VOL. 2
T
PETERSBURG, ALASKA APRIL 6,
1928
NO. 37
Editorial
The School Refund-Petersburg's
Plight—Too Much Henderson
The School Board received a Jolt
when it found out that the refund
bill introduced by . Representative
William L. Paul and endorsed by
them did not pass in that form. The
joker is in this:—the law allows a
rebate of 85% but on the 1926
27 expenditures. In the case of Pe
tersburg, on account of its rapid
growth, the rebate will amount in
dollars to what it would have on
the old percentages of seventy-five
ner cent—about $15,000 instead of
the increased $2,000 contemplated
The question arises—why was the
original bill changed and why did
our delegation in the legislature not
prevent the change?
The original bill divided the cities
in Alaska into four classes as fol
lows: 1st class having a population
of 1500; 2nd class, 1500 to 2000;
3rd class, 2000 to 2500; 4th class,
2500 and over with rebates as fol
lows respectively: 90, 85, 80 and
85 per cent. Petersburg would
have received 90% rebate.
The opposition came first from
Commissioner Henderson who ob
jected to the basis of classification
preferring classification based on
school attendance. The objection
to that is that this system puts a
premium on low attendance when
ever the line of changing percent
ages is reached. Robert Sheldon
of Fairbanks who offered Hender
son’s amendment withdrew it. The
bill passed the House in its origin
al form.
In the Senate Mr. Henderson re
newed his objections and they form
ed the basis of the jockeying that
later produced the law now on the
books. The bill (an early bill ir.
the House as the number indicates)
was held up iu the Senate by Sen
ator Tom Jensen (Nome) anl
amended so that nothing much re
mains of the original bill except
$10,000 increases to large cities
like Ketchikan, Juneau, etc., and
the increase from 75 to 85%—a
good provision except for growing
towns like Petersburg where the
joker applies with more force than
intended by Jensen and Henderson.
Petersburg is the only town not
benefitted by the bill as it is.
And heed this:—After the bill
came from the Senate, before Paul
and his friends, there were but two
things to do with it. The bill was
a House bill, remember, but since
it was amended in the Senate, there
was nothing that Paul, or his
friends, could do with it but accept
or kill it. In view of the greater
increases to the big towns the bill
was let slide as it looked.
"We have talked with William
Paul relative to the first measure
and he stated to us that an endeavor
would be made to have the original
bill passed and effective as of Sep
tember, 1928. He is confident that
the entire progressive Republican
party would pass such a law.
Spite work, personal grudges
and dislikes and playing politics
have destroyed many a fine bit of
legislation. Misfit laws are usual
ly the result of this pulling, hauling
and personal grouch as in this case.
Dan Speaks
Over Radio
Delegate Sutherland spoke over
the radio on March the 14th rela
tive to the proposed purchase of
the Ala ksPadnhnala4c-uai ccdiheg
the Alaska Panhandle by Canada.
He raised the question of purchase
price and suggested that Territor
ial real estate has advanced con
siderably since the days when otter
skins were tender for lease or pur
chase, and wonders what British
Columbians have in mind to ex
change for our Panhandle. He
mentioned the fact that Manhattan
Island was purchased for $24.00 in
trade (Ed., probably bauble3 and
molasses) but that we would hesi
tate to compute its present value.
The Increase in value of Manhattan
Island is quite analagous to the in
creased value of the Panhandle.
AtfX SEWS MORE
The ladies auxiliary to the Am
erican Legion met in the home of
Mrs. Fred Nelson Tuesday evening
last. They sewed a number of gar
ments for children orphaned by the
World War.
Monday evening the Legion Aux
iliary held their regular meeting in
the dining room of the Qrand Cafe.
At this meeting Mrs. Ensch and Mrs.
Ellery Carlson were taken in as new
members.
There are some queer political
bedfellows in the Territory—Grigs
by, Demcratic committeeman and
Frame, Republican committeeman’
IIow eome?
Commercial Club Meets
Regular meeting and dinner of
the Commercial Club was held in
ihe Grand Cafe on Wednesday even
ing with a goodly attendance.
A letter was received and read
from W. C. Vandervoort, Supt or
Railway and Mail Service, Seattle,
Washington, relative to a change
in the Petersburg-Juneau route ad
vocated by the Club. He advised
that he would investigate the mat
ter and give his findings later.
Miss Mary Reep of the School
faculty is arranging a program t.'
be carried out during and after the
banquet which will begin at seven
o’clock. Ten of the members vol
unteered to wait on the tables and
the Boy Scouts will roll up their
sleeves and take care of the after
dinner dishes.
The members of the Petersburg
City Band were guests of the Club
at this meeting. Earl Ohmer in a
brief talk gave an appreciation of
the efforts of the Band to give to
the community a good band with
musical entertainment. Director
Verney of the Band replied thank
ing the Club for its cooperation and
particularly for the interest and
support given the Band.
Owing to the fact that the Fire
Department was to hold a meeting
immediately followinng the Club
meeting, adjournment followed a
lot earlier than usual.
A HALF MILLION IN WIRES
. .$600,000 will be the cost of light
and telephone wires to take care ol
the demand for service during ths
■ Democratic National Convention
■ at Houston, Texas. This is exten
sion service for the work that will
come up during the convention.
Klawock Patting A Big
Spring Carnival
The people of Klawock are put
ting on a Spring Carnival the 28th
of this month for the purpose of
raising funds to complete their
community hall.
Weather permitting they are
planning field sj^orts and other
amusements fitting for the occaBion
along with evenings spent in so
cials and dancing.
They are featuring a “Pageant of
Nations.” Every one is invited to
appear in costume for this occa
sion representing hiB favorite na
tion. Suitable prizes will be award
ed for best costumes. Among the
prizes will be two beautiful silk
ALASKA FLAGS.
Banquet to Team
i
The local Chamber of Commerce
is tendering the local High School
basketball team a banquet in the
Sons of Norway Hall Saturday the
7th. The big feed will be in the
banquet hall of the S. of N. Hall and
a dance will be given on the main
floor later in the evening. A charge
of $1.25 the plate will be charged
while one dollar will allow of a
lot of pleasure on the dance floor
of the same hall.
This is the first year that the lo
cal boys have had any chance to
be in at the finish of any of the
tournaments held in the past.
In spite of a poor start the boys dog
gedly fought their way along until
they defeated Ketchikan Hi which
made them the logical opponents
of the Juneau squad. In the games
at Wrangell the boys did not get
the breaks of the game so lost on
a margin so close that Juneau
would hesitate to play another
series.
To show that they and other ball
fans are back of the local boys at
all times, this dinner Is given. Ev
eryone is invited to be at this din
ner to make it the best of its kind
While much has been said of the
boys and their playing those in the
know of basketball appreciate the
fact that a team 1b only what Its
coach makes it. So when speaking
of the success of the local team we
also speak of the excellent work of
Jess Ames, their coach.
Headed South
William Worth and Will A. Bar
left on the Alameda bound for Se
attle, Sunday morning. Mr. Bar
rows for the past several montha
has been editor of THE ALASKAN
and now that his sanctum santorum
is without his genial presence, the
shop seems rather empty. His
many friends hope for his early
return.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell York are
leaving on the Rogers for the States
after a stay of seven years in Pe
tersburg. Mr. York had been op
erating the Citizens Steam Laundry
under lease. Upon expiration of the
lease he was unable to make satis
factory arrangements so the plant
goes back to its lessor.
They plan to travel in the States
for awhile before settling down.
When seen Mr. York said that it
, woul dbe rather hard to make up
his mind to stay in the States,
trons his appreciation He
He wishes to extend to his patrons
1 his appreciation of their favors of
the past.
Bartley Howard In
And Out
Senator Bartley Howard arrived
in town the latter part of last week
and spent several days overhauling
political fences and putting in new
pickets along the line.
Talking with our reporter he
said that he*believed in supporting
I Henry O’Malley in his policy of sal
mon conservation in Alaska but did
not believe in giving unlimited con
trol to one man to make or break
regulations; that the fisheries prob
lent should be taken out of politics,
that he was in favor of Home Rule
-'tid that l,it was no fault of his
that the Controller Bill was defeat
ed in the last Legislature.” He said
that had certain amendments been
incorporated in the bill as “he”
suggested, it would have passed.
(If memory serves correctly, his
suggested amendments were made
but he ruled the bill off the floor of
the Senate in a very unfair ruling.)
All in all, since he has covered much
of the Territory he has learned a
great deal that he did not know but
he believes himself the Moses who
will lead the Alaskans out of the
hands of the Tories.
Teachers On a Trip
A party of ten teachers from the
Ketchikan Public Schools were pass
engers on the Estebeth which call
ed in port Tuesday morning. The
party was enroute to Sitka on the
staunch old mailboat. Not being
hot tiered with hydro-electric plant
troubles, the Ketchikan force of
teachers could take their Easter
holidays without interfering with
the general program of their
school. They expressed much
pleasure in the trip so far and an
ticipate a lot more before the end
of their voyage.
“Bills” Did It
Right
The Elks of Petersburg were host
to a number of “Bills” from Wran
gell at a dance staged in the Sons
of Norway Hall last Saturday eve.
A large number of Wrangellites
came over on the Marguerite, early
Saturday for the merry time promis
ed them by the Petereburgonsons.
Clift’ Buker’s Orchestra furnished
the music for the light fantastic.
The Wrangellites all expressed
themselves as highly pleased with
their entertainment while here and
take home with them that neigh
borly feeling which can come only
through friendy social contact. May
come again,
INVITATIONS
The Sheldon Jackson School at
Sitka is sending invitations to its
graduates and former students to
attend a reception given by the
school in celebration of its fiftieth
anniversary. Truly this school has
put its mark upon the Territory.
NOTICE
All accounts due the Citizen’s
Steam Laundry up to the first of
April are requested to be paid to
me personally.. All accounts after
that date will be taken care of by
Paul Lund who is taking over the
management of the Laundry.
RUSSELL YORK.
From A Hell Hole In Alaska-Men Are
Starved, Slaved and Robbed
Skagway, Alaska
April 3, 192S
Editor Alaskan
Petersburg, Alaska
Dear Sir:
I am writing to you to let you
know how I was treated at the Skag
way jail.
I am a Native boy of Hoonah,
Alaska, at Present. But was born
at Haines, Alaska.
I was put in just for being drunk.
I could not pay my fine so I stayed
in Jail and worked my fine out was
arrested in Oct just came out today
the third of April. I was broke
when I came to Skagway Jail. So
I borrowed $1.00 from my aunty at
Skagway to send a tolagraham to
Bushman My Supt asking for mon
ey to buy things to eat hear at
Tail because they dont give you
know sugar milk or butter we have
to buy that ourself. Well he sent
me $50.00 I bought things to eat.
so when I come out he the Marshal
l eld back what little money I had
left that was $9.00 he would not
give to me because he say3 he had
ordere to hold It for costa of court
I dont know what to do for eating
when at Juneau because I have to
stay there all day Wed and all day
thursday until evening know money
for room. I worked very hard when
at Skagway Jail wash dishes mop
floora clean streets for two blocks
allso clean up Marshals wifes room,
and nothing much to eat not
enought. Yes he turned me out
without 5^. I tryed to borrow $6.00
but nothing doing I sure feel sorry
for the boys in Jail, hope you put
this in paper
from
JACK WRIGHT
(This is a description of condi
tions existing in the hellhole where
“Tex” Gill was officially and legally
murdered. Before his death “Tex”
described the same lack of food and
even sanitation. That such condi
tions exist in Alaska are almost un
believable and does not make us feel
like singing “My Country ’tis of thee
Sweet land of Liberty.” Sweet land
of Liberty. Omygawd! Sweet land
of bureaucrats.
RETURNING HOME
The M.S. Princeton, Presbyteri
an Mission boat, Capt. Waggoner,
called in port Monday afternoon
and pulled out at midnight enroute
to Juneau, Skagway and Sitka. On
board were Rev. and Mrs. George
E. Beck, Hoonah.; Rev. and Mrs
Bromley, Haines; Rev. and Mrs.
Waggoner, Juneau, Rev. Pederson,
Skagway, Lay Workers Seward
l£unz, Klukwan and Sam Johnson,
Angoon; Miss Laura Takanuchi and
David Phillips, Petersburg were de
legates to the Christian Endeavor
Convention also held at Metlakatla.
They report one of the best attended
conventions in the history of Pres
byterian work in Alaska.
REASON TO APOLOGIZE
“The cause for the names of so
many Juneau Democrats appearing
on the lists of candidates for dele
gates to the National Convention is
that the filing of those selected at
the Seward convention were irregu
lar.”—Stroller’s Weekly, relative to
the way the Demmy-Reps play their
politics in the Territory.
This stuff which is so irregular
is getting quite regular with that
bunch of political highbinders and
the territory is tired of It. They are
as much Democrats in principle
as a crow is white. The best that
can be said of them is that they
are federal buric rats.
A SNOW AUTOMOBILE
A man by the name of Carl Carl
son, Cordova, says that he has a
machine that’ll travel over the snow
wastes of the Interior. It is an
automobile rig on skiis and pro
pelled by two wheels of a paddle
design from the rear. His idea isn’t
new, however, for a man by the
names of Henness got up such a de
vice for sno wtravel some 30 years
back. It worked very well where
the snow was "tough” enough to
firmly grip the paddles, but in light
feathery stuff the machine stood
still while the wheels kicked an
immense flurry of snow from be
hind. The Henness contrivance was
operated by a light steam engine
In Fairbanks there was another one
of ’em In 1918. It wasn’t*a success,
however, except in packed snow.
In crusted and fluffy snow It would
n’t travel good.
Most Citizens
Were Asleep
Tuesday April 3rd rolled around
bringing municipal elections and
judging from the returns one m<tr
presume that the citizenry were
asleep, did not know of the elections
or just did not give a hoot.
Mayor C. E. Swanson, without op
position was reelected to succeed
himself a3 Mayor. Chris Gronseth,
Andrew Johnson and Paul Lund
were high on the ticket for mem
bers of the Council; Mrs. C. Tveten
was elected without opposition for
the three year term on the School
Board.
The votes were as follows: For
Mayor, C. E. Swanson, 149 votes,
for Council, Gronseth, 122; John
son, 119; Lund, 107; Jorgenson.
61; Enge, 58 and Walwick, 38.
for School Board, Mrs. C. Tveten,
126.
Rasmus Enge, the “watchdog"
of the city exchequer, was thrown
into the discard as there was no
further use for him by the machine
Jorgenson and Walwick were pledg
ed to a program of strict economy
—judging from the election returns
the voters want the continuation of
the money spending orgy of the past
with no end in sight.
More Scouts
A third troop of Boy Scouts Is
soon to be organized in Ketchikan
There are 50 enrolled and in good
standing ata the present time. Ac
cording to arecent statement there
are nine troops now in Alaska. Cor
dova has 23, Skagway 15, Peters
burg 23, Ketchikan 60, Juneau 52,
and Anchorage 17. There is also
a Native Troop at Metlakatla.
MAI EXTEND NATURALIZATION
LAW
Special naturalization privileges
accorded aliens who served with the
armed forces of the United States
during the World War will again
be extended for a three year period
if favorable action is taken by Con
gress on a bill recently Introduced
by Rep. W. B. Miller of the Ameri
can Legion National Rehabilitation
Committee.