tmy sea could be employed.
Many times the passenger
steamers between Alaska and
Washington are compelled to
wait for storms to abate before
crossing. There could be no
such thing as ferry service as
proposed. A moment’s calcula
tion wili demonstrate that the
additional discharge of halibut
at Ketchikan which this propos
ed law seeks to compel would not
be sufficient cargo for the char
acter of vessel, to wit, ocean-go
ing steamers, which would have
to be employed in any service
between Ketchikan and Prince
Rupert.
Before we can reasonably ex
l.ect the expenditure of large
rums of money in an enterprise
we must be able to demonstrate
to the investor the safety of his
investment and reasonable pros
pects of profits on the invest
ment. Both elements are want
ing in any transportation enter
prise which would connect Ket
chikan with the fresh-fish mar
kets of the east.
In the first place, nothing but
ocean-going steamers could be
employed in any service between
Ketchikan and Prince Rupert
due to the character of the water
to lie crossed. The service would
have to be practically a daily
service as delays would necessar
ily exclude the product from the
l'resh-fish markets of the east.
If the entire amount of halibut
discharged at Prince Rupert were
diverted to Ketchikan it would
not warrant the tremendous ex
penditure necessary to install
proper service. Every week there
are days when only one or two
boats come in to povt bringing
possibly 2a,000 pounds each,
would it be practical to send a
large steamer to Prince Rupert
with onlv 40,000 pounds of fish?
How could a transportation ser
vice pay under such conditions?
Tf Ketchikan were able to
handle our catches wTe would
gladly market them there. The
objections to Ketchikan as a
fresh-fish market are geograpn
ical and we believe them insur
mountable.
Let us assume, for the mo
ment, that a ferry service such
ns has been suggested is feas
ible. Who is going to bear the
burden of the cost? Certainly
no one thinks that fish can be
marketed as cheaply from Ket
chikan as from Prince Rupert.
The consumer is paying a maxi
mum price for halibut now and
can not be expected to pay more,
'."he housewife, rather than pay
the added price, would turn to
some other food. The merchan
diser would not assume the cost
and, as a result, the producer
bears the burden. He pays for
the elaborate and expensive
Transportation system by receiv
ing reduced prices.
Continuing our supposition
th?t the ferry system scheme is
jossible: Centralizing the sale
of fish in one port would destroy
the present competitive market
for halibut. Buyers would be in
a position to dictate prices and
the halibut fishermen would be
compelled to accept whatever
figure was offered. In rare cases
a boatowner could take his fish
to Seattle, but the distance prac
tically removes this possibi’ity.
.it requires an average halibut
vessel a little less than four days
to traverse the 650 mile between
the two ports. The fish would
arrive in much poorer condition
and. as a result, the fish e-man
would receive less for it. We have
experienced the results of cen
tralizing the sale of fish in one
port when Seattle, in 1915 re
ceived the bulk of babhut
caught. The dealers, realizing
the hold they had upon the situ
ation, forced the price down for
many months until finally stop
ped by the United States district
attorney.
If the proposed idea were f^as
:ble, and if tile fish were shipped
by this plan, the product would
be much inferior to the product
shipped according to present fa
cilities. It is common knowledge
that every time a fresh fish is
handled, its quality is reduced.
Under the proposed plan, fish
would be handled two additional
iimes. When the schooner ar
rives at Ketchikan, the fish
would be removed from the fis.i
house into the hoid of a refrig
erated ferry steamer during
which operation the fish would
he exposed to warm air. The
steamer would then leave for
Prince Rupert where the fish
would again be exposed to warm
air during the operation of
transferring the boxes from ship
to refrigerated car. The fish
could not stand the increased
handling. Under the present
system the vessels must remain
on the banks as long as possible
in order to catch a sufficient
quantity of fish to make opera
tions pay. If their catches were
subjected to the additional han
dling, the boats could not remain
on the banks as long as they do
at present. In order to make up
for the deterioration through
increased handling they would
have to bring the fish to port in
fresher condition. Any reduc
tion in the number of days spent
on the banks would decrease
their profit to such an extent
that it would be unprofitable for
them to operate.
The proposed scheme, if car
ried through, would be ruinous
to the fleet of vessels operating
out of Seattle. At present there
are about 125 small vessels oper
ating out of this port. Because
of the scarcity of fish on the
close-in banks, their catches arc
small; and in order to make op
erations pay, their- fish must re
ceive a comparatively high price.
This plan in operation would
force some of the boats operat
ing on northern banks to land