“There is very good reason to believe that in
good degree this is the case.
“If it be true, the net result of our seasonal
closing would be to build up an early and a late
run, which would yield nothing to the fisheries,
while the midseason would feel little or no bene
fit from it.” ....
Dr. Charles H. Gilbert, in the Pacific Fisher
man of October 1923.
(Editor’s note: The Icy Strait run was tw >
weeks late this year; while the Ketchikan run was
fully one month late from the usual period).
THEY PAID TOO MUCH
“Honesty is the best policy.”
Honesty is the best policy, even in politics.
In the recent primaries, the Juneau Demo
crats were so anxious to defeat the Hon. Will A.
Steel for reelection to the office of Senator, that
they deserted their own party primaries and en
tered the Republican primaries.
This was a dishonest act.
These Democrats succeeded, however, in de
feating Senator Steel, but in so doing, they also
defeated their own candidate for highway engin
eer, Robert Sommers. It is conceded that if the
Juneau Democrats had stayed in their own pri
maries, “Bob” Sommers would have been victori
ous over William Hesse.
And now the Juneau Empire, a paper that is
directly responsible for the manner of Senator
Steel’s defeat, mourns the loss of Mr. Sommers
The Empire confesses the true situation thus:
“Republicans, Democrats and independents
rushed into the primary of the party in which
there were more or less spirited contests.”
We print the editorial in full:
Direct Primary Pranks
Without wishing to reflect upon the nomina
tion of W A. Hesse, Democratic nominee for High
way Engineer, whom we understand is a very fine
gentleman and competent man, every way quali
fid for the office for which he is a candidate, the
result of the primary on that position is illustra
tive of one of the worst features of the way direct
primaries work out. The office of Highway En
gineer was the only one that was contested in the
Democratic primary, hence interest on primary
day was almost wholly centered in the Republican
contests, which embraced all the offices. The re
sult was, as it often is elsewhere, nearly all the
voters, Republicans, Democrats and independents
rushed into the primary of the party in which
there were more or less spirited contests. Less
than 600 votes were cast for candidates for High
way Engineer in the Democratic primary, while
mere than 8,000 voted in the Republican primary
When only a small percentage of the voters go to
the po'lo almost anything might occur. It is not
a que lion of which candidate in a primary elec
tion has the most supporters, but the one whose
supporters vote most numerously. It may be very
well that Mr. Hesse would have been nominated
had ail the Democrats in the Territory cast bal
ois, out there is nothing to disclose whether that
would have been the case or not.
•-x
AI ✓ KA POPULATION JUMPS 8 PER CENT
--x
Washington, D C., Aug. 1, (AP) —The 1930 cen
sus will show the population of Alaska close to
59,000 persons.
All but 24 districts were enumerated and
checked in the census office here prior to July 31.
These brought the total to 57,347.
Twelve of the remaining districts are sure to
bring in at least 1000 additional names, while the
other 12 dstricts are certain to bring the total to
within at least one or two hundred of the 59,000
mark.
This sets at rest contentions made by many
whose efforts are directed again1 f Alaska that the
population has declined steadily in the last 10
years. As a matter of fact, if the total goes slight
ly over 59,000 the gain in population for the past
decade will be 8 per cent.”
This leads us to print from the Juneau Empire:
“ALASKA’S GROWTH
x
Alaska s population gain during the last ten
years is pitifully meagre when compared with the
gains of other pioneer regions of the United States
In all the country for more than 150 years there is
no parallel to it with the lone exception of Neva
da which shrank after the Comstock boom until it
had only 49395 in 1900 slightly smaller than it had
been thirty years before. However, without any
thing approaching a boom and with a natural loss
incident to the completion of the Alaska Railroad,
there has been a gain of nearly 4.000—about seven
per cent. Most of this gain was in the First Divi
sion. To gain at all was better than the previous
decennial period.
The circumstances that the Government has
restricted and circumscribed individual enterprize
and opportunity in Alaska is responsible for a lot
of the slowness of her growth. However, it is due
more perhaps, to the circumstance that it is sepa
rated from the remainder of the country by an
ocean voyage and the fact that, differing from the
States where agricultural opportunities lured im