,
 that is the organic law of Alaska; that is
 the constitution of Alaska; that is in the
 act which created the Legislature of Alas
 ka This act that body, fixed
 the election laws of the Territory and it
 fixed them so that they could not by any
 possibility alter, amend, modify
 peal those laws. There is no question about
 that : Now, with respect to the
 bers of the Legislature, the Legislature
 not now alter. amend. modify repeal
 these election laws to destroy itself,
 do anything else with respect to that
 ter.
 And on page of the report the following statement of Mr. Wickersham appears:
 MT wickersham: My judgment is, and
 l prepared the laws of 1912 and assisted in
 preparing those of 1906 that there no
 doubt that the Legislature of Alaska had
 authority the matter of its own election
 the election of the Delegate
 Mir. Suzer believes in the principle of the people of Alaska controlling such matters through their To- cal Legislature. Mr. Wckersham has pretended that he is favorable to a wider measure of self government even going so far pretend that he in favor of statehood for Alaska Such preensions have been made purely the purpose of catching votes cleo ton time as is clearly shown by the above quota tions from the official record of Congress. Mir Wick ersham is determined the people of Alaska shall have no power to enable them to provide for clean elections.
 Prince Maximilian speaks of the Germans be- ing "a proud people accustomed to victory" It is the pride that goes before a fall and the Allies are victory hahi