The Alaska daily empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1912-1926, 1920-06-24
Plain Decisions Needed
(Nome Nugget

The campaign controversies centering around the
voting qualifications of soldiers and natives disclose
imperative need for clearly defined legislative
enactments judicial rulings covering the status
Of both. The voting publication required of soldiers
and natives i'll defined that constant SQUAD
bles such marked the recent municipal election,
the past and present Delegate contests and many
others, bound to go unfortunately unless some
thing is done forth clearly what qualifications
resident soldiers and natives must have to make their
votes acceptable
The present law covering the eligibility of natives
is absurdity. If it achieves any purpose whatso-
it is make the question of native voting rights
obscure. Instead of making clear the status of the
natives applying for the franchise, it merely pins
the question voting eligibility onto more
obscure question, namely whether not the native
has severed his tribal relations definition of this
character if it may be termed definition at all
is altogether hazy and uncertain to be charac-
erzed resolution of the native voting problem
Insofar the local natives concerned, we
doubt if there is in thousand who ever actua-
y his tribal relations. He may appear to do
for time and there may be some instances in
which natives have actually done so. But we feel
safe in assuming that such cases are exceedingly
Circumstances, customs, environment and phys
zeal traits all against the native who attempts it,
and will probably continue to be against it until
the native has assimilated more knowledge of the
views and methods of the whites.
The native who seeks to break away from his
tribal relationships will inevitably find himself prac-
tcay forced back to them by his limited understand
ing of the white mans ways and the instructive re-
fusal of the whites to admit him to any degree OF
equality with themselves Unless he is willing to
make of himself sort of pariah, self isolated from
bis people and stunned and scorned by the
whites he is certain to retain his association with
his AS long he maintains this associa-
ton, long will there be question as to his vot-
ing because of the manifest impossibility OF
deciding definitely whether he has actually severed
his tribal affiliations.
AS in the case of the soldier, what is needed is
a clear definition of some character by which the
eligibility of the native may be readily determined
when he presents himself at the polls. 1t is clearly
difficult matter to fix such standard, but we can
] 1oact iponr he
eligibility established by the present laws. Resort
educational standards basis for Judgment OF
native qualifications appears about the only means
by which clear rule might be fixed but the estab-
shment of literary test of any character would be
an unjust discrimination long we permit the
illiterate white to vote without question II he
fulfills the qualifications of citizenship in other re
spects. Some other should be found than
this.
However, there such obstacles where the
soldiers concerned and their status should be
clearly and speedily determined by some ruling OF
law which will leave doubt to their voting
eligibility when they appear at the polls