The Alaska daily empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1912-1926, 1924-11-03
LITERACY TEST
IS MAIN ISSUE
BEFORE VOTERS
Alaskans Go to Polls Tomor-
row-Mass Voting Factor
In Local Election.

Alaskans go TO the polls tomor-
row to elect a Delegate to Congress
for two years, an Attorney General
for four years. and each Division
will elect one Senator for two
terms, fur Representatives for
single term and two Road Commits
sioners, and to cast preference
vote for Governor Reports received
here indicate that the vote for Dele
gate and Attorney General will be
unusually close, while both sides
claim to have confidence of sue
ce-s.
DELEGATE Dan A. Sutherland is
opposed for reelection by Frank A.
Poyle while Attorney General John
Rustgard ia against a hard-hitting
and worthy opponent in Henry
Roden
Fieht Centered Here.
It Is generally conceded that the
First Division is the one causing
the greatst amount of worry In
fact. virtually all of the campaign
ing done has been centered in
Southeastern Alaska All of Dele
gate Sutherland's political speeches
have been made in the Division and
the only public talks made by
Frank A. Boyle have made in
Southeastern Alaska towns Mr..
Roden made a speaking campaign
through the western and some of
the interior districts and was ex-
at Ketchikan.
This situation, apparently arose
from the forcing of the literacy
test to the front in the First Di-
yidon. lit is also being pressed in
the Third Division and to certain
extent in the Fourth but in both
of these 1T is more of an academic
proposition as there has. as yet
been no real effort to organize illit-
crates into bodies for direct political
action under bogs dictatorship. In
this Division. however. the matter
Is concrete rather than abstract
Here, it is claimed by one faction
and admitted by the opposing one,
that an Indian organization has
been perfected for the purpose of
holding the balance of political
power and is big factor in cleo
tions.
Is Big Issue Here.
ThiT Indian organization, or its
leaders, Ii is claimed, has among
its chiectives throwing open the
door Vt Territorial schools and
public schools in municipalities to
Indians. Territorial pensions for
aged Indians on an equal plane with
those now granted to whites and
admir'',n of Indians to the Pio-
neer Home. This has led to an
insistent demand for a literacy
test for voters to prevent mass vot-
ing charged against the Indians in
This Division and which lis appar-
emily supported by the returns in
the 1922 general election and the
primaries last April.
The literacy test is undoubtedly
the big issue in this Division De-
malls by the Indian bosses that
there is no present intent to force
THE school issue have failed to allay
public uneasiness on the matter.
Opponents of the so-called Indian
denials by calling attention to a re-
cent attempt made by one of the
Indian leaders to force admission
of an Indian into the Petersburg
public school. It is known also
that last Spring a suit was filed in
the Federal district court at Ketchi-
kan for a mandamus to compel the
Kctchikan School Board to admit
Indian children to the public school
there. The Sitka municipal election
of last Spring. in which the so
called Indian ticket was elected by
an almost solid Indian vote, has
also been used to show that the
Indians were attempting to domin-
ate municipal and school affairs
there. 1t is pointed out, further
that the beginning of the effort to
organize illiterate Indians as a vot-
ing machine grew out of the effort
to force open the doors of the white
schools.