Alaska Native Brotherhood
Camps
Ivlukwan claims to lead all other
camps in spirit. They say they are
a small camp but would like to
know who is ahead of them. They
have sent $50.00 to the Grand Treas
urer and another $100.00 still on
hand to go forward. Perhaps the
best part of their letter was this:
“The Indian quits. He cannot fight
to the end.” This is a saying of the
past at Klukwan, because, they say,
“We are beginning to see what the
future holds in store for us, not
only for us but for our children too.
We will not quit.” They are going
right after the 1925 Convention for
Klukwan.
❖
Peter Nathan is the corresponding
and recording secretary of the Hyda
burg Camp. This town wants a vot
ing precinct, but owing to the fact
that the Interior Department has not
yet acted on the request of the town
council to rescind the reservation, the
authorities are in doubt as to their
right to give them a precinct. So
Hydaburg will have to travel 18
miles to vote.
❖ * ❖ *
The same condition exists at Bay
view. It is hoped that the school
surveys will be made and town boun
daries also so that the reserves at
these places will be no more and
thus permit these worthy citizens
to be like anybody else.
After Bayview and Hydaburg get
out of their hole, Metlakatla will be
the only reserve around here.
❖ v *
We have heard indirectly that the
old Treadwell school house, a two
story frame building, 65 by 90 feet
has been purchased by the Haines
Camp for $400 and will be moved to
that town and converted into a re
creation hall. We are reminded here
of the Juneau Camp, their pres
ent hall was moved bodily from
Treadwell to Juneau, a distance of
about three miles. The job of mov
ing this big building, 40 by 80 feet,
was a task to try the skill of big
contractors, but the Indian boys of
Juneau, directed by their own mem
bers who had been trained in log
ging camps, mines and elsewhere,
moved that building over without
cracking a single window.
❖ v * ❖
It would not surprise me if we
should finally learn that the Indians
it was who dug Lynn Canal and thus
showed the way to the Panama Can
al job.
❖ v *
Yakutat Weekly is a lively paper
and gives much information about
that town. Here is a sample: “There
is only one man living who crn
make a man out of you—that’s you.”
Also: “The Rolfe will make a tour
of southeastern Native towns this
coming Fall carrying the delegates
and their wives to the next Brother
hood convention.”
v ♦♦♦
Miss Dorothy Wallace and Douglas
Edenshaw were married at Hyda
burg January 17th last by Rev. R.
F. Pederson. The young couple will
make their home at Buckley Bay, B.
C., where the groom is an employee
of the Masset Lumber Company.
What sort of an animal is a mala
mute? Answer: An animal that
has and can mush 150 miles before
breakfast.—Yakutat Weekly.
Is your city of Yakutat north or
south of the North Pole? Answer:
Betwixt and Between. — Yakutat
Weekly.
Former Mayor Robertson of Ju
neau is being- sent to Washington to
work in behalf of the proposal to
divide the Territory. By all means
send Mr. Robertson, but don’t for
get that Yakutat wishes to be in
cluded in either one or the other of
these Divisions. Surely we nave
been laid aside and forgotten long
enough.—Yakutat Weekly.
.»«
The fact that a Native has just
completed a term of service as a
Grand Juryman on the regular panel
of the United States court at Ju
neau is worthy of record and teaches
a useful lesson.—Yakutat Weekly.
1 i\Al\orUn 1 A1 l()i\
The hearing on transportation mat
ters before the Joint Committees of
the Legislature developed some very
interesting facts.
The meeting was an attack by Mr.
Knickerbocker for the steamship com
pany on the report of Attorney Gen
eral John Rustgard.
Mr. Knickerbocker held that it
was unfair for Mr. Rustgard to
“single out” particular rates on com
modities shipped to Alaska and say
that because they were obviously
high that therefore all rates were
high. He thought that in fairness
to the company Mr. Rustgard should
have used the tariff sheet. But
when he was asked to indicate what
the freight on 2,000 boxes of crack
ers from Seattle to Juneau 'would
be, Mr. Knickerbocker refused to sav
because he was not a “tariff expert”
and he did not have the tariff sheet
of the company.
Mr. Willis Nowell then came t^
the front for the steamship com
pany and when handed a tariff shee'
said that he could not tell from that
alone what the rate would be. Mr.
Rustgard would have to give the
measurement. Mr. Rustgard then
said, “Then as a matter of fact, vou
cannot tell from the tariff sheet wha:
the freight on goods to Alaska would
be.” Mr. Nowrell answered, “No. I
must know the measurement.” Then,
Mr. Rustgard pointed out that he
could not possibly follow the method
suggested by Mr. Knickerbocker and
compare the tariff sheets. While
Mr. Knickerbocker would not admit
that the use of actual freight bills
paid for goods actually shipped was
a fair method of comparison, yet
Mr. Rustgard insisted that this is
the only method available and fair
because the bills were real and not
theoretical.
The rate per ton (weight) on 14
cases of rubber boots from New
York via Panama to Seattle is $15.00.
The rate from Seattle to Juneau
weight of measurement is $9.00. But
the freight which was paid by the
merchant in Juneau was $15.00 for
the first leg from New York to Se
attle, and $27.27 from Seattle to
Juneau.
Mr. Rustgard held that the meas
ured ton is 35 per cent greater than
the weight ton. But Mr. Knicker
bocker said that the difference was
more nearly 54 per cent. Whenever
Mr. Rustgard would get Mr. Knick
erbocker into a corner about prac
tices such as this, Mr. Knickerbock
er would shift the burden by saying
that the Shipping Board was fully
cognizant and if they did not ob
ject the public should be satisfied
that the practice was fair.
Mr. Knickerbocker said that the
low rates from New York to Seat
tle was owing to the greater volume
of traffic and that there was more
traffic than the ships could handle.
He admitted that there was a rate
war on now because there were too
many ships on the run as the Ship
ping Board had chartered so many
boats to “irresponsible” parties. He
stuck to his point, though, that
there was more freight than shins
and that the bigger companies start
ed the rate war to drive the “little
fellows out of business.” He further
said that he “understood” that there
was a meeting being held in Sav
Francisco now whereby he though"1
the companies would come to an “un
derstanding that would stabilize” th~
rates and that the freight rates
would be increased.
The pertinent remork of Mr. Rust
gard was ‘hat “Evidently t’'e steam •
ship companies do not fear the Sher
man Act any longer.”
Collings’ Cash Store
I. W. COLLINGS, Prop.
58 Mission St.
New & Second Hand
HouseholdGoods
Telephone 188
Ketchikan, Alaska