A Better Understanding Is Needed
Between Alaska And Fishing Industry
The Autt^jr Offers Constructive Sug
gestions for Establishment ol
More Friendly Relations Between
the People of Alaska and the Fish
Packing Interests.
By EDWARD W. ALLEN .
Two months ago the salmon can
ners were filled with joy. The Al
aska legislature had adjourned. No
adverse legislature had been passed.
A month before these same packers
were filled with consternation. A
flood of proposed legislation, un
wise and drastic, had threatened to
swamp their industry.
Should a public officer fail to give
heed to such a situation and profit
by such an experience, business men
would denounce him for his lack of
statesmanship. The question now
is, Will the cannerymen remember
this experience and profit thereby,
or will they forget and take the
consequences?
Had the measures which were in
troduced been enacted into law the
cost of conducting the territorial
government, most of which is paid
by the canneries, would have been
multiplied; restrictions would have
been Imposed with which it would
De pnysicaily impossible to comply;
hordes of inspectors would be haunt
ing every plant in an effort to find
something to criticize in order to
justify the inspectors’ continued ex
istence, and taxes would have been
increased to such an extent that
without Question many companies
would have been forced out of
business and millions of dollars’
worth of property confiscated.
To the credit of Alaska and its
representatives be it said that when
the facts with reference to the fish
ing industry were presented to the.
members of the legislature, and the
injustice to capital, as well as the
irreparable damage to the territory
itself that would have resulted from
the proposed measures, were point
ed out, none of these measures were
enacted. Nevertheless it i3 the well
' founded belief of those who were
present in Juneau during the ses
sion that had the cannery men not
taken active and aggressive steps to
oppose the proposed measures, some
of them unquestionably would now
be on the statute book3.
Remove Causes of Opposition
it is unlikely that proposals could
l>e so warmly espoused and receivo
as much support from apparently
intelligent legislators as did some
of these irrational propositions,
without there being some underly
ing causes. Accordingly, it be
hooves every man interested in the
salmon and herring industries to
seek in good faith to analyze the
situation and to remove the incen
tive for similar attacks upon the in
dustry in the future.
it is possible and indeed probable
that politics have been at the bottom
of a great deal of the agitation
against the canneries and Balteries.
As long as government exists there
will be political opportunists
who seek to distort facts to ad
vance their own purposes. This
situation must be recognized. To
combat it, however, the arguments
of the opposition must be under
stood. Insofar as they are based
upon just criticism, efforts should
be made to cure existing evils. In
sofar as they are based upon dis
tortion, active steps should be tak
en to inform the voting public of
the truth.
The charges launched against the
fish companies were principally the
following:
1. That outside capital reaped
the benefit of the Alaska fisheries
without any contribution to the
local wefare;
2. That the continued use of fish
traps would exhaust the salmon run;
3. That the use of traps was put
ting the local fishermen out of
business and preventing them from
earning a livelihood;
4. That the use of reduction
plants wasted a valuable food pro
duct;
5. That the use of reduction
plants was depleting the supply of
herring.
These charges were made, not only
in the legislature, they had been ef
fectively broadcasted during last
year’s election. Having been left
almost wholly unanswered they were
actually and sincerely believed, not
only by people of limited viewpoint
but by many business men as well.
Charges Easily Refuted
Yet in most Instances complete
answers were right at hand. The
proofs were ready but no one troubl
ed to produce them.
There are no better people in the
world than those of Alaska, but
they cannot be expected by mere
intuition to grasp the complicated
details of the fishery business. Al
so there are operators and superin
tendents who have not always cul
tivated goodwill. Alaskan3 natural
ly have their prejudices against so
called outsiders. They must be
shown.
Those in the recent territorial
legislature were shown, for when
the threat of drastic measures be
came too vivid the cannerymen be
stirred themselves and made a con
clusive refutatiop of the charges
against them. To forestall another
such emergency, the people through
out Alaska should all be made con
versant with the facts. They, should
know that the operators are not
ghouls nor fiends but human beings
just like themselves. They should
know that canning and packing is
as legitimate and honorable a bus
iness as mining or farming.
The specific information should
be carried to them, demonstrating