The are expert fishermen.
They are vitally affected.
They are the ones who have
never been heard by the Secre
tary of Commerce.
They are the ones who are
sinking deeper into poverty by
the unfair regulations of the
Bureau of Fisheries while the re
gulations complained of are ap
proved by the Secretary o?
Commerce on an ex parte hear
ing .
They are the ones who are re
fused a hearing under the spe
cious plea that they are “radic
als” and “bolsheviks” and their
protests unheeded because “de
structive.”
These original Americans
with undaunted hope beg to sub
mit several resolutions to you
and invite your careful examin
ation so that the regulations of
the Secretary of Commerce with
respect to Alaska’s fisheries
shall be put upon a correct basis.
These people al_o ask tka_.
since the resolutions are in part
charges against the Bureau of
Fisheries, that the merits of the
charges be not finally passed
upon by the said Bureau as is
very often the custom, for these
people know whereof they speak,
namely that their recommenda
tions are sound and will save
this great industry with the
least harm to capital or labor.
The first enclosure is the
broad principles on which fu
ture regulations should be based.
It is submitted without argu
ment, and while details have
teen omitted and for that reas
on serious objections of admin
istration could be made to it,
still we assure you that we have
covered them all and have ans
wered them to the satisfaction
cf the most skeptical.
Yours respectfully,
William L. Paul,.
Grand President.
Fish Regulations for S. E. Alas.
We the Grand Convention
hereby reaffirm our constructive
proposal for fishery regulations
adopted by our last convention
Pi £itka, A1 as':a n 1928 and
again offer it to tl.e Secretary of
Commerce, as the basis of cor
rect fishery regulations, name -
ly:
That the un't or measure
of conservation is the salmon
stream and hence recommend
1 hat
1. No fishing ihcffid he allow
ed until the salmon stream is
adequately seeded;
2. Thereupon fishing should
be allowed to the high tide
mouth oi' the stream;
3: But whenever the amount
oi- seed fish in the stream de
creases below the safety point,
tiie dead line should be moved
out until the supply of seed fish
is guaranteed in the stream;
4. Thereafter the dead-line
should be placed at whatever
point might be necessary to keep
the stream sufficiently seeded
without over-stocking it—in
c her words we recommend a
moveable dead-line to be deter
mined by the seed fish in the
streams and the amount in
S; tht.
Be it resolved that copies of
this recommendation be sent to
the Honorable Robert P. La
rnont, Secretary of Commerce,
and the Honorable Dan Suther
land, Delegate to Congress for
.Alaska.
Adopted by the Grand Con
vention of the ALASKA NATIVE
BROTHERHOOD at Haines, Al
aska, this 25th day of November,
1929.
William L. Paul,
Grand President.
Attest:
Frank G. Johnson,
Grand Secretary.
AGAINST DISCRIMINATION
-X
Hon. Robert P. Lamont,
Secretary of Commerce,
Washington, D. C.
My dear Mr. Lamont: .
.. . .Tro ling Season Icy Strait.
The natives of Koonah, Alas
ka, number about 500 people.
They get their living solely from
fishing.
vvnen tnese people raided me
question of the trolling season,
it was promptly endorsed by the
representatives of Kake, a vil
lage of four hundred natives.
We realized that we are bring
ing charges against the Bureau
oi Fisheries of which Henry
O Malley is the officer in charge,
and so we ask that our prayers
and complaints be not referred
to the said Bureau or Mr. O’Mal
ley, but that you give these mat
ters your personal attention.
The trolling situation is most
unjust. Without a hearing of
any kind in which Alaskans
could take part, Mr. O’Malley
closed down trolling with power
boats during January, February
and March. In a letter to the
Alaska Trollers’ Asrociation the
said Bureau admitted that “per
haps” their action was “prema
ture.” The fact is thii—the
closing order was issued and
rhen the Bureau began looking
for reasons to justify the order.
The Hoonah natives ( short'
perhaps on college degrees but
long on what is just) point
cut that Mr. O’Malley prohibits
them for trolling for cohces and
king salmon in Icy Straits, and
that these same fish are caught
with gill nets in Lynn Canal.
Likewise the closing order
(shutting down during January,
February and March) has only
this effects—that the same fish
shall be caught by the non-resi
dent trollers during April and
May because the salmon pro