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MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
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VOL 7, NO. 23
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, MARCH 14,1931.
PRICE TEN CENTS
REPORTSHOWSMORE
ORE AT a C, SILVEf
The official progress repor
of the B. C. Silver for January
released in London, Eng., Feb
ruary 21, discloses continuec
good results in the develop
nient of the several ore bodie:
revealed by earlier explora
tion. Three new raises startec
during the month have eacl
disclosed commercial ore
while very good ore was open
ed up in the No.6 sublevel
between 5 and G levels. Samp
les from this drift ran as higl
as $33.43. The complete re
pox-t follows:
All work was confined to t
and 6 levels and to No. 6 sub
level, which is approximately
half way between 5 and 6
levels.
No. 6 level: Another raise
G52, was started on the B'
main orebody, at 440 ft. south
west of No.2 shaft. This was
advanced 14 ft. on the ort
zone, showing good mineral]'
zation and commercial values
Two raises, 654 and G53
were started on the E. orebody
at 450 and 480 ft. south eas;
of the shaft. These exposer
favorable country with some
good mineralization and com
mercial assays. The best 5 ft
sample assayed $17.52.
6 sub-level: The north east
eily drift on the ore zone, be
tween 5 and 6 levels, was ad
vanced 45 ft. in well silicifiec
country', showing some gooc
commercial assays. One five
foot face sample assayed $33.
43 and a five ft. back assayed
$22.58.
No. 3 sub-level: A south west.
erlyr drift started off 353 raise
at 60 ft. above 3 level has ex
posed favorable country show
ing low values.
A total of 130 ft. of raising
drifting and crosscutting was
done.
—o
Century Co. To Extend
Hobo Tunnel
B. B. Smith, John Ronan and
Wm. McGrew left Wednesday
for the Hobo group of the Cen
tury Mines Company to star!
a further extension of the mair
tunnel, with a view to getting
under an important copper
gold showing which promises
to develop into an extensive
ore body at depth.
It is believed that a 45-fool
extension of the tunnel wil
tap the zone.
CAUSES FOR PRINCE RUPERT
SINKING UNDETERM IN EC
The cause of the mysteriou.
sinking of the Canadian Na
tional steamer Prince Rupert
at midnight March 6, while
lying at dock in Esquimal
Harbor, has not been definite!}
established, according to the
latest press reports.
Divers were at work block
ing up port holes and othei
openings on the steamer pre
paratory to pumping her out
The ship, the reports said
was lying in 28 feet of watei
in an almost perpendiculai
position, with the stern com
pletely submerged, and th<
bow high above water. Whei
raised the vessel will again bi
completely overhauled and sur
veyedand it will probably bi
six weeks or two months be
fore she is again ready fo
(service.
! War Department Want*
To Sell Alaska Cable
I' Identical bills authorizing tlu
Secretary of War to sell the
I Alaska cable system to the
highest responsible biddei
have been introduced in both
houses in Congress at the in
. [stance of the War Department
. ! according to recent press re
ports.
i I Under the bills, the Wai
,! Department is empowered
; to sell the Federal interest
i in the properties either whole
j or in part after due adver
! tisement.
I The purchase of the system
i would be open only to United
j States citizens or corporations
i whose controlling interests are
withing the United States.
The sale of the Alaska cable
: system was recently recom
mended by the Inter-Depart
ment Commission, after study
[ ing elimination of duplicator
| of communication systems ol
! the government. The recom
1 mendations contemplated the
closing of 12 army radio sta
; cions belonging to both the
Army and Navy, on the score
that such action would save
millions of dollars annually.
j -o
St. Patrick’s Dance Tuesday
The St. Patrick’s Day Dance
I under the auspices of the la
dies of the Catholic church
! congregation will take place in
Pioneer Hall next Tuesday
i evening.
The comittee in charge has
left nothing undone to make
che event as pleasurable as
| possible and everyone attend
ing is assured of a good time,
j The music will be provided by
he Premier Orchestra and the
; program will be enhanced by
I vocal numbers by W. D. Smith
and S. A. McPherson. A splen
did luncheon will also be serv
O
Percy G. Charles
Heads Pioneers
Percy G. Charles, of Ketchi
i '.can, was chosen Grand Pres
ident of the Grand Igloo of the
Pioneers of Alaska at the an
nual meeting, held in Juneau
! a few days ago.
| Other officers selected wrere:
j Cal. M. Brosius, Seward, Past
Grand Pres., Geo. A. McGuire,
Fairbanks, Grand First Vice
President; T. W. Hawkins,
Seward, Grand Second Vice
President; Geo. J. Love, Val
dez, Grand Secretary; John
Reck, Juneau, Grand Treasur
er; Dr. W. H. Chase, Cordova,
Grand Historian; Rev. C. E.
Rice, Juneau, Grand Chaplain;
J. H. Groves, Fairbanks, Grand
Srgeant at Arms; John H.
Dunn, Ruby; W. H. Palmer,
Valdez; Herman L. Gentsch,
'Anchorage; John T. Spickett,
Juneau; S. H. Burgh, Nome,
, Grand Trustees,
j The Grand Igloo unanimously
approved a proposal to admit
into the Pioneer order young
I persons of either sex born of
white parents in Alaska or the
Yukon Territory since Decem
ber 31, 1905. The young folks
I are permitted to afiliate
through chartered organiza
' tions known as the “Log Cab
1 in,” organizations and charters
will be issued by the Grand
Igloo whenever a group of 25
or more eligibles make appli
cation.
The Grand Igloo also went
• on record as being opposed
to increase rates on the Alaska
^P,C.P. CO. PREPARING
! TO INSTALL LINE!
D. R. Steele, power line con
structor, arrived from Seattl.
Monday evening to undertak.
the work of locating and pre
paring specifications for th.
structural steel towers whicl
will be used by the PortSanc
Canal Power Company to sup
j port the transmission line:
' which will convey electricity
ifrom the company’s projectet
hydro-electric power plaid oi
i Davis River to Hyder.
Mr. Steele, who recently con
! eluded a similar constructioi
in Old Mexico, plans to tak<
!the contract for erecting thi
I transmission lines, which wil
be supported entirely on fab
ricated steel towel’s betweer
the power site and town.
After looking over the sur
veyed power line routes ur
Salmon valley and to Stewari
during the first part of the
week, Mr. Steele left Friday
for Davis River, with Chri;
Crone and Harry Hills to starl
investigating the transmissior
line requirement from thal
j point to Hyder.
[ According to Mr. Steele, tlu
i installation of the big double
i transmission line will require
the labor of 25 or more line
men and more than double
that number of mechanics and
| laborers.
In response to a query by the
Herald as to when the com
pany expects to start active
I work on its big development.
Mr. Steele said he understood
that the work is scheduled to
get under way early next
month.
The first objective of the
company will be the building
of a dock and camps at the
mouth of Davis River for the
handling of supplies and mach
inery and the housing of the
' construction crew engaged on
i the cement power plant and
on the lofty dam some 2200
| feet up the river.
A recent letter from Edwin
R. Wright, resident engineer of
pany will employ creosoted
{the company, said the com
piles in the construction of the
wharf, which will be approxi
, mately 200 feet in length.
I wo New territorial
Officials Take Office
Consonant with the opening
of the Alaska Legislature,
two new Territorial official?
took office under the Alaska
government.
W. K. Keller, republican, for
mer superintendent of the Jun
eau schools, took over the of
fice of Commissioner of Edu
cation, succeeding Leo. W
Breuer, whose two-year term
of office expired March 2, and
William A. Hesse, democrat of
Ketchikan, took over the duties
i of Highway Engineer for the
! Territory, succeeding Roberl
; J. Sommers, democrat, who
| filled the position for several
! terms. Mr. Hesse was the only
democrat for Territorial office
to win out in the Novembei
i election.
j Railroad and asked the Gov
! ernor and Legislature “to re
; vise the present probate code
j with the object of lessening
j the cost of administration, par
j ticularly in the case of smal
.estates.”
HESS AND WINN ARE
LEGISLATIVE CHOICI
Luther C. Hess, Fairbanki
! | banker and democrat, anc
‘! Grover C. Winn, of Juneau
' j republican, were the choice o:
! I the tenth biennial Alaska Leg
1 I islature for president ol
jthe Senate and speaker of the
' | House, according to report:
5 j from Juneau this week.
Senator Lless was the unan
! omous choice of the Senate foi
1 both temporary and permaneiu
chairman, and the same honors
were accorded Representative
1 Winn in Ihe selection of speak
er of the House of Represen
I tatives.
Judge Arthur W. Fox was
j elected secretary of the Senate
i and Lawrence Kerr was the
1 unanimous choice for chiet
j clerk of the House.
The opening session of both
houses was convened by Kan
! Thiele, Secretary of Alaska,
with every member of both
| branches on hand for the first
‘time in several sessions.
Reporting the legislative
outlook, the Juneau Empire
says:
“While economy will be the
watchword of the session, ii
has been indicated by various
members, all of them are sat
! ified that the Territory’s rev
! enues will be sufficient to take
| care of all necessities of the
government. Generally, it is
believed there will be no dis
position to increase any of the
existing schedules of taxation.
It is known that some im
portant legislation will be giv
en careful consideration. It has
1 been definitely declared that
a measure to restore the Com
I missioner of Education’s pos
ition to an appointive basis
will be introduced.
Repeal of the Alaska Bone
Dry act will be pressed.
Repeal of the Territory’s di
rect primary law will be an
i other subject for deep study.
' Members of both houses have
expressed a desiie to bring
about a change in this system
to eradicate some abuses that
crept in from time to time in
recent years. One proposition
was to substitute for the pri
| mary a party convention sys
! tern, based on the election of
delegates, and registration of
voters.
On all sides it is agreed that
! the session will be marked by
J unusual harmony.
Members of the Legislature
! by Divisions are:
First Division — Senators
; Charles Benjamin, Wrangell,
jand Allen Shattuek, Juneau;
j Representatives Frank A
; Boyle and G. C. Winn, Juneau,
A. H. Ziegler and J. E. John
son, Ketchikan.
Second Division — Senators
R. N. Sundquist, Candle, and
Alfred J. Lomen, Nome: Rep
| resentatives Henry Burgh,
Cliff Allvn, George Hellerich,
Nome, and Andy Nylen, Sol
omon.
| Third Division — Senators
A. J. Dimond, Valdez, Robert
IS. Bragaw, Anchorage; Repre
■ sentatives Cal M. Brosius, Sew
ard, Joseph H. Murray, and
Frank H. Foster, Cordova, ana
H. H. McCutcheon, Anchorage.
Fourth Division — Senators
Luther C. Hess, Fairbanks,
John W. Dunn, Ruby; Repre
1 sentatives Harry Donnelly,
Alaska Petroleum
Production 193G
• i All the petroleum produced
in Alaska in 1930 continued to
come from wells of the Chil
’! kat Oil Co., near Katalla,
where, in addition to the oil
. wells, the company operates a
i small refinery, according to the
’ Geological Survey. The gaso
i line and distillate produced
! from this petroleum are much
in demand in the local mar
! kct, as they are said to be of
better quality than the usual
j commercial brands. This com
\ pany is reported to have con
' tinned operations in this field
| on essentially the same scale
as heretofore. A revival of in
terest in the development of
the oil fields near Katalla and
Yakataga was shown by re
1 ports that several companies
were making preparations for
active drilling in these regions,
and some were actually ship
ping in necessary equipment.
In addition to well justified at
tempts to extend the area of
known oil lands in this part of
Alaska there appears to have
! been considerable speculative
i promotion whereby individuals
have been induced to pay manj
thousand dollars for services
in obtaining oil holdings that
could have been obtained di
rectly from the government at
a nominal charge.That there is
some oil in this region is clear
ly proved by the producing
wells near Katalla and by the
numerous seepages at many
i points between Katalla and
Yakataga, but whether it oc
' curs under such conditions a?
will make a commercial oil
i field must await the evidence
furnished by the drill.
Drilling for oil in the region
west of Chickaloon was con
i tinued by the Peterson Oil As
sociation. Drilling ceased early
i in the fall, but the operators
! report that they will resume
work here next spring. No
I search for oil by drilling is re
1 ported to have been in pro
gress in any of the other parts
of Alaska that are believed to
hold promise of being oil-bear
ing in Northern Alaska. This
lack of activity should not be
interpreted as indicating that
i the possibilities of finding pe
troleum in these regions are
regarded as exhausted nor
that search has been perman
ently abanoned. It simply
means that the proving of a
new oil field in Alaska is an
extremely expensive task,
which can be undertaken only
by a large, strongly financed
company, and that such com
panies at present find more
certain promise of immediate
returns in other fields.
Zapora Sailings
—
} A telegram from the Wills Navi
gation Company this morning an
nounced that the motorship Zapora
will sail from Seattle on her next
voyage to Hyder at Midnight March
| 18th.
Succeeding voyages will start on
or about tlie second and sixteentli
j of each month, according to a tenta
tive schedule of sailings outlined by
(’apt. J. H. Foreman, general man
ager of the company, when the Za
pora was last here.
With possible variations of sail
ing dates, this schedule of bi-weekly
I sailings will be maintained both
! winter and summer between Seattle
i and Hyder, Capt. Foreman said.
Iditaro, Joe McDonald, Fred B.
Johnston, and Andrew Ner^
land, Fairbanks.
DEVELOPMENTS IN
SILVER SITUATION
Activity on both sides of the
Atlantic aimed at the resusci
tation of silver have now reach
ed a point which has not only
steadied the silver market, but
also indicates that definite ac
tion for stabilization of the
metal will soon be forthcoming.
Press reports say that sen
timent toward the precious
metal, which only recently sold
at 25^4. cents, an ounce in New
York, an all-time low record,
: has been bolstered by an ac
I cumulation of evidence indi
cating that the world has at
last been aroused to action.
Passage by the United States
Senate of resolutions asking
the President to take the iniat
ive jn bringing about an inter
national conference respecting
the status and uses of silver
was coincidental with a similar
| proposal by the executive com
1 mittee of the International
I Chamber of Commerce in
: Paris.
Stabilization of silver values
was the subject of a resolution
passed by the lower House of
the Washington state legisla
ture, in which Congress was
i urged to take action to induce
an international conference.
A silver stabilization confer
ence of representatives ot
Chambers of Commerce of
I Washington, Oregon, Idaho,
! California and of British Col
1 umbia held in Tacoma reeent
: ly called for action by the gov
ernments of the United States
and Canada to speed up inves
tigations of the depreciated
value of silver and urged an
international monetary confer
ence to discuss means of stab
ilizing silver in the world’s
monetary system.
A joint memorial to Congress
was introduced in the House
of Representatves of the Ore
gon state legislature asking the
federal government to take
steps to enter into an agree
ment with other nations to re
store the value of silver in for
eign countries. The act would -
have the government confer
with silver using countries to
maintain by international
agreement the price of silver
with its relation to gold.
Arthur Brisbane, famous pub
licist, in an article in late
Hearst papers, declared that
restoration of silver values is
essential to the return of
stable world business and in
dustrial conditions. This is the
most unequivocal utterance on
the silver situation so far made
by M. Brisbane.
O
Wickersham to Fight Sale
of Alaska Cable
Declaring that the recent
cut of $500,000 on the Alaska
Railroad appropriations and
the consequent raise is unfair
to residents of the Territory,
the Hon. James Wickersham
has informed the press that
this will retard the develop
ment of Alaska and its rich re
sources. He also stated that he
is ready to fight the sale of the
Washington-Alaska military
cable and telegraph to private
concerns. He says this will cut
out the small towns now oper
ting at a loss and put a further
handicap on the development
of Alaska.—Ketchikan Trib
une.