The Alaska daily empire., 1921-10-18

true Alaskan is of so great an i'm port that it overshadows every other celebration made locally. It means peace, freedom, happiness and pros perity If one stops to think and recall the conditions under which Al aska existed prior to the transfer, and. be it said to our shame, for 9 years after the tranfef and the con ditions under which we live now. he will thank God that he lives under the protection of the United States. though it took the government a quarter of a century to find out that we were part of the Union.
 In the fall of 1867, U. s. s. Ossipee, in command of Captain c. F. Elm mons, U. s. navy, having on board General Lowell H. Rousseau and Cap tain Alexis Pestchouroff, the U. S. and the Russian commissioners. reached Stka, and, after the neces- sary formalities were gone through, Alaska was transferred to the United States on the 18th of October, 1867. Every year, as the day approaches, seem to hear those words of Captain Pestchouroff as he stepped forward and said: General Rousseau, by the authority of His Majesty, the Emper- or of Russia, transfer to the United States the Territory of Alaska" It seems like making small present 1 to a friend. So Alaska became a 1 part of the Union.
 | For long time after this the gov ernment of the United States did not appreciate this present Many years i have passed before the United States government realized that it really had something worth while and that it really made an, excellent bargain.
 From 1867 to 1877 Alaska became military district under the com mand of General J. c. Davis, U. s. army, with headquarters at Sitka. | This military rule was nothing less 1 than police duty. This was so forci- bly, brought out to us after 1877 when | the army posts were discontinued. In Southeastern Alaska the inter- regnum was followed by great dis orders which eliminated by threat ened attack in 1879 by some of the 1 Sitka Thlingets reinforced by the Hootsnahoo and Hoonah tribes. The 1 latter two tribes were ready to come to Sitka when the British government l took a hand in this by sending a | man-of-war to Sitka for protection. | This warship remained at Sitka until | the United States sent one of it's own. From that time a ship was con- l tinuously stationed at Sitka and Al aska came under the naval rule.
 Then in los4 form of civil gov ernment was given to Alaska and it was made a Territory, of which Sitka was the capital
 1 But what about the western part and the vast Interior? Under what government did that major part of Alaska exist? That portion of Alaska was under the rule of great fur monopoly which recognized no law but it's own gain. The condition of the people of the western part of Alaska was what the great fur mo nopcly chose to make. Volumes could be written about the abuses prac ticed, the oppression akin to slavery meted out to the natives, and the other people that came under it's rule. The poor people over there that heard of the transfer of the Territory to the United States and expected better conditions were sorely disap- pointed. The first task masters un- der the Russian rule were unscrupul- ous in the treatment of the people under their control, having come from the ranks of exiles, criminal and poli- tical prisoners they knew no mercy to the weaker ones. They kept the people in ignorance and slavery. The second masters, the American mo- nopoly under the guise of successors to the Russian company were very little better. This condition existed
 for about 23 years. This seems Il hard statement and many will take an exception to it. It is true that a revenue cutter visited many of the outlying districts once each year and
 had made certain number of arrests
 But the arrests were almost always of the poor natives and poor Russians
 that came under the ban of the great
 monopoly. It is true also that after
 the establishment of the civil gov
 ernment for Alaska some commits
 sioners and deputy U. S. Marshals
 were appointed to certain places, but
 the less said about some of them the
 better
 Then came the great gold strike.
 This was heralded throughout every
 part of the United States Men, wo-
 men and even children came to Al
 aska bringing in new ideas, new blood and above all the sense of right and justice for Alaska. They de-
 manded better protection to the citi- zens, recognition by the government and a ripht tO ha roprocautod ;r Oo~