. . , The, YlaIkan
Ala ska
\
VOLUME NO. 5.
PETERSBURG, ALASKA, JUNE 26, 1931.
NUMBER 49
Narcotics Congress
May Fail Again
Reports from the Internation
al Norcotic Congress now in ses
sion at Geneva, Switzerland, in
dicate that this latest effort at
governmental control of ths
traffic in narcotics may be dead
locked and assert a determined
plan on the part of certain dele
gations to delay, evade and com -
pel the conference to adjourn
without accomplishing any
thing of importance. The atti
tude of the American delegation
is not proving satisfactory to the
representatives of other nations
who demand results John K.
Caldwell of the American dele
gation was called on for an ex
planation of his confused plan
but was unable to clarify th.3
American position. The Ameri
cans were given another day to
consider their proposals. T1 e
fight over heroin seems to have
set the delegations all at vari
ance,. Dr. Wu, the Chinese del**-'
gate, called heroin the mad dog
among drugs and said mere is
just one thing to do with a mad,
dog and that is to destroy it.1
Other delegates urged the en->
tire abolition of the manufac
ture of heroin. A German chem
ical expert stated that there
is no legitimate use for hero r
in the practice of medicine, to
which the English chemical ex-1
pert agreed, but. the vote stoolj
9 to 9. Many different medical
associations have denounced .i!
as utterly useless, but it is great
dope for the underworld. It !s
smuggled in and out of every
country on earth. It drives its
addicts to desperation, but there
is money in the traffic. Japan, j
France and Britain are working
over their plans but it appears'
unlikely that they will be able
to get together.
-x
Historic Courthouse
Is Legion Hall
The historical old log court
house erected in 1868, the year
after the purchase of Alaska, as
one of the buildings of the old
stockade, is the home for the
American Legion and the Le
gion Auxiliary.
After a post of the American
Legion was organized in Wran
gell, the U. S Department of
Justice allowed the Legion to use
the old court house lor a meet
ing place.
For a number of years the Le
gion and Auxiliary have been
accumulating a fund looking
to a building of their own. Some
thing pretention0 was planned
but lately it was decided to
utilize the present dugout by
building an addition on the end
which fronts the bay. Permit
^r\ fViic xjToc cppiitpH from
the Department of Justice.
The log walls have been pr -
served Intact. The foundation
and chimney have been repaired
the end partitior removed and
an 8-ft. addition built the widt 1
of the building. The part of th3
building fronting the street
through the Federal Reserve,
has been remodeled so that the
street door opens into a had
with a kitchen on one side an-.i
dressing room on the other. The
new addition is built with four
very large windows, giving a i
excellent view over the bay aniq
islands.
Anderson &. Hatton who have
thecontract for the work undei
way have been asked to finish
the interior now instead ol
waiting until a later date as
was planned when tt £ work wa
first undertaken. — WrangeV
Ask Reduction of
Rent Peacock Spit
Following the announcement
of the reduction in the annual
rental of Peacock Spit near the
mouth of the Columbia River as
a fishing ground, the Columbia
River Packers Association and
the Barbey Packing Companv,
joint concessionaires of the
seining rights on Sand Island
have asked the war department
for a fifty per cent reduction in
the rental from $37,175 to $18 -
587. The Sand Island concession
has been verv profitable in
former years and the fishermen
who originally fished there have
been completely dispossessed.
The holders claim that the or
iginal bid was made at a time
when salmon were selling at |
prices ranging upwards of 17
sonts but that the price has now j
fallen to 10 cents. The Secre !
tary of War stated that his de-j
partment is without power tn
•hange the least and that the!
mly possible relief would bej
.hmnph n cnppipl apt. r»f Cnn.i
gress.
The reduction in the rental of
Peacock Spit by the Land Com
missioner of the state of Wash
ington from $36,000 to $7,500 per
year was occasioned largely
through the washing away of
the sands of the spit so that it
can be used as a seining ground
O ily at low tide.
a-x
Seek Make Better
Grade of Cattle
-x
Jack McCord vice-president,
and- general manager of the
Chi-iko* Island Ca**le Co., came
tc Seldovia from the westward
last Wednesday, on board the
M S. Futh C.. under charter by
his company Tie was en route
te Seattle from Chink of Island
where he had gone to make de
diveries of lumber and materials
for the construetion of barns
and other needed buildings. A
mong items of other supplies,
were a horse, wagon and a plow.
The corporation holds a 20
year lease on the island, with
departmental permission to cross
the herd of “wild cattle” with
sturdy stock. The circulated
stories that the intent was tc
slaughter the present herd be
cause of the meat value, is oi
course wrong, explained Mr. Mc
Cord, the object being instead tc
build the herd up not only ir
weight tnd quality but in nun*,
bers as well.
C. H. Frye, head of Frye &
Co., wealthy Seattle meat pack
ers, is president of the new com
pany, and it is from the Frye
range herd of 25,000 head tha<
white-faced heh'ers will b <
drawn to revitalize the northerr
herd.—Seldovia Herald.
-x
Sitka Seal Catch is
Tenas Catch
The smallest take of fur sea *
in many years was made by tha
natives at Sitka this spring ac
cording to a report of M. J. O’
Connor, Assistant Agent of the
Bureau of Fisheries. Only 17
adult seals and 2 unborn pupj
were killed by the hunters. The
natives are permitted to take
! fur seals on their annual migra -
ition by means of canoes and
spears only, according to then
.ancient custom. Low pric14
kept the Indians from their usu
al hunt this year. They receiv
ed only $8 each for their pelts
, Captain Mangan of the Widgeon
l placed the official seal on th:
pelts taken
New Halibut Treaty
Now in Effect
-X
With the lormal exchange o',
ratifications at Ottawa on May
9th, the new North Pacific Hali -
but Treaty became officially ef
fective. The new treaty places
j the duty of regulating halibut
j fishing operations and the main
tenance of the stock of fish on
the halibut banks upon the In
ternational Fisheries Commis
sion. The first step in the ex -
ercise of its new powers was
taken by the Commission at a
meeting in Ottawa on May 27,
wherein it was decided to ex
tend invitations to the various
branches of ihe halibut industry
to appoint representatives wh*
will make up a conference board
for the purpose of enabling fish
ermen and vessel owners to
keep closely informed regarding
the commission’s work and to
discuss with the commission the
facts and the reasoning on!
which any proposed regulations'
are based.
No new regulations were
j adopted at this meeting, all reg
julatory action being left to a
meeting to be held later, after
the conference board has been
formed and the men in the in
dustry have had an opportunity
i?» express their views. Appar
ently the commission intends to
do nothing hastily and oppor
tunity for thorough discussion
will be given before final action
is taken.
Field investigation in the
North Pacific to determine the
reproduction rate of the halibut
species, growth, natural enemies
and other information of vital
importance is to be carried on
under direction of the commis
sion as heretofore by the power
boat “Dorothy” which left Seat
tie May 12 in charge of Richard
Van Cleve assisted by Lawrence
Townsend, Zell Parkhurst and
Olaf Erickson of the commis
sion’s staff. Captain O. Serwold,
an old halibut skipper, former
ly of the “Tordenskjold” wer.r.
as master of the “Dorothy” this
season in place of the owner, O.
O. Hvatum.
The primary purpose of the
trip this year is to carry on the
i study of the drift of eggs a a 1
llarvae, an interesting feature of
which is the release at various
points of many brightly colored
drift bottles by which the move
ment of the water over various
periods will be traced. The bo t
tles each contain a numered
card with directions printed in
I English, Russian and Japanese
requesting the finder to retur 1
| it with data as to where and
i when found. The bottles ate
i colored a bright orange so they
will be readily visible and
1 weighted with a length of wic?
' and a metal drag and will checs
quite accurately the movement
1 of the water with very little in
fluence from wind. Of the five
himrireri hnttles released Iasi
year about forty have been re
turned. These bottles, released
at points ranging from Dixon s
Entrance to the Shumagin Is
lands all show a westward drift,
confirming previous informa
tion. Net hauls will also bei
made at many places to detei
mine the southern limit of the
drift of the eggs and larvae
through July. It is hoped that
these studies will ultimate y
show whether there is any in
flow of new spawn from other
sources to keep up the stock on
the more southerly fishing
grounds where there has been
very little spawning stock fjr
some years.
--x
Dr. Rae Carlson, occulist, ar
rived on the Rogers from Ket
chikan and has been spending
the week testing eyes and fitting
glasses for her patients here.
Court Rules U. 5. Fishermen
No Treaty Rights /n Canada
(From Pacific Fisherman)
Holding summarily that the
“Convention of 1818” between
the United States and Great
Britain does not apply to the
Pacific Coast, the Supreme
Court of Canada upheld in
every regard the decision of the
Victoria admiralty court and
confiscated to the Crown the
American trollers “May,” “Queen
City,” “Tillie M.” and “Sunrisi.
The decision is a sweeping one
and as far-reaching as it i;
sweeping. Under* it American
fishing vessels have no special
rights whatever in Canadian Pa
cific waters. Under it, the pri
vilebes which they have enjoyed
without question for decades are
swept away.. Under it, Ameri
can fishing vessels have th^
right to enter Canadian waters
anly under conditions of “irr^
sistable distress” and “compell
ing necessity ” Under it, fric
tion and perhaps serious inter
national questions are almost
certain to arise.
The Supreme Court says in it'
decision: “In view of the fact
that at the date of the ‘Conven
tion of 1818’ the United States
had not recognized the sov
ereignty of Great Britain on th°
Pacific Slope.I agree with th
conclusion.that the ‘Conven
tion of 1818’ did not apply to
the Pacific waters.” The court
did not design to give even the
slightest attention to the co •
tention of the appellants that,
if the treaty did not apply to
the Pacific Coast, the United
States had never renounced the
right of fishery in any of the
waters north of the present in
ternational boundary.
Court’s Attitude Surprising
In reading the opinion of th'
Supreme Court, one cannot es
cape the conclusion that the de
cision was reached primarily for
the purpose of upholding th
Canadian government as against
the claims of aliens without re
spect to the justice or equity of
the case. This is borne out by
the Supreme Court’s complete
acceptance of the findings oi
the lower court in all matters
| of fact and evidence, without
! giving consideration to points
(raised by the appellants, some
of which certainly cast serious
doubt upon the competency of
Crown testimony.
“Hair-Splitting’ Indulged In
The decision i? marked to ,i
surprising degree by hair-split
ting and devious reasoning. For
example: The Supreme Court
held that the convention of 1811;
does not apply on this coast.
Then it went to the extent to
say that even if the convention
did apply, the “Tillie M.” the
“Queen City’’ and “Sunrise'
could find no protection under
it. The court quotes the treaty
by which citizens of the United
States renounced the right of
fishery within three miles of
the “coasts, bays creeks or har
bors” of Cadana; and quo.es
further where the treaty gives
Americans the right to “enterj
such bays and harbors” fori
shelter, water, fuel or repair. Ini
UVV/ikJlUll
says:
“Now the place where the-e
three vessels were seized is n >t
shown on the chart or establish-!
ed by the evidenee to have been
either a bay or harbor, and if
it is not, there is no provision
either in treaty or statute which
authorizes entry for the purpose;
of shelter.” By its own words
the court admits this anchorage!
I was a place of shelter. What is
.a harbor if it is not a place of
shelter?
Attitude Is Heartless
Another example of devious(
reasoning is found where the
court says: “If a foreign vessel
enters Canadian waters fo*.
shelter against weather whicn
is kno^ra to prevail on the fish
ing grounds, and the vessel is
so constructed that it cannot
with safety remain outside the
three-mile limit in such weath
er, there might arise a suspicion
of want of bon-i fides on the
part of the master or owner in
bringing a vessel oi that class
lr to °vch seas to fish. A want
>' bon? fides would abrogate
ar,y right or privilege to shelter
o<”on by the sta nte.” It s
evident that where a vessel is
Continued on Page 2
]
Pacific Gas War
Is Now Over;
i —"x~
Tank wagon gasolene prices
| throughout California have been
raised 5 1-2 cents per gallon by
jthe Standard and Shell Com
panies and Seattle dealers pre
dicted a similar rais^ in prices.
Although at last reports Seattle
representatives of large oil com I
panies declared they had receiv-;
ed no notice of local price in
creases, independent dealers de
clared prices would go up at
least 5 cents making the pre
vailing Seattle price range from
16 to 17 1-3 cents. Service sta
tions all over the Northwest were
seeking to fill their tanks at
the minute at prices which have
prevailed for 113 days.
-x—
The discovery of a water soak
ed hat on the beach six mil's
south of Ketchikan is considered
a possible clew as to the fate of
J. A. Talbot, Senior, missing
since June 12th. Mr. Talbot is
67 years of age the father oi
j. A. Talbot, Jr., Commander ol
the Department o f Alask *,
American Legion and George S
.Talbot, representing Ketchikar
Elks at the Seattle convention
It is feared the elder Talbot ma;
have fallen overboard a n c
drowned.
The following bids were sub
mitted to the Hubbell & Waller
Engineering Corporation for the]
jonstruction of a pile brldr;:
icross the sluugh near the grave
yard from the west shore of
Prolewy TJand to tne new road
for the purpose of hauling gravel
G. D. McDonald, $1621.00;
Holton & Johnson, $'840.00; Of
to Welde, $1950.00; Henry '.
Hasbrou ;k, $1975.00: Sather &
West, $2200.00.
All of the above bids conte m •
plated the driving of piling for
at least the central portion of
UiC Uiiugc.
The bid of McDonald has beer,
accepted tentatively subject to
the approval of the gravel for
road surfacing material on West
Petersburg road by the highway
engineers, and permission from
the War Department for the
construction of the bridge across
the slough. This plan, if approv
ed will make possible the hand!
ing of some 4,000 yards of grav 1
by trucks direct from the gravel
pit onto the roadway and save
expensive handling by scows.
--x
I Costumed as Totem Poles, at
least 60 Elkl* representing the
Southeast Alaska lodges of Ju-,
neau, Ketchikan and Skagwayj
will comprise a section of the
1 parade to be held in Seattle
(July 9 under auspices of the 67t i
1 national convention of the Elks’
organization.
Trailers Tie-up Is
Complete cn Coast
The Southeast Alaska Trollers’
Association claims the pow'
trailers’ tie-up is now complete
with the exception of one or two
independent boats and a fe v
hand trollers. At a meeting j:
the power trollers of Craig dis
trict at Noye* Island Sunday the
fishermen decided to join whn
Ketchikan, Sitka, Port Alexand -
er and other points, and make
the tie-up in protest of the low
salmon prices general, according
to E. H. Frederickson, vice pres -
ident of the organization at Ket
chikan. The fishermen claim
that the prices offered for salm
on are so low and operating ex
penses so high that they can
not break even. The buying and
selling of king salmon at Ketchi
kan is at a standstill, not one
pound of salmon being sold over
Ketchikan docks last Wednes
day, according to reports. The
?ondition may continue indefin
tely.
x
States 1931 Fish
Offering is Poor
Oxenberg Brothers, one of the
largest dealers in mildcure salm
on now in the market, will raise
fhe price on Alaska king salmon
the moment the improved condi
tion of the fish warrants sucn
a» tion.
This is the word brought to
toe Ketchikan trollers by J. E.
Berg, Alaska manager for the
Oxenberg interests, who has just
returned from a business trip to
New York and other eastern
markets.
“The king salmon taken this
spring have been of a peculiar
ly poor quality,” Mr. Berg sail
“This applies to the fish taken
in the Puget Sound district as
well as the Alaska pack. No one
is able to give a satisfactory ex
planation of this, but it is a
fact that there have been more
lean king salmon taken this
spring than at any time in the
past of which we have record.
“Oxenberg Brothers have had
to repack 6G per cent of the r
fish this year on account of
lean bellies, whereas the repack
for the same cause last year was
only 20 per cent.
Would Pay More
“Mr. Williams Oxenberg told
me before I left for Alaska that
he would not buy an\ more such
fish at any price, but that he
would willingly raise the rate
now being offered as soon as the
improved quality of the fish
justified such a move.”
Mr. Berg states that the fish
on Puget Sound are now begin
ning to show a marked improve
ment in quality, and it is his
belief that the fish here will be
sufficiently improved to justify
a raise in price after July 1
rne price tor mnacure in seat
tie now is from 12 to 13 cents
tie states, with small reds fluct Ji
lting from 7 to 9 cents pei
pound.—Ketchikan Tribune.
-x
DAN THOMPSON
TRANSFERRED
Daniel M. Thompson, operator
in charge at Ketchikan, U. 3
Signal Corps, has been notifie I
of his appointment as radio in
structor at the Signal Corps
school at Fort Monmouth, New
Jersey. Leaving about July 1st,
Sgt. Thompson will drive across
the country, visiting his moth°i
in Virginia en route. He was
formerly operator in charge oi
the cable office at Petersburg.
Mrs. Harold Brennan of Povl
Alexander is visiting this wee!<
with her parents Mr. and Mrs
N. Martinsen.
Essentials Stated
By Presbyterians
Rev. Russell F Pederson who
has been in attendance at the
Presbyterian General Assembly
in Pittsburgh Pa., returned
home on the steamer Princess
Charlotte Tuesday morning. He
reports that some of the import
ant business of the Assembly
was as follows:
Spiritual emphasis was the su
preme issue of the Assembly,
and great national annual con
gress representing 2,000,000 com
municant m jmbers sounded as
the keynote for the coming year
the spiritual quickening of the
entire church. The dominating
spirit of the business of the As -
sembly was toward a great re -
newal of faith and great reviv
al of Christian work throughout
the United St.at* and in the
countries where Presbyter!* 1
missions are conducted.
Liberty of Conscience
The Assembly upheld President
rloover in his policy of law ob
servance. It made a strong
pronouncement for universal
peace, for the entrance of the
United States into the World
Court, for liberty of conscience,
and for obtaining for Presby
terian students in colleges the
same examption from compul
sory military training that is
granted to members of the So
ciety of Friends the Assembly
considering that a Presbyterian
conscience is just as good as r
Quaker conscience.
Essentials Stressed
Temperance and prohibition,
^abbath observance and other
fundamentals of old-fashioi.en
American Christianity, were held
up as essentials in combatting
the evils of the times. Strong
pronouncements were made
against the liquor traffic, a
gainst the commercialization 01
the Sabbath b y professional
sports and motion picture houses
and against intrusion of objes
tionable amusements into
church buildings The sanctity
of marriage, the family and the
home was emphasized and grea* -
er restrictions against the di
vorce evil were advocated.
Industrial Relations
In the adoption of a special
report on social and industrial
relations, the General Assembly
prepared for larger activities for
the remedy of unemployment
and kindred ills through a per
manent organization on social
and industrial relationships and
for the extension of brotherhood
and fraternalism.
Better interracial relations
were advocated lynching and
mob violence were condemned,
and cooperation and union a
mong denominations were ad
vanced.—Wrangell Sentinel.
ALASKA CABLE WILL
BE ABANDONED
-x
The United States Army Sig
nal Corps cable-laying ship
Dellwood left Seattle for Anchor
age, Alaska, with its crew’ of 80
Filipino cable bands to complete
the installation of a new, im
proved government radio statio.i
at that place.
The Dellwood will lay over at
Ketchikan three months, re
turning to Seattle October 1 to
anchorage in Lake Union. She
will have only a skeleton cr :w
after that date, according to
Capt. Fred P. Andrews, in tem
porary command of the Alaski
cable.
The Alaska cable will be
abandoned after October 31.
-x
Harry Goldberg was fined $25
and costs for failure to pav
school tax on complaint of tax
collector Erwin. The fine was
•: remitted on consideration of the
payment of the tax.