VOL. 2
PETERSBURG, ALASKA SEPTEMBER2 2. 1*27
NO. 8
O’Malley Calls
For Gear Reduction
From a statement issued by U
S. Commissioner of Fialitries, Hen
ry O’Malley, relently, it is believ
ed that he contemplates drastic re
gulations for next years’ fishing op
erations.
Enroute to Ketchikan last week
with Dr. C. H. Gilbert, sptcial in
vestigator and “scientist” for the
Bureau of Fisheries, O’Malley was
interviewed by a reporter on th«
Chronicle We quote:
“The order to prohibit fall fish
ing this year is final. We have
made a thorough investigation, and
are convinced there ARE NO MORE
FISH than what are necessary foi
spawning purposes.
“There is no truth in the rumor
that we intend to prohibit fishing
for the next two or three seasons.
This year’s run does not necessarily
have any direct bearing on the run
next year.
“There is one thing of which we
are certain—and that i3 THAT
THERE IS ALTOGETHER TOO
MUCH GEAR IN THE WATER.
Certain measures, the exact nature
of which we are not yet sure, will
be adopted to reduce the EVER
INCREASING NUMBER OF TRAPS.
“In certain sections of Southeast
ern Alaska, especially south of the
58 th parallel of north latitude,
there has been a great increase in
gear, and at present it is my in
1
tention to more widely space this
gear, to elose certain bays and es
tuaries to traps and to eliminate
traps from points without these
waters. TRAPS SO LOCATED IN
MANY INSTANCES DURING THU
VENTED THE FISH FROM EN
TERING THE STREAMS. If we are
going to safeguard the industry I'l
IS EVIDENT THAT THE GEAR
MUSI BE REDUCED.”
It is being rumored about that
a space of three miles between
traps in lieu of the present “dum
my” eliminating mile in the south
ern district and mile and a half in
the district north of 58. No inti
mation was given as to which bays
and estuaries would be closed next
season. The seasonal dates also
have been under consideration in
the southeastern Alaska district in
connection with which Mr. O’Mai
ley is quoted:
“Aat present, so far as the sea
sons are concerned, nothing definite
can be announced. Before any de
cision will be made, the Bureau of
Fisheries must secure data on trap
catches in various districts for a
number of years passed. It will
check them against conditions now
exising to determine whether the
present closng dates are properly
fixed and effective in safeguarding
runs for spawning purposes.”
Ketchikan Man
Goes Over Divide
. .William Dickinson, .64-year old
jailer at the Federal Jail, Ketchi
kan died last week, death being
due to heart failure. “Billy was
the 3on of Willia Dickinson, one of
the earliest pioneers of Alaska and
Mrs. Dickinson—first native inter
preter under the Presbyterian
church. He had been in the em
ploy of the department of justice
at various times and in various ven
tures for many years. He also served
a3 court interpreter, having a com
plete understanding of the native
language.
Locals
Mr. Oscar Granquist will be a
southbound passenger on the Rog
ers this week. He has been in Pe
tersburg since Spring in the offices
of the Petersburg Packing Com
pany.
Mr. F. W. Byerly left for Juneau
today on his booat the Photocraft.
He expects to be gone for about
three weeks.
Miss Mary Reep and Miss Ger
trude Otness who will teach in the
local schools and Mis3 Kelly whc
will teach in Scow Bay this year, ar
rived in Petersburg this week. Miss
Ellen Hill who has been visiting at
her home in Idaho, and Miss Agnea
Vick, who has been attending sum
mer 3chool are both expected here
on the Alameda Friday.
Mrs. Andrew Johnson and chil
dren are returning home this week.
COMING TO PETERSBURG
John and Howard Campbell whc
have been conducting a store ir
Wrangell will move their stock tc
Petersburg very shortly. The new
store building under construction, it
adjoining the Home Cafe Building
Wrangell Delegation
Headed For Paris
Six men and four women left for
Paris this week from Wrangell to
attend the American Legion con
vention. This is said to be the larg
est single party going from Alaska.
B.C. FISHING OPENS FULL BLAST
After being closed for a week,
fishing operations were opened in
British Columbia waters this week
up to the Alaska boundary line.
The Department of Fisheries re
ports sufficient run of salmon to
justify the opening orders. A big
run of salmon is reported approach
ing Canadian waters from the north
off Egg Island, Queen Charlotte Is
land, headed for the mainland.
Auditorium For
School Addition
Mayor Swanson called a special
meeting of the City Council last
Monday evening in the Town Hall
to decide about the new plan for
the auditorium on the top floor of
the addition which is being built.
The Council voted to have the top
floor of the addition for anauditor
ium and assembly room with a stage
at one end. The necessary materi
als were ordered and the work is be
ing pushed as much as possible.
FIVE ELK ARE SHIPPED NORTH
. .Five Olympic elk from the wild
Hoh country were shipped nortt
recently by Chas. E. Bryan, .Deput?
Game Warden of the State of Wash
inton.
During the past week the prohi
bition agents at Juneau made i
drag and picked up nine violators
of the Volstead Act and the Alaskj
Bone Dry Law.
Gordon-Jorgensen
Dan Cupid fired hta love dhafta
making a perfect score and which
will result in the tying up of the
young couple for life in connubial
bliss for life. The happy young
woman being Miss Mildred Gordon
of Seattle and he lucky young man,
Albert Jorgensen, younger son of
Mr and Mrs. Peter Jorgensen.
The wedding ceremony will take
place in the home of the groom’s
parents this evening at seven
o’clock. The ceremony will be fol
lowed by a dinner at which the will
be guests: Mr. and Mrs. Earl Ohm
er, Mr and Mrs. L. Tenfjord, Mr.
and Mrs. C. O. Parks, Mr. and Mrs.
Herve Jorgensen, Mr. and Mrs. J
A. Mendenhall, Mrs. Hjelmar Skei,
Miss Ruby Rayner, Miss Alaska Jor
gensen, Mr. and Mrs. Gabe Sather,
Mr. John Wallace, Mr. and Mrs.
Peter Jorgensen, with the happy
couple the center of the attraction.
The young couple plans to leave
for Farragut Bay where they will
spend their honeymoon before re
turning to Petersburg where they
will continue to make their home.
The Alaskan wishes the happy
couple many years of happines to
gether in this new venture of theirs.
Value of High School
Education in Dollars
The untrained man goes to work
as a boy of fourteen and reaches
his maximum income at the age
of thirty. This maximum averages
loss than 200 n vonr Aa hia
income depends largely on physical
strength falls off at fifty, or earli
er, to a point below the level of
self-support. His total earning*
from fifteen to sixty are about $45,
000. Not more than $2,000 is earn
ed during the four years that would
have been given to high school edu
cation.
The high-school graduate ,on the
other hand, rises steadily to his own
average maximum of $2,200 at for
ty years, and continues on that level
for the rest of his life. His total
earnings would have been $78,000.
The $33,000 above the earnings of
represents the cash value of his 4
year high school course.
If this $33,000 is divided by 800,
the approximate number of days, In
a 4-year high school course, we find
that each day is worth more than
$41 in earning capacity to the stu
dent. Any boy not forced by im
mediate necessity to earn his own
support who gives up a high school
career to go to work is shortsight
ed.
Leadership means more than fin
ancial success. Leadership means
eration must be kdob3t2 -AC
service to others. The boy who ex
pects to be among the leaders of his
generation must get an education;
and while only 9ne person in 150,
000 reaches eminence with less than
grade-school education, about 800
in 150,000 reach eminence with col
lege education.—Exchange.
MRS. KENNEDY IN ALASKA
Mrs. Minnie Kennedy, mother of
I Aimie McPherson arrived in Alas
ka for a brief rest and visit to the
Territory." When interviewed at
. Juneau, she said, “I don’t, consider
that there is any news connected
with my presence in Alaska. I am
just taking a little much needed
rest on this trip.
i -—-- ■■ —
Tme man who boasts of his Ig
norance has reached the ultimate.
Washington Tim
ber For Alaska
Senator Willi*, of Ohio, asked ir
the Westward country, Why it was
that Alaska wa* no becoming popu
lated. The answer is obvious—wt
are nothing but a feeder country foi
Seattle, there is insufficient employ
ment to hold labor and one can
not live in Alaska without money.
We print the following Associated
Press dispatch as one of the causes
of the non-populating of Alaska:
“Constituting one of the largest
shipmens of materials sent to the
Alaska Railioad since the construc
tion days, the freighter Denali sail
ed tonight for Seward with a mil
loin feet of ties and bridge timbers
for replacement purposes during tha
fall and winter.”
All the big mills in southeastern
Alaska have outstanding bond is
sues and rumors come to this of
fice that certain mills are in more
or less financial difficulties—be
of lack of market for their products.
Princess Liner
Finds Reef-In Fog
The Princess Charlotte enroute
from Juneau to Seattle struck th«*
reefs abreast of St. John’3 Harbor
Zorembo Island, Tuesday night
at about nine o’clock ripping the
bottom of her hull about sixty feet.
She immediately sent out SOS calls
which were received at Ketchikan
and relayed to Petersburg. Earl
Ohmer responded to the call for
gasboats or cutters by sending the
Charles T and Amerlc, the Charles
T. driving through; heavy fog in the'
Narrow* and Clarence Straits made,
it to the Charlotte in about three'
hours from the time of the call for
help. The prompt appearance of
help surprised the wrecked vessel
which turned to amazement when
it was learned the Charles was from
Petersburg.
The Charlotte had struck on the
reef in a heavy fog at low water so
that she was afloat when the Charle*
arrived on the scene. The little boat
hooked on to the 3teamer, which
was now afloat and towed her out
to deeper water. A cannery steamer
belonging to the Packer’s took the
wrecked vessel in tow to Wrangell.
The vessel lost all of her fuel oil
when she ripped her bottom out
and had only sufficient to keep up
steam in one boiler to take care
of the lighting system.
There were no casualties in thi3
wreck but the vessel will be unable
to go south on her own power on
account of having no fuel. The
Admiral Watson was reported as
being along side the Charlotte at
Wrangell and it is reported that she
will take care of the passengers
going south.
When asked if the fog in the
Narrows wasn’t pretty thick to trav
el through, Earl Ohmer replied,
“That’s nothing to the shrimp
fleet, they're used to it” and the
extraordinary fast time of the
Charles in arriving at the scene,
was proof of the fact that such a
thing as a little fog did not bother
the fleet.
The Daring, Tacobi and Americ
also answered the call arriving at
the scene shortly after the Charles
T. had moved the Charlotte. The
Americ burned out a bearing but
finished the trip to St. John’s rath
er than turn back.
Despair is the blighted fruit of
hope. I
Science “Predicts No
Humpies This Season”
Dr. C. H. Gilbert .special invest!
gator for the United States Bu
reau of Fisheries, who accompan
ied Henry O’Malley and visited with
him along the west coast of Prince
of Wales Island, around Sitka and
in Icy Straits, when seen on the
fisheries boat Brant before it left
for Seattle at 11 o’clock this morn
ing, declared that he and Mr.
O’Malley were trying to find out
WHY THERE WAS PRACTICAL
!LY NO SALMON IN THE KETCHI
KAN DISTRICT THIS YEAR SO
PAR. Editor’s note—We suggest
that Dr. Gilbert read the topliner
on the front page of the Ketchikan
Chronicle and then he will need
hunt no further for the reason of
depletion in Ketchikan—MORE
CANNED SALMON IS PACKED IN
KETCHIKAN THAN ANY CITY IN
THE WORLD.” Nuff sed.
Commissioner O’Malley also re
turned on the Brant for Seattle on
bis way to Washington, D. C.
Dr. Gilbert thought possibly
some data shown him in Ketchikan
might account for the light run of
humpies in this district. It was
shown him that during July and
August of 1925 there was a very
i light rainfall compared with other
i years. The total rainfall for Sep
tember of that year was three inch
jes, and it was only an inch during
the first 16 days of October, which
caused low water in the creeks, pre
venting the ’salmon from reaching
their spawning grounds until the
middle of October.
Editor’s note—The mistake, in
tentional or otherwise lay in the
fact that salmon entering spawning
streams DO NOT WAIT UNTIL
OCTOBER TO GO UP STREAM.
Except September run, invariably
the first runs of salmon have reached
their spawning areas—proof beiug
the stench of dead salmon along the
creek beds. October run of pink.,
have not been existent for over ten
years so that any dry weather in
October of 1925 would have no ef
feet on the humpy run of this year
save in the mind of a “fish scien
tist and impractical theorist. Sep
tember salmon from time immem
orial bred September salmon hav
ing natural physical laws which
can, no more be speeded up than in
any animal or human being;August
salmon begat August runs; July
runs begat July cycles; June runs
begat June cycles and May runs
begat May cycles in future runs.
Lack of rainfall in September had
no influence on June runs because
those early eggs were planted natur
ally and had nothing to do with the
late run of salmon.)
“The dry spell was followed by
heavy rains during the remained
of October which likely washed out
what few weak humpies entered
the sereams. (Ed. note—It would
take a scientist to figure out how
any ‘weak humpies’ managed to live
until October to get into the spawn
ing areas.)
“In the Juneau district, on the
contrary, there was a uniform rain
fall, allowing the salmon to reach
the spawning grounds. During Sep
tember there was 8% inches of rain
in the Juneau district as against
three inches in the Ketchikan dis
trict for that month. In the Juneau
district also, was uniform rainfall
during the early part of October,
when there was none in the Ketchi
kan district. —(Editor's note—So!
How then would Doctor Gilbert ex
plain the failure of the salmon run
in the Bristol Bay area—the Nushl
gak district being a total failure
96,000 cases in that area this year
as against 500,000 cases last year?
While in the same area but another
district, Kvichak-Naknek, put up
76 per cent of this year’s pack.
Perhaps on the one side of Bristol
Bay they had a “heavy, uniform
rainfall while across the bav drouth
set in during the October month.,
two or three months after the sal
mon had spawned and were dead.)
“Mr. Gilbert i8 doubtful if there
will be any heavy run of humpiea
in the Ketchikan district this fall
and in his opinion he is supported
by Henry O’Malley.
Webster— DOUBTFUL — Admit
ting of doubt; not obvious, clear or
certain. Characterized by ambigui
ty, dubious; not settled in opinion;
undetermined; of uncertain issue
or event; syn. wavering; vacillating,
hesitating, distrustful, uncertain,
problematical, questionable .equivo
cal: ambiguous. That just describes
the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries.—but
the practical fishermen everywhere
have no doubt in their minds that
the salmon runs this year are all
shot to kingdom come. Salmon
will come, yes, but never again as
they came twenty, fifteen even ten
years ago.
"Stacked Cards”-Bu
reau Presumes Guilt
The Bureau of Fisheries boat
the Widgeon arrived in port this
morning to file complaint against
John Mattson and Ole Benjamin for
alleged violation of fishery laws.
The men had gone into Gutt Bay to
anchor when the Widgeon came up
to them; seing some fish on the
boats ordered them to report to the
U. S. Commissioner at Petersburg.
Rather than go to the heavy ex
pense of fighting the case, the men
plead guilty and were fined $5. each.
Gillnetting is permittednorth of
58 which includes this section in
which tne men were anchored ex
cept that Gutt Bay is a closed area.
Under the charges brought forth it
is now presumed that a boat may
not anchor in the Narrows with fish
and gear on board, else a repre
sentative of the Bureau come along
and arrest the boat for“illegal fish
ing” in the Narrows. No wonder
the Bureau is in bad!
Surveys Planned
For Alaska Border
Plans are under way to make In
ternational surveys along portions
of the border between Alask -
Canada, according to recent an
nouncement made by Roy Griffin,
editor of the Coast and Geodetic,
Survty. The Director of the Coast
and Geodetic Survey, Col. Lester E
Jones, toured Alaska recently with
an official of the Canadian Marine
Department.
Colonel Joneg made the trip along
the boundary betwten Alaska and
British Columbia to investigate the
matter of surveying in the vicinity
of Cape Muzon, at the southern end
of Dali Island, close to the nterna
tional boundary.
Wrangell hopes to have another
bond election—not wishing them
more taxes, hope they get the laeue.