———.S-—.——- JH -.-. -:-«...-.
Th- Glas-km
A. N. U. PUBLISHING COMPANY
- SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
*- Z* ifj
The Alaskan, six mouths,. ....., $2.60
The Alaskan, per year .. $4.00
Published every Friday by the a. N. B. Publishing Co., Petersburg
Entered In the Post Office in Petersburg as Second Class matter.
EXPENSIVE
Before tile electric light and pow
er plaut at Blind Slough was really
a settled thing, and while there was
so much talk about It, did any one
take a piece of paper and ligure out
what we were to get tor our money.
We don't think any one did or wo
would have yuit right there and
then. The layout, in hrst cost,
stands us $115,000. It is supposed
to give us 500 horsepower. For the
sake of argument we'll say we do
get 500 h. p.—at Blind Slough
v\ ell then, if iigures don't lie, we
paid for this little electric plunge
at the rate of $230 per h. p. When
you realize that this is from double
lo three times as much as any otn
er kind of a generating system
would have cost, doesn’t it strike
you that either the city had mighty
bum engineering advice or was hell
bent on spending money? And the
upkeep of this, as managed, is away
beyond the cost ol' any other sort of
a generating system. Seemingly, wo
have the whitest kind of a white
elephant on our hands and with
every switch of its tail the thing is
eating its head oft’.
The thing doesn’t function, it’s
unreliable, it has caused no end of
discomfort and worry, it’s breeder
of damage suits and it stands us
today nothing more nor less than
an expensive toy with the paint worn
oh and the body all dented.
There was some talk of trying to
sell the whole affair to a private
company. There isn’t any man nor
company of men who are going to
pay $230 per horsepower for any
kind of a generating system. And
particularly a system that is as full
of Plow holes as this one is.
What are we going to do about
it? We’ll have to keep it—or scrap
it. We’ll have to heavily tax our
selves to keep the thing going if we
are to judge by past performance
and it is evident we can’t look for
much better results without a
greater outlay of money.
That there is a whole lot wrong
in management is plain as a pike
staff In the break down of the
Blind Slough system is the little
ou:rent that the oil engine auxil
iaries distribute around town fairly
apportioned? Hardly. The electric
range in the Home Cafe seems to
get its current right along when
practically all other ranges are cold
and juiceless. Does this eating house
pay any more for its current than
the other places? Do the oil engines
run for it and the bakery alone?
Do about all of the houses and bus
iness places have to fall back on
candles and oil lamps that there
may be lights and heat in the res
taurant and a few other favored
quarters? We want to know.
That the technical and mechan
ical personnel of the light and pew
er business is sadly harassed there
is no question. The break of last
Friday was one that couldn’t be
helped and the labor and hardships
caused thereby were hard and severe.
But where does the head and tail
come in in the general distribution,
particularly from the oil engine
auxiliary, around the town.
Evidently affairs have got\?n in
such shape that there is a difficulty
in getting down to a fair and square
schedule. Presumably, the City
Council is the bo3s of the arrange
ment and of city distribution. Any
way, it is to the Council that we
look to and no odds where ineffici
ency lies it is to that body that our
troubles go. Very likely Mr. Mc
Kecknie has all that he can attend
to in the general routine of the
system. With the old wires in the
city, the long unprotected line to
the power plant and the new equip
ment going in, his hours are, un
doubtedly, long and wearisome.
At the Monday night meeting of
the City Council the matter of more
equal distribution of the auxiliary
current came up and was acted on,
and in so far as power was concern
ed was about as fair as the circum
stances would permit.
NATLKALLl
Our contemporary, the Petersburg
Press, says that twenty-three bus
iness and professional men of the
city voted their unqualified endorse
ment of Mayor C. E. Swanson as the
local man who is best fitted to make
the trip to Washington, D. C.
This may mean much or it may
meau nothing at all. Howrever, vet
ing an “unqualified endorsement '
doesn’t add to one’s ability. In fact
it has happened that endorsements
j of this kind have had a belittling
i effect.
| However, all through the article
jin the Press there is hidden—not
very discreetly “Hi3 Master’s Voice.’
This particular master doesn’t like
to be criticized. He says that Wt
throw “cold water’’ on anything not
originating in the office of THE
ALASKAN or among our “hench
men.” Well, well, dearie, we don t
claim to be original. We surely
don’t care who originates this m
that, but we have a weather eye on
what the originator has in view.
We’ll boost it if we think it means
city welfare , and we’ll knock it it
we Lave and idea that it doesn’t.
That’s that. t
As to our “henchmen:”—If it
pleases the Press to so term those
who lean our way and think that
THE ALASKAN has a mission in
this town of Petersburg, where nc
one is wanted unless he kow-tows
to the Trading Union, the bank and
the latter’s satelites, that is Jake
with us. “Henchmen” means a
i
[trusted follower. We ask no one
over to our side of the fence un
less he thinks we are right, and ou
our side of the fence he is one of
us and not a follower. We’ll break
the underhand ruling power of this
village if we can, because we think
the place will be benefitted by so
doing. If we can’t we’ll take our
medicine, but we’ll growl more or
less in the taking of it. Rest as
sured, Honey.
AS TO HERRING
There are those who flinch a
little at the herring question. The
idea prevails that legislation that
would put the reduction plants out
of business would, at the same time,
usher in something of a financin’
crisis. There is, also, a feeling that
with so much capital invested it
would be impossible, if not illegal,
to do anything to bar them, let alon*
close them altogether.
As to the first —the possibility of
a money tightness—the territory
would hardly notice the closing of
every one of the fertilizer manu
facturing concerns at one and the
same time. Their investments, out
side of the shells of buildings, are
practically all on the outside. Ther*
payroll is to outsiders, mostly. Near
ly all of the herring fleet is regist
ered in Washington. , Their pro
visions come direct from the states.
They buy little here and they spend
little. They are takers, not givers
Mr. Olaf Floe has an article In
the Pacific Fisherman for November.
From the article one is led to be
lieve that the only way we can do
anvthing with the herring is to
spend a whole lot of time studying
them. He claims that so little is
known of the fish and its habits
that it would be unjust to stop kill
ing them now. The little that is
really good in the article is com
pletely pushed in the shade by this
astounding statement.
T
•W
As to the possibility and the leg
ality of closing the destroyers of
food fish it should he borne in mind
that the herring of Alaska—as well
as the other fish—belong to the
territory of Alaska. We have that
to go on. Therefore, if they be
long to us—the people and the terri
tory of Alaska—we come pretty
near having something to say as to
how they shall be killed or whether
they shall be killed at all. The
makers of herring fertilizer don’t
belong to the territory of Alaska.
They are not residents of any part
of Alaska. They live iu the States,
do business in the States and vote
in the States.
They haven’t asked us anything
about our herring. But they did
see that there were herring here—
lots of ’em some time ago—so they
came, or hired men to come, put
up rough buildings, began slaught
ering. So effectively have they kill
ed that there isn’t one herring now
where there used to be uncountable
millions. At this time we might
begin to worry some at the shortage
even though every dead herring had
been prepared for human food, bui
when we open our eyes to the fact
that the great bulk of the fish capt
ured were turned into paint oil and
garden manure, we certainly have
a real something to worry over.
Should we (and we must) put
the'se food destroyers out of com
mission, we aren't traveling any un
tracked ground. Such things have
been done before. Oregon has junk
ed the fish wheel. It didn’t matter
who owned them. They were found
to be a killing device that threaten
ed the salmon industry. The courts
have upheld the Oregon law. How
ever, in broader aspect, we’ll take
up whet has been done iai California
since that not only strikes effective
ly at the taking of food fish for
con mercial purposes, hut at the
catching of them for fertilizer.
In a reprint from the California
Pish and Came, by R. I). Marx
Greene, Executive officer and At
torney, California Fish and Game
Commission, we quote sections tha!
bear directly on the situation in Al
aska.
"It seems repugnant to every
right-thinking citizen to see fresh
food fish used for any purpose oth
er than human consumption. This
attitude * * * * caused the legis
lature in 1917 to pass an act giving
the state market director power to
fix wholesale and retail prices on
fish and to forbid the use of fish by
market fishermen for any purpose
other than human consumption, ex
cept by permission of the director.
“This statute was tested in tha
court in the case of Paladini vs.
Superior Court, 178 California, 3I>9,
and its constitutionality upheld.
“This act, however, applied only
to market fishermen and did uot
affect canneries. The abuse by cer
tain canneries becoming acute, the
legislature * * * adopted an act in
1919 to control the use of food fish
by other than ntarKet fishermen in
the manufacture of fertilizer and
fish oil. * * * A further clausa
in the statute prohibited any can
nery from handling or receiving
more fish than sijch concern could
actually use without preventable de
terioration, wasta or spoilage.
“* * * At the legislative ses
sion of 1921 an amendment (states.
1921, p. 459) was made to the act,
which provided that the Com elu
sion could not allow any canner to
use for reduction purposes more
than 25 per cent of the amount
which any canner could not can or
pack or preserve for human food
during a calendar month.
“The first litigation rising under
the amended act was in the nature
of an action brought in the Superior
Court of Los Angeles County by the
people of the State of California at
the request of the Fish and Game
Commission against the Stafford
Packing Co. of San Pedro. * * *
Affidavits were filed showing that
I during the month of January the
defendant had converted S8.06 per
cent of all sardines received by it
into fish meal and fish oil.
“In the Superior Court judgement
was rendered fer the plaintiff. Thvs
was reversed by the District Count
of Appeal, 2nd District, Division 2
(42 Cal. App. Dec. 726). A hearing
was granted by tefie Supreme Court
and the judgement of the District
Court of Appeal was reversed and
the superior court sustained (193
CaL 719). * * * The court fur
ther held that THE GENERAL
RIGHT AND OWNERSHIP OF THE
FISH IS IN THE PEOPLE OF THE
STATE, AND THE STATE HAS
THE RIGHT TO REGULATE AND
CONTROL THE TAKING AND DIS
POSITION THEREOF. * * *» The
Court also upheld the constitution
ality of all of the provisions of the
reduction act as amended. This
decision was rendered on June 5th,
1924.
Tn December, 1924, the act again
went under fire. An independent
reduction plant at Monterey, uncon
nected with any cannery, commenc
ed to send boaets to sea and bring
in fish for the sole purpose of mak
ing fish meal and fish oil. An ac
tion was brought * * * The Mon
terey County Superior Court held
for the defendant (the reduction]
plant). An immediate appeal was I
taken to the Supreme Court and!
very promptly, on March 4th, 1925
the Supreme Court reversed the
Monterey court on every finding and
enunciated certain principles on the
law of conservation which have now
become historic and are quoted liber
ally throughout the United States.”
At the time the reprint from the
California Fish and Game came out
there were two or more cases pend
ing relative to the taking of fish
beyond the three mile limit for fish
meal and fish oil. The Commission
prosecuted these cases vigorously,
but we haven’t the court decisions
on hand at this time.
Ry these several court decisions
you may get a very fair idea of
what can be done right here in Al
aska once we put our shoulders to
the wheel and do a bit of pushing.
Don’t drop the matter now that we’ve
started. It’s vital for Alaska. Eith
er the reduction plants do Alaska
or we do them. Which is it?
DEATHS DOWN 50 PER CENT
The death rate from tuberculosis
has dropped from 221.8 per hun
dred thousand of population in the
year 1906 to 140.4 per hundred
thousand population in California,
according to a statement of last No
vember by the United States Public
Health Service.
AFTER FIVE MILLION DOLARS
Suit by the Government to recov
er damages in the so-called Bos< he
Magneto Company case has been
started before an auditor of the U.
S. District Court, Boston, December
5th. This is the first step to re
cover $5,535,564.07 from A. Mitchell
Palmer, former Attorney General
and former Alien Property Custod
ian, Francis P. Garvin, a former As
sistant Attorney General; Mjartin
E. Kern and others connected with
the sale of the Bosche propertied
in 1918.
INVESTMENT OF $1,500,000,000
There is invested in Canada in
trading establishments the sum of
$1,500,000,000. This includes de
partment stores as well as the old
time trading posts.
VTSITING THE UNITED SATES
Four representatives of the Fish
ing Industry Division of the Soviet
Supreme Economic Council are now
in the United States for study of
American fisheries. They will visit
Boston, Seattle, Vancouver, B. C.f
Los Angeles and New Orleans.
STAYING WITH THE JOB
No 3v long back Mrs. Marie Franz
en ,one of the U. S. Bureau of Edu
cation (Alaska Division) teachers
fell and broke her leg. She is carry
ing on her work from her bedside.
So the school work at Kokrine’s
Landing is going along all right de
spite disaster and broken bones
The woman’s spirit, in this case is
admirable and we rejoice in it. Ko
krine’s Landing is a port of call foi
steamers on the Yukon River.
NO RIFLES FOR SCRAPPERS e
A joint resolution to prohibit the 5
exportation of arms .ammunition or i
implements of war to any country
engaged in aggressive warfare in vio
lation of arbitration or other peace j
agreements has been drafted by <
Representative Theodore E. Burton j
(Rep.) Cleveland, Ohio, a member j
of the House Committee op Foreign j
Affairs. The resolution is to come
up for introduction the opening day j
of Congress.
A MOUTHY REWARD
For finding and returning a $40,
000 asortment of jewelry which was
lost in a fire, the owner of the
baubles gave the finder. Tommy
Gay, a 15-year old lad, a KISS.—
(Date New York. Nov. 22nd).
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
A committee on herring education
has been appointed by the Pacific
Herring Packers Association. The
Committee is: W. W. Wilde, Secre
ary of the Association, ,J. W. Stor
fold of the Storfold and Grondahl
Co., and F. Erickson of the Erick
son and Bye Co.
One can well imagine the sort of
educational dope that’ll be hand
ed out by this trio.
A TROLLER SAVED
Along the last of November, in a
severe storm, the life saving crew
of the Willapa Harbor Coast Guard
went over the harbor bar to save a
troller -who was floating helplessly
in a fast increasing sea. Getting
their man safely onboard, the life
crew turned shorward, but the storm
was so much worse that it was im
possible to weather the bar, and
then, for 48 long hours, they battled
the ocean in its fury. Port was fin
anlly made with scarce a drop of
gasoline left in the lifeboat’s tanks,
but crew and passenger were saef.
HERE IS A GOOD GOOD POSITION
FOR A REAL WORKER
We are offering Permanent Posi
tions to a few reliable men and Wo
men, in which an excellent income
from side-earnings .even to PAlRT
TIME workers acn be made. During
our 35 years in business we have ap
pointed over 518,000 agents who
supply our household necessity■: to
our customers in every country, in
the world. Many of our agents
have been with us over thirty ydars
and have achieved Financial Inde
pendence. Increasing local |de
mands and repeat orders, make it
necessary to appoint more local re
presentatives in many localities in
the United States. No special ex
perience or capital required, j A
straight forward, dignified business
Why not represent the largest ind
best known house of its kind in the
world. Send us your address and
the Manager of our Appointmjent
Bureau will send you FULL PAR
an
tfor
TICULARS. When we appoint
agent we furnish free samples
Trial Tests in the homes of your
locality, etc. j'
Address ALPHEUS BANCROFT
WASHINGTON, D. C., (Attention
Clerk No. 1), 1438 U (You)
Street, N. W.
Want to be Independent? Want
to make easy money? Then write
for free sample and territory for
fastest selling article in America;
every home, drug store, cafe, soda
fountain, garage and bank are pros
pects. Address Fred L. Viel, Sal
mon, Idaho. Adv.
500 Steel H&ndpower stumppull
ers $30. Horsepower $75 and up.
For Tractor power, $75. Equip
Driveway Patent Gates $80. Water
wheels numerous size, Woodplpes,
Handpower Wellborers $10, Ducrest
Mfg, Co, lll-3rd, Renton, Washing
ton.— Adv.
DRS. C. M. & R. L. CARLSON
Optometriite and Opticians
218 -19 Commercial Building
j; KETCHIKAN, ALASKA
k'elersburg Meat Coj
Cato Haarberg. Proprietor
Fresh Choice Meats
Canned Fruit; Etc.
Petersburg,
Alaska
| John Fanning
| SHOE STORE
X Dealer in
!»* Complete line of Silk Hosiery
X Best grade of Shoes for men,
X women and children.
I
| Best Quality Goods
at very low price?.
X Shoe repairing neatly done.
f
v
The ever growing Circulation of
The ALASKAN among buyers is an
Inducement to Merchants to Adver
tise in The ALASKAN.
Buy at Star Bakery and Save Money
Fresh Doughnuts, Cup Cakes, CooS^s
and Cinnamon Rolls
Always on Hand Fresh
STAR BAKERY
AMERICA FIRST arrives in Pe
tersburg Friday morning, leaving
for Juneau via Kake and way ports
about noon.
HAHOW TRANSPORTATION
COMPANY
JACOBITZ TAXI
DAY & NIGHT SERVICE
Stand at Arctic Hotel
Phone 35
When in Town Stop at
ARCTIC HOTEL
First Class Rooms
Reasonable Rates
CARL ROGER, Pro.
Home Service Mending
of Laundered Goods
We give full value for your
money.
H.OYAMA, PRO.
1 Sanitary Market :
A Roast you’ll like
The Very Choicest Beef ■
Mutton and Pork
i Vegetable in Season :
itiniiiimmiiiimiHiiiiiiimn Itf Ttrf
SITKA HOT SPRING
HEALTH RESORT
Rate $3.00 per
day and up
Dr. Goddard, Pro.
\
SaiJt
Attractively
You car get
the late?* de
signs in
Sash, Doors
& Millv/ork
,‘uect froji the
tf marnfac! r*r
"t rronej •cur
ing prices
H nw oday
J for FRB1 (A
• , u trat-d tut
Lsr/Ai^WosK*®!
X SUPPLY COiiPH. \ AT