VDL. 2
PETERSBURG, ALASKA NOVEMBER 11, 1927
NO. 18
Local Commercial Club Discusses
Several Important Questions
The meeting of the Petersburg
Commercial Club Wednesday eve
was well attended and after enjoy
ing a spledid dinner got down to
business. A communication from
Mr. Terhune of the Alaska Game
Commission was read and liled.
This had to do with past corres
pondence and thanked the Com
mercial Club for its suggestions re
lative to changes in game laws. A
communication from Ketchikan an
nounced a favorable reply and
agreement to the local club’s res
olutions on the herring and herring
fertilizer matter. A wire was sent
to Wrangell Commercial Club re
questing immediate reply as to
whether or not they agreed with
the local club’s standing on the her
ring and fertilizer situation, as it
was deemed important to get the
sentiment of all the interested com
mercial bodies in shape to work on j
as soon as possible. The American
Legion, thru Chas. Greenaa, brought
up the matter of an ice rink on the
elevation near the old wireless sta
tion. It was agreed to and a res
olution was adopted that the city
officials be interviewed relative to
the water and lights part of the
Shrimp Looking Up
Earl Ohmer, manager of the
Glacier Sea Food Co., informs The
Alaskan that the shrimp meat bus
iness is perking up just a little bit
Although lie has but half the num
ber of his shrimping fleet in com
mission now, he thinks that in a
short time he will increase the
number of boats to equal the size
of the fleet that was trawling at
this time last year. He informs us
that eastern trade is increasing.
OUR RAILROAD
Noel W. Smith, General Manager
of the Government Railroad, in his
recent report says in part:
“The past year has been the best
year the Alaska Railroad has en
joyed. For the fiscal year ending
July 1, 1927, the passenger business
measured by earnings, was 2.2%
better than the year previous.”
Passengers handled decreased
3lightly, but passenger mileage was
greater. The decrease came in the
smaller number of passengers car
ried between Fairbanks* and the
college.
Total commercial tonnage ran up
to 82,416 tons. Increase of freight
revenue over that of other years
amounts to 26.7%. Approximately
half of the freight carried was
coal.
For special parties and for em
ergencies, small gas-electric cars
were U3ed in place of the heavier
steam locomotives. The river boat i
service was extended from Holy
Cross to Marshall.
Inbound tonnage over the Seward
wharf was greater by a fourth than
that of last year. The total rev
enue, including the river boat ser
vice, was $1,388,902 or an increase
of over 25%.
Steel bridges were completed at
Kushwitna River, Sheep Creek, Wil
low Creek, Little 'Willow Creek and
Resurrection Creek, at Seward, anu
Eklutna River and Peters Slougn.
Two late type Mikado lomoco
tives and one earlier type Mikado
locomotive were added to the sys
tem. \
Don't forget the Legion Dance to
morrow night at S. of N. Hall.
proposed amusement park. A let
ter from Mr. Garlieid bearing on
the dredging proposition stated that
22 masters, pilots auu steamship
officials had signed me .Petersburg
Commercial Club’s petition lor har
bor improvement, and liad turned
the supplication over to the Paciiic
Steamship Company officials for
their endorsements. Tne ciub was
notified that the City Council had
taken up the new cemetery matter
in a favorable way and it was agreed
to consider location—probably down
near tin gravel pit below tue build
ing section of the town, to take up
matter of survey, plotting etc.
Secretary was requested to write the
l'acilic Steamship Company bearing
on signing and mailing back to Pet
ersburg the petition on harbor ini
provement which they had in hand,
so that action could be taken with
the authorities in Washington, D.C.,
us promptly as possible. A change
was made in the advertiseing com
mittee lanks. J. Scheettler resign
ed as the committee chairman. HP
place was filled by H. Dahl. Com
mit' on advertising now stands.
Daffi, iNeison and f ork.
AT THE LED ION HALT
The Ladies’ Auxiliary of the
American Legion, No. 14, held its
first meeting for the winter season
at Legion Hull on Monday, Novem
ber 7th. The attendance was good,
nearly all membtrs being present,
and considerable routine business
was taken up and disposed of. Tile
next meeting will be on the 5th o*
December at that time there will
be election of officers.
TOO MAW WAVES MEANS
BREAKERS AHEAD.
A request from Secretary Jardino
is made to the Federal Radio Com
mission that they refuse to gram,
power or wave lengths to private
concerns or commercial broadcast
ing agencies that might result in
interfering with the cooperative
radio programs of the Department
of Agriculture or Agricultural Col
lege3.
WE’VE HEARD OF HIM
Thomas Scott, of Cordova, is out
for the office of National Committee
man for the Alaska Republican party
so-called. To help boost him along
in his aspirations we’ll remark that
he voted against House Bill 20, in
the last Legislature. He, also, voted
against the Controller b ill. And,
some more, he went pretty much
down the line against all measures
of benefit to working folk and to
fishermen.
HOW COLD WAS IT.
On the morning of the 9th a
gentleman called in at The Alaskan
office and wanted to know whether
or not we knew how cold it was.
We informed him that at the time,
we couldn’t tell as we hadn’t got
ten any information from the
local weather Bureau. “Well, ’
he said, “it must have been rather
frigid, for I had a small thermomet
er hanging on the side of my stove
all night, and there woere live coal
in the fire, too, when I got up this
morning, and the thermometer reg
istered 29 above zero. It must have
been pretty cold out doors, don’t
you think?” We guessed it was.
Another Arrest
Several days ago Gordon Mc
Donald, logger, swore to a complaint
against David Paul (Native) charg
ing that Paul ransacked a floating
warehouse of his (McDonald’s) ly
ing across the Narrows from town
and purloined about $300 worth oi
camp groceries, tools and equip
ment.
With a search warrant, Marshal
Brown and McDonald, in a small
motor boat, sailed Duncan Cana!
way looking up David and his camp.
They found him all right and made
a search of both the Native’s camp
and boat. They found nothing con
Donald claimed to have missed,
lost or had stolen.. However, on
Paul’s gasboat, several deer were
hanging up and it is alleged that
one or more of the animals were
females. Paul was promptly arrest
ed, then, for violation of the Alas
ka Game Laws and brought into
town. A hearing on the matter was
scheduled for Thursday, November
10th, but on the 10th the case was
postponed to November 17th, Paul
is. out on bail given by Earl Ohmer
and will go ahead with his logging
operations in Duncan.
There is something slightly out
of tune in this affair all the way
through. What was $300 worth of
groceries doing on an isolated float,
this time of the year and in freez
ing weather? Again, why pick on
David Paul? It is reported that
because Pauld hadn’t purchased
any groceries, nor had run a bill
for supplies, he must have filched
what he needed to run his camp.
Who snooped around to learn wheth
er or not the native had bought
liis probable requirement? Does the
fact that Paul agreed to put in
wood timber at a dollar a thousand
feet below competitors have any
thing to do with the original com
plaint?
As to the deer matter, that will
probably come out in the hearing
later on and is aside from the
charge of theft.
WHERE THERE WAS A DEAL
OF ENJOYMENT AND A
WHOLE LOT TO EAT
The bazaar at the Sons of Nor
way Hall, sponsored by the Ladies’
Community League, Saturday after
noon and evening was a success in
everyway, and along with excellent
administration there was real en
joyment. There was a meun of ap
petizing viands and this backed up
a splendid program nicely carried
out. The bazaar wa3 more or less
handicapped by the many other
amusement affairs and parties of
the evening, but at that the receipts
ran up to better than $400.
TYING UP
The halibut fleet, out on the last
cruise of this season, will begin to
head shorewards soon. In fact
some of the local fleet are already
in and tying up. Hans Anderson,
on the Betty, recently unloaded at
Ketchikan, and the Hulda has made
her last seasonal voyage. Other
halibut fishers are reporting al
most daily.
DECLINING
Indications throughout the states
are that poliomyelitis—Infantile
paralysis—is on a steady decline.
All of the states reporting to the
Public Health Service showed, in
late October, a decrease in number
of cases except Washington and
Pennsylvania.
Watson southbound about Sunday.
The Unsympathetic
Sea
Last week two boats were re
ported wrecked in the south end of
Rock Pass, and another vessel, the
Emblem, sailing under command of
Lewis Richelou, came near turning
turtle directly of Monte Carlo Is
land. In truth the Emblem would
have gone over had it not been for
assistance rendered by Jack Had
land and his ship, the White Bear.
One of the boats wrecked was a
herring fisher, the Stranger from
Ketchikan. She went ashore on the
dangerous coast line 'between Rocky
Pass and Three Mile Arm. It is
reported that her machinery was
salvaged.
The other vessel losing out was a
trailer. Its name and number not
known here at this time. This
wreck occurred on the reef that cuts
well into the Pass inside of the
south entrance. Report has it that
this packet was a total loss. It was
Mr. Hadland who brought in the
news from out Monte Carlo way.
Armistice Day Program
The following is the program as
carried through at The MacGregor,
November 11th in the afternoon.
Selection by the City Band
Two reels of comedy (screen)
High School chorus—“The World
is waiting for the Sunrise.’’
Music by the City Band
A talk by Frederick Nelson,
Speaker of the day.
Tenor solo by Joseph Kahklen.
Drill by the Boy Scouts.
Song selection by Mrs. Andrew
Johnson.
Piano solo, Miss Mary Keep.
Selection by the City Band—in
conclusion.
WATERFRONT IMPROVEMENT
Hungerford Bros, and Rosich
moved their driver, Wednesday
morning, down to the location of
the Paul Owens float just north of
the Standard Oil wharf. On the
high flood tide of that day the driv
er was enabled to get quite close
to shore and complete the inside
driving for the proposed boat moor
ings.
MUCH WORSE THAN IN ALASKA
There have been some rivers run
ning bank full in Vermont lately and
a total of 61 persons are dead in
the Winooski Valley between Mont
pelier and Burlington. The flooded
section is large and the death re
ports from other parts of the state
has run the list up to 123.
IN FROM THE DIGGINGS
John Sales came in from his min
ing prospect Tuesday to see how
his Petersburg friends were mak
ing it during his absence. Johnny
looks well, feel a fine and says that
his prospect looks more encourag
ing every day. At present he has
an open cut of 1400 feet and close
to bedrock in some places and the
indications improve with each
shovelful of dirt removed. He re
turned to hi3 claim and cabin on
Thursday.
KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN
The Supreme ourt of the United
States holds that the driver of a
car is responsible for his own death
in railroad accident where he failed
to stop his machine and get out
to look for possible approach of the
train.
A. N. S. Entertainment A Success
With Tom-Tom and Dances
At the Variety Theatre, last Sat
urday evening, the Indians of Pet
ersburg in costume, regalia, paint
and nose rings carried through the
program of old time dances the
while a large audience looked on
and applauded.
Promptly at 8 o’clock the entei’
tainment began and for one and a
half hours the weird sound of the
tom-tom reverberated through the
big hall as an accompaniment to
the doleful chant of the dancers.
Many of the costumes were pret
ty even though they carried one
back to the wild and unlettered
clays when art was supposed to be
raw and but in the making. All of
the robes, blankets and regalia, in
their totemic markings and de
signs, harkens to the time when
infinite labor stood on the threshold
of every undertaking. Today they
MANY THANKS
The ladies of the Ladies’ Com
munity League desire to thank all
those who took part in making the
recent bazaar a success; to fthose
who so kindly made the prize dona
tions, and to the public in general.
The following were prize winners in
the bazaar contests: Show tickets,
Erick Ness and Louis Tenfjord. For
luncheon sets, Bert Cornelius, C. H.
Bowman, Oscar Peterson. For pil
lows, Peter Lero and Bert Evans.
For Picture, Palmer Peterson.
The S. S. Admiral Rogers docked
at Petersburg on her trip south
bound, Thursday forenoon. The
Alaskan Steamship Compan’s steam
jship Yukon is sailing, southbound
| on the 16th. Charles Haley, in
j terested in the mines at Silver
i Bay, was an outgoing passenger on
!the Rogers, departing from Peters
. burg Thursday P. M.
| Mr. Brisson, connected with the
Mendenhall Fox Farm is a Peters
burg visitor, having arrived in on
the Rogers Thursday. Mr. Brisson
is an expert on mink farming.
HOPHEADS INCREASING
Violation of the Federal Narcotic
Law has cause more persons to be
sent to Federal penal institutions in
the last ten years than the violation
of any other law on the U.S. statute
books. In comparison to an in
crease of population of the country
of about 20 per cent the Federal
prison hop head colony has in
creased 110 per cent.
In the Prison Division Records
there is a noted falling off in convic
tions for theft from interstate com
merce, for violation of the postal
laws and for violation of the rev
enue law3.
Next to convictions in the nar
cotic division come those for the
violation of the National Prohibi
tion Act.
IN AND OUT
The Admiral liner, Ad. Rogers,
came into port about 9 Saturday
evening with two passengers and a
considerable tonnage of freight. She
sailed, northbound from Petersburg
4:30 Sunday morning,
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
Supreme court of the State of
Washington, in affirming a King
County court decision, holds that
F. L. Jewett should recover $1,864
from estate of J. M. Pompal on a
promissory note made out in Circle,
Alaska, in the fall of 1918.
can’t be duplicated.
And those painted faces. Every
daub, line, color, 3liade and mark
ing had its meaning. They were
readable to those who understood.
There were three dances given,—
the Chief’s dance, the Spirit dance
and the Princess dance. In the first
two 15 or 20 men and women took
part, in that of the Princess but one
and the chanting director.
Considering that the dancere
were young people knowing noth
ing of the dances nor the chants on
ly as tradition whispered, the whole
affair was handled well.
The receipt's of the entertainment
aounted to $167. and this will hi
^ used in helping to defray expense
in local channels bearing on the
Alaska Native Brotherhood Conven
j tion taking place and convening at
Angoon November 14th.
!Hol For The Convention
The marine schedule of the Alas
ka Native Brotherhood, as it bears
on the boats in this section of S.E.
Alaska is about as lollows: The
gasboat Herold from Ketchikan and
the delegates from Ketrhikan and
Saxman arrives Petersburg Thurs
day evening enroute Angoon. The
Vivian June with the Wrangell dele
gation arrives approximately some
time as the Juanita and departs in
company. The delegates from Ka
saau, Hydaburg and Klawock will
probably sail around Cape Decision
and on up Chatham Strain. The
Kake delegation, in their own ships,
will likely fall in with the Vivian
June and Juanita and sail in com
pany around Gardner and to An
goon. The Petersburg delegates
take passage on the Herold.
SHE SPOKE AS SHE PASSED
Tuesday forenoon the Alaska
Steamship Company’s S. S. Yukon
came up through the Narrows, slow
ed down in midstream and took on
board a small shipment from the
Clacier Sea Food Co. for Juneau
and Fairbanks. One of the inspec
tion engineers of the local harbor
work was onboard accompanied by
Maj. Truett from the south end of
the Narrows. The latter came a
shore at Petersburg wrhen the big
boat came nearly to a 3top in
front of town. The U. S. Forestry
motorship, Ranger 6, acted as a
ferry from shore to the steamer.
A CORLISS ENGINE
There arrived on the S. S. Rogers
recently a crated Corliss engine of
30-35 h.p. which will be fitted to
the frame of the old Vulcan steam
logging outfit that was brought in
to town a few days ago by the
Hungerford Brothers.
SAILING OUT
On the motorship Tasmania,
bound Wrangell way, 11 A. M. Mon
day the following passengers sailed;
Mrs. Guthriel, Mrs. Green Miss B
Grenial and Bill Ward. The Tas
mania had also, some light freight
and the U. S. mail.
SOME BEAR
A brown bear, measuring 14 ft.
2 inches in length was killed recent
ly near Afognak. The big animal
had been destroying cattle for some
time.