THE CONSERVATION OF
INTERESTS
By E. S. Hungerford
Continued from Page 14
market with some poor boob with a
section or two of timber and a hay
wire sawmill, who didn’t have much
of any sence and figured that so
long as he could saw lumber at a
profit and was an American citizen
he had as much right to be in the
timber business as they.
This attitude on the part of the
small mill man of course is very
wrong. When any man or group of
Tien have through the manipulation
cf laws or weight of money establisli
( d a monopoH' it is very wrong al
most criminal in fact for any citizen
to ask for any right he may claim
to have if such rights in anyway em
barass or inconvenience said mono
poly. Don’t you think so?
Of course the Forestry Depart
ment, operating under the banner
of conservation is seeing to it that
privately owned timber is harvested
fi’*st so that the timber owners will
net be stuck for dividends altho of
course the government timber rots
and burns and in a good many lo
calities is losing value the longer
it stands.
The privately owned timber is un
fortunate as to location. It is to
be regretted that the settlement of
the Northwest was not restricted as
has been done in Alaska. It seems
that the legislators ahead of Roose
velt were asleep at the switch and a
lot of irresponsible people slipped
in and took up timber land. Then
they organized state government and
so many more people got their fin
gers in the p4e of government that
they mussed things all up and the
matter of ta<es was beyond the con
trol of any Bureau at Washington.
However to equalize the matter
the price of stumpage on Govern
ment timber has gradually increased
to cover the carrying charges and
taxes on privately owned timber so
that no man wishing to start a saw
mill to cut Government timber shall
have any undue advantage.
This protects the privately owned
timber from any very drastic com
petition from the Government’s for
ests, it is also gradually increasing
Hie value of all forest products.
It is also fust bringing nearer the
day when Southeastern Alaska must
he dealt with as a factor of large
importance. If the timber of Mas
ha cannot be kept tied up and prac
tically elirinated from the market
a-; it is today, or disposed of to pri
'ate companies, which policy is to
the detriment of the country, Alas
ka will soon take its place as a real
producer of timber products.
The law of supply and demand
and cost of production are both
working in her favor the latter get
ting in the heaviest licks.
For twenty years we have watch
ed the operation of the Act for the
Conservation of natural resources,
h rom under its cover have issued
some of the foulest stinks and vilest
scandals that our government offi
cials have had to explain. It is the
law that has Alaska by the throat
today.
All told, there are not a great
many of us here in Alaska. We have
s.ayed here in the face of opposition
hearing silently this unjust burden
to the advancement of our country.
It is time that we unite our vioc
es in a demand that our country be
given us. Pride in our country and
our dignity as American Citizens al
lows us no other course.
We must have our land for private
ownership.
We must not sit supinely silent
and watch big business and careless
or grafting public officials dispose of
our land and our resources in im
mense parcels to non-residents, with
no interest in the country or its peo
ple other than the profits they may
derive therefrom.
Nobody loves a quitter. But
don’t let that stop you from
making a fool of yourself,
A DREAM
By H. C. Nunan
.. . Continued from Page 13 ...
—o—
That such business is profit
able is demonstrated by the fact
that the Ginnie fleet of Boston
now numbers several hundred
good sized boats, all power pro
pelled; and they are still fishing
similar types of fish to those
caught 20 years ago.
It has been demonstrated that
this type of fishing can be done
in this district because a few
years back, during a hard win
ter, numerous men, using hali
but dories, made a good living
for months catching small fish
in Tongass Narrows and around
our islands.
With the development of such
a fishing population, and ship
ping from here by refrigerated
vessels, Carl Strong being too
modest altogether in not bring
ing this matter up as one of his
dreams, we shall have an op
portunity to distribute lots of
money in Ketchikan as our fish,
varieties not caught at present,
will go out to the markets of
the United States in various
forms, fillets and otherwise.
Many of these markets are be
ing invaded by east coast fish
even as far west as the Pacific
Coast.
With the development of such
a fishery, we shall no longer be
dependent on two major items
of halibut and salmon as we are
at present. Think this over.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
OF KETCHIKAN
“The passing of E. A. Rasmus
sen as President of the First
National Bank of Ketchikan and
the election of J. E. Berg as
President means that the man
agement of this fine bank of
Ketchikan will be even more
under the direction of local peo
ple.”
Mr. Rasmussen remains Pres
ident of the chain of banks
known as the Bank of Alaska
with branches in Skagway, Cor
dova, Wrangell and Anchorage.