-,- V
SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
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HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA AND THE PORTLAND CANAL MINING DISTRICT.
/—" ■■ ■.<
SUBSCRIPTIONS
$3.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
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VOL 7, NO. 30
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, MAY 2,1931.
PRICE TEN CENTS
FEDERAL FLOOD
CONTROL SURVEY
IS UNDER WAY
The long anticipated federa
flood control survey of Salmoi
River, authorized by the 71s
Congress, is now under way
under the direction of Mr. G. J
Truitt, associate engineer o1
the United States Engineer:
off ice at Juneau.
Mr. Truitt arrived in Hydei
Tuesday and has already ac
compolished a considerable
portion of his task, which wil
include a survey of the rivei
along the same general line,
suggested in the preliminary
report submitted to the wai
department by Major, Mai
colm Elliott in April last year
He will also prepare an esti
mate of the cost of construct
ing the engineering works re
quired to control the recurren!
floods on Salmon River which
have jeopardized the towr
since its foundation and neces
sitated the expenditures o1
more than $24,000 by local in
terest in the prevention of dis
astrous inundations of the Hy
der townsite.
Under the improvement plan
suggested by Mayor Elliott ir
his preliminary report, the cost
of the proposed improvement'
will approximate $80,000
eighty per cent of which,$72,
000, would be provided by the
federal government and the
remaining 20 per cent, $8,
000, by local interests of the
Teiritory of Alaska.
The work of the survey is ex
pected to be completed withir
a period of 20 days. From the
data obtained by Mr. Truit
detailed plans for the contem
plated engineering works and
the cost estimates will be pre
pared by the district engin
eer’s office in Juneau. This
work is expected to be com
pleted some time next fall, af
ter which the plans will be sent
to Washington for subhission
to Congress early next year.
In the event that the propos
als are promptly approved by
that body, the contract for con
struction work will probably
be let next summer.
o
B. P. R. Engineer Arrives
V. M. Blackwell, Bureau of
Public Roads engineer, arriv
ed from Juneau Thursday, tc
supervise the Salmon Rivei
highway improvement work
between Nine-mile and Eleven
mile, the contract for which
is held by the Johnson-Gard
ner Company of Portland.
Mr. Blackwell has succeed
ed L. W. Turoff as the Bur
eau’s resident engineer in con
nection with the project.
-o
Zapcra Due Wednesday
The Wills Navigation Co
motorship Zapora is schedulet
to leave Seattle for Hyder to
day (Saturday) and should ar
live here early Wednesday
morning.
-o
E. D. Haddon, manager o
the Bank of Hyder and one o
the camp’s most energetic an<
progressive citizens, has beei
under the weather during thi
past week and forced to re
main at home as a result of ;
severe cold.
P-wer Company Plans
Huge Ultimate Development
The ultimate hydro-electric
power development, contem
plated by the Portland Canal
Power Company on Davis Riv
er is 50,000 horsepower, ac
cording to a description of the
plans of the company publish
ed in the April 16th issue of
Mining Truth.
Nineteen sheets of maps and
plans covering all phases of
ihe huge power project were
filed by the company with the
Federal lower Commission in
connection with its application
for license, according to that
journal, which states that the
initial installation will consist
of two hydraulic turbines hav
ing a capacity of 25,000 horse
power when the dam is com
pleted to its full height, so as
o create a head of 600 feet,
and will at first generate 15,
000 horsepower under a head
of 350 feet. The completed
plant will have four such tur
bines and will develop 50,000
horsepower.
Following the filing of the
maps and plans the company
was in frequent communica
tion with the chairman of the
commission and furnished him
with all the engineering in
formation requested. B. F.
Heintzelman of the Juneau
Forest Service office checked
over the application in the
field, the journal says and con
ferred with Willis T. Batchel
ler, president of the company,
regarding the engineering and
financial details.
Concluding the description,
Mining Truth says it was plan
ned to start construction work
within 30 days after the grant
ing of the license.
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M. C. Butler Sells Interest
In Metcalf Group
—
C. L. Hibbard and I). E.
; Skinner of Seattle have ac
quired the interest of M. C.
Butler, well known Seattle
mining engineer, in the Met
calf and Fendley gold prop
I erty on Chickamin glacier, it
, was disclosed by instruments
filed in the Recorder’s office
; this week. Mr. Hibbard now
holds a majority interest in the
property, the remaining inter
j ests being held by Messrs. W.
W. Metcalf, Jos. Fendley and
Mr. Skinner.
Mr. Hibbard, who has finan
ced the development of the
group during the past two
i years, indicated in a recent
letter to the Herald that the
| property will probably be in
corporated and it is the inten
tion to continue development
i work.
1 Mr. Metcalf is now in charge
.; of the development activities.
Mrs. Arthur Moa sustained
| a severely bruised and cut leg
as a result of falling down a
stairway in her home on Pre
■ mier Avenue last Sunday
morning. Although of incapa
’ ‘dating character, the injuries
; are not serious and Mrs. Moa
is recovering nicely under the
care of Mrs. O. F. Hill at the
’ I latter’s residence.
ii -°
11 Dr. R. L. Mandy, provincial
: | mining engineer, arrived
- Thursday on one of his per
i iodical visits to the Stewart
district.
RADIO-TELEPHONE
SYSTEM PLANNED
FOR ALL-ALASKA
The Northern Radio Tele
graph Company of Seattle has
made application to the Fed
eral Radio Commission for a
permit to establish and main
tain radio-telephone stations
in Alaska, according to Se
attle news reports.
The company, it is said, plans
to install a number of stations
in Alaska by next fall and
will ultimately extend radio
telephone service throughout
the Territory, thereby enab
ling residents of even remote
parts of Alaska to talk direct
ly with virtually all parts of
Canada and the United States,
and even with persons in Eu
rope.
Arrangements have been
made with the Northwest Tel
ephone Company of British
Columbia, which operates ra
dio-telephone stations in Brit
ish Columbia and is connected
with the Bell telephone syst
em, for contact with the pro
jected Alaskan stations, the
first of which will be located
at Ketchikan and Juneau.
In addition to providing ra
dio-phone communication with
outside points, the projected
system will ultimately enable
telephone communication be
tween points within the Ter
ritory and between ships and
shore.
Bene Dry Repeal Bill is Passed
The bill repealilig the Alaska
: Bone Dry Law has passed the
Alaska Legislature and has
; been sent to the governor for
final ratification, according to
press reports.
! The bill does not in reality
| repeal the Bone Dry Law but
is in the nature of a memorial
to Congress requesting the re
! peal of the statute, which is
a congressional act and, there
fore, not open to legislative re
i peal.
: The Legislature has also pass
ed the Ziegler bill designed to
protect the Alaska lumbering
industry and imposing a 12
cent excise tax on Alaska pro
ducts shipped in fibreboard
containers.
■o
The Dalhousie Mining Com
pany has discontinued develop
ment activities on its Tidewat
er molybdenum property at
Alice Arm. The reasons for
the shut-down are not known,
as the company has made no
announcement.
-o
Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie, of
Smithers, B. C., father and
mother of Walter McKenzie,
\ who attempted suicide on the
C. N. R. steamer Prince Geo
i rge at Stewart dock last week,
arrived Monday to be with
i their on, who is recovering ex
cellently from his self inflict
ed wounds.
R. W. Sandy, Stewart resi
dent, left Tuesday on the Fair
banks enroute to the Taku
district, where he plans to join
George Bacon and other Stew
art men, who left recently on
a prospecting trip in that dis
trict.
iCHAMBER COMMERCE
i TO MAKE STRONG
URGE FORJilGHWA\
The Hyder Chamber of Com
merce is preparing to launch
an immediate and energentic
effoit to draw to official
and public attention to the
highly important fact that Hy
der is the most accessible
point in Alaska that can be
leached over the Pacific-Yuk
i on-Alaska Highway and also
| that the Hyder district pre
sents scenic attractions excell
ing those of virtually every
other section of Alaska,
j The decision to una'ertake
a determined campaign to
place these and other import
ant facts concerning the Hyder
district and its close proximity
to the projected international
highway before the world was
taken at a special meeting of
the local organization held in
i the Chamber of Commerce
; Hall Wednesday evening. The
meeting was called primarily
to discuss the highway ques
tion with representatives of
the Stewart Board of Trade
with a view to concerted ac
tion toward bringing a branch
of the big highway to Stewart
and Hyder.
The Stewart delegation in
| eluded H. W. M. Rolston, E.
; Love, R. E. Haack, H. P. Gib
| son, W. R. Tooth, W. D. Smith
and P. S. Jack, all leading
j business men of Hyder’s near
| est communal neighbor.
Mr. Rolston voiced the views
j of the delegation and present
en a clear and concise descrip
tion of the highway situation,
pointing out that there is at
present an impression in the
minds of the British Columbia
officials that the route of the
big highway will be located
some 30 or 40 miles farther
to the eastward of Stewart
than is expected locally. Mr.
Rolston then oulined on a map
of British Coluumbia the sev
eral routes which will be con
sidered by the American and
Canadian highway commis
I doners when they meet to dis
cuss the big project and point
ed out that of the three most
prominent ones, the western
most, extending by way of Kit
wanga over to the Nass riv
er, would strike closest to this
section and would serve the
most territory, but would cost
somewhat more than a so-call
ed cential route running a con
siderable distance to the east
ward.
Mr. Rolston said if we can
induce the construction of the
most westerly route to the
Nass and northward close to
Meziadin Lake, it will bring
the Highway within a compar
atively short distance of Stew
art and Hyder.
There is one more important
objection to this route, the
speaker said. Being close to
the mountains, there would be
more snow and a resulting
shorter season for travel. This
fact combined with the added
factor that a route some what
farther east over lower and
more level country would cost
less might result in the more
easterly route being selected.
A short spur some 30 or 40
miles long would connect us
with the most westerly route,
Hoad Outlet From
Unuk Section Proposed
A recent issue of the Prince
• Rupert News brings the inter
f | esting announcement that ef
forts are to be made to open
! road communication with the
British Columbia section of the
i Unek River district, located a
, short distance beyond the
j | northwestern borders of the
, ! Hyder mining district.
. | The News states that A. S.
. | Skellhorne, well known Can
, j adian mining engineer, has
. i taken options on mining prop
,, erly in that section and has
. interested the British Colum
. j bia government in road con
, struction work there, with the
object of making the district
, accessible. As the only feas
, ible route for an outlet ex
. lends along the lower Unuk
. valley and through American
. territory, it is said the British
I Columbia government is will
. ing to spend an amount equal
• to the United States govern
. ment in opening up the Unuk
, country with an outlet to the
, coast.
while the route farther east
would necessitate a consider
ably longer construction.
Mr. Rolston said that in view
of the controversy in British
Columbia regarding the route
to be taken, it was necessary
to bring all possible pressure
to bear to induce building of
the Highway as far west as
possible. The speaker said he
realized that “Alaska” is a
magic word to the tourist and
the fact that the Ilyder dis
i trict is the closest and most
easily accessible section of the
Alaskan territory should be a
strong influence in determin
ing the location of the High
way. Mr. Rolston also recited
the scenic attractions of the
Hyder district and the large
government expenditures foi
■ highways here as added rea
sons why this section should
be opened to tourist traf
* tie over the Highway. The fact
that the government has spent
| such a large amount on the lo
: cal .roads should provide an
added incentive to make a:
much use of them as possible
Concluding his remarks, Mr
Rolston said that 125 miles ot
new road construction would
i put the Highway right into
l Alaska at Hyder. Some SO or
40 miles of this road is already
‘ constructed and passable to
; automobiles and would need
•^but little improvement to place
- ■ it in shape for large traffic.
Mr. Ernest Blue, Hyder at
| torney, responding to the re
1 marks of Mr. Rolston, pointed
! out that the American High
1 ; way commissioners were evi
* dently strongly interested in
■ i bringing the Highway as close
■ to Alaska as possible. This
■ is shown by the map issued by
them, he said. Mr. Blue offer
t ed the opinion that the decid
: ing factor in the location of
) the Highway would probably
; be the desire to develop Bri
' ish Columbia. He also advised
-1 against overhasty efforts in
1 seeking to influence the loca
t tion of the Highway until such
l time as the survey engineers
t had designated their findings,
i Mr. Blue endorsed the sugges
. tion that Hyder people should
) use all possible influence to
* bring the Highway as close
, j Continued on Page 4.
LAWMAKERS IGNORE
DEFICIT PROSPECT
The prospect of a large trea
j sury deficit and the need for
conserving Territorial funds
have apparently been forgot
ten by the present Alaska Leg
islature, judging by the way
| the lawmakei’s are handing in
I bills calling for substantial ap
propriations.
Included among the numer
ous appropritaion measures so
far introduced are the radio
subsidy bill, for two stations,
i one north of, the other south
of the Gulf of Alaska, $10,000;
for Iditarod River improve
ments, $12,500; for a cause
way at Seldovia, $3,000; for
hydrople mooring at Cordova,
; $3,000; Seward Peninsula ship
'subsidy, $10,000; for radio
1 telephone installation at Nome
’$10,000; school at Matanuska,
i $10,000; for Alaska exhibit at
Chicago World’s Fair, 1933,
$10,000; to advertise Pacific
Yukon Highway, $1,000; for
survey of road between Kas
aan Bay and Klawock, $1,500;
to reopen the Ketchikan fish
hatchery, $20,000 for preda
tory annual control, $5,000 ;to
aid in financing an all-Alaska
Chamber of Commerce, $5,
000. These measures alone in
volve a total of $96,000 and
represent only a portion of
the total number of apropria
tion bills, exclusive of regular
appropliation measures, to be
passed upon before the
session closes. Bills re
cently submitted include one
limiting speed on Territorial
highways to 20 miles an hour
on curves and eliminating the
maximum speed law. The
| measure also adds a $10 li
I cense fee for delivery trucks
| and motorcycles. A measure
by Johnstone makes the term
| of the Territorial Auditor 4
years instead of 2 years. A'
senate bill provides for a com
mission to prepare plans for a
new Pioneers’ Home to be con
structed in 1933, and another
creates the office of superin
j tendent of public works, to be
filled by the highway engin
eer at an additional salary of
i $1,000 a year. Another senate
! measure appropriates $5,000
■ for predatory animal control.
The Lomen labor bill, re
quiring contractors on public
works in Alaska to maintain
going wage standards and pro
viding that subcontracts shall
be reduced to a day wage bas
is for computation purposes
passed the senate.
-O
Ice Breakup Expected
About May 5
Late news reports from Fair
banks indicate that the ice is
expected to move on the Tan
i ana River at Nenana about
May 5, three days earlier than
last year.
The gross amount of the big
ice pool is given as $61,700, or
about $4,00 less than last year.
-o
E. G. Morrisey Passes
Edward G. Morrisey, editor
of the Ketchikan Chronicle
and veteran northern news
paper man, passed away in
Ketchikan last Friday after a
short illness resulting from
pneumonia.