Alaska Needs Pitiless Publicity 1
-x
By E. S. Hungerford
-x
The census of the population
of Alaska has remained practic
ally stationary for the last
thirty years at a total of about
sixty thousand people. Consider
ing the country and its resources
this is not much of a showing.
A country which does not in
crease its population may be
said to be losing ground. All
things considered a country will
only progress according to the
aggressive enterprise of the peo
ple who inhabit it. A diligent
search of statistics reveals the
fact that Alaska is the only
State or Territory under the A
merican flag which has not re
corded material gains in that
period. A cold blooded analysis
of these figures does not reflect
very creditably on the intelli
gence or agressive enterprise of
Alaskans.
Altha this is a bitter pill for
Alaskans to swallow we must
remember that it is not always
pleasant to see ourselves as oth
ers may see us. One thing we
can say: The record of the dev
elopment of Alaska stands today
and should forever stand as a
warning to all supine people and
as a monument to the efficiency
and ruthlessness of the agents of
the high priests of the god :*f
wealth, Yahweh, and to the
narrow minded littleness of the
men in high places who have
been directing the destinies of
the Territory.
In the past, the people of
Alaska, broken up into factions
by prejudices fostered by self
seeking politicians and by pan
sites feeding from the federal
pork barrel, have not been able
to present an unbroken front to
the agents of greedy interests
camouflaged as Federal officials.
They have offered only a scatter
ing opposition to the agents put
here in the name of Conserva
tion; a National policy, however
ulterior its instigation, proving
out in actual application to be a
hoax and an instrument of
greed pure and. simple. While
these same agents have intro
duced policies which have throt
tled development of industries
in Alaskas forests, have set up
special privileges in Alaskas
fisheries and have made their
noxious presence ien in many
other fields of endeavor, all to
the hurt of Alaskas progress.
Today as never before these
agents stand before the bar of
public opinion to give an ac
counting of their stewardship.
This they can not do to the sat
isfaction o fthe people of Alas
ka, nor given a fair hearing
from Alaskans can they expect
a verdict in their favor from the
people of the United States. It is
to be regretted that the people
of Alaska can not strike di
rectly at the master but must
dear with the agent; however
the agents have assumed the
responsibility and must should
er the blame.
No one with even a simple
comprehension of the ideals of
National conservation could
stretch their imagination to the
point where they could conceive
that the people of the United
States ever intended that these
conservation agents should
ursurp the powers of czars and
hand out the dirt that has been
handed to the Territory and the
people of Alaska. Do you suppose
for an instant that Theodore
Roosevelt, the father of conser
vation, would have dared to, or
wished to, advance the argu
ment that th ebest interests of
the people demanded that all
Independent attempts at mar
keting Alaska’s timber be throt
tled until such time as the tim
ber barons give out the word
that such could be done with
out making painful inroads in
theif monopoly? Do you suppose
that ‘conservation of salmon was
intended by the people of the
United States to cover the vir
tual starvation of a people who
had lived for centuries from the
salmon fisheries of Alaska as a
result of their agents establish
ing and maintaining special
privileges in the salmon fisheries
o' Alaska? No! I say No!
The people of the United
i States did not intend any such
traversity as has been passed
out to Alaska in their name.
That is the dirty part of the
whole deal, and the people of
the United States do not know
what is actually being done by,
their agents in Alaska. The peo
ple of Alaska need have no fear
of the verdict from their fellow
citizens in the States when once
an understanding of what has
tianspired in Alaska reaches
them and the people of Alaska
are justified in taking any steps
necessary to shake loose from
the machinations of greedw in
terests.
Of one thing we may rest as
sured: The sooner the people of
Alaska attract National atten
tion and discussion of their pro
blems, the sooner Alaska will get
relief and get going.
-x
Destroying the
National Forests
-x
GIFFORD PINCHOT
From The Timberman
-x
From time to time there have
been assaults against the na
tional forest policy by designing
interests which seek their own
aggrandizement, but the boldest
attempts to weaken the national
forest system is contained in the
Evans bill now before congress.
In provisions of the Evans bill
■ (H.R. 5840) it prescribes that a
i political board of five men is to
j be appointed in each state which
'embraces 400,000 acres of public
land. These boards would be em
powered without hearings or
public notice to secretly elimi
, nate from the national forests
iany land which it may choose to
■decide is not chiefly valuable
lor forest purposes.
Stout opposition to the Evans
jbill was voiced by Lathrop Pack,
president of the American Tree
Association, before a congres
sional committee. Mr. Pack stat
ed that under the Evans bill it
would be possible for a smali
political cabal to transfer the
national forests to the states. To
those who are familiar with the
acute financial situation con
! fronting the various states, if
jthe national forests came under
'state jurisdiction, it would only
: he a comparatively short time
-until the politicians would force
| the national forests into private
‘ownership, thereby further in
creasing an already too heavy
j timber load under which the in
dustry of the Pacific Greater
West is staggering.
Governor Gifford Pinchot, of
I Pennsylvania, the intimate
friend of the late President The
odore Roosevelt, and formerly
I chief forester of the United
| States, sends The TIMBERMAN
, his views on the Evans bill,
which he characterizes as the
boldest assault on the national
forest system that has yet been
undertaken. The Timberman
urges every friend of the na
tional forests to lend their in
fluence against the enactment of
the Evans bill by wiring or writ
ing their congressmen and se
nators to protest its passage.
Governor Pinchot’s
Trenchant Letter
Harrisburg, Pa., April 10.—The
(TIMBERMAN: A most dangerous
attack on the Roosevelt conser
vation policy is now under way
in Washington. For more than a
generation we have been fight
ing to save the forests, the min
erals, the lands and the waters
jof the public domain for all the
people of the United States, and J
great progress has been made. I
We are likely to lose a very large <
part of it if the Evans bill (H.R. '
5840) goes through. 1
This bill puts the national ji
forests at the mercy of a board ^
of five politically appointed men :
ir each state which still has, 1
400,000 acres of public land. Each1
beard, at its own sweet will, with,1
no public hearings, no public,:
notice, no publicity by adver-j
tisement or otherwise, no invest
igation or study or ^ ground, |
no review by any authority, and (
ixo co-operation with any other
board, is authorized secretly to
throw out of the national forests
any land it may choose to de
cide is not chiefly valuable for
i
i
I
fo rest purposes.
This is about as bad as it
could be. The national forests
belong to all the people of all
the states. They are immensely
valuable. Their Umber end other
resources are worth billions. If
the bill passes, these boards will
turn large parts of them over to
individual states, and open the
way for exploitation by selfish
private interests.
Our national forests were se
lected after many years of
thorough-going investigation on
the ground by trained men. The
proposed boards are not re- J
quired to include trained men j
and are given no money to em- j
ploy them. Not a cent is appro-;
priated for investigation of any,
kind, and there is no require- (
ment that any investigation
shall be made. The only inform- j
ation the boards are likely to ,
get will come from people with
an axe to grind.
For forty years national forest;
lands have been included or ex
cluded only by presidential pro
clamation or congressional ac
tion. There can be no good rea
son why that policy should be,
changed. Yet this bill gives the
boards, not the president or con
gress, the unrestricted power to
decide what lands shall or shall
net be included in national for
ests.
»Most significant of all, the
boards are required to do their
work within a single year after
the passage of the bill, which
means within less than a year
after the boards can be organiz
ed. In that brief time they are
required to decide the fate of a
total area of national forest land
larger than all New England and
the middle states, with Virginia !
added.
In addition and within the
same ridiculously insufficient
time, they are required to pass
upon innumerable military re
servations, reservoir sites, power
sa
fa I
ites, and other similar reserva
ions and withdrawals, and up
n 170,000,000 acres of unre
:erved public lands. The total
irea whose fate they are author
zed or required to decide in
secret within less than a single
^ear is as large as all the Atl
antic Seaboard and Gulf States
:rom Maine to Louisiana. They
:ould not do it intelligently, and
n the public interest, if they
were all supermen, and they are
far from likely to be that.
With this vast area, whose re
sources are of paramount im-1
portance to the people of the
United States, these star cham
ber boards are authorized to
play ducks and drakes. By their
mere say-so, they can undo the
work of thousands of trained
men throughout a generation,
and cripple the whole federal
policy of conservation. i
When Secretary Fall made his
notorious attempt to give away
to private interests the oil re
serves set aside for our navy, he
got as far as he did only because
of exactly the same kind of sec
recy which is provided in this bill
Public business ought to be
done in the open. Any open at
tack upon our national forests
will have small chance of suc
cess. This bill opens the way
for a secret attack, and that is
why it is so dangerous.
The bill has other faults, but
the foregoing are enough to con
demn it. There is, however, one
more that should be mentioned,
for it wqiuld reduce the future
allotment of federal money for
roads to the states which do not
have 400,000 acres of public
lands. ,
The states to which the fedr
eral resources are to be handed
over by this bill are now allotted
a large proportion of federal
road funds in consideration of
the government lands within
their boundaries. This bill pro
vides that they shall go on draw
ing the same extra allotments,
thus reducing the allotments of
the other states, for ten years
niter the federal lands are hand
ed over to them. The bill will
give them both the lands and
the extra allotment, which is al
together unfair.
I hope you will give this letter
to your readers and that you
will use all the influence of your
paper to defeat this raid on the
n ational forests and on other
natural resources still in the
hands of all the people.
-x
John T. Spickett of Juneau is
said to be seriously ill. John is
past his allotted years of three
score and ten an dhas had his
share of life.
To Investigate Indian
Affairs in Alaska
-x
RESOLUTION
-x
Authorizing the Appoint
ment of a Standing Sub
committee in the House Com
mittec on Indian Affairs, to
Consider Indian Affairs in
the Territory of Alaska and
to report bills relating there
to
-x
Whereas the United States
acquired all the territory and
dominion owned and possessed
by Russia in and over the Ter
ritory of Alaska, by the treaty
between said powers concluded
at Washington on March 30,
1867, paying therefor the sum
of $7,200,000; and
Whereas the third article of
said treaty provided that all
Russian subjects vTho desired to
remain in the ceded territory
should become citizens of the
United States, and the United
Slates agreed further that “The
uncivilized tribes will be sub
ject to such laws and regulations
as the United States, may from
time to time, adopt in regard to
aboriginal tribes of that coun
try;” and
Whereas the Government oi
the United States has neglected
and refused to adopt necessan;
laws and regulations for the pro
tection of the property rights
and general welfare of the said
uncivilized tribes residing in
Alaska at the date of the sa5d
treaty of March 30, 1867, to their
great and lasting injury, and as
it has ever since done for the
aboriginal tribes of the United
States proper; and
Whereas the United States has
failed and refused, by treaty,
agreement, or other legal action
to acquire or pay said Alaska
Indians, for the Indian title b.v
prior occupancy and use of their
, tribaHands in any part of Alas
ka, and particularly in south
eastern Alaska, and reserved at
of said lands in southeastern
Alaska by Executive proclama
tions and other laws, to which
[said Indians have unextinguish
Houle Bay Fool Hall
Candy - Cigars - Soft Drinks
A place to meet your friends
Yakutat, Alaska
Ben Petersen - - Prop.
Juneau Melody House
R.C.A.-Victor
I Records - Phonographs - Radios
! Mai! orders promptly filled
Sales FORD Service
Hardware - General Supplies
Draying
Haines - - Alaska
Erick Oslund - - Proprietor
Carl Bjornsiad
General Merchandise
Groceries
Shoes - Gents’ Furnishings
Haines - - Alaska
Hollywood & Beach *
SHEET METAL - HEATING J
, PLUMBING - STOVE REPAIR p
\ Sitka - Alaska \
$ - '
£
| JlVXXXXXXXXVXXXXVX WXXXXXX p
\ H- J. K0DGIhl5 \
IP Dentist
$ Sitka - Alaska
/
.8 $
I '^WWVWVWVWV\VN\\\V\ V *
!l
^Vmeneaxv Tie&u\^ T arVov
(Mrs. Jack Wilson)
SPECIALIZING 11ST
Permanent ttfaws marceis Etc.
Valentine Building, Juneau, Alaska ^
i si
Roy Anderson of Minneapolis
Jack Ryan of Chicago
July 30 th at Sons of Norway Hall
Under the auspices of Petersburg Post, American Legion
There will be two fast preliminaries between local men.
Dance immediately after the match