THE NOME NUGGET
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER.
PUBLISHED WEEKLY—EVERY SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
GEO. S. MAYNARD. Sole Owner aad Publisher.
Eutered as Second Class Matter, at tbs postoffice at Name, Alaska,
Under the Act of March 3, 1879.
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XING THE REINDEER INDUSTR
\\>w th:i. yimo <'f our embryonic statesmen have started a yap about
taxing the “basic industries.'’ it Is probable that tho forthcoming legislative
session will witness a tine ac« • ssion of zi\tl it that d:i lion on the part of our*
local solon's. a.n«l especially ihose who ar< anxious to lay up future lwliticnl
eajdtal for themselves. The question of taxing local "basic industries,”
Tiowevi r. «is one that slmuld not be given snap judgm <nt and tt is ou>- aim to
call attention t<> a few things in connection therewith before the toga wear
The cry for ‘’taxation of basic industries” listens fine, we’ll admit. It's
like *bat famous old slogan of historic memory: ‘‘down with the trusts.”
•which kept so many tin con statesmen and wind big orator’s in good jobs for
revera.1 decades. It mokes people prick up their e;uv and feel like "Wi'ing;
something.” That is exactly the way the politicians like them to feel. The
more they feel like doing something, the mirier it is for the politicnan to get
them on tie. job of greasing his cart wheels— or pulling the cant. This
however, is a, digression.
As applied to the local situation, the question o-f taxing the "basic,
Industries” simmers down to one thing—-the reindeer industry. The ndning
Industry is already .taxed: fishing is taxed; most all commercial enterprises
are taxed and shipping is taxed. Some of the minor industries may have
been overlooked, notably the fur trading business, hurt of the important in
dustries of the district the reindeer business is about the only one that is not
subject to a direct tax of some character. And this is undoubtedly the
one aimed at by the promulgators of the itnxat/ion of basic industries spiel.
It is true that the reindeer business has now reached a stage where
It is probably subject to taxation. It’s growth during the past few years
hits been nothing short of marvelous and th£ day is not far eilistant -when it
will represent the primary source of wealth of the district. It has alrendv
reached the stage where its immense potentuditicP ran be easily realized by
fven the uninitiated. It is. therefore, nn industry which rightly should
chare of the taxation burdens imposed by the territory.
• Jjjk. is apparent, however, that l>ecause the industry Iisls displayed such
remarkable growth and wealth producing possibilities, and also because as a
business it is to a great extent in rt.be hands of corporations, there has de
veloped in some quarters a sentiment closely resembling the "trust busting”
B'rfrjt. of the past decade which workeel such i monetise damage to the nation's
industries and people before it whs discovered that attacks upon big business
aggregations did more harm th.an good if not .properly and fairly directed.
Tlie hue and erv anent taxing the basic indu-.li it s” is largely based upon
this same spirit and ishould. therefore, he deplored because of the tendency
to overdo the thing which is very likely to develop therefrom. To impose a
reasonable and just tax on the industry wfill l»e all right and will provoke no*
objections from any quarter hut if the taxation is based on the principle of
"soak the corporate »n” it is certain to .provoke harm both to the industry and
the people
The question of w1r.it would he a reasonable tax on reindeer is. of
course, debatable. Only cursory examination is needed to determine that
tome forms of taxation which operates very successfully in other lines would
he distinctly inimical to the reindeer .business. As an instance it may be
pointed out that to tax the deer on the hoof might create a tax burden winch
would prove more detrimental to the industry than to place the ttixen on ex-'
ports of reindeer meat, as is done in the case of fish, on which the tax is
levied on the case or'barrel. To’tax the deer in the herd would he burden
some and to a great extent like taxiing the fisth packers *>n the fish in the. sea
which they expect to can or cure. This idea of taxiing the exports of deer Is
Just and would he beneficial rather than detrimental to the growing industry.
Jt is also entirely agreeable to the views of the stock holders of the nUndeer
companies, as well as smaller deer owners.
The greater part of the reindeer raised In the territory will he ex
ported for many years to' come and exportations taxed In this way Avould in
a few yeai-s provide an immense source of revenue for the territorial treas
ury, even without taxing animals used for local consumption. At the pres
ent rate of progress the reindeer will soon be so numerous that a tax on live
deer in the herd would create a henvyburden on the holders, particularly
those who, nU.ho holding considerable numbers of deer, would still not be in
a position to commence marketing to good advantage.
In no case should the tax he laid in a way which would become bur
densome to the deer men and the only logical way we can see to avoid i'. I:j
to tax the exports. And under no circumstances should the hostile, anti
trust-spirit be permittee! to determine the amount or manner of .imii»asing taxes
on the industry. The fact that the reindeer business is distinctly a home.
Industry and that most all deer owners and holders of stock in the reindeer
companies are Alaskans should also he considered in connection with the tax
ation question. If home industry, backed by home people, can be spared
taxation by placing the tax on deer used elsewhere than In tho ter-itory it
should by all means he done.
EIGHT HOUR DAY UNSUCCESSFUL IN JAPAN
The eight hour day has not proved a success in the Japanese cotton
mills, according to a bulletin published by the Japanese Society. In fact it is
raid to have made the Japanese weavers sick. Quoting one S Mtito of the
Japanese Cotton Spinners’ Union, the bulletin asserts that in one mill \vl web
adopted the edght hour day, the girl employees actually became ill when they
v ere no longer permitted to work twelve and fourteen hours a day. Ac
cording to this witness the girls, by reason of the short hours, had so much
spare time on their hands that they overate between meals and became sick.
■\Ve opine that the bulletin question either emanates from or must "stand in"
with the employing interests to sqm.e extent, for it offers a further exumpl
of the alleged non success of the short work day by asserting that In soan.
cases the parents took the girls and put them to work in (the fields after they
had performed their eight hours of labor in the mill. “These arc subtilo,ar
guments in favor of a resumption o'f former conditions wherein the girls, »»mt
of 12 years and younger, were rented to the nil 11* by their parents for a trim
of years. ' They lived and were fed in the mill compounds and worked <
Tninhmin of twelve hours a day thirty days in the month. Many of them'
contracted tuberculosis and all of them—>'f 'hey - survived—came out wit'
health impared. Yet the eight hour day 2s not practicable there because th<
girl Slav s make themselves sick by overeating when -they are given a little,
more ledsure time."
WE’LL WALK WHEN GAS GOES TO FIFTY CENTS
If pumpkins grew on pine tree* the woods -would be a ut’shty unraf
place to stroll in. If the automobile industry should continue to expand as
it has in 'the hist two years, it would soon absorb all the stool manufactured
in the United States and leave nothing for other industries. But this ex
pansion won’t List. Keen If the unprecedented demand should continue una
l»atrd, sooner or later the growing; scarcity of ganoHne wfill net as a check to
the rabt>it-llke multipliation of flivvers—unless anew, dheap and abundant fuel
is discovered. says the Pacific Monthly, "Sunset.”
•Last year the United States produced 376,000,000 lwirrels of urude pe
troleum and imported 55,000,000 barrels more, yet consumption was so great
that the reserve stocks had to be drawn upon to satisfy the demand. Thfe
first three months of this year the price of crude oil ami of gasoline was stead
ily increased, yet the output was unable to keep pace with the increasing non
sumjptfion' At the present rate 50 cent gasoline is not far distant, a price that
will take all presidential amibitions out of Henry Ford and give him something
else to think about.
Three years ugro a cheap alcohol si»l>siitute for gasoline was within the
realm of the possible, but since January 28 all chance has vanished. Unless
enormously productive new oil territory its opened up, the day of 20 cent gas is
Voice of the Alaska Press
"‘LAK’ A ROSE"
Wouldn’t t please yen. to see how i
these Outside poli*.clans and graft -rs
Jaques Crepaud would state it?
There they are in Seattle, meeting
_5 strong in OUmore’s offee, parceling!
out the political future and the offices
of Alaska among themselves and no
body there to see—just somebody to <
tell of it at 5th drink time, after the
get together meet. There’s the SesLttle
Times advocating Seattle starting in
on the. geit-rich-quick deal of "Selling
Alaska” to the Easterners—taking the
Eastern easy money and delivering
thereof anything the Easterner wants
even the "scenery." Noxtt thing we
know the Seattle (’hamiber of Com
merce thru its Alaska Bureau will be
opening a mailorder house and selling
Alaska ■scenery to the bedridden peo
ple of the East by mail And. in the
years to come see if our prediction
does not came true: "Mt. McKinley
installed in Pioneer Square, Seattle.”
Seriously, however, we ire not in so
i much danger as you might think. It
•9 going to take a lot of time and
trouble for the grafters to get us thru
Washington. In the meantime our Al
aska-born children are getting nearer
man’s estate every day, and what they
get hold of first they will hold. All
■is not graft advertising we are getting.
The following extract from a letter re
ceived by a Fairbanks huisband from
his iVrfe Outside is a ctuse in point.
"The Los Angelos Sunday Times
of March 14 has a swell article on
Alaska, on the front page of the paper,
from Washington, P. Cand when
Los Angeles papers talk of. Alaska,
you may judge the whole lTni*ed
States is talking the same. The ar
ticle states that’ Alaska’s coal would
he used on the Pacific Const as it is
better than the best Pennsylvania coal,
and that they would stop shipping
eon? from Virginia to Alaska. If also
states that the ‘Sugar Beet’ i»t*ople i»
on the government railroad, and give
all kinds of financial help to the set
tlers, to promote the growth of the
sugar heeit. as those raised in Alaska
carry the highest percentage of sugar,
and the soil and climate conditions
ire, perfect for the raising of said
beets. It spoke of various other mat
ters. of which you Fairbanks people
have heard for years, but if the fac
tory .is a. possibility, the th.:ng to do
is for Fairbanks to "Land” it. One
ruin not pick up a ipaper from any
where but it hais Alaska, Alaska, Al
*e. is good. |
referred to also I
si>oke of the oil veils of Alaska, tupd |
said the one at Natalia, which was !
producing about fifty barrels a day
.vas of h. quality of oil that could not (
>e surpassed anywhere in the oil coun
ties so far opened.”
The whole people of the Outside
ire milling around, all dressed up in
plac« to go.
profiteer clothes
Alaska has always had a get-rich
luSek name, and any advertising we
yet now helps some in the right way.
When Secretary Payne named Dr. Al
fred Brooks to help them plan an ad
vertising campaign for Alaska, to send
oeonle here, he nun; 1 a ^nan in whom
Fa Oanks has t-onlld<-nce,'and there’s
x chance that the grafters will be
older and balder than they are now be
fore they inherit Alaska to the exclu
sion of real Alaskans.—Fairbanks
The Canadians are going to resur
vey the boundary line between Tlyder
ind Stewart. They think that there
is a chance that they might have
overlook d something in the way of
silver.—Douglas News.
SELF-DETERMINATION
FOR ALASKA
We hoar much about 'self-determin
ation for Kgyrpt, Ireland, Armenia,
Syria ami other countries, hut why
not self -determination for Alaska?
While it'he death battalion has been
fuhui muting about the wrongs of those
distant peoples, dt has had nothing to
say of the wrongs suffered by Amer
icans in the far n^th. though they,
as the last of the pioneers, should have
a superior claim.
When the gold discoveries of the
Klondike, Fairbanks and Nome ami
the topper discoveries of Copper river
drew tens of thousands of men to Al
aska. it was hoped thnt mining would
be the procusor of development of all
the other wealth of the far north. The
miner has ever been the forerunner of
the farmer, the cattleman, the fruit
grower. the lumberman, and the manu
facturer. bringing in their train the
full organization, of civil life. So it was
Sn California, Oregon, Tdaho, Montana
and Colorado. So it would have been
in Alaska if the government had done
for it what was done for the states
mentioned.
But soon after Nome was discovered
the Conservationists appeared on the
scene, and they got a grip on Alaska
whdeh has not yet been broken. The
government sent no officials to that
-territory with authority to decide any
thing except that settlers should not
be permitted t/> use the land. Any
body who wanted to tie up anything
i found a ready ear at Washington. The
big game hunters won protection for
the great brown bear of the Alaska
peninsula in order that they might
have the pleasure of chasing and kill
ing him. But if any body of men
wanted to develop a coni mine or nn
oil well or to cut timber or to improve
a harbor by building a wharf, the cry
of “corporation” or “landgnibber” was
raised, and they were hounded by in
vestigators and inspectors. Authority
over Alaskan affairs was >o finely di
vided among many bureaus at Wash
ington that nothing could be done
without referring to one of them, find
some other usually found encroach
ment on Its authority, white the con
servationists warned them all to be
warc of the corporation bugaboo. So
much time was thus' spent an discus
slon and referring things to and fro
that the man who wanted to do some
think tired of waiting and left Alaska
to it§ solitude. Thus the Northern
territory is l>eing strangled by a bu
reaucracy more cruel than that of the
czars at their worst.
Not only Alaska, but the whole Pa
cific Coast, in fact the whole west, is
interested in (this matter. If the coal
and oil*of that Territory were develop
ed, they would he added to the fuel
supply and would low i the price both
for the cities and ships, Great herds
of caribou and reindeer could be raised
to increase, the meat sdpplv. The
Ooadt needs the. help of Alaska is
much as Alaska needs help. By the
ci ndldersitlon which they have secured
for reclamation. Western Congress
men have proved that, when they unite
they have power. They should use
that power on behalf of Alaska, that
ist may be emancipated from bureau
cracy and be given real self-govern
ment wt;tli freedom to develop.—Re
printed from the Portland Oregonian
and the Seward Gateway.
TO ADVERTISE ALASKA
Bureau officials at Washington are
•to be warmly commended, says the
Ra4iwa.y and Marine News, for the
decision that a large-sum is to be ap
propriated for advertising Alaska, as
in no other manner ran the traveling
pubi c he attracted. This has been
;mnply proved by the many American
and Canadian steamship lines operat
ing to and from Alaska, who havs
collectively during the past twenty
years expended ttyree. mlillion dollars
in advertising the scenic attractions
and industrial opportunities of tie
Northland. Naturally one cannot cx
il>eat to hear that! the government
would appropriate a proportionate sum
annually for any such purpose, hut
any expenditure in the populous oen
-ters of the East cannot fail to attract
attention to the Territory and at the
same time it will be helpful to the Ter
ritory in many other ways. The
greatest care, however, should be used
by those who prepare these advertise
ments, to prevent any rush to the
North of indigents, laborers, or others
not possessing a. small amount of cap
ital with which to provide for their
own need?-: otherwise the government
would be greatly embarrassed in hav
ing to send a ship north to bdrtg such
people out. For y nrs post Mask;,
advertising has discouraged this par
ticular class from moving northward.
|Conditions are so urhk those cf any
other country that the only peoplj de
|sired from an industrial viewpoint are
those possessed of dither the ability
or capital to invent and then develop.
To advertise the scenic attractions for
the tourists and then the wonderful
opportunity for legit/mate in vest mm'
and industrial development will prove
of the greatest .possible benefit to tli
Territory at large.—Neninna News.
WV»u.ld It be an Infringement of the
postal laws on lotteries for our sub
scribers to guess whether our mall
tad 1J tie* will Ik? as poor this winter
as they4 were last.—Valdez Miner.
Ketchikan, like other ■bustling' cities
of' the country—Spokane, for instance
—lK*rteve« she was short changed i.i
the census enumeration. She is to
have u recount and a recheck.*—Doug
las News.
The Overalls Idea has reached Val
des. If every pair carried a receipt
jfor l$n hours* work a day by the
wearer there would be no necessity
for the overalls.—Vuldey Miner.
Another beauty of owing Alaska us
your home—while other sections of
the country may not be able to tell
what a day may bring forth, here In
Alaska you can tell this spring‘just
where your camp will be next spring
and the .spring after that, so far as
threatened "benefits’* Alaska is hav
ing shoved upon her are concerned.—
Tdnfrhanks Nows
The postponement of a decision by
the house contest elections comimittee
in the Alaska delegate election case
cannot but be a source of regret to all
Alaskans, whatever theiir political
creed rrmy be-. The adherents of both
parties would prefer to enter the No
vember campaign with that feature of
it eliminated. J.t can do neither man
any good and may cause an injection
of Wichitis into Alaskan politics which
fs a thdng to he avoided for the good
of the Territory.—Juneau Empire.
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