VOL. 2
PETERSBURG, ALASKA JULY29, 1927
NO. 3
Elks Stage Purple
Bubble Dance
The Elks’ Purple Bubble Ball
which will be held at the Sons of
Norway Hall on Saturday night,
July 30, promises to be one of the
biggest social events of the summer.
It will also mark the opening of
Bill Worth’s new Caberet across
from the Hall where lunch wrill be
served to the dancers at midnight.
Cliff Bucher’s orchestra has been
practicing every night for the past
week and the committee promises
good music and several innovations
in the line of favor dances.
The Wrangell Elks are planning
to come over about a hundred
strong, so there is no doubt but
that the dance will be well attend
ed.
The decorating committee has
been working hard to get the hall
decorated and ready for the big
event and from all reports the hall
is decorated to a “finish.”
Alaska Flag Unfurled
At Seward Sehool
At the hour of 4 o’clock p. m.,
Saturday the official flag of Alaska
was flung to the breezes for the
first time on the flagpole at the Jes
se Lee Home, one and a half miles
north of the City of Seward. Those
officiating at the ceremony were
Capt. Ralph R. Guthrie of the U. j
S. Signal Corps and privates Ed
win S. Diehl and Charles Harris.
Bennie Benson. 3 3-vear-old stu
dent at the Jesse Lee Home, de
signer of the flag, attached it to the
halyards just below the national
emblem and stood at. attenion while
the multicolored folds of Old Glory j
and the deep violet blue of Alaska’s
official emblem, studded with the]
golden stars of the Big Dipper
pointing to the North Star, flutter
ed about him.
While the pupils of the Home
the National Anthem, the troop of
Boy Scout's standing at attention
and in salute, and citizens of Seward
and dignitaries of the Methodist
Epislopal Church stood uncovered,
the halyards tightened, and climb
ing into the brilliant sunshine of a
perfect day, Old Glory led her child
to the topmost heights of the tower
ing flagpole, where both straight
ened out and fluttered proudly in
the cooling breezes blowing in from
Resurrection Bay.—Gateway.
Indian Agent Takes
Hand Fish Fight
Interesting developments are
expected to develop soon in the
case brought by H. S. McGowan to
have Chief George Charlie and his
crew of seiners, most of whom are
of Indian blood, restrained from
fishing or interfering with McGow
an’s seining locations on Peacock
Spit, at the mouth of the Columbia
River,
W. B. Sims, of Hoquiam, Indian
agent for this district, was here
last Saturday in connectiiyi with
the case, as Charley bases his claim
on the old treaty rights.
At one time in the past, when
Charley and his men were fishing
for McGowan, the military author
ities forced tre seiners to move
their house off the “dry” portion
of the spit, wrich was constructed
to be a federal reservation. Tre
ousting, however, meerly resulted
in moving tre house onto a aoat In
the second-class tideland area.—
South Bend (Washington) Journal
Fish War on Columbia
Gillnetters- Traps
A mobilizaion of the fishing fleet,
of the Ilwaco district Friday morn
ing prevented the construction of
fish traps in the drift west of Sand
Island and south of Fort Canby
when the crew of a pile driver de
cided that prudence was the better
part of valor and declined to drive
piling. The threat of destruction
to the pile driver, made in quiet hut
nevertheless firm tones, together
with the fact that the crew of the
driver was sympathetic to the fish
ermen, resulted in the temporary
abandonment of the plan.
As a result of the attempt yester
day, the gillnet fishermen of the en
tire lower Columbia district were
up . in arms and if further efforts
on the part of the fish trap opera
ors are made to erect traps in that
particular locality, trouble is ex
pected.
OPERATOR GETS PERMIT
The permit to install a trap at
that point has been issued to Wal
ter Williams of Ilwaco, who is
thought to be backed by an Astoria
packing plant. The attempt was
made to place a trap between a
spit and jetty in waters that serve
as one of the best drifts for gillnet
ters on he lower river. It would
also block according to fishermen,
Hie only channel to shelter in the
case of squals or stormy weather.
The attempt to locate a trap site
on the river at tha place yeserday
was preceded by similar efforts over
a period of twenty-five years, all
of which have failed. At every
move of the trap operators the fish
ermen have been able to force a
suspension of activities or to de
stroy the traps ouce they are install
ed. Previous clashes have been ex
tremely serious in character and it
is believed any further attempt on
the part of the operators will re
sult. in considerable difficulty.
PROTECTION SOUGHT
In the meantime it is rumored
that the trap operators are seeking
protection from the governor of
the State of Washington and that
fishermen will attemp to obain an j
injuncion restraining the operators
from continuing the work. Injunc-j
tion or no injunction, fishermen de-!
clare that no traps are to be erect- |
led on the spot in question.
The affair Friday followed an at
'tempt, at a “coup” on the part of
* the trap operators, who expected
.to complete the work of driving
i piling for Iho (taps before there
j was general notice of the event. The
piling and a pile driver owned by
| H. Makela and Sons was towed to
the spot and preparations were
made for driving (he piling. Be
fore (his could he accomplished,
however, the pile driver was sur
rounded by a fleet of 3 4 gillnet
boats, well filled with irate fisher
men. The pile driver was boarded
and the fishermen in no uncertain
termsproceeded to present their side
of (he case.
"While llte fishermen meant bus
iness there was no action taken
and as the pile driver crew made no
move toward laying the piling the
gillnetters were satisfied with watch
ing events and talking over the sit
uation with the crew of the driver.
DEPUTY HAS lilFLE
In the meantime, following the
first show of force on the part of
the fishermen, Williams, who was
ashore nearby, went to Ilwaco for as
sistance. and he returned with J.
J. Clark, chief deputy from South
Bend, and A. L. Myers, deputy sher
iff from Ilwaco. - One of the depu
ties stationed himself on the break
water with a rifle, a move which
had no effect on the fishermen.
WATER NAVIGABLE
It is hardly possible, however,
that the operators will give up
their plan for installing a trap
at. the particular spot, as a trap
there would prove to be immense
ly profitable. The permit for the
erection of a trap is obtained
from the office of the U. S. Engin
eers, Portland. The only restric
tion to the issue is that no traps
may be placed in navigable waters.
The area in question is not navig
able to large vessels, though fish
ermen use it constantly.
The plan for the erection of
the fish trap at that particular
spot has been in the air for some
time and the move Friday was not
unexpected by the fishermen. From
statements made yesterday by Wil
liams, the plan has by no means
been abandoned.—Morning Astorian.
Customs Assaying Alaska
College Yearly Report
The yearly report of Paul Hop
kins, Associate Analytical Chemist
of the U. S. Bureau of Mines shows
that the residents of the Territory
are making a very considerable use
of the service provided under the
co-operative agreement between the
Alaska Agricultural College and
School of Mines and the U. S. Bu
reau of Mines. Details are as
follows:
i Customs assays made,.682;
Official Assays and analyses. ... 370
Duplicates and miscellaneous. .284
Identification tests .336
The following determinations
were made in the performance of
' the above: alcohol, 1; antimony,
61; arsenic, 16; calcium, 12;
chromium, 6; coal, 35; copper, 63;
iron, 13; lead 42; magnesium 4;
mercury 16; molybdenum 1; plati
num 24; silica 5; tin 2; water 19,
grinding, wet and fire assaying lab
oratories, necessary supplies and
received the custom fees. The Bu
reau of Mines furnishes mo3t of the
equipment and pays the salary of
the Chemist. The customs fees re
ceived are slightly in excess of the
cost of the materials used not in
cluding the cost of heating, light,
water and janitor services. Dur
ing the fiscal year 1926-1927 the
College received $698.00 and paid
for materials used $616.87.
There is no charge for mineral
identification tests. The charge for
an assay for gold and silver is $1.00
and for any other metal or element
$1.00 for each sample.
The residents of the Territory are
invited to avail themselves of this
sei*vice, letters and packages will
receive prompt attention and should
be forwarded to College, Alaska,
zinc 22; gold and silver 994, re
quiring 1461 fusions or scoriflca
tions and 1025 cupellations.
The College provides an office.
No Prior Rights
Trap Locations
In the Westward district Judge
Hill granted temporary injunction
restraining one Smith from operat
ing a trap on a certain location, the
injunction being granted in favor
of Alaska General Fisheries who
posted bonds in the sum of $5,000.
Question of making the injunction
permanent will be brought before
the October term.
.... SMILEY LOSES CASE _
In the First Division an injunc
tion was granted the Smiley com
pany of Ketchikan, restraining Wm.
living from operating a trap at a
certain location. Argument was
heard by Judge Reed wherein Mr.
Ziegler of Ketchikan appeared for
plaintiff and Mr. Griggsby, for de
fendant.
In this case plaintiff avers that de
fendant is trespassing on their lo
cation; defendant’s reply, alleges
their trap wa3 set some two weeks
before Smiley’s rap was put in less
than 1200 feet away.
It is reported that under the
facts presented the court, the de
fendant wins suit and is permitted
by the court to continue fishing
while plaintiff’s trap is in opera
in violation of law.
These cases will open new chan-!
i els for fighting traps according to
attorneys in the case.
Petition for Injunction
Three federal judges sitting en
banc in Portland this week denied
the petition of P. J. McGowan and
Sons that the temporary injunction
granted against the Oregon Fish
Commissioser enforcing the law
against fish wheels, be continued.
The lower court3 upheld the Oregon
anti-fish wheel law and it is now on
appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court.
, The water has been too high
for the wheels to operate much
thus far this year but now the wa
ter has fallen so that there is a
chance for them.—South Bend,
(Washington) Journal. g
GAME COMMISSION ANNOUNCES
MEETING FOR FEBRUARY
A communication from C. T.
Gardner, chairman of the Alaska
Game Commission, announces that
the annual meeting of the commis
sion will take place next February
in Juneau when jinat^ere relative
to game will be considered.
ENFORCED BOARD FOR HOXIE
SAYS SUPREME COURT
Charles Hoxie, peddler of pre-Vol
stead cheer, was in custody of Mar
shall White en route to place of
enforced idleness for term set forth
by the district court. Assistant At
torney Stabler appeared for the gov
rnment in this case. Hoxie must
serve time says the Appellate Court.
Douglas, co-partner with Hoxie
was on trial during the past week.
[ It was reported around Petersburg
that a hung jury was all that the
prosecution could hope for. The
prosecution had presented its case
and defense was fighting its side
before the jury.
NOTICE TO BAND
. .The I. ks have asked .that the
1 Band to turn out to welcome visit
ing Elks tomorrow. All members
of the ml are therefore urged to
be at the Band Hall before visitors
arrive..
P E. VERNEY, BAND MASTER
Bristol Bay Salmon Pack
A Failure-Area Closed
All of the Bristol Bay area ac
cept the Kvchack-Naknek district
was again closed by the Bureau of
Fisheries.
The pack reported to date i-j
891,074 cases as against a pack of
1.360.000 last year. The Naknek
area furnished 76 per cent of the
pack. The Nushigak run was a to
tal failure as against a pack of
500.000 cases last year.
The pack in the Nushigak district
totaled 500,000 cases last year and
this year less than one-fifth was
put up or approximately 90,000
cases.
Northwestern Fisheries at Dun
das Bay, First Division report a
very light pack; Agent Hardcastle
at Ketchikan report a run of about
one and two thousand a day In the
traps of the (Jape Fox district, as
compared to the heavy daily lifts
from these same traps last year.
Packers report only twenty-five
t. othirty percent of normal packs to
date.
With only a couple of weeks more
fishing in (lie adjoining area and on
ly three weeks more in the Peters
burg area, fishing for resident sein
ers and foreign trap operators look
anything but rosy.
Anchorage Plans Fair
Arrangements are under way for
the holding of a big fair at Anchor
age early in September, the board
of directors of the Western Alaska
Fair Association having held sev
eral meetings, and as a result a
bigger and better fair is planned
for ths year than ever before.
Application has been made for
$2,000 of the fund appropriated by
the recent legislature for assistance
for agricultural and industrial fairs.
Ten percent of this fund will be
spent in gathering permanent dis
plays to be exhibited at the Terri
torial museum at Juneau or at such
places as may be designated by
Governor Turks to advertise the
resources of Alaska.
Many are expected to take part
in this fair and many exhibits wiii
be displayed. Musical programs
will be rendered as will also many
other forms of entertainment. It
is expected that when all arrange
ments are completed Anchorage
will be certain of the best fair ever
attempted.
Fairbanks Raising
Money for Gym
Stock of the Community Center
Corporation, the organization form
ed to secure funds for and build
a community gymnasium, is no drug
on the market, it was indicated at
noon when the committee which is
soliciting pledges for stock checked
up on the first days work. The
response already made has been
extremely gratifying, it was stated.
The corporation’s stock is being
sold at on edollar per share. A
subsription of from one share up
ward will be welcomed, it was said.
The plan of the Community Cen
ter Corporation, approved by the
city council, is to tear down the
Armory and use all available lum
ber contained in it for the gym
nasium. The new building will be
erected on school property and will
adjoin the schoolhouse. The lower
floor will be devoted to the gymna
sium and the upper floor to school
rooms. Thus the projected build
ing will not only serve as a com
munity center but will also relieve
overcrowding in the present school
house.—Fairbanks News-Miner.
A. H. Zeigler, attorney at Ketchi
kan was a visitor in Petersburg
while the Alameda was in port.
Born to Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Phil
ips, July 20, a boy. Mother is re
ported as doing well.
Seward—Frisco Freight
Service Announced
A deal has been practically com
pleted between Dudley Brothers of
San Francisco and the Roth-Manley
Coal interests, having large depos
its -ot' lignite on Healy river eight
miles from Suntrana, whereby the
San Francisco interests will mine
and export coal to that city and
South America, according to Gen
eral Manager Noel Smith of the
Alaska Railroad, who arrived in
Seward last night from Anchorage.
According to the plans as far as
known to date, the McCormick
Steamship Company of San Francis
co will establish a line of steamers
to Seward and will provide their
own loading facilities. These will
consist of a loading station to be lo
cated somewhere in the vicinity of
the San Juan Fishing and Packing
Company plant and near where the
proposed breakwater and shelter
harbor is to built. Dudley Broth
ers will also construct eight miles
of railroad connecting the Healy
river spur at Suntrana and extend
ing to the Ross-Manley mine.
The proposed development is the
result of joint action on the part
of R. F. Roth, who holds the lease
on the coal property, and with
whom is associated Frank Manley,
the Interior placer operator, and the
Alaska Railroad, represented by H.
G. Ilderton, general industrial
agent .who recently returned from
the States, where he went in the in
terests of the railroad.—Times.
Bureau Educatiou to
Move Offices North
BUREAU OF EDUCATION TO
MOVE TO ANCHORGE
According to current report, the
Alaska Division of the Bureau of
Education, which has its headquar
ters in Seattle,, is to move its of
fices to Anchorage in the near fu
ture.
Effort for the past several years
years has been made by Alaskans
and the Alaska legislatures to ac
complish this purpose.
STANDARD TIME FOR ALL
FISHERMEN
R. E. Hardcastle, agent of the
United States Bureau of Fisheries,
at Ketchikan announced that “gov
ernment standard time,” taken
from the Sitka meridian, will gov
ern in all Sunday closing of fish
traps and seine operations, and for
all of the regulations of the Bureau
where time is an element.