A, N, B. PUBLISHING COMPANY
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
The Alaskan, six mouths,. .. $2.50
The Alaskan, per year .. $4.00
Published every Friday by the a. N. B. Publishing Co., Petersburg
Entered in the Post Offlc* in Petersburg as Second Class matter.
OPI’OSITION TO RAISED TAARS
Last year tlie soutli eud of Peters
burg was incorporated within the
limits of Petersburg. They had not
been incorporated longer than three
months, yet paid a full years' tax
on their property—bringing in a to
tal revenue of 'something like $5,0Ut).|
The idea of joining in with the1
town proper, these people wanted
certain lire protection, water service
and repair of streets. Just a little
distance past the mill bridge is ibc
last hydrant and the entire soutu
end of the town is without any hre
protection of any sort. Some draw
water from tbe swamps and a few
others have a two inch pipeline to
draw from.
.Notice of tax assessments of this
end of town indicate a considerable
increase without any accruing ben
efit other than having the name el
being a part of the city.
Expenses are running up—new
hydro-electric equipment, addition
to the schoolhouse brings new debts
up approximately $30,000 with the
present bonded indebtedness of
$150,000 brings the total to approx
imately $200,000.
Too heavy a taxation drives away
business and makes future home
builders think twice before going
into the expense of building.
It has been said that the town is
willing to add another fifty thou
sand dollars indebtedness—an idea
which might well be put to the test
of the taxpayer and not leave to
institutions which would benefit
from such indebtedness.
REACHING THE DANGER MARK
Section 628, Compiled Laws of
Alaska.—The Council shall have no
authority to issue bonds or incur
any bonded indebtedness, nor shall
they have any authority to incur
a greater indebtedness or liability
of any kind in any year than the
current revenues of the municipal
ity for that year.”
WHERE IS THAT “NOTABLE
INCREASE” REPORTER 1920?
About this time last year Secre
tary Hoover reported an ‘‘amazing
increase” of salmon best reported in
his own words.:
‘The notable increase in the
pack even to August 25 of this year,
is in the face of further restrictions
upon fishing by the Department’s
regulations, which have been deem
ed necessary for conservation pur
poses in certain places. It indicates
the effectiveness of *such regula
tions, the broadening in scope of
which has been possible under the
new Alaska fisheries act of June
6, 1924.”
The season this year shows the
ineffectiveness of the regulations
promulgated under the act of 1924.
Practically every area wlierin the
resident seiner fishes, is closed.
On paper the fish are permitted to
escape t0 the spawning grounds and
actually all prohibitions are remov
ed from the trap system so that pro
duction and destruction are given
full sway.
The increase of the pack last year
was in the face of further restric
tions, the pack this year should be
also an Increase and the packers
prepared for such an increase but
it did not materialize.
The eagles are being killed off
because they destroyed too many
salmon; the seal have a bounty on
them because they get awey with
too many salmon; the black bear are
accused of destroying too many sal
mon in the creeks; the fishermen
go up in the streams and take out
too many seed fish. All has been
eliminated by the Department of
Commerce—even the fish they are
protecting are gone—except the
lust run wiiicii, heretofore, lias uot
ueen desired.
i. lie Secretary of Commerce will
have io look somewlieres else than
Alaska wimiu the next lilteou years
for ’saimou ai tile present rate of
destruction—in ilie meantime tlie
resident kslierman and business-!
man will lioid an empty sack.
j
COMMON . llSHKHMlLN—11S1 Hilt- 1
MEN IN COMMON
Tliy 'seiners started their light
against the Packers and Trap lu
j lerests only when they learned that
no longer were they permitted to
earn a living. They appealed to;
the troliers and halibutmen for sup-i
port in a common cause without j
avail. The light has been a long!
drawn out affair with honors about]
even before Congress.
Last year the troliers found that
they had a light against the Bu
reau of lisheries—the wanton waste
and destruction of a line food lish
was taking place. Further it was
destroying the allied king salmon
fisheries. When the petition pro
testing the use of heiTing for fer
tilizer purposes was handed the re
sident halibut men of Petersburg,
it was read with indifference.
Today the herring for bait situa
tion is acute. Boats are laidup in
the different ports for lack of bait
and they know not where to turn.
The depletion is due to the “smoke
boats” numbering over 180 in the
Chatham Straits district alone.
Last year more than 21,000,000
pounds of herring were put up for
fertilizer alone meaning that millions
cf more pounds of herring were re
quired to produce the finished pro
duct. This year just as many her
ring were caught, but by more op
erators. The troliers have had to
pull in their gear and lay to at an
chor or run all over “Hells Half
Acre” to get enough to eat. The
run of salmon disappeared when the
“smoke wagons” cleaned up the
herring in Chatham Straits.
The herring-for-bait fishermen
have not been able to keep up with
the demand of halibut fishermen.
Boats are in danger of being tied
up indefinitely and their . earning
earning power curtailed as well as
that of the troliers and seiners.
Destroy any finger of the hand
and the effectiveness of the other
digits is impaired—destroy the
herring or salmon fisheries and all
three—seining, trolling and halibut
ing is impaired.
The hocus pocus whereby the
Bureau of Fisheries will perpetuate
the industry is all bunkum with a
lot of ballyhooing. It is time the
fishermen all faced the danger in
common which confronts them.
SENATOR BARTLEY HOWARD’S
RECORD
By JAMES WICKERSHAM In The
ALASKA FISHERMAN
THE VOTE AGAINST SELF
GOVERNMENT
The Federal Bureaus, the cannery
lobbyists and others who wish to
prevent the passage of any bill
through the Alaska legislature for
the better government of the Ter
ritory always begin their corrupt
ing work with the Territorial Sen
ate, for it consists of only eight
members. If these corroding in
fluences can secure control of four
Senators they can thereby prevent
the passage of any Act by the legis
lature, for it requires the affirma
tive votes of five Senators to pass
any bill through that body. The
control of four of these Senators,
therefore, prevent the passage of
any bill, even though the House
members be unanimously in favor
of it. Whenever the people of
Alaska see four Senators standing
solidly in favor of big interest le
gislation, or against the passage
of laws in favor of self- government
in the Territory of Alaska, they may
be sure that some interest beside
the public interest is being served.
These opposing forces secured the
votes of four Senators against th*j
passage of the Comptroller Bil I
in every form in which it was offer
ed, viz, Senators Jensen, Pratt,.,
Dunn and Howard. The other fouL
Senators, Brown, Frame, Hunt anijj
Steel, voted for it on every occa
sion, but the four negative votes de
feated the passage of the bill, for
it needed five votes to pass.
After the defeat of the bill in the
Senate it was again introduced in
the House in a modified form to
meet the objections made against it
by Dunn and Howard in the Senate.
It passed the House with a vote of
nine ayes and seven noes. It was
then sent to the Senate, but How
ard, president of the Senate, in
1
an arbitrary and unlawful ruling,]
sustained by the votes of the four
Senators who defeated it on the
first vote, refused to allow it to be
received by the Senate, even for
another vote, and thus by the votes
of Jensen, Pratt, Dunn and Howard,
the only chance for self-govern
ment against appointive Federal
Bureaucracy was ruthlessly and
shamefully slaughtered in a legisia
lure elected by the people of Alas
ka.
If Senator Dunn, had voted for this
American plan of self-government
in Alaska, the bill would have pass
ed; if Howard had voted for it, al
so, it would have been passed over
.the Governor’s veto, and would have
become a law. But both of them
kept faith with the Tory opponents
of a Democratic form of govern
ment, and defeated it.
It was thought for a time that
Senator Dunn would finally vote
against free government in Alaska.
But the Juneau ^Empire and Strol
ler’s Weekly, both supporting the
non-public interests, “pulled” him in
their editorials and by copying his
tirades against the bill, until he
forgot that an Irishman ought to
vote for home rule. In his last
great windmill speech against self
government he declared that lie had
been approached by some evil dis
posed person to vote for it. He
likened the “approach” to that
event in sacred history where the
Savior was conducted to the moun
tain top and shown all the king
doms of the earth he might control!
ir ne would rail down and worship
the devil.
There was really some basis of
truth in this tale of the Ruby Je
sus, too, for during one of his pre
vious outbursts he declared the
Comptroller Bill was being support
ed by men who wished to secure
the appointment of one of its sup
porters as Comptroller in case the
bill pass'ed. One of liis brother
Senators, however, assured him that
he was mistaken, that the election
of a man to serve as Comptroller
until the general election by the
people in 1928, was not agreed up
on, and that if he (Senator Dunn)
and his friends would vote for and
pass the bill, they might name the
man to act until 1928! Dunn re
fused to bow down and worship the
devil of self-government; he refused
to support the bill even though he
and his friends could name the
Comptroller to serve until the gen
eral election in 1928. The truth
was that he and Howard had yield
ed so far to the control of those op
posing self-government in Alaska
that they were no longer free to
vote for the public interest.
If Senator Dunn, of Ruby, or
Howard, of Anchorage, had favored
a plan of self-government in Alaska !
either of them could have secured I
it by voting for the Comptroller!
Bill. If either of these men had op
posed a government in Alaska by
Federal Bureaus, he could have des
troyed that system by voting for the
Comptroller Bill, and thus freed the
people of Alaska from control by a
group of appointive Federal officials,
who are responsible for their actions
only to the Secretary of the Interior
in Washington, D. C. One single
vote would have laid the foundation
of self-government in Alaska and
destroyed the appointed Federal
Machine which now controls the
destiny of the people of the Terri
tory; Dunn, and also Howard, had
that vote at his disposal, by the
grace of the people of their respect
ive districts, and refused to cast it
for self-government. They deliber
ately betrayed the people of Alaska
and cast their votes in favor of an
appointive Federal Bureaucratic
Government therein.
SALMON PACK INSURANCE
There is only one way to avoid
such a season as has been met by
the salmon packers this 3eason—re
duce the limit of salmon put into
the cans—not raise the limit of the
total packs of the several districts
in the Territory. •
Destruction of the white pine
forests in the United States was ac
complished when the timber barons
cut down all the pine timber and
did not leave enough for seed. The
ruthless waste of these forests has
taken away a national asset which
should have been pn'3erved by and
through proper conservation meth
ods to posterity.
What has been accmplished in
the way of destruction of the pine
forests is taking place in other for
ests and it is only a matter of time
when the situation in the United
States will not be any better than
in some of the European countries.
The ruthless waste and destruc
tion of the salmon fisheries in Alas
ka ha. been decried for the past 20
years to no avail. For a number
of years the Bureau of Fisheries
went on the assumption that these
fisheries could never be depleted.
Under the “conservation”' policy of
the Bureau of Fisheries thousands
upon thousands of salmon—pinks,
cohoes and dogs—were thrown ov
er board; later as the reds became
scare the packers guaranteed pinks
“not to turn red in the cans” and
the once despised humpback became
the backbone of the industry in the
First Division.
With the warnings that the fish
eries was facing depletion, overpro
duction continued. The June run
of salmon was cleaned out. Tlu
July run of salmon was cut dowe
so far it no longer pays the fish
erman to start his season unti.
August. The protection enforced b>
the Bureau of Fisheries is only foi
the. last run of salmon and that on
ly because the packers .usually bj
tile 20tli of August have their packs
put up.
Iii spite of these facts certain can-j
nerymen and. tlieir “foghorns” have
the temerity to ask for an extension
of the season.
If the Bureau of Fisheries would
insure the run of salmon and act,
as an insurance agent for the pack
ing industry, It would reduce ail
packs and limit all fishing in all
areas, regardless of wliose gear af
fected. In other words, cutting
down all pack limits until the
future of the industry has been pro
tected by permitting the escape
ment of salmon to the streams.
It matters not one bit whether
the limitation be placed at the en
trance of Cross Sound, Cape Chacon
or any other outer entrance of the
fishing areas. A closed area is of no
benefit for conservation purposes it
the fish are not permitted to get to
those closed areas. The closed areas
designated officially as Wrangell
Narrows is of no benefit to the Ter
ritory or fishermen. It is nothing
more than a lot of bunkum for po
litical effect for the Bureau of Fish
eries can point to these waters and
say with pride That is a closed area
but the. fact that no salmon to speak
of go up the various streams in the
Narroows is not mentioned.
...“Seines Destroy Fisheries”...,!
So said Charley Garfield, Secre-1
tary of the Alaska Division of thej
Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He
blamed the “Indian” fishermen who
with “gunnysacks went up stream
and dragged down salmon which
was not fit for food.” We have seen
no fishermen in the Narrows since
it became a. closed area and last:
year showed no “amazing increase"' ]
in the run of salmon. Then the
fault must be elsewhere and exper
ience of fishermen who daily ob
serve the run of salmon and meth
ods of catching: them, shows that the
TRAP is the main destructive agent
and until its abolition there will be
no increase of the run of each cycle
of salmon—provided the packs are
held down to a normal pack and'
discontinuing overproduction.
The conservation policy of the;
Joneau Empire as quoted above in
dicates the whole policy of that pa
per—the devil with the resident
past, present and future, but the
packers must be permitted to “put1
up a fair pack, at least” without j
jeopardizing the salmon supply of I
the future.”
! The Alaskan sheds no tears fori
those canners who have been just1
[a little more than hoggish in the I
I past. Another year just such as'
this—we predict it will be next year i
will remove from the industry those
Avho have no thought of the future
except it be in dividends.
COOLIDGE MADE “HEAP CHIEF” I
—
By right of heritage and now of'
I adoption by the Sioux’s of the Ua- ;
' kotas, President Coclklge was form-j
| ally adopted into the tribe and 11am-I
j ed Leading Eagle.
! Judge Reed of the District Court !
1 of ihe First Division, assessed a >
| line of $1,000 against ihe North)
! Pacific Trading and Packing Co.,,
I of Klawock when through their at-1
j torney entered plea of guilty tothej
1 charge of fishing its trap on Hecate
j Island during a closed period in vio-i
) lation of the law.
j - i
'■ADDITIONAL ALASKA FISHERY
'. REGULATIONS .j
! -
! The regulations for the protection
! of the fisheries of Alaska published
j in Department of Commerce Circu
! lar No. 251, thirteenth edition, is
| sued under date of December 22.)
■ 192G, together with subsequent re
j gulations, are hereby amended by
1 the following regulations.
Prince William Sound Area
i
HERRING FISHERY.-Regulation j
No. 1 is amended so as to prohibit |
commercial fishing for herring from
October 15 to December 31, 192 7,
i both dates inclusive.
! Regulation No. 3 is amended so
jas to permit commercial fishing for
j herring from 6 o’clock postmeridian
(of Saturday of each week until 6
(o’clock antemeridian of the Mon
!day follwing.
W. P. MacCracken, Jr.
Acting Secretary of Commerce
GOVERNOR WOODS DIES
Governor General Leonard Wood,
of the Phillippine Islands died in
the Peter Bent Brigham hospital, j
Boston following an oueration for
the removal of a tumor.
He had been in ill health for j
some time but fully expected to re-;
cover and return to his post in the
Orient.
An intimate friend of the late;
President Roosevelt, he was a man
of exceptional ability and was the;
recipient of the Congressional Medal
of Honor and the Distinguished Ser-;
vice Cross.
He was a storm center in military i
circles owing to his promotion over;
regular line officers and due to the
removal and transfer from his
command during the World Warj
and President Wilson’s refusal to:
permit him to go to Europe with
that command. I
As presidential candidate his j
chances of securing the nomination
went aglimmering when it was
shown vast sums were being spent
to secure his nomination aud elec-'
tion.
His record as administrative offi
cer in the Philippine Islands was in
keeping with his army records and
he stood high in the esteem of the
present administration at Washing
ton. \
HUDSON LEASES SHOP
A deal has been consumated
between W. W. Kerr and Frank
Hudson whereby Mr. Kerr will take
over the' shop and continue the bar
ber and bath business heretofore
conducted by Mr. Hudson.
Mr Kerr comes to Petersburg
from Ketchikan wheer he has the
reputation of being a tonsorial ar
tist. \
Quality
and
Quantity
For less at
The
Modern Grocery
st namummmt3
Buy at Star Bakery and Save Money
Fresh Doughnuts, Cup Cakes, Coo'i s
and Cinnamon Rolls
Always on Hand Fresh
STAR BAKERY
AMERICA FIRST arrives in Pe
tersburg Friday morning, leaving
for Juneau via Kake and way ports
about noon.
Is A HOW TRANSPORTATION
COMPANY
JACOBITZ TAXI
DAY & NIGHT SERVICE
Stand at Arctic Hotel
Phone 35
ALASKA CAFE
George Kim, Proprietor
Meals at ail Hours
Good Services, Fair Prices
H We Solicit Your Trade
ntfflttttKcttt’.trr
When in 1 own Stop at
ARCTIC HOTEL
First Class Rooms
Reasonable Rates
CARL ROGER, Pro.
Home Service Mending
of Laundered Goods
We give full value for your
l money.
H. OYAMA, PRO.
ttce^30CS^}C8CdCOCOO@»C8OeCO39C8CQC8OeoeO0OEC^
I Sanitary Market
A Roast you’ll like
The Very Choicest Beef
Mutton and Pork
Vegetable in Season
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