HYDER - FIRST ALASKA TOWN THAT CAN BE REACHED BY THE PACIFIC - YUKON - ALASKA HIGHWAY
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SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
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HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
$3.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
>.i III. wJ
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 47.
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1932.
BY THE YEAR $3.00
THREE PERISH IN
LOCUTOTRUf
Mrs. George Neysmith and
William Mowatt were drowned
in Portland Canal and George
Neysmith, husband of Mrs.
Neysmith was killed by shock,
when the 7-passenger car in
which they were returning
from Stewart after attending
a dance given in honor of the
crew of H. M. S. Delhi, visiting
British warship, ran off the
Stewart-Hyder road a short
distance north of the Craw
ford dock at 12:15 p. nr. last
Saturday night.
According to evidence pre
sented at coroner’s inquests
held in Stewart, the accident
occurred when the car, driven
by Andy Scott, with Mr. and
Mrs. Neysmith and Mr. and
Mrs. Mowatt as passengers,
was proceeding southward on
the highway at a speed of
about 12 miles per hour and
after colliding with the Camp
bell & Duke truck, which was
parked with lights dimmed on
the outer edge of the road
awaiting the passage of a num
ber of cars coming from Stew
art. After striking the truck,
Scott, who appears to have
been on the wrong side of the
road, apparently lost control of
the car, which ran off the ele
vated edge of the highway a
few rods farther on and fell
approximately 25 feet, striking
the out-jutting rocks below
with terrific force before
plunging into the chill waters
of the Canal.
On hitting the rocks the car
was completely wrecked and
the occupants were thrown into
the water while the shattered
remains of the car plunged into
some 30 feet of water at the
base of the steep declivity.
Although a considerable
number of people were in close
proximity to the scene, owing
to the darkness, no one wit
nessed the accident, which did
not become known until the
cries of the car’s occupants
broke on the midnight air.
Although many contrary
stories have been circulated,
from the testimony given be
fore the coroner’s jury, it ap
pears that Mrs. Mowatt and
Mr. Scott were thrown into
the water only a few feet from
shore and swam to the rocks,
where they were punea asnore
by Petty Officer William Wey
man of the Delhi crew and sev
eral sailors who had scramb
led down the rocks in response
to the calls for help. Wey
man’s according to a signed
statement made by him, was
walking back from Stewart
and was only a few yards away
when the car went over., al
though it is also claimed that
in the first excitement he ad
mitted to by-standers that he
was himself an occupant of
the fatal car and sustained a
fractured nose in the fall.
Whatever may be the truth
I
H. M. S. Delhi Departs
After Historic Visit
H. M. S. Delhi, flagship of
the American West Indies fleet
of the British Navy, concluded
Monday morning her historic
three-day visit, the first ever
made here by a British naval
vessel, and left for the south
enroute to Nassau, Bahamas,
the base of the West Indies
fleet.
| The vessel will visit San Fran
j cisco enroute to the Panama
| Canal. After a short period at
Nassau, the big cruiser will
proceed up the Atlantic coast
as far as Labrador, visiting the
principal east coast cities of the
United States and Canada en
route, and will then proceed to
Europe for an extended cruise
in Mediterranean waters be
fore returning to England,
where the vessel will be re
tired.
Although the warship’s vis
[ it was somewhat marred by the
sad automobile accident Sun
day morning and also by the
unusually bad weather condit
ions prevailing during most of
the stay, Rear Admiral R. P.
E. E. Drax and his officers and
j members of the crew expressed
! deep pleasure at the cordiality
I of their reception by the resi
dents of Stewart, Ryder and
Premier but voiced keen disap
pointment that the rain and
: fog prevented them from see
ing the district’s manifold scen
| ic bbauties.
of the latter contention, it ap
pears that Weyman was first
active at the scene and was
chiefly instrumental in assist
ing Mrs. Mowatt and Scott to
safety. Weyman is also cred
ited with an ineffectual at
tempt to rescue Mrs. Neysmith,
who is said to have appeared
on the surface of the water for
a moment or two. but sank be
fore he could aid her.
By this time several dozen
people were at the scene but
in the excitement and en
shrouding gloom, no one ap
| pears to know exactly what
took place during this period.
I So far as known neither Mr.
j Neysmith or Mr. Mowatt came
, to the surface following the
crash, although both were ap
parently thrown clear of the
shattered car. when it slid into
i the depths.
Following the rescue of Mrs.
Mowatt and Scott events be
came more clear as a result of
the action of a Delhi sailor in
signalling to the warship with
a flashlight. In response to his
message the beams of two of
the vessel’s powerful search
lights were turned on the scene
1 but revealed no sign of the
missing persons. Boats arriv
I ing from the warship soon af
ter, dragging efforts were com
menced and resulted in bring
ing up the body of Mr. Ney
i
Continued on Page 3
C. OF C. APPEALS FOR
UNEMPLOYMENT AID
In an effort to secure relief
for local unemployment and
destitution through the relief
powers vested in the Recon
struction Finance Corporation,
the Hyder Chamber of Com
merce has petitioned Governor
George A. Parks to take cog
nizance of the fact that a few
thousand dollars expended on
the Salmon River flood control
project at this time vyould pro
vide sufficient employment for
virtually all local laborers to
carry them through the coming
winter; assist in sustaining lo
cal business during the same
period, and also further re>*
move the danger of flood dam
age from the ever-threatening
| vagaries of Salmon River.
The petition points out that
I the Hyder district, as a result
| of the decadence of silver min
| ing, has felt the effects of the
[great depression more than any
' other section of Alaska; that
[ there have been practically no
j opportunities for labor during
; the past year, aside from a
[small amount of road mainte
nace work, with the result that
there are now a considerable
I number who are close to or
actually in destitute circum
! stances and facing desperate
straits during the coming win
ter, when virtually all employ
1 ment activities are suspended.
The petition recites iurtner
that Hyder citizens and partic
ularly the business interests are
totally unable to extend ade
quate assistance to the needy,
the latter having already de
pleted their stocks to the low
est point at which business can
be continued, as a result of gen
erous credit extensions to those j
who have been unable to earn
a living and declares that un
less there is some early devel
i opment which will relieve this |
j situation, not alone are the lob
oring elements facing actual
; starvation but virtually every
! business house in the camp is
confronted with the prospectj
,of either discontinuing business
I or becoming bankrupt,
j Continuing, the petition says:
j “This Chamber has been and
! still is in entire agreement with
j the view that each community
I should care for its own unem
ployed and destitute, but con
ditions have now reached a
stage where virtually nothing
can be done in that direction
and we are compelled to seek
outside assistance. We are,
therefore, on behalf of this
community, addressing you as
the chief executive of the Ter
litory in the hope that through
governmental agencies some
help may be forthcoming for
our sorely affected community.
At the same time, we are not
seeking assistance on a chari
table basis if it can possibly be
avoided. It is our understand
j ing that funds have been made
Continued on Page 4
UMBER REFUSES
LIGHT MIMTEHIICE
A decision to discontinue the
practice of supplying electric
lamps for the street lights was
taken at a meeting of the board
of directors of the Hyder
Chamber of Commerce a few
days ago.
The decision followed ex
tended discussion, wherein it
was made clear that present fi
nancial conditions make it im
possible for the Chamber to
continue the practice of supply
ing lamps at the expense of the
organization. It was pointed
out that only a very small por
tion of residents who are bene
fitted by the street lights con
tribute in any manner to the
support of the Chamber or help
to maintain its street light
fund, although they are not
called upon to pay either taxes
or other civic assessments, and
opposition to their attitude was
an important factor in the de
cision.
As a result, property owners
will now have to look after
the street lights in their own
localities themselves and bear
the costs of installing such new
lamps as may be required.
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Customs Coming To Border
In the interest of economy
and more effective service, the
Customs office in Stewart will
be moved to the international I
boundary on October 1, where
it will be located in the Ocean
View building.
Pcetal Money Order
Rales Ai e Increased
Postal money order rates on
orders ranging from one cent
up to $20 have been increased
under new regulations issued
by the Post Office Department,
according to Mrs. O. F. Hill,
acting postmaster.
The increases amount to one
cent on each of the various
order subdivisions below $20
and make the new charges as
follows:
From $ 0.01 to $ 2.50- 6 cts.
From 2.51 to 5.00- 8 cts.
From 5.01 to 10.00-11 cts.
From 10.01 to 20.00-13 cts.
Charges for orders in excess
of $20.01 remain as before; 15
cents up to $40; 18 cents from
$40 to $60; 20 cents from $60
; to $80, and 22 cents from $80
ito $100.
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Geological Survey Concluded
Dr. George Hanson of the
I Canadian Geological Survey
■completed last week his recent
1 extensive survey of the Georg
ia and Hastings rivers sections
land will move this week to a
[ base in the Alice Arm district.
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i Mrs. M. Lindegard has ac
I cepted the position of caretak
i er of the public school during
i the coming school year.
A
Bank Pays Canadian Accounts
E. D. Haddon, receiver for
the defunct Bank of Hyder,
commenced this week the pay
ment to depositors of fifty pei
cent of the deposits in Canad
ian funds held by that institut
ion at the time of voluntarily
closing its doors on April 12 as
a result of the long continued
depression and resultant de
cline in local industry and bus
iness.
Drafts on the Vancouver
branc h of the Bank of Montre
al covering half of the Canad
ians funds deposits were re
ceived by Mr. Haddon from the
Juneau depository Tuesday
and distribution was com
menced immediately. With
the completion of this distribut
ion the bank will have returned
to depositors fifty per cent of
all deposits, a similar distribut
ion of American funds having
been made last week.
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Bicwn Bear Census Being
Taken on Admiralty Island
Officials of the Forest Serv
ice and Alaska Game Commiss
ion are taking a census of the
brown bear on Admiralty Is
land, with a view to determin
i ing as far as possible the num
i ber on the island.
Although the purpose of the
census has not been announced
it is surmised that the efforts
made by certain Eastern part
ies to have Admiralty Island
reserved as a brown bear
sanctuary, on the plea that the
animals are being exterminat
ed, is the main reason. Esti
mates of the number of bear on
the island range from 500 to
5,000. The forest service and
territorial officials take the po
sition that there is no reason
for the reservation, owing to
the number of bears on the is
land.
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Ketchikan To Adopt
Rigid Relief Rules
A warning that Ketchikan
will adopt rigid rules in gov
erning the extension of unem
ployftrent relief was sounded
in a report to the mayor’s spec
ial committee on centralization
of relief activities and adopted
by that body. In it the sug
gestion is made that the city
council initiate some needed
project to provide employment
for the needy, with the proviso j
that “no relief be extended to !
able-bodied persons who are;
unwilling to work.” The indi
cation is that such work will be
remunerated only to the extent
of providing something to eat
and a place to sleep.
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Game Season Opens
The open season on duck,
geese and snipe commenced
Thursday and will continue un
til October 31 in the case of
ducks and geese and until De
cember 15 in the case of snipe.
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Noel M. Traversy left Thurs
day on a trip to Prince Rupert.
TWO OUTFITS MAKING
SILVER SHIPMENTS
A second 50-ton shipment of
high grade silver-lead ore is
now coming down from the
Silverado property, where
John Haati and partners are
working on a vein of good ore
under a lease. An initial ship
ment of approximately the
ame amount was sent to the
mielter some days ago.
Shipments of high grade sil
ver ore from the Sunbeam
claim of the Dunwell property
were started last week by Wm.
Younkin and Owney McFad
den, who have a lease on the
claim. The first consignment
of the ore was brought to the
Stewart dock last Thursday by
the Crawford Transfer Co.
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Clouds Obscure Sun Eclipse
The much anticipated eclipse
of the sun failed to register in
this section Wednesday, owing
to the varagies of old Jupiter
P., who very inconsiderately
drew a mantle of heavy cloud3
over the sky during the eclipse
period.
Aside from a slight diminu
ation of light for an hour or so
there was no visible sign of the
eclipse here.
Failure to catch even a
glimpse of the phenomena was
extremely disappointing t o
many residents and especially
the young folks, most of whom
have never seen a solar eclipse
of any form.
School Opens Next Tuesday
The fall term of the Hyder
public school will commence
next Tuesday, September 6.
The present outlook is that
attendance will be somewhat
lower than last year, owing to
the departure of several child
ren during the summer and the
completion of their grade
schooling by two pupils, Jewel
Rice and Eric Lindegaard, both
of whom are now ready for
high school work.
The school will be in charge
of Miss Isabel Thoma, who di
rected activities during the last
school term.
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Liard Expedition Disbands
The Thomas M. Mitchell
party, which left Juneau re
cently in a fleet of five air
planes bound on a prospecting
expedition in the Liard count
ly, has disbanded, according to
reports from Juneau. Harry
Townsed, mining engine e r,
who accompanied the party, is
said to have reported adversely
on the prospect. It is said that
some of the members of the ex
pedition evidently do not agree
with Mr. Townsend and are re
turning to the Liard to continue
prospecting, while others have
left for Detroit, where the par
ty originated.