How Commerce Dept,
and Fish Trust ‘Con
serve’ Alaska Salmon
W.'L. Paul, in Alaska Fisherman.
Secretary Herbert Hoover, Governor
Boee, Fish Commissioner O’Malley,
Professor Gilbert all declare that the
fish reserves are mere temporary de
vices to conserve fish “uutil Congress
can pass adequate laws.”
On-February 28, 1W23, Dan Suther
land made certain charges before Con
gress and told just how and why these
reserves were made.
The attorney for Libby, McNeil &
Libby first came to Washington and
tried to get the Secretary of Agricul
ture to create a “bird” reserve. Can
you beat it?
The Secretary would not create such
a bird reserve for a cannery company,
for the Secretary knew- that the attor
ney wanted a “fish” reserve, the “bird”
reserve being but a way to get what
was» realty wanted.
The fish trust was then forced to
work on Secretary Hoover, and they
worked directly from San Francisco,
where they held a meeting. “The U.
S. Commissioner of Fisheries and his
special adviser, Dr. Charles Henry Gil
bert, were present-, but the process of
cutting and dividing the melon was
conducted entirely by the trust, the
Alaska Packers’ Association. The his
tory of the whole infamous perform
ance is contained in the certified record
of the proceedings, and for brazen au
dacity in dividing up the public prop
erty of the people of the United States
by private selfish interests there is
nothing recorded in American history
with which to make comparison.” This
was before the lid of the Teapot Dome
was lifted.
Then Dan Sutherland incorporated a
letter of the Alaska Packers, which is
almost verbatim the words estahlishing
the reserves. These rules give the ab
solute control of Alaska to the fish
(trust by placing the control of all gear
in their hands, ana it is provided that
do person may fish thero until “the
Bureau of Fisheries is convinced that
further restrictions are unnecessary.”'
You will see later on what that means.
The fish trust dictated, and Secre
tary Hoover signed his name to the
order, while Governor Bone and Fish
Commissioner O’Malley applauded.
Here is a sample of their dictation:
“No purse seines, small-meshed gill
■» For a Nice Lunch
or First-Class Meal
Call At
f ■ Durant’s Cafe
Flat City
nets, or power pill het boats to be per
mitted to be operated or used in salmoa
fishing in this reservation.”
If you think that is all right, listen
to this:
“No roving operating licenses or per
mits to be issued to floating canneries
or salteries.”
If you think tho fish trust was satis
fied with this you are mistaken, for
the Bureau of Fisheries and Mr. Hoover
are running the reserve on the theory
that all the fish that come in from the
ocean belong to some cannery in the
reserve. Lead the following and use
your own head. A little cannery at
Castle Bay, about 30 miles from the
Chignik Lagoon, asked for a permit to
operate, and the servants of the fish
trust, O’Malley & Co., wrote him as
follows: .
“The fish which would be caught by
the traps you desire to erect are be
lieved to constitute a part of the Chig
uik run, and the operation of these
traps would mean further inroads upon
the Cnignik fishery.” O’Malley might
have said in fewer words: “No, you
can’t, because the tisb trust at the
Chignik Lagoon won’t like it.”
And thus the salmon swimming 30
miles distant from the fishing grounds
of the trust must cot be disturbed by
any mere citizen.
At the time, Sutherland protested
that if these reserve orders were for
conservation, the limitations of pack
were out of all reason, and he stated
the following:
“Of the seven canneries on Alaska
peninsula, the aggregate of their limit
is exactly 25,233 cases more than packed
in 1922. This is conservation with a
vengeance.”
And yet the people of the United
States believe Mr. Hoover when he
snys he is conserving the fish by “lim
iting the pack.”
Again: “Port Moller: the average
pack per year of the Pacific Fisheries
Co. at that place for the years 1916 to
1921, inclusive, was 62,639 cases of red
salmon, but for the purjioses of con
servation the Bureau fixes the pack
limit at 80,000.”
Again: Libbv, McNeil & Libby at
Kenai had an average pack of 28,432
cases for the years 1916 to 1919, inclu
sive, but the fish conserving Hoover
gave them a limit of 40,000 in 1922.
Commissioner O’Malley answered (?)
these charges by saying that "this ter
rifying gigantic piece of corruption not
only embraces the old villainies of the
salmon canners, embalmed fish sellers,
War Department frauds, the Chicago
meat packers, all of whom are busy
levying graft for their nefarious pur
poses, but tho inquiry falls upon Stan
ford University, which truly needs the
money, involving eminent professors of
zoology at Stanford, Washington and
Illinois; upon chambers of commerce
and Pioneer igloos of Alaska, none of
whom are able to collect all their
dues.”
At that time O’Malley felt that all
he needed to do was to tell the world
DIRECT SERVICE
Seattle to Kuskokwim River
Via Inside Paasa*«'
Personal Attention Given to Freight Ordered
for the Kuskokwim. Send in Your Orders.
I
For Rates and Accommodations apply to
Kuskokwim Fishing & Transportation Co.
7 Colman Dock. Seattle, Wash.
that the men charged with graft were
big business men, eminent oollege pro
fessors, and public officials. But today
with the Teapot Dome question still
before Congress, O’Malley must hunt a
new answer. There might be a differ
ence between Hoover, O’Malley and
Bone in that they are not doing this
for money. But, nevertheless, they are
doing the will of the fish trust, and to
us in Alaska th» results are the same.
Since Sutherland delivered his
charges we have had one fishing sea
son, and we print the proof that con
servation is not the purpose of the re
| serves:
Canneries.
Alarka Packers Association .
Libby, McNeil & Libby.
Northwest Fisheries .
Fidalgo.....
All Year Kouod-....
Anchorage Packing Company_
Arctic Packing Company.
North Coast Packing Company.
Pioneer Pecking Company
H. J. Eoaard. ....
Totals
Place.
Kasilof
Kenai.
Kenai.
Ft. Graham
Seldovia
Anchorage
English Hay
Ninilchik.
Snag Harbor ....
Moose Point
Pack Actual
Limit Park
40,000 14,611
40,000 26,088
40,000 15,931
40.000 14.344
3,400 2,099
15.000 4,549
f>,000 1,054
5,000 2,073
15,000 6,645
5,000 1,545
208,400 88,937
A comparison at Ohignik shows the
following:
1 ’ack Actual
Limit Pack
A. I*. A. . 50,000 23,208
Columbia Iliver_ 50,000 23,279
N. W. Fisheries. 50,000 23,309
Totals _.. 150,000 09,88f>
Messrs. Hoover and O’Malley say
that these reserves are created for con
servation purposes “pending legisla
tion by Congress.’' We charge that
these reserves were made at the behest
of the fish trust to shut out competition
and that they have no relation what
ever to conservation of fish for the
public, but that they do conserve for
the fish trust. Consider again Mr.
Sutherland’s charges in 1923, and the
proof in 1924, and use your head for
what God intended it.
But that is not all. We have still
another fact te add to this which should
prove even to the most doubtful that j
these reserves of Mr. Hoover are not
for conservation except for the trust
that wrote the regulations in the first
place in their offices in San Francisco^
The permits fer the season of 1924
have been issued. The actual pack of
the following canneries for 1923 and
the allotment for 1924 is as follows:
1924 1923
Cannery. Allotment Pack
Pacific American Fish
eries. Ikatan . 76,000 62,253
Pacific American Fish
eries, KiDg Cove 100,000 46,831
Pacifio American Fish
eries, Shumagrin 50,000 50,000
P. E. Harris & Co.,
False Pass 70.000 42,328
Totals . 296,000 201,411
We will therefore repeat the charge*
which l made before the special com
mittee of Congress, to-wit: The Bu
reau of Fisheries is using its entire in
fluence to aid the fish tiu*s to block all
legislation: that Mr Ho-'-er « co-oper
ating with them, b" a reserve
system shuts out com) ion for the
trust and does not affect their maxi
mum in the least.
The situation will continue until tl
traps are abolished. When the D
partment of Commerce or friends i
the fish trust in CoDgress cannot pr(
tact the special privilege# of the trUi
anv longer, then Alaska will get hoa
rule. We hare it in mine*—why nt
in fisheries?
Takes Several Drinks,
Senator Very Thankfu
Washington.—In a tilt over prohib
tion Senator Bruce, democrat, of Mar
land, today admitted in the Senate thi
he had accepted “several drinks” c
lered him at a recent banquet of tf
Virginia Bar Association.
“It was offered me and 1 accepted i
and I told them I hoped for many hapj
returns,” said Bruce.
Bruce cited this incident to Senati
Walsh, democrat, of Montana, to prot
a contention that “prohibition was nt
supported by a majority of the people
"I was down there, too, to a Bar A
sociation, and they didn't offer ma at
liquor.” W'alsh retorted.
The appointment of Major Ruaafoi
E. Oliver, Corps of Engineers, as e
gineer officer of the Alaska Road Cot
mission, was recently announced. I
will replace Col. J. C. Gotvrals, wl
was recently recalled to duty with t!
Corps of Engineers after four years
duty with the Road Commission.
BLACKBURN & ELDRIDGE
McGrath, Alaska
54-inch Salmon Nets
3-inch Grayling Nets
Provisions Notions Furnishings
A Dredging or Hydraulicing
Proposition, Yankee Creek
1 a* the principal owner of a block of ground
on Yankee creek, about seven miies long, eitend
iug from No. 1 Below.Discovery down to the month
of the creek.
Par has been located all along for a distance of
aboat three miles from the upper end, aad pretty
well prospected and cross-cut.
The average depth of the ground is from'seven
to twenty feet. The top is all black muck.,that can
be moTedtfreely. No rock bigger than one’s fist.
The width of the pay, for a distance of about
three miles, is from 100 to 200 feet. Crossouting
work indicates that the ground will go from 15
cents to J1 per square foot of bedrock. My belief
is that the pay will average 50 cents per foot
I have a ditch on the ground, three miles long,
together with water rights. The ground is prettv
well cleared. There is also a drain, three miles
long, with tho water right. I also have a water
right on Ready Bullion creek, from which water
can be brought to Yankee creek with a ditch less
than a mile long (4,000 feet), which will give four
slulceheads of water, with a pressure or fall of 120
feet, being 1600 feet to the work from the ditch.
After doing away with the muck, there will be
from four to six feet of 4tn to haed!#. The pay
runs mostly in the bedrock of porphyry and slat*.
The ground is virgin, only about $11,000 having,'
been taken out by windlass in prospecting-1
Prospecting work during th* present winter has
resulted in finding values that run up to II pet
square foot of bedroek.
The Flume Dredgt Company has a dredge abate
this ground, which has been in operation for tb*
last three seasons.
The Government road crosses Yankee oreek. [
also have a road down the creek that connects with
the Government road.
I am also the agent for owners of ground other
than that held by myself.
The ground can be worked either with dredge,
drag-line scraper, or by hydraulicing.
I will either sell the ground or gire a lease on
it. If the prospect is satlsfaotory to the buyer, a
cash payment will be expected. J. rood bargain
will be giren to the right party.
For further information. terms, etc., sail m
grou'nd, or write or telegraph me.
XD NOLLETTE,
Tokotna, Alaska
U