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VOL. 7, NO. 48
HYDER, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 12, 1931
BY THE YEAR, $3.00
PREDICTS 60 CENT
SILVER IN 60 DAYS
That President Hover will
call an international congress
to discuss silver within 30 days
and that within 30 days after
such a congress is held silver
will be 60 cents per ounce, was
predicted by Senator Key Pitt
man, of Nevada, at a meeting
of the Northwest Mining Asso
ciation held in Spokane, Sept.
2, according to press reports.
The premises upon which
the Nevada senator based his
remarkable pderiction are not
indicated in the reports.
Senator Pittman in his addres
declared that the president of
the United States, although a
man familiar with mining, does
not understand the silver ques
tion, “but I am willing,” he
added, “to bet that within 30
days he will call an interna
tional congress to discuss silver
and within 30 days from that
date silver will be 60 cents per
ounce.’*’
senator ritman aeciareu tnai
the production of silver as com
pared with gold has been uni
form for centuries and statis
tics compiled from reliable
sources prove the silver pro
duction has been 14 ounces to
cne ounce of gold.
“One-half of the gold of the
world is in the United States
and yet we are having a de
pression not paralleled in the
history of our country,” Sen
ator Pittman said. “I have re
cently returned from China
and Japan, where I interview
ed bankers and business men in
those countries, and found that
a Buick car, valued in this j
country at $2,000 would re-1
quire about $9,000 of silver at j
the present value to purchase j
that car. The result is that j
these nations are not buying |
from America or in fact are
not buying at all only absolute
necessities.
“India,” he continued, “has
sold 138,000,000 ounces of sil
ver and has 400,000,000 ounces i
yet to sell, and it may be sole,
at anytime for figures as low
as 20 cents. Remove that fear
and you will go a long ways
toward silver regaining its
own.
“Thirty nations of the world
are in favor of a world con
ference on silver. Two nations
object to it. At a convention
of bankers in Cleveland recent
ly, President Hoover spoke of
overproduction of silver. He
eiTed in calling it an overpro
duction. What he meant was
an oversupply. Silver product
ion in 1930 was back practical
ly to that of 1913. Neither
gold or silver has kept pace
with the population growth
and business increase.
“You couldn’t approve the re
habilitation of silver from the
standpoint of a mining manj
and get any place. I tried it \
for 18 years. It has got to be
approached on a broader
plane. It has got to go beyond
the commodity aspect and be i
treated from the- monetary j
metal standpoint. I ask that :
the president call a world con
ference on silver in order that
countries can be induced to de
sist from further debasement
of silver through the melting I
of their coins.”
Senator Pittman, upon being
L.'.cal Oie Wins Prize
A display of silver-lead ores
from the Munro group sent to
the annual mining exhibit of
the British Columbia Chamber
of Mines in Vancouver by Alex
N. McDonald, was awarded
the first prize for that class of
ores, according to a letter re
ceived by Mr. McDonald from
Frank Woodside, manager of
the Chamber.
Second prize for silver ore
was awarded to the Sally
Mines, Ltd., of Beaverdell, IJ.
C. The exhibition included ores
from practically every district
in British Columbia, with six
thousand specirnans on dis
play.
The display this year is said
to have been better than ever
and was visited by thousands
of persons during the week
the exhibition was open.
Mr. McDonald was advised
that he is to be awarded a
certificate for his display.
o
Marsh Ickis Doing Well
Reports from Ketchikan re
garding the condition of Marsh
D. Ickis, received by Oren F.
Hill, indicate that the aged
mining man is making a rapid
recovery from the paralytic
stroke sustained here several
weeks ago. Mr. Ickis is now
able to be about and is said
to walk daily into the down
town section from his present,
home on the hillside.
Makes Good Cleanup
On Bounties
Wm. Abbott, a resident of
.he Fillmore Inlet section, near
he mouth of Portland Canal,
applied this week at the U. S.
Commissioner’s office for Ter
ritorial bounties on 16 eagles
and 11 hair seal, shot by him
during the past three weeks or
to. Mr. Abbott will receive $1
for each pair of eagle claws
and $2 for each seal scalp.
-o
Premier Co. Announces
Quarterly Dividend
Press reports announce that the
Premier Gold Mining Company will
pay a quarterly dividend to share
holders on October 5 at the custom
ary rate of 3 cents per share, or a
total of $150,000 on the 5 million dol
lar capitalization. Payment will be
made to shareholders of record Sep
tember 15tli.
Lyons Reopens
Harry Lyons has reopened his meat
market in Stewart on a strictly cash
basis.
hovvn a Washington, D. C.
press despatch quoting Walter
Mewton, one of president i
Hoover’s secretaries, as saying
hat prospects of a silver con
ference were remote, said:
“I am pleased to observe
from the press reports that the
United States Chamber of
Commerce is still showing in
terest in the calling of an in
;ernational conference on sil
ver.
“The communications that
lave been received by our
ommittee from the leaders
jf many governments evidence
in intention to have the matter
settled at an early date by an
nternational silver conference,
rhese communications clearly
ndicate the leaders believe the
president of the United States
jy reason of the economic sit
lation, should and will take
he initiative. International
sentiment demands the calling
if the conference and it will
called.”
FIRE DESTROYS
WOODBINE OFFICES
The main office building
and the assay office of the
Woodbine Gold Mining Com
pany on the Woodbine prop
erty, just north of the Premier,
were destroyed by fire of un
determined origin about 5:30
p^ m. Wednesday evening,
with a loss of approximately
$6,000.
nugn li. Mcuuire, manag
ing director of the Woodbine
company, informed the Herald
that the fire may have start
ed through the ignition of a
coat hung behind the office
stove. The coat, however, was
wet, having been worn by Mr.
McGuire on a trip through
wet brush shortly before be
ing hung up. Mr. McGuire is
inclined to think the garment
was too damp to ignite, save
in the event it had fallen j
against the stove. Some wood
on the floor by the stove may
also have become ignited, but
he is unable to determine how
it could have happened as it
was not in close proximity to
the stove. As both buildings
were roofed with sheet iron,
the possibility of the fire start
ing on the roof of either build
ing is also considered remote.
Mr. McGuire, accompanied ;
by Mr. Edwards of Stewart, I
had left the office and gone to '
the cook and bunkhouse for;
dinner some thirty or forty j
minutes before the fire was J,
discovered. The first intimation (
they received of the blaze
came as a result of seeing all
passerby staring in the direct-! (
ion of the office buildings. ,
Thinking the man w-as looking
for someone, Mr. McGuire
went to the cook house door
and found both the office '
buildings in flames, one struc
ture being almost consumed.
From this Mr. McGuire be
lieves that the fire must have ;
started very shortly after he
and Mr. Edwards left the of- 1
fice. ,'
With both buildings wrap- !
ped in flames, nothing could ‘
be done to check the fire and j4
both structures were consumed ! J
with all their contents; which;’
included an expensive assay j!
outfit. Fortunately the cook . *
and bunkhouse was sufficient- ‘
ly far away to escape ignition, 1
although the intense heat from 1
the burning buildings made it 1
necessary to wet the wall clos- (
est to the flames.
The main office was a two--1
story structure of several 1
rooms and the assay office, *
• .'jated a few paces away, was 1
one-story. *
-(I---- c
Hector McDonald, Premier (
mine foreman, who has been! i
on the sick list for a long per-1 i
iod, left Thursday for Van- j
couver, from whence, it is un-; S
derstood, he will proceed to j \
Arizona. i j
-o-!,
Texas Bridge Repaired
Tlie Bureau of Public Uoails has 1
repaired the Texas Creek bridge by 1 1
installing a pier to replace the one {
damaged by high water recently and
the bridge is reported again safe for c
car traffic. ^
-o- i
W. W. Metcalf left this week 1
for Seattle and will proceed ; 1
later to California for the c
winter. <
-o-1
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Rae and t
children left Monday night for Van- j
couver.
HESSE DISCUSSES
ROADS OUTLOOK
The outlook for an increase
of Territorial road expendi
tures next year is decidedly un
favorable in view of the prob
able shortage of Territorial
funds was indicated by Will
iam E. Hesse, Territorial High
way Engineer, in a statement
given to the Hyder Weekly
Herald during a visit of sev
eral days in the district dur
ing the past week.
During the course of his stay
Mr. Hesse inspected a major
portion of the local road sys
tem and expressed warm ap
proval of the excellent manner
in which the Bureau of Public
Roads has opened up the dis
trict to exploitation by high
way construction.
Relative to the outlook for
Territorial road construction
activities next year, Mr. Hesse j
said:
“Our Territorial road build
ing program started this sea
son with $109,000 less than we 1
had two years ago, which is !
only half the story. The ap
propriations exceed the antic- 1
ipated revenues by about |
$300,000 so that our road ap- (
propriations are not actually in
he treasury and available.
“The latest report from the j
Auditor and Treasurer indicate
hat we are going to be down
o the blanket financially by
he first of the year. I cannot
sven see any probability for in
•reased road expenditures next I
ear if we ar£ going to have \
tomething like a half million :
lollars less next January than j
ve had last January.
There are three road build
ng agencies in the Territory
it the present time, two of
vhich are Federal and the
ither Territorial.
I he Alaska Road Commis
ion, created in 1905 under the I
(Var Department, is supported
>y Congressional appropriat
ons amounting at this time to !
ibout $800,000 annually. In
iddition to this, “Fund B,” |
ommonly known as the Alas-j
;a fund, amounting to about
!130,000 a year, is likewise
pent by the Alaska Road j
Commission or, to be more ex- j
ict, 65'< of the “B” Fund,
mounting to $130,000, is ex
tended on roads under the di
ection of the Alaska Road
Commission.
“The Bureau of Public Roads j
inder the Department of Ag
ieulture confines its road
tuilding activities to the First
ind Third Divisions for the
eason that their funds, which
re likewise appropriated by j
Congress, may only be spent i
n the National Forests. This!'
ppropriation for the 1931 j
eason amounted to about]'
5934,000. It will be seen that j
vhile both Federal road build- !
ng agencies have approxi
nately the same amount of
unds the Bureau of Public '
toads activities are concen- j
rated in 32,800 square miles
f National Forests so that'
rhei’e the Alaska Road Com
nission has about $1.70 road ;
noney for every square mile i
f territory in which it is call
d upon to build roads, the 1
lureau of Public Roads has
bout $28.00 or sixteen times 1
Continued on Page 4 :
Buena Vista Company
Suspends Mill Operation
The Buena Vista Mining Com pan;
suspended milling operations at tli'
Big Missouri property this week
after completing a long continue!
! program of testing operations witl
the 100-ton test mill installed Inti
last year with a view to determininf
the average value of the free milllni
gold ore zones for which the prop
erty has become widely noted.
In addition to closing down tin
mill, the company also laid off most
) of the mine crew, only a small nutn
I her of diamond drill mfen being re
tained. It is understoood that thest
1 will be employed on a new drill de
velopment program, the extent oi
character of which could not he
learned, owing to the customary of
fieial reticence regarding the com
: pany’s activities.
The shut-down came as a surprise
to many, hut has been anticipated for
some time by those who have care
tully studied the situation in the light
of much unofficial information reach
ing the public in recent months.
In the best informed mining circles
the view prevails that the company
has fully completed its testing pro
gram on the one level to which de
velopment has been entirely devoted
so far and is now preparing to de
termine productive possibilities at
(/tiler points by drilling, rather than
by opening new levels by means of
costly drifting operations. Snch a con
clusion appears fully warranted
by recent activities of the com
pany which would in no degree in
dicate an intention to abandon tlie
property.
The company commenced recently
to ship concentrates accumulated at
tiie mill during the period of its
operation, and a considerable quan
tity lias been delivered at the Stew
art dock during the past two weeks.
While nil visible evidences indicate
that tiie company has no intention of
definitely suspending its activities
the curtailment of activities will be
a severe blow to tiie camp, as it will
add a considerable number of unem
ployed men to the district’s already
overly large list of idle workers.
o
Injury To Road Signs Unlawful
Destruction or injury to shelt
er cabins and structures and
the destroying, injury or de
facement of< signs or signals
posted on public highways
giving distance, direction,
warning or other notice to the
public, is punishable by law,
with severe penalties for vio- I
lation, under the provisions of I
an act passed by the last Ter- j
tutorial legislature, reading as i
follows:
Section 1. Any person who j
shall wilfully destroy, injure]
or deface any sign or signal
or shelter cabin erected near !
or along any public highway
designed to aid or inform the
travelers on such highway as
:o distances or directions or
giving shelter or warning or
notice as to grade, curve or
crossing, or otherwise designed
:o make travel safe, or signs
designed to mark the lines or
limits of game reserves, shall
oe guilty of a misdemeanor
and upon conviction shall be
ounished by a fine of not more
:han One Thousand Dollars
($1,000.00) or by imprison
nent for not more than one
(1) year, or by both such fine
and imprisonment in the dis
cretion of the court.
Section 2. Any person guilty
if violating any of the provis- j
ons of section 1 of this Act
;hall be answerable in damag
es for any injury sustained in
aerson or property by any per
son or corporation as a result
)f such destruction, injury or
defacement of any sign or sig
lal as described in section 1
lereof.
Instances of such types of
villful vandalism have become
ncreasingly apparent in this
section during the past year.
Itoad signs at several points
lave been damaged in clearly
vanton manner and others
lave been badly defaced by
ihooting. It is understood that
UNOFFICIAL SILVER
MEETING SEPT, I?
An unofficial international
'■ conference of financial experts
will be held in Paris Septem
ber 17 under the auspices of
the International Chamber of
Commerce to study the prob
lem of the depressed price of
silver, according to Washing
ton press announcements this
week.
j I lie meeting was announced
j by the American section of the
j -'nternational chamber. The
; conference was recommended
by the chamber last May.
Experts have been invited
i from Great Britain, France,
India, China, Japan and the
United States. One represent
ative will come from each na
j tion. The American delegate
j will be selected by the Amer
j ican section.
The conference has been call
j ed, it was said, not with any
\ idea of stabilizing the price of
| silver, but to advance suggest
t ions to prevent its wide fluctu
ation.
If the conference agrees, rec
ommendations will be submit
ted to the council of the inter
national chamber in Paris
October 23.
Silas II. Strawm, president of
the American Chamber of
Commerce, will attend the
meeting of the council and
later will visit Germany and
Great Britain to confer with
British leaders about economic
conditions.
-o
League of Nations Wants
Silver Parley Postponed
A press despatch front Paris,
France, Wednesday reported that the
League of Nations has announced
itself favorable to a postponment of
the world silver conference, sched
uled for September 17. owing to
“conditions in India.” Just what
these “conditions” may be was tot
intimated in the reports.
-o
Stewart Wins Challenge
Soft Ball Came
The Stewart Board of Trade soft
ball team was victorious over the
Hyder Chamber of Commerce team
in the challenge game played at Stew
art on Labor Day. As a result the
Hyder team was compelled to con
tribute a dollar each to the Stew
artites. who apparently displayed
considerable financial acumen in
challenging the Hyder team. The
•core was 14 to 3.
The feelings of the Hyder crew
were somewhat mollified by a 6 to
5 victory over the Moose lodge team
later in the afternoon, although they
still declare the belief that the Board
of Trade contest was a “frame-up.”
The Stewart High School also took
a Canadian Legion team into camp
to the tune of 10 to 3, the vets being
no match for the agile youngsters.
School Year Starts
The Hyder Public School re
sumed sessions Tuesday under
the direction of Miss Isabel
Thoma and with several more
pupils in attendance than were
enrolled last year.
-o
Relief Work Starts
in Stewart District
Unemployment relief work in the
Stewart district was authorized last
Saturday and is now in full swing
with some 50 men employed at the
road camp established under relief
plans laid out by W. K. Gwyer, pub
lic works engineer, and John Ander
son. general road superintendent.
The relief program will include
construction of about 5 miles of new
toad to the Stewart highway system
in addition to considerable road im
provement work, including some on
the Stewart-Hyder road.
in several instances road mark
ers have been damaged in such
manner as to indicate that the
acts were deliberate, vicious
and animated by malicious
motives.