In every movement to conserve
our fisheries, I have anticipated
the evil result itself, and have
been years in advance of the Bu
reau of Fisheries. I hope to live
to see the day when the Bureau
will publish regulations embody
ing my proposals.
The first objective should be
to prohibit all fish traps.
.. The regulations which this
proposal would put into force
would follow naturally, namely
removal of restrictions as to sea
son, length and depth of seines,
gill-nets, and trolls and other
such regulations.
I he trouble with O’Malley
must be this—he doesn’t have a
scientific mind, a mind that can
recognize facts, correlate these
facts, and he lacks courage to
deal with the problem merely as
a problem, but rather he consid
ers the facts as he knows they
will please or displease his real
advisors among the big packers.
I would like to be fish commis
sioner for Alaska. With that
eventuality, there would dawn an
era of prosperity, harmony and
contentment among the resi
dents of Alaska, the fishermen,
the business men, the canners
themselves, for I would guaran
tee the resource, and those who
now fight me would marvel that
they could have been so dumb.
If you come to Alaska again,
call me up. I shall be glad to
exchange views, for I recognize
in you the possibilities of a valu
able friend, one who is in the
position to correct the system if
you could find the facts.
Yours very sincerely,
William L. Paul.
Grand President
Alaska Native Brotherhood.
P. S. You stated, “I cannot find
that in my article I mentioned
the Alaska Indians in any way.”
See page 17, Saturday Evening
Post of December 14, 1929 under
title “Getting ready for the run.”
In that same paragraph you
state that “for the local custom
is to get by all winter, if possible,
in order to bring the full accu
mulation of engine trouble for
FREE fixing at the cannery.” In
your letter to me, you again re
peat this statement.
mere is not a single cannery
in Southeast Alaska that repairs
any fisherman’s engine “free.”
They simply do not do it, not ev
en under the pressure of compe
tition. I would challenge your
statement. Further, every can
nery furnishing “free” oil or gear
pays the fishermen a lower price
for the fish he brings in.
“To judge by my correspond
ence, which includes many let
ters of commendation of my ar
ticles, in many cases from Gov
ernment officials, and only one
other besides yourself in opposi
tion” you state, that of course, I
do not speak for the people of
Alaska.
i will not back clown, but will
repeat, that my views truly in
terpret the overwhelming senti
ment *of the people of Alaska
who are affected by fishery leg
islation.
For my part I have heard doz
ens of people discuss your ar
ticles and these wholly condemn
your praise of Henry O’Malley,
but praise your own proposal as
far as it goes. As for the Gov
ernment officials, who is there
outside of the Bureau of Fisher
131
ies, whose opinion is worth a
continental. Don’t overlook the
fact that the employees of the
Bureaus in Alaska all belong to
one association called the Asso
tion of Federal Employees. As
for the federal employees of the
Bureau of Fisheries, if they have
complimented you, they only
prove that they are a brainless
lot, for, by and large, your ar
tides are a severe condemnation
of the reign of Henry O’Malley
in this—the things you point out
as wrong, while not attributed
to O’Malley, are actually errors
of that man; the good points
which you do attribute to him
(like the recognition of increas
ing depletion and the labors to
enact an adequate fishery law)
should be attributed to O’Mal
ley’s present critics as Delegate
Sutherlnad and ourselves. In ad
dition the one point which you
propose as containing the cor
rect plan of conservation is dia
metrically opposite to the plan
of O’Malley.
Has O’Malley pointed out any
thing “fundamentally wrong”
with your original idea? If he
has not, then don’t you think he
should begin revising his entire
system of regulations? A logic
al development of your idea
would mean (1) the abolishment
of the closed season; (2) the a
bolishment of all closed areas;
Complete Banking Service
Bank Safely at
The First National Bank
Of KetcHiKan
11, Operates Under Charter and Supervision of the
UNITED^STATES GOVERNMENT
w The Standard of Safety - A symbol of Strength