VOL. I
PETERSBURG, ALASKA APRIL 15, 1927
NO. 40
In its regular meeting this week,
the Commercial Club followed the
action of the Executive Committee
which recommended that the Club
take no action to protest against
the graduated tax measures before
the Legislature.
At a previous meeting, Mr. Ed
ward Locken read a lengthy tele
gram from Mr. Schoenwald urging
the Club to protest against the pas
sage of this bill. The matter was
placed in the hands of a committee
to look into its various phases and
to report to the Club. The report
of the Club was that it should not
as a business organization take
any action on this subject which
affects both cannery and resident
interests.
Mr. Locken made a motion that
the Club take definite action and
not “straddle” the question. The
motion did not carry. Later when
a Mr. Beauchar spoke asking if the
business men of the town would
support a farmer in this district
by buying his products, Mr. Locken
made a motion that it be the sense
of the Cub that it protest against
the passage of any bill which
would tend to change and raise the
present schedule of taxes thruout
the Territory and follow t'ae sug
gestion of Governor Parks in his
message to the Legislature. There
was no second to the measure so
the motion died a natural death.
The action of the Club may be
construed as being not opposed to
restrictive measures against the
trap interests and in favor of
greater earning power of. resident
seiners.
Commercial Club
Planning For Fonrth
The Commercilal Club during its
last business session discussed
celebration of Fourth of July and
the Club advised that this year
the matter be handled as it was
bandied a number of years back,
namely: instead of one organiza
tion collecting the funds, that the
i
Mayor call a mass meeting to dis
cuss the event and appoint com
mittees to take charge of the af
fair. \
SITKA HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS
PLANNED
Col. James G. Steese, president
of the Alaska road commission last
week returned to Juneau from
Sitka, where he and Liet. H. Bell
examined the wharves and ship
ways for which permits were re
cently issued. Col. Steese sounded
out the people of Sitka regarding
the harbor improvements needed
as the last river and harbor act
authorized a preliminary examina
tion of necessary work to be done
at Sitka.
The most essential work is the
removal of a rock reef in the
middle of the main channel to the
wharves.
Nana Paul, little daughter of L.
F. Paul, local teacher in the U. S.
Bureau of Education, school has
been quite ill with intestinal flu
the past two weeks but is now on
the road to recovery.
BOY SCOUT TO GIVE
BENEFIT DANCE
Arrangements are in progress for
the Boy Scout Benefit Dance
which they are are planning to
give on Saturday evening, April
^3rd in the Sons of Norway Hall.
Altho this is the night on which
Mr. Wickstrom and Mr. Sales were
planning a dance, they generous
! lv gave precedence to the Scouts
as they appreciated the desire of the
boys to make their affair a huge
success.
The Scouts are undertaking the
dance in order to earn enough
money to help them buy their uni
forms which they hope to have for
the Memorial Day Program.
There are to be several innova
tions at their dance, one of which
will be that punch will be- served
at 10 cents per glass during the
dance. Lunch will be served as
usual at 75 cents per couple or
J0 cents per plate.
All the business houses as well
as the Legion and Auxiliary are
loyally backing the Scouts in their
first financial venture and it is
noped , the public will lend its
hearty support. The boys assure
a good time and your money’s
worth.
Schoenwald Wife Beater
Seattle, April 8.—Ernest Schoen
wald, manager of the Petersburg
Packing Co., was arrested yester
day charged with third degree ^as
sault on his wife, who is suing
him for divorce.
Mrs. Schoenwald alleged they
met on the street and her husband
started quarreling and demanding
that she return to him and drop
^he divorce action, which started
last December.
She says she refused and that
he beat her up.
Schoenwald was released on
$500 bail.—Chronicle.
"VINE CASES TO BE PRESENTED
GRAND JURY ON APRIL 14
There are nine cases on the cal
endar for presentation to the Fed
eral Grand Jury which met
Thursday, April 14, according to
United States District Attorney J.
H. Harding. The cases which have
been bound over to the Grand Jury
are as follows:
W. R. Hanlon, A. Murray, K.
Raatikainin, W. Larianoff and John
Hollywood, malfeasance in office,
from Sitka; Perry Merwin, viola
tion of the National Prohibition
Act, Sitka; Mark Reep Loeg and
Arthur Carlson, larceny in the
dwelling, Ketchikan; Erling J.
Peterson, assault with intent to
commit rape, Ketchikan; Alva Allen,
Jimmy Rhodes and David Philips,
riot, Petersburg; George Hall rape,
Wrangell; Pablo Delarosa and
Daisy Thomas, illegal cohabitation,
Juneau; L. A. Slane, rape and
making, exhibiting and possessing
cbscene pictures, Juneau; Albert
Shappee, wilful and malicious de
struction of personal property, Ju
neau.
The only cases set for trial be
fore the petit jury which will be
called April 19, are to date:
United States versus William
Douglas, conspiracy to violate the
National Prohibition Act; and
United States versus Chris Rado
milovich, trespass, appealed from
TJ. S. Commissioner’s Court.—Em.
Anchorage wants the capital of
Alaska in place of Juneau. She is
welcome to it. Not wishing her
| any hard luck.
Sidelights on -
Legislature
Point Of View
Haines DeWitt of Kake appeared
before the Ways and Means com
mittee to testify as an expert fish
erman. While no one has ever
before the Senate. Every Senator
ses, and cannerymen and their
lawyers have been extended the
courtesies of the flpor repeatedly,
Rep. Lomen objected to hearing
DeWitt and other native fishermen
unless their statements were re
ported. This was done.
In his testimony, DeWitt testifi
ed that his net earnings as a fish
erman last year was $250. Pegues
o* Empire and Marquam fame
whispered, “Pretty good for one
month’s work.” Another man sit
ing near had this thought, “That
man with his wife and children
has got to live on that $^f|0 top
one year. Isn’t it tough.”
It is all in the point of view.
The memorial of Sumner Smith’s
praying that Congress grant the
right of suit to anybody who is
hurt on the Alaska railroad thru
the negligence of the operators was
before the Senate. Eevry Senator
there saw the justice of the peti
tion, except Senator Tom Jenson,
friend of labor from Nome. He
opposed the bill on the ground
that the railroad was already los
ing a lot of money and if tha
Railroad had to pay for damages
which occur thru the .negligence or
carelessness of the employees, the
railroad would lose more money.
It hasn’t occurred to the dis
ahd friend of labor (sic), that even
the United States should not have;
the right to injure persons thru
negligence, and that the only ef
feet such a petition could have
would be to give the court the
right to determine who is right or
wrong in injury cases.
Benefits Lomen’s Company
Representative Lomen should
leave this legislature a sadder and
wiser man. A bill introduced by
Tom Gaffney, friend of labor from
Nome and “no particular friend
NEW TRAPS AT KNIGHT ISLAND
Ole Hansen, who arrived in Cor
dova last week from Knight Island
reports that Colin Leonard and
Barney Lee are both busy con
structing several fish traps for
themselves and for cannery outfits.
Lee, according to Mr. Hansen, is
filling the order for one trap for
the Shepard Point cannery and an
other for the Drier bay cannery.
In addition he is constructing two
traps for his own use this season.
Leonard is building two traps
both for his independent use this
summer. The trap builders are lo
cated at Barnes Cove, Drier bay.
It will take them approximately 21
days weather permitting, to built
each trap, according to Hansen.
CRAIG TO GET CHURCH
A carnival was given in Moose
hall by the natives of Craig, Klaw
ak and Hydaburg on March 22.
The receipts are to be used to
build a new church at Craig. Na
tive Indian dances were on during
the first part of the entertainment.
A fruit cake modeled to represent
the proposed church was auctioned
of and purchased by the Klawak
Christian Endeavor Society. The
sum of $400 was taken in during
the evening.
of Lomen’s" to use his own lan
guage, provides that some $17,000
should be given to any boat that
makes certain runs in Norton
and Kotzebue Sounds during the
next two years. Last legislature
made the gift conditional on the
amount of profit. Mr. Gaffney’s
bill proposed to make an outright
gift. The House on Wednesday
restored the profit limitation so
that if the boats made a net pro
' fit. of $5,000. in each year, no sun
i
. sidy would be paid.
There are some who suspect
that this bill would not have been
' so closely ^examined if Mr. Lomen
; understood the ordinary rules of
| courtesy. The Enterprise Steam
i ship Company, of which Mr. Lo
men is the President, is the only
company that is in position to get j
the subsidy.
. What “Eleven Ounces” says . • j
The work of the Liberals is im
proving. The Speaker, Mr. Smith,
is now quite familiar with the
rales and is settled down to his
work. The alignment is such that
the Juneau reactionary “Fog Horn”
seldom prints the names, being sat
isfied with merely saying “the us
ual alignment.”
..... Refuses to take Count ....
The Committee on Elections, of
which Represent ative’ W isth or
which Representative Worth 'is
Chairman, reported back to the
House that a Committee Substi
tute bill be adopted in place of the
original controller bill. This re
port was opposed by Representa
tive Fisher, and supported by Mr.
North and Mr. Sundquist. Mr.
Fisher made the motion to send the
matter to the judiciary committee
for consideration, saying, “I real
ly cannot • under stand the bill.”
While the House no doubt believ
ed he was telling the truth, the
motion was defeated by the “usual
men, Murray, Scott, Sheldon and
Rydeen for the motion; Benjamin,
Ferguson, Paul, Grier, Johnston,
Ross, Sundquist, and, Smith against
it.
BLAME THE WHALE
Telegraphic service between Al
aska and the United States, which
was severed early last Sunday
morning, is expected to resume
again according to word received
from the cableship Dellwood.
Members of the crew who have
been hunting for the break the
past week reported that the curio
sity or hunger of a small whale
caused the break. Evidently mis
taking the cable for something to
cat, the whale bit into the line in
its struggle broke the conductor in
side the armored cable.
The incident recalls to oldtimers
a similar episode 20 years ago
when a whal^ bit into the old
Seattle-Sitka cable. The sea an
imal became entangled with wire
and—was fished up when repairs
were made.
The present break in the cable
was about 200 miles out of Seattle.
| While service to Alaska has been
| hampered considerably, many mes
sages are being handled by radio.
Several members of the Chris
tian Endeavor Society of the Na
tive Presbtyerian Church, left for
Wrangell this morning. They are
planning to be present at the East
er exercises of the church and will
return Monday.
WEDDING BELLS FOR
SITKA COUPLE
MissJessie Wier, teacher of do
mestic science in the Sheldon
j Jackson School, Sitka and U. S.
| Deputy Marshall Frank D. Price,
of Juneau were married at Sitka
on the evening of April 14th at
Sitka by the Rev. Marple of the
Presbyterian Church.
The couple are popular with the
younger set of Sitka. Mr. Pnice
has been a resident of Sitka since
early boyhood and has served his
home town well as councilman.
The happy couple are receiving the
felicitations of their many friends
who wish them bon voyage on the
matrimonial seas.
The local Troop of the Boy
Scouts, together with their Scout
Master, Dr. Standard and his wife,
and the two assistant Scout Mas,
|ters, Mr. Judy and Trigvy Strom,
j were royally entertained at the
I Lome of Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Wil
lard last Saturday afternoon. In
all twenty-one guests were served
a most delicious chicken dinner
Judging from the expression of
satisfaction evinced, they surely
enjoyed it. The party was given
in honor of Mrs. Willard’s nephew
Lauren Johnson, who has recent
ly affiliated with the local Scouts.
Governor's Proclamation
In accordance with the establish
ed custom, the President of the
United States has by proclamation
designated the week beginning
April twenty-fourth, 1927, as
AMERICAN FOREST WEEK
so that the attention of all the
people may be directed to the
necessity of united effort in formu
lating plans for the preservation
and perpetuation of our forests. If
the importance of our forests as
a factor in our national prosperity
is understood, and the grave dan
ger of their destruction cun be pre
sented to all of the people, the ef
i forts to protect them will be suc
cessful. The greatest obstacle to
be overcome is the indifference of
public opinion towards the conser
vation of one of the greatest of
our national resources.
.The purpose of American, Forest
Week is to afford an opportunity
for a concentrated effort directed
toward the, dissemination of infor
mation concerning the extent of the
forests, their importance to the na
tion, their efficient utilization, me
thods for the prevention of their
destruction by fire, plans for re
forestation, and toward the stim
ulation of nation-wide interest in
• he problem of forest rehabilitation
Alaska is interested particularly
in all of these problems because
we have large areas of virgin forests
and we must look to them as one
of our greatest assets, hence we
should make every effort to en
courage an efficient utilization of
iheir products, at the same time
having in mind that they must be
safeguarded and perpetuated.
Therefore, I, Geo. A. Parks, Gov
ernor of the Territory of Alaska,
in conformity with the Proclama
tion of the President of the United
States, do hereby designate the
wee beginning April 24, 1927, as
.American Forest Week and urge
that during this time all Alaskans
give heed to the necessity of pre
venting forest fires and to measures
necessary for the preservation and
perpetuation of our forests. I
earnestly urge that special exercises
he held in all the schools and that
the press and public generally give
consideration to the forest needs
CONTEST 10 BE
The Southeastern Alaska Decla
matory Contest will be held at} the
Variety Theatre on Saturday evens
iDg, April 16, at 8 p. m. This Is
the first time that Petersburg has
ever entertained any of the Inter
scholastic contests. In previous
j-ears the Declamatory contests have
been separated in order that as
many towns as possible might have
the benefits derived from the con
tests.
All the towns in southeastern Al
aska are privileged to enter the
Declamatory contest. This year
those represented are: Juneau,
Skagway, Ketchikan and Petersburg.
The contestants from each locality
have been chosen as our represent
ative was, by sin elimination con
test in their respective towns. Miss
Lillian Anderson who won first
place in the local contest, will rep
resent Petersburg.
As the attention of the audience
is a very important factor in the
success of the contest, the parents
are reqi^ted to keep small children
with them to avoid disturbances.
Besides the dramatic readings,
:.he program will contain several
musical selections by local talent.
As this is the first time' that
Petersburg High School has been
represented in a Declamatory con
test the school would appreciate
the hearty support of the citizens.
Salmon Broker
Under Arrest
Seattle.—Elmer W. Smith, salm
on broker who demoralized the
salmon market with financial va
garies, has been arrested and
charged with 18 counts for viola
tion of the Federal Bill of Lading
Act which carries a maximum pen
alty of five years imprisonment
and $5,000 fine on each count.
Smith’s bond has been reduced
from $25,000 to $10,000 but he is
unable to furnish it.
Although accused of defrauding
Seattle banks of approximately $63,
000 by fraudulent bill of ladings,
Smith declared the operations made
him penniless. Nine times Smith
obtained bill of ladings from rail
roads without ever supplying salm
j on for the consignee, hence the
banks held the sack when the
goods failed to arrive.
The repairs to the Seattle-Ketch
ikan section of the cable were
completed on Saturday night and
the local office worked overtime
Sunday to relay the delayed mes
sages. Everything is once more
running according to schedule.
in their respective communities.
GIVEN under my hand and
the SEAL of the Territory
of Alaska, in Juneau, the
capital, this sixth day of
-- April, in the year of our
I SEAL Lord one thousand nine
-hundred twenty-seven and
of the independence of the
United States of America,
the one hundred fifty first.
(Signed) GEO. A. PARKS,
Governed
By the Governor
KARL THIELE,
Secretary of Alaska.