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HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
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VOL 7, NO. 38
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 1931.
PRICE TEN CENTS
CHARGES HOOVER
DELAYED MEETING
Charges that president Hoov
er was responsible for a tem
porary setback in the silver
conference movement and that
Great Britain is opposing the
calling of an international sil
ver conference were made by
Senator - Key. Pittman in a
press interview given in Shang
hai a few days ago.
Pittman sharply scored the
president for his recent tele
gram to Senator Reed Smoot,
of Utah, in which the president
was reported as saying the
United States was willing to
participate in an “informal”
international silver conference
but believed the present \va>
not opportune for a formal
conference, owing to the op
position of certain nations.
“It is amazing,” the Nevada
senator is reported as saying,
“that foreign influence can bt
brought to bear on such high
American official circles.”
Senator Pittman said Presi
dent Hoover’s telegram to Sen
ator Smoot had been made j
public at a “critical” moment,
when Pittman himself was ii
Nanking conferring with Chi
nese Nationalist government
officials and with a definite
move looming on the part of
certain nations for the calling
of the proposed conference, He
added that as a result of the
president’s message these nat-1
ions now were hesitating t'‘ j
assume leadership in such a'
move, and for that reason the ’
conference prospects had re ,
ceived “a temporary setback- !
but not for long!”
“There was every indication
that the Chinese and Japan
ese governments were serious
ly considering immediate ac
tion relative to the calling ot \
an international silver confer-;
ence between governments, j
until Hoover’s telegram to Sen- I
ator Smoot discouraged such
action,” Senator Pittman con j
tinued.
“It is impossible to conceive,
in view of all the circumstanc
es, that the governments of
China and Japan could be sat
isfied with the holding of a
useless informal conference.
It might be denominated silly,
if it were not tragic.”
Senator Pittman asserted the j
British opposition was being
used by the London govern
ment as a “trading point” by 1
which Great Britain hoped she i
might obtain readjustment of
the war debts to the United
States.
“The informal conference on
silver, suggested by Senatoi
Smoot and apparently approv
ed by President Hoover is, in
my opinion, a futile move, I ]
am afraid it would be suspect
ed by certain governments
most interested, as a subter
fuge. Such an informal con
ference, not initiated by gov
ernments and for which gov
ernments are responsible, will
be but a repetition of the two
conferences already held—
the United States chamber of
commerce conference on the
subject, and the similar con
ference of the international
chamber of conference.” Sen
ator Pittman said.
“It. is unfortunate the trad
Cruiser to Remain
Throughout Celebration
The Alaska-British Colum
bian international celebration
committee announced this
week receipt of the following
| communications from Admiral
Schofield, commander of the
lT. S. Pacific fleet, and Com
mander II. A. Jones, "U. S.
Navy, executive officer, rela
tive to the forthcoming visit
of the United States battle
cruiser Detroit:
Admiral Schofield wired as
; follows: ,|
“I am pleased to inform you
i that the Detroit will remain at
i Hyder until the early morning ;
I of twenty-one July.”
The message from Com-'
mander Jones was written at 1
San Diego, June lGth and
reads:
‘‘The Detroit is what is
I known as a 7,500 ton cruiser;
| length 555 feet, beam 55 feet,
[draft 18 feet 6 inches; arma
I ment 10—6 inch, 53 caliber!
guns and four 3 inch, 50 cal-1
iber anti-aircraft guns: two j
triple 21 inch torpedo tubes.
“The Detroit carries a crew
of 45 officers and 450 men
and is in command of Captain !
Nathan W. Post, U. S. N. The i
four screw engines develop i
00,000 h. p., trial speed 35 !
knots.
“The ship carries a band
which belongs to the Admiral,
but as the Admiral will not be
along on our visit to Hyder, I
do not think we will have a
band. We have a baseball and i
basket ball team.
“We are all looking forward i
o our visit to you in July.” :
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Cleanup Day Proposed
A general cleanup of the 1
camp, in preparation for the ,
coming Alaska-British Colum-!
bian international celebration
was proposed by president E
D. Haddon at the last meet
ing of the Hyder Chamber of
Commerce.
Mr. Haddon urged that in- i
dividual property holders fix.
iheir premises in as sightly
conditions as possible, after
which the Chamber of Com
merce would undertake to look
after the unoccupied sections |
of the camp. Messrs Holger i
Johnson, Hubert Thomas ana !
B. B. Smith were named as a
committee to have charge of!
the latter work.
Film Company Plans
Local Movie View3
Valuable publicity possibili- j
lies for the Hyder district are i
presented in a letter from !
Watt Films received by the
Hyder Chamber of Commerce.
The company which is engag-. ,
ed in the production of news
leels and other film features, j
requests information regard
ing the possibilities for taking
pictures during the Alaska
British Columbian celebration
period.
The letter has been referred
to the celebration committee,
! which will undertake to fur
! ther the proposal.
ing schemes of one govern
ment could be permitted to
block a conference of all other
nations upon so vital a subject, i
j I do not believe it will be
! blocked for long.”
PREMIER4C,SILVER
PARLEYS RESUMED?
Negotiations toward a work
; ing arrangement between the
Premier Gold Mining Com
pany and the Selukwe Gold
Mining and Finance Company
looking to the operation by
i the former of the B. C. Silver
property are again reported.
The reports, however, are ap
parently based on nothing
| tangible, although emanating
j from what are said to be well
informed quarters. Local rep
resentatives of the two com
panies apparently know noth
ing of the reported negotia
I tions.
__n _
Hyder, Alaska, Not
The Only Hyder
Although our town posses
es a distinctly unusual name,
it is not the only town in j
Uncle Sam’s domain so named.
This is revealed in a postcard
photo from Charles Goldberg,
well known Premier employee,
received recently by Frank W.
Fisher, superintendent of the
Premier transportation system.
The card shows Mr. Gold
berg standing beside a South
ern Pacific railway station, the
signboard of which bears the
name “Hyder” in large letters.
The sign also gives the ele
vation of the station as 535
feet and states that is is situ
ated 822 miles from Los Ange
les and 1708 miles from New
Orleans.
In a letter to Mr. Fisher, Mr.
Goldberg who was on his w-y
to Old Mexico, states that he
happened to notice the sign
where the train stopped. He
thereupon got off and had the
snapshot taken for the edifi
cation of his local friends.
Treasury Balance of
May 31, Only $722,752
The net cash balance in the
Territorial Treasury at the end
of May was $722,752.01, ac
cording to the monthly state
ment issued by Treasurer W.
G. Smith.
On May 31, last year, the
net balance was $1,006,587.
-55.
Outstanding warrants this
year were considerably less
than a year ago. The total out
standing last month was $36,
627, as compared to $73,571.
01, and the total cash on
hand was $759,379.54 a.‘
against $1,080,112.56.
■o
Nation Strike Not Big
W. J. Crawford returned
Monday from a trip to Fort
St. James, nearest point to the
scene of the Nation river gold
strike, where he learned that
the strike is apparently not a
big one, although gold is being
found in moderate quantities.
He reports quite a few outfits
going in.
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Silver Moves UP
An increase of two cents in
the price of silver during the
week is attributed in London
press reports to buying in
China and India and to reports
of forthcoming important an
nouncements regarding inter
national finances.
1 OFFERS TO BOOST
LOCAL CELEBRATION
A highly appreciated proffer
of assistance in securing out
side newspaper publicity foi
I he forthcoming Alaska-Brit
ish Columbian international
celebration has come to the
celebration committee from
Earl W. Knight, editor of The
Alaska Weekly, leading Alas
ka news journal published in
i Seattle.
Mr. Knight, who is an ardent
champion of Alaska, writes to
the committee that there
should be enough of the unus
ual in the coming celebration
to offer possibilities of new j
stories and pictures in some of
the larger outside dailies. Con
tinuing, Mr. Knight says:
“The idea of an international
celebration is in itself a news
story; the scenic attractions of
your section offer illustrative
possibilities, and the unique
nature of the entertainment
you intend to provide should
get space.
If you want me to have a
whirl at the dailies, write me
all the details you can and
send photos, and I will see
what can be done.”
Mr. Knight’s offer is an ex
tremely valuable one and is
deeply appreciated by the
committee. His letter is also a
complete endorsement of the
Herald’s expressed view that |
the celebration offers tremen
dous advertising possibilities i
for the Portland Canal district j
that should be taken advant-.j
age of as far as possible by the
committee.
C-mpiling Territorial Laws
The compilation and annota
tion of the laws of Alaska, j
authorized by the last Terri- j
torial legislature is now under!
way in Juneau under the di-1
lection of Attorney General
Rustgard. The work will cover j
all laws passed by the Alaska i
Legislature since its inception !
and is very greatly needed as,
owing to changes in many en
actments, there is such con
fusion of the laws that scarce
ly a lawyer in the Territory
knows exactly what is the law
in many cases.
The Attorney General has
employed Henry Roden, one of
the ablest lawyers in Alaska. [
and Lawrence Kerr, widely ex
perienced court reporter and
clerk of the House of Repre
sentatives at the last session, to
do the work, for which the
legislature appropriated $12,
000. Mr. Roden will compile
the civil code and Mr. Kerr
the criminal.
Histcry of 3 Pioneers Ended
The recent death of Joseph |
A. Snow in Sitka brought to j
a close the life history of three !
old-time northlanders' who |
were partners in the stirring j
days of the Klondyke. The j
others were Clarence Berry
and Edward Lindig, both ot
whom passed away within a
month of each other recently.
The three men were partners
in Forty-mile in 1894 and in
Circle City in 1895. Barry lat
er became one of the bonanza
kings of the Klondyke, amas
sing more than a million dol
lars.
Dominion Geologist
Making Gold Survey
Dr. George Hanson, geolo
gist of the Dominion Geolog
cal Survey department 01
Canada, arrived in Stewart
art week to undertake further
geological mapping of tht
Canadian sections of this dir
rict. Dr. Hanson was accom
panied by J. N. Mitchell and
5. Duffel, who will assist him
n his work.
The survey party will de
vote particular attention to
investigations of the gold oc- j
:urences of the district to be j
embraced in the survey.
As many of these are known i
to present excellent commer
cial promise, the work to be
done by Dr. Hanson and his
assistants will be of consider
able value in connection with
future development.
Territorial C. of C.
Invites Membership
An invitation to become at*
filiated with the newly organ
ized Territorial Chamber of
Commerce has been received
by the Hyder Chamber of
Commerce and steps to that
end are now under way.
Literature of the Territorial |
Chamber outlines numerous j
proposals for advancing the i
welfare of Alaska and an- j
nounces that five Alaska
Chambers of Commerce have
already qualified for member
ship in the organization.
Included in the beneficial
proposals to be undertaken is
a plan to issue next year a
publication on Alaska matters,
the scope of which will in
clude every section of the Ter
ritory.
The Territorial chamber al
so proposes cooperation in
furthering local projects in
which the individual chambers
are interested.
Moose Picnic Sunday
The Moose lodge will give a picnic j
at Moose Park Sunday afternoon j
starting at 2 p. m. Everyone is invit j
ul. Bring lunch with you. Hot coffer ,
will lie furnished by tlie Moose.
July 4th Program
The Independence Day celebration I
program, as announced by the coni j
niittee Friday, will commence at tilt j
ball park at 1:30 p. m„ with run |
liing. jumping, three-legged and oh
stacle races for all ages, and a nail '
driving contest for ladies. These will I
be succeeded by a baseball game
between teams of single and married i
men. starting at 2 p. m. Dinner in |
termission will follow until 6:30 |
p. m. when a second baseball game j
will be staged between Hyder and J
Premier teams. The celebration will !
be closed with a dance in Pioneer [
Hall under the auspices of the Pion I
ters of Alaska.
Church Plays Very Good
One of the largest audiences ever i
assembled in Stewart greeted the j
United Church W. A. presentations'
of “The Mayor and the Manicure”!
and “Marrying Smitty” last Saturday I
evening and were well rewarded by ■
witnessing the splendid performance j
of the two lively and humorous farce :
comedies. !
The Mayor and the Manicure war
presented by Howard Campbell, Mrs.
A. Carolan, Rita McLean and Don
Esselmont. who acquitted themselves
in splendid manner.
Tlie cast of “Marrying Smitty” in
cluded W. D. Smith, who made an
inimitable rector of somewhat timid |
tomperment who finds himself the j
object of matrimonial designs of sev-;
oral females, impersonated by Mrs. j
D. ,1. McLean, Miss D. McCarthy, j
Miss Evalyn Blanton, Mrs. H. Roch-'
fort and Mrs. S. McNeil. Mrs. \V. T. ;
Esselmont, took the part of a house 1
maid, whose descerning observations
and witty sallies frequently con- j
vulsed the audience. The entire cast
distinguished themselves by clever
acting and splendid acquaintance
with their parts. It is the opinion of j
all who attended that the show was
the best amateur performance ever
staged in the district.
W. S. Orr directed both perform
ancos.
MDOSE PARK IS
well worn
Extensive improvements to
the Moose Park and swimming
pool were completed this week
by Portland Canal Lodge No.
1218, Loyal Order of Moose
and that splendid public r
reation ground is now in th
finest of shape for swimming
and picnicing. It may also
be said that even tho one may
j not care to swim or picnic, a
! visit to this beautiful sylvan
I spot among the lofty peaks a
j mile above town is well worth
[the time required for the trip.
Being maintained by the Moot
as a public park, it is always
open to the public, who may
enjoy its privileges as they
will, provided proper cleanli
ness is maintained and fire
precautions observed.
The park is approached by
means of a series of natui
stone steps and a winding
graveled path among lofty
trees. A crystal brook flanks
the trail and gurgles merrily
as it tumbles among moss
grown rocks and under a pret
ty rustic bridge. Wooden se^
along the trail provide resli
spots for those unused to th
moderate climbing demands o..
the trail. At the crest of the
trail lies the huge log dam
which forms the swimming
pool of clear, warm water, ten
feet in depth at the lower sic)
and shelving up to soft, san
bottomed shallow depth
where the litle folks may dis
port themselves without dang
er or paddle around in a small
row boat, carefully guarded
from the deep waters by a ring
of floating logs. A broad board
platform across the the dam
provides ample room for doz
ens and two spacious dressing
rooms and toilets, in addition
Lo a swimming platform and
spring boards. The entire lake
is open to the sky, permitting
the sun to maintain the water
at a comfortable temperature
and affording pleasing glimp
ses of the lofty wooded hills
and the Premier tramway. To
overcome an influx of cold
water which heretofore has
kept the pool a trifle too chilly
for comfort except in the
warmest weather. The Moose
have just installed a 200 foot
flume which carries the cold
water over the dam and also
brings fine drinking water
where it is most needed.
The picnic ground is on a
cleared space overlooking the
pool and is fitted with a table
and an iron stove for cooking.
The new improvements cost in
the neighborhood of $200. In
addition to their monetary ex
penditures, the Moose have
contributed to the improve
ment of the park a very large
amount of labor of voluntary
character. Just how much they
have done to give the commun
ity this fine outing place can
not be appreciated without a
visit and all who can are urged
to do so.
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To Work on George Enterprise
A pack train of supplies left
Stewart Monday for George
Enterprise, on which work will
commence for the season.