The Transportation
Question
(Continued From Page 3)
the year less than a 60% cargo:—
hardly more than 50%, the ebb and
flow of freight on the Alaska routes
is so even each way throughout the
year that the ship's could average an
eighty per cent cargo—and they
probably do; I have demonstrated
that since 1907 the leading steam
ship company on this coast has av
eraged in net earnings some over
fifty per cent per annum upon the
capital invested by the stockholders
and put into the property.
Yet, the majority of the transpor
tation committee of the Legislature
of 1923 undertook to reprimand
the Attorney General for mixing in
to the transportation question. One
of the interesting features of this
attitude is the fact that for many
years, in fact ever since 1919, the
delegation in both the House and the
Senate from the Third Division of
Alaska has been solidly opposed to
the Attorney General’s work in ex
posing the transportation situation,
and have made several attempts to
have the office made appointive in
stead of elective. During the last
session there were probably three
members of the delegation from the
Third Division who felt differently
on this subject.
Tins situation is especially inter
esting because the Third Division is
discriminated against by the trans
portation companies and as such is
the greater sufferer. To illustrate:
The steamships carry cannery
freight to Ketchikan and neighbor
hood for $4.00 per ton, and for the
extra distance from Ketchikan to
Cook Inlet points they add only
$1.00 extra; but they charge $7.50
per ton for general freight to Ketch
ikan and on that freight which goes
to the general public add, for the
extra distance from Ketchikan to
Seward, not $1.00 but $6.00. In
other words, on freight beyonl
Ketchikan the general public pay*
six times as much additional as do
the canners.
1 have not been able to see the
justification for this discrimination,
but that system has received the
consistent support of the delega
tions which the people of the Third
Division have sent to the Legisla
ture.
To those who argue that the
freight rates are not important, that
it means only two cents on a hat
and five cents on a pair of boots,
I can only state that the gross re
ceipts for freight alone taken from
the public by the two transportation
companies in quesion amounts to
something like Nine Million Dollars
ner annum. I do not know the exact
figures, because the companies have
refused to furnish them. I base my
calculations upon the gross receipts
for 1918, which I have been able
to obtain, and the increase of the
business during the last nine years.
Tn my various reports on the sub
ject of transportation I have call
ed attention to the fact that freight
originating near the Great Lakes
comes west over the Canadian rail
roads to Vancouver, thence south to
Puget Sound ports by Canadian
boats. The Grand Trunk Pacific
railroad, now a part of the Nation
al Railroads of Canada, is willing
to handle this class of freight for
Alaska at exactly the same figures
at which it is now handled by the
Canadian railroads for Seattle, pro
vided it is permitted the same right
to carry this freight in Canadian
boats to Alaska which is permitted
for carrying it to Seattle.
Under the present system such
freight, before it can be shipped to
Alaska must be landed at Seattle,
and there transhipped by American
steamers to Alaska. On this class
of goods the freight from Seattle to.
say, Juneau is an extra expense and
an extra burden on the people of the
Territory which would be renderee
unnecessary if the Canadian boats
were allowed the same right to car
ry freight to and from Alaska which
they are now allowed to carry to and
from Seattle.
Iii my reports I have also demon,
strated that we cannot reach the
eastern market with our fresh fish
over the port of Seattle. All fish
on ice from Alaska, in order to
reach the Atlantic Coast, or the dis
trict east of the Mississippi, must
be shipped over Prince Rupert. The
country east of the Mississippi Riv
er- is our best customer because
there is where two-thirds of the
population of the United States live.
Under the present system, by reas
on of the Jones Shipping Act, our
fishermen are forced to go all the
way from our fishing banks to
Prince Rupert with their smal'
boats to deliver their catches. This
involves a loss oi time to tuese
people of from live to seven days
each trip. With the hope, probably,
of encouraging or eliciting some
governmental relief, Mr. Nylen of
Nome, in 19 25, introduced in the
Legislature a joint memorial to
Congress asking that commercially
Alaska be put on an equality with
the States so far as the use of for
eign ships were concerned. With
the full knowledge that this was in
tended as a relief for the fishing in
dustry of the Territory the memor
ial was defeated in the House by
nine to seven vote. The entire dele
gation from the Third Division vot
ing against it, joined by the stand
patters from other Divisions, in
cluding the one from the First Di
vision, who happened to hail from
Juneau, the community that would
experience the greatest benefit from
a diiect connection with Prince Ru
A
PtI l. I III I & 11L CIU.U. blXC*U X » iwvv*
Mr. NyJen not to introduce the
memorial because it would be de
feated. I had counted noses and
knew where each man stood on any
question of this nature.
Tn my report to the Legislature
of 19 27 I recommended a subsidy
establishing a steam boat line be
tween Prince Rupert and the north
ern part of the First Division. I did
so firmly believing that after the
traffic was once established such a
line would be able to maintain it
self without a subsidy. The bill