Juneau, Alaska
Territorial Muaue®
VOLUME NO. 5.
PETERSBURG, ALASKA. MARCH 27, 1931
NO 36
Bids Call For Boxes
Replacement Soon
Bids will be requested April 1
for the construction of a nev
Alaska school supply ship to op
erate from Seattle to the isolat
ed little settlements in the Nort-'
land. The craft will replace the
power schooner Boxer, now tec
small and too slow to serve the
needs of the Indian school sys
tem of Alaska. Development of
faster transportation and neces
sity for enlarged facilities have
resulted in the plans for a new
vessel, is the announced plan of
the Indian Bureau, now in con
trol of the work heretofore under
direction of the Bureau of Edu
cation.
Plans for the new ship are
nearing completion. She will
have accommodations for thirty
passengers and will be equipped
with Diesel engines of 1,200
horsepower. She will be capable
of making a speed of 14 knots
compared to the 9 made by the
Boxer and refrigerator space will
provide for 2,000 reindeer car
casses, compared with the 500
carried by the Boxer. The esti
mated cost of the ship is $400,
000. The Boxer will take care of
the schools in the Southern end
of the Territory.
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Asks Land Grant For
r Alaska Service Men
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Representative McCutcheon of
Anchorage, is author of a me
morial to Congress which seeks
to secure to Alaska men who saw
service in the World War, grants
of land in the Territory. Under
provisions of this memorial,
these men would secure 160
acres of the unappropriated land
in the public domain or one
placer lode mining claim.
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CRAIG BUSINESS SECTION
DESTROYED BY FIRE
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Last Wednesday week the
business section of Craig wa°
destroyed by fire with property
losses reaching an estimated a
mount of $150,000. Craig Mer
cantile, owned by Robert O,
Fleming of Seattle was burned
but the dock and warehouse was
saved by the volunteer firemen.
The West Coast Fishermen’s
Supply Co., store, property of
A. L. Brown and the Cogo Mer
cantile House, owned by Mrs.
Cogo, and the Owl Confectionery
store were all consumed by thr
fire. A number of narrow escapes
from death and injury were re
ported.
ALASKA VETERAN GOES
ON RETIRED LIS1
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The old steamer “Humboldt,’
more popularly known as thi
‘gold ship,” of the gold rusl
days in Alaska, was recentl’
placed on the “retired” list an<
will travel the waters of th
Pacific no more.
During the Klondike days o
daze, the Humboldt was the pop
ular ship travelling to th
Northland. She was a sturd;
vessel and one of the steadies
running to Alaska- For man
years she ran in competitioi
with the two present steamshij
lines and held her own but abou
1920 she was taken to the Cali
fornia coast where she operatec
Capt. Baughman was master c
the boat for 36 years and love
and understood the Humbold
and himself was highly regarde
by the people of the Nort
Country.
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Charley Wilson of Kake is i
in the Petersburg Hospital.
Consternation among the kin
salmon: John Mjorud arrived o
the Northland this morning.
Japan May Seek
Treaty Change
Preparations are being made
by the Japanese government for
resumption of negotiations look
ing to the revision of the four
nation seal treaty under which
certain islands in thenorthern
areas belonging to Canada, Unit
ed States, Japan and Russia are
nermanently closed to sealing
fleets, says the Prince Rupert
News. The Japanese have com
plained for several years that
they are the heaviest losers tin
ier the pact made because one of J
the assumptions under which it j
was made, namely, that the seals j
return to the same islands each!
year, has been disproved. It is
'•ontended that seals from the j
Japanese island in the Pribilof|
group, to which the treaty ap-i
dies, have recently been found j
in the Hokkaide group. Fisher ■ i
men in northern waters have!
been notified to report whenever
they find foreign seals in th
vicinity of the Japanese island,
it has also been contended that
the seals have increased to such
'an extent under protection of
the treaty that thej- are destroy
ing fish which the Japanese
hermen catch in these waters
The four nations treaty was en
tered into because it was feared
that the slaughter of the seals
in that maritime area was so
•Treat, as to threaten the species
with extinction. The Pribilof is
lands, belonging to the United
states, certain islands belonging
to Japan and the Comandorski
slands, belong to Russia, afl of
which are breeding places for
eals, were declared permanent
ly closed to sealing. All nations
are declared to be in favor of re
opening the treaty but negotia
ions have been complicated by
the refusal of the United State3
to recognize the Soviet govern
ment of Russia. The treaty was
made with Czarist government
but has been accepted and ob
3erved by the Soviet—Anchorage
Times.
Blind Senator Evens
Up With President
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The rough and tumble fight
o°tween Senator Thomas Schall
of Minnesota and Presijent
Hoover over the filling of a new
Federal judgeship in the No^th
Star state is now just where it
started.
The blind Senator induced the
Senate Judiciary Committee to
hold up the President’s nomina
tion of Gunnar H. Nordbye, who
was named after Attorney Oen
. oral William D. Mitchell had
turned thumbs down on Schall’s
. indorsement of Ernest A. Michel.
, Schall told the Judiciary Com
, mittee that Nordbye “is and has
j been my political enemy and
I has attacked my character be
5 Uttling and slandering me on
various occasions.”
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President Hoover cannot Five
Nordbye a recess appointment
*o the office will be vacant until
Congress reconvenes next Dec
ember.
Another angle to the fight in
Minnesota is the filing of a no
tice, with the Senate, of contest
for the blind Senator’s seat bj
Finar Hoidale, Democratic can
didate. Hoidale charges viola
tion of the corrupt practices act
misuse of the franking privilege
and fraudulent voting.
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Mr. J. E. Ames has been undei
the weather for a few days suf
fering from a complication o
ailments.
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g The Phoenix unloaded 75 bar
n reis of bait herring at the cole
storage plant today.
Shattuck School
Bill, Dynamite
Senator Allen Shattuck o
Juneau is sponsoring a bill ir
the Senate whereby the Terri
tory would reorganize the Ter
litorial School system, including
a new Board of Education witl
broad powers of administration
Said Board to be organized along
the lines suggested by Mr. Lee
Breuer, former Commissioner ol
Education. The Board is to be
composed of five members to be
appointed by the Governor oi
Alaska for terms of six years
provided that memberships ot
the first board would be two:
four and six years, with appoint
ments made by the Governoi
and confirmation by the Senate.
The board created shall as
sume supervision of the Public
School System, exclusive of th'
Alaska College and it shall b :
the final court of appeal in all
educational controversy and de
signate to the Commissioner of
Education the execution of all
its policies. The present Board
would be thrown into the dis -
card and through an emergency
clause will become operative
within 90 days of sginature by
the governor.
This bill is declared to be a
complete nullification of the
nlatform presented by Senator
Shattuck when he appealed to
the public for election. The
platform promised a “full terri
torial form of government” and
proposed to secure to Alaska
-werv right posible to dictate
their affairs. Through this bill,
election of the Commissoner i
taken from the people and plac
ed in the hands of the governor
who is not responsible to anv
territosial direction and is re
sponsible only to the Secretarv
of the Interior. It is pointed out
that if a governor is out of sym
pathy with the people of Alaska,
that this school system would
oe or could be used as a “bin
stick” to whip various sections
into line to follow the mandate'
a political machine.
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AIRMAIL ROUTES FOR
ALASKA
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The Postal Department ha.c
announced star mail route con
tracts for Alaska to be awarded
every four years. The contract*
awarded were given to principal
ly two companies operating ir
the Territory—The Alaska Air
ways was awarded nine stai
routes and the Dorbandt anc
Cope Aviation Company wer<
given five contracts for giver
| routes.
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WHEAT TAKES ANOTHER
SIUM1
; Wheat sold at the lowest price:
this week since 1895, followim
| announcement by the Federa
| Farm Board that they would no
j further make effort to stabiliz
i wheat prices. Stabilization o
i 1931 wheat prices now rests wit!
the farmer.
i Following announcement c
| the Federal Farm Board that i
had failed of its purpose an
would no longer attempt to mak
effort to stabilize the whea
market, Senators Watson an
McNary, Republican leaders prc
posed the calling of a specie
session of Congress to considc
again the equalization fee.
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! Representative Foster of Coi
dova is author of u bill whic
would existing statues by es
empting theatres and movin
picture houses from the operE
| cion of the Territorial’s Sunda
| closing law. This law is virtual
- a dead statute and only maki
i law violaters of operators <
theatres in Alaska.
i Indian Schools
i Severely Criticised
• Dr. H. D. Anderson, connected
L with Stanford University recent
. ly appeared before the Legisla
. <ure and there frankly dealt
; with the Indiar^ and Territorial
chool systems which he has
been surveying in the north
; ern end of the Territory. His
i'study is being made under the
' auspices of Stanford University
on a Carnegie Foundation
grant, at the request of the De
partment of the Interior. He
has covered the section from
Kotzebue Sound to the Kusko
kwim district. Next year he will
survey the work in the Alaska
! Peninsula, Aleutian Islands and
Southeastern Alaska.
He visited many villages and
made many tests which he also
submitted to the buildings. The
test included communities, fam
ilies, individuals. including
school patrons, pupils and
teachers. He declared that teach
er turnover was 76 per cent per
year in the Bureau Schools and
that the most were not compe
tent teachers and the results of
their incompetent efforts were
very evident. His condemnation
of some of the Territorial school
buildings was not any less than
that made against the govern
ment schools.
His investigations and con
clusions however, were only for
that section of Alaska and are
not to be applied to the South
eastern .section. This will be con
siderable improvement over the
surveyed section but his report
will be plenty bad enough and
hould require considerable j
changes to bring the system up
1.0 a higher standard. This con
dition has been fought by the
Alaska Native Brotherhood
which has charged employment
of incompetent teachers, inade
quate schools and equipmer.1
and the lack of a standard
course of study. During the heat
of the opposition to the Bureau
Schools the Brotherhood de
manded complete abolishment
of Bureau Schools in incorporat
ed towns or co-equal education
al opportunity. This was made a
political issue by the Juneau
political demi-gods and used
| with great effect during the hca*
of campaigns. The falsity of thb
nolitical propaganda will be
made evident when Dr. Ander
son makes his report on the
. educational system in Southeast
■ Alaska next year.
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Charges Filed By
Gov. Against Mayor
Mayor James Walker of New
York, last week took a more
serious view upon life as a may
" or of the largest city in the
5 j United States. Charges against
' ; him were published by Governor
?j Franklin D. Roosevelt of New
f j York embodying incompetence,
1 laxity and malfeasance on office.
! Governor Roosevelt empha
f sizes he is acting in a strictly
t iudicial capacity. He has power
-: to remqye the mayor, reprimand
F him or order an investigation
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PRESIDENT ON VACATION
il
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h.
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When the U. S S. Arizons
weighed anchor and sailec
touth from Hampton Roads, Iasi
week, President Hoover anc
party v/ere on board bound fo]
v>crto Rico and Virgin Islands
g Salutes boomed out over th<
Roads from guns at Hamptoi
y I Roads naval training statioi
y and Fortress Monroe as the re
;s I conditioned war-craft set it
)f j course southbound for the presi
1 dent’s vacation trip.
Senator Answers
Last Roll Call
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Senator John W. Dunn, elect
ed from Ruby, died in St. Ann’s
Hospital, Juneau on the 19th of
I this month following a stroke of
I paralysis. On the morning of
(the 14th, Senator Dunn had a
i fainting spell in his room as he
was preparing to leave. He fell
unconscious to the floor, and
later was able to crawl back to
his bed where he was found by
house attendants who immedi
ately notified his friends and
called Dr. Council. He was taken
•o the hospital where the para
lytic stroke occured later.
A special election is probably
the order as in other instances
ruch vacancies were filled by
special election called by the
Governor.
Funeral services were held in
Tuneau. Legislators from both
Houses were pall bearers and in
terment made in the local ceme
tery.
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Fishermen Controversy
Settled, All Go Out
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The controvessy between the
Deep Sea Fishermen’s Union and
the Fishing Vessel Owners’ As
sociation was settled this week
under a plan proposed by E. T.
Marsh. Commissioner of Conci
iation for the Department of
Labor which was ratified with
out a dissenting vote by over
1200 members of the Union. The
’flan had nreviously been pro
posed to the Association and ac
cepted by them.
Under the basis of acceptance!
’he fishermen will work unde r a I
’’’vision settlement of 20 per
• ent instead of the 25 which thev
had asked for. Other differences
T”ere all of a minor nature and
'V’py adjudicated.
The fleet of about 200 vessels
are now mostly on the wav to
the fishing banks now urder
contracts accepted by both or
ganizations. The only fly in the,
ointment now being the grading
niles laid down bv the buyers!
which is being vigorously pro- ^
tested by both the Union and As-!
~ooiation. The two organizations'
will sell through the United Pa- i
(ifle Fisheries for which concern |
buyers are being placed at the
various points of fish delivery.
J. E. Berg of Wrangell and
Ketchikan, was named as Ket
chikan and Prince Rupert buyer
for the new United Pacific Fish
eries, co-operative buying con
cern made up of union fishermen
and vessel owners.
The effort of the company will
be to stabilize halibut prices so
that the men will know just a
bout what their fish are worth
at the time they leave port for
the fishing grounds. The com
pany has been buying fish in
Seattle and the average net
orices to fishermen after de
ducting all charges was 13 to 8
O’MALLEY PUTS AX TO TRAPP
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Supplementary regulations is
sued by the Bureau of Fisheries
were issued last week wherebv
122 trapsites were closed for this
vear. Announcement was made
from the Juneau Office following
issuance of the order in Wash
ington. It was stated that no
further orders would be issued
closing other traps this year.
The sites closed to commercial
^ operation were not disclosed but
will be published just as soon as
detailed regulations, which have
; already been mailed, have beer
1 received.
Charles Greenaa left for Ju
s,neau today to consult a bone
- breaker specialist for his lame
I back.
Gas War Continues
On Pacific Coast
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Last Thursday the major oii
companies reduced their retail
price on gasoline to 12 cents
;rom a previous thirteen-cent
rate. Independent retailers have
been selling at from 10 to 12
cents, but their prices were ex
pected to drop to a nine-cent
.’evcl. Outside of the city limits
of Seattle the prices were around
9 cents; Los Angeles whole-sale
rates were raised to IV2 cents.
No sign, yet, of any truce in the
gas-price war.
In Petersburg price of gasoline
has been down to 13 cents per
gallon and diesel oil also took
r considerable drop. In Kako
it is reported, that the price still
held up to 18 cents a gallon when
-.he retailer was getting his oi! 1
it 13 cents. He had not yet
>iven the boatowners of Kake
oenefit of the drop which was 1
nven the boatmen in Petersburg-.
KREE GASOLINE TO 1
OIL BUYERS ,
Down in San Francisco, buy
?rs of oil and grease are receiv
,ng free gasoline, as a result of
;he gasoline price war raging on
he coast. The stations are ask
ng ten cents per gallon for gas.<
ind one station on the 19th, :
;ave free gasoline to buyers of l
3iJ. and. gas.
SEATTLE POWER FIGHT
TO FORE
On the eve of an importsn1
city election, Mayor Edwards of
Seattle summarily dismissed J
D. Ross, manager of City Light.
The fight became acute when
the council refused to confirm
appoint of Mr. Marion, appointee
in place of Ross. Now leader* of
the Citizen’s Municipal Utilities
Protective League reveal that
they will request that the King
County grand jury investigate
the matter.
Other leaders have urged
Mayor Edwards to reconsider
the dismissal of Ross but he so
far has refused to give the mat
ter any consideration.
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Will investigate
Territorial Offices
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A resolution introduced in the |
Legislature by Representative!
Frank Foster of Cordova to have |
an investigation of all admin
istrative offices of the Territorial
Governement, was passed last
week without debate and with
out causing a political riffle. Jt(
was predicted that the Senate
also would pass the resolution
which declares that “there have
arisen certain conflicts in the
laws of the Territory that re
quire readjustment,” and pro
vides for a joint committee with
Speaker Winn and President
Hess as members to carry out
the investigation.
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FLOUR GOES ON SKIDS
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Wholesale flour prices were
reduced 20 cents a barrel in San
Francisco last week. The reduc
tion follows the general nervous
trend of the Chicago wheat
market and makes the basis for
i two 98 pound sacks $5.40.
i The new price for four 49 lb
j sacks will be $5.60; eight 241/2
lb sacks will be $5.80. Two bales
of ten 20-lb sacks will be $6.60
while two bales of twenty 10-lb
sacks will be $7.20, was announc
ed by the Globe Grain and
Milling Company.
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The infant child of Mr. and
Mrs. Thomas Skeek passed away
Thursday night at the Peters
burg hospital of pneumonia.
Foster Memorial
Hits Indian Dept.
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Representative Frank Foster
of Cordova in a resolution whi~h
he presented in the legislature,
severly criticised the policy of
the Bureau of Education in A’ -
ka and the announced policy of
Secretary Wilbur to gradually
turn responsibility of educate n
of Indian vouth of Alaska ever
to the Territory which now car
ries a part of the load. He declar
ed that the Bureau of Education
was and had been incompetent
in its educational functions in
Alaska; that the high death rate
Df Alaska Indians was due to ihs
failure, that too much money
vas being expended for indigent
Indians and medical aid and
hat too large a proportion of In
iian youth was being accepted
nto the territorial schools.
He declared that the govern
nent has discriminated against
he Alaskan Indian by not allot -
ing appropriations in proper -
ion with state Indians and the'
iue to the fact that they had
)een deprived of inherent rights
ishing and hunting, were entitl
'd to greater relief and assi J -
mce than was being given.
Students of this subject are in
lirect opposition to the Foster
nemorial and point out that the
jolicy of the Indian Bureau was
o make incompetent wards, they
seek to secure special privilege
:or Indians through re.sevv -
ions and appropriations t’r'
vould be more harmful than b^
aeficial; that it is the duty of
,he state or territory to educate
its citizens regardless of race or
olor and that education of the
ndividual was not a function or
iuty of the federal government,
but that of the state: that al
ready there are seven reserva
tions in Alaska and that it will
ae but a matter of time when
'he Territory will awaken only
Hter too many reservations had
been set aside for the exclusive
use of the Indians.
Oregon Governor Cuts
College Appropriation
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Governor Julius Meier of Ore
gon cut $500,000 from the appro
priations for Oregon’s schools
r>f higher education which the
legislature made this year in
the sum of $1,250,000. The appro
priations for the five institu
tions, which include Oregon
State University and Oregon
Agricultural College, was cut
down to $750,000 for the nest
two year period. The Norma1
School at Ashland Oregon had
$50,000 cut from its approp -a
tions. Prorating the appropria
tions, the five institutions ’■ ill
not average much more for the
next two year period than the
Alaska College and School of
Mines.
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WOULD REVISE JURY
DRAWING SYSTEM
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Speaker Grover C. Winn in
troduced a bill in the Fousp
which purposes to codify ah the
existing jury statues and adds
new provisions which will rectify
certain defects in the system.
Under provisions of this bill
j names of all persons voting in
the preceding general election
I are to be deposited in the jury
boxes instead of the limited
number as at present. The Dis
trict Judge may reject any
names but a minute order must
be made of any such procedure.
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Mr. Joe Isom of the Northern
Seafood Company’s Cordova
plant arrived from Seattle on the
Northland this morning and will
spend a few days in Petersburg.