spent in each division. Last year
Nome was supposed to have $30,000.
\As a matter of fact, nobody knows
where the money is spent or in what
amounts. The Road Commission will
^ say for instance, “We want $30,
P 000 to be spent in the Nome district.”
The Territorial Treasurer will hand
over the money, take a receipt for
the entire amount. That is the last
any Territorial Official knows about
it. The army officers may or may
not spend the money in the Nome dis
tinct. They could and for all we
know they might have spent but a
few thousands in the Nome district
and diverted the balance to build
roads according to their own notions.
Nobody knows. What Mr. Wilson was
trying to do was to allow the elector
ate to determine where the money
should be spent.
Mr. Wilson told the House of the in
solence and impertenance of the road
„ officials at Nome, their hiring of
boys and others from the outside
while permanent residents at Nome
sucked their thumbs; of the five men
at Nome with nothing to do but keep
track of the single dredge in the bay
and the building of one or two trails.
He pointed out that even a ten per
^ cent overhead would be small if the
P people could get roads where they
wanted them, and no overhead would
be too much if fine roads were built
where the people did not want or
need them.
Did Mr. Wilson know of the $12,
000 bridge which the Commission
built at Skagway, which bridge ran
directly into a high bluff and begin
ning about 200 feet out in the Skag
way River when the river was high
and when there might be some use
for the bridge by tourists who might
wish to see the “Park” to which the
bridge led?
The bill failed to pass because the
elected representatives preferred to
pass over their duties to appointed of
ficials. To be consistent, these elect
ed officials should have introduced a
bill making their very seats in the
legislature “appointive.”
The ALASKA FISHERMAN is a
paper devoted to the interests of the
^ little fellow. Now is the time for
people who talk so much about the
“rights of the people” to show whe
ther they are willing to spend a dol
lar. We wish to thank Robert J.
Peratovich, the progressive native
merchant of Bayview, for his adver
tisement. We wish there were more
men like him whether they be white,
red or black.
POLLEY APPOINTED
TAX COLLECTOR
E. M. Policy has been appointed
Territorial Tax Collector. At the
time he wrote the arf'tcle on the legis
lators, we wondered what this man
would get as his reward for trans
ferring his allegiance from the peo
ple who elected him to the appointed
officials. We have always believed
that Mr. Polley was as honest as the
average legislator and believe that
he went to the legislature determined
to represent the people; but we have
always believed that rarely can a
poor man resist the temptations of
power, or jobs, or political prefer
ment which the appointed officials
have at their disposal. During the
short two months qtf legislative antics,
Polley has been transformed from a
boss ditch-digger to a white-collared
collector of Territorial taxes. Did
he sell his votes for a price? Per
haps not! Perhaps not! Maybe the
all-wise carpet-bagger has merely
discovered that it is an economic
crime to let a first class tax-collect
or at three thousand per dig ditches
at four per diem.
We will not raise the question at
this time of the doubtful propriety
of appointing a man to an office for
which he has voted as a member of
the legislature.
(’HAS. D. GARFIKLD
ON FISH CONTROL
The advancement of Mr. Garfield
has been due entirely to his active
interest in the fisheries of Alaska. He
was the first secretary of the Fish
and Game Club organized at Juneau,
and with Mr. Sprague, started the first
hatchery. He then became the first
secretary of the Alaska Territorial
Fish Commission and devoted a large
part of his time to it on very small
pay. Then he became hatchery super
intendent. By this time he had dem
onstrated that he was a true friend
of Governor Bone, and the big can
nery interests, and accordingly he was
rewarded by a promotion to the posi
tion of Chairman of the Alaska Bur
eau of the Seattle Chamber of Com
merce. It is therefore well to repeat
what this man said about the matter
of control of fisheries in his report of
1920 published in 1921 and really
written in that year.
“Gradually the industry grew until
canning and salting plants were cov
erig the best known waters. Then
came a period when there was an un
usual activity and much speculation
ending in many financial failures and
the inevitable depressio. With the re
construction of the business many
strong combinations were built up
which stabilized the output and mar
ket and brought about a very profit
able period. The combined concerns
are the ones practically in control of
the industry today. Of those con
trolling the industry none are resi
dents of the Territory, their people
take little, if any, personal or collec
tive interest in Territorial or civic
affairs; there is no constructive, eco
nomic or social policy involved; they
come in the spring with their boats,
supplies and employees, diligently en
gage in the reaping of the harvest and
when it is garnered, load it into the
ships and depart with those who have
assisted in the gleaning, giving little
thought to the elements which prepar
ed for, seeded and nurtured the crop;
they come and go, having reaped where
they did not sow, as though they had
gathered a farm crop without contrib
uting to the preparation and cultiva
tion of the soil.”
J. D. JR., HAS TIDY INCOME
(N. Y. Times.)
New York, April 9:—The holdings
of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., in the
various Standard Oil Companies, made
public in an analysis of testimony of
a recent investigation in the Senate,
show that the “Crown Prince” of the
oil industry has an annual income of
approximately $12,000,000 from this
source alone.
The present market value of these
holdings of young Mr. Rockefeller is
approximately $410,000,000.
What the income of the venerable
golf player of Pocantico Hills is can
not be estimated, as this information
was not given out, but the senior
Rockefeller’s share is undoubtedly
much greater than that of his son.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., holds only
2,261,188 shares of the stocks of the
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey,
which is about one-ninth of the total
stock, so that if his father holds only
one-half of the remaining stocks of the
various companies, his yearly income
from oil would be between $50,000,
000 and $100,000,000. li‘‘
The ever interesting question of
“Who is the world’s richest man?”
must arise when such tabulations are
made, and in this connection a recent
report from Detroit estimated that
Henry Ford made a profit of $12,000,
000 a month or about $150,000,000.