The Hon. John E. Rankin of Mississippi
who visited Alaska in the summer of 1923
noted the contrast between the unjust and
inequitable fishery laws of Alaska and the
fair and equitable administration of the
British Columbia fisheries, and expressed
his observations on the floor of Congress in
the following language:
“I saw a large number of fishing
smacks off the coast of British Colum
bia. These men were catching fish for
a living. They were protected by the
laws of British Columbia. There were
no traps, no large nets, but they could
go there and catch all the fish they
pleased and sell them to the canners or
ship them to any part of the world.
out wnen we got into /\iasica we rouna
that even our ex-service men were
driven from the fishing grounds by the
canners,some of the very people who
had been prosecuted for selling spoiled
salmon to our soldiers during the war.
Congress should force them to take
their traps out and let the small men,
the individuals who work for a living
enjoy the fruits of their labor, as the
American worker does, or should do, in
the continental United States.”
By reason of her observation of the com
mon right of all people to participate in
fishery on an equal footing, British Colum
bia has built up a large and prosperous fish
ing industry which is financed largely by
* American capital and her fishery products
compete in the world’s markets with the
Alaskan product.
We claim that under the American Gov
ernment we should receive treatment
equally as just as our racial brothers are
accorded in British territory; that a republic
such as ours should protect its citizens in
rights that are recognized and protected in
every monarchy on earth and we believe it
t to be the desire of the American people that
we should receive the just and equal treat
ment in the pursuit of our calling that is
given in all fishing countries except Alaska.