The Wrangell sentinel., 1946-09-20
THROUGH THE SENTINEL RERTSCOPE

Most of the fish were in the can, CT would be shortly, and Alaska biennial political circus was mak- ing Its pitch. All three rings were getting into full swing this week, hopeful for a big box office and the payoff October S. Republicans took the play in the First Division past week and this as the c o P candidates concentrated on the Panhandle. Up in the Interior, Westward and Arctic, Delegate Bob Bartlett and divisional candi- dates of those regions were making the welkin ring for the donkey riders. Next week and the follow ing probably would be Demo weeks in the First.
 Led by it's bubbling, pencil-pack- ing Almer Peterson of Anchorage, candidate for Delegate, the GOPers apparently were sparing no eX- pense in getting their story out to the voters. Candidate Amer, in ad- dition to window cards and litera- ture galore, had even gone in the pencil business-faney green effect with the candidates name on it. They probably cost around three cents a piece, (nice soft lead and we'll worth i0 and if Almer seat one to the 11,344 voters who cast ballots in the 1944 election, it cost him around $34O. Republicans ol- ways were known as the money party. Also swinging through the First were GoPers Henry Benson of Anchorage, candidate for Labor Commissioner, Anita Garnick of Juneau and Mrs. Elton Engstrom of Juneau, both House candidates.
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 Meanwhile, in the First labor had gotten in a few political licks. CIO Council in Juneau had endors- ed the Democratic ticket with one or two exceptions. Same was true in Ketchikan where both CIO and AFL were reported to have given their blessing to the Democrats. AFL in Juneau had been Demo- cratic minded, according to a pub lished report in it's bulletin, until it got as far as the Legislature. At that point it hoppd over to endorse five Republicans for the House and one Republican for the Senate. Hottest contest seemed to be shap ing up around incumbent Walter F. Sharpe, Democrat, and Henry Benson, Republican, candidates for Labor Commissioner. Report was that some labor groups had not endorsed Sharpe, although he had the published AFL support in Ju- Heau. Candidate Benson annOunc- ed in Juneau that Ross Kimball, Independent of Anchorage, had withdrawn from the race in his favor. Thus far there was no pub lie statement from Kimball. Mean while, Benson was claiming strong labor support.
 While the candidates were mak- ing political hay, nostalgia gripped those hardy characters who make the Stikine flats a rendezvous a. bout this time of year. Another 10 days or so, October 1 to be exact. the pot hunters would be working the ponds up near the woods while the more rugged wing shots would be out along the tide line, or ducking down a slough trying to get under some of the early birds. A honker or two would be dropped by the Wayside and somewhere be- tween October 2 and 10 the first white geese would start to come cackling in. It might be a little cold and wet behind the big stump but there would be solace in the thought that back at the duck shack that expert of all duck stew expert-Fred Hanford probably would be stirring up a feed that would warm the cookies of a weary hunters heart and put even an ll- cerated stomach in state of coma. Yes, the widgeons, the sprigs, the white geese and the rest of the