VOL. 2
PETERSBURG, ALASKA DECEMBER 2, 1927
NO. 21
Seeking Federal
Aid
Within a month, probably, the*.
will be a conference at Washington,
D. C. to formulate plans for a con
gressional campaign to bring an ex
tension of the Hatch, Adams and
Purnell acts to the Territories of
Alaska and Hawaii. This confer
ence will be attended by Governor
Farrington, of Hawaii, Governor
George A. Parks of Alaska, Delegate
Husten of Hawaii, Delegate Suth
erland of Alaska, President Craw
ford of the University of Hawaii,
President C. E. Bunnel of the Alas
ka College and School of Mines,
Congressman Albert H. Vestal of
Indiana and other members of Con
gress. A bill will be introduced in
Congress and it is hoped that the
territorial colleges will be placed on
the same basis as the land-grant col
leges of the State3. If so, they will
be in a position to receive the Fed
eral aid as provided by the Hatch,
Adams and Purnel Acta. This
amounts to $90,000 annually for the
carrying on of agricultural experi
mental work.
Beat Unalga Crew
Monday evening the basket ball
contingent of the U. S. S. Unalga
came ashore t odo battle wih the
local high schocl team. The visit
ors put up a very good game of ball,
but luck and their equal in ability
was rather against them, and they
lost out by 16 to 25. The game
was played in the Sons of Norway
Hall and was witnessed by a goodly
number of basketball fans. After
the ball game there was a nice dance
to music from an orchestra made
up of musicians from the Unalga
and from shore. In all it was an
enjoyable evening. Come some
more, Unalga.
ARE PROBABLY LOST
On the 9th of November the gas
boat Mary Lee, with two men
onboard left Valdez, and on the 19th
the vessel was found wrecked near
Shoup Bay. There has been no trace
of A .deHart and Henry Belgrave,
who sailed on her, although a search
has been going on for some time.
Proposition Endorsed
The International Fisheries Com
mission of Prince Rupert has en
dorsed the proposal of the Ketchi
kan fishermen bearing on the exten
sion of the halibut closed season
from November 1st to March 1st.
Local fishermen were In favor of
closing the banks off Massett fre
quented by chicken halibut. Also
favored the continued use of the
standard sized hooks. Claimed that
the smaller type of hook is not bene
ficial to general fishing conditions.
I -
.Shop Early, Avoid the Rush. . . .
Right After The
Nomination
Bartley Howard, candidate for the
Republican nomination for Delegate
to Congress, is out with his nose to
the ground and he claims that the
scent, so far, leads right to the con
gressional halls in Washington. Mr
Howard thinks that a majority of
the vote3 of Alaska are going to
float his way and opines that Alas
kans in general have had too much
politics. How Mr. Howard expects
to reach the office he visions outside
of politics, he doesn’t say. How
ever, this is a fair opportunity fot
the candidate to try out his scheme.
PUT AWAY YOUR DEER GUNS
November 30 wound up the deer
season for 1927. For nine months,
now. you will have to keep your
ritle greased and stored apay so
far as deer are concerned. It is to
be hoped that the winter, severe as
it is already, won't be so destructive
to the rnowlch tribe as was the win
ter of three years back when bo
many starved and froze throughout
practically all of Southeastern Alas
ka.
Dead and Owing Lots
John Treadwell died in New York
the other day at the age of 85. He
was the purchaser and developer of
the Treadwell mine, Douglas Island,
near Juneau. His death waa caused
by heart trouble. Since 1914 he has
lived at the Northern Hotel, New
York, and about that time he filed
a voluntary petition in bankruptcy
listing his liabilities at $2,391,000
NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE
AMERICAN FEDERATION LABOR
Orgonized at Fairbanks about a
week ago was a Federal Business
Association. This organization is
gotten up to “bring about a cloter
acquaintance of oiflclala of the van
ous branches of the government
with a view to mutually asaist in
the efficient and economical carryinf
on of government business." There
i3 a similar organization at Ju
neau and the Federal Business ass
ociation is general throughout the
United States.
In Race With Death
And Lost
Jack Northe, Indian, shot him
self in the knee about two weeks
ago while hunting in the vicinity of
Tanana Crossing. An endeavor was
made to get the wounded man to
Fairbanks. He was first carried on
a dog sled to McCarty Road House,
then by stage to the Tanana River,
then across the stream in a poling
boat and then in an automobile to
ward Fairbanks. The automobile,
crossing a flooded district, broke
through the ice and stuck. Northe
was unconscious at this time and
while the driver was away for help
to release the car, the thing caught
fire and all that was left of the crip
pled passenger were blackened
bones, and of the car naught but
the iron work. As John Brown, the
driver, left the machine running to
keep the car warm, it la thought
that there was a back fire that start
ed the blaze.
BLOODY REVOLT
On November 25th, 2,000 con
victs revolted in the Folsom, Calif
ornia, prison. State troops arriv
ing on the scene put an end to the
war between prison guards and pris
oners. After the smoke had clear
ed away it was found that two
guards and nine convicts had been
killed. Sixteen prisoners were
wounded.
BACK TO THE STARTING POINT
James E. Ryder who, not so long
ego, was city clerk and police magis
trate at Fairbanks, is back to where
he started from early in November.
He was arrested at Wrangell when
the S. S. Yukon pulled in there No
vember 16th, on a wire from Fair
banks charging the traveler with
etrbazzlement of city funds. Ryder
was taken back by U. S. Marshal W |
H. Caswell.
. .Do yonr CSkHktnsa Whopping Now.
With The Petersburg
Chamber ot Commerce
Well, folk, it was one of those
affairs where “A good time was had
by all.” The feed was good and
theiv was a whole lot of wa-wa.
Seemingly, a considerable of the
time was taken up in panning THE
ALASKAN.
As to Legitimate Business
Communication from the Wran
gell Commercial Club bearing on tho
herring situation and a return of the
petition relative thereto were gone
over and filed. The petition was
signed by 215 loyal folk, and this
speaks well of the rustlers out Wran
gell way.
The Game Commission, Juneau
was wired as to some method of
taking care of and protecting deer
this winter. Since the winter, so
far, looks really worse than the win
ter, three years back, it was consid
ered that right now was a good time
to make provisions for keeping the
game alive.
RELATIVE TO GAME AND FISH
In the matter of stocking Crystal
Lake with some species of hardy
trout, a request was made of the
Bureau of Fisheries bearing on se
lection and the stocking of the lake.
It was reported that the petition
in circulation around the town—in
connection with the herring mat
ter—was being well filled up and
would be completed within a day or
BO,
LIGHT HOUSE DEPARTMENT
Relative to the marking of Mitch
ei Reef, word was received from the
Light House Department that the
Club’s communications had been
read and filed and that very likely
the suggestions of the commercial
body would be followed.
ADVERTISING
The Committee on Advertising re
ported that they were making head
way that was encouraging. There
was considreable to do in the way
of gathering material, pictures, data
and so on, but progress was favor
able.
Harbor Dredging
A's to the local harbor situation,
it was found that practically all of
the necessary material had been
gathered and in shape to be clear
ly understood by those who event
ually would have to refer to it in
placing our harbor needs before the
proper authorities.
SWANSON RESIGNS
Mayor C. E. Swanson, delegated
of the Club to represent the needs
For 2190 Days
. .That is a long time in duress, but
it looks as if Mr. Gaustad will have
to knuckle down to it. O. P. Gaus
tad, who in 1915 was a member
of the Senate from Fairbanks, was
later appointed as receiver of the
defunct Washington-Alaska bank.
And as receiver he handled consid
erable money, some of which, it is
alleged and apparently proved, stuck
to his fingers. This was bad busi
ness and it is going to cost the ex
senator many moons of freedom.
He was sentenced the other day, by
Judge E. Coke Hill to serve six
years in the penetentiary at McNiel
Island. Motion for a new trial was
denied.
SEAL SKIN SALE
. . 10,000 seal skins from the Pribi
lof Islands were recently disposed
of at the St. Louis Fur auctions
which brought the United .States
Government fSM,4S4 gross.
i of I he city in its endeavors toward
harbor betterment at Washington, D
C., turned down the proposition and
refused to go.
Secretary Resigns
F. R. Havens, who has been the
Club’s secretary for some time, and
rustler on the job all the way thru,
took exception to criticisms made
by Mr. Elsemore, president of the
Club, and turned in his resignation.
Editorial Note.—To those who
have an idea that the policy of THE
ALASKAN and th editorials therein
i are suggested, governed or dictated
by any one outside of the immedi
ate staff of the publication, we’ll re
mark that they're smelling down the
wrong hole or barking up the wrong
tree. By innuendo and innsinua
tion and by direct accusation, one
was led to believe at the last meet
ing of the Commercial Club that
Bert Cornelius, Dr. Standard and
others were either writing the edit
orial pages or dictating the subject
matter. This is a direct falsehood.
It doesn’t cut any ice what some
of the members think of THe ALAS
KAN. This print is here for the bet
terment of the town and vicinity as
a whole and not for any particular
clique, clan, boss nor town czar.
Those who desire to run this burg
for their own particular benefit, ir
respective of the wishes of the tax
payers, long time citizens, business
men and the rank and file of us,
are going to run up against the op
posing power of this sheet, be that
little or grea.
When we print anything, you may
be sure we have, somewhere, tuck
ed away a proper and sound back
ing for it. Mistakes are made, of
course, but we’re taking pretty good
care that we’re not going off half
cocked.
What we have said relative to the
undesirabelness of Mr. Swanson, a3
a harbor delegate to Washington
still holds, albeit we have nothing
against Mr. Swanson, personally.
It is to be expected that Ed Lock
en will bawl us out at every oppor
tunity. He did so Wednesday. We
wonder if the gentleman, forgets
about the time—a year back, last
November,—when he came into THE
ALASKAN office and begged a pub
licity truce. We have held ours.
Mr. Locken may have something
coming. It is an old axiom that
people living in glass houses should
never undress.
One Of The Aftermaths
What does the Electric Light and
Power (?- Company of Petersburg
think of it now? It may dawn on
the manipulators of electric energy,
some time, that they can’t close
down industrial communities with
impunity.
un top of being compelled to
send to Seattle for box maerial thru
the know-it-all system and hide
bound narrowness of the Electric
Light and Power Company (?) of
Petersburg, comes, the Road Com
mission with a complaint that it
doesn’t propose to use up energy,
labor and money on road building
and then have all that has been
done nullified by the juvenile tac
tics of the local switch pullers
I_
The halibut schooner Tatoosh put
in a very profitable season along the
halibut banks. The vessel and crew
are ahead $3,700 each, (crew of
six- in 12 trips to the fishing
grounds.
New Regulations
For Salmon
A statement through the air the
other night quoting Henry O’Mal
ley to the effect that all salmon
traps are to be eliminated from bays
and. entrances thereto. Seine3 are
pared down from 250 fathom
lengths to 200 fathoms, and a re
duction in depths from 300 three
and one-half Inch meshes to 250.
An opening date is to be establish
ed before which fishing operations
will be prohibited. A copy of the
new regulations is to come out in
December. The trap closed areas
include, with bays and bay entranc
es, estuarie3 and fish passages. The
fish regulations will be for 1928
and the above bears directly on
Southeastern Alaska.
THEY THINK DISCRIMINATION
Independent trap owners have an
idea that the plan of the salmon
packers, as given to Commissioner
O’Malley, November 23rd, bars 75
per cent of the independent traps
as against 25 per cent of the traps
that are cannery owned. At a re
cent meeting of the independent
trap owners a resolution was adopt
ed demanding a two mile separation
of trap3 or a 72 hour closed period
weekly with a full year season.
The Northwestern In
The Northwestern (Alaska Steam
ship Company) came up to and land
ed at the Citizen’s dock, Wednesday
as gently as if the big boat were
but a canoe. Captain Aug. Norde
was the ship’s skipper this time
and it records his first landing in
10 years. It is quite evident that
the old mariner had not forgotten
the tidal idiosyncracies, shifts of
currents and whirl of eddies for he
brought his vessel along side the
wharf as if the water around the
ship were as quiet as a rain pond.
After a brief stay the Northwestern
pulled out to the south’ard through
the Narrows. Those who sailed on
her as passengers were: Joe Solden,
Mrs. William H. Lewis, Mrs. Wil
liam C. Lewis and baby, Mrs. W.
Ball, Kramer Ball, H. F. Preston,
Ole Scarbo, W. Walthers, (New
England Fish Company-, Sigurd
Wanl, Peter Wahl, K. Chunky, J
M. Nelson. This is the Northwest
ern’s 290th voyage. i
WANTS TO GO TO THE
TERRITORIAL SENATE
Charles J. Goodall, well known in
and around Cordova, will be a can
didate in the April primaries for
the Republican nomination for the
Territorial Senate from the Third
District.
There is a report out that Dr.
Chase wants to be one of the dele
gates to the Republican National
Convention. The Doctor is from
around Cordova, too.
TOO MUCH SNOW
Monday afternoon, with a heavy
cargo of winter’s fleece covering her,
the M. S. Esther, lying at the Citi
zen’s dock, took a list to port and
commenced to fill. After removing
a portion of her heavy load of snow,
the boat was moved in on the grid
irons and the water taken out of
her. ;
flOO. PER PAIR
A mink breeder of Anchorage re
ceived an order the other day for
40 pairs of mink. The order was
declined although the price is
ranging now around $100. per pair.
A RESTESL ISLAND
i
Commander James Hottel of the
Coast Guard Cutter Northland
states that after careful astronomi
cal observations he has found that
Bugoslav Islnd, to the westward,
has shifted its position four miles
south and a mile east of its chart
ed position. The last official visit
to teh island was in 1907. The
call of the Northland finds no chan
nel no wbetween Castle Rock ana
Grewingk, and near a juik of 17a
fet above the sea level n ariseD
from original soundings of a thou
sand fahtoms of water.
Not Obliged To Save
Last August, on the private yacht
of F. Creigh Nelson which, at the
time, wag lying at anchor in Lake
Union, Seattle, here was a party.
One of the party was Miss Violet M
PayDe. When the party broke up,
Mi3s Payne fell overboard as she
was goig ashore and, apparently,
nothing was done to save her and
she drowned alongside the yacht.
The State took up the matter and
Mr. Nelson and the boat’s captain
Amory F. Bell, were arrested on a
charge of manslaughter for the
death of Miss Payne.
Here is what Judge Kinne of the
Superior Court said in the case in
the instructions to the jury, and a
charge to bring in a verdict of not
guilty.
“I would be a moral coward if 1
shirked my plain responsibility in
this matter. There was no moral
obiigaion on the part of the defend
ants to save the life of Miss Violet
M. Payne.”
Well, that’s that, but God has no
love for cowards.
It May Be From Tepee
To Whitehouse
In honor of a fellow tribesman,
the Kaw Indians in Oklahoma have
formed the first Curtis-for Presi
dent Club. Senator Curtis of Kan
sas has been proud of his Indian lin
eage. His great-grandfather was a
fullblood Kaw Indian, whose
daughter married a French trader.
Their daughter, in turn married a
Curtis of New England, father of
the Senator.
The career of Senator Curtis is
further attestatiou that the repub
lie and opportunity are synonymous
His childish recollections are of re
servation, of tepee life. But out
of that environment and the life
o fthe Rough Rider he turued to
an education, to work as a newspa
per reporter and the law.
He seized his opportunity and has
risen to eminence in the United
States Senate, wrhere he i3 the ack
nowledged leader of the Republic
an party.
It is a long cry from the side
walks of Ne wYork to the plains
of Kansas; it is a far cry from
Governor Smith to Senator Curtis.
One is a sachem in Tammany, an
imitation political Indian; the oth
er a member of a real tribe of red
men. It would be a romantic epi
sode in the political life of this coun
try if these men should be chosen
by two great parties to be their
standard bearers in 1928.
Dr. Firestone arrived in Peters
burg on the U. S. S. Unalga, Mon
day afternoon, and accompanied by
the ship’s surgeon, visited the U. S.
Bureau School. Dr. Fire3tono
made a general medical survey of
the school children and of those
adults in need of professional at
tention. The Doctor will be again
in the city when the U. S. M. s.
Boxer arrives.