f
SPECIALI7ING JN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA AND THE PORTLAND CANAL MIMNG DISTRICT.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
#3.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1930.
PRICE TEN CENTS
VOL 8, NO. 5
CHINA SEEKS HUGE
SILVER LOAN lU U S
Seeking a huge silver loan
to be used in the rehabilitation
of China and to stimulate new
activity in that impoverished
and war-torn country, Judge
Paul Linebarger, legal adviser
of the Chinese government, ar
rived in San Francisco a few
days ago to enter into negotiat
ions with the American govern
ment for a billion ounces of sil
ver, worth about 5360,000,000.
Judge Linebarger, according
to press reports, is a special en
voy of the Chinese president.
Chiang Kai-Shek. It is his in
tention after reaching Wash
ington, D. C., to ask Congres;
to authorize the great silver
loan on the basis of 50 years at
2 per cent interest.
The proposal of China is that
actual silver coins, no longei
necessary as a foundation foi
American currency, be meltec
and shipped to China, where i:
would be reconverted intc
money and dealt out daily b\
an American commission to the
working people of the countrj
in return for labor performed
under a governmental rehabil
itntlon plan. Judge Linebarg
er said the money would be em
ployed t o rehabilitate th;
whole of China by divertin'
the millions of men now en
gaged in war into peaceful pro
duction.
The money would be utilized
first of all in building roads
Then manufacturing and farm
ing would share in it. Present
ly, he said, the results wouli
begin to return to the Unitec
States in the form of heavj
purchases. China believes the
U. S. government, not needin'
its idle surplus of silver, coulc
well afford to lend it at 2 pe>
cent, not merely as a means o:
staving off Bolshevism, whicl
the envoy asserts is inevitable
without the loan, but as r
means of creating customer:
out of one-fourth the inhabi
tants of the earth. It would
China believes, not only stimu
late China into new activity
but would immediately reopei
American silver mines am
start new ones to replenish th.
silver supply here diminishe;
by the loan. China also be
lieves the loan would also g<
far toward ending the depress
ion in the United States by pro
viding an almost immediati
market for surplus goods.
The United States, Judg
Linebarger pointed out, has ;
peculiar opportunity here o
which Great Britain and Japa;
are envious, but concernin]
which the y can do nothing
lacking the necessary silvet
Credit loans which they migh
give would not in China serv
the same practical, concret
purpose, which a vast quantit
of silver would serve. Actus
increase in volume of mone
made of valuable metal has
pyschological as well as an e<
onontic effect in China. Th
people prefer ornaments an
jewels made of silver and seet
to have only a casual liking fc
gold.
Silver would not cheapen it;
elf by a sudden increase i
quantity in China, the envo
said. First, because it woul
Continued on Page 4
ELECTION RETURNS
Territorial election returns up to to
day, n3 received from the Juneau Eni
pire this morning.
Wickersham, R., 5264; , Grigsby, D.
5034.
Hardcastle. D., 33S1; Smith, R., 6040.
Cole, R„ 5342; Gaffney, D„ 4514.
Hesse, D., 4571; Johnson, Ind., 883;
Ullmer, R., 3811.
Karnes, D„ 4618; Keller, R„ 4821.
With only three precincts in the First
Divison unreported, Sliakan, Port Al
exander and Coppermine, Boyle has
2323, Johnson, 2378; Judson, 2142;
McCormack, 1062; Paul. 2102. Samp
son, 2067; Scott, 2072; Winn, 2333;
Zeigler, 2445.
For Senator Frame has 318; Gard
l ner, 2306, Shattuck, 2305. Gardner has
one vote lead.
-O
Alaska Census Shows
7.7 Population Increase
The Director of the Censu3
has announced that the popu
lation of Alaska in 1930 was
59,278. This was a gain of 4,
242 over the census of 1920,
when the population was 55,
036.
The figures disclose that the
rate of increase in the territor
ial population was very small
during the decade from 1920
! to 1930, amounting to only 7.7
I per cent.
In the two previous decades,
t'rom 1900 to 1920, the terri
i :ory sustained large population
losses and the present populat
! on is still considerably small r
| than in 1900 and 1910, the
j census returns for those years
i having been respectively 63.
592 and 64,856. Between 1890
! and 1900 the population in
| ireased from 32,052 to 63, 592.
In 1880 the population 33,426
and it was estimated that
there were 30,000 people in
i he Territory when the United
| States too it over from Russia.
I
First Alaska Long Distance
Is Marriage Reported
While the minister and bride
tood behind a telegraph in
ti ument in a Minneapolis tel -
I egraph office and the bride
i 'room was in the U. S. Signal
j Corps office at Anchorage,
\laska, William Kinsell, head
j )f the motor equipment depart
| nent of the Alaska railroad,
| md Vivian Brown, Minneapo
is girl, were married recently,
iccording to Minneapolis prerr
! reports.
j Standing beside the operator
| n the Minneapolis office, the
I minister addressed the quest
ons to the groom in Alaska.
The messages went by wire to
Seattle, by cable to Seward,
ind by land lines to Anchor
ige. The replies came back
oromptly. It took about ten
minutes to put the question*
md about the same time to re
reive the answers and the
,vhole ceremony was complet
'd in less than an hour,
n less than an hour.
■o
; salmcix. River Road
Work Closed Dowr
I -
Work on the Salmon Rivei
> | oad improvement project wai
losed down Wednesday by th<
I fohnson - Gardner road ,con
: I .racting firm as a result of thi
- inclement weather of recen
e days. The crew came inti
d ■ town Thursday anl Curti
n Gardner managing superin
r tendent of the contracting firn
left for his headquarters ii
s- Portland, Oregon, Thursda;
n : morning. The company plan
y I to renew activities as earl;
d next spring as climatic condit
‘ions permit.
GOOD PROGRESS 01
POWER LIHE SURVEYS
Continued favorable weather
up to Friday has enabled the
Portland Canal Powev Comp
any survey crew to practically
complete the preliminary sur
veys for the power transmiss
ion lines in the Hyder district
and work on similar surveys
in the Stewart district will be
under way next week, accord
ing to present contemplations.
Surveys for the transmission
lines from the site of the pro
jected 15,000 horse power hy
ro-electric plant on Davis Riv
er were completed during the
past week, as were also the
line surveys up Salmon Riv
er. Similar activities on Texas
Crek were concluded some
days ago. The latter survey ex
tended to the head of Texas
Creek, while that up the Sal
mon was run to the vicinity of
the Big Missouri mine
A crew of six men has been
employed on the line survey
work. The company expects to
place ten more men on the job
in a day or two in order to con
clude the local work as soon as
possible in order to complete
the line surveys up Bear River
and along the ea3t shore of
Portland Canal to the Marmot
before snow conditions become
too severe.
The survey crew at Davis
River is reprted concluding the
survey of the storage basin
I boundaries, which extend
about six miles up the river val
ley. The survey will outline the
storage basin boundaries at an
elevation of 600 feet above the
valley floor.
The company now has 35 men
employed on the various sur
vey operations under the di
rection of Edwin R. Wright,
resident engineer.
Willis T. Batcheller, presi
j dent of the company, is expect
|ed to return from SerP'e lur
1 ing the coming week.
o
Encouraging discoveries are
reported in the September of
ficial progress report of B. C.
Silver Mines, Ltd., a copy of
which was received from Lon
don this week and is printed in
full below.
I All work confined to No 0
level. Some further work done
in Drifts 644, 645, and 647, in
| vestigating main zone to north
west of 637 Drift. Encourag
ing country encountered, show
ing low’ values.
Drifting along zone exposed
in 689 crosscut ( 415 ft. from
shaft) has shown this mineral
ised section to be at least 70 ft.
| long, carrying heavy sulphides
1 and showing low values.
Some sideswiping done in
• 636 drift, commencing at
i junction of 631 and 636 drifts
> This has exposed zone up tc
footwall and back shows heav
> ily mineralised porphyry which
: | will average $9.22 for length
> j of 35 feet and an average
i j width of 5 ft.
A northwesterly crosscut is
i being driven, No 693, at 616 ft
>! from shaft, off Drift 631, to in
r j vestigate area close to this
i' drift.
r | A total of 200 feet of drift
- j ing, crosscutting and side
swiping done.
RENAHAN SEARCH
EXTENDS TO RYDER
The search for Capt. Robin
“Pat” Renahan, missing Wash
ington-Alaska Airways pilot,
was extended to Hyder this
week with the arrival of two
Canadian and one American
seaplane tvhich are now en
gaged in searching the coast in
the vicinity of Prince Rupert
and norl ✓ard in an effort to
locate the now long missing pil
ot and his two companions,
Frank Hatcher, mechanic, and
Sam Clerf, prospector.
The Canadian planes, piloted
by Flight Lieut. L. R. Phinney
and Flying Officer C. R. Dun
lap, landed at the Hyder wharf
early Wednesday afternoon at
the end of an exhaustive search
along both.shores of Portland
Canal from the mouth to this
port. One plane flew along
side of the Canal, while the
land and water below was
.closely scrutinized for signs of
the missing plane and its occu
pants, but without result.
The planes, which belong to
the Royal Canadian Air Force,
also searched carefully along
the coast in the vicinity of
Prince Rupert before coming
here.
The American plane, one of
the extensive Alaska fleet of
the Washington Alaska Air
ways, arrived Thursday after
noon piloted by Anscel Eck
mann and with Larry Parks,
an official of the company, and
Frank Wadman, mechanic, on
board. Mr. Eckmann, who is
operating out of Ketchikan, al
so reported no success in his
efforts to learn the fate of the
missing plane. Coming up the
Canal they followed one shore,
flying low and carefully watch
ing for signs of the missing
men, and expected to search
along the opposite shore on the
return trip.
Although conceding that the
outlook for finding the missing
men is not overly bright, Mr.
Eckmann is still hopeful that
; they succeeded in making a
safe landing at some point on
or near the coast, in which case
j they will eventually be located,
as the plane was well stocked
with provisions for its pro
posed flight into the Liard
country in search of Capt. E. J.
A. Burke, lost Canadian flyer,
and also had guns and ammu
nition on board. Thus provided
they could live for a long time.
Mr. Eckmann said he had
definitely determined that the
missing plane was within 30
miles of Prince Rupert when it
vanished so mysteriously late
in the afternon of October 28.
He found during a stop at
the Oceanic cannery on Skeena
River while coming up the
coast that the plane was seen
passing the cannery at dusk on
that date.
Reports from Vancouver this
j week said that the search for
Pilot Burke is to be renewed
j with increased vigor by three
government planes detailed
for that purpose. The Canadian
flyer has now been missing a
month.
-o
The steamer Mogul landed
100 tons of coal for the Hydei
Dock Company Wednesday.
Seven Live* Lost in Alaska
Commercial Air Accidents.
Although airplanes have beer
flying commercially and regu
larly in Alaska for over a half
decade, not a single passenger
has been killed during a com
mercial flight and the most ser
ious accident sustained by a
passenger on such a flight has
been a scratched nose, accord
ing to an interesting article on
Alaska air accidents in Stroll
er’s Weekly.
Seven Alaskans have been
killed in aerial accidents in the
last three years and five of the
number were aviators. The re
cent acident at Kotzebue add
ed three to the death toll, but
this accident was to a private
plane which was not carrying
passengers for hire.
Pilot Danforth was the first
aviator to die as a result of a
crash. Russel Merrill di< .p
pteared last summer new An
chorge. A piece of his plane
was found later in Cook Inlet
but his body was never located.
Carl Ben Eielson and Earl
Borland were killed a few days
later when their plane era hi d
in Siberia, bringing the num
ber of Alaska’s air dead to 4.
The number was raised to 7
on October 12, when Pilot
Ralph Wein and Fathers P. I.
Delon and William L. Walsh
were killed at Kotzebue.
Prominent Stewartites Wedded
Miss Muriel Mary Crawfor i
became the bride of Mr. Will
iam T. Esselmont at a pretty
church wedding in Stewart last
Monday evening. The church
was beautifully decorated foi
the occasion and the nuptial
knot was tied by Rev. Moody ot
the Church of England. The
ceremony was witness \ by
the largest wedding gathering
ever assembled in the district,
the church being literally
packed to the doors. Being an
exceedingly popular young
couple, the wedding gifts w •■e
numerous and costly, consist
ing for the most part of sterl
ing silver ware in varied hard
some forms. The wedding w* 3
followed by a reception at the
home of the bride’s parents,
Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Crawford,
after which the happy couple
sailed on the Catala for a hon
eymon trip in the south. They
will return in about three
Weeks and make their future
home in Stewart.
■o
Progressive.. Farmer Does
Well On Alaska Farm
The possibilities of progress
ive farming operations in the
Alaska Railroad belt are dis
closed in a news report from
Seward stating that A. A.
Shonbeck practically cleared a
$10,000 farm investment in
that locality in one season by
employing modern farming
methods.
Shonbeck purchased 320 ae
les of partly cleared land last
fall, and installed full equip
ment, including a thresher, in
vesting a total of $10,000. He
| cut during the present season
■200 tons of wheat, oat and
vetch, hay, selling at $40 a ton.
The Alaska Railroad offic
ials and the staff of the govern
ment agricultural experiment
station are said to be greatly
interested in Shonbeck’s oper
ations.
OCTOBER EXPORTS
OP TO AVERAGE
Alaska exports during Octob
er, although somewhat lower
in value than for the same
month last year, were well up
to the general monthly average
with a total value of $3,336,
341, exclusive of gold and sil
ver shipments.
Canned salmon, as usual, led
the list with shipments valued
at $1,126,481, a decline of
$470,615 compared to October
1929. Copper attained second
position with exports valued
at $525,790. This was an in
crease of $64,518 over October
copper exports last year. The
value of practically all other
commodities was somewhat
higher than for similar exports
in the same month last year.
Gold and silver exports to
taled $1,065,546, of which
$18,583 was silver.
The list of exported commod
ities, as given in the monthly
statement of Collector of Cus
toms J. C. McBride, follows:
Blue foxes.$ 22,525
Other animals. 27,765
Curios . 320
Fish:
Fresh and frozen
(except shell-fish)
Halibut . 195,256
Salmon .45,199
All other . 370
Canned (except shell
fish)
Salmon . 1,126,481
Cured or preserved
(except shell-fish)
Cod . 19,039
Herring . 222,227
Salmon . 133,535
Shell-fish:
Clams . 3,615
Crabs . 10,799
Shrimps . 21,967
Other fish products:
Meal . 86,979
Oil . 160,605
Furs and fur-skins:
Silver or glack fox .. 480
Red fox . 2,890
White fox . 47,303
Mink . 1,015
Muskrat . 52,019
All other . 6,132
Manufactured furs 2,090
Oil: whale . 29,771
Ore, matte, regulus:
Copper . 525,790
Leod . 12,995
Reindeer meat. 12,284
Stone, marble, etc. 15,635
Torphies, specimens, 10,835
Wood, timber, etc. .. 33,804
All other articles .... 20,059
.Total value products
of Alaska . 2,849,784
Products of United
States returned . 97,245
Total value of for
eign products. 389,312
Total value of ship
ments mdse. $3,336,341
Gold .. $1,046,963
Silver . 18,583
Totol . $1,065,546
-o
Alex. N. McDonald, well
known mining man, left Satur
day evening for Seattle. Rumor
, has it that he is making the trip
! in connection with an impend
| ing deal for his mining ground
; in the Salmon glacier section.