Letters to the Editor August 5, 2003 Deadwood was a mining camp on the trail to Circle from Fairbanks. It was located north of Central on the old trail north of the current highway. I’m sorry the vote list in the newspaper (the News Miner) is so hard to read—but note that the Socialist candidate (Krauezunas) got 70 votes—almost twice the next highest (Wickersham with 39) from the voters in Ester! There must be something about the air—or is it the water? A lot of the early prospectors were socialists—when there was a strike (a gold discovery) the miners who came to the location in the first season would organize a "miners meeting"—a local government in which everyone had an equal part. Typically the prospector who made the discovery would get two claims (sometimes two in addition to the Discovery Claim) others would get one claim, recorded by number, above and below (downstream) the Discovery Claim. A Recorder would be elected to "keep the books" in which mining claims and other contracts (including marriages) were recorded. Other local ordinances would be argued out and agreed upon—including punishments for specific crimes (robbing supplies from a cache, for example, was often punished by exile from the camp). Not all businesses agreed to this sort of participatory democracy. Individual traders, roadhouse and saloon keepers usually had no problem with "miners meeting democracy" but representatives of incorporated businesses, distributors, and many gamblers and other professionals did. They often organized settlements closer to transportation (river ports, etc.) and managed by a "Board of Trade" to which only businessmen and investors were admitted. When the second Organic Act refining the structure of the Territory of Alaska was passed by Congress, it allowed for the incorporation of local municipalities. The idea of popular participatory "town meeting" government was dismissed out of hand by Congress (remember this was still "the Gilded Age" when Big Business controlled the government) and power placed in the hands of an elected council and mayor—often the same people who made up the Board of Trade. One of the early directories published in Fairbanks listed phone numbers and businesses as well as professionals including dentists, doctors, lawyers, and others. Dan McCarty, an owner of several mining claims (hard rock as well as placer) listed himself as "Dan McCarty—Capitalist." In the News Miner edition celebrating the tenth anniversary of Felix Pedro’s discovery, one miner from the creeks remarked on the progress of Fairbanks with steam heat, electricity, and the services available—including courts and jails—and lawyers, concluding, "and the miners mine the gold—and the lawyers mine the miners…." Sounds like he lost a claim to a mining corporation represented by a local attorney— ‘Nuff for now, more later. August 15, 2003 Sincerest thanks for printing my occasional missives from abroad over the last two years in your fine newspaper. I am back in Fairbanks, probably for a good long while at least, and truly glad to be here in time to enjoy the end of summer and the autumn, my favorite time of year in Alaska. I look forward to seeing you and all my other friends in Ester, and to being able to read the Republic hot off the press instead of a month or two later, depending on the vagaries of international mail. Very best regards, August 16, 2003 I have recently become aware of a growing health problem which our sedentary American lifestyle is causing. The amount of time spent sitting in front of computer screens and televisions is leading to a widespread outbreak of a condition commonly known as hemorrhoids. The proper medical term for this problem is "Republicans." Symptoms of Republicans include a chronic pain in the ass which, try as you may, you can’t ever seem to get rid of. Republicans also cause burning and itching sensations in their victims whenever they act up. More worrisome, Republicans seem to consistently leave a bloody mess behind them wherever they go. Fortunately, treatment is available. Preparation D, liberally applied to Republicans wherever they are found (and they are invariably found in close proximity to assholes), can relieve the symptoms of Republicans and make life more comfortable and pleasant for everyone. Best of all, Preparation D can be obtained in the privacy of the voting booth, so you don’t have to suffer the embarrassment of asking for it publicly. Why continue to suffer when help is at hand? Rash Limbag
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