delegate and with Pete Berg,
called a meeting of the Craig
fishermen to consider the ces
sation of fishing. Reports that
fishermen were delivering $100
dollar a day catches on the West
Coast were denied by the union
delegates.
Bill Reiswein of the Leba and
Gus Starkoff of the Mackerell
were buying fish on the grounds
but since the tieup began they
have stopped buying.
Market Prices
White kings on the grounds
brought two cents and retailed
in some of the Alaska cold stor
ages at 25 cents per pound. It
was reported that with whites
down to 2 cents in Alaska, the
same fish sold at 35 cents per
pound in Los Angeles and 45
cents in Butte. Such a diffe' -
etial is not justifiable in view of
the fact that trolling equip
ments costs are not much on the
down grade.
From present indications, if
the fishermen show a united
front, if they will continue or
ganizing, if they will stand to
gether as a unit, they will get
12 cents for large reds. But
the history of Alaska fishermen
is against a united front. They
have never stood as a solid bloc
because heretofore they have al
lowed themselves to be divided
on racial lines by the politicians
who hoped to secure election by
the division. With much at
stake, there is more need for a
solidarity now than at any other
time, aside from the election
days. And this will be sec .fed
only through comp°tent leader
ship.
KADIAK KISHERIES IN THE
The Kadiak Fisheries Com
pany at Kodiak is reported as
having 70 fishermen and 4 traps
in operation this year from U
ganik down to Old Harbor. The
cannery will also can humpies
and other cheaper fish.
“POOR OUTLOOK” SAYS
JACK GILBERT
-x
“If the Alaska canner breaks
even this year, he will be very
agreeably astonished,” is a
statement credited Mr. Jack Gil
bert, General Manager of the
Alaska Pacific Salmon Corpora
tion. “He states fmther,“ We
are entering the season under
the conviction it will cost us
money. I do net see any way
in which we can even swap dol
lars, and if we get out of the
pack the finances we put into it
this season, it is going to a.?
tound us.”
Prices Are Lower
“While it is true that we are
not paying as high prices for
fish as in the past few years we
are paying every cent that the
product will bear. Prices lor
canned salmon are, in many h:
stances, little more than 50 per
cent of what we were receiving
two years ago. Naturally, under
such conditions, it is impossible
for us to pay the same for tish
that we paid when our product
was bringing good prices and
the demand was commensurate
with the supply.
As to this year’s pack, Mr.
Gilbert is quoted as follows:
“Anything in this connection
would be merely speculative and
without weight. Like virtually
every other industry, the salmon
packing business is fighting its
way out of one of the worst pe
riods of depression it has ever
experienced. uur operations,
naturally, reflect that situation.
Our company, and others en
gaged in the same industry, is
doing everything it can to fur
nish what employment it can
locally to the end that it may
give some relief here and pre
vent, if possible, the more seri
ous aspects of depression in the
Territory.”
Using Home Labor
Mr. Gilbert points out that the
Hoonah and Sitka Indians are
fishing at the prices offered at
Port Althrop but the people of
Kake refused to go cut for the
same prices.
The fishermen at Port Althrop
are in the “lower stream” fish
ing districts and catch up to
150,000 salmon during the same
length of season in which the
Kake fishermen do not secure
more than 60,000 salmon. The
overage at Kake does not run
much more than 25,000 salmon.
Gilbert’s company offered the
Kake men five cents per pinK
salmon, furnish their own oil
and repairs to boat and engine,
and give the boat and gear three
shares. Dividing $750 between
eight shares only means that
these men must work for pleas
ure rather than profit. As none
of these people are in the in
come tax paying class, they be
lieved that other more profit
able avenues of labor could be
found. At Port Althrop the
fishermen earn as high as one
thousand dollars per share. This
is a fair return on their labor.
And it is only fair to expect that
the people of Kake are entitled
to the same kind of profit from
their labor.
As to seeing to it that every
available local labor be used by
this corporation, we point to the
fact that early in the spring, the
first load of labor going to Kake
included 80 Filipinos. And be
cause of this importation of
non-resident labor, there is no
market for local labor save in
the heavier lines like the slim
ing of salmon.
The whole solution to the pro
blem in Alaska is fairness to the
resident tax payers. Given an
opportunity to get fair return
for their labor, taking them into
sincere confidence, they can be
of invaluable assistance and the
entire industry benefit thereby.