THE CHE MAW A AMERICAN
o
u
WHYPISCRIMINATE?
fhere is a law in Alaska which forbids
the giving, bartering, or selling of in
toxicating liquor to Indians. If a white
pan gives, barters or sells the liquor to
a native, the law is broken and the man
of the lighter skin becomes a transgress
por. If a native secures? the liquor and
himself gives, barters, or sells it to one of
his own people, he is the law breaker,
witnut regard to race, or color the man
or women who breaks the law is surely the
criminal, Lately some of our Alaska
newspapers have been much alarmed
lest some poor white man be convicted
0n a charge of disposing of liquor to
thirsty natives on evidence furnished by
the testimony of Alaska Indians. It
seems 6trange that our newg writers set
themselves up as more competent to
judge as to the value of testimony than
ire judges and juryman.
The Alagka natives though law abiding
and self-supportfng have withheld from
them many of the rights of citizenship
which they are capable of possessing and
enjoying, The whites have taken muoh
that belong to the natives in matters of
property rights and means of livelihood,
Now it seems that some of our news
dispensers would wish to takeaway their
rights to testify, or wholly to discredit
their testimony, against men who are
breaking the laws that the white man
himself made for the natives, protection,
It i possible of course that we have
misunderstood those fho have so ardent"
ly defended the poor friendless, Innocent
white man who, though inoffensive,
guiltless, and harnilew, has, while mov
ing along the peaceful, calm and even
tenor of his way, been suddenly ap
prehended and rudely taken into custody
by th e strong arm of the law. It may
be that these writers were only serving
notice upon the judges and juries before
whom such cases have resulted in con
victions, or before whom such case? may
yet come, that they are wholly lacking
in good judgment and are without the
required knowledge to discriminate in
the least between testimony and evidence,
In either case it is to be feared that the
writers are slightly biased in their
opinions, We believe in a square deal
for the. white man and we believe in a
square deal for the Indian also. If
there is evidence that a native's testi
mony is false or that it is true, such
testimony should surely be treated in
exactly the same way as that of a
similar testimony from a white man
The writer's limited experience leads
him to believe that the majority of judges
and juries are fully as capable of placing
proper valuation on testimony offered
before them as is a newspaper reporter
in the courtroom or the editor in hie
sanctum. Why try to influence public
opinion against a people when they are
proving themselves of such worth to our
territory, especially economically and
industrially? We are glad that some
of our paper? endeavor to influence public
opinion to deal fairly with men to treat
the false and criminal justly, be they of
one color or another, or to recognize bon
esty, truth, purity, strength of character
and manhood whether it comes in colors
of red, or white, or brown, or black, The
Tblinget,
David Churchill who was in the fourth
B class, is now m the fourth A class
and is doing fine.
Margaret Desautel is expecting her
cousin George to visit her for a short
time from Republic, Wash.