99
“Federal Officials Cannot Lawfully be Appointed to any Territorial Oftice.
-Attorney General of Alaska John Rustgard
VOLUME XXVIII. NUMBER 14.
SEWARD, ALASKA, MONDAY, JANUARY 18,1932. PRICE TEN CENTS
Mineral Production
of Alaska in 1931
t This is the conclusion of the advance statement pre
pared by the Alaska Branch of the Geological Survey of
a report of the minerals produced in Alaska in 1931. The
first section of the report appeared in Saturday's issue
and gave detailed information on the general industrial
conditions throughout the Territory, the total production
of gold and the principle gold producing areas and mines.
Copper ■
The value of the copper produced
from Alaska in 1931 is estimated tc
have been $1,712,000. This marks
a decrease in value of more than
$2,500,000 from the corresponding
value in 1930. Nearly $1,000,000 ol
this decrease in value may be at
tributed directly to the lower av
erage price of copper in 1931 than
in 1930. The low price not onl>
had its direct effect in the value
of the output but it also acted tc
restrict operations, so that the
quantity produced fell off by ar
amount estimated as in excess ol
12.000,000 pounds.
The average selling price of cop
per during the year, as computed
by the Bureau of Mines, was 8.2
cents, against 13 cents in 1930, Ir
1931, as in former years, practi
cally all the copper came from twc
mines near Kennecott, in the Cop
per River region. The mine on La
touche Island, which had long been
one of the large producers of cop
per but which was closed down in
November, 1 8 3 0, remained idle
throughout 1931, and the work ol
dismantling the surface plant was
in progress.
The extremely low price of cop
per discouraged search for new cop
per prospects, and even at the pro
4 ducing mines the amount of devel
opment work in locating extensions
of the known deposits was reduced
to a minimum. Thus at the prop
erty of the Kennecott Copper Cor
poration, the prospecting that had
been carried cn at the Erie mine
was practically suspended, and re
duction of personnel in all the
mines and mill was effected.
No new properties have been
opened in the Copper River district
but a copper prospect on Glacier
Creek was discovered that showed
some rich copper ore. The ore at
this place is reported to occur in
limestone and is of the same type
as that which has been mined at
the large producers near Kenne
cott. Sufficient work has not yet
been done to detemine the probable
, size of the ore body, but this oc
currence is regarded as significant
enough to warrant continued de
velopment to determine the facts
That there are in Alaska coppei
deposits which are not now pro
ducing but which hold promise ol
profitable development is probable
but their discovery is an expensive
t and time-consuming task, and nc
new deposits appear likely to be
come significant producers in the
near future.
Silver
Most of the silver produced ir
Alaska during recent years ha;
been recovered from the coppei
4ores—in fact, during 1930, the lat
est year for which complete re
ports are available, over two-third;
of the silver came from that source
With the reduction in the outpu
af copper ore in 1931, the quantity
of silver naturally shows a corres
ponding decrease.
Furthermore, the average selling
price of silver was only 29 cent;
:m ounce, against 38.5 cents in 1930
j All lode gold contains some silver,
I and, owing to the much greater
; output of gold from the Alaska
j lcdes, there was some increase in
| the output of silver associated with
| the gold from that source. All
! placer gold also contains some sil
| ver, so that some silver was ob
| tained from that source.
The amount obtained from the
placer gold, however, is much less
i than that from the other sources,
so that the slight decrease in the
•! output of placer gold had only a
little effect on the total silver from
.Alaska. Nowhere in Alaska are
I ores mined primarily for their sil
| ver content. Silver-bearing lead
1 j ores are known at several places
; in the Territory, but the high cost
of transporting and smelting them
(discourages development- or even
i search for them except in the more
| accessible localities.
Coal
The production of coal from Al
I aska mines in 1S31 is estimated to
| have been 108,000 tons, or some
I what less than in 1930. As usual,
! practically all of the output came
i from the Matanuska and Healy
River fields. The principal pro
i ducing mines were those of the
Evan Jones Coal Company, and the
J Alaska Matanuska Coal Company,
I in the Matanuska field, and the
jSuntrana mine of the Healy River
| Coal Corporation, in the Healy
River field.
At the Evan Jones mine prcduc
j tion was maintained throughout
j the year at a rate of several thous
I and tons a month. At the Premier
mine of the Alaska Matanuska Coal
| Company, production at the rate
! of a few thousand tons a month
| was maintained during the early
i part of the year, but after that
I company did not receive the award
| of the new contract for coal used
by the Alaska Railroad, the man
agement decided to discontinue op
erations temporarily.
As this procedure would have re
sulted in flooding the mine and
jeopardizing the coal remaining in
the ground, the Alaska Railroad
entered into short term leases with
the company to take over the prop
erty and keep the mine pumped.
This arrangement went into effect
in July and had not been terminat
ed at the end of the calendar year.
Notable new developments were
reportd to have been made at the
Suntrana mine, and its output was
considerably more than the total
; from all the other coal mines in the
; Territory.
‘ One of the forward-looking
| moves for the stimulation of the
development of Alaska coals was
made possible through a special
‘ grant by Congress for investigating
* certain of the mineral resources of
; Alaska. An allotment from these
' funds was made for the intensive
investigation of the coal field near
Anthracite Ridge, in the eastern
part of the Matanuska feld. As a
• result, a detailed survey was made
5 of this tract and all the available
(Please turn to Page Six)
FOR RELIEF WILL
INFUSE BIG CREDIT
HOUSE PASSED BILL; NOW GOES
INTO CONFERENCE FOR
AGREEMENT
WASHINGTON, D. C\, Jan. 18.
(JP)—The $2,000,000,000 reconstruc
tion corporation bill, foremost of
the mightiest ns'easures proposed
by President Hoover for enlivening
business, passed the House 335-55.
The purpose of the bill is to in
fuse a $2,000,000,000 credit into
business channels from govern
ment supported funds to banks and
other financial institutions which
in turn are to pass the money on
to industry, agriculture and com
merce.
The bill has already passed the j
Senate and now gees into confer- j
ence for agreement on amend- j
ments between Houses. Observers ■
said no difficulty is anticipated in ;
the conference as both Houses had ;
practically adopted different means |
for bringing about tlie same re- !
suits.
H FfllfiE OF TIM
FiSH IS SIGNAL FI
CESSATION ACTIVITY
SAN PEDRO, Jan. 18. (/Pj—Men
connected with the fishing indus
try here deny the report that there
is a strike among the fishing men,
fishing boat owners or the can
neries here.
They say, however, that employ
ers and boat owners are refusing
to operate their craft because of
the low price which is being paid j
for tuna and should they desire
to operate it would only be at a
loss. Some 102 boats are being held ,
in the port of San Pedro and 62
boats are being held at San Diego.
The only boats which can possibly
operate and make a meagre profit
under the present low prices are
some who are operating in Mexican
wraters who use low-paid alien j
labor.
The United States Department of
Labor has dispatched one of its
department heads to investigate
the matter and to attempt to help
out the tuna fishing industry.
INSIT! nil WILL
BE MADE BY ATTORNEYS
OF MRS. RUTH JUDD
_
i
PHOENIX, Ariz., Jan. 18. (£>)—■
Revealing that the defense will
concern itself chiefly with a plea
of not guilty by reason of insan
ity, attorneys for Mrs. Ruth Judd
held a final conference.
It will be an all-man jury since
women do not sit on juries in Ari
zona. Selection of the jury is ex
pected to be completed by Thurs
day.
The defense, however/said they
have not abandoned the plea of
self-defense as a motive for the
slayings and will offer testimony
seeking to show Mrs. Judd killed
the two women in order to save
her life.
A. FRED JOHNSTON IS
CALLED SUNDAY AFTER
MONTHS, BEDRIDDEN
Prematurely taken away from his
dear ones and friends, yet coming
as a solace from months of suf
fering, Alfred Fred Johnston, aged
44, died Sunday shortly after 4
o’clock in the afternoon.
Fred wTas fond of nature. He
loved the mountains, the lakes, the
rivers and the sea. So it happened
that a year ago last October, while
hunting moose at Mile 54, he fell
from a tree, breaking his back.
From that day long ago he had
been confined to bed.
Everything that human agency
could possibly do was attempted in
an effort to effect a cure, to bring
some surcease from suffering, but
to no avail. Taken to specialists at
Seattle after a period in the Sew
ard General Hospital, he was
brought home where, under the
tender, loving care of his wife,
relatives and friends, he bravely
lingered on month after month.
But a change came last week; a
change for the worse. The valiant
spirit, weakened, began to ebb, and
yesterday—Sunday—Fred died.
Alfred Fred Johnston, though
young in years, wras a veteran in
the Alaska R,ailroau train service
and one of the most popular mem
bers of the engineering crews.
Fred’s last “run” was over what
w’as said to be an impossible
“grade.” The going was too heavy
and all station lights and track
signals dimmed into oblivion. He
did his best to make the “grade”
but just couldn't.
Born on November 9, 1888, in the
little town of Clear brook. Wash
ington. he attended school there
and in Bellingham. In 1904 he
came to Seward and had been a
resident here practically ever since.
He joined the Alaska Railroad
train service in 1915 as a fireman
to which he was attached until his
fatal injury. He was also active in
mining and together with his part
ner, Mike Deegan, had been carry
ing forward for some years past
development work on their Nuka
Bay claims.
Fred was an esteemed member of
the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen.
Surviving him is his devoted
wife, and three children, Leonard,
Denice and Lee; also a brother, R.
W. Johnston, local resident for
many years.
The funeral service which will
be held in the Catholic Church, is
being held in abeyance pending
word from Mrs. Johnston’s brother,
Joe Bradshaw, in Seattle.
INDUSTRIAL MEN FOLLOW
TOKYO, Jan. 18. (fP)—It Is re
vealed here that an army of Jap
anese industrial and commercial
men has followed the Japanese
army into Manchuria and have
taken advantage of the business
which awaited them in the war
stricken country.
FRENCH TRAIN WRECK
ABBEYVILLE, France, Jan. 18.
(TP)—Eight persons were killed near
here in a train wreck caused by
the derailment of a number of
coaches.
Nothing definite had been heard
up to press time as to the arrival
of the SS Victoria fro mthe South
which probably means the liner will
be late in making port.
COX WILL ACCEPT
IMITI FOR
TIE PIESIIW
NATION-WIDE MOVEMENT IS
UNDERWAY “JOBLESS
PARTY”
PITTSBURGH, Jan. 18. (A5)—An
1 effort to rally the nation’s unem -
! ployed and back the Presidential
‘boom, for Rev. James R. Cox was
.launched by friends of the Pitts
' burgh clergyman Sunday.
The executive committee, which
Raided the fiery pastor in old St.
Patrick’s Catholic Church, in map
!ping his jobless march on Wash*
1 ington recently, will meet within
I the next few days after communi
' eating w i t h leaders in various
' States.
Father Cox said: “There is no
[law in the Catholic church which
[prohibits a priest- running for pub
! lie office. I shall accept the nom
[ination of the Jobless Party if the
honor is offered me.”
Bishop Hugh C. Boyle declined
to comment on the priest’s candi
dacy which was announced fol
lowing the rally of 50,000 unem
! ployed in Pitt Stadium Saturday.
THY LOU*
OUT 01 IS FEET
AGAINST HiJS
VETERAN BOXER WAS NOT EVEN
A SHADOW OF FORMER
SELF
NEW YORK, Jan. 13, (£*)—Steve
Hamas, of Passaic, N. J., scored a
knockout victory over Tommy
Loughran, of Philadelphia, Friday
night in the second round of a
[scheduled 10-rounder in Madisor
Square Garden.
Referee “Gunboat” Smith stopped
! the bout as Loughran reeled on the
ropes after tv^ice being knocked
down. Hamas weighed I86V2 and
Loughran 1853/4 pounds.
Loughran was not even a shadow
of his former self and wras unable
to stave off the rushes of Hamas,
the 23-year-old fighter not long
out of Penn State College.
Loughran was out on his feel
when the bout was stopped, being
able to amble around only by in
stinct gleaned from long ring ex
perience. While Hamas was cham
pion college boxer, he had only $
score of battles as a professional,
A crowd of 9,000 felt that they
i had seen the last of Loughran as
a boxer.
BOMBAY POLICE FI
| ON 10, KILLING ONE
_
i
BOMBAY, Jan. 18. (£>)—One per
son was killed and another wound
ed in the village of Gujerat, near
' Peshawar, when police fired into a
crowd of 500 natives.
The natives attacked the police
with stones after the arrest of six
local leaders of the Congress party.
Last Saturday, at Berhampore,
one was killed and two wounded
when the police fired on a mob.