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#vutari» Daily (SSatvuiaa
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOLUME XXIX. NUMBER 11.
SEWARD, ALASKA, SATURDAY, .JANUARY 14,1933.
PRICE TEN CENTS
AN OPEN LETTER
TO THE HONORABLE
RAY LYMAN WILBUR
a
Secretary of the Intel ior, Washington. I). C.,
from the Seward Chamber of Commerce
HON. RAY LYMAN WILBUR,
Secretary of the Interior,
Washington, I). C.
Dear Sir:
We respectfully call to your attention a short article
appearing in “The Timberman" a monthly periodical
styled as “An International Lumber Journal and publish
ed in Portland, Oregon. The December issue contains the
following news item:
riFS FOR ALASKA RAILROAD
Cor tract lias been awarded by Alaska Railroad for
about 75,000 ties, approximately 3,000.000 feet. Nettleton
Lumber Co., and Associated Tie & Timber Mills, Seattle.
Washington, cacb will supply about 50 per cent of the
order. The material is to be creosoted at plants of West
Coast Wood Preserving Co.. Seattle. Shipments are not to
be made until altei July 1, 1933
We wish at this time to enter a vigorous protest
against tho awarding or this contract, the injustice of
which is apparent, as it is being awarded at the expense
of hundreds of tie cutters who live along the right-of
wav of the Alaska Railroad and who have been encour
aged in the past to establish camps, purchase supplies
and equipment and build their own roads and trails to
various tie camps in order that they may turnish ties foi
the Alaska Railroad.
This investment unquestionably will prove to be a
dead loss if it is the intention of the Alaska Railroad to
establish a policy of purchasing ties outside of Alaska.
Hundreds of tie cutters are being thrown out of employ
ment at a time when the government in other parts of
the country is seriously endeavoring to provide relief.
The statement that ties purchas
ed in the States are better and
Cheaper is hereby challenged and
statements furnished herewith is
an effort to prove our contention.
We herewith quote verbatim a
letter received from Mr. William
Sherman, forest ranger, Chugach
National Forest who. we believe,
is a qualified expert and has had
many years experience with the
Forest Service of the United States,
Department of Agriculture:
y Anchorage. Alaska. Jan 7, 1933
Seward Chamber of Commerce.
Seward. Alaska.
Gentlemen: Reference is made to
your wire relative to the compari
son of the local mountain hemlock
ties with other species that have
been used by the Alaska Railroad.
Mountain hemiock, which is a
very slow growing timber, takes on
an average of 275 years to grow* to
a tree from 17 to 18 inches diam
eter on the stump. This nets an
average of from 20 to 27 ring
growth per inch on numerous ties
on which the rings have been
counted, thus showing the very
fine grain of the timber. This
hemlock is very tough and has
very superior spike holding quali
ties to any other timber used on
the Alaska Railroad for ties.
*It has been proven that these
ties have an average life of from
12 to 14 years, and many are in
the track now that have been in
since 1916 and 1917.
During 1931 a siding was taken
out at Tunnel where mountain
hemlock ties had been used which
had been in for seven years, and
re as sound and solid as if they
had only been put in the year pre
vious, and were used over again
by the Alaska Railroad.
Many of the Douglas fir ties that
have been previously put in tire
S'ilroad six or seven years ago are
poor condition, some on ac
count of rot and many because the
frost heaves have moved them and
the track has spread so that re
spiking has caused them to be cut
up beyond use.
I don't know’ how long the creo
soted fir ties will last, but doubt if
they will last any longer than the
fountain hemlock as to resistance
from rot and, etc., but am sure
+hat they will not give the service
in spike qualities that the moun
tain hemlock will, with the type
of roadbed existant on the Alaska
Railroad.
This alone is a great factor, for
1 if mountain hemlock will give an
i average life of from 12 to 14 years
: and will hold a spike and save
‘ maintenance it is preferable to
! even a treated tie that is spongy
and will not hold the track in
; place.
I Furthermore, first-class Douglas
fir is not used to make ties with;
| it. is either second growth or tops,
1 and the West Coast Lumber Man
! ufacturers Association grading
rules allow as low as only five
! growth rings to the inch on heart
ties, which are the best grade, and
grade above the No. 1 standard,
j The Portland Timberman Maga
; zine shows that a Canadian bid of
$30 per 1.000 board feet was bid,
delivered at Seward, there being
I 26.73 ties to the 1,000 board feet.
; The American bid that was finally
accepted was a bid of $23.50 at Se- j
attle. or a cost of .8775 at Seattle.
This means that the railroad would
j have to lay them down in Seward,
: pay the freight on them, car de
murrage in Seattle, loading charg
es in Seattle, and wharfage and
etc-, for 12 1-4 cents to lay them
down for $1.00 each. If the Can
1 adian bid was accepted they would
cost a little ever $1.12 each or two
| cents more than the No. 1 local tie,
I which will probably give just as
■ good if not better service.
1 It is doubtful as to whether the j
i Alaska Railroad can lay the ties I
I down at Seward on the present bid:
which is supposed to have been ac- j
! cepted for the same price they are !
; getting them here for.
Of course, if they buy untreated I
: ties, which they can get for $10 j
per 1,000 at Seattle, there is no j
chance for competition, because
they can’t be cut here that cheap.
But being they are purchasing cre
osoted ties which come nearly up
to our local hemlock in resistance
to rot and etc., but not in the me
chanical use. there is a good argu- i
ment as to whether they can buy
them any cheaper.
I have given complete data to
Mr. Harry Morton, who is going to j
Seward, and is taking this up with 1
you in behalf of the Anchorage '
Chamber and interests. He has'
the complete story and you no
doubt can get together and put up
a united front and accomplish
something that will be of real ben- j
efit to the residents along the rail
road. Please see Mr. Morton and
look over the data I gave him.
Thanking you very much for
‘Continued on Page 3)
HOUSE OVER-RODE TIE
PRESIDENT! TO ON
MDINOEPENOENCE
WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 14. —
The House voted to override Presi
dent Hoover’s veto of the Philip
j pine independence bill. The vote
was 274 to 94.
Tlie Senate has yet to act on the
President's message, and strong ef
forts will be made to sustain the
veto.
“The only selfish interests in
volved in the question,” Represen
tative Dyer <Rep.) of Iowa, said,
“are Americans in the Philippines
and interests here v/ho have money
invested there. They do not want
independence now or ever.”
Representative Underhill iRep.)
of Massachusetts, opened the fight
to support the veto.
SURPRISE COUNTER
OFFENSIVE OF JAPAN
PEIPING. Jan. 14. —A surprise
counter offensive checked the Jap
anese march on Jehol and carried
the attacking Chinese column
across the border deep into Man
churia. Chinese dispatches from
various sectors along the front re
ported.
The dispatches reported that 30.
000 Chinese, so-called guerilla
raiders, were harassing the Japa
nese supply trains and base camps
along the Great Wall. The Chinese
were jubilant and celebrated these
victory reports as the turn of the,
tide and a definite check to the
Japanese advance on Jehol Pro
vince.
ROB HAIRGOODS MERCHANT
NEW YORK. Jan 14.—Jewelry I
valued at $50,000 was stolen from'
the penthouse of Isaac Keller by
two young robbers who surprised
the wealthy hairgoods merchant in 1
his sleep, bound and gagged him'
with one of his own shirts, and!
ransacked the apartment for 40;
minutes.. Herbert Lipsky, the Kel
ler chauffeur, appeared as they
were leaving, and he too. was
bound.
JIPffiSE POURING
' CHIP SUN INTO
MUCIN MARKETS
SEATTLE. Wash-, Jan. 14. —Im
portation of cheap fish from the
Orient, coupled with their deflated
currency, will soon put thousands
of American fishermen among the
ranks of the unemployed unless
Congress takes immediate action
by establishment of duties on for
eign products, promiment business
men of this city and Alaska fish
ing interests reported at a meet
ing to discuss the industrial men-:
ace from Japan.
With hundreds of thousands of
cases of Northwest and Alaska
salmon from the 1932 pack still
in the warehouses unsold, cheap
Japanese salmon is flooding the
American market, pink salmon
selling for 62 cents to 65 cents per
dozen as against 35 cents to SI.00
for the American product. It is un
derstood that Japanese brokers
have been instructed to cut the j
American price regardless how low j
it drops.
It was also pointed out that the
tuna fish and sardine market has
collapsed because of lack of Con
gressional relief toward rates of
exchange, and the question most
prominent now is: “Will salmon be
next?”
HOOVER PLAN BLOCKED
WASHINGTON, D. C.. Jan. 14.—
House Democrats have speeded ac
tion to block President Hoover’s
plan for reorganization of the gov
ernment. The rules committee re
ported a special rule to insure
quick consideration of the Coeh- i
rane resolution nullifying the re
organization plan.
STRICT ENFORCEMENT
BOYCOTTING JAPAN I
SHANGHAI. Jan- 14.—Strict en
forcement of the anti-Japanese
boycott resolutions was urged in
a circular sent all commercial and
industrial guilds by the greater '■
Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.:
The chamber's message said that
guerilla warfare and the boycott
were practically the nation’s only
effective weapons against Japan. It
cited reports showing upwards of
50.000 bales of Japanese goods be- ;
ing sold in the Yangtze Valley.
monthly, and urged all combine to i
check this business.
__
KILLED IN TRAIN WRECK |
ONTARIO, Calif., Jan. 14.—'The
fireman of a Southern Pacific train ‘
was killed and the engineer badly j
scalded when the engine and
two cars of the train were derailed
eight miles east of here. The dead
man was R. R. Koontz, of Los An
geles. The engineer is Wesley
Courtney of Los Angeles.
DID NOT DROWN
PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 14.—A
ransom letter demanding $30,000
for the return of Less Schlesinger,
Portland department store head,
believed to have drowned in the
Columbia river two weeks ago, was
received by his wife, it was re
vealed by the young sportsman’s
attorney, P. W. Crookingham.
h
BURST INTO FLAMES;
KNOXVILLE. Tenn.. Jan. 14.— !
Rescue workers took the body of;
Conductor James A. Baker from
the wreck of his train yesterday,1
Friday, the thirteeth, and found a
rabbit's foot in his pocket.
Baker was one of five trainmen
killed when two passenger trains
collided and burst into flames on a
trestle near here.
Twenty-eight persons were in
jured in the wreck. Others killed
were Engineer J. L. Warren. Brake- j
man H. J. Harlberg. Mail Clerk
Coral E. Talbot, and Engineer
Charles D. Hayes. Physicians said
all the injured would recover
NUDE CULT LEARNING ;
WAYS OF CIVILIZATION
VANCOUVER, B. C.. Jan. 14.—
The Doukhobors, despite their se
clusion, are slowly learning cos
mopolitan tricks, provincial police
said, as they related the alleged
confession of Nicholas Plosnikoff.
prosperous Doukhobor storekeeper
of Grand Forks, B. C. Plosnikoff
assertedly admitted he counterfeit
ed thousands of dollars worth of
bills over a period of years. He j
specialized, police said, in raising
five-dollar notes of the Canadian
Bank of Commerce to twentv-dol
lar notes. Bank officials were
fooled by the clever workmanship.
COLLIER BEER BILL
RESHAPED B¥ SENATE
-—
WASHINGTON, D. C.. Jan 14.— ;
The Collier beer bill, reshaped so
as to allow a foaming stein to sit j
steadily on the Constitution with
out spilling froth on the eighteenth
amendment, was reported to the'
Senate judiciary committee by itsi
Blaine sub-committee.
The bill reduces the 3.2 per cent
by weight limit, as passed by the
House to 3.6 per cent by volume !
as the maximum alcoholic content j
for non-intoxicating beer.
Pilot Harry Blunt, veteran Alas- j
kan aviator flying for the Pacific
Alaska Airways, arrived at Flat j
Friday carrying Delegate-Elect to !
Congress “Tony” Dimond
Alaska touched the bottom of
depression in i‘s outborne com
merce in 1932, reaching the lowest
point since 1913. and at the year’s
end indications were that it would
start on its upward climb this year.
Most of the industries affected can
hardly reach lower points, and
some of them, notably salmon and
halibut, are expected to begin an
upward ascent this year.
Last year's outborne commerce
had an aggregate value of some
$40,000,000, according to prelim
inary estimates based on official
commerce estimates issued each
month of the year by J. C. Mc
Bride, collector of customs. The
main causes of the sharp drop
were the absolute collapse of the
copper mining industry, for almost
two decades a major industry cf
Alaska, and the unusually low value
of products cf the fisheries indus
tries.
The gold mining industry alone,
looked prosperous. For the second
year in succession its production
registered a gain, the total report
ed being about $9,260,000, about
$350,000 more than that for 1931
which in turn was materially larg
er than for 1930.
The total estimated value of all
outgoing shipments for 1932, some
$40,000,000, was almost $12,000,000
under the 1931 aggregate, and for
the first time in more than a de
cade was under $50,000,000. Except
gold, stone including marble, and
one or two other minor industries,
every line of activity reflected the
depressed market condition pre
valent thruout the world.
COPPER MINES SUSPEND
After operating in a crippled way
for some 11 months, the Kennecotl
copper mines were closed down en
tirely in the last year. Shipments
for the 12 months amounted to but
10.800.000 pounds worth but little
more than $700,000 as compared
to 22,550.000 pounds and $2,808,000
in 1931.
Although the volume of fisheries
products did not show any serious
decline, values were shot to the
dregs, causing a drop in the ag
gregate of ail its products from
$36,175,000 in 1931 to $26,075,000 last
year.
The loss was mainly in canned
salmon. The volume of this pro
duct diopped but about 3.000.000
from the 267.291.900 pounds packed
in 1931, the value declined from
$31,150,000 to $22,145,000.
HALIBUT TAKES DROP
Conditions affecting the halibut
industry last year were reflected
in the production and value re
ported. The total take dropped
from 13,700,000 pounds to 7,900.000
and the declared value from $1.
462.000 to $657,000.
Fresh salmon followed halibut in
its downward course, falling from
$825..000 in 1931 to $543,000 last
year.
Cured salmon also plunged down
ward from $810,000 to $619,000.
Mild cured herring, however, re
flected movemen.t Its value last
year was about $760,000, a gain of
more than $210,000 from 1931.
SHELL FISH GAIN
In the shellfish industry, clams
and crabs registered gains while
(Continued on Page 2)
I
! CHINCHOW, Manchuria, Jan. 14.
! —Green-clad infantrymen of the
Imperial Japanese army held the
Yungangu headquarters of General
! Cheng Kui Lin, while Japanese air
| planes dropped bombs on Cheng's
I retreating volunteer troops.
The Japanese occupied the base
! at 11:30 a. m. yesterday without
[ conflict. Cheng’s troops retired to
j the mountains. Bombing planes
i attacked the retreating army.
-Big Dance Tonigjht I. O. O. F. Hall