claims that the “intelligent” people
are not receiving any representation
at Washington and the further state
ment that the President, Congress
and the Departments at Washington
desire an “expression of intelli
gence” from Alaska citizens upon
“legislation and appointments,” make
us wonder just why these big salmon
canning companies and the few bi
partisan politicians of Alaska who
serve their interests, as well as the
Bureau of Fisheries, are so terribly
anxious to secure the appointment
of certain men to Federal offices
in this Territory.
As a case in point: It is generally
understood that Hon. E. E. Ritchie^
District Judge in the Third Division
of Alaska, is being strongly urged
for reappointment by the big salmon
packers, by the bi-partisans and by
the Bureau of Fisheries and the De
partment of Commerce. Nowr just
what is the reason for this? Why
do they want Ritchie for Judge?
Possibly the following incident will
serve to turn on the light and reveal
their motives: One morning during
the term of court at Valdez last fall
Judge Ritchie severely criticized and
reprimanded the Grand Jury for re
turning indictments against the Lib
by, McNeill and Libby Co. and
against the Northwestern Fisheries
Co. (the Booth Fisheries) without,
as he claimed, investigating, and in
dicting individuals for similar of
fenses. Now the interesting and re
vealing part of the incident is that
just previous to Judge Ritchie’s rep
rimand of the Grand Jury he had
been closeted in his judicial chambers
with Eric Freiback, Superintendent
of the Northwestern Fisheries Co.,
and W. P. Studert, Agent of the
Bureau of Fisheries. We do not
know what these gentlemen said to
Judge Ritchie. We do not know
what the Judge said to them. But
we do know what the Judge said to
the Grand Jury—and we wonder why
he said it.
We wonder why Judge Ritchie ad
ministered his attempted reprimand
—in view of the fact that his charges
were not true. The Grand Jury had
investigated individuals and it had
already indicted some of them. But
that was one Grand Jury that was
not bluffed out even by the at
tempted reprimand of a District
Judge. They pursued the even tenor
of their way and indicted those they
thought should be prosecuted, and no
others.
The later developments of these
fish prosecutions are also interesting.
After the indictments w’ere returned
the defendant companies promptly
moved into court and asked to have
the cases postponed. This request
cf the defendant companies was
promptly granted—in spite of the
fact that the government witnesses
were present and the cases ready for
trial—granted over the strenuous
protest of the government’s prose
cuting officials. The cases were then
set for sometime in May, 1925; but
by that time the Bureau of Fisheries
had discovered that Captain Cole,
one of the Bureau’s principal wit
nesses, could not possibly be present
to testify and that Mr. W. P. Stu
dent, the Bureau’s Agent, must go
to the hospital for an important
surgical operation at the very time
the cases were to be tried (although
after the cases were a second time
postponed Mr. Studert discovered
that he didn’t need the operation).
That’s what we call perfect team
work.
Now we wonder if such perform
ances as these throw any light at
all upon the reason the Big Packers
and the Bureau of Fisheries and the
bi-partisan Alaskan attorneys for
these companies want Mr. E. E.
Ritchie for District Judge?
And still we wonder!
FLOATING TRAPS
Ward T. Rower, Chief Agent of
the Bureau of Fisheries in his paper
read before the American Associa
tion for the Advancement of Science,
on June 17, 1920, and printed in full
in the Alaska Daily Empire of June
20, 1920, said in part:
BE; FLOATING TRAPS
“A reed of the fishery is absolute
prohibition of large offshore floating
traps. Within the last year or two
improvements in the construction of
floating traps have made it possible
to anchor devices of this kind in
exposed offshore waters where their
use previously was not considered
possible. These traps should be
PROHIBITED not only for the rea
son that they constitute a serious
menace to navigation, but for the
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