HYDER - FIRST ALASKA TOWN THAT CAN BE REACHED BY THE PACIFIC - YUKON - ALASKA HIGHWAY
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MINING NEWS OF THE
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VOL. 8, NO. 3
HYDER, ALASKA OCTOBER 31, 1931
BY THE YEAR $3.0f
SAY GOLD STIHDIRD
MUST BE MAINTAINED
President Hoover and Pre
mier Laval, of France, in a
joint statement following their
recent conferences in Wash
ington, declared that the es
sential factor in the restoration
of normal economic life in the
world rests upon the gold
standard of France and the
United States, according to
press details received here
Thursday.
Hoover and the Premier
agreed that the gold standard
must be maintained and that
every necessary step to sup
port the world exchanges
should be undertaken.
Just how these objectives
are to be reached was not
made clear in the statement, j
but one learns that this is to!
be left as a job for the bank- !
ers, with the assistance of gov- j
eminent agencies.
The joint statement said that
the President and Premier em
phasized the importance of
steps toward economic stabil
ity and confidence.
Concerning countries that |
are off the gold standard, with
special inclination to silver, or
some other monetary stand
ard—Mexico and China for ex
ample— it was felt that they
should return to gold as soon
as they could or make some
definite choice in another di
rection so as to to place them
selves in a position to do busi
ness with the rest of the world.
However, no suggestion was
made as to how silver coun
tries could possibly return to
the gold standard when it is
agreed that there is not near
ly enough gold to go around
at present, and prospects of
even less in the future, as a re- j
suit of declining production, j
New York reports say Wall
Street expected something
more definite from the confer
ences regarding the economic j
situation and was frankly dis-1
appointed that the statement;
did not lay down any specific :
program.
Lacking incentive m the.
form of any new plans to help !
the economic situation, trad
ers, following the issuance of j
the statement, sold stocks, j
bonds and commodities, send
ing them to lower levels.
Stocks lost 1 to 4 points, cotton
$1 a bale; bonds, including U.
S. Government issues, in frac
tions up to 5 points; wheat a
cent a bushel, and corn, frac
tions to a cent.
Paris despatches also report
ed disappointment over the
Hoover-Laval meeting and the
American dollar dropped to
25.39 francs against 25.405 j
francs last Saturday.
Premier Wins
Basketball Contest
A basketball contest between
the Stewart High School and
Premier teams at Premier
Wednesday evening, resulted
in a victory for the miners, j
who trounced the youngsters |
to the tune of 23 to 18.
A second game of a sched-;
uled series which was to have j
been played the same evening,1
was postponed owing to the
sudden death of John Boch
man, a member of the Premier
jnine crew.
Says Meziadin Country
Is Economic Asset
(The Herald presents here
with the third installment ot
Mr. Ernest Blue’s interesting
article on the Meziadin Lake !
and upper Nass River section,
considered from the standpoint
of their economic value .to
this section and also their re
lation to the proposed Hyder
Stew’art branch of the Pacific
Yukon-Alaska Highway con
struction project.—Editor)
South of the McLeod Creek
swamp is a low ridge about j
one mile wide. There one en
counters another swamp about
one-half to three-fourths of a
mile wide that is as bad or
worse than the McLeod Creek
swamp. This extends over the
entire distance from the Bell
Irving River to Meziadin Lake,
with soil and flood conditions
similar to those of the McLeod !
Creek swamp section. A low j
ridge about one mile wide sep-j
mates this swamp from the
Nass River. Approaching the
river a still greater obstacle to
road construction in that dis
trict is encountered. From the i
crest of the last mentioned j
ridge one looks down into the
Nass River Canyon, which we
estimate to be approximately i
1000 feet deep in that locality, ■
while on the south side of the j
river the general level of the!
country is higher than on the j
north side. Thus a road cross-'
ing at this point would neces
sary have to go down a thou
sand feet on one side to cross
the river and up an equal dist
ance on the opposite side, in
traversing a space of not more
than one and one-half miles 1
lying between the higher lands ,
on each side of the canyon.
We next explored the country
on the northerly side of the
river practically from the Bell
Irving River to Meziadin River
and found that virtually the '
same conditions exist over the
entire distance. Just above the
mouth of Meziadin River a
moderately expensive crossing!
could be made. The approach-!
es are not difficult and but
little rock work would be nec
essary; while the bridge need
be no more than an ordinary
structure.
We did not cross the Nass
River but from what we could
see of the country between
the mouth of the Meziadin
River and Kitwanga, it is sim
ilar to that existing around
Meziadin Lake.
This being the case, the log
ical route for a connecting
highway link between the \
Stewart-Hyder highway sys
tem and the highway system of
British Columbia is from Kit-1
wanga north through Kitwan-!
cool to the Cranberry River; j
thence down to Cranberry to !
a point near where the old
trail cuts across to the Nass;
thence to the Nass River, and
up the Nass to the crossing
above the mouth of Meziadin
above referred to, and along
the Meziadin River course to
Meziadin Lake.
Up to this point construction
of the proposed connecting
link would be confronted by
few if any difficulties, condit
ions being entirely favorable.
However, on reaching the
Meziadin Lake we seem on
first observation to have come
PREMIER EMPLOYEE
PASSES SUDDENLY
Striken by a cerebral hem- j
orrhage while enjoying a card
game at Premier, John Boch
man, employed as a timber
man in the Premier mine, pass
ed away suddenly Wednes
day evening.
The deceased had complain
ed of not feeling well shortly
before commencing the card
game but was believed by his
companions to be mildly indis
posed, until he suddenly arose
and went to the door for fresh
air. There he suddenly col
lapsed and fell to the floor. He
was taken to his room but ex
pired within a half hour.
The deceased was a Finland
er by birth and was about 34
or 35 years of age. Beyond
that he has a sister who resides
in the south, nothing could be J
learned regarding his rela- j
tives. He had been employed i
at the mine about two years. ;
Funeral services were held in Stew
art this afternoon, with interment in
the Stewart cemetery.
-o
Moose Entertain Local Juveniles
Portland Canal Lodge NO. 1418,
Loyal Order of Moose were hosts to
the youngsters ot Hyder and Stew
art at a Halloween party held in
Pioneer Hall Friday evening. The
party was one of the most interesting
and eolorful affairs of the kind ever
held in the district and will assuredly
be remembered by the young folks
for a long time to come.
The program included a wide var
iety of games and other forin3 of
entertainment suited to the varying
years of the children, who were di
vided into groups according to age,
under the direction of Mesdames E. !
D. Haddon, I). J. Mulcare. \V. R.
Tooth, N. M. Traversy and Miss |
Helen Hall. The younger children
were regaled with games, while the I
cdder ones were permitted to dance. !
Each child also received an apple,
orange, ice cream cone and a bar of
candy.
W. D. Smith. Stewart’s genial
jokester, also added further diversion
by appearing as the time-honored
black cat of Hailoween lore. The
hall was beautifully decorated with
Halloween decorations and presented
a pretty and colorful spectacle. The
entertainment closed at 9 p. m. with
he beautiful 9 o'clock ceremony of
the Moose order.
The lodge deserves the warmest
praise for their constantly maintain- j
ed interest in local children and es- j
pecially for such delightful entertain
ments as the Halloween party. Their
efforts in this respect are also an j
Inspiring example of the splendid
humanitarian work of that highly re- j
garded order. I
Dr. J. T. Mainly, resident engineer,
for the Stewart district, arrived from
the south Thursday morning.
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Chamber of Commerce Meet
The monthly dinner meeting
of the Hyder Chamber of
Commerce will be held at the
Silver Grill next Wednesday j
evening, November 4, at 6:30|
P- m. i
-o
The Wills Navigation Com- j
pany motorship Zapora arriv-;
ed from Seattle Monday morn-j
ing with a good sized jagg of
local freight.
face to face with almost insur
mountable obstacles. On the
west side of the lake the
mountains rise to heights of 2,
000 to 4,000 feet directly from
the lake-shore, hence a road 1
around the western side is.
about out of consideration.
On the east side of the lake |
we encounter six miles of low,
marshy swamp over which the
construction and maintenance
of a road would be a stupen-;
dous task.
What, then, is the solution?
Continued next week
MUST HELP BUILD
NEEDED PACK TRAIL
The much needed trail from
I the Salmon River highway to
serve a large group of mining
properties on the difficult
heights above Eight-mile will
be constructed by the Forest
Service trail bureau next sum
mer, provided property own
ers whose claims would be
served will put up one-fourth
of the construction costs, ac- j
cording to a letter from C. M.
Archibald, the new forest
ranger for this district, re
ceived this week by Oren F.
Hill.
Efforts to secure government
construction of the trail were
instituted more than a year
ago by Mr. Hill and others
owning mining properties in
that locality and were subse
quently endorsed by the Hy
der Chamber of Commerce as
highly essential to the develop-;
ment of very promising prop- !
erties situated in an area so!
hard to reach without!
trail facilities that operations
are extremely difficult and
costly.
Mr. Arehibold’s letter says
the regional office has tenta- (
tively approved the project, j
provided that property owners I
along the trail route would co- j
operate in the costs of con- j
struction to the extent of 25
per cent of the total costs. Mr.
Archibold added that if as
sured of this cooperation the
project would be placed on
the bureau’s work plan for
early construction in the
spring.
•o
Celebration Committee
Dance Nets Good Sum
Efforts of the Alaska-Brit
ish Columbia celebration com
mittee to raise funds to meet
ihe deficit resulting from the
international celebration held
in Hyder, Stewart and Pre
mier last July, were substan- j
tially rewarded when a good :
sized crowd attended the
dance given in the Pioneer
Hall last Saturday evening
under committee auspices. The
function was a financial and
social success, the net returns
amounting to $86.50. Premier
residents turned out splendid
ly and were chiefly instru
mental in making the dance a
paying entertainment. In add
ition. the Premier orchestra
also donated the excellent
music and the Premier Com
munity Club provided sand
wiches for the luncheon.
The committee has requested |
the Herald to extend their j
thanks to Premier for the con- j
tributions mentioned; to the i
ladies of Hyder and Stewart j
for cakes and to all others who j
assisted in making the dance j
successful.
As there are still a numberj
of bills outstanding, the com- j
mittee plans to hold one or
more entertainments after the
first of the year to clear up
the remaining indebtedness.
-o
Jack Fitzgerald, left Thurs
day for Seattle and plans to
remain in the south during
most of the winter season.
Vancouver Journal Praises
Specail Herald Edition
The Review, prominent Van
couver journal, has the follow
ing to say in praise of the re
cent special Chamber of Com
merce edition of the Hyder
Weekly Herald.
Alaska Special
“Who would have guessed
that from Fairbanks, Alaska,
the distance to London, Eng
land is but 4,220 miles, or that
whereas its distance to Los
Angeles is 2460 miles, it is but
2820 miles from Fairbanks to
Leningrad? These matters are
brought to our notice through
the Hyder Weekly Herald, a
new arrival among the week’t
exchanges from Pacific coast
points and one which we are
glad to welcome as a voice
from the north.
“The international bound
ary divides the towns of Stew
art, B. C., and Hyder, Alaska,
and if the well-set-up weekly
before us is a proper gauge ot
feeling and opinion in those
parts, it is a pledge to all the
world that there is in the north
an intercommunity entente
that bespeaks goodwill, mu
tual interest and common en
terprise.
“Besides Mt. McKinley, 20,
.300 feet high, Alaska has thir
ty-seven mountain peaks, over
10,000 feet high, and our
weekly makes the most of
these as attractive items for
the tourist.
Stewart, B. C., is the only
incorporated municipality ir.
th*e Atlin riding, it is the busi
ness center for one of British
Columbia’s richest mineral ar
eas, our friends of the north
claim it as the natural key to
the Peace River district, it be
ing the shortest route to the
coast. It is an ice-free port, the
most northerly of all B. C.
ports; it has a school, three
churches, bank, electric light,
hospital, excellent stores, tel
egraph and telephone services.
It is the center of the Portland
Canal Mining District; the Pre
mier and Big Missouri Mines
are right behind it. It is a
promising field for the for
ward looking investor.
All these features, and more,
are well and forcibly set forth
in the new weekly, which
well printed and artistically
set up. The voice of the les
ser communities in population
is recorded with surety thru
their local press, and in this
respect the Hyder Weekly
Herald is to be warmly con
gratulated. The Review ex
tends its congratulations and
best wishes for a long life and
a happy one.
--Q
Last Tuesday, October 27,
was the seventy-third anniver
sary of the birth of that great
American statesman and pa
triot, Theodore Roosevelt.
It is regrettable that there
should be so little attention
paid to the memory of the na
tion’s great figures after they
have passed beyond human
ken. Roosevelt devoted a large
part of his life to public ser
vice and to the perpetuation of
our American institutions. It
has been truly said that his
life should be a source of in
spiration to every American
and it is sad to think that the
public is so indifferent to his
virtues.
HOSPITAL OUTLOOK
STILL_ UNSETTLED
The question of whether it
will be possible to continue op
eration of the Stewart hospital
during the winter is still un
determined, although it was
announced at a public meeting
held in Stewart Wednesday
evening that the B. C. provin
cial government had indicated
an intention to advance $500
toward its maintenance.
This amount, however, will
not suffice to keep the insti
tution going for more than an
other month, as the hospital
board is faced with a previous
deficit amounting to several
hundred dollars.
The meeting was attended
by a considerable number of
Stewart residents. During the
course of discussion it was
stated that the monthly main
tenance cost is about $250.
The B. C. Governmenttan
In view of the hard times
and the difficulties most every
one is experiencing in making
both ends meet, the outlook for
raising the required amount
locally is not favorable, al
though it is the intention to
continue efforts in that direct
ion and several suggested
plans will be tried before it is
definitely decided to close the
institution.
Democrats Hold Caucus
Local adherents of democ
racy held a meeting in the
Traversy building Friday even
ing for the purpose of elect
ing three delegates to a dem
ocrative convention to be held
in Petersburg Nov. 20.
The meeting was called by
John Ronan, democratic stal
wart, who has been designated
as precinct committeeman by
th e democratic organization,
which plans to hold a territor
ial convention at Fairbanks
with the object of selecting
candidates for Territorial pub
lic offices at the next elect
ions.
The meeting was attended by some
20 representatives of the party. Clay
Porter, rock-ribbed follower of Jef
fersonian principles and one of the
few-dyed-in-the-wool democrats in
these parts, was elected chairman and
Holger Johnson was named as secre
tary.
There was little display of verbal
pyrotechnics, as the meeting was in
tent on business and promptly elect
ed John Ronan. Joe Green and Holger
Johnson as delegates to the Demo
cratic divisional convention at Pet
ersburg next month. A standing pre
cinct committee composed of B. B.
Smith. Joe Green and W. C. Blanton
was elected to look after democratic
interests locally and the meeting also
endorsed the candidacy of Governor
Roosevelt of New York for the pres
idency and went on record as favor
ing A. H. Ziegler, of Ketchikan, as
democratic candidate for delegate to
Congress.
Winter wood cutting has as
sumed the importance of a ma
jor local industry during the
past few weeks and the pres
ent outlook is that more wood
will be burned here during the
coming winter than at any
time in the camp’s history.
Large piles of stovewood are
to be seen stacked up adjacent
to both private dwellings and
business houses and are being
increased almost daily, indi
cating that the prevailing hard
times are not deterring the
wood-cutting industry, regard
less of their effect on other
occupations.