The Alaska daily empire., 1921-07-22

The history of Alaskas efforts to procure legisla tion for the preservation of the fisheries industry and for laws that would permit better utilization And potection game is Illustrative one very i'm portant why Alaska should have such hom, rule is provided under full Territorial form o government f. tl.x There has been no fisheries legislation for flask for than fifteen years Yet for of tha time people have recognized that the industry ha been facing certain extinction because overfshins if something should not be done to it. Timt after time the attention Congress has been called to this danger Measure after measure has been sub mitted for the consideration Congress. Yet noth ing has been done.
 It has been nineteen years since Alaska's gam, laws were enacted. The people of the Interior hay, been endeavorng to legislation that would permit of the sale for food of Alaska game animals killed within the limitations of the law during tho open season It was proposed that there be system of marking game killed that it could be dis tinguished from game killed during the closed season It has been nearly four years since this matter wa submitted to Congress- yet there has legisla tion the subject.
 Congress has realized the need for legislation ol these subjects, but it has always offered the excuse that there differences opinion among the people of Alaska, and outside of Alaska the character o the remedies that should be applied the This Is situation that always will exist It is situation that always has existed everywhere People of Alaska are np exceptions to general rule in this respect Differences of opinion among the people not con fined to any section of the country.
 It the Senator Nelson we believe who said that it is very easy to defeat legislation in Washington unless 1t relates to a subject i'm Importance to the Nation It is difficult he asid to secure legislation that is not matter National Importance that it might be said that legislation local matters has become practically Legislation by unanimous consent The minute opposition and diff ferences develop the general rule is for Congress let the subject go
 When takes this situation into account and considers it is connection with the well established fact that legislation any subject is matter of evolution, that to get proper rules and regulations many subjects legislation must be lesc a continuous performance, changes and amendments coming experience dscloses their need, it is difficult to understand that long Congress is in so many matters Territorial Legislature there will be little growth in legislation affecting the development in Alaska It is too difficult for Sena- and Representatives to get the facts and view point necessary ilegislate inteligently local matters and, result, they do not legisate all This is not the fault of Congress, because it is charged with the responsibility of legislating for entire Nation and it's members have not the time necessary to acquaint themselves with things that strictly local in character.
 The remedy for this situation is to give the people of Alaska power to legisate these local matters. They matters that only incidental Wash
 
 have the machinery for arriving at the will of the majority, something that is obviously impossible at Washington Here accessible the facts from which conclusions may be formed and upon which legislative judgments may be based
 It this situation that Gov. Clark had in mind when he said in Iris 1912 report that Alaska ought to have full Territorial form government It in the mind of President Taft when he repeat the recommendation in his last regular message to Congress. It was in the mind of President Wilson when he also endorsed the recommendation It was in the minds of various Alaska Legislatures, tions and other representative Alaskan bodies sanizations when they have repeatedly made similar recommendations
 Alaska ought to have, by all means full Terri toral form of government-such d government as has obtained all American frontiers save only Alaska, for a century.
 The short cut for the reparation of so many of Alaskas legislative needs would be the passage of government oh the people that strange that any enc shold think of any other method Behind such measure. should it be presented Congress. would be the precedents of century of American history
 Early in the history of the United States it was determined that the best method of legisatng for the pioneers the frontier to confer upon them authority to govern themselves To carry this de vsed. It worked a large extent by the profund legal minds of two of the greatest of Ameri can frontier statesmen, Thomas H. Benton and Lewis