HYDER - FIRST ALASKA TOWN THAT CAN HE REACHED BY PACIFIC-YUKON-ALASKA HIGHWAY
’ ” '
SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
V
HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
$3.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 9.
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1934.
SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS
PREMIER POWER PLANT
DESTROYED BY FIRE
The main power plant of the
Premier Gold Mining Company
at Thirteen-mile was wiped out
by fire between 6 p. m. and 7
p. m. Friday evening.
The blaze caused a loss of
many thousands of dollars In
machinery and equipment and
forced the closing down of the
mill at Premier and complete
suspension Of ore transport
ation activities.
Unofficial but reliable esti
mates place the direct loss in
volved in the destruction of the
plant at approximately $200,
000, making the fire one of the
most costly that has ever visit
ed the district.
The exact cause of the fire
is undetermined but is be
lieved to have been the result
of the blowing off of a port
hole cover on the exhaust
chamber of one of the several
big diesel engines, thus permi'i
ting flames from the exhaust*
to attack the oil impregnated
floor of the building. Ef
forts of the men on watch to
check the blaze with fire ap
paratus were unavailing and
the structure was a mass oi
flame within a few minutes, ac
cording to the report’. Asidt
from one member of the crew
who sustained burns on one
arm, no one was injured.
The plant supplied seme
eighteen or nineteen hundred
horsepower of electricity, most
of which was employed in the
operation c)f the mill and the
12-mile aerial tramway.
- Sufficient power for the con
tinuance of mining operations
can still be derived from the
hydro-electric plants on Cas
cade creek and the deisel plant
at Premier, but further milling
and tramming cannot be done
until new power sources are
provided.
Although definite inform
ation could not be obtained to
day, the outlook appears to be
that mine operations will be
continued on an equal or poss
ibly greater scale than before;
the ore extracted being stored
until such time as normal op
erations can be resumed. Such
a program would probably in
volve the laying off for several
months of a considerable num
ber cf the mill and tram em
ployees-an eventuality \tfhich
it is sincerely hoped can be
avoided.
Although rumors are flying
thick and fast today, close in
quiry indicates that no one
possesses certain knowledge
as to what the company will
do toward meeting the emer
gency.
B. F. Smith, resident mana
Mining Boom Developing
In Ketchikan District
With two large scale devel
opment operations under way
and several others reported un
der investigation by respons
ible interests, the Ketchikan
district appears to be entering
upon a new era of mining de
velopment which may result in
great benefits to Ketchikan
the district generally.
As reported earlier in the
Herald, the Dolomi mine is be
ing reopened on an extensive
scale by Col. E. J. Ryan and
associates of Vancouver, who
are installing a light railway
and hydro-electric plant and
planning construction of a 100
ton mill, to be in operation
about April 1.
Development work is also re
ported well under way on the
Goo Goo group, located near
Ketchikan and recently ac
quired by the Evis Gold Min
ing Corporation.
A contract has been let to
Lynch Brothers of Seattle for
100 feet of tunnel and the work
is reported proceeding under
the personal direction of Pat
Lynch. The tunnel is being
driven on the ore, which is said
to carry commercial values as
far as explored. If the results
of the present operations are
up to expectations, the com
pany plans to install milling
equipment and undertake ac
tive production. Harry Town
send, well known mining en
gineer, is in charge of the new
development.
New Power House Under Way
Cement foundations for the
new Northern B. C. Power Co.
power house on the Hyder
Stewart road were poured last
week and construction work on
he building will be started as
son as the foundation is set.
The building will be 20 by 38
feet in dimensions and will
house a 300 horsepower diesel
power unit and generator.
Storage facilities for some
4,000 gallons of fuel oil will al
so be provided at the plant.
-o—
The W. J. Crawford Transfer
is planning to keep two 6-horse
teams employed during the
winter in hauling supplies and
keeping the road open between
Thirteen-mile and the Big Miss
ouri mine, according to Stew
art reports.
ger, left Thursday on a busi
ness trip to Vancouver and fu
! ture contemplations will prob
ably not become definitely
known until his return.
SAYS GOVT. PLANNING
AIR MAIL FOR ALASKA
W. W. Connor, of Seattle,
vice-governor for the Pacific
Northwest area of the National
Aeronautical Association, de
clared in a recent statement at
Washington, D. C., 'that he had
reliable information from gov
ernment officials that con
tracts will be let for carrying
mails to Alaska under star
route provisions of the poitof
fice department.
Connor predicted the main
route will be from Seattle over
the water to Ketchikan and
other ports of Alaska, with
branches into the interior of
the territory.
-o
Refinancing Georgia River
Vancouver newspapers carry
the interesting announcement
that Helena Gold Mines, Ltd.,
is preparing to finance further
development of the old Georg
ia River Gold Mines property
on Georgia River by the issu
ance of 125,000 preference
shares of $1 each. Sharehold
ers of the Georgia River com
pany and Helena Mines are to
be given first opportunity to
subscribe for the new issue,
which was authorized at a
meeting held in Vancouver
October 18.
A bonus of common shares of
Helena Gold Mines with each
purchase of the preference
shares was also authorized but
I the amount was not deter
mined at the metting. The new
shares are preferred only as to
capital and subject to re
demption out of earnings, after
which they will revert to com
mon shares. The funds raised
will be used to carry out devel
o p m e n t recommendations
made by B. W. W. MacDoug
all, M. E., who advised a mod
erate expenditure which might j
be expected to open up suffic-j
ient ore to justify mill con-i
struction.
Shareholders of the two \
companies recenty rejected an !
offer from Willis T. Batchell-\
or, Inc., of Seattle, to expend i
$150,000 on the property in
consideration of 75 per cent of
the capital stock of the Helena
company.
-o
Moose Celebrate Foundation
A large gathering of mem
bers of the Moose lodge and
invited guests celebrated the
foundation of the Moose order
and also the birthday oif their
great leader, James J. Davis,
at a dinner and social held in
the lodge rooms in Stewart last
Saturday evening.
Ketchikan Residents Plan
Old Age Pension Club
Plans for the organization of
a Townsend old-age pension
clulb in Alaska were launched
at a meeting held last week in
Ketchikan at which John W.
Frame, former Hyder resident,
was the iprincipal speaker, ac
cording to the Ketchikan
Chronicle.
The Townsend plan, briefly
summarized, proposes the cre
ation of a federal revolving
fund sufficiently large to per
mit every citizen— man cr wo
man, over 60 to retire on a pen
sion of $200 a month, provided
that the recipient abstains from
engaging in any form of labor,
business or profession for gain.
Furthermore, he must have
a record free cif criminal taint
and must spend every cent of
hi: $200 in the United States
within 30 days after its receipt.
Under the plan as proposed
by its originator, Dr. Town
send of Long Beach, Califori
ia, the revolving fund would be
created by levying a general
sales tax of approximately 10
per cent-high on luxuries, low
on necessities- to be used only
for payment of the old-age
pensions. It is estimated that
2 billion dollars would be re-!
quired to finance the plan.
Proponents of the scheme
claim it will be of great bene
fit to business through the con
stant circulation of the money
in trade channels; that it will
create 5 million jobs for the
unemployed through the re
tirement of persons over 60
who are now gainfully em
ployed, and will discourage
crime through the provision
that no one with a criminal
record would be entitled to the
pension.
In anonuncing the proposal
to organize an Alaskan club to
work for the plan, Mr. Frame,
who appears to be the chief
proponent, said he intended to
ark the peoiple of Alaska to
sign petitions to Congress ask
ing that the Townsend plan be
adopted. More than 1,000 pe
titions are on hand for distri
bution, he asserted.
---o
Troy To Confer With U. S.
Engineer On Alaska Projects
Governor John W. Troy left
Juneau last*week for Seattle to
confer with Colonel C. L. Stur
devant, district engineer of the
War Department Engineers, on
various Alaska projects, ac
cording to press reports.
The projects mentioned will
probably include the Salmon
River flood protection propos
al, for which both federal and
territorial funds are now avail
able, and on which work is
scheduled to start next spring.!
ROOSEVELT DISCARDS
MONEY “WIZARDS’*
The following from a recent
Washington news report will
tickle some of our local eco
nomic sharps, whose conten
tions regarding the fallibility
of the so-called “experts” it
apparently sustains. It says:
“The money magicians whose
incantations once charmed our
president have found quarters
in the same ashcan which hous
es the professional rain-mak
ers who hired themselves out
to end last summer’s drought.
“Prof. George F. Warren of
Cornell, who used to have the
president’s left ear, and Prof.
James Harvey Rogers oif Yale,
who monopolized the right
ear, spoke different pieces.
But the White House is now
oblivious to both.
“Warren, who guided the
gold policy through its most
spectacular jumps, was around
seeing Roosevelt the other day.
No one had asked him to come,
but he had been pounding on
the White House door for days,
so they let him in.
“He wanted to tell Roose
velt the gold maneuvres had
helped the country enormous
ly, which Roosevelt doesn’t be
lieve, and to urge more of the
same.
“Professor Rogers abo has
been here. Months ago he wag
sent on a mission to study the
silver situation in China. He
cabled reports to the Treasury.
“About the middle of Sep
tember he returned here, saw
Secretary ,cf the Treasury Mor
genthau, and expected a call to
the White House—which nev
er came.
“His friends are rather bit
ter at Mongenthau, who they
think helped keep Rogers from
a chance to talk to the Presi
dent. Rogers has gone back to
his teaching job at Yale.”
-o
Bayview May Transfer
Claims To United Empire
Approval by shareholders of
a transfer of several claims of
the Bayview group to the Unit
ed Empire company was sched
uled to be asked at the annual
meeting of the Bayview com
pany held in Vancouver last
week. The results of the meet
ing have not yet been received
here.
Tile properties of the two
companies adjoin a short dist
ance north of Stewart. The
consideration offered for the
claims was said to be 200,000
shares of United Empire stock.
A number 6f claims .of the Bay
view group were sold to the
United Empire a year or so
ago.