te
rn e POWER BEHIND THE
. THRONE .
-x
,T. j. Connors, Democratic Na
tional Committeeman for Alas
ka recently made a tirade
against the Republican party
and especially directing his
venom against Messrs. Gardner
and Scott. His utterances be
tray the slithering, snaky minds
of Juneau’s daily vampires.
Last spring this publication
charged that the Democratic or
gan and leaders were supporting
certain candidates for the pur
pose of defeating the stronger;
then in the general election the
winners would be dumped over
board to insure election of the
Democratic lineup. The alleged
statements now betray .. Edony
statements by Connors now be
tray the sly hand of Troy-Pe
gues. The plan is now unfolded
and plain to the public.
'Tis a snaky article that kiss
es as a friend while under cover
he drives the knife into the
back of the man who trusted.
WHY NOT CHEAP BREAD?
Farmers in North Dakota were
offered the following prices for
grain last week per bushel of
60 lbs.
Parshall Market
Corrected Thursday morning
1 Dark Northern Wheat ....$.66
1 Mixed Durum.48
Rye.30
xind you can buy a large (?)
loaf of bread for a dime—if you
have the dime.
--x
COMMUNICATION
KARNES FOR COMMISSIONER
-x
Alaskan Readers:
Since it is impossile for me to
meet all the readers of this pa
per personally, I am taking this
means of informing you of mj
qualifications for the position of
Commissioner of Education for
the Territory of Alaska, which
position I am seeking at the gen
eral election on November 4th.
I am a college and University
graduate, having studied an
equivalent of two years beyond
the requirements for the A. B.
degree. During these two years
i f post-graduate study, I spe
cialized in the field of school ad
ministration, and covered every
phase of the work.
I have had seventeen years
experience in school work, con
sisting of experience as a rural
school teacher, high school
teacher, high school principal,
grade supervisor, and city su
perintendent.
With the special training and
wide experience noted above, I
am sure that I am very ade
quately qualified for the posi
tion, and if elected, will give the
Territory an administration of
its schools that will be in keep
ing with the best practices of
the times.
You will find my name on the
Democratic ticket.
Very truly yours,
Anthony E. Karnes, i
Superintendent of Schools, H
Ketchikan, Alaska.
—Advertisement. ' <
Wrangell, Alaska <
Sept. 29, 1930 £
The Alaskan, :
Petersburg, Alaska. ]
Dear Editor: 1
For a number of years the A.
N. B. has sent protests concern- £
ing the herring fishing as now i
carried on. This summer as in l
years past I have watched the t
seiners at the trolling grounds t
and I have also talked with i
others who were connected with j
trolling. i
The regulations covering that
of herring seining is nothing as
compared to that of the sein
ers who catch salmon primarily.
Consider the regulations, for
instance. The seiners for salmon
are now obliged to keep a cer
tain distance apart, to keep a
certain distance from the mouth P
of streams etc., all presumably
to conserve fish and to avoid
dangers of collision and trouble
among those engaged in the
fishing industry. These rules
have been evolved, as in every
instance ,after a number of years
i
there was so much fish and not
so many canneries and gear:
and the officials are enforcing
them strictly.
Now in the present regulations
there is nothing in the world,
aside from their own sense of
fair dealing, to prevent a seine
nshennan from encircling a
troller if he happens to be where
there ai'e some herring which
the seiner wan us, or thinks he
can get. There have been too
many instances where the sein
ers have shown no considera
tion for other forms of gear—
especially the hand trollers who
have but very restricted areas t«
fish anyway because of dis
tance from camps and the ordi
nary run of weather conditions.
What is more exasperating than
for one to have the herring come
close enough to do any fishing
at all and then find your self
mside a seine with your line
still in the water. If tiiat is not
done, then the short run of
•lerring is so reduced that there
is no more good fishing. This is
not only now done, but is actual
ly permitted under the present
regulations, for the rules do
not take into consideration any
trollers, yet they are gear as
well and are required to be li
censed.
It is hard to blame the herring
seiners. They find themselves in
a position where they must do
as the more ruthless seiners or j
else find themselves for behind!
n their catch.
Why, may we inquire, make'
certain hard and last rules ior
certain kinds of gear and send;
men to jail, or fme them heavily, j
Lor violating those rules, when’
ether forms of gear are allowed
,o continue to fish in a way that j
.s manifestly unfair? The trol-1
iers have to make a living and
there are only certain areas in
which they can do that. The
herring seiner is not tied down
by his camp and is powered
with engines which gives them
even faster time than the other
seiners. They have many fishing
grounds that are practically in
accessible to the hand troiler. j
The seiner will continue these
practices so long as there are
no rules against it, because “the
other fellows do it also.”
The trollers have been very
forbearing and it must be tempt
ing for those big boats to see a
mere hand troiler fishing in a
fair school of fish. You trollers
that have felt the sting and
humiliation of these unfair re
gulations, can you find your
voice at election time and speak
with your ballots? That is better
by far than cussing, or just talk- ,
ing in the pool halls and around
ihe fires.
now long win it taKe us to j
find out wiio our friends are?
How long must we still remain
alind to the fact that herring is
ihe backbone, the source, and ]
:he mainstay of our other valu-! c
ible fishing products? The hali- ,
aut is now being conserved by ^
nternational agieemeftts, as is
/he seal, we have certain restric
-;ons which tend to save every 1
)ther kind of fish, there is a £
dosed season on every kind of 1
dible fish commercially import- 1
mt. Seems reasonable that 5
■egulations similar to that ap- I
hied to other kinds of gear can e
>e worked out.
Some fish and certain animals
ire being saved for sentimental,'i
ir for scientific reasons. We are:
t
y
Y
f
aced with a problem that hasu
o do with our bread and butter, t
he economic stability of our
llaska over a long period of 0
ears to come. Let us iace that 1
iroblem squarely. n
Sincerely, fi
Frank G. Johnson. ti
-x- j n
If the tide’s oat, tide’s bound la
» come back, you know. And as
lilors say, it’s generally at low
de that you find things worth w
eking up.—Kathleen Norris.
-X- |t€
HELP.—We wish to thank our n
eighbors and friends, and es
ecially the members of the K.
;. K., who so kindly assisted in 11
le death and burial of our fath
• and uncle.—Card of thanks
u the New Castle (Pa(. News.
Open Lettersto Secretary Lamont In Re: Blackmailing
Of Resident Fishermen by U. S. B. F. Agents
Alaska Native Brotherhood,,
iiyuauurg' Camp,
Hydaburg, Alaska'
URE OF BOATS AND THE
DEAD LINE QUESTION
On August tne thirteenth, one
nine two nine, the gasboat Dixie,
capt. Ed. Morrison, was seized
ior iisinng lliegaiiy at Banery
Creex Bignt. Tne crew consist
ed 01 three men, namely, Ld.
Morrison, 'rnaueus Morrison ana
xatui Logo. According to tne
miormation given by the men,
they believed that they were
witnin their rights and fishing
tne straight line as Warden
cloudy oi rietta had as his pol
icy. Cloudy maintains that tne
marker means only one thing,
and that is marker to marxer.
The boat was taken in tow to
craig to be arraigned before tne
U. y. Commissioner. Up to this
time the crew had not made a
cent. On being arraigned before
the Commissioner at Craig, Capt.
Morrison was handled in the
usual manner by the Bureau of
i isneries and the Comissioner’s
court. Capt. Morrison wanted
to take the case to court, but on
being informed that his boat
would be held till he did taxe it
to the court, ne gave up the iaea
ana pleaded guilty as he was an
xious to go out again tninking
that he would be able to make
more money in the supposed big
run tnat never came. All the
time Capt. Morrison informs us
that the Commissioner got kind
of flippy with him and was on
the verge of saying something
when the fine of $31 l.UO was pro
nounced. “A Kangaroo Court.’’
He was requested to take the
dish as it was dished out to him
and unable to say much for him
self. He was requested to plead
guilty, that he would be fined a
eeitain sum, and the boat giv
en back. After forcing him to
plead guilty, information was
received from' Juneau to the ef
fect that the fine imposed on
him should be $311.00. The can
nery for which he was fishing
paid the fine. Ed and liis crew
started out broke and came
home to Hydaburg to get food
an credit to continue fishing to
pay up the fine to the company
tvhich they did.
We protest the two different
policies in regards to the dead
ines. One agent of the Bu
reau of Fisheries, allows us to
ish the straight line from
narker to marker. The other1
igent has one marker meaning
me, two and three different
Tiii’gs at one time. A brief out- j
ine follows
Ketchikan, Alaska
Feb. 25, 1930
Ion. Robert P. Lamont,
Secretary of Commerce,
Washington, D. C.
Jly dear Secretary:
We would like very much to
tear what is becoming of our I
everal protests against the pol-'
sy and specified acts of the Bu- i
eau of Fisheries. Another
ear is beginning and our peo
ple feel that the burdens impos
d on them are unjust.
Here is another case. From
lie drawing you will see that
our personal representative is
ot satisfied with closing our !
shing grounds “from marker
3 marker” as the warden ex
lains it, but on catching the
cat of Mr. Morrison’s OUTSIDE
ae line, he arrested him and by
lethods akin to BLACKMAIL
Drees a plea of guilty and puts
le great United States Govern- :
tent in the position of stripping
citizen of his entire earning
/en in a case where the local j
arden himself believes no law ;
as violated.
It seems to us that this pro- 1
t
:st is so well founded that you .
ust by its force lend our poor
iople the aid of your powerful t
fluence. r
Yours respectfully, /t
William L. PauL *
* * * *
j E. F. Morgan,
Acting Secretary of Commerce,
| Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir:
lie; Your Letter of March 7th
Last
Either you did not read my
letter of Feb. 25th or else some
body else dictated the reply and
you simply signed without read
ing it. In either case, your treat
ment of the case is with the
same indifference with which
I our complaints have usually
been handled.
You talk about the guilt of the
accused E. Morrison as if that
iwere a fact and not a result of
your blackmailing policy. Of
course the record shows that
Morrison plead guilty, but that
he did so to avoid a heavier
penalty which he would have
suffered if he had stood on hia
rights because of the unfair
practices of your department.
In the first place, under the
poiicy of Warden Cloudy, Morri
son was dearly outside of the
restricted area. But under the
Timmis ruling, Morrison was in
side. Cloudy however, being the
local warden had instructed the
fishermen and Morrison had fol
lowed his instructions. Then
Timmis the overlord came along
and insisted on his interpreta
tions under winch Morrison was
guilty.
When Morrison insisted on a
tiial, cne district warden tola
him that the case would have
to ue tried before the district
Coui t which ot course wouid en
aii lac loss of his entire season
and even if Morrison won, he
wouid iose his entire season.
vViiat we are kicking about is
ohis—where a defendant is ac
cused and believes he is inno
| cent and demands a trial, why
not cry him in the nearest com
missioner’s court where the
xact couid be determined with
in one day? In the Morrison
case, your agent toid him that
he would be tried in the district
jeeurt which was ihen sitting in
I Juneau about 400 miles away in
which case following the prac
tice of the district attorney, the
case would be continued to the
Ketchikan term in which dis- j
trict the case properly belongs.
How would you like to be so
treated? Congress provided
that these charges might be
tried in commissioner’s courts
so that the accused could have
a speedy trial. But your agents
only allow the accused to come
into the commissioner’s court
provided the accused agrees to
plead guilty. This is unjust and
you are one of those who are re
sponsible.
Yours truly,
William L. Paul
Department of Commerce
Office of the Secretary
Washington, July 15, 1930
Mr. William L. Paul,
Alaska Native Brotherhood,
Netchikan, Alaska
Dear Sir:
The receipt is acknowledged of
your letter without date, just re- !
seived, in which you protest in
d gard to the method, pursued in *
m forcing the Alaska fishery '
laws and regulations.
As to your complaint that vio
ations of the Alaska fishery laws
should be tried in U. S. Com
nissioner's court instead of re
viving action in the District
Dourt, you are informed that the
irocedure follov/ed is that of the
Department of Justice, and in
he opinion of the Department
if Commerce is a distinctive de
errent to violations of the fish
;ry laws and regulations.
The advocacy of other less ef
ective procedure in reality
imounts to the favoring of vio
atlons of these laws and regu
ations, for it is considered cer
ain that the number of such
nfractions would increase
reatly if the present policy of
he Department of Justice were
lodified along the line desired
y you.
Yours very truly,
E. F. Morgan,
1
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Acting Secretary of Commerce.
Washington, D. C.,
March 7, 1930
Mr. William L. Paul,
Alaska Native Brotherhood,
Ketchikan, Alaska
Dear Sir:
|.. The receipt is acknowledged ol
your letter of the 25th ultimo
1 with inclosure of document voic
ing a protest against the en
forcement of the Alaska fishery
'laws and regulations in respeci
| to closed waters off the mouths
of streams.
In the specified case to which
you, call attention, the records
show that on August 13, 1929,
Warden Harry E Timmis, who
was patrolling on the Bureau of
Fisheries vessel “Petrel,” dis
covered the power boat “Dixie”
fishing within the closed area
off the mouth of Saitery Creek
about one-quarter mile south of
Hydaburg, Alaska. This boat
was operated by Edward Morri
,son who was accompanied by a
crew of two men. The case wa:
heard by a United States Com
missioner at Craig, Alaska, on
August 16, 1929. Morison plead
ed guilty and was fined $300.
There was no question what
ever as to the guilt of Morrison
in this case as his boat was ap
prehended well inside of one oi
the three markers defining the
closed zone 500 yards outside the
mouth of Saitery Creek. In some
cases a third marker is not
[erected to shew the closed limit
of fishing, but in this particular
case it so happens that, in addi
tion to the usual two markers
on either side of the stream
[mouth, there was a third mark
jer on a small island just oX
siTore. There was no doubt what
ever that the boat was fishing
in closed waters, as it was ap
prehended inside of this island.
The markers which are put
500 yards on each side of the
mouth of a stream show tha
Ashing is prohibited within 500
yards IN ALL DIRECTIONS from
he mouth of the stream. Pos
sibly in times past some tem
porary employe of the Bureau oi
Fisheries may have misinter
preted his instructions in enforc
ing the regulations. Theie is
now generally a correct under
standing of the limits of the
deadline to which fishermen ap
proach. It is unfortunate that
frequently they are prone to take
every possible advantage of the
egulations and go as close to
the line as they dare. In so doing
they often invade the closed
zones and as a result suffer the
penalties of the law and regula
tions.
In handling cases where vio- j
^aiors of the fishery laws and re- j
filiations are apprehended b> j
wardens of the Bureau of Fish
eries, the Department of Just- j
f e has given them the option of i
pleading guilty and paying a \
ine or of having the case go to j 5
rial. In the latter event con- j \
iderable delay naturally re- j *1
;ults and the boat and fishing i |
?ear are tied up. This may cause
he fishermen to lose much or j
wen all of the balance of the j
ishing season. As a result they j j
generally elect to plead guilty! |
Lnd pay the fine so that they! |
nay continue to operate. This | a
s lenient treatment so far as 11
iolators of the law are concern- j |
d, and I feel that a continu-li
nee of this policy is fully justi- |
led. I
Very truly yours,
E. F. Morgan,
LCting Secretary of Commerce.
August 12, 1930
!. F. Morgan,
cting Secretary of Commerce,
/ashington D. C.
'ear Sir:
I see that we can never
teet in our discussion of the
prosecution” for alleged viola
ons of the Alaska Fishery Laws
jeause you are concerned that
;he advocacy of other less ef
ctive procedure in reality
nounts to the favoring of vio
tions of these laws and regu
m
iations, for it is considered
certain that the number of such
infractions would increase
greatly if the present policy of
(he Department of Justice were
modified along the line desired
by you”(Your letter of July 15,
J 930); while I am concerned
ivith the matter of dealing out
iimple justice.
Let me review again the oc
casion of our correspondence.
Your own agent designated the
>pen and restricted areas and a
Native named Morrison fished
accordingly. Then another of
your agents, superior in rank to
the first arrested Morrison for
Ishing in the area designated
as open and legal by your first
agent. Morrison offered to stand
rial in the Justice Court which
has been given jurisdiction by
our Congress and in which he
'■ould have had an Immediate
1 rial. Your agent (not the De
partment of Justice behind
whom you now seek to hide) re
fused to entertain the offer and
told the poor Indian that unless
he entered a plea of guilty and
paid a fine of $250 the boat
would be seized under the ad
miralty provisions.
Your agent was not concern
ed in having the guilt or inno
cence of the poor fellow ascer
tained in a court which had
been given jurisdiction by Con
gress. He wanted a conviction
just as you do and regardless
of the man's innocence.
The District Court was sitting
in Juneau four hundred miles
from the home of the accused.
Lawyers are expensive at that
distance. Even the matter of
attending personally and with
witnesses is greater than any
laborer can stand. On top of that
the fishing season here is so
short that even if Morrison won
he would suffer far more than
$250, or $500, from the loss of
his fishing season alone, to say
nothing of the cost of his de
fence.
The result is this—you have
made a criminal out of a man
innocent of any crime, because
under the circumstances he
must choose to plead guilty and
pay the $250 fine.
I am not defending crime.
SAMPLE BALLOT
First Judicial Division
Mark “X” in the square at the left of the name of
the candidate for whom you desire to vote. If the
names of candidates for whom you desire to vote
do not appear on the ballot, insert with pencil in
blank spaces. .
Delegate to Congress
(Vote for One)
GRIGSBY, GEORGE B.
X
3
WICKERSHAM, JAMES
For Territorial Treasurer
(Vote for One)
HAR DCASTLe7~RICHARD E. Democrat
SMITH, W. G. Republican
For Territorial Auditor
(Vote for One)
COLE, CASH
GAFFNEY, THOMAS
Republican
Democrat
For Territorial Highway Engineer
(Vote for One)
X
0
HESSE, WILLIAM A.
JOHNSON, AARON E.
ULMER, JOSEPH
Democrat .
Independent
Republican
For Teiritr ial Commissioner of
Education
(Vote for One)
KARNES, ANTHONY E.
Democrat
KELLER. W. K.
Republican
Territorial Senator
(Vote for Two)
FRAME, JOHN W.
□
| X j GARDNER. C. T.
SHATTUCK, ALLEN
Independent
Republican
Democrat
For Teritorial Representatives
(Vote for Four)
BOYLE, FRANK A.
JUDSON, THOS. B.
McCORMACK, P. C.
JOHNSON, J. E.
PAUL, WM. L.
SAMPSON, E. L.
SCOTT, W. P.
WINN, GROVER C.
ZIEGLER, A. H.
Democrat
Democrat
Independent
Republican
Republican
Democrat
Republican
Republican
Democrat
For Divisional Road Commissioner
(Vote for One)
Republican
GILMORE, P. F.