Pacific Fisherman Agrees With Us
-x
Miller Freeman, editor of The
Pacific Fisherman puts himself
on record as agreeing with the
ALASKAN and ALASKA FISH
ERMAN regarding the fishery
policy in Oregon, Washington
Canada and Alaska.
The destruction of any one of
these areas cannot but hurt the
others. Tagging operations dis
tinctly show a relation of each
area to the other. With the de
pletion of the Fraser River sal
mon, note the falling off of the
pack in Washington; note the
depletion of the fisheries of the
Territory. There is no contro
verting this fact. For proof of
which scan the condition of each
area and the relative speed with
which other areas show rapid
depletion.
The Salmon Packing Center
A few years back, the press of
Bellingham had at its masthead:
“Bellingham Packs More Salmon
than Any City in the World.” To
cay the Ketchikan press carries
that same banner while Belling
ham now has dismantled build
ings instead of thriving plants.
Stop for a moment and look at
the amazing figures presented by
Mr. Freeman:
1,673,099 cases of sockeye in 1913
In Washington;
972,178 cases of sockeye in the
Fraser River area in 1913";
Total: 2,643,377 cases.
The Pack in 1929:
Washington 111,898
B. C. 60,393
Total 172,281 cases.
A falling off of approximately
two and one half million cases
in 23 years. With Canada mak
ing every effort, since 1908, to re
habilitate its fisheries thru inter
national treaty only to be
thwarted by the greed of the
American packers.
Now the Canadians threaten
to let the tail go with the hide,
unless the United States ratifies
the present treaty. And fear of
Canada’s action has forced the
American packers to like the
new treaty and the depletion of
the Washington fisheries has
made patent the need for action.
The Alaska Control
We challenge Mr. Freeman’s
statement that “The salmon in
dustry of Alaska would have
gone the way of the Fraser River
sockeyes but for the vigorous
control exercised by the federal
government.”
Consider these facts: Before
enactment of the White Fish
Law, in the “war years” of 1914
1918, inclusive, Alaska packers
packed an average of 5,215,332
cases. The period of 1924-1928,
the industry packed an average
of 5,’09,177 cases, or withing six
thousand cases of the years
when intensive production was
urged by the federal government
When discussing the Alaska
situation in 1924, H R. 2714, Mr.
O’Malley said: “Certain districts
are so seriously menaced that it
would be wise to close them for
a term of years. * * * All of those
who have entered the contro
versy concerning a wise and effi
cient method of administering
the salmon fisheries of Alaska
are a unit in contending that
depletion has already occurred
and that utter destruction of the
industry will follow if remedial
measures are not promptly tak
en.”
And yet, disregard for spawn
seed and its depletion continues.
Conditions have not been chang
ed nor bettered save for the trap
operators. Resident fishermen
who carry the full burden of
conservation, as now shown by
O’Malley’s own figures, are made
peons with a resultant effect
upon resident business.
The Alaska fisheries is net out
of danger from depletion by any
means. Rehabilitating of the in
dustry can only follow by cur
tailment of the pack. When the
Bureau of Fisheries institutes a
fair, equitable system as is fol
lowed by the Canadians, then
there will be hope of the salva
tion of the seed fish and the
packing industry. Curtailment
of production can come only in
two ways—thru the packers
themselves limiting their packs,
and by regulatory measures by
the fed.Lal government Neith
er one will be put into effect un
til the industry is forced to do
so.
RACE ISSUE IN HAWAII
-X
“The comparatively newly im
ported Filipinos, who constitute
the bulk of the common labor on
ihe plantations in Hawaii,
threaten to create a race ques
tion in the islands,” said Ethel
bert Stewart, director of the Bu
reau of Labor Statistics, who re
cently returned from a survey of
labor conditions there.
“We have called the United
States the ‘melting pot of races,
but we seem to lack the neces
sary warmth for that complete
fusion which has taken place in
those tropical islands.
“The native Hawaiians are a
splendid people who have inter
married freely with the whites.
There is also a considerable mix
ture of blood with the Chinese.
This is not true in respect to the
Filipinos, who are now there by
ihe tens of thousands, but who
are considered an inferior race.
“The sugar, pineapple and
ether plantations are thoroughly
‘factoryized’ in their methods
and are importing Filipinos to
perform the simple tasks con
. . . Continued on page 15