THE NENANA DAILY NEWS
Application made April 1, 1918, at the postoffice at Nenana, Alaska,
for enrry as second class mail matter, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
“WHERE RAIL AND RIVER MEET”
Published every afternoon except Sunday, by the Nenana Printing
Company, at First and B Streets, Nenana, Alaska.
Owned and Edited by
R. G. SOUTHWORTH ARTHUR G. BELL
RATES OF SUBSCRIPTION
Single Copies...Two Bits
By the Month, by Carrier or Mail.....$ 2.00
Six Months, if paid in Advance. 9.00
One Tear, if paid in advance... 15.00
ADVERTISING RATES
Transient Display Advertising, per inch, per issue.....$ .60
Minimv.ru Charge .... 1.00
Reading Notices, per line, per issue.....25
Legal Advertising, per line, per issue.. .20
AD CHANGES FOR TOMORROW MUST BE TURNED IN TODAY
BEFORE SIX.
MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for re-publi
eation of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in
this paper and also all the local news published herein.
FISH AGAIN.
The population of the Interior of
Alaska, both white and native, have
Archdeacon Stuck to thank and
praise for his able and tireless ef
forts to stir up indignation against
that “iniquitous enterprise" at the
mouth of the Yukon, says the editor
of The Alaskan Churchman in the
February issue of that publication.
We refer to the cannery of the
Carlisle Tacking company', which
for the past two years has operated
at the mouth of the Yukon river, ;
and which this past year greatly !
added to the misery caused by r, j
shortage of fish. We will admii j
that there WAS a shortage of fish.
W'e will also admit that there have
been shortages before. There was
one in 1917 here on the Tanana1
river. But even with the shortage j
of fish in 1917, both the natives and !
the whites caught enough to tide j
them over. Those were better
timer. There was some fur to be
caught, and the natives for their
part had something to fall back on.
But the shortage of this past sum
mer came at a most unfortunate
time. There are no rabbits to
speak of, and rabbits can be used
to support both man and dogs when !
the fish fail. Then, besides the lack '
of rabbit®, there is hardly any fuv j
to be caught. Here in this Tanana ]
valley the situation is acute, and ■
the worst of it is, we have yet to |
face the breakup time, when there
is neither hunting nor fishing to any
extent, and when the existence or
the natives until the fishing season
is and always was hard.
That the cannery was in a large
measure responsible for the shortage
of salmon, which was so acutely felt
on the upper three-fourths of the
length of the Yukon, and on its
gret tributaries, the Koyukuk and
the Tanana, cannot be disputed. This
too when the fish commissioner in
his attack on Archdeacon Stuck says
that it cannot be “supported by any
evidence whatsoever." But ask any
white man on the length of the Tan
ana, and unless he Is entirely unin
formed or is connected in some way
with the interests of the cannery,
he will say most positively that the
cannery was a cause of privation to
both whites and natives dependent
on the fish. We have seen short
ages before, but we Have never seen
the time when a large percentage
of the salmon were net-marked, and
when practically all the salmon that
came up the Yukon and its tribu
taries were undersized. Evidence
goes to show that the men fishing
for the cannery were so successful
in fencing off the run, that about
all the fish to reach us on the Tan
ana were those that broke through
the nets or else were small enough
to come through the meshes.
The writer pretends to know from
first-hand only conditions here on
this great Tanana river, where for
the length of at least three 'hun
dred of the seven hundred miles the
natives, and also many white men,
depend on the salmon for their sup
ply of dog feed. I want to say
that the WHITE men suffered also,
and The Alaskan Churchman is just
as much interested in the welfare
[of the whites as of the natives.
But all along this Tanana river
every effort was made to catch fish,
but without success. The run of
salmon lasted but a few days. Some
passing observers on the steamers
happened to note the catch of those !
few dys and were saying that there I
was a good run on, and that the j
cannery was not interfering at all. ;
But for'all the rest of the season,!
try as the Indians and WHITE MEN j
would, they could catch only the i
very few small salmon, and so many |
of these would be net-marked. It!
was sneeringly remarked that one
reason the natives were short of
fish was that they had not tried
to catch them hard enough, and in
one ease they were at a potlatch
through the time of the good run.
But while this might be true at one
or two places, it was not true on
the Tanana river. Here at the mis
sion at Nenana, where we have one
of the best fishing sites on the Tan
ana, we did not catch enough fish!
through the summer to feed our!
children, and we did not have any |
fish at all to put up for the winter. J
This is something that has never
happened before. For the first time
we have had to send out special ap
peals for additional food.
The cannery may not have stop- :
ped ALL the fish, but it stopped |
more than we could afford to lose,
and we feel that we Alaskans, white
and native, are more deserving of
these fish than the men catching
them for commercial greed. !
There are on the Tanana river'
.some three hundred and fifty men, j
women, and children of the Indian ;
population who depend on the sal- j
mon as a large source of their food !
supply. And also we of this mis-1
sion hoarding school depend to a !
great extent on the salmon. How j
many white men there are who have
made an honest living and made it
easier for dog mushers to cover long
distances exploring, prospecting and
helping to open up this great In
terior, we cannot say. But there
are too many of us to stand silently
by and see our food taken away
from us. Another year and the
white men or natives will not be
willing to shoot their dogs or watch
them starve. At the Chena Native
Village there is hardly one good dog
team left. Here at Nenana there
are at least five families stuck and
not able to get out to the hunting
grounds, because their dogs have
all starved. To the Indians this is
a very serious state of affairs, be
cause those left in the village must
either subsist in a hand-to-mouth
way on “white man’s grub’’ (flour,
lard, and sugar, occasionally beani
and rice), and do without meat;
else they must depend on the chari
ty of those who have dog teams
with which to haul in the meat
killed fifty or sixty miles away.
In his reply to the archdeacon’s
statements, and in his criticism of
the way the archdeacon has cham
pioned the cause of the Alaskans,
the commissioner of fisheries, Dr.
H. M. Smith, even goes so far as to
say that “as an actual fact there
is no reason for the natives to be
short of fish this winter or any
other time.” He goes on to say
that there are plenty of whitefish to
be caught, and that the reason the
Indian does not catch them is be
cause he doesn’t want to use the
greater labor involved. But here is
where the fish commissioner shows
his complete ignorance of the situ
ation, as, for instance, on the Tan
ana river. True enough, there are
some places where whitefish could
be caught in large numbers, but
only a comparatively few people
were able to benefit therflselves in
this way. Where can tfhe natives
from Nenana on to Salchaket catch
the whitefish? We of the mission
tried to catch enough for our daily
use here at Nenana, and we caught
only one or two a day.
If the matter were left to Alas
jkans to legislate, and not put in
'the hands of outsiders who are con
jveniently placed to hear only the
side of the money grabbers, then
we would have laws which would
prevent canneries operating on the
Yukon, and all the other rivers of
Alaska. Governor Riggs has gone
to Washington to advocate this very
thing. What happened on the Cop
per river, when the cannery was
allowed to operate there? Well, if
this cannery on the Yukon is not
removed, the Government will be
forced to give us also an Indian
agent to feed the natives when their
catch of fish has failed. Deliver us
from being dependents! No, give
us laws that will protect Alaska for
Alaskans, both white and native,
and insure the annual run of salmon
to their spaw-ning grounds up the
Yukon, as well as the rest of the
rivers of the Interior. Here is hop
ing the efforts on the part of our
Governor, our Delegate to Congress,
Archdeacon Stuck, Bishop Rowe,
and all other in position to gain a
hearing for us, will be of avail in
gaining legislation to prevent can
neries from operating on the Yukon
or any of our Alaskan rivers.
Henana, Where Bails and River* Meet
RIGGS AND ALASKA.
Five big items arc on a list of
legislative enactments Alaska is go
ing to ask of Congress, Governor
Thomas Riggs, Jr., of Alaska, said
recently when he passed through
Seattle enroute to the national cap
ital to present the Northern Terri- j
tory’s request to Washington. The j
five items are:
Grant a bonus to gold miners.
Alaskans claim that everything has
gone up in price except gold itself,
and prospectors will not search for
the mt'tai unless it will buy more
for them.
Passage of the oil and coal land
leasing bill. Passage of the bill,
now a law, will enable development
of Alaska’s oil fields, the Governor
claims.
Open the national forest reserves
for pulp mills. Billions of feet of
good pulp wood stand on Alaska’s
two big forest reserves. Pulp and
paper men will not establish mills
on the reserves, however, until laws
are passed which would give them
title to the land.
Regulate the salmon fishing in
dustry. Alaska’s big industry, sal
mon fishing, is rapidly becoming a
thing of the past, and unless the
fishing is conserved, the silver horde
of the North will be gone within a
few years.
Establish a federal constabulary.
Alaska wants a federal constabu
lary on the order of the state police
of Pennsylvania. At present a few
United States marshals have the big
task of preserving peace in almost
the entire Northland.
STAMPEDE EXPECTED
TO HYDER DIGGINGS
SEATTLE.—Hyder, Alaska, cen
ter of the Stewart river mining
properties, will become a tent city
rivaling Nome and other famous
“strike” towns, if the expected
spring influx of prospectors is re
alized, according to James W. Me-!
Donald, pioneer of the Klondike, who
was in Seattle recently.
“The world is going to see an
other tent city in the spring,” Mr.
McDonald said. “Hyder’s future is
assured, and there is every indica
IWANT ADS
LOST—Open-face silver watch, lass
night. Finder please return to
I Ed Miller or leave at News office.
---_
j FOR SALE, CHEAP—Keys of all
| kinds, Harness Hoods, Horse
| Blankets, Shoemaker Benches and
Tools. Harness and Shoemaker
Machines. Simson's
! ^ _ _ ___
I THE DWYER HOME FOR SALE.
Terms reasonable. tf
jFOUND—Bunch of keys. Inquire
| at Central Cafe.
: FOR RENT—Suite of three rooms,
j suitable for light housekeeping,
| with heat and light and hot and
cold water in connection. Also
office rooms, at The Arctic.
FOR SALE—-Two-room house, part
ly furnished, with lot. Desirable
locality. Inquire News office. tf
jFOR RENT—Cascade laundry. Fully
equipped and with established in
come. No cash required. Inquire
at Arctic.
Pioneers of Alaska
Nenana Igloo No. 17
MEETS AT UNION HALL
FIRST AND THIRD MONDAYS
OF MONTH, AT 8:00 P. M.
Visiting Members Always
Welcome.
Frank Rourke, Martin Na«b,
Secretary. President.
tion that when the snow goe-s off
thousands of people will flock to the
little town.”
Most of the newcomers will be
disappointed, Mr. McDonald assert
ed. Hundreds of them are used
only to placer mining, while the
Stewart river properties ure all hard
rock. The district will not be fully
enveloped for five years, he said.
Xenana. Alaska's Interior Fuel Depot
The Farthest North magazine in
America is published at Nenana. It
is The Alaskan Churchman and is all
Alaskan. Sample copies two-bits at
The News office.
Board of School Directors
Nenana Public School
Nenana, March 8, 1920.
NOTICE OF SCHOOL ELECTION
Complying with the laws of Alas
ka, notice is hereby given that the
regular annual election will be hehl
in the town of Nenana,
Tuesday, April 6, 1920,
for the purpose of electing throe
school directors to serve two years,
to fill the vacancies caused by the
expiration of the terms of Robert
Joseph Diven, J. A. Slippern, and J.
H. Scott.
The names of candidates must be
in the hands of the Clerk of the
School Board not later than 5 p. m.,
March 22, 1920.
The polling place will be located
in the fire hall, adjoining the town
site office. Polls will be open fapm
8 a. m. until 7 p. m. on the day
and date of election.
J. H. SCOTT,
Clerk of School Board.
Approved:
ROBERT JOSEPH DIVEN,
President.
aooatxxwwwoaoai
a
GARDEN and FLOWER
JUST ARRIVED OVER TRAIL
■ATi
FOWLER & MORRIS
”OOBOBOOQat»^^
We Strive to Please |
| EVERYTHING THE BEST f
lg
Tavern Cafe and Bakery
WM. RODIGKEIT
Proprietor ^
A Thoroughly Modern Hotel
NENANA HOUSE
Large Barn-In Connection-Dog Kennels
MRS. A. B. EAS TERLY, Proprietress.
J
I
Dr. J. R. BOWEN
DENTIST
Price* Most Reasonable
THE BOWEN BUILDING
NENANA LODGE No. 1193
L. 0. 0. M.
MEETS AT MOOSE HALL
Fourth and B Streets'
Second and Fourth Mondays
At 8:00 P. M.
ALEX FOWLER M. V. TYLER,
Secretary Dictator.
I
Department of tbe Interior
Alaskan Engineering Commission
NOTICE
Passengers are required tu pur
chase tickets before entering trains.
Tickets can be purchased from
the station agent, whose office is in
the employment office, on the ground
floor of the General Office Building.
Alaskan Engineering Commission, or
at Camp 413 (North Nenana).
Tickets will be on sale at any
time during office hours, and can be
purchased in sufficient time before
the departure of the trains.
Regular trains for the south leave
the foot of A street on Wednesdays
and Saturdays at 8 a. m., and from
Camp 415 (North Nenana), for
Fairbanks, Tuesdays and Fridays, at
1 p. m.
The following is the schedule be
tween North Nenana and F'airbanks.
subject to change without notice:
Leave Fairbanks at 7:0® a. m.;
arrive North Nenana, 11:30 a. n
Leave North .Nenana 1:00 p. m .
arrive Fairbanks, 5:8* p. m.
No tickets will be sold crossing
the river. Those intending to trav
el to Fairbanks must make their
ovrn arrangements for reaching
North Nenana.
Trappers and Traders of Alaska
SELL YOUR FURS TO A HOME INDUSTRY. WE GUARANTEE
YOU HIGHER PRICES THAN OUTSIDE
CONCERNS WILL PAY.
Daring the last season we conducted an advertising ca—paiga
throughout the North and are prepared to send you the names of
people in aH sections of Alaska and the Yukon who wtH verify oar
statements.
Our excellent Eastern connections, and the tremendous amount
of' mail order business we are receiving from all parts of the
States for furs made to order enables us to turn our stock quickly
at a reasonable profit, but we must have fur, for which we guar
antee top prices.
Make us a trial shipment. If eur price does not suit you, the
goods will be returned charges prepaid.
WE MAKE FURS TO ORDER
at more reasonable ratm than ean be obtained Outside. At present
we are working three operators, and need others. If you are an
operator and finisher, and want a good year-around job, com
municate with us.
CHAS. GOLDSTEIN & CO.
JUNEAU, ALASKA