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VOL 5, NO. 2
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29,1928.
PRICE TEN CENTS
WOODBINE SITUATION
V£RY MUCH UP IN AIR
Confidence in the future of
the Woodbine property has
suffered a severe shock as a
result of southern press re
ports announcing that Stewart
and Batten, consulting engin
eers, who recently examined
the property at the instance of
the Woodbine directors, have
returned a report of such char
acter as to leave the proper
ty’s future outlook in a decid
edly hazy and uncertain state.
Published portions of the re
port disclose that the engineers
virtually condemn all the vast
amount of work so far done
on the property and express
the opinion that it has not re
sulted in the exposure of com
mercial ore. Following this
sweeping conclusion, which is
widely at variance with the
expressed views of other emi
nent mining engineers, Messrs.
Stewart & Batten conclude by
recommending the expenditure
of $50,000 for diamond drill
work on the property and also
that an additional $100,000 be
made available for develop
ment work, if required.
Assuming that the published
excerpts from the report are
correct ,it discloses a situation
that is not only far from clear
but also one from which num
erous anomalous inferencee
may foe rightfully drawn. It
may be possible that explan
ations of the Stewart and Bat
buu uuuuvuvmo ai c
in the unpublished portions of
the report, but until such time
as these appear, their views re
garding the property wil
probably be regarded by the
mining public as somewhat in
conclusive, to say the least.
Recalling that several engi
neers of high standing have
examined the Woodbine at in
tervals during the period of op
eration and also that they were
practically unanimous in the
opinion that upward of half a
million tons of milling grade
ore had been developed on the
property, the evidence of Stew
art and Batten is rendered
doubly mystifying.
The company, however, ap
parently has decided to adopt
the Stewart and Batten recom
mendations, as a drill crew ar
rived from the south and went
up to the property this week.
As was to be expected, pub
lication of the report resulted
in a marked depression of
Woodbine shares on the south
ern exchanges, quotations
ranging down to 1014 during
the past week.
According to the recent an
nual report, the company is in
good shape financially with
over $100,000 in negotiable
assets available.
-o
The ladies of the Catholic
Church are making preparat
ions for a vaudeville show and
dance in Stewart next Tues
day evening, Oct. 2. The vaud
eville program will include six
specialty numbers directed by
Mi*s. McQuade and featuring
most of the pretty and talented
young ladies in the district.
The program is scheduled to
start at 9:30 p. m. •
-o
The Big Show of the Year—
Tuesday eve.
BURGLAR ROBS DWELLING
The first case of burglary oc
curing in the Hyder district for
an extended period was report
ed to the authorities Monday
by Mrs. G. A. Powell, whose
residence, the E. R. Stivers cot
tage in the Forest Townsite,
was ransacked sometime last
week and many valuable art
icles purloined.
As both Mrs. Powell and her
husband are employed at the
-Johnson-Gardner road camp,
the burglary was not discover
ed until Mrs. Powell came to
town on a visit Monday. On
entering her home she en
countered a scene of utter dis
order. Clothing, papers and
other articles were strewn all
over the place, disclosing that
the miscreant had turned
practically everything in the
house upside down in his
search for valuables.
Among the more valuable
articles taken by the thief
were Mrs. Powell’s watch and
ether pieces of jewelry, some
of which were of a character
.hat cannot be replaced, a
lumber of war medals belong
'ng to Mr. Powell ,a pair of
ubber boots and various art
cles of clothing, including one
>f Mrs. Powell’s dresses, in ad
lition to a watch and violin be
longing to Margaret Powell,
he couple’s young daughter.
Investigation disclosed that
ihe micreant had obtained en
trance by prying up an upstairs
window.
A unique feature has been ad
ied to the robbery by the dis
covery that the burglar appar
ently regretted purloining the
child’s watch and Mr. Powell’s
medals and returned them to
the residence during the inter
/al between Monday and Wed
lesday. The articles mentioned
were not on the premises when
;earch was made by Mrs. Pow
ell, but were there when Mr.
Powell visited the house Wed
nesday.
NORCO SAILING SCHEDULE
The Northland Transportat
ion Co. has announced the fol
lowing sailing schedule for the
motorship Norco during the re
mainder of the year. The date
?iven indicates the time of de
oarture from Seattle.
October 5th—26th.
November 16th.
December 7th—28th.
-o
Joe Jackson, discoverer of the
mineral riches of the Texas
Creek section, left Wednesday
for Ketchikan, enroute to the
States, where he hopes to se
cure working capital for devel
>ping several mineral groups
in various parts of the district
>n which he has secured op
tions. Included in the proper
ties mentioned are the Flor
ence group, situated on Texas
Crek adjoining the Lemmons &
Thornton property, the Demp
sey group, adjoining the Geor
gia River Gold and Rex groups
on Georgia River, and the
White Bear group on Bitter
Creek.
-o
C. W. Smith and Albert Craig,
who spent a portion of the sum
mer prospecting in the district,
left for Ketchikan on the Fair
banks.
STANDARD MINES CORP.
IN LIQUIDATION
Liquidation of the assets of
the Standard Mines Corporat
ion, original holder of the bond
on the Big Missouri, recently
exercised by the Buenea Vista
Mining Co., was announced
last w’teek in the south, follow
ing a meeting of shareholders
in Tacoma.
The chief local interest in the
development centers around
the fact that the Standard
Mines owns 750,000 shares of
the stock of the Big Missouri
Mining Company, its successor
in control of the property, and'
there is considerable speculat
ion as to the probable effect
of a distribution of this large
shareholding. Despite the re
cent discovery of rich gold ore,
the stock encountered heavy
selling during the past two
weeks, but stood up well un
der the strain, losing only a
few points.
Regarding the possibility of
declines in the event that the
Standard shareholdings are
distributed and to some extent
thrown on the market, it may
be said that it will probably
be some time before such an
eventuality could occur, as the
distribution would probably
reuire from two to three
months to complete. It is also
reported in the south that
there is a probabilty that a
large portion of the stock may
remain pooled.
■o
The Mayou Gold Copper Co.
Ltd., plans to develop its prom
ising properties in the Bear
River section during the com
ing winter and is making prep
arations for the construction of
a permanent camp. Develop
ment will be directed to open
ing up the main vein, which is
of high grade character. Sam
ples obtained from the vein
last year were spectacular and
caused marked comment in
mining circles. The property
was organized on a unit basis
last winter under the name of
Mayou Development Syndicate
by Wm. Tompkins, original lo
cator, and associates but no
units were issued owing to a
change in plans, which later
resulted in the formation of
the present stock company.
The company is fully financed
for the projected development,
a million shares of the stock
having been underwritten by
a prominent, Vancouver brok
erage concern.
. -o
A most unusual trophy was
brought to Ketchikan recently
by the forest service boat
Tahn, returning from Betton
Island with Secretary of Agri
culture Jardine and his party.
While lying at a log boom
awaiting the return of the
party from the McDonald Bros,
logging camp, a flock of crows
flew over the boat, and among
them Captain Bernard Aikens
noticed what appeax-ed to be
a white crow. Upon the return
of the party Captain Aiken
and Supervisor Zeller set out
after the flock in the skiff, and
shortly afterward returned
with the crow. The bird was
actually a white crow, a pure
albino, with no sign of a dark
feather on the body. The head
CANDIDATES DISCUSS
ELECTION ISSUES
Issues of the Territorial elect
ion campaign were discussed
from the Democratic viewpoint
by Norman R. Walker, candi
date for the Territorial Sen
ate, and A. H. Zeigler, and J.
S. Ream, candidates for the
House of Representatives, be
fore a large gathering of vot
ers at Pioneer Hall Tuesday
evening.
Owing to lack of adequate
space the Herald is unable to
present the views of the indi
vidual speakers, who called at
tention to the primary legislat
ive needs of the Territory and
discussed the question of full
er self-government and con
trol of Territorial resources
from various angles.
As indicated by the platform
of the Democratic convention
at Seward, the extension of
home rule and investment in
the Territory of control of all
matters not of purely federal
concern is the keynote of the
Democratic campaign and waS
ably presented by the candi
dates, who also paid their re
spects in some instances to the
deficiencies of the present Re
publican administration of Ter
ritorial affairs.
The meeting was given added
attraction and interest by the
presentation of a complete
program of motion pictures
provided by the candidates.
MOLYBDENITE STRIKE
ON NABESNA
The discovery of veins of mo
lybenite bearing ore in the up
per Nabesna river country pre
sages extensive developments
in that section in the near, if
not immediate future, accord
ing to an announcement by
Carlyle Weiss, chief metalurgi
cal engineer and assayer for
the Alaska-Nabesna Corporat
ion, of Washington, D. C.
In a recent press statement,
Mr. Weiss outlined the results
obtained during the past sum
mer by D. C. Sargent and a
diamond drill crew working on
the company properties in that
section, stating that the dis
covery of veins of molybdenite,
some of which is high grade,
was a development of promis
ing interest. Molybdenite was
also found in association with
copper bearing ore in some of
the upper claims, Mr. Weiss
said.
So far as is known at present
there are no large commercial
bodies of the ore in the Unit
ed States. Practically all of the
ore used in this country is now
obtained in Australia and New
Zealand. At present market
prices molybdenite runs from
$30 to $40 a pound. Mineral
molybdenite consists of 60 per
cent molybdenum and 10 per
cent sulphur, and finds its
principal uses in electrical de
vices and in the chemical in
dustry and to toughen and
harden steel. It is also used in
alloys with nickel and chromi
um.
and bill were also white, as
well as the feet and legs, and
the eyes were of the pinkish
red color peculiar to white rab
bits.
SAYS WILDCATTERS
MUST BE CURBED
Declaring that the mining
laws of British Columbia de
signed to prevent fraudulent
mining operations will be en
forced to the limit, Hon. W. A.
McKenzie, Minister of Mines in
the new B. C. government, has
issued emphatic instructions to
every mining engineer in his
department to employ all
means at their command to
save investors from fake min
ing schemes, asserting that
the full support of the govern
ment will be thrown behind
them in curbing wild-cat oper
ations.
“The mining laws of this
province, as designed to pre
vent fraudulent mining operat
ions, will be enforced to the
limit," Mr. McKenzie declared
in issuing his instructions. “At
no time have such measures
been so necessary as they are
now, on account of the present
activity in the mining industry.
In his letter of instruction to
the department engineers Mr.
McKenzie said:
“Interest in British Columbia
mining is greater now than at
any time in our history. I am
of the opinion that if this great
activity is to be kept on a
sound and healthy basis, if a
free flow of capital from out
side as well as from resident
mvvowio 10 bu wc luaimauicu,
it is necessary that nothing be
left undone in the endeavor to
restrict the activities of all but
those who are engaged in le
gitimate mining development.
“These steps,” the letter con
tinues, ’’must not be construed
as an attempt to interfere in
any way with legitimate min
ing development. The depart
ment and the government is
solidly behind such operations
and will do everything poss
ible to facilitate them. But the
dishonest operator is an enemy
not only to the investing pub
lic but to the mining industry
as well. When an investor is
deceived and loses money in a
dishonest promotion he is in
clined to become skeptical
about the whole industry and
to withdraw his financial sup
port. If they were to reach a
large volume fraudulent pro
motions thus would have a
very serious effect on invest
ment in legitimate enter
prises.”
To assist in detemining the
best methods to pursue in
stamping out fraudulent pro
motions, Mr .McKenzie asked
his officials to submit suggest
ions.
---o
Pete Jorgenson, employed as
a ditch-walker by the Forty
mile Gold Corporation, man
aged by Lee W. Steele, was
badly mauled and beaten up
by a mother bear recently.
While Jorgenson was walking
the ditch he suddenly came
upon two or three families of
bears, eight or ten in number.
One of the mother bears in
stantly attacked him, inflict
ing severe injuries to the tend
ons of his right arm, as well as
at the back of his neck, chew
ing him and scratching him in
many places. After the bear
had left, Jorgenson managed
to crawl back to camp, then
taken to Fortymile, where he
COMMUNITY CLUB
IS ORGANIZED
Organization of the new Com
munity Club was completed at
a meeting held in Camhber of
Commerce Hall Wednesday
evening. The meeting was at
tended by a large number of
those interested in the new
movement for civic betterment
and th new organization was
launched with mot sauspicious
prospects for becoming an im
portant factor in communal
progress and improvement.
Col. E. R. Stivers was elected
president of the organization,
and T. H. Evans and J. A. Mar
tin were chosen for the re
spective offices of vice-presi
dent and secretary-treasurer.
A governing board consisting
of Ben Oien, Mrs. L. L. Legge
and E. M. Reynolds was also
elected to administrate the
business affairs of the Club.
After completing organizat
ion the Club decided to launch
its helpful activities by seeing
that the street lights are plac?
ed in condition as soon as E. R.
Workman, head of the Inter
national Electric Co. returns
from the south.
The Club also decided to hold
its next dance on October 6th.
ALASKA LEGION
ELECTS OFFICIALS
Dr. S. C. Shurick, of Ketchi
kan was elected department
commander of the American
Legion in Alaska at the con
vention held in Ketchikan last
week. The convention also
named additional officers as
follows:
Maurice L. Sharpe, Anchor
age, first vice-commander.
Ernest M. Campbell, Wran
gell, second vice-president.
J. T. Petrich, Juneau, re-ap
pointed adjutant.
H. M. Sides, Juneau, re-elect
ed finance officer.
Howard J. Thompson, Jun
eau, national executive com
mitteeman,
Karl A. Drager, Ketchikan,
alternate national executive
committeeman .
Justin W. Harding, Juneau,
judge-advocate.
David Alder, Fairbanks, his
torian.
Chas. A. Sheldon, Seward,
chaplain.
Ernest M. Polley and Walter
B. King, both of Juneau, were
re-elected as department ex
ecutive committemen-at-large.
-o
Leon Bashore was taken from
the freighter Leper, at Ketchi
kan recently by Deputy Mar
shal Sayres, at Ketcikhan, up
on a telegraphic warrant is
sued by Judge E. Coke Hill,
at Valdez, on a charge of vio
lation of Sections 951 and 952
of the compiled laws of Alaska,
by the alleged attempt of the
defendant to defraud his credi
tors. The warrant was issued
at Cordova, and Bashore was
returned to that place in de
fault of $300 bail.
was bandaged as well as poss
ible and was taken to the
Dawson hospital. Jorgenson
had no gun and he said one
would have been useless any
way, as the bear attacked so
quickly he would have been
unable to use it. He is reported
as being in a critical condition.