The Cordova daily times., 1922-01-11
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY II, 1922
COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND
 POPULATION

We often hear it contended that Alaska has not sufficient population to maintain county organizations such as the states have and such as had the settled portions of the Territories which operated under full Territorial form of government prior to their admission as states. Those who support the proposition that Con- gress should confer upon Aaskans their right to full Territorial form of government and au- thorize the organization of counties when the people may desire to do so dispute this conten- ton and they have consistently pointed to the history of the Territories to justify their con- tention A bulletin recently issued by the Census Bureau, showing the population of the United States by countless relieves the ad- vocates of the fuller measure of sefgovern- ment from the necessity of relying on history to argue their cause. They may point to con- ditions as they now exist in various states.
 There are now in the United States 26 fully organized counties each with less than LOGO in habitants They include counties in Cali fornia, Colorado, Kansas, Texas and Utah.
 There are 82 counties with less than 2,OO0 population each, situated in the States of Cali fornia, Colorado Idaho, Kansas, Massachusetts. Minnesota Montana. Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
 There are 12O counties having a population of less than 0OO each. located in the States of California, Colorado, Florda Idaho. Kansas, Massachusetts. Michigan, Minnesota. Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma. Oregon, South Dakota, Tcnnessee: Texas. Utah and Washington.
 The list of counties containing less than 4,OOO inhabitants numbers 207. and the counties are in the States of California. Colorado. Florida, Georgia Idaho. Kansas. Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts. Michiean, Minnesota. Montana, Nebraska Nevada. New Mexico New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Da- kota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Wash inoton, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
 There are 287 counties having population of less than 5000, located in the states men, toned, and Indiana, North Carolina and Vir- ginia.
 There are a half dizen counties in the states having less than 100 inhabitants. Crane Coun- tv. Texas. contains but 37 people, and Cochran County in the same state, has 67. One of the oldest counties in California, Alpine contains a population of 243.
 The numher of counties having 5000 and less than 6,O00 is very large.
 The fact is. and those who have lived in other Territories and those who have carefully
  ganizations may be maintained as cheaply as the voters and taxpayers desire.
 The census of 1880, the last before the ad- mission of Washington Territory to statehood, taken when the Territory was knocking at the doors of Congress for that boon, there were only five counties in the Territory with 5000 or more population. There was an equal num- Der which had less than 1000. The other 16 counties contained between 1000 and 5000 each. In 1860, seven years after the organiza- tion of Washington Territory, there was but one county in the Territory that had an excess of 2,000 inhabitants, and it had only 2,384. There were only three other counties having over 1000 population, and 15 had less than 1000. One, Wahliakum, had but 42. A dozen less than 800.
 Washington $ record is similar to that of the other Western Territories and states. Twenty