FIFTY PER CENT
ESCAPEMENT
When two years ago Secretary
Hoover’s scheme to deliver the sal
mon fisheries of Alaska over to the
big packing companies by his reser
vation system was frustrated and
Congress enacted a fishery law that
in its phraseology guarantees to
all fishermen equal rights in the pur
suit of their calling, we believed that
those right-; would be protected and
felt that it was the intent of Con
gress that the burden of conserva
tion of the fish supply should be
borne equally by all who took fish
from Alaskan waters. It was intend
ed that Mr. Hoover, in formulating
restrictive regulations should have
them apply proportionately to large
and ima'l operators of fishing ap
pliances. It was surely the intent oi
Congress when it enacted the provi
sion for a 50 per cent escapement
of salmon to the spawning grounds
that the individual or corpo.atlon
operating a trap capable of taking
ore million salmon during a fishing
season hould permit an escapement
in the same ratio as the individual
whose portable appliance is capable
of taking only fifty thousand sal
mon in a season, or one twentieth
as much a; the stationery appliance.
The outstanding feature of Mr.
Hoover’s regulations for this season,
is that almost the entire escapement
of fish is to be taken from the small
fishermen. All through the ages
this eternal conflict of might against
right has been waged. There is no
possible justification for the discrim
ination in favor of the strong and
against the weak in the administra
tion of fishery laws, but there has
never been a time in the world’s
history when the strong were more
ruthless in oxerc’sing their political
power to destroy the rights of the
weak and to appropriate those rights
to themselves than at the prese: t
time in America. We can remember
the time when tire strong and pow
erful would pretend justification of
their exploitation of the weak, hut
today there is no necessity for doing
so. It is enough to say that big
business must not be hampered in
its onward rush toward complete
ard uncontrolled monopoly, and the
individuals who may have the temer
ity to suggest that certain human
rights should he recognized are b u d
to be crushed by the “big business”
juggernaut.
Mr. Hoover stands today the
prophet, the deification of brg busi
ness, of arrogant, overbearing, un
scrupulous big bus'ness, and a p ayer
to him for equitable adjustment of
fishery laws, so that the powerful
might bear their just shave of con
servation would have the same effect
if it were addressed to a cement
image.
The many petitions sent to Mr.
Hoover by Alaskan fishermen who
have been despoiled of their rights
under the regulations prepared in
the interest of the trap monoply have
been of no avail.
The escapement provision of the
Wh'te bill must not in any way af
fect monopoly nor interfere with the
pack of the big canners. The small
canners and fishermen are poor, and
if what little they have is taken
away from them in order that big
business may continue to flourish, it
is o dy in keeping with the theory of
the survival of the fittest by gov
ernmental arrangement, which is
evidently the present policy of the
Department of Commerce.
We of the fishery class must let
the salmon pass through the waters
where we have been accustomed to
take them even though our children
suffer from hunger. The dividends
on trap investments must not be
lessered. Such is the will of Mr.
Hoover in providing for the pre
scribed escapement.
THE DICTIONARY
hi another place, we answered the
cflusions of the Valdez Miner, edited
hv Chas. H. Wilcox, when he spoke
of the “Common People” as being1
something “low, vulgar, etc.” because
the dictionary gave those words as
definitions of the word “Common.”
Here is another sample of the said
Wilcox’* brains ard habits of
thought.
In discussing the law on the case
of Canvassing Boards, the said Wil
cox argued that such Boards have
complete power to go behind the
returns and exercise judicial powers,
thus: “What does the word ‘canvass*
mean? The DICTIONARY says it
means ‘to examine searchingly; as
certain the number of or the facts
concert ing the going-over in detail;
scrutinize; sift; original meaning
being to sift through canvas; a de
tailed examination or scrutiny; an
official scrutiny, as the canvass of
votes at an election.’ ”
So now it is not oi ly Editor Wil
cox, he of the “uncommon” people,
but also Lawyer Wilcox who needs
but Webster’s Dictionary to give you
the “law of the case.”
Honesty’s Reward—“Yessuh, f’s
done proved dat honesty is de best
pol'cv after all.”
“How?” demanded his friend.
“You remembers dat dwag dat I
took?”
“Shore, 1 remembers.”
“Well, sub, I tries fo’ two whole
days to sell dat dawg and nobody
offers more’n a dollah. So, like an
honest man, I goes to de lady dat
owned him an’ she gives me $3.50.”
—The Christian Register, Boston.
WE DO
Printed on the back of a program
recently put over by the children of
the Petersburg school we note the
following:
“Do you realize that:—
“The uneducated laborers earn on
an average of $982 per year, or for
forty years a total of $39,280? The
high school graduates earn on an
average of $1,729 a year, or for
forty years a total of $69,160. This
education required twelve years of
school. In 2160 days the school add
ed $29,880 to the income for forty
years, making each day in school
worth $13.83.
“Tis education forms the common
mind; just as the twig is bent, so
is the tree inclined.”—Alexander
Pope.
What we are looking forward to:
“Every eligible student in”—Alaska
—“in the High School.” And every
eligible student in school.
Irate Gentleman: Say, who arc
you serenading down there?
Intoxicated Rastus: Nobody ’n per
icular. A’s jes’ broadcastin’.”—Se
lected.
SITKA CAMP
ALASKA NATIVE
BROTHERHOOD
Metts 8 P. M. Mondays
President: Frank Price
Secretary: A. Hope
J. E. JOHNSON
SCHOOL TAX COLLECTOR
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
QUALITY BAKERY
Quality Bread Made with Milk
C ity Float, Water Street
Phone Green 140
KETCHIKAN - - - ALASKA
----.-/
KETCHIKAN
SHOE HOSPITAL
IF WE CAN’T FIX ’EM, THROW
’EM AWAY
Your Satisfaction
Is Our Success
L. J. HUTT, Prop.
NEWTOWN CITY FLOAT
KETCHIKAN, ALASKA
v._t