- " ""
SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
- - --■»
HYDER
HERAID
DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA AND THE PORTLAND CANAL MINING DISTRICT.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
S5.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
V.
VOL 6, NO. 15
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, JANUARY 18,1930.
PRICE TEN CENTS
SAYS CHIU
' BOOSTING MIL
LINE TO ALASKA
Visioning a city that will be
the metropolis of the continent,
with a population of 30 million
in the not far distant future,
Chicago has joined with Mon
treal in boosting for a vast ov
erland transportation plan
which includes a seaway from
the Atlantic to Chicago via the
Ottawa River and a railway
from Chicago to Alaska with a
terminal on Bering Sea, accord
ing to P. A. O’Farrell, noted
publicist, who declares in a re
cent article in Mining Truth
that Chicago and Montreal fi
nanciers and empire builders
are to combine for the con
struction of such a great rail
and water way.
Outlining the railway propos
al, Mr. O’Farrel says in part:
“It is some 1,500 miles by
rail from Chicago to Peace Riv
er, and at every station along
the entire route grain elevators
and cattle tell their own story.
From the Peace River to the
valley of the Yukon over the
projected route is 600 miles,
and another 800 miles of rail
construction will link Bering
Sea-with Chicago.
In the ages to come Alaska
will supply more beef and
foodstuffs for the people of
the United States than Texas, j
California, Oregon and Wash-1
ington combined; more fish, |
more poultry, more butter, j
eggs; game and bacon. Alaska
is greater in area and has more
agricultural land pasture lands
than the four great states just
mentioned. Had Russia sold
Alaska to Japan in 1867 for
$10,000,000, that great realm
would now have a population
of something like twenty mil
lion Orientals. Alaska has ev
erything that China and Japan
lack-gold, silver, copper, lead,
zinc, forests, hydro-electric
energy, wheat lands, ifish-as
well as ample room and scope
for a population of 120.000,-!
000.
Russia, however, sold Alaska
to the United States for $7,
000,000, and at the end of sev
enty years only 31,000 white;
people have settled in that
great territory. There are a
billion people on the other side
of Bering Sea trying to eke out
an existence from worn-out
and semi-barren lands, and
they are multiplying faster;
than the white people. Japan’s
population is increasing at the
iate of a million a year. There
will soon be more Japanese on
the earth than Americans, and,
like the Chinese, they must mi
grate from Asia or else stag
nate or die. If the United
States will not colonize and de
velop Alaska and gridiron it'
with railroads, Orientals will
possess it as certainly as night I
follows day.
A strategic emporium of com
merce built at the confluence
of the Pacific and Bering Sea
would dominate the Pacific
more securely than Singapore.
That strategic city would be
Continued on Page Four
CABIN OWNER IS
SERIOUSLY BURNED
Ed. Fernald, pioneer resident
! of the camp, was seriously
i burned in a fire which practic
ally' destroyed his cabin on
Premier Avenue Thursday af
ternoon. The blaze is said to
have been caused by an explos
ion of oil used by Mr. Fernald
I in starting a fire in the stove
prior to leaving for his work on
1 the Premier ore dock; where
he was employed on the night
! shift. Mr. Fernald was alone
i at the time and, owing to the
painful nature of his injuries
I little could *be learned of what
j actually occurred before his
calls attracted the attention of
Eric Lindgard and Edward Fin
l layson, school boys, who were
in the school house, a short dis
I lance away.The ladsseized fire
extinguishers and hastened to
the burning cabin in time to
see Mr. Fernald emerge in his
I underclothes and then reenter
the burning building.A moment
later he came out again with
; his clothing in flames. Young
! Finlayson displayed his pres
ence of mind by turning the
! stream from his extinguisher
upon the flaming figure and it
i was probably due to his prompt
action that Mr. Fernald was
saved from being roasted alive.
Holger Johnson and Holly Ev
ans then reached the scene and
: fully extinguished the burning
I clothing by rolling unfortunate
man in the snow. He was then
1 wrapped in robes and hurried
1 to the hospital, where it was
found that he was badly
burned on the stomach, both
lower limbs and on the throat.
In the meantime Erie Lind- j
gaard had spread the alarm by
ringing the church bell and a
(large number of volunteer fire
fighters and the big chemical
cart speedily arrived on the
scene. By this time the cabin
was wrapped in flames and lit
tle could be done to save the
structure, which was practic
ally consumed with most of its
contents. The loss, which in
cludes the personal effects of
several of Mr. Fernald’s
friends,left with him for safe
keeping, is estimated at ap
proximately $2,000.
The latest reports indicate
that Mr. Fernald is i n a pre
carious condition as a result of
his injuries.
n
A temporary curtailment of
development activities at the
Georgia River Mines property
on Georgia River is reported
by several former members of
the crew, who came to town
last wreek. All but four of the
crew are said to have been laid
off and the compressors were
closed down at the time they
left. It is understood that the
reduction in activities is tem
porary. / _ i
-o
Hugh B. McGuire, promi
nent local mining man, arrived
Thursday from Vancouver on
one of his frequent visits in
connection with his numerous
local interests.
LOCAL RADIO
CLUB FORMED
_
Organization of a local radio
club, to be known as the Radio
! Club of Hyder, was effected at
a largely attended meeting of
radio owners held in Chamber
of Commerce Hall Wednesday
evening.
Mr D. J. Mulcare was eleet
| ed. president of the new organ
1 ization and H. W. Thomas was
i selected for secretary. An ex
1 ecutive committee consisting of
Messrs Mulcare and Thomas
j and E. L. Dale was next ap
pointed and the following
i were named as members of a
j technical advisory board: E. L.
| Dale, chairman, W. R. McDon
nell, A. J. Mayer, Frank Fisher
and Clyde Hager.
A committee composed of j
Messrs Mulcare. Thomas and
E. D. Iladdon was also named
to prepare by-laws and sub
mit them for discussion at a j
meeting to be held next Tues
day evening. Membership dues
were fixed at 25 cents per
month for adults. Children may
also become members of the
club but will be- exempt from
dues and will not be permitted !
to vote. (
The object of the organizat
j ion is stated to be primarily
^he betterment of reception
conditions and the elimination
of local sources of interfer
ence attributed mainly to leaks
in. the electric transmission ,
lines. The purchase of a de
vice known as a “trouble shoot
er” for locating disturbances
affecting radio reception was;
discussed but no definite action !
was taken.
PEERLESS GROUP BONDED
The bonding of the Peerless I
Group, adjoining the Premier, j
B. C. Silver and M. C. Mining
Co. properties in the upper Sal
mon basin, is reported by the
Stewart News. The two first
named properties lie along the
western side of the Peerless
property and the M. C. adjoins
the eastern side. The group is
owned by P. J. O’Rourke and
Frank Kelly, well known old
timers. The deal is said to in
volve total payments of $75,1
000, of which $40,000 is pay
able in cash over a period of
months and the remainder in
shares of a new company to be
formed by the syndicate with a
capital of five million shares.
Development activities are
scheduled to start in the spring.
-n
Fire destroyed a large part
of the main plant of the Ta
coma smelter early this week,
according to radio news re
ports. The loss was placed at
approximately $100,000.
-o
Gilbert Berg was among the
number arriving from the south
Monday evening.
. -o
M. Carlson, former sub-con
tractor on the T«xas Creek
road, was a passenger to
Ketchikan on the Taku II.
BITTER WEATHER
DELAYS BOATS
Driving wind and severe cold
weather encountered by the
Ketchikan mail boat Taku II
while enroute to Hyder this
week delayed the arrival of the
vessel from Wednesday morn
ing to Thursday evening. The
little raotorship reached port
close to 40 hours behind sched
ule and covered vyith ice from
the struggle with the wintry el
ements. Unable to make head
way against the gale blowing
down Portland Canal most of
the past week, the vessel was
twice forced to lay to, once in
Lincoln Channel and again at
Hidden Inlet. The vessel got
away on the return trip at 3:50
a. m. Friday morning, with 3
| local passengers.
The steamship Prince Rupert
arrived from the south Thurs
| day, several hours late and
! coated with ice, as a result of
' encountering unusually cold
J and windy weather in Port
land Canal and along the Bris
ish Columbia coast for some
distance south of Rupert.
■o
PICTURE SHOW SUNDAY
The motion picture show will
resume activities Sunday even
ing with a Western story entit
led “The Bantam Cowboy,”
and a Fontaine Fox cartoon
comedy. Buzz Barton, the fam
ous juvenile rider, supported
by an excellent cast, is feat
ured in the Bantam Cowboy.
The story is full of action and
carries a strong comedy vein
that increases its attractive-,
ness.
MAYO CAMP PRODUCES
$4,000,000 IN 1929
The Mayo district shipped
8,300 tons of concentrates and
high grade ore of an approxi
mate value of $4,000,000 dur
ing the 1929 season, it is re
ported from that section.
Two-thirds of the amount
shipped was concentrates said
to average between $300 and
$600 per ton and the rest was
raw ore averaging about $200
per ton.
It is expected that the pro
duction for 1930 will reach 10,
T)00 tons.
o
A contract for building the
n e w municipal airport at
Ketchikan was recently award
ed to A. C. Kriedler. A con- I
tract for clearing the site was 1
let to Gifford Close. The work I
is to start immediately and the
airport is to be fully complet- ]
ed not later than April. It will
be located on the Ward’s Cove
road.
-o
G. R. Bancroft, well known
consulting mining engineer,
was an arrival from Vancouver
•Thursday.
'RUNAWAY TEJIM
CAUSES EXCITEMENT
A runaway team belonging
to the Premier Gold Mining Co.
created considerable excite
ment along International Way
and in Hyder, B. C., Thursday
morning by dashing down the
road between Premier Avenue
and the Crawford dock, after
overturning the sleigh to which
they were attached and severe
ly injuring their driver, Mel
Mattheson. Thomas Powers, of
the Premier transportation for
ces, who was in the sleigh when
it overturned, was also a vic
tim, being severely scratched
i in falling on the frozen snow.
The sleigh upset while round
ing the corner of Premier Ave.
into International Way and the
two occupants were flung vio
lently to the ground. Mr. Math
ieson held on to the lines in an
effort to stop the frightened
team and was dragged a con
siderable distance before let
ting go. As a result of the un
! fortunate attempt he is in the
hospital suffering from either
a broken collar bone or a dis
located shoulder, the exact
trouble not having been deter
mined at the time of writing.
The team dashed madly along
the load to Hyder, B. C., and
headed for Stewart, but ran in
to another team on the bride
near the Crawford dock. In the
encounter one of the runaway
horses was thrown off the
bridge onto the tide flat below.
The animal sustained no ap
parent injury and was finally
hauled back to the road with
the aid of a block and tackle.
HOSPITAL MAINTENANCE
A comparative statement of
costs, issued by the hospital
board, showing the annual ex
pense of the local hospital and
also the per capita cost per pa- j
tient day, provides an interest- j
ing insight into the operations
of that beneficent institution
as follows:
Patient Per
Days Expense Capita
1925 .... 571 $6626.00 $11.60
1926 .... 768 5634.47 8.40
1927 .... 831 6604.13 7.95
1928.. 1330 7533.89 5.66
1928 ... 856 7300.00 8.53
Space does not permit of de
tailed discussion of the figures
at this time; but it may be said
that the statement reveals that
the maintenance costs are in no
way excessive, averaging but
$20 per diem last year, while
the per capita costs, although
varying considerably in pro
portion to the total expense'
and the number of patient
days, compare favorably with
those of similar institutions in
much larger centers. Recent
figures covering the costs of
one of the larger Vancouver
hospitals, handling many hun
derds of patients yearly, dis
closed per capita costs almost
equal to those of the local hos
pital in 1928, the largest pat
ient year in it’s history. ,
In View’ of the conditions un
der which( the hospital oper
ates and taking into consider
ation the very small average
of patient days, the statement
is a credit to the management.
SUIT
IS EXPLAINED BT
JUS- WICUMI
That Uncle Sam did not re
spect the rights of Indians of
Southeastern Alaska as grant
ed by Russians rule, after tak
ing over Alaska from Russia,
is the primary contention of
the action against the United
States proposed by the Alaska
Native Brotherhood, according
to a recent statement by Judge
James ■Wiqkersham, who with
W. L. Paul, Indian attorney,
will represent the Brotherhood
in prosecuting the action.
As explained by Judge Wick
ertham, the object of the suit
is to recover from the United
States just payment for the
property rights lost to them
through the alleged failure of
the government to protect the
natives after the Alaska purch
ase.
The Thinglet and Haida In
dians, who resided in south
eastern Alaska when the Rus
1 sians first came, owned homes,
j fisheries, hunting grounds and
| other valuable properties and
maintained a system of rules
| and customs for their protect
ion and government; Judge
Wickersham said. There were
about 7,000 Indians in the area
living in permanent villages
and engaged in fishing, boat
building, carving and other oc
cupations. The property rights
held by them were understood
and respected by the Russians
who protected them and were
forbidden by the Russian laws
to encroach upon them in any
way.
When the United States pur
chased Alaska in 1867, Judge
Wickersham said, it agreed
with Russia to acknowledge
and protect the property rights
of the Indian inhabitants No.
treaty or agreement was ever
made by the Russians to quiet
or purchase the Indian proper
ties and none has since been
made by the United States. In
stead, Judge Wickersham said,
our government just assumed
to own the lands and proper
ties of the Indians and has gone
on as assumed owner to sell
the same to its citizens. Their
homes, fishing and hunting
grounds have been either re
served for sale in forest re
serves or sold to white settlers
for cannery sites, townsites,
homesteads, mines and such
other uses as the government
wished and the Indians were
not consulted.
Judge Wickersham pointed
out that it has been the univer
sal and just rule of the United
States to make treaties with
the Western Indian tribes and
pay them a fair price for their
Indian titles. But no such treaty
has ever been made with the
Alaska Indians.
“Our Alaska Indians,” he
said, “cannot and do not desire
to recover these lands, but only
ask for just payment for them,
.as they
actually owned and occupied
them when our government
took such properties from them
i Continued on Page Four