VOL. 2
PETERSBURG, ALASKA OCTOBER 7, 1927
NO. 13
Proposes Closing Salmon
Fisheries For Four Years
Seattle, Washington
Sept. 19, 1927
TO THE CITIZENS OF ALASKA:
1 hereby wish to convey my best
wishes and to say in what I am now
writing to you 1 have no hopes ot
profit, it is just for the welfare of
the people that 1 approach you on
a subject so vital to you all. To-wit*
THE SALMON FISHERIES:—Many
of you know of me, many know me
personally as a tish dealer and as
the man who purchased the “Rein
deer” for the United States Govern
ment in 1898.
i
Having been in the fish business
for a great many years, and having
fought what 1 would term your bat
tle in Washington, D. C. to conserve1
your salmon 1 believe I am some
authority on the subject. I knov
your country. I know your prob
lem. Now the question is—What
are you going to do about stopping
further destruction of what was!
once a great heritage to you? Any]
sane person, anyone the least con
versant with the salmon fisheries,
past and present must admit it is
on its last leg. We all know this
deplorable condition has not come
about by legitimate methods. The
destruction was not brought about
by the quantity of salmon that went
into cans, mild cured, 3alted or used
as fresh. It has been brought about
by canners catching more salmon
than they could utilize from day to
day. In their averousness to catch
they just caught the fish. If they
could not use them overboard they
went or into fertilizer. Traps, drag
seines and purse seines all did their
part of the destruction. The traps
were the most criminal, for once a
trap is erected, however large the
mesh, it takes but a very short
while before sea weed fills up the
meshes and the trap becomes a solid
wall where can be no escapement
even for the young salmou, often
termed trout.
The latter, in the ordinary course
of time, if permitted to escape would
in a space of one to four years, be a
large fish. I have, since 1900 fol
lowed up every channel of informa
tion on this subject. Have seen
how the Puget Sound country be
came depleted of salmon and dare
to say without fear of being contra
dicted by any fairminded person
who will tell the truth that no more
than sixty percent of all salmon
caught in the Pacific Ocean ever
went into cans, consumed fresh or
pickled. Add to this the billion of
small fish destroyed before they ev
er could get into the streams or riv
ers and you have your depletion ac
counted for. Under such conditions,
hatcheries were of no avail, in fact,
I have it from a man whom you
know who worked in the hatcheries
that such a method of propogation
was useless. The only way to keep
up a supply forever was to let the
male au(l female salmon function as
nature provided. Alaska belongs
to the hardy men and women who
had the pluck to go their and carve
out a home for themselves and pos
terity. It is not for the despoiler
that comes into your homeland for
a few weeks in the year to say what
you shall do with the greatest gift
of God the food of man “FISH.”
You should have the first and last
say and now this is my suggestion
to you.
No cannery must be permitted to
operate hereafter, say for four years
which is a cycle. If, after the fourth
year, it is not proven beyond all
question of doubt that the salmon
i has returned in former quantities
then continue for a further period
of the canneries for four, eight,
twelve or even twenty years if ne
cessary to re-establish production.
In tlie meantime, traps must be
abolished, seines of restricted size as
to length, depth and mesh should be
permitted at certain periods and in
certain localities so as to catch suf
ficient salmon for the fresh and salt
fish demand. You could even go far
ther. The individual could have a
very small canning outfit to can any
surplus. Such canning outfits are
available at a very small cost. Alas
ka would lose nothing by the adop
tion of my suggestion, only the big
'fellow would have to wait his turn!
(in the future. Has he not been the!
! direct cause of the present deple
tion? So has no complaint if now
stopped for awhile.
Your population would not be de
pleted, in fact I would say an in
crease of actual settlers would come
about. Most of the cannery employ
ees are now transient anyhow at
present.
You have Delegate Sutherland, a
good man who has done his best in
Congress. I personally have assist
ed him without any thought of re
compense only the good will of you
people. You have a great country
with greater possibilities for the fu
ture than any State in the Union but
you must rise as one man to pro
tect your interests and that right
now. I ask every man and woman
of Alaska to write me what he or
she thinks of my suggestions. Am
in close touch with the best men in
the United States Congress in Wash
ington, D. C. can believe if this mat
ter is put in the right light to them
you can look for justice being^ meted
out to you. All what I have done
for you to date, all I will do for the
future is done gratiously for the love
and respect I hold for Alaska Citi
zens.
Sincerely yours,
MAX JOHNSEN.
Meeting of Town
Council
At the regular meeting of the
City Council on Monday evening,
October 3rd, J. L. MacKecknie, city
electrician, reported that the frame
work on the new power house was
completed and work on the concrete
foundation would be started as soon
as specifications were received.
Hans Wick, city marshal, report
ed that he had completed the work
of sounding the harbor and a chart
of the harbor had been prepared by
Mr. Treffers. He also reported that
the H street sewer would be carn
pleted in a short time.
In response to a petition from
Anderson Music House in Juneau
requesting that their assessment on
pianos be lowered as they only had
seven in town, a motion was passed
reducing the amount from $2000
to $1250.00.
Anton Wallin also requested re
consideration of his property assess
ment which was granted.
The Council also authorized the
insulating of the bearings on the
new generator to eliminate the shait
current which had caused so much
trouble with the existing unit. This
extra cost, the Pelton Water Wheel
Company stated, would be $45.00.
Steve Fryer presented plans for
the extension of the heating system
Alaska S. S. Co.
Boats to Call at
Petersburg
In line with their policy of service
to Alaska towns, the Alaska Steam
ship Company announces this week
that it will give to Petersburg a bet
ter winter service than has been en
joyed for some time past,
j Beginning the 15th of this month
! the \ ukon lwill eave Seattlefor the
! north stopping at Petersburg on the
19th; the Alaska leaving Seattle on
the 12th of November will call in
I Alaska leaves Seattle on the 10th of
| December and will arrive in port on
the 13th. These sailings occur dur
ing the interval when the Admiral
Line steamers do not sail for two
weeks..
The announcement is pleasing to
the citizens of Petersburg for it
promises better mail and freight ser
vice than is usually given this port.
Well Known Alas
ka Pioneer Dead
Mrs. M. E. Swineford, widow of a
former governor of Alaska, and al
most life-long resident of Alaska,
died at Saturday, October 1st, at the
Ketchikan General Hospital. She
had been ill at the hospital for
some time.
Mrs. Swineford was 70 years old.
She was born in Marquette, Michi
gan. Governor Swineford was ap
pointed by President Cleveland to
fill out the unexpired term of Kin
caid, the first governor of the terri
tory. and later was appointed gover
nor and served one full term. Mrs.
Swineford came to Alaska shortly
after he became governor in 1885,
and has resided here since that
time.
Governor Swineford and his wife
came to f Ketchikan in 1899. The
governor was the first recorder of
the Ketchikan district. He died in
Juneau in 1909.
Mrs. Swineford continued to re
side in Ketchikan and for the past
several years has been librarian of
the Ketchikan public library. Mrs
Allen Shattuck of Juneau is her
only surviving relative. Mrs Shat
tuck arrived here some time ago
and was at her bedside when she
passed away. Mr. Shattuck arrived
on the Admiral Evans last night
and will remain for the funeral
which will be held in Ketchikan
Arrangements for the funeral will
not be completed before Monday.
—Chronicle.
in the school house as prepared by
Crane & Co., and quoted a price of
$840.00 for material to completely
install the 3ys.tem. The possibility
of using the radiators in the hospital
building was discussed, but consid
ered impractical. It was therefore
moved and carried that the neces
sary material and radiators to com
plete the 2nd floor be ordered thru
Fryer and if possible to use the
hospital radiators for the lower
floor temporarily. The Fryer
Machine Works was authorized to
do the work of installing the heat
ing system.
On recommendation of Mr. Mac
Kecknie, City Electrician, a motion
wa3 made seconded and passed that
Mrs. W. P. Moyes be given electric
current and water service without
charge until April 1st, 1928.
Wrangell Chamber
To Take Action To
Conserve Herring
A letter was read in the Wednes
day meeting of the local Chamber of
Commerce, indicating that the
Wrangell Chamber of Commerce was
going to take definite action on the
proposition put forth to conserve
herring in Alaska waters.
This is in reply to the effort of the
locel club to have delegate appoint
ed to meet at some designated place
and to draw up and adopt resolu
tions and presenting, them to the
proper officials, protesting the use
of food fish for oil and fertilizer.
Favorable action by the Ketchi
kan Club is expected while Juneau
is still cogitating upon whether or
not to dive into the oily question.
LETTER FROM INTERNATIONAL
HALIBUT COMMISSION
A letter was read from the Chair
man of the International Halibut
Commission, representing the United
States and Canada, relative to tlie
halibut situation. It stated that it
would be impossible for the Board to
comply with the request of the Pe
tersburg Club’s request to meet in
Petersburg. Three meetings are to
be held, one in Seattle, one in Van
cover, and one in Ketchikan. The
Chairman urged that the Club pre
sent data bearing on the subject at
the Ketchikan meeting.
VETERINARY SURGEON COMING
A letter from Juneau informed
the Club that a veterinary surgeon
was now in Alaska and would be in
Petersburg within the next week.
He has had special preparation
through study and observation of
the fox question and will visit all
the islands where there is any
trouble due to diseases of various
kinds among the animals. Much loss
has been entailed in this district
thru death of the pups so it is hop
ed that his presence will aid the
farmers in overcoming these losses, j
REPORT ON GAME LAWS
. . The Committee on Recommenda
tion of the Revision of Game Laws
of Alaska will present a written re
port next meeting which when and
if adopted, will be sent to all of
the Clubs in southeastern Alaska
with the request for their action. It
is hoped that each Club will re
spond and the recommendations pre
sented to the Game Commission
when it meets in Juneau in January.
Cuts Fat Mellon
The Kennecott Copper Corpora
tion which owns and operates the
Bonanza, Jumbo and Erie mines in
the Copper River Valley, and the
Latouche Island mine paid a
quarterly dividend of $1.25 on the
share October 1st, to stockholders
of record on September 2. This
distribution amounted to $5,593,030
on the 4,474,424 shares of stock
issued and represented an in
crease of 25 cents the share over
the dividends paid in 1926. Earn
ings for the first six months of this
year are said to have been over $3.16
per share, but part of this amount
comes from the Utah Copper Com
pany, of which the Kennecott now
owns 96 per cent.
“As long as I am a member of the
House of Representatives I will be
a booster for Alaska. I will cooper
ate with your delegate to boost Alas
ka’s interests whatever they may
be,” so states Congressman Albert
H. Vestal of Indiana.
Snow made its first appearance on
the hills this week.
Herring Bait Exhausted;
Halibut Fleet Suffers
Reduction Plants Ar© Blamed For
Serious Situation Which Developed
This Week; Boats Idle
With prices still lower than for
the same period last year on hali
but, the fleet faces a still more seri
ous situation by the exhaustion of
herring bait, unless fresh herring
are impounded in the next few days.
Fishermen and buyers frankly de
clare that the numerous fertilizer
plants in Southeastern Alaska this
year are largely responsible for the
shortage of bait.
The last frozen bait was sold from
the local cold storage houses Fri
day, and telegraphic advices showed
that none was to be had at Prince
Rupert, Petersburg or Wrngell. In
deed, small halibut boats have been
kept in port in Petersburg for some
time because of lack of bait.
The one note of optomism in the
situation was the fact that fresh her
ring was reported to be showing
up in lower Chatham Straits and
near Kasaan. It is hoped that
enough bait will be impounded in
the next few days so that the halibut
fleet will be delayed only a short
time, if at all.
“One of our main sources of
revenue is from the halibut fish
ermen,” said a business man to
day, “and what effects them reach
es us all. If it i3 true, as I have
beep told by numerous fishermen
and fish buyers, that reduction
plants are largely, or even very re
motely, responsible for the present
shortage, then it is time some ac
tion was taken to stop the wholesale
destruction of herring for fertiliz
er. No one for a minute would at
tempt to say that these plants pro
duce anything like the revenue for
local business houses which is de
rived from the halibut fishermen.
It looks to me that it is a very se
rious situation.”—Chronicle.
Ed. Note—Above is virtual admis
sion of the destructiveness of the
“stink factories” in the herring fish
eries. Other cannery fog horns will
one day admit that the contention of
The Alaskan and The Alaska Fisher
man to bo correct, to:wit, any food
fish sent through any process for
any commodity other than food pur
poses fa wasting God given food and
should be stopped forthwith. No
cannery mouthpiece has dared to
make any such statement because
heretofore the pocketbooks of the
‘'invisible editorial assuciation” had
not been hurt. But now, with the
trollers strike putting a crimp in the
business accounts of Ketchikan; the
depletion of fisheries with attend
ant losses in the First Division and
also the short season for the canning
Industry; and the curtailment of the
earning power of halibut fishermen;
things are going pretty tough for
these men. They are giving ear
to statements which they scorned
last year. The mills of the gods
grind slowly, but they grind exceed
ingly small.—The tin gods of the
herring trust will bow to public
opinion as must the Fish Barons of
Oaegon, Wshington and California.
Odds And Ends In The Nortn
Ror Olmstead of Ketchikan was
put in jail the fore part of the
month, in Ketchikan. He was ar
rested on petition of one of his
bondsmen who averred that Olm
stead was planning to leave the
country if the Supreme Court ruled
aga nst him on hie appeal. Olni
stead is the owner of the Ketchikan
broadcasting station but is more
generally known for his operations
in Seattle.
• • •
John H. Bunch, trafflo manager
of the Alaska Steamship Co., died in
Seattle last week. The report was
a complete surprise as it was thot.
that lie was in the beat of health.
• • •
Sixty persons have entered their
claims for a share in the reward
for apprehension of the D’Autre
mont brothers, arrested for murder
and robbery of United State* mails
in the Siskiyou mountains.
• • •
Drilling operations on the Yaka
taga fields have reached a depth of
1805 feet and will be continued to
2,000 feet where it is expected oil
will be found. f
• * •
The Alca of Sitka owned By Peter
Simpson was destroyed by fire at
Juneau. Two women were severly
burned.
* * •
“A sport writer Is one of the few
persons who get paid for guessing
wrong. The Gateway Is picking
Dempsey.” They also picked Tom
Marquam and will probably pick
Senator Howard.
• • •
The verdict in the case of U. S.
v. Gaustad, Valdez, charge of em
bezzlement, was “not guilty.”
The Bureau of Education will
ship south reindeer meat on the
good ship Boxer. It is expected that
meat firms along the line will be
able to buy and dispose of a large
shipment.
Five boys—a box ofdynamite caps,
a rifle. Second part—explosion, two
dead from efftcs of wounds, Lokke
brothers, two will lose sight if they
recover, Littlefield brothers and the
fifth, Morrison, also in precarious
state owing to wounds.
* * *
WHERE THE FISH WERE
CAUGHT
The 1927 pack by district as re
ported to the Bureau of Fisheries
is as follows:
Bristol Bay . 891,074
(76% caught in Nushigak)
Cook Inlet . 182,082
Chignik . 67,487
Alaska Peninsula . 275,121
Port Moller . 15,674
Cetral Alaska . 393,004
Southeastern Alaska .951,799
Total . 2,824,442
The 1927 pack is apparently less
than 50 percent of that for last year
when a total pack of 6,652,882 cas
ese were packed.
Escapement to spawning grounds,
throughout the entire southeast
Alaska wag less than 50 per cent of
normal years. This is from the ob
servation of practical fishermen. It
will be interesting to get the re
port by the Bureau of Fisheries and
cannery representatives who are on
the grounds making a survey right
up into the timber to count the last
fish possible.
• • •
Ruby reports that by the 24th of
September three feet of snow had
fallen over Wiseman.