Published every Friday by the A N B. Publishing Co., Petersbur
Entered in the Post Office in Petersburg as Second Class Mattel
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
The Alaskan, six months.... $2.50
The Alaskan, ^er year... $4.00
A. N. B. PUBLISHING COMPANY
Louis F. Paul. Editor and Manager.
JOHN VAN ORSDELL—JOHN P.
VAN ORSDELL—WHICH?
John Van Orsdell came to our
neighboring town of Wrangell a
few years ago, representing him
self as connected with certain
“big lumber and timber inter
ests.” His high pressure sales
manship induced the late Harry
Gartely to listen to the sirenic
song of intensive business, ex
pansion of sales and plant. Mr.
Van Orsdel went on a timber
cruise for the mill (why, no one
knows for the Forestry Bureau
has always been accommodat)
ing), cruised several patches of
timber without ever having even
gotten off the gasboat, returned
to Wrangell and presented a
large bill for services, took it out
in stock and without any capital
investment to speak of, gained
managerial control of theWran
gell Mill and Power Company. He
put his friend Mr. Doty in as su
perintendent of the mill. Doty
kicked out practically all of the
resident labor, hired the riffraff
and scum of Seattle and began
to run the mill into the hole.
Van Orsdell and his clique o'
clackers received large salaries
and put more skids under the
mill which was being pressured
down rather than uphill.
To save what he had in the
wreck, Johnny Grant saw to it
that Mr. Chisolm had a >har>- in
the mill, also Charley Darwell.
At a meeting, of the directors
Promoter Van Orsdell w i. given
the air with his plan to secure
Wrangell Mill and Power fran
chise to Foshay interests. Grant
had to sink agood many thou
sand dollars to save what he had
in the wrecked mill. Van Orsdell
was made to pay for a lot of
lumber he secured while wdth a
certain defunct lumber company
on the Sound or go to court and
in the forcing of this issue the
directors compelled a delay in
payment of certain notes for ser
vices as timber cruiser.
The Wrangell Mill Company is
again operating but under the
management of Nick Nussbaum
er with capital raised by the va
rious business interests of that
town. Van Orsdell is out pro
moting other ventures and has
lost not even sleep in the ven
ture.
ALASKANS FOOT THE BILL
-x
The citizens of Petersburg will
eventually foot the bill in the
sale of its utilities. That is a I
foregone conclusion. The ques
tion is Are the citizens of the
town willing to foot the bill as
they must?
Where Was that Capital
-x
Where was all that Foshay
Minneapolis capital when the
citizens packed water from the
swamps by the bucketful and by
the barrelful on sleds and what
not a few years back?
Did that Foshay capital offer
to come to the aid of Petersburg
when it scrimped and struggled
to build the water dam? Where
were they last year when the
dam was raised?
When the Diesel unit was talk
ed of, was ANY OUTSIDE capital
willing to come in to aid the ci
tizens install the power unit and
its transmission lines? When the
hydro-electric was bonded, did
this Minneapolis capital offer to
help the city by taking a large
block of the bonds? Or did they
wait until the utility was on a
i paying basis before they so
much as looked Petersburg way.
3 Whose capital investment is it
. that was made? Is not the sale
but an exchange of investment
with the taxpayers footing the
bill—eventually?
And for the small sum involv
ed is it worth the city’s while to
give away a valuable power
right?
QUESTIONABLE PROFIT
-x
The sale of the Cold Storage at
the sum of $110,000—a little ov
er investment cost may be good
business for some. The small
immediate profit on capital ia
Vrotment. But as a longheaded
business deal it is not so good
a::d the faith in the future o'
the town and storage very limit
ed.
”ne ne* interest on investment
in the plant was five per cent;
including bonds retired returns
on investment was equivalent to
twenty-five per cent. At that
rate all bonds would be retired
in short order and if necessary
a sinking fund established to ex
tend scope of the plants opera
tions.
The returns on investment and
sale makes purchase price below
par. Foshay is patting his back
and congratulating himself for
securing a going, paying concern
for less than he would be willing
to invest in a new plant in the
community.
INVESTING NEW MONEY
-x
The Foshay’s will invest new
money in the town and bring in
new capital, is the stock argu
ment of those in favor of the sale
of the public utilities.
Where was Foshay when the
town of Petersburg went up into
the swamp and packed out water
by the bucketful,
Where was Foshay’s when the
town needed light other than the
old oil lamp and candle?
Where was Foshay when the
Diesel plant became too small
to give service to the town?
Where was Foshay when the
town started to build the new
power plant?
Where was Foshay’s when Pe
tersburg built its water dam and
put in extensive repairs?
Foshay’s were in Minneapolis
interested in business to give
greater return than tying up
capital in new plants in small
Alaska communities.
Not until the hardy citizen of
the town insistently and persist
ently demanded the public util
ities and put them in and had
them on a paying basis did Fo
shay’s give Petersburg even a
second glance.
When assured from their OWN
appraisal and from inspection of
the town’s books that theutilities
WERE a PAYING proposition
they come offering a paltry sum
for the utilities and power
rights.
Foshay’s would not invest one
solitary dime if they did not
have assurance from the city’s
records that they would do bet
ter than ten per cent NET on
their investment.
It would be a safe bet that
they are congratulating them
selves on getting an option on a
power plant and water works for
a ten cent song.
A SUBSCRIBER COMMENTS
-x
.Wrangell, Alaska..
July 13, 1929
Editor The ALASKAN,
Petersburg, Alaska
Dear Sir:
I am an American citizen—
born of that citizenship by sev
eral generations. I was taught
to love and revere my country
and its flag; to speak The Salute
to the Flag, backwards, forwards,
sideways, endways anyway and
to hold “certain truths to be self
evident” among which are Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of Hap
piness.
All of which is a lot of boloney
for consumption of school kids,
alien immigrants and the feeble
minded.
Go fishing once and see how
much liberty and happiness you
will have—even when fishing le
gally.
You will find certain ignorant
foreignborn citizens (at least
call ’em such) snooping around
with a different version of the
regulation as set forth by the
Bureau of Robber Barons. Next
let your set drift past a dead line
even after the haul has been
closed, completed, locked up so
that fish can neither get out or
in. Your liberty is not then
worth the paper it is written on.
But the traps—fish after clos
ed periods and in close areas—
and “to preserve the industry
they are allowed to continue.”
In the meantime, you are ar
rested for illegal fishing by an
ignorant nincompoop without
the brains of a jellyfish, taken to
court, boat and net confiscated
and held to await trial—anytime
in the next 60 days. If the Rob
ber Barons have stacked the
deck, you get off with a fine of
$400. If you fight the case you
get it in the neck for being not
a base-born slave. “Plead guilty
and we let you off with a light
fine of $400. Fight and v/e confis
cate boat and gear and give you
a heavy fine to boot.” And the
the poor American citizen,—en
j joying the Life, Liberty and Pur
suit of Happiness, bows h's head
I'Ve a whipped cur, pleads guilty’
and is let off with a stiff jolt.
Worse than any Czaristic days
cf Nicholas; worse than the
Spanish Iinquisition; worse than
the Feudal Barons. For men un
der those systems had NO guar
antee of Life, Liberty and the
Pursuit of Happiness guaranteed
American citizens. A lasting dis
grace to the memory of Thom
as Jefferson. Americans, if free
born ye be, go weep for shame at
the feudalistic era set up by the
Bureau of Fisheries Robber Ba
rons. And until that system is
done away with, call yourselves
slaves of O’Malley and his can
nery system of Chicago, San
Francisco and Seattle high bind
ers. Free-born American citi
zens. For shame on such a name,
it has no place in Alaska. Nay!
Nay! Nay!. “Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of the Alaska fisher
men.”
SUBSCRIBER.
PLENTY OF RAIN AND NO
FISH
-x
Plenty of rain and no fish.
Less than 15,000 salmon escaped
up Anan Creek; no fish in any tf
the inland bays, estuaries, chan
nels—no use talking; about in
the creeks
Henry O'Malleys system of
breeding lple fish will bring on
ly late fish. The forecast made
by ' he Rot her Fish Barons is
that a stable run permitting an
annual pack of 4,500,000 cases is
going to be maintained from
present indications. (Stable stuff
alright''
Indications at this writing are
a small run on the West Coast
of Prince of Wales Island; a lit
tle splurge in Icy Straits. Moth
tie splurge in Icy Straits. Noth
ing to speak of anywhere else.
BUT by the 20th of August,
after the c.ose season starts in,
the run of fall fish which have
been prot •’ted will come in such
numbers ; s to overseed tlv dif
ferent spawning areas. The law
of nature is immutable. Be it
man, animal, bird or fish, the
progeny of each species returns
only according to their laws of
reproduction.
MY COUNRTY ’TIS OF ThEE
We are taught to sing these
words in the schools about as
soon as we can learn to talk. And
there are many, especially of the
younger school who believe the
words literally. ,
The liberty we have today and1
'the liberty for which our fore
fathers bled and died are two
’different birds altogether.
; To some Liberty is to make a
• lot of money, hoard it and ex
ploit it and labor. To others
liberty means the right to imbibe
spiritous liquors at any and all \
times, usually in wholesale\
quantities. To others liberty is
license. While to a few, and
they are called “radicals,” liber
ty means just those rights and
justice which the Colonists de
clared themselves in the most
historic document of all times—
the Declaration of Independ
ence, Liberty, Justice and Equal
ity (before the law) for ALL.
ONTARIO SHOWS THE WAY
-x
The province of Ontario, Can
ada, has a population of 3,000,
000; has invested $300,000,000 in
its publicly owned hydro-electric
plant, and at the present rate of
progress will get back its entire
investment in another 15 years,
while charging its customers
about one-third the rates pre
vailing in the United States.
That, in a nutshell, is the last
report of the Ontario Hydro
Electric Power Commission, sub
mitted to the Ontario provincial
parliament last week. (Week of
March 23rd).
It is a little hard to get com
parisons on the United States
side of the line that will help
Americans understand the
“nerve” as well as the good man
agement of these public-owner
ship Canadians.
Enjoy Cheap Electricity
Ontario has about 3,000,000 In
habitants—practically the same
as in Indiana. But Indiana has
only 35,000 square miles, while
Ontario has 365,000—or about
the same as Texas and New Mex
ico together.
..Anyway, here is a community
which has staked $100 per capita
of its own money to get cheap
electricity—and is getting it.
It is through public ownership
all the way through. The pro
v i n c i a 1 commission, better
known as the Hydro, develops
current and sells it to the mun
icipalities, and these in turn re
tail the current to their own
people.
The principle on which the en
terprise is managed is service at
cost—with one exception. In ru
ral districts, the province pays
half the cost of constructing
transmission lines.
The average charge for elec
tricity for domestic use is less
than 2 cents per kilowatt hour in
Ontario, and 7.4 cents in the
United States.
Hydro’s Astounding Growth
According to the official re
port mentioned, the growth of
the system has been astounding.
In 1918, the total investment
was $88,000,000.
In 1928, the investment ran
above $300,000,000.
In 1918, the reserves accumu
lated for the main system and
the municipalities’ distributing
systems were $11,500,000.
In 1928, the invesutment ran
above $300,000,000.
In 1928, the reserve fund had
grown .to $75,500,000, .AN .IN
CREASE OF MORE .THAN .560
PER CENT.
In 1918, Hydro was supplying
317.000 horsepower.
In 1928, it was supplying 1,
071.000 horsepower.
In 1922 there were 320 miles of
rural lines, supplying 2,226 cus
tomers.
In 1928, there were 4,103 miles
of rural line, supplying 31,068
customers.
Has Surplus of $940,633
For the 12-month period end
ing October 31, 1928, “after pro
viding for all expenses and
meeting all necessary fixed i
charges,” there was a surplus of :
$940,663. i
In conclusion, the report says <
that Hydro is “now in the very -
satisfactory condition of not -
owing the government a single -
dollar, other than loans on cap- <
ital account, which are being «
W3P*5WBP
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Phone 15 Petersburg, Alaska
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Choice Cigars, Tobaccos And Candies
New Tables And Equipment
Dick Kuwata, Prop.
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ATTENTION !!
Beat Owners
We can take care of general repair in wood and caulking
and all the blacksmith work on any boat up to 100 feet in \\
length at
Petersburg Marine Ways
J. C. Holton & Ed. Walwick
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T^deTeet Studies
*>ortraifs PSjS>¥ ^l3Ska
Landscapes
COPYING AND ENLARGING
TINTING AND COLORING DONE IN OIL
FRAMING DONE TO ORDER
Hi
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Pipe Fitting And £
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Oxo-Acetylene •
Cutting & Welding Sheet Metal Work
GENERAL
BLACKSMITHING
John R. Kolstrand.
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