VOL. 2
PETERSBURG, ALASKA OCTOBER 14, 1927
NO. 14
Halibut Shows
Pronounced Decline
Says Babcock
Mr. Babcock, who is chairman of
the International Fisheries Commis
sion created by the Canada-United
States halibut treaty, speaking of
the halibut fisheries said recently: '
“Landings at Prince Rupert this!
year equal, if they do not exceed
those of last year, but the number|
of vessels engaged and the amount*
of gear is increasing rapidly. Thej
catch per unit of gear, the ‘skate,’
is steadily falling. The catch is I
maintained by the increased use of
gear and the intensity of the fish
ing. The catch made on the south
ern banks, that is the banks from
Oregon to Southeastern Alaska, con
sists largely of ‘chicken halibut,’ i.e.
immature halibut. In 1906 the
catch per unit of gear in Hecate
strait averaged 450 pounds; in 1914,
147 pounds, and in 19 26 it averag
ed but 47 pounds. On all the banks
the catch per unit of gear shows a
pronounced decline.”
Wickersham Is Candi
date For Delegate To
G. 0. P. Convention
Judge James Wickersham, form
er Federal Judge and formerly Dele
gate to Congress announced recently
in Juneau, that he would be a can
didate at the primary election next
April for delegate to the Republi
can national Convention. It was
IMr. Wickersham’s belief that Hughes
was the strongest man yet mention
ed for the nomination as candidate
for president.
The history of the actions of the
delegates to the last Republican con
vention a couple of years ago stunk
to high heaven. With Wickersham
in the running a recurrence of the
prostitution of honor and delegation
of power will not he. The Alaskan
needs not say at this time that it]
will support the Judge—that is aj
foregone conclusion.
The housewives have been saying
it but not with flowers this wreek
and we don’t blame them. The
hydro-electric plant has been acting
up rather funny.
Annual Convention of Alaska Native
Brotherhood Scheduled for
November 14-21
V
The annual convention of the
Alaska Native Brotherhood will be
__ held at Angoon this year beginning
November 14th and ending on the
• 21st, both dates inclusive.
From all reports at this office this
will be one of the biggest conven
tions in the history o fthe organi
zation. Representatives will be at
the convention from every town in
Southeastern Alaska.
These conventions inthehistoofthe
At these conventions ,problems
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JAILS GETTING FULLER LAST
THREE YEARS
_
Complete returns have been re-jf
ceived from 31 states, covering 5S;i
out of a total of 99 prisons and re- j 3
formatories which are included in j i
the census. These 58 institutions i
had a total of 27,018 prisoners re- i
ceived from the courts during the i
year 1926, as compared with 21,jl
054 in 1923. or an increase of!
28.3 per cent. i
For the 31 States represented ,
there wrere 34.1 prisoners received
per 100,000 of the general popula
tion, as compared with 27.9 per
100,000 received in 1923. In other
words, the number of prison admis
sions has increased much more rap
idly than the general population.
FALLS AND BREAKS ARM
While walking down a slip last
Saturday morning, George Blake
had the misfortune to fall and
break his left arm between the el
bow and shoulder. He went to Dr.
A. B. Jones for first aid but the good
doctor flatly refused to have any
thing whatsoever to do with the case
so Blake went to Dr. Standard and
was given immediate attention. Ow
ing to a previous paralytic condi
tion of the arm Dr. Standard ad
vised him to go to the hospital in
Juneau. Word has been received
from Dr. Firestone in charge of the
hospital that it will be a long time
before Blake will be able to use his
arm, if at all.
The Adimral arrive din port
today from the north.
itally effecting the life of all resi
ents in general and the Native race
1 particular are discussed. The
roMems effecting the education, re
gions, physical weldeing and eco
omic are handled from various
ngles and plans made to better the
fe in general.
From all reports to date, the Bu
eau of Fisheries will come in for
onsiderable discussion in its handl
ag of the fisheries questions.
SUPREME COURT TO BE BUSY
The Supreme Court of the United
hates convened on the 3rd of this
nonth for the first sitting of the
92 7, October term. When the Court
djourned in June for the summer
ecerss it had five cases under advis
nent which were carried over for
inal adjudication sometime after the
leginning of the October term.
Eight hundred etghty-five cases
vere disposed of by the last term
if the Court, being the largest num
ier of cases cleared within the past
lour years.
. . FINDS BODY DROWNED MAN . .
„ * While going along the shore
below the Colp fox ranch, Mr. Sny
der discovered the body of Harry
Johnson, recently drowned from a
small punt near the same place
Snyder put a rope around the body
and anchored it with a heavy rocli
then returned to Petersburg where
he reported the matter to the Com
missioner. One of the shrimp boats
was sent out and men landed in £
dinky to get the body. While th<
men sa wthe body they were unabh
to do anything on account of thi
heavy seas rolling in at the time
Saturday however the body wa
brought in and cared for. It wa
sent to Petersburg on the 16th 01
the Tasmania. Johnson was a niem
ber of the American Legion and al
so of the Eagles, both of which oi
ders were reported as having offere
rewards for the finding of the bodj
Yukon is due tomorrow going nortl
Local Commercial Club
Makes Protests Against
Change in Mail Service
Northland Transportation Co. Offers to help
Our Winter Freight Service and Mail from
Ketchikan. Many other Important Subjects
Were also Discussed.
At the regular Wednesday night
dinner meeting of the Petersburg
Commercial Club the question of
changing the name of the “Wrangell
Narrows” to the “Petersburg Nar
rows” was thoroughly discussed, and
the Secretary was finally instructed
to write to Washington, D. C. in
regard to the matter.
The herring situation and the
halibut fisheries problems were again
brought up and Mr. Elsmore, the
president of the club, authorized Mr.
Andrew Johnson to call a meeting
of all the halinut fishermen and find
out their problems and their sugges
tions. This will give the committee
which will appear before the In
ternational Fisheries Committee
meeting at Ketchikan some definite
data to present.
A letter from the Ketchikan Com
mercial Club stated that they were
in sympathy with the movement for
the conservation of herring and that
they were working out some plans
which they would present to the
local club next week. Several hali
but boat masters were present at
the meeting which shows that the
club has aroused their interest in
its activities.
The Secretary was instructed to
write to W. O. Yandervoort, Supt.
of Railway Mall Service at Seattle
Alaska Bone Dry Act
Be Defended in Court
Whether Congress intended to
“repeal by implication” the Alaska
Bone Dry Law in passing the na
tional prohibition Act is a question
which is expected to be heard by
the present sitting of the United
States Supreme Court.
Under the Alaska Bone Dry law a
search darrant may be issued tc
search a dwelling on proof that in
toxicating liquor is being kept there
without any proof of sales. Suit
brought under this law, enacted twc
years before the national prohibitior
Act, was dismissed in the Districl
Court of Appeals of the Ninth Cir
cuit. The Department of Justce
has secured permission from th<
Supreme Court to have the decision!
of the lower courts reviewed, con
tending that the national prohibitioi
Act did not repeal the Alaska Bop
Dry Act any more than it did prohi
bition law's of the several states.
Margaret Tveten is in quarentin
i with the whooping cough. Parent
l should be very careful to investigat
> their children’s colds now as ther
> are many cases of whooping coug
i in town. The only way the epidemi
. can be checked is by careful quarer
? tine of those efiected. Measure
3 should be taken to force careles
1 parents to keep their children wh
have the disease away from othei
to prevent the spread of the epi(
emic, as it is not fair for son
children to be kept out of scho<
A while others who have the san
\ disease are allowed to mingle wit
their playmates and spread the li
l. fection.
protesting against the change in
the mail service and requesting that
Petersburg either be allowed the
old schedule or the emergency ser
vice from Wrangell.
A wire was received from the
Morthland Transportation Co. at
Ketchikan 3tating that they would
Mke to help out the Petersburg win
ter freight service if they could be
assured a fair proportion of the
business. The motorships Norco and
the Bellingham, they stated, leave
Seattle, Friday evenings and would
arrive in Petersburg Tuesday p. m.
It would bring mail from Ketchikan
if requested thru the post office.
It would also assure space In the
cold storage for south bound cargo.
The secretary was instructed to
write the company for information
about rates.
The Norco is the former vessel
“Tillamook and is owned and oper
ated by the Northland Transporta
tion Company at Ketchikan. It
inaugerated a regular service to
Seattle last year from Ketchikan and
cut the rates, wliich forced the oth
er companies to lower their rates
in order to compete. If the rates
they offer to Petersburg are lower
than thase now holding, this same
benefit may be obtained here.
The local chapter of the Ameri
can Legion held its first regular
meeting after the summer vacation,
on Monday evening, October 10 in
the Legion Hall. There wa8 a
fairly good percentage of members
present and a lively meeting ensued.
The next meeting will be Monday
October 31 at which time there will
be an election of officers
“Q. Z. Cutter,” more generally
known as “Chief Eagle Horse” was
in town this week and pleased the
Monday evening audience at the Va
riety Theatre with a number of vo
cal selections. Mr. Cutter was a
student in the Old Sitka Training
School now known as the Sheldon
Jackson School. He entered Che
mawa School and took vocal instruc
tion in Salem, Oregon, finishing ui
under Professor Boyd of Portland
After competing his studies h<
connected with various houses an<
theatre circuit and toured through
out the entire United States and li
fact the world. During the Worh
war he was mentioned by the pres
of New York in particular and thi
East in general, for his succes3fu
efforts to raise subscriptions for Lib
h ^ erty Loans.
ci Owing to throat trouble he ha<
■|to discontinue continuous theatrics
8 work so returned to Alaska, th
!
8 j home of his birth. He was return
0 ing to Klawock from Juneau wher
8 he had been engaged to sing at th
1 Juneau Fair when he stopped o
6 here. The audience was highly pleai
ed with his rendition of a number t
selections in spite of the fact thf
his throat bothered him. It la t
be hoped that he will be heard i
Petersburg again.
O'Malley Regulates
The Herring Fishing
For Bait Purposee
The following telegram was re
ceived from Capt. O'Connor, rep
resentative of the Bureau of Fish
eries , stationed at Juneau.
The following telegram was re
ceifed from O’Malley: Secretary of
Commerce promulgated supplemen
tary regulation October sixth for
Southeastern Alaska area: Quote:
Regulation number two is amended
so as to permit commercial fishing
for herring with gill nets not less
than two and one quarter inches
stretched measure between knots
from October six through December
thirty-one, nineteen twenty seven,
both dates inclusive in waters other
wise open to fishing. Unquote/
O’Connor.
9
Storm Hits Petersburg
One of the worst wind storms ev
er to hit Petersburg came along last
week. A dozen poles along the
hydro-electric power transmission
line were knocked to the ground by
falling trees breaking the line in as
many places and throwing the town
in complete darkness for three days;
the oil station on the Standard Oil
Wharf was blown into the bay along
whatever light stuff that was not
fastened or weighted down; the
smoke stack on the Knutson Sawmill
in West Petersburg bowed before
the rage ef the storm and many of
the smaller boats hunted for the'
lee shore of sheltered corners.
A large force of men was Bent
along the line to repair the damage
in as 3hort a time as possible as it
caused the closing down of the cold
noon Sunday, the 16th, the repal.
were completed and power turned
on again.
Delay in publishing this issue is
due to lack of electric power as it
is not possible with the equipment
in the shop to make use of the old
fashioned “mule power."
To those who “Go Down to the
sea in ships" and to those wha arc
In any way affected by the severe
blasts of weather, the storm of
Thursday evening and all of Friday
will be remembered as a weather
tantrum beyond the ordinary. Pe
tersburg harbor is one of the best,
if not THE BEST, on the main
steamship lanes in all of Alaska, but
at that the heavy seas of Frederick
Sound wormed their tumbling waj
into the Narrows and made It quite
disagreeable. From midnight, Fri
day, to well along in the morning
the mooring floats for the mosquitc
fleet were awash with heavy swells
1 and the boats tumbled and pitchec
against each other, chewed up fend
! era, frazzled guards and grumbled
l audibly at the rough treatment the]
’ got. The blow, and rainfall, wer<
1 general along the coast and marki
1 the first change in the weather pro
* gram for th« fall from normal wlndt
i to driving gales. The hurricam
1 picked up the warehouse of th<
' Standard Oil Company and dump
ed it into the Narrows along wit!
1 considerable quantity of oils tha
1 were stored inside. The smokestacl
e of the Knutsen’s mill, across fror
- town, went down like a reed. Othe
e damage lay in the rough handlln
eJof some of the smaller boats, non
T
of which, so far, as we have learned
i
f
it
o
n
were really put out of commissioi
Repots from the fishing ueet arriv
ing since the storm are to the e;
feet that every strait, souud an
larger body of water were regula
Hf ng Seiners
B .led For ,1927
Slump in Salmon
OLDTIMER HAYS SLAUGHTER OF
HERRING MUST BE STOPPED
Tom Hanbury, veteran troller of
Southeastern Alaska, says some of
the best king salmon grounds al
ready have been destroyed by seiu
ere catching herring for herring re
duction plants, and the remainder
of the grounds will go the same way
unless something is done.
"I am 65 years old, Hanbury re
cently informed the Ketchikan
Chronicle. “I have fished all my
life. I have been over every foot of
the king salmon grounds in South
eastern Alaska.
“We used to catch king salmon by
hand trolling and after power trol
ling in close t0 the shore on the
ocean side of Baranof island. Now
we have to go 12 to 14 miles into
the Pacific ocean. Why? Because
the seiners have destroyed their
feeding grounds in close to shore.
“This summer I witnessed 50
Puget Sound seine boats catching
herring in one spot near Baranof is
land. Wherevei the herring show
ed up there was a fleet of boats
right on top of them with no chance
for the small trolling boats. We
used to follow the herring to catch
king salmon for the kings feed on
the herring and follow them, but
this can no longer be done with the
big seine boats scooping up the
herring. I am willing to make a
statement that for every 4000 barrels
of herring taken from the waters
not more than 1000 barrels are
canned for food purposes. The re
mainder goes into fertilizer.
“On this last trip in my little
trolling boat, the Comet, 1 left here
July 6 and made the trip to the
Baranof grounds, around Baranof
island and out in the ocean from
Sitka, around to Cape Spencer and
back into Icy Straits and Chatham,
and covered several thousand miles
looking for king salmon. Why- Be
cause most of the old grounds have
been killed oft' by the destruction of
herring.
‘ The Yes Bay grounds are gone.
The Hadley grounds are gone. The
Chomley grounds are gone. The in
shore grounds from one end of the
ocean side of Baranof island to the
other end are gone. Small trollers,
who used to make their catches in
inside and safe waters, now risk
their lives by going out into the
Pacific ocean to try and make a liv
ing.
“Unless something is done to stop
the wholesale destruction of herring,
the natural food for all kinds of
fish, there will he no king salmon
to catch in a few years from now.
L Every one in Ketchikan knows me.
, They know that I know the game
, of fishing, and they know that I
, can back up any statements I make.”
nun-lntr m* and "Any oH port In
T a 3tonn” was the slogan during th •
blow. I is inleed fortunate to *
there isn’t a deal more wreckage in
^ the woke of this fall campaign ot
amozonian zephyrs. r
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l
e
Prince of Wales will arrive here
3outhbound Thursday night or Fri
day morning carrying mail.
Experiments are under way with
a camera for protograpring from
airplanes that is egpected to hxve
a range ot 200 or more miles.
A family Jar is never used In pre
serving peace. .