VOL. 3.
PETERSBURG, ALASKA, JANUARY 18, 1929
NO. 27
Effort Punish Couzen
Comes High
-o
Secretary Mellon’s attempt to
“get” Senator Couzens of Michigan
will cost UnUe Sam $3,500,000!
With the exception of the Con
spiracy to “frame” Wheeler of Mon
tana, the history of America does
not reveal a more scandalous pro
ceeding.
If the Secretary were not one of
the world's richest men as well as
the dictator of the machine which
owns Pennsylvania, he would be
driven in disgrace from the cabinet.
The trouble started when Couzens
a few years ago induced the Senate
tc probe Mellon’s conduct of the In
ternal Revenue Bureau.
Sensational facts were revealed.
Immense refunds, running into hun
dreds of millions, had been made
behind closed doors. Individuals and
corporations with political “pull,”
including some of Mellon’s own com
panies, were the principle benefici
aries.
Couldn’t “Hush” Couzens
Friends of the adminstration, par
ticularly Watson of Indiana, tried
desperately to silence Couzens, or
to discredit his work, but the Mich
igander is a stubborn man when
aroused, and he drove relentlessly to
ward his goal.
Then Mellon swung his big club.
One day Couzens was summoned to
an ante room of the Senate to be
told by a representative of the Trea
eury that he owed the government
$10,000,000 on account of income
tax and that suit would be filed at
once.—LABOR, Washington. D. C.
Traps Not Hampered
Says Canner
J. F. Toman, operator of a cannery
in the Cook Inlet country declares
in an interview that prohibition of
traps would not hamper his opera
tions. He would simply put enough
gear into the water and get enough
jusu to operate said gear to insure
getting the salmon to get up his
pack.
That means greater employment
for Alaska’s population, greater
spending power and much stimula
tion to local business. This would
mean greater freight and passenger
traffic and Seattle would benefit to
a greater extent than she realizes.
Why not few more cannerymen
like Toman? And more business
men to appreciate real Alaska
Boosting?
More Sales Scheduled
-o
There is such a keen demand for
fine furs and the prices prevailing
high and the future outlook so
promising that the Seattle Fur Ex
change has arranged to hold auction
sales every ten days or two weeks
in addition to the regular scheduled
aales. This with the proviso that
present prices .
The sales will commence shortly
after the regular monthly auction
which is to be held on the 23rd of
this month. Otherwise furs will be
held for regular monthly auction.
Sales dates will not be scheduled
but will be arranged to obtain the
beat of results. The cooperation
and usual attendance of buyers is
assured.
Quotations on mink, blue fox, red
fox and corssfox sbrN mAtE aait
fox and cross fox are 20 per cent
higher than the last quotations. Al]
furs are in excellent demand at toi
prices with the exception of th(
muskrat which seems unable t(
mors.
Will Get Real Proof
-o
Los Angeles* will make no mistake
t bout charging drivers with being
drunk while operating their cars.
I nder an ordinance which was pass
ed recently any one arrested for
driving a car while drunk will have
to enjoy the sensation of having the
contents of IPs stomach pumped out
by a physician to determine whether
. r not anti-Volstead liquids had been
imbibed in or not.
Let 'Em Have It
-o
Seattle goes after just about every
thing that Alaska lifts or wants and
much that she perhaps does not j
want.
It is being reported that the Fed
eral Penitentiary at McNeil Island
will be abandoned unless new sourc
es of water are provided for the
p risoners.
New Jersey suggested making
Alaska the pt nal colony for the off
scouring of that State. Why not
move 'em to Seattle, penitentiary
and all?
West Point Enrollment
-o
There are 880 cadets enrolled at
!'.e West Point Military Academy ac
cording to report of Major General
Lutz Wahl, commandant. In the j
‘ uiollment were four Filipinos and j
two foreign cadets who are reeeiv- j
mg West Point training by virtue of
soectal acts of Congress.
delegate Dan Sutherland had the
appointing of four from Alaska, to
V, est Point and two to the Naval j
A ridemy in Maryland.
“DI KE’S MIXTURE
Benjamin N. Duke, one of three |
In others who made famous “Duke’s I
.Vixture” died the other day aged 7 3 |
years. And who didn’t ‘roll his own’ j
with Duke’s Mixture thirty years!
ago?
Wants Sugar Tariff
-o
Senator K;ng of Utah, Democrat, j
is making an effort to raise the sugar
tariff this year. He stated that !
I
‘There is no chance for tariff legis- j
i
lotion on sugar this session and
residential action thru the flexible
law is the only hope of bringing re
lief to the west.”
Starts Five-Day Week
Henry Ford has declared that a
«'x day-week for the machines is al
right but five days is sufficient for
a.,y of his men to labor. All of his
plants are going on a complete five
/tav working basis but the mahcines
will be employed the full six days.
$39,000,000 a year is thereby add
ed to the payroll and increase in
car production 1750 cars—7,000 to
K,750 per day. 30,000 additional men
xv ill be employed to do this. With
t.iis innovation will also end the
J “graveyard shift” in the Ford plants.
{ -----
S Dr. Marquis III
Dr. John A. Marquis, General Sec
I retary of the Board of National Mis
sions of the Presbyterian Church
was taken ill in Vienna this sum
mer while enroute to the conference
of the WoHd Alliance for Interna
! tional Friendship through the
| Churches at Geneva, returned to his
I home late in November. He w'as
granted a six months’ leave of ab
sence for recuperation and rest.
* Dr. Marquis is well known in this
• Division, having made several trips
to cover the work in this field.
Superstition Is Not A
Race Characteristic
-o
Vbout fom hours out of Harris
burg, Pennsylvania stands the silk
li 11 town named York. A city with
a population that exceeds the white
p 'pulation of Alaska. Indians there
ar none in this town. Where they
pet. their superstition we do not
Know, nor do we care. We reprint
the following press dispatches be
cause the Indians of Alaska are ac
< used of being ignorant and super
stitious.
Witchcraft Belief Held Not Insanity j
York, Pa., Jan. 8—Judge Sherwood,
presiding in the trial of John H. Bly
.ner, for murder, threw consterna
tion into the ranks of the defence
today when he ruled that belief in
witchcraft or similar “delusions”
d ;*es not constitute legal insanity.
The ruling came when the de
fense produced the first witness to
establish the basis for a plea of in
sanity. Blyiner was a leader in a
cult, in which the murdered man was
also a practitioner, and which pro
fessed belief in the power of “hex
ing,” or the casting of spells.
Under Spell
Herbert B. Cohen, for Blymer an
nounced he would prove his client
msane. Blymer, he said, wras obsess- j
id with a notion that he was under !
i
a spell. The attorney introduced as
the first witness Emanuel Blymer,
defendant’s thin and wreak father.
shortly after the examination of
tlie witness began, the state object
ed on the ground that it wras im
material^ Cohen said he wanted to
show the environment in which Bly
mer had. lived as a youth.
English Law
Judge Sherwood excused the jury i
i
iml after hearing the defense argu- '
ment for the insanity plea, said:
The old English law holds that
hallucinations of a defendant are not
a proper defense unless such a belief
would be a justification for taking
life. The burden is on the defense
to show however that he was actually
insane and not just suffering from
delusions.”
Blvmer’s face took on a worried
look, his head dropped and he bit
nervously at his fingernails.
Speaks Out in Congress
-o
Senator Smith W. Brookhart of
Iowa in a recent speech in Washing
ton, D. C. declared that there would
i>e an economic explosion “the like
ci which has never been seen before.’
“96 percent of America’s prosperty
i,: the shape of its businessmen, ulti
mately fail and conditions in agricul
ture showed little improvement.”
Indian Question Arises
. .Puget Sound fishermen are tangl
ing with the Indian Bureau thru the
United States Courts. The govern
ment is making effort to keep cer
tain companies from anchoring in
the Quillayute River which it con
tends is a part of the Quillayute Re
servation. Tt charges that these
companies carry on trade with the
Indians .without permit from .the
Indian Department and the posting
of a $10,000 bond.
Defense counsel contends that the
Quillayute River is navigable and
not a part of the reservation in
which case they claim permit is not
needed.
The Port of Angeles intervened in
the suit, seeking to establish the riv
er as being navigable water and
therefore its interests would be
jeopardized and hampered by the
prevention of, traffic on the river.
Schedule Speeds Up
The winter doldrums are passing.
Signs of this is the adding of vessels
to the Alaska run by the Alaska
Steamship^ Company beginning the
18th of the month when the freight
er Tanana, will go on the run. On
the 23rd of next month the Aleu
tian will be put on the Alaska run
again with the Alameda, Northwes
tern, Latouche and Tanana. On the
second of March the steamer Alaska
returns to the Alaska traffic.
The migratory birds of Seattle
begin their treckke to Alaska about
the first of March.
Girls are Naughty One?
-o
Out of nearly 29,000 juvenile de
in;auency cases reported during the
past year, 27 per cent were ungov
ernable or beyond parental control
w hile only 7 per cent of the boys
were in the same class.
In the character of the offenses
ihere considerable difference. The
boys were generally guilty of steal1
ing of acts of carelessness or mis
chief while the girls were charged
with truancy, running away from j
home and more serious transgress-]
ions according to the Federal Child
ren’s Bureau.
Gains and Losses
-o
The much discussed reapportion
mont bill at last has received the
approval of the congressional lead
ers. The present allocation of re-1
presentation has been of force for
the past 20 years and gives certain
sections greater representation than
others.
finder the new measure congres
sional seats will be taken from about
17 states while 11 States will gain
by the reapportionment.
The Puipmills Are Still
Coming
When the political Vampire and
other propogandist sheets of the
plunderbund tell us the pulp mills
are coming wc shout the praises of
the Forestry Bureau with fingers
crossed. The following from the
American Press is our reason.
"The past month has been one of
conferences in the newsprint indus
try. The newsprint manufacturers
got together in Montreal and agreed
to curb production. The premiers
of Quebec and Ontario attended the
secret parley at which the agree
ment was reached. Premier Taseh
ereau, of Quebec, made this state
ment to the press: "The paper man
ufacturers have been holding con
ferences for a week, and when we
met this morning they had reached
au agreement to which practically
every paper manufacturer had sub
scribed. When we met they inform
ed us that they had come to an
agreement which they believed
I would stabilize the price of paper,
| and put an end to the present diffi
cult situation. We were very glad
! to hear that, and we promised them,
Mr. Ferguson and myself, the full
cooperation of the governments of
Quebec and Ontario to see that ev
ery party to that contract would
live up to It. The gentlemen whom
we met this morning are business
men, all familiar with the condi
tion of their industry, and they be
lieve that they have found a solu
tion which will bring good results.
That being so, both governments
are absolutely satisfied, and, I re
peat it, we will cooperate with the
paper manufacturers to see tha1
they live up to their agreement.”
Visitors Defeated By
Local Hi
The local high school team met
:ne Ketchikan town basketball team
in bons of Norway Hall last Friday
evening. The strength of the visit
ing aggregation was an unknown
c;:i?ntity so Coaches Ames and War
field put their best team forward
with the exception of Harold Runstad
who was under the weather with the
•‘flu.”
As a game it was hardley a warm
er for the local team. They did not
have to extend themselves at any
time. While the visitors showed a
lack of teamwork and knowledge of
(he game and its rules. In the se
cond half of the game the visitors
were able to make only one point
and that a free throw on a called
foul. The final score being 36 to S.
TOWN TEAM WINS
The local town team in spite of
lack of proper training and practice
whipped the visiting Ketchikan Town
Team to the tune of 34 to 26.
The teams were more evenly mat
ched and played fast and furiously
The game ’vas much rougher than
recessary. Clifford Waha getting a
had cut on his chin when he connect
ed with the teeth of a Ketchikan
man in an attempt to get hoid of
the ball. Hill of the local team we...t
about town with a decorated eye. I
However, the spirit of the whole i
game wras friendly and not vicious j
as might be {magined.
Attendance at the Hi school game
was good but the game between the
town teams was very poorly attend
ed. Unless fhe town team can get
proper support it will have to dis
band. This means that the high
school team will not have any kind
cf opposition in their practice. All
of which does not augor godd for a
championship team.
RADIO CLUB ORGANIZED AT
KETCHIKAN
The groundwork of a construct
ive program of betterment of lo
cal radio reception was laid re
tently when ?tearly 50 Ketchikan ra
dio fans gathered in the office of
• he Citizens’ Light, Power and Wa
ter Company.
The meeting was called to order
by R. Hall, who was elected tempor
ary chairman. L. D. Ryus was
chosen temporary secretary and Ar
thur Bryant, temporary treasurer,
pending a regular election of officers
after the club articles have been
drawn.
Chain Store Opens In
Petersburg
H. L. Reed of Ketchikan arrived
in Petersburg on the Northwestern.
Ho has just completed arrangements
in Juneau whereby he has the Pig
gly Wiggly Chain Stores in operation
and is here making arrangements to
enter this field.
The store will be in the Hogue
end Tveten store building and will
be operated as other of the chain
stores of this company. | Fixtures
have been ordered from the east
and will be here as soon as trans
portation will permit.
This makes the third store of this
company’s chain in Alaska. The
other two being in Ketchikan and
Juneau.
As is customary with this com
pany on entering any town, it is of
fering stock in the company to resi
dents. This in order to give the
store a local ownership to a large ex
tent.
To Close Open Port of
Prince Rupert
-o
The port of Prince Rupert will be
closed to the halibut fishermen if the
Ketchikan citizens, Alaska steam
ship companies, trans-continental
railways and trans-Pacific steamship
companies have their way at the
next session of Congress.
Mr. Talbot of Talbot and Spauld
ing, Ketchikan is on his way east
to attend the convention of the Am
erican Legion convention after which
he will continue to Washington to
appear before Congress advocating a
ihree cent tariff on halibut entering
the United States by way of Prince
Rupert.
The Ketchikan Chamber of Com
merce, N. R. Walker, defeated Dem
ocratic senatorial candidate, George
Ti. Grigsby, defeated Democratic can
didate for Delegate to Congress and
other Ketchikan politicians are con
certed in their support of a high
tariff to divert fish shipments away
from Prince Rupert to American
ports.
Delegate Sutherland was able to
defeat the previous attempt to put a
tariff on halibut through the influ
ence of the late Senator Lodgo. A
slip in the schemes of the plunder
•nnd and Senator Lodge’s knowl
edge of the senate rules defeated the
previous effort. It is generally be
lieved that with all interests lined
or in favor of the tariff, the fisher
men and other Alaskans will have
mighty little choice in the matter.
Dole Out Free Smokes
-o
The gasoline dealers, independent
dealers of Portland have been wag
; ig a rate war for the past several
weeks. The price of gasoline drop
ped from 25 cents the gallon to 17
and 20 cents. Some of the retail
dealers feeling that they were not
getting their share of the sales cut
to 15*4 cents the gallon and then
handed out prize packages of cigar
ettes or cigais to the motorists who
purchased five gallons of fuel.
The end of the war was in sight
as a meeting of some 600 dealers
was called for the purpose of con
quering plans to end the fight.
"Office Upstairs”
-o
Died in Craig, Colorada recently
Dr. B. A. Arbogast at the age of 84
\ears. He spurned the new fangled
inventions of modern civilization,
the telephone, the automobile and
what not. His faithful horse was
his means of locomotion in that dis
trict where he cared for the cowboy
and the pioneer.
He charged nothing for his ser
vices. He accepted free will offer
ings which might be a sack of flour*
spuds or other foods and grains.
His people and patients used a
snow plow to forge a trail of several
miles thru deep snow to his cabin
where he was buried.
lie was a graduate cf Ohio Medi
cal College at Cincinnatti of the class
of 1883 and later studied in Berlin.
On his grave should be a stone
f*t*r. B. A. Arbogast, Office Upstairs.”
ORE AT NORTHERN OPENS
GREAT TUNNEL
The Great Northern opened the
world’s fifth longest tunnel last
week. The tunnel which is thru the
Cascades took three years to com
plete and shortens the route by nine
miles. Simultaneously with the open
irg of the tunnel, 75 miles of the
Great Northern route was electrified
(hru the Cascades, changing over
from steam to electricity, i