VOL. 4.
PETERSBURG, ALASKA, MAY 9, 19?0
No.46
Duty on Fish Will Hit Trolling Fleet
On Sound and Coast; New Ruling
Duty is assessed on fish that
is brought into American ports
by alien-owned vessels according
; o recent telegraphic instructions
from Washington. This is in
line with action taken concern
ing vessels of less than five tons
net assigned identification num
bers under the Act of June 7,
1918, which have been engaged
on the* high seas off Cape Flat
tery and selling their catch at
Neah Bay.
Information has reached the
Oregon officials that boats which
heretofore fished in Alaskan
waters will head south instead
of north this year and will fish
in the vicinity of the Columbia
River and the practice as to du
ties will be made uniform in the
two districts. I
It is held by the authorities
that salmon or other fish caught
and imported under the circum
stances should be treated as du
tiable at the rates prescribed in
the tariff act, unless satisfactory
evidence is presented that the
fish are entitled to admission
free of duty as the product of
American fisheries, under para
graph 1630 of the tariff act and
Judge Thomas Dies
At Wrangell
United Spates Commissioner
W. G. Thomas of Wrangell, died
in the Wrangell General Hospital
Monday morning following a
brief illness.
Funeral services were held in
the Presbyterian Church, Rev.
Robert J. Diven, D. D. officiating.
For more than fifty years ‘"Bil
ly” Thomas was a resident of
Alaska, coming up during the
early gold rush in the Cassiar
country. For a number of years
he handled the pack trains in
the Interior then he returned to
Wrangell where he has resided
continuoush'. After passing the
prime of his life he married a
former Presbyterian missionary
at Wrangell. After a few brief
years together, she died and in
the twilight years of his life he
again was married and is surviv
ed by his widow.
For many years Mr. Thomas
was United States Commission
er at Wrangell He was a mem
ber of the Petersburg Lodge F.
’ & A. M.
i
F. R. Havens Master of the Pe
tersburg Lodge, Ed Locken, F.
Nelson, Wavne- Walther, Bert
Cornelius, Richard Miller, Eric
Ness, J. L. MacKecknie, Ole Ek
rem and Knute Stenslid, went to
Wrangell on the gasboat Laddie.
At the graveside the Masonic rit
ualistic ceremony was given ov-;
er the last remains of a departed
brother.
v i
Mr. Thomas had many friends,
new and old. in Wrangell and
a large crowd of them attended
the last rites in the church and
at the cemetery.
Beginning next Wednesday,
-x
the crab cannery will be closed
for two weeks.
The Lighthouse tender Cedar
was in the Narrows this week re
placing some spars and other
aids to navigation.
article 449 of the customs regu
lations; that the vessel is owned
by and in charge of an Ameri
can and operated for account of
an American citizen or corpora
tion. The employment of aliens
in the crew would not bar free
entry of fish.
Also, it is recited such vessels
owned by, or chartered to, or op
erated for account of aliens or
persons who have declared their
intentions but have not complet
ed their American citizenship,
and vessels in charge of such
persons are excluded from the
privilege of bringing in free of
duty fish caught on the high seas
or in foreign waters.
The suggestion is made by the
customs officials that it would be
advisable for all operators to
carry documentary evidence
to establish the status of the ves
sel and the person in charge
where free entry of fish is claim
ed. Fish buyers, it is stated may
become liable for the duties on
fish which are brought in with
out payment of duty and which
investigation discloses are not
entitled to free duty.
HITTING AT THE ROOT
Clint W. Hager, United States
attorney in Atlanta is advocating
legislation which will deny to
physicians who are dope addicts
or who have been convicted of a
narcotic crime the right to dis
pense narcotic drugs. Testimony
before Congress reveals there are
approximately 2,000 addicts who,
under existing federal laws, must
be allowed to prescribe and dis
pense narcotics.
Petersburg In Line
For Bad Bumps
Canada is on tne eve oi a tar
iff war with the United States,
according to President Woods of
the Canadian Chamber of Com
merce, speaking before the Hali
fax Board of Trade. He declared
that the American Chamber of
Commerce was well aware of the
impending economic contest and
expressed faith that Canadians
will “be able to meet every chal
lenge and hold their own in any
combat that their good friends
and neighbors to the south may
care to seek.”
One of the tariff items that is
a part of the “friendly argu
ment” is the 5-cent duty asked
on halibut. Just what the “com
bat” will lead to is food for
thought of every fisherman.
BIG RUN ON WILLAMETTE
-x
Reports from Portland, Oregon
indicate a heavy run of Chin
ook salmon in the Willamette
River. The fish were noted pass
ing up fish ladders at Oregon
City.
A NICE YOUNG COUPLE
.. Over in . Belgrade, . Abraham
Goyan, 108, village butcher, and
father of ten, married a thirty
year-old bride on the 82nd anni
versary of his first wedding. ...
—-x
..Ed Johnson brought in 2400
pounds of trout.
1 Anchorage to Get High
Power Radio Station
Anchorage is to be restored to
a place on the wireless map of
Alaska according to a statement
made by Lieut. Col. Frank Grif
fin, officer in charge of the
Washington-Alaska Cable and
Telegraph pystem. It Is the in
tention of the government to es
tablish a modern wireless station
in Anchorage to cooperate with
the Alaska system and a suffi
ciently powerful to maintain
communication with the states.
It is not stated when the station
will be installed or exactly
where it will be located but it is
reported that developments may
be expected during the present
year.
Fingerprint Everyone
Arrested
All persons arrested hereafter
by agents of the Department of
Justice, that is United States
Marshals and their deputies, will,
be fingerprinted, under depart
mental order recently announced
by Marshal Albert White. This
apnlies to all arrests, whether
"he crime for felony or mis
demeanor.
The apparatus for making
the prints has been sent to the
various offices The order takes
effect at once and applies to the'
entire nation.
The fingerprints after being
developed at the local offices, will
be forwarded to the Washington
office where a clearing house
will be maintained by the bureau
of investigation. The prints will
become a part of the records of
that bureau.
Combine of Fishing
Interests on Columbia
The Commercial Fisheries As
sociation, representing the Ore
gon coast from California to the
Columbia River commercial fish
ing interests, was recently organ
ized in Portland. The purpose
of the organization is “to ad
vance the interests of the com
mercial fishing industry and to
foster and develop it in every
possible way.”
When the fishermen organize
into unions they are immediate
ly dubbed “bolshevik” and “rad
icals” and other terms of appro
brium. And the masters are
clever enough and^ smooth
enough to keep the fishermen
from organizing into a real labor
solidarity. And devious are the
ways of making fishermen dis
trust and fight each other. And
the average fisherman does not
think long enough to reason out
that they should beware of the
Greeks bringing gifts.
ROUTE FISH PIRATES
A dispatch from Vancouver,
B. C., convention city of the can
ners, alleges that “fish trap pi
rates in British Columbia and
Alaska have been practically
routed through the use of air
planes. These planes scout over
the fishing areas and detect fish
pirates, or fishing craft at the
mouth of streams or closed
areas.”
..With the fishing season but
two months off the fishermen
are already planning how they
are going to “steal enough fish to
make a stake for next winter.'*
Valuable Patent Is
Secured, Local Man
—x—
; C. Hoogendoom Johnson has
perfected and patented an Alas
ka “Bone Dry” spark plug pro
tector which should prove a
boon to all users of outboard
motors and all jump-spark igni
tion system* which are exposed!
to dampness from rain, spray,!
etc. Users of “Bone Dry” pro- ■
tectors here assert that a bucketi
of water dashed over the spark,
plugs do not cause the motor to
falter. (
The protector consists of a
hard rubber cap which is free
from condensational difficulties
of other devicfs for this purpase.
The inventor has opened ne
gotiations with a view to mak
ing this protector an item of
standard equipment on one of
the most popular motors on the
market.
Confirmation of
Parker Refused
-o
On Monday afternoon the
United States Senate denied con
firmation of Judge John J. Park
er to be Associate Justice of the
United States Supreme Court.
According to the record, this
is the first nomination for that
Court rejected since 1894. The
vote stood 41 to 39 against con
firmation.
Twenty-nine Republicans and
ten Democrats voted for Parxei
and seventeen Republicans, one
Farmer-Labor and twenty-four
Democrats voted against. Sen
ator Dill of Washington voted
against and Senator Jones voted
for confirmation.
Ends one battle waged by or
ganized labor with the score
against the “bosses ” Parker’s
“yellow dog” contract decisions
was his undoing for it was a
powerful argument in the de
bates.
III. Democrats Fear
Woman Candidate
-x—
The Democratic Central Com
mittee of Illinois are charging
Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCormick
with expending more than one
million doliarc in her recent
campaign for nomination for the
United States Senate. They de
clare that she thereby loses her
right of legal nomination. So
the Committee has called upon
the “voters” to consider James
“Ham” Lewis, Democrat, as the
only legal nominee for the office
from Illinois.
MINISTER GETS 20 DAYS
The Rev. Robert Shuler was
sentenced to serve 20 days in
jail and pay a fine of $100 for
contempt of court in Los An
geles.
. .He was cited and tried for
contempt of court because he
criticised over the radio two Su
perior Court judges and their
actions in connection with the
prosecutions of various Julian
Petroleum trials.
-x
S. Peterson left for Ketchikan
on the Alameda. Mrs. CC. Mun
dy, K. D. Scribner and H. Y.
Baird were passengers for Wran
gell. .
Missing Trailer Mystery Case On
West Coast Puzzle to Fishermen
All evidence brought to Ketch
ikan by U. S. coast guard cut
ter Cygan recently indicated that
L. A. Olsen of Ketchikan, own
er of the'trolling boat T-577 fell
overboard and was lost.
The boat was found adrift and
picked up on April 29 between
Turn Arm and Guide Rock near
Hunters Bay on the west coast
about 60 miles from Ketchikan.
It was found and picked up by
Capt. Walter Waters of the Beil
by from Wrangell and taken by
him into Hunters Bay.
As far as can be learned Olsen
was last seen by a man by the
name of Johnson, who talked
with him at 4 o’clock in the
morning of the day before. Ol
sen then said he way on his way
to Ketchikan.
Everything on the boat was
found intact; the engine shut
off but the switch on. The bow
of the boat was stove in, appar
ently having hit a log or some
other obstruction.
It is believed by a number of
fishermen that Olsen fell over
the bow of the boat and was
struck by the propeller as the
boat passed over him. He was
said to have been an excellent
swimmer. Searching parties
were organized among the troll
ers at Rose Inlet, and the islands
in the vicinity of the accident
were being searched for the
missing man
The. Cygan returned to_:Ket
chikan on the 2nd of May with
the ill-fated T-577. Word from
Rose Inlet was wired Ketchikan
to the effect that it" looked use
less to search for Olsen as there
seemed absolutely no hope of
finding him alive.
Olsen was a single man and
had resided in Ketchikan for a
number of years being well thot
of by his business associates and
friends. He was a member of
the Masonic Lodge at Ketchikan
and was connected with a prom
inent family in Norway and was
possessed of considerable wealth.
“Trained Seals”
x
Bobby Sheldon of the Fourth
Division has filed his petition of
candidacy for the Territorial
House of Representatives. He is
the second to so file from the
Fourth. John W. Dunn filed as
an independent for the Senate
from the Fourth.
Mr. Sheldon served once before
in the House and gained no lit
tle fame with Harry Watson of
Juneau as being a reactionary
who made no move without first
receiving instructions from Jo
seph Murray, representative for
ihe big mining interests.
STIKINE NAVIGATION OPENS
-x
Or Saturday last the Hazel B.
3 left with a full cargo and a
full list of passengers for Tele
graph Creek. Most of the men
on this trip are prospectors and
mining men. Some of them plan
to work in toward the headwat
ers of the Taku River.
John Silva and Manuel Sorres
made a profitable catch of king
salmon around the mouth of the
Narrows and Point Frederick. A
large percentage of fish brought
in to the market this spring are
white kings
»-- - - *
Picnic Every Day
-x
“Yes, I certainly like to go
fishing. Back in Texas I used
to sit on the bank of the creek
all day .sometimes and never ev
en get a bite.” The Captain of
(the “Vesta” newest fishing
recruit to Petersburg’s halibut
fishing industry, with a crew
consisting of himself and two
sons right from the sod in Texas,
high boots, sombrero and all, oc
casioned considerable merriment
on the Cold Storage dock one
1 day this week Their trip of hali
but which was hailed for 1,000
pounds, weighed out 402. By a
'system of notches on the edge
I of the hatch cover, they estimat
ed from length of each fish its
probable weight, and some of
the fish were all of four feet
pong. There may be some little
■ differences between handling a
I lasso from the back of a mus
tang on the rolling plains of
[Texas and handling skates of
ihaliubt lines from the deck of a
bucking gasboat on the rolling
swells of an Alaskan southeast
er.
'.. If Captain Morrison does not
! prosper as a fisherman, he is at
least in line for some “interest
ing” experiences.
__
I
i Deer Season Now
Shortened
-o
. .Under the new regulations put
out by the Biological Survey De
partment, the season on buck
deer in Southeastern Alaska is
shortened slightly from the pe
riod September 1 to November
30 to the period August 20 to No
vember 15. The open season on
mountain goat was extended 12
days—August 20 to December 31
instead of September 1 to De
cember 31.
Prohi Unit Gets
New Club in Fight
The United States Supreme
Court in a decision made this
week, takes the position that dis
tribution of paraphanalia for li
jquor manufacturing was illegal
under the Uolstead law.
Commissioner Doran has an
nounced that in keeping with de
cision his department will un
dertake to suppress sale and dis
tribution of bottles, casks and
corks displayed to attract pur
chasers who intend to use them
in the manufacture illicit liquor.
I
“After the big dealers are wip
jed out then the bureau will go
| down the line.” Commissioner is
■quoted as saying.
.. Today is one of the greatest of
'school days. The old school bell
on the hill ding-donged its last
spasm this morning until next
fall. No more lessons, no more
.books. Whoopee! Groups of
I happy children are much in evi
dence bearing their report cards
as documentary proof of the ac
complishments of the year.
Dr Rae L Carlson, optomet
rist of Ketchikan has been in
town the past few days taking
care of her patrons.