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
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/OL. 8, NO. 6
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HYDER, ALASKA, NOVEMBER 21, 1931
BY THE YEAR $3.0/
SILVER MOVEMENT
GATHERS STRENGTH
The belief that restoration
of silver is essential to world
prosperity is finding new ad
vocates daily both in the Unit
ed States and abroad and the
movement toward rehabilita
tion of the white metal is
steadily finding new and in
fluential supporters.
Reports from Washington,
D. C. announce that advocates
of an international conference
to study silver rehabilitation
are marshaling their forces to
that end. Senator King, silver
conference proponent from
Utah, announced plans for a
silver meeting in New York
this month and expressed the
hope that a committee will be
organized to bring the support!
of the southern republics to
promote an international par-j
ley.
It is also anounced that a
meeting of senators from the j
western states may be held
upon their return to Washing- j
ton to discuss carrying out of
the resolution adopted by a
special committee in the last
session recommending a con
ference.
Senator Joe Robinson, of
Arkansas, has joined the silver
champions and urged the ad
option of the silver standard as
a major step toward world
economic recovery and stabil
ization in a recent public ad-I
dress. One of the greatest
handicaps to world trade, he
said, was the decline of sil
ver, which cut into halt the
purchasing power of many na
tions.
William Green, president of
the American Federation of
Labor, said recently that la
bor is interested in restoration :
of “a reasonable purchasing
power to silver for two rea
sons, first, because of the im
portance of the mining indust-:
ry as an employer of men, and ■
second, because of the relation-,
ship which money bears to I
commodities and labor,” He,
said further that the federa
tion’s executive council has1
adopted a resolution indorsing
the senate resolution of last
session calling for an interna
tional conference on the silver
problem.
Ottawa dispatches reported ;
that world adoption of bimet- i
allism as a means of restoring
international trade to a pros
perous condition was urged by
Hon. H. H. Stevens, minister of j
trade and commerce. Restora- 1
tion of silver to a monetary
basis, he said, would have the
same effect as a sudden in
crease in the quantity of gold
and pointed out that silver,
when permitted to function
with gold has met successful-1
ly all the varied requirements
of trade and commerce.
In a recent press article, Sir
Hugo Cuncliffe-Owen, chair
man of a £36,000,000 British
export corporation and a not- j
ed expert on questions of trade j
and finance, declared that
“Gold is not sacrosanct. It is
quite unfair that the life of|
our empire should be jeopar-!
dized by the vagaries of one
metal, however precious. On
the other hand, silver is the
basis of value of three-fifths
i Urge Cooperation
Between Stewart-Rupert
.
1
Olaf Hanson, member of the
provincial parliament for
Skeena district was the prin
cipal speaker at a special din
ner meeting of the Stewart
Board of Trade last Saturday
evening and urged cooperation
between Stewart and Prince
Rupert in securing a change in
existing load line regulations
affecting deep sea shipping,
which are at present disad
| vantageous to the whole north
coast of British Columbia.
Similar pleas were also made
by T. H. Pillsbury, president of
the Prince Rupert Board of
Trade; M. P. McCaffery, for
mer mayor of Prince Rupert;
j John Dybhaven, Norwegian
consul at Prince Rupert, and
H. F. Pullen, editor and pub
lisher of the Prince Rupert
| News.
Other speakers included1
Ernest Blue, who with H. R. ;
| Cross represented the Hyder !
of Chamber of Commerce, and
H. W. M. Rolston. editor and,
publisher of the Stewart News.
Mr. Blue, in a forceful ad
dress, pointed out for the ben- ;
efit of the visitors, the splen
did manner in which the Am
erican town of Hyder and the
Canadian town of Stewart co
operate for the common wel
fare of the district.
Mr. Rolston failed to com- j
plete his address, owing to a
fire alarm disrupting the meet-1
ing, everybody adjourning to I
Ihe fire which occurred at the]
home of Mr. and Mrs. Joe
Wilson, but proved to be noth
ing worse than a bad chimney
blaze.
Winter Comes To Hyder
Hvder experienced her first
touch of real winter this year
Sunday night, when the ther
mometer dropped suddenly to
9 above zero, creating havoc
with local water systems, in
addition to sending shivers rip
pling in recurrent waves up
and down local spines. Plumb
eis and coal merchants smiled
broadly, however, as business
became brisk immediately.
During the remainder of the
week the temperature has re
mained below freezing point,
with minimum temperatures
ranging down to 4 above zero
during night hours. At that it
appears that Hyder is locat
ed in a comparatively warm
■spot, as reports show much
lower temperatures at points
north, east and south.
Silver Price Breaks
Heavy selling of silver in
New York and London has
again forced down the price
of that metal to figures rang
ing close to those prevailing
before the recent spectacular
advance. London reports said
felling there was mostly from
America, although Indian sell
ing was also in evidence.
of the world’s population. Let
us seek to restore the value of
silver and so regain the cus
tom of that three-fifths. * * *
Silver can be restored easily
and in many ways. Let our gov
ernment then call a conference
of the nations concerned to
deal with the problem and se
lect one of the many remedies.
This is the road to prosperity
in our time,”
SAWYER OUTLINES
HIGHWAY SITUATION
i Ernest Walker Sawyer, mem
I ber of the International High
way Commission, in a letter to
the Hyder Herald this week,
outlines the present situation
with reference to the Pacific
Yukon-Alaska Highway and
| praises the recent Chamber of
j Commerce Highway edition of
jthis paper as follows:
j Editor, Hyder Weekly Herald,
j Hyder, Alaska.
! Dear Friend:
Your paper of September 2nd
has followed me back and
forth across the country and I
am pleased to say that I have
at last been able to look ovfer
its many interesting features.
I also want to thank you foi\
the opportunity you extended
me to participate in an article
for that paper.
Unfortunately, I travelled so j
fast this summer that my mail j
‘did not catch up with me, so 1 j
was denied the pleasure of |
joining with Premier Tolmie j
and the other writers.
Your paper is an excellent!
edition and I am sure all those;
who are interested in the pro-!
motion of the Highway to AI- j
aska appreciate the work you'
are doing. The meeting held in,
Victoria on October 11 was;
for the purpose of considera
tion of various records, etc.,
from engineering data which ;
was presented by the engin- j
eers of the three areas. Thej
alignment as approved by the I
engineers was adopted by the j
International Commission as I
the proper alignment from an
engineering point of view and
details of that alignment you j
could obtain from Mr. George
Napier of the Department of
Public Works at Victoria, R.
C.
Now that the alignment of
of the main highway is accept
i ed and approved, it is up to all
the friends of the project to
get behind it and see if the
1 fourteen million dollars can be
j raised at an early date.
In order to make the High
way a success, it is of course
necessary that it be loaded to
capacity with traffic and to do
that, it will be necessary to
have “feeders” and branches
| into the various communities
i where resources and opportun
! ities await development. The
! local people in those commun
ities will undoubtedly press
I forward to develop the con
j necting links and under that
! category the towns of Hyder
* and Stewart have excellent op
1 portunities of early connection
| to a Highway, which in my es
I timation, will carry many
j thousands of motorists.
It is my hope that I may
i sometime next summer have
the opportunity of visiting the
Portland Canal and view the
scenery and industries which
you have staided.
Very truly yours,
Ernest Walker Sawyer.
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j Work Suspended
At Georgia River
Work on Georgia River has
closed down pending the let
tering of contracts for further
development activities. Several
of the former crew left for the
south Thursday.
OCTOBER COMMERCE
SHOWS BIG GAIN
Shipments of Alaska pro
j ducts to the United States dur
ing October were valued at
$4,290,010, according' to the
monthly statement of Customs
Collector J. C. McBride. This
does not include gold or silver
shipments, which attained a
total value of $1,347,601; to
whch silver contributed $4.
556. The total value of all ex
ported commodities for the
month was $5,879,654. This
monthly total has been exceed
ed but twice during the pres-!
ent year and overtops the to- j
tal exports of October, 1930,.
by more than a million dollars, j
The complete list follows:
Animals . $ 5,670
Curios...:. 871
Fish: fresh and frozen
(except shell fish)
Halibut. 69,954
Salmon. 44,422 1
AIT other . 1,297'
Canned: (except
shell-fish)
Salmon . 3,441,856 I
Cured or preserved
(except shell-fish)
Cod . 26,985 i
Herring . 223,343
Salmon .. 101,675
Shell-fish
Clams .
Crabs ..
Shrimps .
Other fish products
Meal ...
Oil .
Furs and fur-skins
Blue fox .-..
Silver or black fox
Red fox ..
White fox .
Mink ...
Muskrat ..;..
Beaver ..
All other ...
Manufactured furs
49,882
633
17,332
75,210
78,718;
4,254 |
16,989!
2,510
2,980
500
160,
100 !
1,560
Ore, matte, regulus
Copper ....
57,569 |
12,305
5,580 !
3,190 I
12,730 '
j Lead ..
i Reindeer meat
Stone, marble ,etc.
; Trophies, specimens
(Wood: Timbe rand
Lumber .
12,834
All other articles .. 20,889
; Total value of pro
ducts of Alaska . 4,292,010
Products of the Unit
ed 'States returned .. 114,851
Total value of for
eign products. 125,192
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Total value of shipments
of merchandise . 4,532,043
Gold .. 1,343,045
Silver . 4,556
Grand Total . $5,879,654 j
Democrats Majority Increased
Political wise-owls will find i
| food for reflection and buzz j
in a recent Washington an- j
1 nouricement that the death of!
Congressman Harry Wurzbach |
of Texas adds one more to the
democratic majority in the!
House of Representatives. The,
present" party standing is:
Democrats, 217; Republicans, I
214; Farmer-Labor, 1; vacan
cies 3. The vacancies are in
Texas, New Jersey
Hampshire,
I
I Hospital Outlook
Not Favorable
Facing a probable deficit of
approximately $370 by the
: close of the year, the present
outlook for operation of the
Stewart hospital after Decem
ber 31, is not favorable, it was
disclosed at a public meeting
held in Stewart Wednesday
evening.
The financial outlook was
i presented by Mr E. .T. Apple
j whaite of the hospital board,
! who said that all that has kept
I the hospital going up to this
I time was a special grant of
! $500 received from the govern.
i ment a few days ago. The hos
I pital had on hand at the mo
ment $251.50, Mr. Apple
j whaite said. It was expected
that a further grant of $97.50
due from the government
would raise the funds in hand
to $394.00. Running expenses
tor November were estimated
at $400, a low figure, to which
must be added overdue insur
ance premium amounting to
$85, or a total indebtedness by
November 30 amounting to
$485. The board is also under
contract to pay the return fare
of the matron to Vancouver if
the institution closes on that
date, which would bring the
estimated liabilities to $519.50.
This would mean a deficit of
$170, Mr. Applewhaite said.
If the institution is kept open
until December 31, additional
anticipated revenue would in
clude a grant of $25 from the
Village of Stewart; estimated
government grant amounting
to $75, estimated proceeds
from a dance on December 31,
$100, making a total estimated
revenue of $200. Against this
would be running expenses of
$400, leaving an estimated def
icit of $200 for December, to
which must be added the No
vember deficit of $170, mak
ing a total deficit of $370 at
the end of December.
Mr. Applewhaite said the
board does not feel justified in
loading a greater debt than
this onto the citizens under
present conditions and refuses
to do so, altho in the past the
debt has been much greater.
Conditions were much better
then, however,, and this factor
must be taken into account.
“In view of this situation,”
Mr. Applewhaite said, the
board recommends that the
hospital be kept open until the
end of December and then
closed unless something unfor
seen happens that will give
assurance of greater revenues.
During the course of discus
sion it was announced that out
standing accounts due the hos
pital amount to between $3,
600 and $3,700, but fully half
was not collectable and the
balance is coming in slowly.
Arthur Cosens and J. H.
Hemsworth, both of whom are
associated in the administra
tion of the estate of the fate
Daniel Lindeborg, were visit
ors in Hyder between Saturday
evening and Monday evening.
Mr. Cosens was accompanied
by his wife. Mr. Cosens is the
principal beneficiary under the
terms of Mr. Lindeborg’s will.
Mr. Hemsworth is prominent
in Vancouver financial and
brokerage circles.
CHRISTMAS TREE
PURS LAUNCHED
Plans for holding a com
munity Chrismas tree for the
children of Hyder under 14
years of age were inaugurated
Wednesday evening at a public
meeting held in Chamber of
Commerce hall under the aus
pices of the Loyal Order of
Moose and with N. M. Trav
ersy, representative of that or
der, presidng. The meeting
was attended by representa
tives of the Friendship Club,
Pioneers, and other organiza
tions, in addition to a number
of interested citizens.
Miss Helen Hall was elected
to head the Christmas tree or
ganization, with Mrs. Harold
Johnson as secretary, and E.
D. Haddon was named as
chairman of the finance com
mittee. Additional members of
the committee‘will be appoint
ed by Miss Hall and the com
plete personnel will be an
nounced later.
Discussion of tentative plans
I brought out that there are 32
children in the community who
come within the indcated age
requirements, each of which
will receive a present from the
community.
B. P. R. To Curtail
Winter Road Work
Road maintenance activities
of {he Bureau of Public Roads
this winter will be confined
principally to snow grading
within the town limits on such
throroughfares as are under
the Bureau’s maintenance jur
isdiction. Presen t contempla
tions do not include any effort
to keep the Salmon River high
way open beyond the rock
cut, owing to a number of reas
ons, chief of which are pros
pective light traffic during the
winter months and absence of
effective means for combatting
deep snow. Road overseer T.
H. Evans states that the snow
grading device employed in
keeping the highway open last
winter was successful only be
cause of the extremely light
snowfall and would be almost
useless against deep, heavy
snow; against which only a
plow of the rotary type would
be effective. Removal of the
snow last winter is also said to
have created added difficult
ies and expense for freighters,
who were under the necessity
of transporting their loads by
auto over the graded section,
extending to Nine-mile, and
there transferring to sleds for
the remainder of the trip to
the upper Salmon basin.
Pat Gildea Passes
Patrick Gildea, aged 50,
prominent Ketchikan resident,
who is widely known here,
passed away in Ketchikan last
week as a result of a heart at
tack. Deceased was an attor
ney and practiced law in the
First City for eight years, but
in earlier life was engaged in
mining in South America and
Arizona before coming to
Dawson and the Alaska gold
fields.