AN ALL
ALASKA
NEWSPAPER
HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
DEVOTED TO THE PEVELO PMBNT OP ALASKA AND THE PORTLAND CANAL MINING DISTRICT.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
$5.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
VOL 1, NO. 20
HYDER, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21,1925
FIFTY CENTS A MGK1H
RIVERSIDE MILL
STARTED SATURDAY
Inaugurating a new era of:
mineral development in the |
Alaska section of the Portland j
Canal mining district, the new I
ore mill, installed at the River-1
side mine during the past seas- ;
on, is now in permanent oper
ation.
Following a number of pre
liminary turnovers during the
past few days to test the ma- i
•chinery, the mill was placed in i
active operation Saturday. As
has been the case throughout:
the mine’s history, the opening
of the plant was about as
quiet an event as could be
imagined. In fact, a proposal
to make the start an occasion
for a public celebration was
promptly vetoed by manager
J. D. Littlepage on the score
that the owners desire no pub
licity. Thus it happened that
very few aside from those di
rectly interested were aware
when the final adjustments
were made and the prelim
inary tests yielded to perma
nent operation.
Erected under the experienc
ed superintendency of Otto
Trojanowski, who also con
structed the mill of the great
Premier mine, a few miles far
ther up the valley, the new ore
crushing plant responded to
reducing plant responded to
did manner. Barring the need
for a few slight adjustments,
the machinery worked smooth
ly throughout the initial run.
A few minor parts, which fail
ed to arrive in time, are to be
installed, after which the plant
will be fully equipped and
ready to grind out its daily
quota of ore indefinitely.
The equipment throughout is
of the most modern type, the
Barber, Strong, Black interests,
of Ketchikan and Seattle, own
ers of the property, having
spared no expense in making
the plant as complete and up
to date as possible, within the
range of its capacity of 60 tons
per day.
A. B. McDonald arrived on
the Oregon Saturday to take
the position of mine assayer at
'<•' the Riverside mine.
Mr. McDonald comes to Hy
der from Utah, although he is
by no means unacquainted
with Alaska, having been
connected with the assaying
Staff of the Kennecott Copper
Company, at Kennecott sev
eral years ago.
-o
Mrs Edgar Provinse was giv
en a pleasant birthday sur
prise by her numerous friends
Saturday evening. Armed with
loaded lunch baskets filled
with delectable things, the
crowd descended on the big
Provinse store and took poss
ession. A portion of the floor
space was speedily converted
int a dance floor and, with ,C.
M. Ridley at the piano a merry
frolic was soon in full swing.
The luncheon was served buf
fet style and the fun lasted un
til a late hour.
HYDER DEVELOPMENTS
ATTRACTING INTEREST
Letters from local mining men
arriving on recent m^ils from
the states report that the out
look for mining development
I in the Hyder section next sum
mer is most encouraging. The'
i rich strike on the Daly Alaska
and the present certainty that
i the Riverside will be in active
1 production, combined wifh oth
|er encouraging developments
■in both the Salmon and Bear
; river areas during the past
[summer, have caused a wide
increase of interest among in
vestors that will, it is proph
esied, most certainly result in
increased development activ
ities.
Publicity relative to the Hy
der-Stewart railway terminal
proposal is also said to have
produced a decidedly favor
able impression and has given
[the district a vast amount of
invaluable advertising that
[could scarcely have been gain
ed in any other way.
ATT’Y ERNEST BLUE
BECOMES BENEDICT
Telegraphic advices to local
friends during the present
week announce the marriage
Monday evening in Chicago of
Ernest Blue, well known local
attorney, to Miss Dorothy
Brown, of Minneapolis.
The wedding ceremony was
performed at the Drake Hotel,
one of the prominent Chicago
hostelries.
The bride is the daughter of
R. G. Brown, a prominent at
torney of Minneapolis. Follow
ing the wedding the happy
couple went to Waukesha,
Wisconsin for a brief honey
moon before coming to Hyder.
iThey expect to arrive here
[about February 1.
o
Porter Idaho stock continues
the strong upward trend devel
oping during the late fall and
is in considerable demand in
the south. Offerings of $25 per
'unit were made during the
past week. With every pros
Ipect of still further advances,
local owners are holding on,
demanding, meantime, prices
in excess of $30 per unit. Aside
from slight fluctuations, other
local stocks are retaining the
same levels as in the past few
1 weeks.
The motor-ship Oregon, of
the Independent Steamship
Co., of Juneau, arrived in port
from Nanimo Saturday with a
shipment of 125 tons of coal
for the Hyder Fuel Company,
in addition to a small quantity
of general cargo for local bus
iness houses and a few ma
chine parts for the "Riverside
mill.
A. B. McDonald was a pass
enger on the vessel from Seat
tle..
NEW EQUIPMENT
FOR MOUNTAINVIEW
Arthur Moa, manager of the
Riverview Gold Mining Com
pany, operating on the highly
promising Hovland group on
Fish Creek, on which exten
sive development work has
been in progress since early
last summer, is at present in
the States procuring new min
' mg equipment, according to
■ recent Ketchikan advices.
Work on the property is pro
ceeding by hand methods, with
a crew of five or six men em
ployed, the main effort being
directed to driving a lengthy
tunnel on the ore from Skook
um Gulch. The ore on which
the drift is being run carries
good working values and is re
liably stated to be showing in
creasing richness as depth is
attained. With further exten
sion the tunnel is expected to
cut a series of cross fractures
lying higher up the slope, the
outcrops of which contain j
gold-silver ore of high value.
It is understood that the ma
chinery purchased by Mr. Moa
will include, in addition to
power drilling apparatus, the
equipment for a 4,000 foot
tram, which when installed
will extend from the mine to
the Saint'.t Itiv v road. Mr.
Moa is expected to return to
Hyder with the new mine
equipment in March, after
which a much enlarged scale
of development will be inaug
urated.
■o
KEEP YOUR
SIDEWALKS CLEAN
Attention is called to the fact
that a number of Sidewalks
surrounding inhabited places
are in exceedinly unsafe con
dition because of the failure of
their occupants to clear away
the snow accumulations. Keep
ing the walks clear for travel
is admittedly not a task one
relishes. However it is a duty
that in most communities is
; enforced by law, the theory
being that property holders
ae responsible for the care and
upkeep of the walks surround
ing their premises. There is no
law in Hyder to compel observ
ance of this rule but those who
neglect it should recall that it
is none the less a public duty
to keep their walks at least
fairly safe for pedestrians.
-o
i Louis Goldthorpe, who had
jbeen missing from his usual
! haunts in Stewart for about a
jweek, was located Thursday,
| by searchers, according to
Word from Stewart. The miss
ing man had strained his ank
: le while on a trip to the United
Empire property and took ref
uge in a cabin for several days
until he had restored the in
jured member to a state of use
fulness and could return to
'town.
One of the largest . brown
bears ever seen in the interior
was killed recently by Justyn
Frank, near Minto. He also got
a fine specimen of the black
| wolf.
ALASKA PRESS GIVES
ENDORSEMENT TO R. R.
TERMINAL PROPOSAL
The Stewart-Hyder trans
continental railway terminal
proposal launched by the
Chamber of Commerce some
weeks ago is receiving the en
dorsement of the press thru
out the Territory. The Juneau
Empire, Stroller’s Weekly and
other leading journals have
either commented favorably
on the proposal or reprinted
articles detailing the broader
aspects of the plan. In so
far as the Herald has observed
there has been no unfavorable
comment in any quarter, al
though the general tone of ed
itorial observations appear to
'indicate that the writers have
failed to grasp the tremendous
importance to Alaska of hav
ing a transcontinental railway
terminal within the Territorial
borders. It is, therefore, doub- i
gratifying to find a journal of;
such wide circulation and in-.
jfluence, as the Alaska Weekly 1
j giving the proposal unquali-;
Jfied endorsement and encour
aging every possible support
and assistance. It says:
We were at first inclined to
look askance at the enthusiasm
over the possibility of Hyder
becoming a transcontinental
railroad terminus. Not that we
question its feasibility, but we
have suffered so many griev
ous dissapointments in con
nection with proposed Alas
kan development which ap
appeared entirely justified
and practical and held every
promise of being profitable as
well, that while our faith re
mains unshaken, we are not
so easily enthused as we once
were.
i Whenever you get in that
state of mind just talk to a real
! sourdough—there must be
something in the very air of
Alaska which keeps the well
spring of optimism always
fresh and sparkling. W. L.
Batch, well known Alaskan
and just now one of the lead
ing spirits of that crowd of live
wires who constitute the Hy
der Chamber of Commerce
was in to see us and we can
jsee the glistening miles of steel
jand the train loads of fish and
l concentrates, and the shops
;and all that goes with a rail
road terminus.
i This is no idle delusion of an
optimistic hysteria but a poss
ibility, and one, the accomp
lishment of which, would be
of tremendous value to all
Alaska.
This is exactly the sort of
thing for which Alaska needs
an All-Alaska Chamber of
Commerce. In the absence of
such a body individual organ
izations in the various cities of
Alaska should put their re
sources, financial and influent
ial at the disposal of Hyder
and help them to go out and
get a transcontinental railroad
for Alaska.
I
DRASTIC CHANGE IN B. C.
MINING LAW PROPOSED
A recent Vancouver dispatch
says that: “Following a confer
ence here, it was decided that
a special meeting of the Mining
Bureau should be held soon to
consider suggesting to the Gov
ernment that British Colum
bia mines be owned only by
British citizens. The proposal
I is aimed to safeguard the bus
iness interests of the Province
even in the Cassiar, where a
rush is expected. It is declared
that Seattle and Wrangell mer
chants are arranging to cap
ture the Cassiar trade.”
•o
BALCH SEES FINE
HYDER OUTLOOK
W. L. Balch, in an interview
in a recent number of the
Alaska Weekly, discusses in
optimistic manner the develop
ment outlook for Hyder and
the Salmon River section ana
prophesies a splendid future
| for the town and district when !
adequate transportation is pro
; vided.
| In addition to lauding the
| mining developments of the
'year, Mr. Balch outlines the
importance to the Territory of
the transcontinental. railway
terminal proposal and also
points out that a railroad up
the Salmon River valley is one
of the primary needs of the
district in facilitating future
development..
o
; With cash l’eceipts totaling
‘$902.05 and expenses aggre
gating $94.60, the net cash re
turns from the recent benefit
dance and entertainment for
Stewart General Hospital were
$807.45, according to the fi
nancial report of the board, is
jsued during the week. In ad
dition to the cash realized,
goods of various kinds valued
at $31 are still to be sold. The
hospital board is planning to
! devote a portion of the pro
ceeds to purchasing an X-ray
equipment at a cost of $1,500.
'The proposal is in every way a
wise one, as the installation of
apparatus of that character
will be of great benefit and
widen considerably the scope
of the hospital’s capacities in
caring for the afflicted.
-o
Mrs. H. V. Howard, mother
of H. H. Howard, manager of
The Midget Emporium, was a
southbound passenger on the
Grand Trunk sleamer Thurs
day, after spending the sum
mer and fall seasons with her
son. Mrs. Howard will spend
some time in Southern Califor
nia before returning to her
home in New York.
-,—o
In the new ‘fisheries regulat
ions recently issued it is pro
vided that in the clam fisher
ies of Prince William Sound,
Cook Inlet and points to the
westward, it is provided that
not more than 3 per cent of the
clams taken shall be less than
414 inches in length.
ALASKA GOLD OUTPUT
INCREASES IN 1924
I -
j Memorandum reports to the
press issued by the Depart
ment of the Interior coverin'?
the Alaska mineral production
in 1924 disclose a wide in
crease in gold production dur
ing that period. Reports com
piled by the Geological Survey
nlace the total mineral pro
duction of the Territory at $17,
670,000. Copper, as usual, was
the leading mineral, with a to
tal value of $10,000,000. Gold
was next in importance with
an output estimated at $6,33'),
000, as against $5,985,314 in
1923. Coal ranked third in the
scale with a total productive
value of $550,000. Silver was
fourth with $450,000. Remain
ing mineral elements contrib
uting to the total, included
lead, petroleum, marble, gyn
sum, tin, platinum, etc., and
were valued at $320,000.
With the one exception of
gold there was a decrease m
values produced in all of the
leading minerals, copper pro
duction in 1923 having totaled
$12,630,335: silver, $668,012;
coal, $755,469.
In explanation of the increas
ed gold output the report says
it was mainly due to increased
activity at the lode mines in
southeastern Alaska, as there
was a slight decrease in the
amount of gold won from the
placers. The decrease in the
total value of the mineral out
put, a3 compared to 1923, is
attributed to smaller copper
production and a much lower
average price of that metal.
Relative to the Hyder district
the report says:
In the Ryder district A. F.
Buddington, of the Geological
Survey, reports that develop
ment work on veins containing
gold, silver, and lead has dis
closed ore shoots that are ccm
ridered sufficiently rich to
warrant the construction of a
mill. Several other properties
in that district are likely to be
•come productive.”
1 According to the report, 20
| quartz mines in various parts
of the Territory produced dur
ing the year §2,750,00 in gold,
an increase of more than §400,
000 over the output for 1923.
This increase is largely credit
ed to the Alaska-Juneau mine.
-o
The Seattle Post Intelligen
cer’s Alaska program, broad
casted from the newspaper’s
new high power plant Wednes
day evening, was not a giowm.g
sucess in the view of local ra
dio fans. Only small fragments
of the program could be heard
at best, the Littlepage radio
being apparently the most suc
cessful of any of them.. The
reason for the failure is not
clear.
-o
Arrivals from Ketchikan re
port that the Ingersoll Hotel,
constructed on the site of the
widely known Revilla Hotel,
which was destroyed by fire
last year, is practically com
pleted and the store space on
the ground floor is rapidly fi 1
ing up, in several instances the
occupants being firms which
formerly occupied store space
in the Revilla.
\