The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1950-08-24
JAMES W|(kERSHAM
Citizen Of Alaska
By: HENRY RODEN

In August 1908 he was elected
| Alaskas third Delegate to Congress
by an overwhelming majority. He
was reelected for five successive
terms at the end of which he de-
| clined further nomination.
During his incumbency in the Of
flee of Delegate. the most important
legislation passed by Congress for
Alaska was enacted on Aug. "a, 1912
(Wickershams birthday annivers-
ary). President Taft signed the AL
aska Home Rule Bill, fathered by
Delegate Wickersham. 1t declared
Alaska an organized Territory OF
the United States. provided for the
election of local legislature and a
commission to study the feasibility
of construction railroad from tide
water to the Interior.
No sooner had this commission
made it's report when he introduced
| the Alaska Railroad Bill; this mea-
sure attracted wide attention and
Wickersham was afforded the court
esq of addressing both Houses of
Congress at a joint session when the
measure was under consideration.
In the spring of 1914, President
Wilson approved passage of this
bill.
In passing it may be mentioned
here that it was James Wickersham
who, in 1916, introduced the first
Statehood bill in Congress. He was
responsible for the passage of the
dill creating the Alaska Agricultural
College and School of Mines, now
the University of Alaska. of which
he laid the cornerstone on July 4.
1885,.
interchangeable worker as he was.
he prepared a photography of every
piece of literature printed in
any language having reference to
Alaska between 1924 and 1924. With
endless toll and at considerable ex-
oense he collected numerous books,
maps documents and writings of all
kinds, having many of them trans
lated from Russian, Spanish and
French into English, dealing with,
discovery and development of Alas
ka these are now preserved in the
Wickersham Memorial Library hous-
ed in the Federal Building at Jul
neau. H
Wickersham was an outstanding
personality in many ways. OF great
personal charm. gifted speaker, a
polished and experienced gentle
man, he was formidable opponent
on the platform when he met his adj
versary.
He loved encounters and there
are many stories about the manner
in which he would beguile his OPP
ponent and then destroy his argu-
ment, to the great delight of the
audience thus became generally
known as Our Fighting JIM"
cognomen he never objected to.
After serving six terms asrDele-
gate, he retired from the political
arena with the pronouncment, SO
characteristic of him, that while re-
firing he would keep his powder
dry. He did so until the fall of 1890
when, at the urgent solicitations of
hundreds of his old supporters, he
became again candidate and was
elected for the seventh and last
time. At the expiration of this term
he gave up politics for good and up
to the end, which came on October
"a, 1899, he devoted his time to
writing numerous articles on Alaska
subjects.
AS one who knew him and his
family well, who came in daily con-
tact with him over a number of
years and who enjoyed his friend
ship and company in the hours of
his great triumph and who also saw
him in temporary defeat, would
say that James Wickersham was, at
all times, an outstanding personal
ity; an able lawyer. capable Dele
gate and above all an honest and up
right judge. No wonder he was adj
mired by the great majority OF the
residents of this Territory. From the
time he cleaned the judicial stables
at Nome up to the end, he was the
idol of thousands of Alaskans. He