Look What’s Here
—x—
The Ketchikan Post of the
American Legion recently ap
pointed a committee to find ways
and means of ridding the Terri
tory of Filipino labor. It’s a large
older, but the Post has not given
up hope of being able to do some
tiling. (News note in the Alaska
Legionaire for April 1932).
In the early days of the salm
on packing industry, Chinese
contractors handled all the lab
or in the canneries. They con
tracted direct with Chinese lab
orers and sublet to Japanese.
Later on the Japanese contract
ors surplanted the Chinese con
tractors and instead of employ
ing mostly their own country
men, they began to hire the
Filipinos. In the course of time,
Filipinos undertook contracts
with the canners and employed
their own countrymen with a
thin sprinkling of Japanese and
Mexicans.
The only resident Native lab
or now employed in the can
neries of Southeast Alaska are
women who do all the sliming of
salmon after the fish are sent
through the “iron chink.” One
healthy Alaska laborer can do
the work of three of four Filipi
nos—but the canners prefer to
pay $50 a month and as little as
they can feed the Filipinos for
three months than to employ
any other kind of labor.
Alaska is not so particular
about Filipino labor as women
would be mostly employed in
their place. And no decent,
healthy, right-minded Alaskan
wants his wife and daughter do
ing that kind of work—not if
he can have the opportunity to
earn a decent living himself and
support his family as they should
be.
The problem of ridding the in
dustry of Filipinos Is not so hard
—not if the American Legion
wishes to meet it right from the
shoulder. But hemming and
hawing around, damning the
Filipinos is not going to get the
Legion anywhere. Only after the
Colonists had their “Boston Tea
Party”—after disguising them
selves as Indians, did they rid
the country of the pests of King
George the III.
-x
‘Alaska’ Laborers
Cause of Riot
Three hundred white men and
150 Filipinos, disgruntled work
ers from canneries in Alaska,
were landed in Portland from
the steamship North King on
August the third—under the
supervision of policement and
the harbor patrol.
Dissatisfaction over wages
paid by Wong On, Chinese labor
contractor resulted in tne ne
cessity of calling in the police
to prevent trouble. Word had
been sent in from Astoria that
the men threatened bodily harm
to Wong and a Filipino foreman.
The men were hired on stated
contracts last May and struck
when they learned that they had
to take a 35 per cent reduction
in wages. The men were angry
about the amount of money paid
and they further objected to
Wong’s plan of paying on board
and by check. About 100 of the
men, hired in Seattle when the
strike developed, were takn
home immediately by stages
which had been sent to the pier
to await arrival of the North
King.
-x
There is more ado than mov
ing time when baby says, “Ah,
goo.”—Tom Masson.
The light that shines farthest
shines brightest nearest home.
Payoff “Alaskans”
In Seattle
-X
Reading the above heading of
a press dispatch sent out either
from Juneau of Seattle, the
reader would be apt to believe
that the Alaska laborers are be
ing treated right well by Libby,
McNeill & Libby in the Bristol
Bay country.
Fact of the matter is that this
corporation which does not pay
dividends on its stock because it
has too many high salaried
stockholders in office, is to pay
six of its crews in Seattle for
their operations in Alaska.
The money will be divided be
tween about 1,400 cannery work
ers who did not have any oppor
tunity to leave any of that mon
ey to help build up Alaska. The
company packed about 300,000
cases.
The Business Man of Alaska
is invited to figure up his profit
in this business venture.
-x
HERE’S WHALE OF A TALE
-X
It’s a whale of a story that W.
D. Mills told at Bordeaux, Wash.
Mills returned from Neah Bay
cn the Washington coast, and
he asserts that a school of five
whales entered the bay, where
a number of fishing boats were
anchored. One whale spouted
water onto the deck of a boa^
and then took a dive and came
up under the craft, repeating
the maneuver several times.
The boat’s engines were start
ed, and the whale fouled the
tinchor chain and dragged the
bow of the boat under water be
fore it could be untangled.
Anyway, that’s Mill’s story.
-x
“Do you believe in dreams?”
“No more than when I’m a
wake—I’m a cynic*”