. Alaska and the Klondike . Seattle andSkagway. But without any organised territorial form ofgovernment in Alaska, it doesnt make much differencewhere the capital is. It may surprise some who have not given much thoughtto the matter to know that this great district, nearly as bigas that part of the United States east of the MississippiRiver, and containing a population of 60,000 people, isgoverned entirely from Washington, except in the matterof local affairs managed by the few municipal corporationsthey have been allowed to organise. Congress has notfailed to give to Hawaii a home government,
. Alaska and the Klondike . Seattle andSkagway. But without any organised territorial form ofgovernment in Alaska, it doesnt make much differencewhere the capital is. It may surprise some who have not given much thoughtto the matter to know that this great district, nearly as bigas that part of the United States east of the MississippiRiver, and containing a population of 60,000 people, isgoverned entirely from Washington, except in the matterof local affairs managed by the few municipal corporationsthey have been allowed to organise. Congress has notfailed to give to Hawaii a home government, and evenPorto Rico enjoys a larger measure of home rule than isaccorded to the people of Alaska, who are, so far as thewhite population is concerned, as familiar with, and as POLITICAL CONDITIONS 249 thoroughly trained in the art of self-government as thepeople of Minnesota, for they are nearly all recent resi-dents of the States. The fact is that the United States Gov-ernment bought Alaska about thirty-five years ago and. The Greek Church at Sitka then laid it aside and almost forgot about it. It is true thatan unsuccessful attempt was made to govern it throughthe military arm of authority for a time, but the presenceof the military wrought vastly more harm than good, andthe soldiers were withdrawn. A governor and finally ajudge and a few other district officers were appointed, tillnow there are three judges and three judicial districts withtheir court officers; a collector of customs and his deputies; 250 ALASKA AND THE KLONDIKE a surveyor-general, a register and receiver of the LandOffice, a collector of internal revenue, two officers of theNational Bureau of Education and four special agentsof the Department of Agriculture, all of whom are ap-pointive, and are actually sent out from the States becausethey have a pull. I do not mean by that anythingderogatory to the federal officers in Alaska, for so faras I know, with a few notable exceptions, they have beenhonest and capa
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