VOL. 3.
PETERSBURG, ALASKA, APRIL, 26, 1929
NO. 41
Musical Treat
For Next Week
The people of Petersburg are
to enjoy a real treat next Sun
day afternoon at the MacGreg
or Theatre. The large Chorus
of voices comprising the Com
munity Lutheran Chorus, will
sing the splendid cantata entitl
ed ‘‘The Lord of the Eastertide.”
The members of the chorus are
all men and women of Peters
burg, who have been practicing
for several weeks under the di
rection of Miss Lillian Swanson,
and the reports that have leak
ed out from those few who have
heard the recent rehearsals, say
that we are to have a real sur
prise and pleasurable hour in
this treat. Many people of our
town besides those who com
prise this choir, are interested
in music, and this is thought to
be but the beginning of the ex
istance of the body of singers
who are banded together to
drih and produce worth while
singing for the public. It is ex
pected that a goodly number of
other singers will join this choir,
some of who are now out Ash
ing, and that next winter there
will be even a much larger list
in the per onnel composing this
Comunnity I utheran Choir.
Here is 'he list of the person
nel who will ap car and join in
giving this glorious cantata next
Sunday al.ernoon. The pro
gram is to begin promptly at
2:30:
Sopranos: Mrs. Charles An
derson, Mrs. H. Berg, Mrs. O.
Husvick, Mrs. A. Johnson, Mrs.
W. Johnson. Miss Frances More
ley, Miss Mary Reep, Dr. Susie
Standard, Mrs. B. Waswick.
Altos: Mrs. Wm Stedman
ik/C i fc, ’
Martin Enge, Mrs. K. Lien. Mrs.
W. J. Maakestad.
Tenors: Joe Kahklen, David
Morgan, Matt Raynor, Dr. Dan
Standard, Chris Wick, Rev. W.
J. Maakestad.
Basses: Herbert Mjorud, Paul
Tveten, Arnold Waswick, An
drew Wickan, Pat Verney.
Director, Miss Lillian Swan
son.
Accompanist: Miss Bertha Le
ro, piano.
Solos will be taken by the fol
lowing:
Mrs. A. Johnson, Miss Frances
Morley, Miss Mary Reep, Mrs.
Martin Enge, Joe Kahklen, Paul
Tveten, Rev. W. J. Maakestad.
12 Units for School
Recent report on the indus
trial for the First Division indi
cate that when the site for the
school is chosen, twelve units of
the institution will be built at
an initial cost of $283,500 The
money will be available accord
ing to Mr. Cooper, Commission
er of Education. Plans for the
school and estimated cost of the
first units will be submitted to
Congress by next spring.
READY TO HIT THE BALL
HIGH, WIDE AND HANDSOME
..The .shrimp .plant will .be
ready to hit the ball the first of
May and to hit on all fours.
The new ~boiler is being in
stalled and will have more than
ample power to take care of the
work of the plant. The boats
have all had a thorough over
hauling from stem to stern and
from keel to topmast.
I
Juneau Wins In
Contest
The Divisional rhetorical con
test which was held at Juneau,
was won by the Juneau contest
ant. The prize thereby becomes
the permanent trophy of the
Juneau high school.
Identity of the speakers was
not made known to the audience
or to the judges, the speakers
were not permitted to hear the
other speakers do their orating,
effort, outwardly was made to
show no bias or prejudice for
any speaker.
Herbert Mjorud, representing !
Petersburg was accorded second
place.
Unconfirmed report from Ju- j
neau is to the effect that the |
Juneau contestant was prompt- j
ed from behind the screen. The i
Petersburg and Ketchikan con
testants asked for opportunity
to try out their pieces in the
auditorium for sound and to get
used to conditions in that hall
but according to report given
here, Mr. Keller, principal of the
Juneau school refused to grant
this request.
Mjorud was said to be just
five points from the winner.
,It Needs a Lot
Of Explaining
Testimony of Attorney Gen- f
eral Sargent and former Secre- \
tary of the Interior Work re
garding their part in stopping :
prosecution of Indian Commis
sioner Burke falls far short of
clearing up a serious matter.
Fair-minded citizens will with
hold judgment until all the facts
are known, but will insist that
those facts be uncovered as
quickly as possible.
Sargent and Work told the
Senate Committee on Indian af
fairs ysterday they had inter
fered with grand jury action in
order to protect Burke from al
leged persecution by Assistant
Attorney General Parmenter.
Sargent added that he had not
intended to drop the Burke pros
ecution if investigation sub- j
stantiated charges against the'
Indian Commissioner in the
Jackson Barnett case.
But what reason had Sargent
and Work to think that the
grand jury proceedings, which
they halted, would not properly
sift the charges?
An uncomfortable public feel
ing has been produced by the
apparent ease with which two
Cabinet officers, behind the
scenes, can manipulate legal
proceedings.
“Indictment Indian Commis
sioner Burke threatened,” Work
wired Sargent. “Please have it
stayed. Mrs. Burke critically
ill.” Whereupon Sargent, who
was in New Hampshire, immedi
ately telephoned Solicitor Gen
eral Mitchell in Washington to
Action has been started in
court by Miss Cherry Merillatt
to collect balance of year’s sal
ary from the Point Aggassiz
School District and also damag
es in the sum of $500. Answer
has not yet been made to the
complaint by the school board
of the district.
Some neighbors will borrow
everything, including trouble.
-o
The hard thing about making
money last is making it first.
SE
E
POLITICAL MEDDLER
Memorial Recites History of Effort to Secure
Relief From Autocratic Bureaucracy
. In the Territorial Senate was
introduced a memorial by Sen
ators, Steel, Benjamin, Ander
son, Frame and Sundquist, ask
ing Congress to give relief from
bureaucratic government by the
enactment of a law granting
them power to create an Am
erican form of Territorial Gov
ernment in Alaska without
domination and control by ap
pointed officials.
The memorial is eight pages
in length stating that the pow
ers granted Alaska were based
on the principles of the Consti
tution of the United States af- I
ter the type organized in terri
tories of the West which gave :
their people a full territorial \
form of government and fitted
such Territories to later form
and adopt state constitutions
and be admitted as State: into j
the Union.
Tha notwithstanding the pow
er granted the people of Alaska,
Naval Aviators To
Come Next Month
The Navy fliers who are due |
in Alaska on the 25th of May,
to continue the photographic
air mapping of southeastern
Alaska, will spend a couple of
weeks in the vicinity of Peters
burg mapping sections of the
country which was not complet
ed when they were here a couple
of years ago. They will photo
graph Kuiu Island and the south
end of Baranof Island, basing
out of Petersburg. After a short
stay in this section they will
proceed to Juneau from which
port they will work out of.
The crews from the shrimp
iitet will fix a landing spot
across the Narrows from Citi
zen's Dock. Permanent berth
will be at the Citizen’s Dock.
R. H. Sargent, Topographic
Engineer will be in charge of
the expedition.
Last of Year's Meetings
At its Wednesday night meet
ing the Chamber of Commerce
decided to hold meetings on the
8th and 22nd of May. After
those dates it is probable that
the Club will go on summer
meeting schedule.
FORMER JUDGE DIES
One of Nebraska’s early In
dian attorneys, Judge Hiram
Chase, died recently at the
home of his daughter, Mrs. Fred
Ammons, Chadron, Neb.
Mr. Chase spent much of his
life in the interest of the Oha
ha Indians. He was a graduate
of the Cincinnatti Law College
in 1889, and was admitted to
the bar in 1891. He was a form
er county attorney and county
judge of Thurston county.
Death followed a long illness
after a nervous breakdown,
which forced him to give up his
I practice several years ago.
the legislatures continue to de- i
livr into th governor’s hands, [
and other federal officials, pow- 1
er to control Territorial affairs, j
Said officials being not respons- 1
ible in any sense to the people :
of Alaska. That we now have a j
Federal Bureaucratic -Govern j
ment, with the appointed Gov- j
ernor, Secretary of the Territory I
and other Federal officials and
Territorial boards filled by ap
pointment by these federal offi
cials, in full charge, while the1
citizens, electors and taxpayers j
of Alaska are practically ex
cluded from any participation in |
ihe management of their Terri- 1
torial affairs.
It recites the efforts of citi
zens to stop the autocratic bu
reaucrats from their unlawful
control over our own Territorial
Government thru the courts;
That as an effort to cure a i
part of the defects, Senate Bill
No. 35 (Controller Bill) was |
DOES MORE THAN DUTY
An Indian woman, Maria de
los Rcmedios Aparicio Soreque,
gave birth to five healthy sons
on Mexico's Independence day
—is a report gleaned from dis
patches. The woman’s husband
is Marcelino Soreque, a farmer.
The couple had been married a
year.
Fish Bureaus
Oppose |Dams
At the recent conference of
American ‘ scientific fishing ex
peris wnn uanaaian JiAniKiS, j
all were agreed, except certain |
hydro interests that the fishing
industry could not be best serv
ed by having salmon streams
dammed for power. It was ev
en stat edthat development of
en stated that development of
Pacific Coast rivers is proving a
menace to salmon runs, and has
already depleted hordes of prime
Sound.
Henry O’Malley, for the Unit
ed States, and Major J. A. Moth
erwell, for the Canadian gov
ernment fisheries department
said it is imperative that scien
tific investigations be made at
once to discover means where
by fish may get past power
dams.
Canada Joins” Meaning U. S.
Joins Canada
After several years of effort
and a couple of failures on the
part of the United States to
join with Canada in an earn
est effort to rehabilitate the
fisheries of the Fraser River Ba
sin, which includes Washing- -
ton spawning areas,, a treaty
was signed whereby real effort
will be made jointly to find the
best means of conservation of
the fisheries.
Recent international treaties
to rehabilitate coast waters will
have been futile unless there is
cooperation between power com
panies and the governments of
Canada and the United States,”
declared Major Motherwell.
passed by a majority of the
Senate. This being in conform
ity with provisions of the Organ
ic Act, forwarded to the House
where it was amasculated by
the Federal supporters and at
the same time the House incor
porated that the Governor shall
be empowered to take over and
perform a wide range of duties
which cannot be legally perform
by any Federal or Territorial of
ficial or board for want of any
legally constituted board or
officials to perform them; that
the Governor is active in opposi
tion to the bill and is using his
power to defeat the bill and has
indicated that he will veto it.
That the Governor is using an
opinion from the Solicitor Gen
eral’s office to whip members in
to line. For these reasons the
majority of the Senate pray for
relief by enactment of a law
to remedy the situation.
Stubborn Fire In
Benson Residence
The fire alarm called the fire
laddies out Tuesday morning
about ten o’clock to put out a
blaze at the Benson residence.
The fire had taken hold from
the interior of the building prob
ably from the fire flue.
Mo trucks were handy so sev
eral men grabbed hold of one
hose cart and two chemicals and
started the long trekke up the
hill. Before they reached the
top of the hill the Old Boys
were somewhat winded and
their legs not so light as in
former years so they had to fin
ish the long uphill hike at a
walk. When they got to the
burning house they made every
effort to extinguish the fire and
succeeding only after the most
of the roof was burned out. The
water pressure on top of the
hill was anything but satisfac
tory making it thatmuch hard
er for the boys to put out the
fire.
A Notice for Everyone
Everybody is requested to save
all their old papers, either
newspapers or magazines of all
kinds, regardless of what lan
guage they are printed in, for
the Boy Scouts, who will call at
the homes and places of busi
ness to collect them. The plan
is for the Scouts to call once
each month, and the first call
will be made next week. Please
help the Boy Scouts to help
themselves in THRIFT .
-x
Mr. Britten, old timer around
Wrangell and this vicinity was
found in his boat in a bad way
by some people of Kake. They
took him in to the cannery from
I whence he was brought to this
port for medical aid. He is suf
fering from a paralytic stroke
and is now unable to talk or tc
write.
Clean-up
Paint-up
There is no “sure sign of
spring, taut spring should be a
“sure sign” of the arrival of that
time for the community to clean
up. There is no superstition or
prophesying about this clean-up
sign.
When warm weather has come
to stay (until cold weather re
turns in the autumn) every
owner of property and tenant
should make it his first duty
, to remove the evidences of win
j ter’s ravages and to aid nature
| in her work of rebeautification.
Every spring clean-up pro
gram should include disposal of
winter’s accumulation of litter
and decayed vegetation, repair
ing and repainting of buildings,
and landscape gardening. Land
scape gardening is no longer
associated with large estates
alone.
Cleanliness about the person
or the home costs nothing. A
community clean-up need in
volve no expense, except of a
moderate amount of labor on
the part of the householders. If
there ever were excuses for un
cleanliness they were removed
long ago.
What is the compensation of
a community clean-up cam
paign? It improves the gen
eral health of the community by
removing deposits that are
breeding places of disease germs
and disease carrying insects. A
clean town is a better place in
which to live than one that is
unsanitary and unsightly. And
the best community advertising
is the appearance of being
“cleaned-up, painted-up and
planted-up.”
THE POOR INDIAN
The Jackson Barnett case is
one that smells to high heaven.
An ‘incompetent Indian, “an
idiot” he has been declared by
the courts. Commissioner Chas.
H. Burke, sworn to protect this
ignorant, incompetent, idiot,
used legal talent of the Indian
department and others to sus
tain a gift of $550,000 to Mr.s
Barnett who in the investiga
tions was described as being a
cheap white adventurous; and
another gift of similar amount
to the American Baptist Mission
Society. It was shown that Mr.
Burke who was presumed under
the law to protect the Indian,
ordered payment of funds to at
torneys trying to sustain the
gift; that he used his depart
ment to foil the efforts of the
Department of Justice in its ef
forts to protect Jackson. Burke
charged Senator Pine with con
spiracy to discredit him (Burke
but he had to withdraw his
charge. Burke resigned (they
are never dismissed from the
Indian service) and has been
given another responsible post
by President Hoover.
Registered at the Arctic Ho
tel this week: A. Odegard, Leo
Haiden, Philip C. Doran, F. M.
Hungerford and Mrs. Hunger
ford, J. Meherin, Oscar Hart,
E. O. Ramstead, Chas. A. Haw
thorne, Ross Wilson, Gene Bos
worth, Paul Warwick, Walter
Evert, Don Fraser, J. L. Dolan
and Mrs. Dolan, C. Taylor, Jack
Hadland, C. W. Cash, Sam Bak
er, Father Monroe, H. W. Hoff
man, Cecil C. Culp, Horace N.
Hawkins Jr., S. A. Light, Mr.
and Mrs. Fred Patten, Mr. and
Mrs. O. M. Carter.
Declares Sea
Lions a Menace
Sea liins are increasing in
numbers on the Alaskan coast
to an alarming extent and troll
ers, familiar with their depra
dations on salmon runs are
concerned over the situation, ac
cording to Tom Wakefield, for
many years engaged in troll
fishing in Southeastern Alaska,
says a recent exchange. It is
impossible to estimate the quan
tity of salmon destroyed by these
animals, but the total every
year is declared by trollers to
be enormous. Estimates of the
number of sea lions between
Cape Spencer and Dixon En
trance r^nge from a few thou
sand up to 50,000, and extrem
ists say as high as 100,000. ‘‘They
actually destroy more salmon
than all the fish traps and other
gear take during the season,”
Mr. Wakefield declared. In re
cent years the Canadian auth
orities have been waging active
warfare against sea lions off the
coast of British Columbia as a
means of protecting salmon
runs from their depredations.
At the same time the American
governmnt threw the mantle of
protection around them. The
result, according to those with
some knowledge of the situation
has been a large increase in the
number of animals to be found
in local waters.
Offers Prizes
Essay Contest
The Forestry Bureau last fall
presented all schools of the ter
ritory an “Outline of Study of
Alaska Forests.” It was contem
plated that each school would
devote an hour each week to the
study of the course. As a stim
ulus to study these lessons,
prizes are being offered for the
best essays submitted by pupils
who have taken the course. A
gold medal will be given to each
pupil furnishing the best essay
in each of the four Divisions,
ind a special gold medal to the
choc! from which it is submit
ted, which award will be kept if
t is won three consecutive years.
The medals are being offered
Jiru the American Forestry As
sociation and were made es
pecially for this contest.
CHAIN STORE SALES CP 23.1
-o——
. Twenty-two chain store sys
tems reporting March sales show
a gain of 23.1 per cent over
March, 1928 and an increase of
15.2 per cent in the first quar
ter of this year over the corres
ponding 1928 period. March
sales totaled $68,531,871 against
$55,668,225.
Slanders Dead Woman
Was printed in Stroller’s Week
ly a scurrilous article defaming
the good name of “Mother Mc
Farland, first missionary from
the States to Alaska. A purport
story of an attack by Kake peo
ple on certain prospectors and
the killing of missionary Ed
wards told. Emery Valentine
of Junetau was the author of
the defaming article. The real
story will be told in this paper.
Lots of people think the world
owes them five or six livings.