The Cordova daily times., 1922-11-13
MONDAY, NOVEMBER IS, 1922
FEDERAL OFFICIAL LAW BREAKERS
(From Fairbanks News-Miner)

(From Fairbanks News-Miner)
 Law, what do they understand?
 Jack Underwood, representating the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, told the Pan-Pacific Commercial Congress at Honolulu that "Alas- ka is suffering from the same complaint as Russia" Jacks speech was made from g point as far away from Alaska as IS his or other mems understanding of Alaska. In fact Jack at Honolulu is not so far away from Alaska as his speech there is from an under standing of Alaska. No man can speak of Alaska as unit, for Alaska is four or five or six units, and what is food for one of those units is poison for another.
 In way Jack is right in comparing the Interior of Alaska to Russia and making their "complaints'' the same, but not on the prem ises he mentions-"n naturalization of re- resources and land areas'' No country on earth offers such an opportunity for men to accumulate land or mining ground as does Alaska. no other country's land and mineral laws are as liberal as ours. One does not have to be citizen of the United States, even, to take up agricultural or mineral land in Alaska.
 Russia and Alaska are alike in Czardom and Bolshevism handed them by Federal of- ficials in Alaska. There's one law for the the people, Federal officials here can break the law to make lawbreakers of the people, and they do. Wherever there is law regard ing the rights of the people in Alaska there is another law which is diametrically opposed to the ether law. Federal officials take ad- vantage of both laws to make criminals of the working man-which makes this no country for the working man, and he will not stay Without workingmen the country cannot de- velop as rapidly as it should It is the Fed eral official here, or some of them, who arc keeping this country back
 When Jack declares that ''The decrease in Alaska s population began with the initial ef fort at Naturalization, he lies like gentle man. Everybody knows when the decrease in Alasla's population began, and why. It be- gan when they began to turn Alaska into a vast Sunday School or Methodist Camp meet ing. About half of Alaska's population then was what is known as ''floating." When they restricted the rights of men to gamble or dance in the dancehalls or buy wine in the "boxes," the floaters floated as they always do and always have done from every camp in every country. Many were parasites but some were producers who liked to be "parasited" and who would not stay where they could not
 
 own way. Many had lived on the Frontier all their lives, keeping ahead of the railroad, and they were unhappy away from the Frontier When this, greater Frontier than the West ever was, made Down East camp, such as they left home early to get away from, there was, in their minds, no use in remain 1ng-lt would get worse and more ''reformed' before 1t got better. When they put prohibit tlon on Alaska, and double -cinched it with two laws, diametrically opposed to each other so that the Enforcer had to break one law to use the other OH the drinker, more drifted And, when new Federal officials decided that the workers could not play cards in their cabins during an idle winter, still more drifted. Not one man ever left the Interior because of our land or mineral laws, and to so claim would be to stultify oneself Many left because of ex- cessive freight rates, which made mining a