VOLUME NO. 5.
PETERSBURG, ALASKA, JUNE 5, 1931
NUMBER 46
KING SALMON PRICE DROPS TO NEW LOW
Trollers Vote To Stay Home
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Effective June 1st king salm
on prices at tl\e docks were fix
ed at 10, 6 and 3 cents in all
southeastern Alaska ports.
Prices previously prevailing at
Petersburg, Ketchikan and oth
er ports were 12, 7 and 4 with
the ground prices somewhat
lower. Packer boats now on the
grounds are buying at the old
price this week but beginning
next Monday the price on the
grounds will be reduced to 8,
4 and 2. This drop in prices
w.\s ordered from the Seattle
offices of all concerns having
buyers in the territory.
Trollers Vote to Strike
News of the contempted cut
in prices was the occasion for a
special meeting of the Alaska
Trollers Association Sunday
May 31. The association boats
voted unanimously to discon
tinue fishing. The association
is composed of practically all
Alaskan boats in the trolling
lieet. Magnus J. Nordstrom,
president of the organization
states that the fishermen feel
that it is impossible to accept
the new price scale which would
occasion a positive loss.
Council Doings
Messrs. Tynes and Hatland
met with the council last Mon
day evening and were ordered to
!*ive Petersburg school building
a coat of paint outside and to
refinish the interior. The roof
is also to be given a coating of
asphalt.
The resignation of H. P. Er
win as assessor was accepted 1
and C. Clausen was requested to
proceed with the work in his
place.
Councilman A. B. Holt was
chosen to promote a Fourth of
July celebration.
It appered that the gravel
W 'ich is to be dredged from
Petersburg bar this summer
is of such a nature that it can
be used for road surfacing ma
terial, Mayor Ohmer reported
that he had, been conducting
negotiations with the dredging
contractor, Puget Sound Bridge
&Dredging Co., who have offer
ed to pump the entire 40,000
yards of material behind a
bulkhead to be constructed near
-he Union dock at a cost to the
city of $3500. A sample of the
material was examined and the
contractors have been notified
that the town will accept their
offer. The bulkhead scheme
has been approved by the army
engineers. Thus an enormous
quantity of road material may
be provided at a cost of but a
few cents per yard.
Street commissioner Nilsen
was instructed to lay planking
on that portion of street re
cently vacated by the moving of
the Star Bakery.
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ALASKA TRADE VOLUME
IN APRIL AT LOW EBB
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Alaska’s outgoing trade for
April aggregated 01,317,526,
more than one-third of which
was gold and silver, according to
the monthly statement of com
merce made public by J. C. Mc
Lride, Collector of Customs. It
was one of the smallest totals
fer that month on record.
All commodities were at a
low ebb. Copper, usually a
leading unit at this time of
year dropped to fourth place,
with gold, canned salmon and
halibut leading it.
Gold shipments had a value
ol $463,511; canned salmon
S^21,122; fresh halibut $197,137;
anil copper $195,762.
Pacific S. S. Of
ficial Visits North
T. J. Danaher, district agent
of the Pacific Steamship Com
jpany and the Dollar lines with
headquarters at Chicage was a
passenger on tht Admiral Rog
ers last trip Mr. Danaher is
out for a better working knowl
edge of conditions to assist him
in the directing of tourist trade
f’om the eastern and mid-west
ern sections of the United States
to Alaska. A very great exodus
of tourists will be leaving the
states this summer for the
world’s pleasure grounds and
Alaska is steadily gaining in
favor. Some of the boats which
will start the summer tourist
trade to the north are already
so’d out.
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Centralized Rule
To Curb Dope
Proposals to enlarge the pow
jrs of the present central opium
ooard, to make it the spearhead;
Df the international anti-drug!
crusade are before the League
af Nations Narcotic Conference
which convened at Geneva,
Switzerland, May 27.
Tthe central board was creat
ed by the Geneva opium con
tention of 1925, which the Unit
ed States, charging the league
with protecting dope interests,
*efused to sign. The board has
^ight members, one of whom is
m American serving in a pri
vate capacity.
When the 1925 conference
fell under the control of the
European drug cartel, the board
was stripped of authority which
would have made it a powerful
weapon against illicit traffic,
rts duties are chiefly to collect
statistics.
Now, however, comes the
scheme to give the board au
thority to compell countries to
revise their estimated annual
needs of drugs to prevent pil
ing up of huge stocks for the
illicit trade.
With such power the board
would be able to regulate ord
ers and to force factories to pro
di ce no greater quantity of
dope than is needed for medi
cine and science in any one
year. - Manufacturers could not
fill an order for drugs without
the board’s approval.
The scheme is regarded as the
first step toward ultimate gov
ernment monopoly of drug
manufacture.
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EPISCOPAL BISHOPS
IN ALASKA
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Bishop Thomas Jenkins of the
Episcopal church with head
qourters at Reno, Navada is
now in Ketchikan and will con
duct services for the dedication
of St. John’s church which has
recently been rebuilt under the
direction of the local pastor,
Rev. Mark T. Carpenter.
Sometime this month Bishop
Peter .Trimble Rowe will arrive
in Southeast Alaska on one of
his annual pilgrimages to the
territory. Bishop Rowe has been
making trips to Alaska for the
last thirty years and is known
far and wide as the “mushing
bishop ” He has covered more
miles by walking, with dog
teams and other modes of trans
portation in the territory than
any other missionary
Fored Labor Pro
ducts Banned
A confidential report from
;he United States Tariff Com
mission to th" State Depart
ment dated March 1929, show
ing that $700,000,000 worth of
American imports would be af
fected by the forced labor
clause on the Smoot-Hawley'
ariff Act, has just come to,
light in congressional circles, j
As a result of changes made in |
the tariff bill after the report
was submitted, however, the.
State Department explained J
*hat only a part of the $700,- *
000,000 will bo affected when
the forced labor clause becomes
effective next January 1. Of
ficials said Russian pulp wood,
was the principal commodity
coming under the ban.
After learning it was propos
ed in the Smoot-Hawley tariff'
bill to ban all imports made by,
forced labor, the State Depart-/
ment explained, importers and 1
users of many articles not ob- :
toinable here, such as rubber, ■
protested the legislation. As a
result a clause was inserted in/
•he bill permitting forced labor ;
products to be imported provid- 1
ed they could not be manufact- ■
urtd or produced in sufficient
quantities in the United States. ■
The r eport indicated that 1
rubber imports from British /
Malaya, worth $138,000,000 in/
1928 would have been one of/
the commodities affected by the!*
!?an on forced labor products/
L.ut the State Department stat- 1
:d that the British are now1/
taking drastic measures against 1
forced labor and slavery in 1
'heir colonies (
)
-x-- ,
Fights Reno
Divorces
A legal assult on the Reno
lightning divorce mill, challeng
ing the right of a citizen of (
Illinois to bring suit for a Nev
ada dcree has been begun in
he Superior Court of Chicago,
^he atack invokes the doct
rine of states rights in quest
.ng the validity of Nevada de
crees in Illinois declaring the
new laws of Nevada to be
drawn for the citizens of other
states unable to obtain divorces
m their own states. The bill
declares each state jealously
protects the rights of its own
citizens and asks that Nevada
decrees be not recognized as af
fecting property i n other
states. The decision will be of
vital importance as it will in
volve the validity of all Nevada
decrees heretofore issued. It is
expected that the decision will
os followed throughout the
country in either upholding or
invalidating Nevada decrees.
The action is a petition for am
injunction to restrain Schuyler
C. Schwartz, an heir to wealth,]
from instituting a divorce ac
tion at Reno. The schwartzes
were married in Indiana in 1929,
two weeks after Schwartz was
divorced by his first wife who
charged that Schwartz; had
thirteen automobiles and a dif
ferent sweetheart for each of
ihem
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The Petersburg Commercial
Club through action of the ex
ecutive committee has joined
the Territorial Chamber of Com
frerce for the year.
Scow Bay Mill
Gets Tie Contract
According to a telegram re
etived this week the Northwest
Mill Co. at Scow Bay is to be
awarded a contract to saw 35,
000 railroad ties for the Alaska
Railroad. This company bid on
che entire reo.uirement of 80,
000 ties but ?t appears that
parts of the order were award
ed to other mills. This was the
second call for bids on the part
o fthe railroad, all bids in the
first instance being cancelled
snd additional requirements in
serted in the terms of the bids.
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1
PETERSBURG WILL
CELEBRATE 4THj
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Although barely four weeks <
remains between now and July £
1th, the city fathers at their re- £
iular meeting last Monday eve- ;
ling decided that the town of t
3etersburg shall not be remiss i
n its patriotic duty on Inde- ?
jondence Day. The council *
lopes that everyone in Peters- i
jurg will accept, a measure of t
aersonal responsibility for the f
uccess of this year’s program, j
n order that every element may j
>e directly represented in the r
)lans for the day, each patriotic, s
:ivic, fraternal and commercial €
organization has been request- E
d to name one member to serve x.
>n the general committee which
vill have the* affair in hand. A.
3. Holt was unanimously chosen 1
o represent the city council and 1
he various organizations are 1
•xpected to designate their rep- r
esentatives on the committee
is quickly as possible in order (
hat a suitable plan may be in- i
lugurated at once. There is still i
ime, if none be wasted, to pre- v
■tare as fine a program of pa- \
riotic exercises as Petersburg i
las ever enjoyed. Money spent \
n promoting a program of ;
•ports remains in the town, leav
ng Petersburg not poorer but
distinctly richer in pride, richer |
n memories, and richer in the
respect of our children, our
vIves and others. If you like
to feel patriotic don’t wait for
he other fellow but give Bill
Holt a hand to help make the
eagle scream.
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DESPONDENT LUMBERMAN
MURDERS FAMILY
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R. C. Voght of Camrose, B. C.
took his family for an automo
bile ride. Stopping the car about
14 miles from Edmonton he
shot his daughters Mary, aged
tight, Morma, aged six, his wife
and then drowned himself in a
nearby lake from which the
body was later recovered. His
son Jack, aged four, who was
also in the car was unharmed.
Investigators said that Voght,
who was the manager of a lum
ber yard had become despondent
over business affairs.
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45 FEARD DEAD ON
RUSS SUBMARINE
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The Russian submarine No. 9,
carrying a crew of forty-five,
sank last week during the mar
neuvers with the Baltic fleet in
the Finnish Gulf it was offici
ally announced.
The cause of the tragedy had
not been determined and it
wasdeclared doubtful if any of(
those in the submarine can be
saved.
OLD TIMER
CROSSES DIVIDE
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Arnold Schneider, a native of
Switzerland, who has resided
near the mouth of Five Mile
Creek near Soukhoi Islands for
many yeais, died of a ruptured
internal artery Tuesday night
or early Wednesday morning.
Mr. Schneider was alone at the
time of his death but a fairly
somplete story has been pieced
.ogether from evidence adduc
ed at a coroner’s inquest held
Wednesday. The man was
ividently in bed when the
lemorrhage began and he arose
ind went outside. Realizing
ii? helplessness he had passed
hrough the house for his gun
ind hud fired signal shots in
he hope of summoning assist
ince. The shots were heard at
soi:it Agassiz across Frederick
iound several miles away and
ilso by Ralph Loken who was
lassing the night at Harry
■Jolp’s place nearby. Seeing no
(O^t near and not realizing that
ds neighbor was in distress,
rfr. Loken did not visit Schnei
er’s cabin until Wednesday
naming when he discovered
he body lying on the front
orch. Remembering the shots,
te naturally concluded that
:chneider had either been
nurdered or had committed
uicide. He immediately report
d to Commissioner Clausen
,nd a coroner’s jury was im
panelled. An autopsy perform
d Thursday disclosed the rupt
ired blood vessel indicating
hat death had followed within
, few minutes after the hemor
hage began.
Mr Schneider was a carpent
r, fur farmer and fisherman
nd has resided here since 1919
imong his personal affects
/ere found letters from the
amily of Herman Haugge resid
ng near Olympia, Washington,
irho may possibly be relatives
Qiey have been notified.
X
Would Give Peacock
Spit Ground Away
At the much-talked-of auction
)f the lease on the famous Pea
jock Spit fishing site on the
Columbia River last Monday in
Dlympia not ab’d was put in.
The site has been fished by
the Baker’s Bay Fish Co., a sub
sidiary of the Columbia River
Packers association of Astoria,
for the past five years. The
company has been paying $36,
000 a year annual rental, three
fourths of which has gone to
the Port of Llwaco commission.
This year the company noti
fied the state land board that
owing to the fact that the site
has washed away to such an ex
tent that it can no longer be oc
cupied at high tide that it de
sired to give up its lease.
The lease was then thrown
open to bids with a $15,000 a
year minimum rental recom
mended by the Port of llwaco
commission.
No bids were received, state
ments being made by interested
parties to the effect that the
grounds were submerged toe
much of the time.
After some consideration a
decision was reached to reopen
bids June 1, and offer a twe
year bid at $7500 a year.
-Cbinook Observer.
| New England Fish Co.
Workers On Strike
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Protesting a wage which is
claimed to be the lowest paid
in Ketchikan for similar work
o group of twenty workers in
the fish house and cold storage
plant of the New England Fish
Company at KPtchikan went on
°trike June 1. The men are
asking a resumption of a form
er wage scale of $5 per day
v/ith 75 cents per hour over
time. The wages were reduc
ed to $4.50 per day and 56 cents
per hour overtime.
H. C. Nunan, manager of the
Ketchikan branch, stated that
“Part of our crew has quit work'
but we have a nuceus left to
build up a new crew. The men;
were satisfied with the dayj
rate. Their only cause for dis-i
satisfaction was the rate to be
paid for overtime Our com-;
pany has a system of paying,
only straight time overtime and ,
of course we could be no ex
ception. We feel that under i
the present economic conditions
' •e men should consider them- !
selves fortunate that they had
/tyuaid 9J13 aiaqj, qof ^pea^s rs :
cf men to take their places.
The places vacated by the
strikers will be filled immedi
ately and we expect to have a
full crew at work again In a!
day or two.”
According to strikers, only
one of the workers remained.
J. M. Nelson, one of the strik
ing workmen, interviewed by
the Ketchikan Tribune, ex
plained that other buyers in
Ketchikan were and are paying
75 cents per hour straight time
:or the same kind of work.j
After a meeting the men askedi
to have the former scale put!
tack in effect, which the com-j
panv refused to do. Another;
meeting was held and the men!
agreed to go on at $4.50 for
tight hours with 75 cents for
overtime. This was also refus
ed. “Mr. Nunan stated that he
was sorry to see us go but that
he could get plenty of men up
Pom Seattle to work for the
wages offered.”
FX-LEGION OFFICIAL
CONFICTED |
Willis M. Brewer, a former
national vice commander of the
American Legion was convicted
at Pontiac, Michigan of embez
zling $2,500 from the Legion or
phans’ billet at Otter Lake,'
Michigan. Testimony showed
that Brewer obtained that sum
from Oakland County as an ap
propriation and converted it to
his own use.
I -x
1 BREECHES FOR WOMEN
An order has been signed by
Premier Benito Mussolini creat
ing an order of women Facists
units and prescribing the
breeches uniform. “Breeches,
black wollen stickings or leg
gins, black shirt and Alpine
felt hat” is II Duce’s idea of
what the well dressed woman
will wear in Italy. -
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TO IMPROVE SEYMOUR
l
NARROWS
The removal of Ripple in Sey
mour Narrows has been recom
mended in a commission report
to the Canadian Parliament.
The cost of removing the rock
is estimated at $250,000. After
holding a hearing on the spot
;the commission decided that
Ifche rock should be eliminated.
HARBOR SURVEY
ABOUT COMPLETE
Captain James Truitt of the
U. S. Engineers has been busy
at Petersburg the past week
with a corps of assistants mak
ing a detailed survey of the
harbor to determine the yard
age and the nature of material
to be dredged, also to deter
mine what disposal shall be
made of the dredged material.
Perfect weather conditions have
expedited the work here which
is now complete except for a
few minor details, and the crew,
together with the scow and
other equipment were transfer
cd to Wrangell Wednesday aft
ernoon where a similar en
gineering job is to be done in
that harbor.
“I want to take advantage of
this exceptional weather to get
the work laid out at Wrangell”
;aid Captain Jim, “and I expect
:o return here in about ten
lays.” It will also be necessary
:o do some sounding work on
3etersburg bar in Wrangell Nar
rows where some 40,000 yards
>f loose gravel are to be dredg
ed up this summer.
-x
Debt Bondage
In Philippines
-A
Dobt bondage, a system which
often makes its victim a life
time serf, and described as a
condition analogous to slavery,
oy?sts today in the Philippine
rslands, according to a compre
hensive report on slavery issu
:d by the Geneva Research In
formation Committee.
“Most people in the western
world consider the subject of
slavery as a question of past
history,” says the report. “Few
people realize that slave own
ing, slave trading, peonage and
forced labor is still a condition
which affects millions of hu
man beings. In Africa and in
Asia there is indisputable evid
ence that some of the most ap
oalling and horrible types of
slavery exist which the cruelty
of man can devise. And in cer
tain states of Central and South
America and in the Philippines
peonage, or debt bondage,
touches the lives of thousands
cf people.”
Natives bound to a master as
payment of a debt are exploit
ed and subjected to intolerable
conditions barely distinguish
able from slavery. The peons
are virtual slaves, as is attest
ed by the inquiry of the League
cf Nations’ temporary slavery
commission: “It often happens
that the creditor so arranges
that his debtors get more and
more into debt, with the result
that what was in the beginning
only an apparently equitable
contract is transformed finally
into slavery for life.”
Certain South American coun
tries do not want an inquiry
into the system of peonage. C.
2umeta, of Venezuela, during
the recent meeting of the com
mission in London, virtually
challenged the league’s author
ity to extend the slavery probe
to include peonage.
It is extimated there are be
tween 4,000,000 and 6,000,000
actual slaves in the world to
day, including 2,000,000 i a
Abyssinia alone.