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
HYDER WEEKLY HERALD
r
...
SUBSCRIPTIONS
*3.00 PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE
J
VOL. 8, NO. 22.
IIYDER, ALASKA, SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 1932.
BY THE YEAR $3.00
CHAMBER WORKING
ON FLOOD PROJECT
Efforts of the Hyder Cham
ber of Commerce eo secure re
lease from the cooperation pro
visions of the War Department
proposals for protecting Hyder
from the flood encroachments
of Salmon River formed the
principal topic of discussion at
the monthly dinner meeting of
the Chamber, held in Pioneer
Hall Wednesday evening. The
gathering was the largest in a
long period, nearly thirty mem
bers and visitors being seated
around the board.
A report by Chas F. Sand
ford, chairman of the board of
directors, disclosed that the
board had forwarded to James
Wickersham, Alaska delegate
to Congress, a telegram pro
testing against the cooperative
proviso of the U. S. Engineer’s
report and outlining the local
viewpoint and situation as fol
lows:
James Wickersham,
Alaska Delegate,
Washington, D. C.,
Due to critical depreciation
of silver industry, our only re
source, combined with low
status of Territorial finances,
we are unable to meet cooper
ative provisions of War Depart
ment dyke project. At present
it is taxing citizens to provide
for urgent local unemploy
ment. We feel that large past
expenditures by local interests,
as indicated in department re
port, should be credited to the
community. Can you not have
clause deleted? Citizens and
Territory already expended ap
approximately half as much as
proposed cost.
While we are helpless, at
the same time river situation is
critical and if nothing is done
speedily the costly work of the
past will be carried away and
lost, entailing probable heavy
damage to large section of the
government highway and dock
approach and threatening dis
aster to the town in severe high
water periods.
Hyder Chamber of Commerce
Mr. Sandford, in outlining the
views of the board, said it was
the unanimous opinion that it
w’ould be impossible to raise
Ilyder’s contribution to the
$53,000 flood protection pro
gram proposed by the War De
partment engineers and recom
mended to Congress; that, ow
ing to the low state of Territor
ial revenues at present, little
or no help could be expected
from the Territory and in no
event could such assistance be
obtained before the next meet
ing of the legislature in March,
1933. Furthermore, it was
the view of the board that inas
much as local interests and the
Territory have already eontrib
uaed $25,000 toward protect
ing the town from being
washed away during the past
ten years, and as this amount
represented near.y 50 per cent
of the total cost of the proposed
War Department program, the
community could not be justly
called upon to contribute fur
ther, especially as the river en
croachments threatened seri
ous damage or destruction to
government improvem e n t s,
represented by the Salmon
River Highway and govern
i Delegate Will Assist
Local River Proposal
In a reply to the telegram
forwarded this week by the
I Hyder Chamber of Commerce
protesting against the local co
operation clause in the War
Department’s Salmon river
flood control proposal, Alaska
delegate to Congress James
Wickersham has promised his
aid toward securing the delet
ion of the objectionable provis
ion in the following message re
ceived Friday:
Hyder Chamber of
Commerce.
“Can fully appreciate the un
fortunate position that people
of Hyder would be placed in if
they were required to pay part
of the dyke improvement, as
provided in the War Depart
ment report and will try to
have that requirement deleted,
but can get nowhere until the
report is printed, which has
not yet been done.”
James Wickersham
Delegate
ment dock approach, costing
approximately a quarter mill
ion dollars. In such event, he
said, the government would
be by long odds the heaviest
loser.
It was therefore decided to
ask for the deletion of the co
operative provisions of the pro
gram and that ^le credit be
given the community for the
large expenditures already
made.
Mr. Sandford expressed the
view that if Congress is made
to fully realize the true situa
tion and also the imperative
need for additional protection,
owing to the continual de
struction by the river of exist
ing protective works, it was
not unreasonable to expect
that the cooperative demand
would be eliminated.
Other matters of general in
terest presented to the meet
ing included a report by chair
man N. M. Traversy of the fire
protection committee and a re
port by Secretary Cross rela
tive to the activities of the
Washington Bicentennial cele
bration committee. Mr. Trav
ersy reported that the chemic
al fire engine has been placed
on specially devised runners
for winter use and during cold
weather an electric heater is
employed to keep the chemical
tank warm and in readiness for
instant use night or day. The
apparatus is in the best shape
possible to obtain, Mr. Traver
sy said,. He also outlined his
efforts to provide a fire alarm
system that could be heard in
all parts of town and said he
is now working on a com
pressed air whistle which he
hopes will prove a success.
Mr. Cross reported that Mr.
Blue, chairman of the celebrat
ion committee, had issued a re
quest to all local organizations
to meet and decide upon a date
and arrangements for the prop
er observance. of the nation
wide celebration.
Chairman E.D.Iladdon of the
finance committee also report
ed that his committee had de
cided to hold a whist drive and
dance in Pioneer Hall on April
9 to help the Chamber finan
ces, which are decidedly low at
present. S. P. Fitzgerald, head
1 ing a special committee, under
C'outinueil on Pape 3
DEAL UNDER WAY FOR
GEORGIA RIVER GOLD
New York interests are nego
| dating in Vancouver for the
1 purchase of the local Georgia
| River properties of Georgia
j River Gold Mines, Ltd., accord
t ing to a recent anouncement
j by the Fanancial News, Van
j couver financial and mining
j journal.
Terms proposed by the east
| erners are said to involve ex
penditures of approximately
$300,000 on equipping and de
veloping the property, and will
also give to present sharehold
ers many times the present
market value of their shares in
cash, in addition to a substan
tial interest in the new comp
any.
The property includes 34
crown-granted claims on the
Canadian side of Portland Can
1 al and about five miles from
tidewater. Values found in
two series of intersecting veins
are principally in free gold,
associated with silver and cop
per. Extensive development
indicates a considerable ton
nage of ore running from $8 to
$35 per ton, although not suf
ficient work has been done to
warrant mill construction up to
this time.
-o
New Change In
Ketchikan Mail Schedule
Contemplated changes in sail
ing schedules of the Alaska
Steamship Company from Se
attle will result in the weekly
mails via Ketchikan arriving
here on Tuesdays on and after
April 4, according to informa
tion from the Seattle mail au
thorities received by Postmast
er Qren F. Hill.
Under the proposed schedule
the Alaska company vessels
will leave Seattle on Saturdays
while the Noyes Boat Company
ships, connecting carriers, will
leave Ketchikan for Hyder at
G p. m. each Monday evening
and arrive here the following
day about noon.. The first mail
to arrive after the change will
not reach Hyder for ten days
after the last preceding mail
under the present schedule. In
other words, there will be no
boat from Ketchikan for ten
days prior to April 12.
The new schedule will remain
in effect until September 30th.
-o
Tonkin Loses Lindeborg Suit.
Vancouver press reports an
nounce the dismissal by Mr.
Justice D. A. McDonald in the
provincial supreme court of the
$15,000 suit brought by W. R.
Tonkin against the estate of the
late Daniel Lindeborg, early
day settler of this district and
founder of Hyder.
Tonkin, whose local mining
.activities have made him wide
i ly known in Canadian mining
I circles, claimed in the suit a
quarter interest in the proceeds
of the sale of the Riverside
mining property, six miles
north of Hyder. The property
was sold by Lindeborg some
years ago for $60,000.
Refuting the Tonkin claims,
representatives of the Linde
borg estate alleged that Tonkin
j had signed a release of any in
' terests in the property, the re
ports said.
AHRTCOKIUSKS
SILVER RESTORATION
Resolutions urging the feder
al government of Canada to
take the necessary steps to
ward standardizing the mone
tary value of silver were
passed this week by the city
council of Prince Rupert, B. C.,
according to the Prince Rupert
News.
Supporting the resolution,
Alderman Casey, proposer of
the measure, and Dr. Joseph T.
Mandy, resident government
mining engineer, spoke strong
ly in favor of restoring the
monetary value of the white
metal as a principal panacea
for the present economic ills of
the world.
To enlist additional backing
for its silver rehabilitation
plea, the council plans to solic
it the support of the principal
municipalities of the four west
ern Canadian provinces, the
News said.
-o
Fire Damages Townsite Cabin
A fire under the floor of a
small cabin owned by Malcolm
Smith and occupied by Dick
i Engster caused a flurry of ex
citement in the forest townsite
late Sunday forenoon, but was
quenched by means of hand
fire extinguishers and snow
before extensive damage re
sulted.
The cabin is located close to
the mountain slope a short dist
ance north of the Hovland res
idence. The fire apparently
originated through sparks from
the stove falling through open
cracks in the board floor and
igniting chips and dried vege
tation under the building. Eng
ster was up the valley cutting
wood when the fire was re
vealed by heavy smoke ema
nating from the building. Resi
dents of the neighborhood sub
dued the blaze. Damage was
confined practically to the
flooring and a section of the
roof.
-O
Blue Party Leaves for Interior
Heading for the virtually un
explored mineral area north of
the Nass river and between the
Bell-Irving river and Henry
creek, some 90 miles northeast
of Stewart, Ernest Blue, local
attorney, and Messrs. Tom.
Walters and ‘Blackie” Mc
Ritchie left Stewart early Tues
day morning enroute to the
upper government road camp
on Bear river, a few miles be
low Bear River Pass. They ex
pected to reach the camp by
Tuesday evening and push on
over the pass Wednesday,
hauling some 900 pounds of
supplies and equipment on
hand drawn toboggans. From
Bear pass they will proceed to
the upper end of Meziadin
lake and thence north along
the Bell-Irving to Taft creek,
a few miles east of Bowser
lake, and over the divide to the
headwaters of Henry creek,
where they plan to build a
camp and prospect until the
latter part of June.
-o
Douglas Campbell, Big Miss
ouri mine manager, left for
Vancouver last week.
Lost Predictions of
Last Four Years
September, 1929: Irving Fish
er, economist: “There may be
a recession in stock prices, but
not anything in the nature of a
crash.”
Mr. Hoover, on the day fol
lowing the market crash : “The
| fundamental business of the
j country is on a firm and proa
j perous basis.”
l November, 1929. Arthur Bris
bane, writer: “All the really
important millionaires are
planning to continue prosper
ity.”
Julius Barnes: “The factors
of previous depressions are ab
sent.”
Stuart Chase, economist:
! “We probably have three more
years of prosperity ahead of us
before we encounter the cyclic
tailspin which has occurred in
the eleventh year of each of
the great previous periods of
j commercial prosperity.”
Alexander Legge, U. S. Farm
Board: “It looks as if industry
would have to start scrapping
around to get employees, in
stead of laying off anybody.”
December, 1929. Julius H.
Barnes: “A return of the cred
it market and business activity
will perhaps be slow during
the first half of the coming
year, but conditions will obtain
their regular equanimity be
fore the year is out.”
Secretary Mellon: “I see noth
ing in the present situation
that is either menacing or war
rants pessimism. During the
winter months there may be
some slackness or unemploy
ment, but hardly more than at
this season of the year. I have
every confidence that there
will be a revival of activity I
in the spring and that during
the coming year the country
will make steady progress.”
1 Some of the lost predictions
j of 1930 will appear in a later
I issue. Watch for them.
Wants Same “Good Pay Dirt”
Writing to the Herald from
Husum, Washington, O. H.
Langfelt, states that he is seek
ing information regarding plac
j er mining and trapping in Alas
ka as a means of gaining a liv
; ing and hopes that we “may
j know of some fairly good pay
; dirt that is now available.”
“I have been told by men
who have been in Alaska,” he
says, ’’that there are various
abandoned diggings where a
man can still make small wag
es. Same would suit me very
! well in these kind of times.
1 Unfortunately we were un
J able to inform the gentleman
j of any “fairly good pa., "rt”
; that might be lying around
loose and advised him to stay
away from Alaska unless he
had a sufficiently large grub
! stake to enable him to mush
j around until he could find some
pay dirt.
-o—
The Friendship Club will
hold another of their entertain
ing bridge drives in Pioneer
Hall next Tuesday evening,
March 15. The bridge program
will be followed by lur.choc
and dancing.
GREAT DAMAGE DONE
Bf TIDAL WAVE
Details regarding the tidal
wave which swept the lower
Bering Sea coast of Alaska last
month reveal that great dam
age was wrought along the
coast from the Kuskokwim del
ta to the northerly mouth of
the Yukon. The tidal waves
spread inland for many miles
bearing vast masses of broken
ice from Bering Sea. Native
villages were hard hit, the
great blocks of ice crushing in
the native igloos, cabins and
fish caches. Water came into
the igloos to a depth of four or
five feet, forcing the occu
pants to escape through the
tops of the dwellings and giv
ing them no opportunity to
save any of their belongings.
So sudden was the inrush of
water that in one instance a
team of ten sled dogs were
drowned before they could be
unhitched from the sled. At
Eek and Apokok on the Kusko
kwim, the flood came in the
night, adding to the terror.
Some commercial fishing stat
ions were carried bodily inland
for several miles and about
half of $8,000 worth of mater
ial for a school house at Kipu
nuk was washed away. Fortu
nately there was no loss of life
so far as known.
-o
Ketchikan Igloo Pioneers
Rebuke Bishop Cannon
The following vigorously
worded protest against his act
ion in opposing the repeal of
the Alaska Bone Dry Act was
addressed recently to Bishop
James Cannon, Jr., by the
Ketchikan Igloo of the Pion
eers of Alaska: Herald read
ers will recall that the Bishop
recently spoke before a House
committee against repeal of
the Alaska anti-liquor statute
The Igloo’s denunciaton reads:
reads as follows:
‘This Igloo vigorously pro
tests against your presumpt
ious interference in a matter
which is wholly the business of
the residents of the Terri'!: ”y.
“In what way are you quali
fied to speak on this question,
and who requested you to do
so?
“It appears to us voluntary
and unwarranted impertinence
on your part, and as such \v?
unhesitatingly condemn it.’’
Canadian Dollar Stronger
The Canadian dollar is slow
ly regaining strength and was
quoted at 90*4 on the New
York foreign exchange market
last Monday. This is the high
est point reached by the dollar
since the exchange value
slumped so drastically follow
ing the collapse of the British
pound sterling several months
ago. Recent steady upward
movements of the dollar value
indicate that it may not be long
before it is once more at or very
near par value as an exchange
medium, although it is report
ed that Canada, for trade reas
ons, is in no wise lo«*>' ''
the United States dollar.