fact to the Seattle press recently when he said
“Appearances are that there will be fewer fisher
men operating in Alaskan waters this year than
ever before. This doesn’t look so good on the sur
face, but as a matter of fact, it’s a good thing for
the future of the fishing industry. It’s a form of
conservation.”
Honestly, the less O’Malley talks the better
for himself and the less will he expose the “divine”
power which glides his “conservation” measures.
The more he talks the louder does he brand him
self for the kind of thing that he is.
——-x
FARMERS VISIT ALASKA
-x
A group of 70 Pennsylvania farmers were on
the Steamer Alaska recently on a visit through the
territory. It is a noteworthy fact that they are
only on a visit and have no intention of stopping
oft to start farming in Alaska.
We would advise any farmer desiring to locate
a homestead in Alaska to forget it. The Bureau cf
Forestry is against any such policy as building up
a farming territory. They would much rather sell
off the 17,000,000 acres of land with timber re
sources to the pulp mills. There is perhaps more
chance of a swag split through dealing with large
corporations than dickering with petty larceny
homesteaders whereby bona fide settlers would
come to Alaska.
Recently some Oregon farmers got in touch
with the Forest Bureau with the idea of coming
tc Alaska to homestead. They were advised that
they could not take up homesteads in 160 acre
tracts as provided by law—as is generally cus
tomary in any new county. They could homestead
cn five-acre tracts. Needless to say the Oregon
farmers are not interested in 5-acre homesteads
and therefore they have dropped the idea of com
ing to Alaska to settle.
Along the Alaska railroad, the Agriculture
Department has expended thousands of dollars in
promotive effort—sending Mr. Snodgrass out to
the States—to get farmers to come to Alaska to
s'-'11 le. While the Department of Agriculture makes
effort, and spends money to bring settlers to Alas
ka—the Forest Department and the Fisheries De
partment are doing everything possible to drive
out the settlers. And then the government won
ders why Alaska does not grow.
Attorney General John Rustgard
Mr. Rustgard is a candidate
for reelection to the office of at
torney general which office he
has now held twelve years. This
year he must explain not only
what he has done, but more im
portant to the fishing population
of this Division, what he has
NOT done.
In 1927, at his own request, he
appeared with Walstein G.
Smith and opposed the bill to
tax the big catches of fish traps.
In that hearing, he took the side
of the fish trust and was respon
sible for defeating the bill which
would have been of great help to
seiners.
In 1929, Representative J. E.
Johnson, of Ketchikan, was a
bout to introduce a resolution in
the legislature directing the at
torney general to test the fishery
laws of 1924 which says that
‘there shall be no exclusive grant
of the right of fishery” but'
every regulation shall be of gen
eral application. Lawyers are a
greed that the fish trap is an
exclusive form of fishery and un
lawful under the laws of th3
United States. Mr. Rustgard per
suaded Mr. Johnson NOT to in
troduce that resolution. Why?
In 1931, Senator Wesley L.
Jones got President Hoover to
nominate Mr. Rustgard to be the
federal judge at Nome. But the
man who persuaded Senator
Jones to do this was P. E. Harris
of fishery trust fame, big can
neryman, big trapman. Harris
has one fish trap that catches
over one milllion sockeye yearly,
on which he would have had to
pay a decent tax instead ^ the
mere $200. which Rustgard pro
cured for the trust in 1929 when
he voluntarily appeared against
the trap tax bill. The man who
asked the courtesy of the floor
lor Mr. Rustgard was Nate
Hardy, a Democrat who has since
been rewarded by appointment
as fish warden altho at the time
he did not know the difference
between a catfish and a humpy.
Why did P. E. Harris endorse
Mr. Rustgard?
Mr. Rustgard, Republican can
didate, recently accused Repub
lican President Hoover of con
spiracy when Mr. Hoover sent
Rustgard’s name into the Senate
for the judgeship at Nome. Mr.
Rustgard said that Messrs Hoov
er, Mitchell a'ld Wickersham
merely wanted to give him a
temporary office at Nome to get’
him out of his office to which he
said his reelection was merely a
matter of counting the ballots
and when that was done, the
office at Nome would be abolish
ed and Rustgard would again be
a private citizen—the real ob
jective of Mr. Hoover. Mr. Rust
gard in “protecting”