HYDER •• FIRST ALASKA TOWN THAT CAN BE REACHED BY THE PACIFIC - YUKON ~ ALASKA HIGHWAY I
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SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
*... .
HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
*3.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
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VOL. 8. NO. 15
IIYDER, ALASKA, JANUARY 23, 1932.
BY THE YEAR $3.0'
WAR DEPT, APPROVES
HYDER FLOOD CONTROL
That the War Department
has approved the plans for
flood control on Salmon River
submitted by the U . S. Eng
ineer’s office at Juneau, was
the welcome news reaching
Hyder this week through a
newspaper clipping received
by Mrs. J. L. Campbell which
carried the following Associat
ed press dispatch:
“Washington, D. C., January
15—A $53,000 flood control
project to build a dyke on Sal
mon River, Alaska in the vicim
ity of the village of Hyder,
was approved today by a War
Department report to Con
gress.’’
The clipping was forwarded
to Mrs. Campbell by Outside
relatives.
The report means that the
long sought relief from the en
croachments and ever-present
flood danger caused by the
overflowing of Salmon River
in the western environs of Hy
der is at last up to Congress
for final consideration. As
Congress has already shown
an inclination toward grant
ing the much-needed flood re
lief by authorizing surveys of
the project by the U. S. Eng
ineer's, the outlook for approv
al and authorization of con
struction may be considered
very favorable. Just how soon
the matter will be taken up by
the legislators is problematic
al, as in the ordinary course,
the war department recom
mendation would probably be
considered in connection with
the annual Rivers and Harbors
appropriation bill, which is
not taken up until the close of
a session. In such event con
siderable time might elapse
before the project is author
ized. To obviate this possibil
ity, the board of directors of
the Hyder Chamber of Com
merce are now considering a
proposal to urge Alaska dele
gate James Wickersham to
have the matter taken up as a
special relief measure, with a
view to early construction as
well as relief for local unem
ployment and this will prob
ably be done.
■o•
Silver Supporters
Oppose Smoot Measure
Northwest mining men and
backers of the silver campaign
do not approve of the bill in
troduced recently in Congress
by Senator Smoot providing
payment for European war
debts in silver at market pric
es, according to Mining Truth,
of Spokane.
They are said to regard the
Dill bill, providing for a mon
etary agreement first, to be
followed by such payment in
silver, as far more practical
and effective than the Smoot
proposal.
While no organization has
sponsored silver for war debts,
it is believed that after a world
price on silver has been set
there could be no possible ob
jection to the United States
accepting silver at the inter
Snotional ratio, the journal
Bays.
Efficacy of Fire
Engine Increased
With the completion this
week of a unique foVm of sled
device, the fire fighting range
and efficacy of the town’s
chemical fire engine has been
increased immeasurably, it
was announceed this week by
N. M. Traversy, head of the
Chamber of Commerce fire
protection committee and the
! camp’s ex-officio fire chief.
The sled device, constructed
j by Nick Belyin at small cost,
' consists of broad, metal cover
|ed sled runners supporting a
stout wooden form on which
j the 50-gallon chemical tank
j and hose rack can be placed,
: without removing the light
wheels which form the usual
support. The engine can be de
tached from the sled in a few
moments by the turn of two
hand bolts, making the appar
i atus available either as a sled
drawn or wheeled vehicles as
need may require. When on
the runners, the engine can be
moved to virtually any part of
the town by a half dozen men
during the winter season,
thereby increasing its previous
j efficiency many fold, as form
| erly it could not be taken from
I the fire shed during the win
ter season.
Now that the apparatus can
be moved about in winter, Mr.
Traversy suggests that it will
be to the interest and advant
age of householders to keep
the walks from their premises
! to the highways shoveled to a
width of at least four feet, in
order that the engine may be
brought close to their prem
1 ise in case of fire.
The scheme for placing the
| engine on runners was worked
out by Mr. Traversy and he is
justly entitled to the warmest
praise and commendation for
his efforts to make the town
i safe from fire outbreaks.
o—
Treasury Balance
Over $265,000.
Although the Territory’s
cash resources at the end of
1931 showed a sharp shrink
! age from a year previous,
there was still a sizeable fund
in the toe of its old sock on
January 1, this year, and more
j had been added to it on the
I following day, it was revealed
| today by the financial state
i ment issued covering the
1 month of December by W. G.
Smith, Treasurer, says the Ju
neau Empire.
The gross cash balance was
; shown to be $298,920.92 on
December 31. There w'ere out
standing warrants in the sum
of $33,557.08, leaving a net
balance of. 265,363.84.
Of the latter sum, $47,870.
26 was in special funds and
could only be applied for spe
! cific uses. In the general and
public school current funds
there was $217,493.58.
On January 2 approximate
ly $160,000 was added to the
I net balance. This money com
prised $80,000 from the Alas
ka Packers Association for
payment on its taxes for last
(year which are estimated at
$107,000, and fish trap license
taxes and minor accounts from
other sources.
All cannery and salmon pack
taxes become due on January
! 15, and are required to be
Ipaid on or before March 15.
BILL PROVIDES FOR
! COUNTV GOVERNMENT
Widely increased powers of
self government would be giv
I ento Alaska under the pro
i visions of House Resolution
J 494 introduced recently in the
lower house of Congress by
, Delegate Wickersham.
The measure provides for
the creation of counties and
county form of governments
by the Alaska legislature. No
county organized shall have a
population less than 500 legal
voters nor a less area than
2,000 square miles. The ques
tion of whethe r or not it shall
be created must be submitted
to vote of the legal electors
and the proposal must be rat
'■ ified by the affirmative vote
j of at least three-fifths of the
1 votes cast. No county may lev
; el taxes in excess of 2 per cent
(of the assessed valuation of
real property and 10 per cent
| of the revenues collected by
the Territory within the lim
its of a county must be turned
over to the county for expend
iture therein.
The bill also gives the leg
i islature greater powers than
| it possesses under the Organic
' Act and provides that the
United States shall pay an
| nually to the Territory 50 per
| cent of the revenues received
| by the federal government
from the Pribloff seal fisher
| ies for the benefit of the pub
lic schools.
•O'
Joe Jackson On The Air
Joe Jackson, former local
resident, whose predilection
for getting into the spot light
has been aptly illustrated on
many occassions before and
since he left Hyder, again ap
peared as an outstanding fig
ure Thursday night, by deliv
ering a radio broadcast from
Station KPCB in Seattle.
Joe’s theme centered around
mining opportunities in Alas
ka and was delivered in char
acteristic vein. In addition to
picturing a wealth of oppor
tunities in the north, Jackson,
whose varied mining experi
ences include the reputed dis
covery of the mineral possibil
ities of the local Texas Creek
area, offered to answer by
mail questions relating to
Alaska mining conditions and
possibilities.
Jackson was introduced by
his favorite sobriquet, “the
Millionaire Kid,” although the
station announcer added “with
out the millions.”
While Joe’s activities and
methods are the subject of
widely varied local opinion, it
must be conceded that he is a!
“live wire” and exceedingly j
adroit at keeping himself in i
the public eye.
-o
Alaska-Juneau Mine
Has Good
Year;
Operating profits of the
Alaska-Juneau mine were $1,
521,550 in 1931, according to
an announcement from the
San Francisco offices of the
Alaska - Juneau Mining Com
pany. This was an increase of
$393,600 over similar profits
in 1930 and points to a high
ly successful year in operation.
COMMISSION TO STUDY
3 HIGHWAY ROUTES
Three routes for the Alaska
section of the Pacific-Yukon
Alaska Highway will be con
sidered by the international
commission appointed by the
United States and Canada at
their next meeting, according
to a statement by Major Mal
colm Elliott of the American
commission, reported in Out
side papers.
Of three possible general
routes into the Yukon Terri
tory from Alaska, including
the Fairbanks-Dawson, Fair
banks-Whitehorse, and Gul
kana-Whitehorse, the latter
which branches off the Rich
ardson Highway 240 miles
south of Fairbanks, is favored
in reports of surveys made 'by
Donald MacDonald, locating
engineer, who ^pent most of
the past season looking for
the most feasible route from
Pairbanks to the Yukon bound
ary.
The report said of the Gul
Icana-Whitehorse route that
when road work now under
ivay in Alaska is completed,
inly 80 miles of new construct
on would be required in Alas
ka, at a cost of $800,000, and
148 miles in the Yukon Tern
ary. Road building conditions
were reported to be favorable,
with extensive mineral re
sources to be tapped. The
oute was also considered
icenically superior.
This route would not touch
Dawson but proceed easterly
Tom the Richardson Highway j
,’ia Chisana and Kluane Lake:
:o meet the main highway in
British Columbia at White
lorse. The Fairbanks-Dawson
•oute would require 180 miles:
>f new construction in Alaska
it a cost of $1,750,000 and 75
niles in the Yukon.
Farming Becoming
Important Industy
That farming is becoming an
lighly important industry in
Alaska is revealed in a final
lensus bulletin released re
:ently by the department of
commerce. The report, based
>n the census return of Oc
o’ber 1929, shows that there |
,vere 500 recognized farms in
he Territory at that time. The
otal acreage represented was
542,942 acres, of which 8,825
teres were improved, 104,245
teres were wooded over, and
112,872 acres were unim
proved. Farm lands and build-,
ngs were valued at $2,857,
185.
The First Division leads in
the number of farms with
202; the Third Division is sec
ond with 187. The Fourth Di
vision has 11 and the Second
Division one.
The Third Division leads in
the value of its farms and
farm buildings with a total
value of $1,191,104; the First
Division is second with $1,
137,919 and the Fourth Di
vision is next with $528,162.
The report shows an in
crease of 136 farms in the Ter
ritory between 1920 and 1930
and an increase of 314 be
tween 1910 and 1930.
Political Candidates
Commencing To Appear
With the approach of the
primary election, scheduled
: for April 26 this year, candi
; dates for political offices are
! commencing to shy their hats
! into the ring. The following
! announcements of candidacy
I and possible candidacy . and
'other political matters have ap
i peared in recent editions of
jthe Alaska papers,
l Anthony J. Diamond, Third
j Division senator and one of the
ablest lawyers in the Terri
tory, will enter the lists for the
democratic nomination for del
| egate to Congress from Alas
ka, unless the Democratic Ter
ritorial convention at Fair
banks should declare in favor
of one of the other candidates
for the nomination. These now
include A. H. Zeigler and Geo.
B. Grigsby, of Ketchikan.
Reports from Fairbanks are
to the effect that federal judge
Cecil Clegg may be a candi
date for G. O. P. nomination
for delegate in opposition to
Delegate Wiekersham.
Karl Thiele, secretary of
Alaska, has filed his declara
tion of candidacy for delegate
to the Republican national
convention, to be held in Chi
cago next June. Mr. Thiele
will make the campaign as an
administration supporter.
H. I. Lucas, prominent Juneau
business man, has announced
his intention to seek the re
publican nomination for Ter
ritorial Auditor, and Percy G.
Charles, Ketchikan insurance
man, is also out for the same
nomination.
-o
Device to Prevent
Radio Fading
Of interest to local radio!
fans is the announcement from
Washington that the Bureau
of Standards is developing a
machine which it is believed j
will help prevent radio fad
ing.
The device in question will
measure continuously the ev
er-changing height of what is
known as the “Kennelly
Ileaveside layer,” a region of
electricity conducting air about
100 miles above the earth. Ra
dio waves from the earth
strike this layer and “bounce”
back to the earth again.
Changes in the height of the ;
layer, which billows up and
down like a circus tent in a
gale, send the radio waves
back at varying angles. As a
result the waves are not al
ways correctly synchronized
with other waves that travel
along the ground. This causes
radio fading and the resulting
disgust of listeners.
Scientists believe that fad
ing may be done away with by
adjusting radio signals to cor
respond with the varying
heights of the layer, if they
could obtain a continuous pic
ture of how the layer billows
and the new device of the
bureau seems to provide this
sort of picture by the simple
trick of automatically measur
ing and registering the chang
ing height of the layer.
-o
W. J. Crawford left Wed
nesday enroute to Vancouver
on a business trip.
NOVEMBER EXPORTS
REACH LOW LEVEL
With salmon and other fish
shipments at the lowest fig
ures in years, shipments of
merchandise from Alaska to
the States in December reach
ed the lowest monthly level in
more than two decades. Ac
cording to the monthly state
ment of Customs Collector, J.
C. McBride, the total value of
! all exported commodities other
| than gold and silver was $630,
1795. Gold exports valued at
$684,531 combined with silver
shipments totaling $6,527,
brought the grand total of all
exports for the last month of
1931 to $1,321,853. Canned
salmon shipments, usually the
largest item, fell to $130,454,
as compared to $390,317 for
November, 1931. The total
value of all fish exports was
$370,027, as against $735,
866 for November. With the
one exception of copper ore al
most every important item on
the December list showed a
marked decline as compared
to preceeding months. Copper
shipments increased from $87,
439 in November to $107,833.
The complete list of exports
follows:
Blue foxes. 410
Other animals. 1,675
Cui'ios . 591
Fish:
Fresh and frozen
(except shell-fish)
Halibut. 117,130
Salmon . 72,280
All other. 2,918
Canned (except
shell-fish)
Salmon . 130,454
Cured or preserved
(except shell-fish)
Cod . 908
Herring . 5,112
Salmon . 14,008
Shell-fish
Clams. 3,933
Crabs. 738
Shrimps . 22,546
Other fish products
Meal . 2,992
Furs and fur-skins
Blue fox . 12,190
Silver or black fox 3,270
Red fox. 320
Mink . 23,907
Muskrat . 395
Beaver-. 2,382
All other . 755
Ore, matte, regulus
Copper . 107,833
Lead . 8,176
Trophies, specimens 1,980
All other articles .. 737
Total value of pro
ducts of Alaska. 538,085
Products of the Unit
ed States returned .. 92,710
-9
Total value of ship
ments of merchandise 630,795
Gold . $ 684,531
Silver . 6,527
Total . $1,321,853
-o
Mosse Entertain This Evening
The much anticipated “At
Home” entertainment of Port
land Canal Lodge No. 1218,
Loyal Order of Moose, to mem
bers and their friends will be
held in Legion Hall, Stewart,
this evening, starting at 8 P.
M. The function is strictly in
vitational. The program for
the evening w:” '
dancing, and refreshment^.