THE WHITE FISH BILL
Hoover Now Duke of Alaska
Many people will consider that the
fisheries of Alaska will now be con
served because the White Fish Bill
is now the law of the land. Under
this law, tfley will say, Herbert
Hoover will conserve the fish be
cause he has said that this entire
purpose is and has been to conserve
the salmon of Alaska “for the na
tion.”
Since the year 1906, the Bureau
of Fisheries, which is a part of the
Department of Commerce of which
Mr. Hoover is the head, has been in
complete charge of Alaskan fisher
ies. Indeed, the Bureau officials
have testified in many hearings that
Alaska is the only place where they
do have complete responsibility and
authority.
The record of that Bureau and its
officials has been that our fish
streams have become depleted under
their very nose. In every case, the
Bureau was not aware of the de
pletion until the fish were gone en
tirely. In the case of the fight to
close the Yukon River undertaken
by the Episcopal Bishop of Alaska,
the Fish Commissioner, Mr. Smith
at that time, and his assistants, in
cluding Dr. Charles H. Gilbert of
Leland Stanford University, insisted
that the church people were need
lessly scared. But to satisfy the
powerful influence of the Episcopal
Church, the Bureau did issue a clos
ing order for the Yukon and Copper
Rivers. For proof of this statement
see the Curry Hearings before Con
gress.
In every case, it has been clearly
demonstrated that the reason the
Bureau officials could not see th?
facts was because the packers did
not want their operations interfered
with and the bureau officials were
afraid to incur their enmity.
As an outstanding illustration o
the lawlessness of these cannery op
erations and the spineless Bureau
officials that we have, we cite the
case of the Staney Creek Fish Trap.
That trap was within the restricted
area from the very beginning of last
season. The Bureau put a watchman
there early in July. He chased seine
fishermen away from the very area
in which the trap was fishing be
cause “it was unlawful to fish
there.” But the big trap, property
of the Booth Fisheries fished there
the entire season and caught about
$30,000 worth of fish. About Aug
ust 14th, E. M. Ball, field agent of
the Bureau wrote that he had known
for some time that this was an il
legal trap. But still the trap con
tinued to fish there.
In the fall, Mr. Ball brought an
action against the trap owners who
plead “guilty.” The court fined
them $400 and costs, BUT THE
TRAPMEN KEPT THE FISH.
What reason do we now have that
the White Fish Ball will improve
matters? Henry O’Malley, E. M.
Ball, Prof. Chas. H. Gilbert and Her
bert Hoover are still in charge. Their
friendship for the fish packers is
well known.
From the standpoint cf effect ad
ministration of the best law that
Congress could devise, the case is
hopeless. Mr. Hoover is the duke
of Alaska. For the big packers
there is only one fly in the ointment.
Mr. Hoover cannot give them and
their henchmen the exclusive right
to fish in these waters. That is the
one clause to which the packers and
Mr. Hoover objected for both parties
fought against that clause. Our wa
ters are open and free to all who
would fish so long as the district
itself is open to fishing.
In this particular alone is the
White Fish bill different from the
Hoover reserves in the westward.
If you would know why the long
delay in passing this bill, you now
have the answer. It is not generally
known that the packers and Mr.
Hoover were against the White Fish
Bill- in the form in which it has
passed. The telegrams from their
Alaska attorney, R. E. Robertson, to
the different Chambers of Commerce
in Alaska asked the various Cham
bers to “kill the bill.” We have a
copy of one of the telegrams. “Kill
the bill” was the request of the
packers, and for the reason stated.
Time will tell what relief resi
dents of Alaska will get. We hope
the passage of this bill will mean
the beginning of a new (day for
Alaska and a new policy for the
Bureau of Fisheries. The correct
solution of our fisheries problem will
only come when Congress gives us
the full control of our own fisheries.
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Opposite New Town Float
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DR. E. M. MARSHA
CHIROPRACTOR
Bank Bldg. Ketchikan
ZIPP WOO
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150 Stedman Street
Ketchikan, Alaska
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Prices for Complete Outfit
$55 to $60.
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KETCHIKAN, ALASKA