halibut fishermen, or else by putting a large tax
on the fish which are not iced in an American
port. This means that if the fisherman takes
his cargo to Prince Rupert and sells it there it
will be packed there, and under the present law
must pay a duty of two cents a pound for re
shipment to the United States. Whereas fish
sold in Ketchikan would be packed here, and be
ing packed in an American port would not be
subject to any tax. The two cent tax was placed
on halibut sold by our fishermen in Prince Rupert
as the direct result of Carl Strong’s influence,
the said Carl working for the interests of the
Ketchikan Cold Storage Company.
It is a peculiar thing that our business men
whenever they wish to secure a monopoly ask
the law-makers to place heavy burdens upon
competitors. The way to get halibut fishermen
to sell in Ketchikan is for the buyers to pay
at least as good a price as the Prince Rupert
buyer offers. If fourteen cents is offered at
Prince Rupert why should not Carl Strong’s
company offer fourteen cents, in which event
the fish would be sold at Ketchikan. But always
the prices at Ketchikan and elsewhere are some
thing less. The fish buyer, however, feels that
the hard working men who risk their lives on
the open seas should be patriotic enough to over
look the difference in price and sell to the
American buyer and thus show his patriotism.
It seldom occurs to the American buyer that
he can show his patriotism by offering the
American fisherman at least an equally good
price as the Canadian buyer does. In that way
the sales would be made in Ketchikan, the out
fitting would be done here and the money spent
here.
The action taken at Petersburg is a step taken
in the right direction, but does not go far
enough. The Petersburg Commercial Club asks
that the tax of two cents now imposed be re
duced to one cent. Reading the Petersburg Her
ald we note that halibut fishermen and boat
owners had expressed their opinion in favor
of the reduction of the tariff. Among the seven
persons mentioned as speakers, but two were
bona fide fishermen. We believe that if the
census of the fishermen were taken it would be
infav-or of no tariff THE POSITION OF THE
ALASKA FISHERMAN is not that we wish to
build up Prince Rupert as against America
ports. We advocate no tariff because such a pol
icy would be a good thing for Alaska towns.
The more money fishermen can make in their
business the more benefit accrues to Alaska. Who
can argue against a policy that would give the
resident fishermen an earning capacity of, say,
$1,000 a year by increased prices against the
fish buyers’ policy of giving them $500 a year.
The public should not forget that the era of
prosperity for our halibut fishermen began when
Prince Rupert was established as a buying cen
ter. The single factor that keeps the halibut
prices up is Prince Rupert. You will notice that
whenever the prices there drop the prices in
Ketchikan and elsewhere also drop. It seems
as if the price in Alaska is not gauged by the
market conditions but by Prince Rupert offerings.
CONSERVATION
The first fight over conservation occurred
long before Herbert Hoover or Henry O’Malley,
or indeed Dr. Charles H. Gilbert were born. It
occurred in the little Indian village of Yakutat
early in the Eighteenth century. It seems that
the Russian governor had come into the bay
and was killing all of the sea otter. The poor,
illiterate, unwashed Indian Chief went to the
great Russian “statesman” and demanded that
the slaughter be stopped, for, says this Chief,
who could neither read nor write, “If you kill
off all the sea otter, what will there be left for
our grandchildren ?”
However, the Indian who could neither read
nor write lost his battle, the sea otter are now
gone, and the only persons who suffer from the
destruction of this valuable animal are the chil
dren of the same Indian Chief, “who could
neither read nor write.”
PRICES
Prices in Ketchikan are now 9c for humpies
and 12c for chums. The report is that one
cannery is paying 40c for cohoes, and that
the superintendent predicts that canners will pay
as high as 75c by Fall.
INTOLERANCE
“Father, forgive them for they know not what
they do.’’
Thus spake the Son of God on Calvary’s tree,
So many long, long centuries ago, it seems
The sons of men the lesson now should know.
We hate our brother man for darkened skin,
For birth in lands remote and distant from
our own,
Revile and persecute his creed, and thus we
know
That time hath not evolved the Christly
deed.