HYDER - FIRST ALASKA TOWN THAT CAN BE REACHED BY THE PACIFIC - YUKON - ALASKA HIGHWAY
SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
■
V
HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
/“-- >
SUBSCRIPTIONS
93.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
V
VOL. 8, NO. 16
HYDER, ALASKA, JANUARY 30, 1932
BY THE YEAR $3.0'
RIVER PLANS INVOLVE
LOCAL COOPERATION
Details of the War Depart
ment recommendations for
Salmon River flood control re
ceived this week reveal that
the department’s recommenda
tions for construction of a
flood pievention dike at a
total cost of $5:1,000 involves
a local contribution of $7,000,
together with $200 yearly tor
maintenance.
According to Washington re
ports, the War Department
recommended that local inter
ests contribute $7,000 of the
original cost and $200 yearly,
thereby sustaining the views
of the district engineer, Major
Elliott and overruling the di
vision officer, at San Fran
cisco, who had suggested that
local interests contribute $24,
000, or nearly 50 per cent of
the total cost.
Receipt of these details of
the government proposals has
somewhat reduced the earlier
feeling of gratification creat
ed by the action of the War
Department in recommending
the improvement. Interested
citizens point out that it is im
possible at this time for local
interests to contribute the
amount asked. There is also
serious doubt expressed that
the Alaska Legislature would
be willing to make the requir
ed contributions toward origi
nal cost and upkeep in view
of the sadly debilitated state
of territorial finances.
It is pointed out further that
local interests have already ex
pended approximately $10,000
in preserving the town from
destruction by the recurrent
flooding of Salmon River and
it is generally felt that this is
about all such a small com
munity as Hyder can reason
ably be expected to contribute.
In recommending the pro
ect, Major General Lytle
Brown, chief of the Army En
gineers, said that “Hyder was
endangered by floods and its
abandonment would remove
the only American entry into
the Salmon and Texas Creek
mining districts” and added,
according to the reports, that
“taking into consideration the
large federal interest and in
vestment in the highway con
necting it with the internation
al boundary, the flood protec
tion is justified.”
The view is held here that
inasmuch as the Federal inter
est and investment involved is
equal to if not greater in value
than those of the private in
terests subject to possible
flood damage, it is not asking
too much of the government
that it continue at its own ex
pense the flood protection
measures carried on for years
by Hyder citizens at relatively
greater cost than is involved
in the new project.
New Physician Coining
The camp’s need for a res
ident physician to succeed Dr.
Whillans will be supplied
shortly by the arrival of Dr.
Vosburgh, from Abbotsford,
B. C., according to a telegram
from the B. C. Medical Assoc
iation received by the Stew
art Board of Trade this week.
London Journal Issues
Big Silver Edition
The Herald received this
week from a London, England
correspondent, a 24-page edit
ion of The Financial News,
the world’s greatest financial
journal, which is devoted al
most wholly to silver and the
question of the use of silver as
a monetary medium. The edit
ion contains the most complete
and informative discussion of
the silver question, and bimet
allism so far observed, in ad
dition to a vast mass of infor
mation on the production, ex
traction, refining and general
use of the white metal. The
authorative articles presented
include:
‘‘Silver Through the Ages,” by
Sir John Marriott; “To-day’s
Case for Bimetallism,” by Sir
Robert Horne; “The Case
Against Bimetallism,” by J. (A
Hamilton; “Can Silver Prices
be Fixed,” by Prof. T. E. Greg
ory, in addition to many others
bearing on silver, including an
unpublished letter of the late
Lord Balfour, who for nearly
a half century was a student of
bimetallism and one of its fore
most advocates.
The Herald sincerely regrets
that, owing to the consider
able length of the articles, it
is unable to reproduce them
for the benefit and enlighten
ment of Herald readers, as
they are the most illuminating
discussions of the type we
have ever encountered. The
Financial News issued pre
viously a similar edition deal
ing with gold and the gold
standard.
-o
S. S. Prince George To
Replace Prince Rupert
The steamship Prince Rupert
of the Canadian National line
will make two more weekly
trips to Portland Canal before
being withdrawn for the an
nual overhaul on February 17.
The vessel will be replaced by
her sister ship. Prince George,
which will remain on the local
run until the company’s spring
schedule becomes effective in
April. The Prince George has
been tied up at Prince Rupert
since last fall undergoing an
overhauling. It is understood
that the change of steamers
will not interrupt the present
’ailing schedule.
o
Alaska Snow Cover
The following amounts of
snow, in inches, were reported
on the ground at various Al
askan stations Monday, Janu
ary 11: Barrow 8, Bethel 14,
Cordova 21, Eagle 14, Fair
banks 23, Fort Yukon 16, Ju
neau 3, Ketchikan 1, Kodiak
45, Sitka 1, Tanana 50.
Ice on Chena Slough at Fair
banks has increased to 39
inches in thickness and on
Snake River at Nome to 27
inches.
-o
Jack Whits A Candidate
John T. White, widely known
Juneau merchant and resident
of Alaska for 32 years, has an
jnounced his candidacy for the
republican nomination for Ter
jritorial national committee
man. Mr. White is the second
Republican to announce his
candidacy for the position, the
other being E. A. Rasmuson,
Cordova banker. Mr. White
will run on a platform of op
position to bureaucracy and
government of Alaska by bona
fide Alaskans.
SEEK RELIEF FOR
LOCAL UNEMPLOYED
With a view to local unem
i ployment relief, the board of
1 trustees of the Hyder Chamber
i ef Commerce, following a
I meeting last Saturday after
noon, forwarded a telegram to
Alaska delegate to Congress
James Wickersham asking
! him to use his influence toward
having the Salmon River flood
protection project presented to
Congress as an emergency re
lief measure to aid in over
coming local unemployment,
instead of being held for in
clusion in the Rivers and Har
bors appropriation bill, which
will probably not come up for
consideration until toward the
close of the session.
If the delegate’s reply is fa
vorable, it is planned to enlist
the support of the powerful
Congressional delegations of
the Pacific Coast states thru
'the Alaska bureaus of the
Chambers of Commerce of
Seattle, Portland, San Fran
cisco and Los Angeles.
Since the above article was
set in type, the following tel
egram was received by the
Chamber of Commerce from
Delegate Wickersham:
“Am afraid that for the pres
ent cannot hurry appropriation
on Salmon River project as no
special appropriation for this
purpose has been made and
I leaders of the democratic
I House say a matter of this
kind will be appropriated for
in the Rivers and Harbors bill
after it is reported, and then
I only part of the projects will
be appropriated for. Will do
; the best I can.”
-o
Jackson Again on Air
Joe Jackson, former local
prospector, who delivered a
iadio address on Alaska from
station KPCB. Seattle, last
week, again appeared “on the
air” Sunday evening, much to
the edification of the local ra
dio audience, most of whom
knew' Joe personally.
Joe's talk was a repitition
of his first address and pre
: rented a recital of his pros
pecting experiences in the
, north, delivered in character
; istic vein.
The talk was preceded by
j the broadcasting of a phono
graph record of a song writ
ten by Jackson entitled “Call
of the Midnight Sun,” and was
followed by another, of which
I Jackson is also the author,
I titled “Come to Alaska.” Both
are tuneful compositions and
are not only well written, but
also constitute good advertis
ing for the Territory. From
j humble, unlettered camp cook
to a capable song writer and
| somewhat spectacular mining
j figure is a long jump and Joe
1 is assuredly entitled to con
! gr&tulation for his attainments
since leaving the Portland Can
al country.
-o
Will Replace Old Bridge
The B. C. department of pub
lic works' has announced in
tention to do away with the
old bridge structure on the
Stewart-Hyder road near t^e
Premier wharf, according to
Stew'art reports.
The bridge, which is said to
have been in bad condition for
some time, is to be replaced
by a solid fill.
INDIAN MINE CABIN
DESTROYED BY FIRE
A cabin on the Indian prop
erty at the north end of Sal
mon valley was destroyed by
fire late Wednesday evening
as a result of the explosion of
a gasoline lamp.
The cabin was occupied by
Larry Dimmoek, watchman,
who sustained slight burns on
the back before escaping from
the blazing building.
Mr. Dimmoek was taking a
bath when the explosion occur
led and was forced to go out
in the prevailing zero weather
clad only in a single shirt and
trousers and minus shoes. He
made up for the latter de
ficiency, however, by wrap
ping his feet in burlap bagging
obtained from other buildings
on the property.
The fire was observed from
the Premier mine, but as
nothing could be discerned of
Dimmoek through glasses it
was feared for a time that he
was caught in the burning
structure. Three men left Pre
mier for the scene about mid
night but encountered Dim
mock coming along the trail,
little the worse for his exper
ience.
-o
Insane Prospector
Murders Partner
Confirmation of a weird
story told three weeks ago by
Charles Christiansen, pros
pector, to the effect that he
had murdered his partner,
Sam Fedderston, in the Kan
tishna district, after Christ
iansen had been found wan
dering half clad in the woods,
is reported from Fairbanks.
Christiansen was found near
Knight’s roadhouse on Decem
ber 15 and told his rescuers
he had been directed by Mt.
McKinley Range to kill his
partner. He has since been
found insane.
The body of Fedderston was
found at Little Moose Creek
buried face down in the snow
about 250 feet from his cab
in. According to the story told
by Christiansen, he had start
ed to march Fedderson thru
the woods to a creek, half a
mile distant, but shot him
when Fedderson balked.
Wailand Cabin Burns
The cabin of Eli YVatland on
the outskirts of Stewart was
burned to the ground with
complete loss of contents short
ly after noon Thursday.
The blaze apparently orig
inated from an overheated
flue, which ignited the roof.
Coast Guard Vessel Visits
I
The United States Coast
! Guard patrol ship Alert, bear
i ing as a passenger Dewey L.
i Knight, district director of the
IU. S. Immigration service in
1 Alaska, was a visitor in port
several hours Thursday morn
ing. The vessel was piloted up
Portland Canal by Capt. Ed.
J. Williams, veteran Ketchi
kan navigator, who formerly
operated vessels between Ket
chikan and Hyder.
On returning to Ketchikan,
the vessel carried W. C. Blan
ton as a guest of Capt. Wil
liams.
Stewart Lady Hurt
in Explosion
Mrs. Cora McEachern of
Stewart was slightly injured
on the face Wednesday by the
explosion of a water heating
jacket on a stove in her house.
Mrs. McEeachern had light
ed a fire and was standing by
the stove warming her hands,
when the jacket burst. The
concussion blew out a window
and all but wrecked the inter
ior of the room. Mrs. Mc
Eachern was struck over one
eye by a piece of flying metal,
which inflicted a severe gash,
but was otherwise uninjured.
-o
To “High-Grade” on Silverado
John Haati and a number of
associates have secured a ore
year lease on the Silverado
group on Rainey Mountain ■»..d
started activities on the prop
erty last week.
It is understood that develop
ment work in the true sense of
the term is not contemplated;
it being the intention of those
interested to merely extract
high-grade ore frm the spec
tacular silver-bearing leadr
found on the surface but which
apparently do not extend to
any considerable depth, judg
ing by the failure of the Pre
mier Gold Mining Company to
demonstrate downward con
tinuity in more than a year of
active large scale development
work.
As the surface ores are of
remarkable richness, Mr.
Haati believes that enough
ore can be extracted and ship
ped to pay good wages to those
employed in the venture.
-o
Seeks To Save Alaska
Faun Stations
The Territorial Chamber - f
Commerce, acting on the
authority of all Chambers of
Commeice in Alaska, is en
deavoring to induce Congress
to grant funds for the main
tenance of the several agri
cultural experiment station in
the Territory. The stations are
scheduled to be closed down
June oO, for lack of finances,
no appropriation for mainten
ance having been inc’uded in
the pending agricultural ap
propriations bill. The Territor
ial Chamber is working chief
ly through Delegate Wicker
sham but is also endeavoring
to enlist the aid of the Cham
bers of Commerce of Seattle,
Portland, San Francisco and
Los Angeles. The Chamber
has also addressed a plea for
continuance of the stations to
the president, vice-president,
all cabinet officers, the Speak
er of the House and to many
senators and congressmen who
have visited Alaska in late
years.
. -—
Dr. Goddard, Pioneer
Medico, Passes
Dr. F. L. Goddard, pioneer
physician of Southeastern Al
aska and one of the most
widely known and highly re
garded medical men in the
north, passed away at his
home at Goddard’s Hot
Springs, near Sitka, a few
days ago. Death followed a
paralytic stroke a few days
before his demise. The de
ceased was aged 69 years ar.d
is survived by a widow, a son
E. M. Goddard, of Juneau,
and a married daughter who
resides in Bellingham, Wash.
BARNEY GULCH POWER
PLANT IS BURNED
The Silverado Gulch electric
light plant of the Northern B.
C. Power Company was de
stroyed by fire about 4 A. M.
last Saturday mornng.
The plant was of the auto
matic type, with the mechan
ism controlled by an automatic
governor and voltage regulat
or and required little attention
beyond oiling up and inspec
tion once a day. As no one was
around at the time, the origin
of the fire is unknown, but is
bought by W. D. Smith, man
ager of the company, to have
been due to a bearing burning
out; which in turn threw off a
belt which caught between the
pulley and a wooden casing;
he resulting friction causing
the wood to catch. The electri
cal generating machinery was
entirely destroyed and about
half of the building was con
sumed. The company is now
furnishing light fro m its re
maining plants.
o
C. Of C. Meeting Postponed
The monthly dinner meeting
of the Hyder Chamber of Com
merce, which has generally
been held on the first Wednes
day of each month, will not
occur next Wednesday owing
to the closing of the Silver
Grill. The date of the next
meeting has not been fixed and
will be announced later.
An interesting feature of the
session will be an highly in
formative address on the de
velopment and history of the
world monetary system by Mr.
Binest Blue. Although based
on a speech made recently be
fore the Stewart Board of
I Trade, Mr. Blue’s forthcoming
address will be of far more ex
tensive scope and will include
a discussion of the credit sys
! tern as in vogue at the phesent
; time.
---u—
December Liquor Law
Violations Show Decrease
Liquor law violations in the
First Judicial Division showed
a slight decrease in Decem
ber, despite the holiday sea
son, according to records of
the U. S . Marshal’s office pub
lished in Juneau papers.
A total of 36 violations were
' reported for the month, 14 of
I which occurred in Juneau: 7
in Ketchikan; 5 in Craig; 3 in
Haines; 3 in Yakutat; 2 in Pet
ersburg, and 2 in Sitka.
Of the culprits arrested 23
pleaded guilty; 8 not guilty;
3 were dismissed; one was
tried by jury and found not
guilty, and 4 were out on bail.
Totai fines of $3,135 were as
sessed against the persons
convicted. Jail sentences, less
suspended sentences, totaled 2
years, 25 days and suspended
sentences totaled one year.
--o
D. L. Pitt Honored
Mr. D. L. Pitt, general man
ager of the Premier gold min
ing company, was elected an
honorary vice-president of the
B. C. Chamber of Mines at
the annual meeting held in
Vancouver January 12. Hon.
W. A. McKenzie, Minister of
Mines, was elected
president an^ Dr
I mage was h
l of the chamber.