iXSSrttf
VOL. 4.
PETERSBURG, ALASKA, FEBRUARY 28, 1930
. Spring Fever and
Speedboats
-x
Spring fever is all the same
the world over though it may
manifest itself in divers forms.
The frost is much too deep to
prospect for fish worms and the
few mild sunny days this week
have not encouraged any frogs
to sing, nor brought back the
robins nor set the bees hum
ming, but a lot of the fellows
' have been tuning up their out
boar dmotors and the air has
been full of a humming that is
even more musical in some ears
Some challenging additions to
the mosquito fleet are to be
brought out this spring. Two
new seasleds of exceptionally
sweet lines are being built in
McKee’s shop and practically
ready for the water are the
Sealion built and owned C. W.
and M. McKee, and the “Donna
B.” by F. R. Havens. Another
serious contender for outboard
honors for 1930 is the regulation
hydroplane model hull which is
being built by Art Peterson in
the Packing Company’s carpen
ter shop. The hull is 18 feet long
by 5 feet beam, and will be pow
ered with a Johnson “32.”
All these boats are beauties in
type and workmanship—no less,
and the old guard is looking on
with fear and trembling for
their laurels with the exception
of Claude Roundtree redoubtable
skipper of the “Izzie” who is
coming out this spring with a
35 Elto Quad and hurls defiance
to all comers.
City Caucas
-x
The city caucus, ordered by
the City Council to be held on
the 24th of February was held
in the City Hall, Monday even
ing. The following were nomi
nated:
.. For Mayor:
E. N. Ohmer, incumbent.
For Council:
Jacob Hanseth, (term expires)
T. S. Elsemore, Chris Gronseth,
(term expires), Andrew John
son, (term expires,), Ed Lock
en, A. B. Holt, Jonas Olson. Ras
mus Enge? Russell York.
For School Board (3 years):
Eric Ness, Mrs. Harold Lee,
Mrs. T. S. Elsemore, Rev. W. J.
Maakestad, Mrs. Tveten, Dr.
Rude, Ed Locken,
One year Vacancy:
Mrs. Tveten, Rev. Maakestad.
C. O. Parks, Mrs. Ole Husvik,
Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Clausen,
Mrs. R. M. Allen.
QUEER ACCIDENT
-o
James Brice, negro of Rich
mond; Va., was sawing wood re
cently in a vacant lot.
The balance wheel snapped
with the saw running at high
speed. The saw sailed away in
the air clearing a two-story
church and two small houses,
then plunged through the roof
ot a third house striking a col
ored .woman, severing her face
and half her head from her
shoulders, then buried itself in
the ground under the house.
Mabel Walker Willebrandt
former Assistant Attorney Gen
eral, 'was arrested and fined for
speeding* in Washington, D. C.
-o
John C. McBride has been re
nominated for a third term as
Collector of Customs for Alaska.
“Judge” Soaks ’Em
At Firemen's Bali
The hard-times dance given
by the Firemen last Saturday
was one of the most successful
social evenings given in Peters
burg in many a moon. The af
fair, given to secure funds for
additional equipment, gave a
neat financial return.
The dance announced as a
“hard-times” affair, advised all
comers that ordinary 'working
| clothes did not indicate hard
I times. Many a fine was collect
| ed on this score by Judge E. N.
Olnner. Robert Allen was mar
shall and had as chief deputy,
Tryg Strom. When some of the
liombres got too tough and were
hard boiled enough for several
marshals, Gus Isaacson was
sworn in and he made a mar
shal that could be the envy of
1 ne territory. Almost every man
in the house was arrested and
I made to pay fines.
Pete Lund was the only one to
land in the hoosegow; it took
three marshals and two depu
ties to land John Molver before
; the judge; Haaken Berg broke
jail and was the only one brot
before the judge in the joy wag
j on; MacKecknie’s Scotch was up
' and there were hardly enough
i Irish to bring him before the
j court. After the dance was ov
er, the jailors picked up an as
sortment of rags (costumes)
! that even an old rag man would
have turned up* his nose at.
The music was furnished by
the Hanson Dance Orchestra:
Paul Tveten, piano, Paul Cook,
^UAU“
cornet, vvnuaiu .Dancy,
phone, Andrew Hanson, drums.
The music was the best heard in
a long time at any local dance.
PORT IS BUSY
-x
Petersburg has been a busy
port the last few days. The hali
but fleet, after hibernating dur
ing the long close season, made
longer by the voluntary action
of the fishermen, has sprung in
to new life and vigor like Alas
kan bears in the spring. Loads
of halibut gear line the streets,
the cold storage plant is doing
a land office business in ice and
bait, and the merchants are
yarding out grub for the first
trip of the season. Not one
boat cleared for the banks ahead
of the time agreed upon, altho
iegally the season has been open
for nearly two weeks. This be
speaks a thorough organization
and a commendable esprit de
corps which augers well the suc
icess of one of our principle in
; dustries.
|
__
Captain Graham, master of
! the Admiral Benson wrecked on
the Columbia River bar last
i
week, has been suspended for six
! months by the Steamboat In
I specters. Capt. Graham is
! known in Alaska waters as First
Mate of the Admiral Watson and
lately as Capt. of the Admiral
Evans.
-x
Five death penalties were pro
nounced on one individual in a
[California court. Armondo Bol
j rnires was convicted of killing
I five persons. Under the law he
! is sentenced to death for each
murder.
-x
Would you like to know what
happened to Jones?
y
Local Fishmen
Organize Co-op
Insurance Co.
-X
Before leaving for the fishing
banks, tiie local halibut boat
owners organized and put into
operation a mutual or co-operat
v insurance plan known as the
Petersburg Vessel Owners Mu
■ Protective' Fund. The or
ganization is not incorporated
nd there is no stock. The fund
;,s created by the assessment of
f i annual premium equal to five
per cent of the appraised valua
tion of the boat and is disbursed
omy in case of a loss of fifty-one
nor cent or more of total valua
tion.
It is planned that in case of
;.OiS, fifty per cent will be ad
usied immediately provided
there is sufficient money in the
fund to cover and the balance
i at the end of the year, the
association not being liable at
any time for more than the to
nal funds on hand. Owners of
jail classes of boats are eligible
!for membership in the organiza
tion. Ehrling Johansen is the
jsecretary and treasurer, and the
| fund is administered by a board
' of trustees consisting of Jonas
iQ son, Andrew Johnson and An
iclrew Mathiesen. who will also
act as appraisers.
[“No Profit In
T“° * f » ft
r isneries
Recent statement by the Pa
cific Fisherman indicated that
there was no value in the fish
' cries of Alaska. The following
1 press report is therefore inter
j esting but cannot be true ac
jcording to that publication.
! ‘‘The Alaska Packers’ Asso
jciaf.cn reports net profits from
insurance fund, miscellaneous
earning and cannery operations
as $749,148 after all charges and
:ccieral tax, equivalent to $13.02
a share on 57,508 shares of $100
par common stock outstanding.
This compares with a net profit
of $751,458 for 1923 or $13.08 on
the same number of shares.
-x
COM. CLUB ASK FOB LONGER
SEASON
The Ketchikan Commercial
Club in its recent meeting again
made an appeal to Commissioner
of Fisheries Henry O’Malley to
engthen the trolling season for
rollers enent his refusal to abol
ish the close season after Aug
ust fifth.
Ketchikan has bumped a hard
winter and sees mor of them in
the future if the regulations are
uot eased up so that the trollers
will not be compelled to lose one
i third of the year by close season.
Orders for Sitka spruce seed
ar being filled by the U. S. Forest
Service at the Juneau office. It
brings $-0 per pound Already
orders from Copenhagen, Berlin,
Iceland and eastern portions of
the United States have been fill
ed. They are being used to for
promoting natural growth and
for experimental purposes.
-x
Nicholas Murray Butler, presi
dent of Columbia University,
appearing before the Senate
Committee demanded that the
18th Amendment be repealed.
San Juan Buys
Todd Cannery
_
August Buschmann has sold
his interest in the Peril Strait
Packing Company, at Todd, Peril
Straits, to the San Juan Fishing
and Packing Company. Nick
! Bez, who was associated with Pdr.
i Buschmann in the plant retain
| ed his interest
Mr. Bez, who had charge of
the operations of the plant will
continue in the same capacity.
He is expected at the plant the
j first week of April.
Mr. Buschmann retains hold
ings in the Hood Bay Canning
| Campany and the Pyramid
(Packing Company at Sitka.
Will Contest
Non-Resident
I Fish Tax
| The constitutionality of the
i non-resident trollers’ tax of
Alaska was attacked in a suit
hied in the United States Dis
1 trict Court by Lund and Lund,
of Seattle in which it is sought
I to enjoin the Territory from en
I forcing the tax. H. L. Faulkner
'of Juneau is associated with the
(Seattle law firm in the case.
This action is started under
direction of the Seattle Power
> Trollers’ Association and financ
' ed by t hem.
Tprvitnriol ti-ocicnvpv ir
enjoined by the action from col
lecting the tax. Attorney Gen
eral Rustgard will defend the in
terests of the Territory and ex
pects an early conclus n of the
case.
-x
OLD TIMER CHECKS OCT
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Notice has just been received
of the death of Gus Lehner in
Port Townsend a few days ago.
Mr. Lehner was taken to the U.
P. Marine Hospital at Port
Townsend, for treatment but
survived only a few days.
The deceased has been a resi
dent of Wrangell and Peters
bui g for more than thirty years,
'during which time he has engag
ed in fishing and logging. He is
| survived by a brother in Wash
ington who will probably attend
'to admnistration matters.
Herring Pack Near
Seidovia Minus
_ *
Owing to the complete failure
of the herring pack in the Sel
| dovia district, reliable informa
I tion received here .(Seward) .is
; that 22 Indian,children are be
ing fed at Seidovia in a soup
line instituted by the Seidovia
LT. S. Deputy Marshal.
It is reported here (Seward)
that to date only six barrels of
! herring have been packed in
the Cook Inlet district. In pre
vious years, thousands of bar
rels have been packed.—Juneau
EMPIRE.
The case of John Sarri versus
(Sawyer-Reynolds Logging Com
pany resulted in a verdict for
the plaintiff. He was awarded
damages in the sum of $1200.
MacGregor Is
I Installing
Fhoiophone
B. D. Goss, installing engineer
lor Radio Corporation of Ameri
|Ca “Photophone” projecting
; equipment arrived in Petersburg
I this week ancl is directing such
| alterations as may be necessary
, m order to convert The Mac
Gregor Theatre into a genuinely
firs t class, up-to-the- minute
; sound projecting auditorium.
: Very slight changes in the plans
,and arrangements of the stage
land projecting room were found
| to be necessary and while no
; definite date for the opening is
! announced Mr. MacGregor states
| that the latter part of the com
ing week should see the wiring
and installation completed.
What is claimed to be the very
latest thing in the way of sound
■producing screens, known as the
I Walker screen is already in place
■ —perhaps the only one of its
i kind in the territory
As to the merits of the R.C.A.
Phctophone equipment, Mr.
MacGregoi quotes from Harrison
; Weekly, national authority on
;reproducing equipment as fol
lows:
I “If I owned a theatre and I
decided to install one of the two
'major equipments, Western Elec
| trie or R. C. A. and R. C. A. Pho
lophone demanded full price
•*rnd Western Electric offered
| free installation, I would install
jR. C. A., as it is the best equip
riiont in tho wrvrlH
-X
STAGING COMEBACK
j Charlie Burckhardt, at one
| time head of the Alaska Consol -
| idated Canneries, operating a
! large number of canneries in
j Southeast Alaska, has purchased
j the Burnett Inlet Cannery, in
(Clarence Straits.
TRYING TO SHUFFLE POLITIC
1CAL CARDS
Robert Sommers, Highway
Engineer and candidate for re
election on the Democratic tick
et, is in Ketchikan trying to in
duce Hesse, another Democratic
candidate for the same office to
withdraw from the race for the
same office in order that the
Democrats might get into the
t Republican primaries in support
jo*f John Rustgard, candidate for
Delegate to Congress.
It has not occurred to Bob that
ne might sacrifice himself. Hesse
is a bona fide candidate without
I any strings and is going in to
| win. The Demo-Federal brigade
I? re said to be in a political quag
mire and unable to find a way
lout.
SCARCITY OF FURS
Trappers of the upper Tana
na have found slim pickings in
| the game country this winter.
They blame complete disappear
ance of fur bearing animals to
the wolves which are said to be
jcoming more plentiful in that
section.
--x
j Southrn New Foundland was
; wept by a southeast gale last
Friday. Three men perished and
100,000 damage reported.
—
Delegate Suth rland has in
troduced a bill to revise the
Alaska Game Law‘to strengthen
enforcement, and proposing
several changes.
Knight Will Be
In Town
Frank L. Knight, of Anchor
age, candidate for Territorial
Treasurer on the Republican
ticket spent several days in the
First City and will arrive on the
Northland due in Ketchikan to
day.
I Mr. Knight is a member of the
i Conductor’s Union on the Alas
ka Railroad, which is affiliated
iv/ith the American Federation.
I As a guest of the Ketchikan
: Camp of the Alaska Native Bro
jtherhood he was called upon to
i; ddress the Camp. He declared
[that he had joined a labor or
Iganization just as soon as he was
old enough to do so and has re
mained an active member ever
j since. Nothing can be gained,
he asserted, by the working class
without fighting and that to an
organization working for the
betterment of labor conditions, a
newspaper was indispensible. He
commended the Brotherhood on
it policy.
Rev. Sam G. Davis, Presbyteri
an pastor at Kasaan, pictured
she condition of the natives of
Alaska ten years ago and en
| ccuraged them to hold forth in
their effort to uplift their race
Jrom the bogs of ignorance and
out of the condition of servitude
to the trap system. George Hal
dane of Hydaburg gave a brief
History of the organizations at
Hydaburg, Klawock and Craig,
all three of which camps he was
instrumental in organizing.
Senator .Tnnp« nf Wochinut/in
Las asked for a tariff of five dol
lars a thousand on lumber.
I Lomen Steal Rein
deer, Is Charged.
C. L. Andrews filed a com
plaint with the United States
Department of the Interior,
Lomen Reindeer Corporation
with taking thousands of rein
deer from Alaska natives “with
out their consent.”
Andrews declares that the Lo
men organization persuaded the
natives to let it manage their
reindeer herd oy including them
with its own, then arbitrarily
fixed a price of 13 a head, and is
I ( barging the Eskimos more
than $1 a year for the so-called
herding privilege.
Andrews has asked the gov
ernment to separate the herds
and return to the Eskimos their
stock.
Carl Lomen, head of the Lo
men company denies the accu
sation and declares that An
drews had reached his facts
wrong, therefore had reached a
wrong conclusion.
POPULAR CAFE CHANGES
HANDS
-o
By a deal consummated a few
days ago, Louis Tenfjord closed
out all his interest in the Grand
Cafe to Charles Greenaa and
Frank Estrada. This is an old
established good eats house in a
favorite location and the new
proprietors will conduct the
i business under the same name,
i Mr. Greenaa is proprietor of the
j Sanitary Market and Mr. Estra
da was previously employed as
; chef in the Grand where he has
jmade for himself an enviable
I reputation.