HYDER - FIRST ALASKA TOWN THAT CAN BE REACHED BY PACIFIC-YUKON-ALASKA HIGHWAY
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SPECIALIZING IN .
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
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HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
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VOLUME 10, NUMBER 9.
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1933.
SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS
BIG MOVEMENT FOR
SILVER IS LAUNCHED
A large gathering of silver
exponents and stabilization ad
vocates in Washington on Fri
day promises to develop the
greatest concerted effort to
bring about, silver remonetiz
ation and monetary stabiliz
ation that has so far devel
oped. Acording to brief rad
io reports this week, exponents
of bimetallism and currency
stabilization from all parts of
the country were expected to
attend the meeting, of which
Senator Thomas was one of the
leading sponsors. Details of
the meeting are looked for
ward to with intense interest
here and will be presented in
these columns when received.
Late reports from the south
indicate beyond dcubt that in
terest in the possibilities of sil
ver as a means of overcoming
present conditions is steadily
increasing and public attention
is concentrating more and
more in that direction.
Among late items of interest
bearing on silver is the report
that New York financial and
business leaders regard ' nu
ance of one-fifth of the nati
currency on a silver base of
three to four billion ounces of
silver as a possible inflation
move of the next congress.!
There is also a general belief
that, if congress attempts any j
from of outright currency in- j
flation, there is a gcod chance
that silver will be Used with j
gold as a backing for our cur-!
rency as a compromise.
Even those opposed to bimet
allism and restoration of silver
as money admit that it would
be better to base currency in
flation on silver than on cut
right paper issue.
Senator Pittman, in a recent j
statement said there was not a i
shadow of doubt in his mind j
that the next session cf con- j
gress would pass a bill author-j
izing the free coinage of silver.
Senator Clarence Dill, of
Washington, advocating gov
ernment purchase of silver on
the same basis as gold, said li
the President would direct the
Reconstruction Finance Cor
poration to purchase $200,
000,000 worth of silver, 'the
price would rise automatically
under the force of supply and
demand.
“Such a purchase would re
move surplus silver from the j
markets of the world and i
double the price everywhere,’’
he said.
M. M. O’Brien, field man
ager of the Consolidated Min
ing & Smelting Company, left
for Vancouver Monday after a
visit to the Big Missouri.
Emergency Work
Closed De
Camp
pile Protests
j Despite urgent last minute
! efforts of the Chamber of
| Commerce and various citizens
to secure a rescindment of the
recent order closing the local
ECW work camp, at which
some 20 men were employed,
the camp was closed down
Wednesday, although a major
ority of the workers will be
continued on the payroll until
the end of the present month
and were offered an opportun
ity to join the ECW forces in
Ketchikan as an alternative to
remaining here.
Coming a few hours after
telegraphic assurances from
the Governor’s office that the
camp would be continued as
long as weather conditions
would permit had been re
ceived by the Chamber of Com
merce, the order of 'the Forest
department officials closing
the camp came as a surprise
and is surmised to have been
due to some unexplained
change in the attitude of the
forest officials following their j
conference with acting govern- j
or E. W. Griffin."
The acting governor’s mess-!
age to the Chamber stated that j
he had consulted the heads of1
the Forest department and Bu
reau of Public Roads on con
tinuing work at the Hyder
camp and outlined the results
as follows:
“They will do so as long a?
weather permits but claim that
owing to deep snows it will be
impossible to carry on much
longer. Therefore, they will j
have to move the unemploy- j
ment camp to Ketchikan, j
where the men now working!
can continue to work. Salmon
river project will be started
early next spring.”
The message also submitted
a number of queries regarding
the local unemployment situ
ation and concluded with the
statement that “We want to do
everything possible to alleviate
the situation.”
The reference to the “Salmon
liver project” was in reply to
a Chamber of Commerce sug
gestion that the camp crew
might be employed during the
winter in extending and re
pairing the flood protection
ly near the graveyard, com
monly known as the “rock jet
ty,” and had no reference to
the federal flood protection
project, now before the Public
Works administration at Wash
ington. The statement, how
ever, indicates a possible in -1
tention to reopen the work
camp next summer.
As indicated above, this as-1
surance of the Governor’s of-1
fice was followed in a few I
STEWART RESIDENT
DROWNED IN BEAR R.
Rede Slaich, Stewart resi
dent, employed by the' United
; Empire Mining Company, lost
; his life in the chilly waters of
Bear river at 10:30 Thursday
i morning as a result of the acci
dental overturning of a row
boat in which he was crossing
the river in company with Irv
ing Spencer, of Stewart. The
accident occurred about three
miles north of Stewart.
Reports of the fatality dis
close that the two men, who
were engaged in putting up the
new United Empire power line,
were pulling the boat across
the river by means of a hand
line when the craft was sud
denly overturned by the rush
ing current. Both men were
thrown into the water near the
center of the stream and car
ried swiftly away from the
boat. Spencer, who is of
strong physique, managed to
reach the shore after a severe
struggle in the icy water but
Staich appears to have sank
immediately.
Efforts of Constable C. Pot
terton and others to locate the
body Friday were fruitless.
The unfortunate Staich was
aged about 30 years and was
a native of Serbia. He had re
sided in Canada about 5 years
and became resident of Stew
art about 2 1-2 years ago. He
is survived by relatives who
reside in Jugo-Slavia.
-o
Hearst Advocates
Dollar Devaluation
The Hearst newspapers, in
recent front-page editorials,
strongly urged the devaluation
of the U. S. dollar to half its
former gold content and return
to the gold standard with gold
priced at $41.34 per ounce.
The cry for dollar stabiliza
tion appears’ to be fast becom
ing the dominant note of busi
ness, and financial clamoring
and action in that direction
may form the next interesting
phase of the administration’s
efforts to bring back prosper
ity by pulling our boot straps
hours by the order of the for
est officials, who are in sole
charge of the ECW activities in
Alaska, to close the camp at
oncei
With 'the exception of five
members, all of the men em
ployed at the camp elected to
remain here and continue
work until December 1 under
the proposal to receive the
scheduled $1 per day pay and
an additional $1 for board.
I Hog Tax Threatens
Alaska Fishing Industry
If some interests have their
way, a processing tax would
be placed on all fish and fish
products for the benefit of hog
producers, according to re
ports from Delegate Dimond’s
office this week.
Alarmed by the threat which
this processing tax implies to
the entire fishing industry
owners and fishermen have
launched a barrage of protests
and to their'voices has been
aded that of Delegate Dimond.
He sees in the proposed pro
gram a distinct peril to the
operations of the Territorial
government and the possibility
of crippling what is Alaska’s
most important industry.
Hog producers, it seems,
have fared badly during these
depression years and theirwoes
have been added to by the fact
that a large surplus hangs over
the market that doesn’t exist.
The theory that lies back of
the processing tax is that if
other commodities are taxed,
money will thus be secured
which can be paid to the rai
ser? of porkers for holding
down production. The com
modities to which the tax is ap
plied will have to add it totheir
selling price and pork, tax free,
will thus be more in demand.
In passing, it may be said that
only those engaged in raising
hogs appear to have given the
plan their whole-hearted sup
port.
A hearing took place a few
days ago and Delegate Dimond
explained what imposition of
the processing tax would do to
the people of Alaska. A top
tax of $2.40 might be placed
on a case of salmon under the
plan. The fisheries industry
ha-n’t been no'tably more pros
perous recently than the hog in
dustry and how it would enter
the competitive markets with
a handicap of that character
the Delegate confessed he did
n’t know. The buying public
would be disinclined to pay the
greatly increased price for fish,
sales would be bound to fall
off sharply , fishing in Alaska
waters would be curtailed, and
many of those who depend on
that industry for a livelihood
would be thrown out of em
ployment. The reprecussion
would soon be felt by the Ter
ritorial government, which de
rives over 80 percent of its tax
ation revenue from the fisher
ies, and it would be forced to
spend less on schools and indi
gents and in other direction?
All these arguments, and
many more, were advanced by
Mr. Dimond orally at the hear
and elaborated upon in a
brief filed with George N.
AID ASKED FOR
ALASKA MINING
Assistance for the mining
industry in Alaska is asked of
the federal government in a
petition and brief prepared by
the Alaska Territorial Cham
ber of Commerce and endorsed
by associated Chambers of
Commerce in Alaskan cities.
The petition, briefly sum
marized, requests the federal
government to establish ahd
maintain in the Territory a
center of information, with an
engineer in charge, who can
give advice to mine owners and
operators, and to prospectors,
relative to their mining prob
lems, and supply the public,
the Alaska Legislature, the
governor and other officials,
with authentic information
concerning all mines and pros
pects.
Pointing out the advisability
of the federal government tak
ing an active part in stimula
ting the Alaska mining indus
try, the petition expresse the
view that this can best be done
by extending technical service
to small mine owners and pros
pectors who are unable to em
ploy professional engineers,
and by collecting authentic in
formation of mining properties
requiring capital for their de
velopment, and by filing or
publishing it in such form as to
available for interested invest
ors.
Such a service, the petition
says, would help to prevent
waited effort, discourage
fraudulent or extravagant rep
resentations on the part of un
scrupulous promoters and the
sale of worthless stock, and be
a large factor in guiding cap
ital to meritorious mine devel
opments.
The cost of the project in es
timated at $18,000 per annum
of which $5,000 would be pro
vided by the cooperative fund
appropriated by the last Alas
ka Legislature.
-o
Mining Men Visit
J. R. O’Donnell .and Elmer
E. Burchfield, Seattle mining
men, arrived Thursday to look
over the local mining field,
with particular reference to
the Butte Group.
Peek, administrator of the ag
ricultural Adjustment Act.
Another point brought out was
that in the strict sense of the
word fish is not competitive
with pork in the manner that
beef and mutton are, that its
consumption is based to a
large extent on relgious prin
ciples, and that therefore no
tax of the proposed character
ought to be applied.