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VOLUME 9, NUMBER 12.
HYDER, ALASKA, SATUR DAY, DECEMBER 31, 1932.
SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS
PREMIER MINER 15
ACCIDENT VICTIM
Mike Gerucivich, a member
of the Premier mine crew, met
death Christmas eve as a result
of a somewhat mysterious acci
dent occuring in the mine about
seven of eight o’clock-, the ex
act time being unknown.
Death was apparently due to
an explosion followed by a fall
down an adjacent mine shaft.
Gerucivich, who was em
ployed as a bull-dozer, was
working alone in the drift at
the time and appears to have
been hurled down the shaft by
the force of an explosion in the
drift or fell in some manner.
Timbers from the drift found
near his body at the foot of the
shaft indicate tha this fall was
( due to explosion. When found
at the foot of the 50 or 60 foot
shaft around midnight, it was
judged that the accident had
occurred several hours earlier,
but whether the man survived
the fall for a time could not
be decisively determined. His
head was found to be badly
battered, one arm was broken
and one of his lower limbs was
severely torn and bruised.
Gerucivich had been in the
employ of the company for
some years and was highly re
garded by his associates. He
was of Slavonic origin ar.d is
said to have relatives in the
old country.
The remains were taken to
Prince Rupert for interment.
Albert J. Mayer Victim
Of Painful Accident
Albert J. Mayer became the
victim of a painful accident
Wednesday afternoon when
the little finger of his right
hand came into contact with a
circular saw in his sawmill
plant on upper Texas Creek
and was virtually denuded of
flesh from a point below the
middle joint to the first joint.
Only the main tendon was left,
the remainder of the fleshy in
tegument being entirely
stripped from the bone. Mr.
Mayer explains the failure oi
the saw to sever the finger as
probably due to the member
having been caught in the
round openings below the
teeth instead of encountering
the teeth themselves. The lac.
erated finger was dressed by
Dr. Vosburgh.
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Monday A Holiday
Owing to New Year’s Day
falling on Sunday, Monday
will be observed as a holiday
by government offices and th«
public school.
LATE DEVELOPMENTS IN
THE SILVER MOVEMENT
John A. Simpson, president of
the Farmers' National Union,
in a recent statement, advocat
: ed the remonetization of silver
at the ratio of 16 to 1, declar
ing that the farmers desire re-1
| monetization to open up three
fourths of the world’s markets
which are now closed to them
by reason of our high-priced
dollar. Simpson also declared
that Congress should reappro
priate to itself the constitution
al authority to regulate the
value of money and not dele
gate this power to the bat.k.’.
“We are for government cur
rency, as opposed to bankers’
currency,” he said.
Action for his bill for the pur
chase of five million ounces of
silver monthly by the govern
ment until July 1, 1938, will be
sought during the present short
session of Congress by Senator
Key Pittman, who declared in
; a recent statement that he will
| request at the proper time a
I vote on his measure, which pro
, vides. for the issuance of silver
! certificates against purchased
silver bullion and silver coins
struck off to redeem the cur
rency. Pittman said the whole
world has its eyes on the Unit
ed States on the silver question.
Resolutions favoring an inter
national conference on silver
j and independent action by the
United States in the event of a
failure toagree on any measure
to improve silver status were
passed at the conference of
Western governors’ held in Salt
Lake early this month.
A plan for the state legislat
ure to “remonetize silver” in
Idaho is advocated by J. W.
Holden, candidate for United
States senator, who points out
that section 10 of article 1 of
the Constitution grants to the
| everal states the right to make
“gold and silver coin a tender
| in payment of debts.” WJth
: the passage and approval of
a law making gold and silver
coin a tender in Idaho, he con
tends that a suit could then be
brought to determine the con
stitutionality, not only of the
law itself, but also to determine
whether the demonetization of
silver by congress was a violat
ion of state’s rights and there
fore unconstitutional.
If the action of congress were
declared in violation of the
lights of the states and uncon
stitutional, we would automat
ically return to a “state or con
dition of remonetization, in ef
fect,” he says.
A plan for a new monetary
system for the world in which
wheat, silver and gold would
SAWYER TO URGE
ACTION ON HIGHWAY
In a recent statement to a
Victoria, B. C. newspaper re
lative to the proposed Inter
national Highway from the
Pacific Coast to Alaska, Ern
est Walker Sawyer, member
of the American commission to
investigate the project, said he
hoped to bring the matter to
the attention of Congress in
connection with the Alaska
section of the route. Mr. Saw
yer said it has been suggested
that the American and Canad
ian members of the internation
al committee meet in the near
(future to consider additional
data which has been assembled
on the project, intimating fur
ther that the next meeting is
expected to cover the econom
ics of the problem, based on
various expert estimates of the
expected travel.
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Library Meeting Friday
A special meeting of the
Board of trustees of the Hyder
Public Library will be held in
the Library building next Fri
day evening, January 6, at 8
p. m.
be the basic factors is being
offered to financiers by Frank
O’Hearn, of Toronto, former
vice-president of the Standard
Stock Exchange of that city.
The first object of his plan
jwould be to arrive at a com
modity valuation so stabilized
that it would 'oe a standard to
which other commodities and
services would be a permanent
relative valuation. The second
would be to elaborate the gold
monetary system to fill the re
quirements of modern business
and the needs of the people.
This would require two pri
mary requisites: 1, a fixed
monetary valuation between
tween wheat and silver, and, 2,
a flexible monetary valuation
between the new silver-wheat
standard and gold. He suggests
that inasmuch as one ounce of
silver and one bushel of wheat
are now valued approximately
at the same price, the future
standard value for all commod
ities and services be on the bas
is of one ounce of silver equal
ing one bushel of wheat.
In addition to announcing his
intention to press for action on
his bill calling for the remone
tization of silver at 16 to 1,
Senator Wheeler of Montana
has lately performed heroic
service for the silver cagse by
educating the public regard
ing the silver issue through
radio broadcasts and magazine
articles.
HOUSE KILLS FUNDS
FOR MINERAL SURVEYS
Complete elimination by the
House Committee on Approp
riations of the $60,000 appro
priation recommended by the
Budget for Geological Survey
work in Alaska is announced
in reports from Washington, D.
C.
Unless the item is restored by
the Senate, the action of the
House committee will bring to
a complete_stop the highly im
portant investigations of min
eral resources heretofore car
ried on by the Geological Sur
vey under the direction of
Phillip S. Smith, which include
the compilation of mineral sta
tistics, topographic mapping
and other scientific work of
great value and importance to
the Territory. It will also have
the effect of discontinuing the
mine inspection service in the
T erritory.
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Violet Ray User Destroys
Pleasure of Many Persons
Radio fans in Hyder and
Stewart are complaining in no
uncertain terms at the action
of some inconsiderate person,
presumably in Hyder, in turn
ing on a violet ray machine or
some similar electrical device,
during the quarter hour in
which the Richfield news flash
es are being broadcasted over
the radio. The roaring of the
device effectually prevents the
hearing of more than frag
mentary snatches of the most
comprehensive news report
that reaches the district. As a
result the offending ray user is
in distinctly bad odor with the
radio fans, who feel that he or
she could forego using the ray
machine until the news report
is over, usually by 10:15 p. m.
While some contend that the
turning on of the machine just
at that time suggests a pre
meditated and deliberate at
tempt to destroy the news bul
letin, in which most of the lo
cal population finds keen inter
est, it is possible that the of
fender does not realize that
the action results in many of
our citizens losing one of the
chief pleasures of their day
and that a delay of fifteen min
utes or so in turning on the ray
will be gratefully appreciated.
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Goat Season Ends Tonight
The 1932 open season for
taking mountain sheep and
: mountain goat will close at
midnight tonight, after which
it will be unlawful to shoot or
i take the animals in any man
) ner.
NON RESIDENT TROLLER
TAX DECLARED INVALID
Confirming incomplete radio
reports received here some
days ago, late Alaska ex
changes report that the Alaska
non-resident troll fishermen’s
license tax of $250 imposed by
the 1929 Alaska Legislature,
has been declared invalid by
Lhe Circuit Court of Appeals at
San Francisco. The court also
permanently enjoined Territor
ial Treasurer W. G. Smith from
collecting the tax.
The appelate court held that
the legislative act violates the
federal fishery law known as
the White Bill, giving all citi
zens of the United States the
right to fish in Alaskan wat
ers under certain regulations,
and also held that the power
of the Territorial legislature
to levy taxes is so limited that
it cannot nullify an act of
Congress.
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Mail Boat Goes Aground
The Noyes Boat Company
motorship Taku II, bearing the
weekly mail from Ketchikan,
ran ashore near the Hyder
sawmill 'while coming up the
Canal about 3 a. m. Thursday
morning. Aside from some
damage to the cargo boom the
vessel was uninjured and was
floated on the succeeding high
tide about 11:30 the same
morning.
The accident is said to have
been caused by the pilot mis
taking in the darkness a light
on shore for the dock light.
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Local Residents On Jury List
The names of Harold John
son, T. H. Evans, Holger John
son and J. W. Kennedy are in
cluded in the list of grand and
petit jurors drawn for the next
term of the District Court, to
be held in Ketchikan next
month. The last three named
are on the petit jury list.
The latest information indi
cates that the grand jury will
convene on January 19 and
the petit jury on January 23.
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Fairbanks Severely Damaged
A report of the damage done
to the Hyder-Ketchikan mail
boat Fairbanks in her recent
encounter with ice in Port Wal
ler discloses that a hole 38 feet
long and 10 inches wide was
torn in the hull through the
loosening of the iron bark
strips which protect the hull
below the water line.