STORY OF DEVELOPMENT
OF THE FUR INDUSTRY IS
* RELATED BY ALASKAN
Writing in the Fur Trade Journal
of Canada, John B. Marshal, Juneau
, attorney, who owns a fur farm near.
Mendenhall glacier, summarizes the
development of the fur industry., Ap
reprint of his article appeared in a
recent issue of Stroller’s Weekly,, as
follows:
'there is ;outsanding interest thru
« the f'sma4iatv. Northwest today in the
amazing development of the un
dressed fur.market of the United
States- It is the big economic fact
in the. development of the fur-mer
chandizing industry of the world.
^ in pre-war days the United States
annually imported but $15,000,000 of
raw furs, iietween 1910-14 the an
nual average was $14,700,000. Last
year the. imports went up to S12J,
100.000..* And this represents, in. the
manufactured- article, approximately
$200,500,000. The American people.
- offer a . fur market which surpasses
anything , previously known. And.
whai is of special importance, the
. States - are reaping the chief profit
from the increasing mania for furs..
It is in.the. manufacturing end of the
romantic game that the big1 profit lies..
The. United States wears the most ex
pensive fur garrsentts of today worn
and it also manufactures them.
in pre-war days London was tne
raw fur.-marketing center of the
commercial world, as Russian was the
’ country, where the most expensive
finished furs were bought. Of course
the trade knows this, hut the average
i man or .woman does not appreciate
the change. Today many tourists
through the Canadian Northwest buy
fur garments under the impression
that, being neaj^the vast region from
whence, comes much, of the raw ma
terial, they can purchase more econ
omically than in St. Louis, Chicago*
New. York, Boston or Cincinnati. In
truth,.,the chances are in favor of
buying, a fur coat that was manufac
tured dn the American city from
whence, they have come. They have
paid ther duty that was imposed wrhen>|
the raw. pelt went into the States
frcmirCanada and the customs tariff
on the manufactured article when it
came back across the border.
* T idispeople nearest to the vast
1 Northland pay more for a fur coat
than those thousands of miles re
mo. ‘d- from the “trapline.”
„ Sixty. ..per cent of Canadais fur. ex
ports laal year went to . the / United
States, This year it is predicted that
American., manufacturers will buy. at
least 80 per. cent of the catch from
the Canadian Northwest. America’s;
domination has made a big dicerence
in the trapping industry through the
Hudson Bay region. For instance., im
1910 the raw fur exported, to. all. coun
tries by Canada had a. value:: of. but
$3,080,949, so valued by customs offi
cials. London was the 'objective.- of
I the Hudsion’c Bay Company’s big
sh pments as well as of the other
large dealers in raw. furs..
But the war disturbed conditions;
among United Kingdom firms that
lor iiOO y^aits had been handling the
product of the pioneer organizations
in and around Hudson’s Bay. During
the van- Russia passed out of the
picture, where she had for centuries
been the largest consumer of the
richest, furs in the world. The prize
pplts of the. Canidan trap line were a
drug on the market.
' Every effort was made in the re
mote reaches of Northwest Canada to
curtail production. There were limit
• ed funds for the industry and a more
limited market for the raw products.
Gradually the tide changed. United
States capital and increased buying
power swept the current from the
Old World to the New. Where Lon- i
■'don mans lecturers had dictated prices
and enjoyed first call, the. organiza
tions in t ae United States began to
, function.
In spit; ?.t>f *11. the influence the big
gest fini.ss-i.ai, factor in the raw fur
industry cottfd' exert (the Hudson’s
Bay. Oomp tay)^ the business of manu
facturing was transferred to the
Americans.
Throughout its exisence the “Hon
orable Company” has regulated its
output of raw furs methodically. To
prevent the Indians depleting the
furlbearers they have, until recently,
supplied them with but primitive fire
arms, the old style muzzle-loading
rifle, and traps of the seventeenth
century vintage. The average Indian
on his trapline could just about earn
a living. The. average earnings of a
native trapline .worker .seldom until
the last few years exceeded $2,500.
Its authority was intermittently
disputed by daring individuals and
some organized fur-takers, but never,
until 1868-79, successfully. Gradu
ally the Indians have secured modern
rifles and the latest devices for get
ting the last fur-bearers along their
trap lines. This accounts for the
steady decline of the animals whose
peltts the trapper seeks. The pro
duct of raw fur from that source is
steadily growing smaller. That is
one reason for the increased price of
furs and fur garments today. It will
grow in that direction.' Volume ought
to increase, according to students of
the industry, but not from the trap
lines of the Indians. Modern methods
of production promise to beat nature.
“Fur farming" is now utilizing many
millions in the Canadian Northwest.
! It is being reduced to a scientific
business. There is scarcely an animal
whose fur is worth taking today in
the wilds of the Northwest that is
not being “farmed" to advantage
They are multiplying on these farms,
many of them covering thousands of
| acres. The predatory animals were
’ kept away by hunters. Eagles and
hawks are being exterminated all
\ over the Northwest.
| The United States market this fall
! will receive a very large percentage
of “farm fur” along with the trapline
products. The fur from the farms
j commands a good price, though less
] than that for the pelts taken in the
wilds. The experts maintain that the
natural fur has a tensile strength
j that the animal in captivity doe - not
I produce. They assert it will wear
; longer and retain its natural color
! and appearance better. However
; when the factory gets through' with
j the average piece of" fur, it seldom
-resemble; the skin taken from the
, animal it is supposed'to-represent. In
; truth, to begin with, the color is itn
i proved. And, if experts have handled
it, old fur dealers say it will outwear
I the primitive anticl?, retaining the
luster. Proportionately, however,
these qualities depend largely on the
skill of the workmen, suality of tne
■ dye and other chemical treatment.
Modern methods promise to increase
' prices rather than otherwise.
lhe success of those fur farms in
Northwest Canada has developed
something new in the way of ‘'mail
order fakes" and high pressure stock
alesmanship. Scores of sue h com
panies have been organized merely
for the purpose of disposing of artis
tically lithographed certificates. The
postal department has been forced to
deny a number of such obvious
frauds the mailing privileges and, in
'• some cases, to prosecute the ener
. getic managers.
In most of the successful fur farm
ing ventures the stock has been kept
within a small radius, owned almost
j wholly by those engaged in the busi
! ness. A few have been organized
; with stock offerings to the public that
l have been honestly conducted and re
■ turned dividends, but trie hazard of
' picking the “safe” one for investment
is along in the same, class with gold
I mine and oil stock enterprises*.
Very Likely.
Judge Ben B . Liridriey said at a
Denver dinner:
“Some people, when I tell them that
marriage ought only to be entered
into with deliberation; with thought
for he fuure of the species—well,
some people-retort that love matches
are the only right and proper ones.
“These people set love;, or- what
they, call love,, too high- They are
i
like the woman—twice divorced, by
the way—who quoted in an argument
against eugenics:
“ * ’Tis love that makes the world
go round.’
“ ‘Very likely,’ said another woman,
‘for there’s no crank like a lover.’ ”
Are you a Eusko Times subscriber? j
Why not?
In the District Court for the Terri- j
tory of Alaska, Fourth Division. I
Hans S. Hanson, plaintiff, vs. Dim I
Nicholson and Mrs. William M.
Graves, defendants. No. M058
Alias S&mmons.
The President of the United States
of America, to the above-named de
fendant Mrs. William M. Graves,
greeting:
You are hereb ynotified'to appear
in the District Court for the Territory
of Alaska, Fourth Division, within!
thirty days after the last publication I
of this Summons, to-wit, within thirty |
days after February 2,‘ 1929, and an
swer the complaint of the plaintiff in!
this action, on file in the above en
titled Court.
mai. in said acuon me puuin.ui ue«
mands judgment against you in the
sum of $844.00 and interest thereon
at the rate of 8 per cent per annum
from August 17, 1927, and the further
sum of $26.00 for preparing and re
cording Notice of Laborer’s liens; alsot
for $300.00 attorneys’ fees and the
costs and disbursements of this ac
tion. And that the said laborer’s liens
be foreclosed in the manner provided
by law and that your rights and in
terests in the Bonanza Group on Lit
tle Creek, in the Innoko Precinct,
Fourth Division of Alaska, be sold to
satisfy the said judgment, costs and
attorneys’ fees.
And in the event you fail to so ap
pear and answer the said complaint,
the plaintic will take judgment
against you for want thereof and will
apply to the Court for the relief de
manded in said complaint as afore
said.
This Summons was ordered served
by publication thereof by order of the
above Court dated November 8th,
1928.
Witness the Honorable Cecil H.
Clegg, Judge of "said Court, and the
Seal thereof hereunto affixed on this
14th day of November, 1928.
ROBERT W. TAYLOR,
(Seal) Clerk,
By Ed Tonseth,
Deputy Clerk.
First publication Dec. 22; last pub
lication Feb. 2, 1929 .
NOTICE TO CREDITORS.
In the Commissioner’s Court at Mc
Grath. Mount McKinley Precinct,
Fourth Division, Territory of
Alaska, before W. T. Vanderpool,
U. S. Commissioner and ex-officio
Probate Judge.
In the matter of tho estate of Rob
ert R. Jones, deceased.
Notice is hereby given that the un
dersigned has been duly appointed ad
ministrator of the estate of Robert R.
Jones, deceased.
All persons having claims against [
said estate are required' to present
the same, duly verified, with proper|
vouchers attached, to the under-'
signed, at Medfra, Alaska, within six
(6) months from the date* of this no
tice.
Dated, McGrath, Alaska, December
10, 1928. C. M. WIN AN,
Administrator.
First publication Dec. 15; last pub.
Jan. 12, 1929.
Diamond
Dick
Roadhouse
Ta&otna, Alaska
Dick Rhodes (Diamond D;ck)
may now be found in his new
quarters
Former McLean Roadhouse,
where he will be pleased to
meet aif old friends and to
set acquainted with new ones
flood Do- Kennels
In Connection
r_f
I
t
_ 1 .
Babeesch Mcosehide Mitts and Boots
Furs Bought and Sold Clothing
All Kinds of Nice Fresh Groceries and Fruits
Canned Goods of All Kinds Beds and Bedding
A R. Eldridge - McGrath
TAKOTNA ROADHOUSE
Best of Meals and Rooms
Where Everything Is Homelike and
Where You Are Cordially Welcomed
GOOD DOG HOUSES " BATHS
Ivar Chilstrom - Prop.
I I
| Rough and Dressed Lum- j
| her of All Kinds j
I ———\
j INNOKO LUMBER CO. j
I i
1