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SPECIALIZING IN
MINING NEWS OF THE
PORTLAND CANAL
DISTRICT
t_J
HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA AND THE PORTLAND CANAL MIMNG DISTRICT.
'
' SUBSCRIPTIONS
S3.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
VOL 7, NO. 19
HYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14,1931.
PRICE TEN CENTS
DANIEL in
LEAVES BEQUEST FOR
LOCAL HOSPITAL
A fully equipped hospital
for the care of the sick was
bequeathed to Hyder by the
late Daniel Lindeborg, it be
came known heie this week
with the arrival of Vancouver
papers containing details of
the will left by that well
known pioneer and founder of
the Hyder camp.
Under the terms of the test
ament, fifty per cent of the
stock held by Mr. Lindeborg
in the Hyder Townsite and
Improvement Company is left
for this purpose, to be admin
istrated under a trusteeship.
The remainder of the Hyder
Townsite shares included in
the estate are left to Mr. and
Mrs. E. L. Dale of Hyder. The
will places no value on the
stock involved in the two be
quests and the present mar
ket value is undetermined.
Mr. Lindeborg’s will disposes
of a net estate of $118,362
which will be shared prinei
pally by relatives. The deceas
ed bequeathed $12,245 and
one third-of the residuary es
tate to Arthur Cosens and
Verona M., Verona J., Phyllis
M., and Miriam A. Cosens of
Vancouver The remaining
two-thirds of the residuary es
tate is shared between a broth
er, Eric Lindeborg and his
family, of Normas, Norway,
and between three nieces, a
nephew, and his sister, Anna
Dahl, of Krokom, Sweden. A
legacy of $500 also goes to
Mrs. M. Scott, of Tulsa, Okla
homa, and one of $300 to Mrs.
J. Dennis of Vancouver. The
estate includes $12,875 cash.
$91,248 bonds. $4,300 stocks,
and $2,675 promisory notes.
0
World Silver Output
Shews Big Decline
World production of silver
in 1930 declined approximate
ly 17,000,000 ounces from the
previous year’s total output,
according to the annual report
of the silver situation by Han
dy and Harman, quoted by
Metal and Mineral Markets.
Production for the year is es
timated at 243,700,000 ounces,
of which the United States
supplied 50,400,000 ounces,
Mexico 105,700 ounces, and
Canada 26,200,000. South
America contributed 22,700,
000 ounces, chiefly from Peru,
and all other countries ac
counted for 38,700,00 ounces.
In view of the low prices for
silver, the shrinkage of
per cent in world output, the
review holds, failed to fulfill
the predictions of much great
er curtailment.
Commenting on the outlook
for silver, the company be
lieves that any plan to stabil
ize or enhance the price, in
order to be successful, must
recognize the world-wide im
portance of silver; and that
any action taken as a resuli
of intei-national agreement if
more likely to achieve its pur
pose than separte national ef
fort- _ ' i_LLI
Organized Bodies
Working For Silver
9 _
A lot of good work is being
done for the rehabilitation ot
i silver by organized bodies
! which are entirely independent
of the mining industry, accord
ing to M. C. Butler, well
known consulting engineer,
who is associated in the de
velopment of the Metcalf an I
Fendley property on Band*1.
Mountain in the Texas Creek
lection of the district.
In a letter to the Herald, Mr.
i Butler says efforts in this div
I ection are being carried on by
Ivaiious Chambers of Com
merce, the Rotarians, Lions
and Kiwanis, and other busi
1 ness organizations. Further-!
more these activities have
now reached a point where
they are going to join their
efforts and work collectively,
Mr. Butler says.
“This is going to mean a
great deal,’’ the letter contin
ues, “as it takes it out of class
legislation sponsored only by
he mining interests. From
correspondence I have had
from New York, there is a
great deal being done with
very little noise.”
Mr. Butler adds that 50
cents an ounce will probably
be the stabilized price of the
white metal.
-o
Investigating Local
Radio Reception
Indications - that a move- j
ment is under way to improve i
radio reception in Alaska from !
Seattle broadcasting station.,!
are contained in a letter from ;
the Seattle Chamber of Com-'
merce received by the Hyder
Chamber of Commerce this '
week.
The message states that the
Publicity Committe of the Se
attle organization is interest-!
j fed in the kind of radio re
! ception which obtains in Alas
ka and requests information
regarding what stations are
heard best here; what Seattle
stations reach us most clearly,
and whether we experience
any particular difficulties in
11 eceiving programs at any
time.
While this inquiry may have
i no other object than a com
pilation of radio statistics,
it may also have some bear
ing on the effort of certain
j Seattle broadcasting stations
to secure permission to in
crease their power. The Fed
! eral Radio Commission recent
ly refused to permit KOMO to
| increase its power facilities.
It is understood that the de
i cision is to be appealed and
the Seattle Chamber of Com
merce communication may
; have some bearing on the mat
| ter.
-o
i The United States Supreme
Court has declined .to review
; proceedings in the case of
j three Ketchikan men conviet
! eel of violating the Alaska
Bone Dry Law, according to
recent press reports,
i The defendants in the case
, are: Carl Hauptman, R. H.
Johnstone and Clint Griffith.
! They were tried anr convicted
at Ketchikan in August, 1929.
An appeal was taken to the
Circuit Court of Appeals at
San Francisco and the trial
! court was sustained. The Su
preme Court was then asked
to review the proceedings.
CANADIANS NAME
HIGHWAY COMM'NRS
The personnell of the Can
adian Commission to confer
with a similar United States
commission on the feasibility
of the Pacific-Yukon-Alaska
highway project was announ >
ed late last week by Premier
Tolmie of British Columbia,
according to Victoria press re
ports.
The Canadian representa
tives named are J. M. Wardle,
of Banff, chief engineer or the
public parks branch, who will
represent the Federal govern
ment; James McNeill^of Daw.
:on, representing the Yukon
road superintendent, Yukon
Territory, and George P. Na
pier, of Victoria, who will rep
resent the British Columbia
chief engineer of the Public
Works department.
The United States represen
tatives are Hebert Rice of j
Detroit; Ernest Walker Saw
yer, assistant to the secretary
of the Interior, and Major
Malcolm Elliot, United States j
Engineer Corps and chairman
of the Alaska Road Commis
sion.
The Premier’s announcement
followed the Federal govern-!
meats agreement to partici
pate in the investigation of the
road scheme, the reports said.
•o
* *
Mine Employee is
Pneumonia Victim
Hebert Heathorn, employed
as assistant cook at the Big
Missouri since last summer,
passed away in Stewart Hos
pital Wednesday morning as a
result of an attack of pneumo
nia.
Deceased was aged about 54
years and had resided in the
district since early last year.
He was an old-timer of the
north and was formerly in
business in Nenana, where he
operated a motion picture
show, a restaurant, and other
business establishments at var
ious times. His wife, from
whom it is understood he had
separated, is still a resident of
the Interior camp. The deceas
ed was a man of sober and
industrious ways, was well
liked by those with whom he
became acquainted, and bore
an excellent reputation. He
was a member of the Tanana
Igloo of the Pioneers of Alas
ka.
The funeral was held in
Stewart Friday afternoon and
was attended by most of the
local Pioneer members.
-o
Ncrco Involved In
Unusual Accident
Following closely on the
| heels of the recent near de
jstruction of the Northland
Transportation Company mo
torship Northland, the rnotor
! ship Norco of the same line be
I came involved in a near-sink
ing accident in Stephens’ Pas
I sage, a short distance south of
Juneau, a few days ago, ac
cording to reports from Ketch
ikan Tuesday.
The vessel was said to have
struck an iceberg while pro
ceeding south from Juneau and
was so seriously damaged as
to necessitate being run ashore
No fatalities resulted and the
cargo was salvaged. No other
details could be obtained.
CHINA 13 FEARED
AS COMPETITOR
Fear of China as a future
producing competitor in the
world markets, as a result of
silver’s decreased value, is fast
becoming an important factor
in the silver remonetization
question and is likely to do
more toward forcing an early
stabilization of silver than any
ether consideration; not ex
cluding world trade depres
sion, unparalleled unemploy
ment, or the ruthless starvation
of millions in the Orient and
elsewhere, where silver has
been rendered almost worth
less as a purchasing medium
as a result of financial rapa
city.
World financiers as well as
•industrial economists are at
last commencing to realize
that China and other nations
who are unable to purchase
manufactured products in the
outside markets by reason of
the lessened value of their sil
ver money, will ere long be
driven to producing themselves
such manufactured goods as
they require and will then be
come not only independent of
forejgn production but in all
probability active competitors
of foreign producers.
Confronted by such a de
cidedly alarming prospect, the
financial overloi'ds are now de
voting less of their attention
to declaiming the virtues of the
gold standard and interest
bearing credits as saviors of
the world in the present crisis
and are commencing to dis
playing a more active interest
in the question of restoring sil
ver to its former value.
The latest financies to sound
the alarm of the money lords
over the situation is J. F. Dar
ling, noted British financier
and director of the great Mid
land Bank of London, who is
quoted in a recent London dis
patch as follows:
“The Chinese dollar has de
creased in value from fifty
cents to twenty, thus the abili
ty of China to buy western
goods has enormously de
creased and she is progressing
as a producing competitor in
the wcrld markets.”
Mr. Darling then added the
following significant state
ment :
“The mechanical output cf
a nation of four hundred mil
lions, whose standard of ex
istence is measured in bowls of
rice, would bring ruin to the
working classes of Europe and
| America.”
Mr. Darling apparently fail
ed to point out that it would
also spell disaster to bankers
and manufactures and a host
| of those who are not included
in the “working classes,” and
therein lies the greatest hope
and promise that something
will soon be done toward re
storing silver to some reason
able basis of parity with gold
in the world’s monetary sys
i terns.
Mr. Darling also came out
I flatfooted for silver restora
tion, advocating the use of the
British Empire’s huge gold re
sources for the rehabilitatior
of silver.
To accomplish this he pro
poses the establishment of “i
super-bank of the Empire, tc
; purchase with Empire curren
Important Mining Decision
Given at Fairbanks
Thai a mine laborer’s lien
on gold extracted from a mine
dump is void in law after the
gold has been removed from
the dump and the premises
from which it was taken, was
the substance of an important
decision rendered recently in
Fairbanks by Federal Judge
Cecil H. Clegg. The judgement
which sustains an earlier
judgement to the same effect
handed down by the district
j court at Nome some years ago.
[ was rendered in the case ol
i H. C. Studdert vs. Tanan^
Gold Dredging Company am'
the First National Bank oi
Fairbanks. The court also helc
that the Territorial lien law re
dating to mine dumps did no!
include or permit a lien on the
cleanup.
The plaintiff, Studdert.
sought to recover unpaid wag
es for himself and 16 othei
former employees of the Tan
ana Valley Gold Dredging Co
from gold valued at approxi
mately $5,600 which has beer
placed in the bank by the com
i pany.
In sustaining a demurrer u
such attempt the court held
that the Territorial lien law
omits reference to cleanups
from dumps and the fact that
the gold had been cleaned up
and removed from the ground
and was in the hands of inno
cent third parties when the
lien was filed left the plain
tiff without recourse to a lien.
Plans to Assist
A 1 a s k a Development
Legislation to speed Alaska’s
industrial development and
consideration of grantin g
Statehood to Hawaii is ton
templated by Representative
Ernest W. Gibson, of Vermont,
according to Washington, D.
i C., press reports.
The new Chairman of the
! House Territories Committee
promised an extensive inquiry
j into Alaska’s problems soon
after this Congress adjourns.
Chairman Gibson said a bill
to make Hawaii the forty- j
ninth State will be introduced i
| at the next session of Congress. 1
Representative Gibson said he
will seek to provide legislation
io encourage settlement and
; development in Alaska in ac
cord with the development of
the territories of the West.
“I will attempt to coordinate
and simplify supervision, and j
if it is possible, all administrat-'
ive functions will be central- j
ized in a single agency,” Rep-.
i resentative Gibson said.
jcy existing stocks of gold and
j silver held by governments and
I banks.” Then, having secured
i the rehabilitation of silver—
| incidentally “cornering”all of
the metal possible—“and only
then,” says Mr. Darling,”
: should it be permitted to flow
out into the world.” As silver
; can be obtained at a very low
price at present, the bank, al
though Mr. Darling does not
: suggest such a thing, would
probably make a right hand
some profit on the deal.
“Common justice, humanity
and common sense,” said Mr.
Darling, “call urgently upon
the Empire to take the lead in
replacing the equilibrium be
tween the value of gold and
i silver on which the economic
structure of the world rests.”
HYDER HOSPITAL
ASSOCIATION NOW
FOLLY ORGANIZED
Organization of the Hyder
General Hosppital Association
was fully completed at a meet
ing of members of the asso
ciation held in Chamber of
Commerce Hall Tuesday even
ing and the new body is now
in a position to function as a
legal organization. As announ
ced earlier the chartering of
the association was authorized
February 3.
The session was devoted
mainly to the selection of trust
ees for the ensuing year, the
following being elected. Oren
F. Hill. Ernest Blue, B. B.
Smith, E. D. Haddon and Chas.
F. Sandford.
The meeting was largely at
tended, and marked by much
enthusiasm. Four new mem
bers., R. E. Haack, of Stewart,
August Pahlke, Thomas Kelly
and Chas. Fehring, were en
rolled.
At the conclusion of the ses
sion, the board of trustees held
their first meeting and elected
the following as officers of the
organization for the coming
year: President, Oren F. Hill;
vice-president, Ernest Blue;
secretary-treasurer, E. D. Had
don.
A committe consisting of W.
W. Metcalf , Thomas Kelly,
W. C. Blanton, T. H. Evans
and Mrs. A. J. Mayer was al
so named to secure additional
members. Mr. O. F. Hill was
named as the representative of
the association on the Stewart
General Hospital Board and
the Bank of Hyder was des
ignated as the official deposit
ory. Membership fees received
up to the close of the meeting
totaled $40.
The new organization is re
ceiving hearty support of all
who have come to realize its
aims and it is expected that
the bulk of the camp’s stable
population will soon be enroll
ed as members. A number of
prominent Stewart people who
are also members of the Stew
art General Hospital Board
have shown their desire to be
of all ppossible assistance to
the hospital by joining the lo
cal association and more are
expected to follow suit, now
that the organization is fully
completed.
In view of the remoteness of
outside hospitals, the move
ment to provide stable support
and maintenance for the local
hospital is unquestionably a
vital one and should receive
the support and assistance of
everyone in the camp.
-o
Gibson Stewart “Mayor”
II.P.Gibson, genial Stewart
pioneer, who received the top
vote in the recent Stewart vil
lage election, was elected
chairman of the board of vil
lage commissioners at the init
ial meeting of the newly elect
ed board last week. Other
members of the board are W.
R. Tooth, and Sam Deschamps.
E. T. Applewhaite was ap
pointed Clerk, Treasurer, As
sessor and Collector of the
municipality.