Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-11-24
WORCESTER
FRIDAY. NovEMBER .4,Is41.
4 RcnorI from AInsI,n.

They have in California an alaska CONNER.
cml Company of which bad stories are told. It
is a fur company operating in certain Stands
connected with our great arctic empire, but uu-
dcrtakcs anything that promises to make them
profitable The special domain of which it has
secured a lease consists of the islands of st.
George and st. Paul. 1t succeeds Russian
company whose stock and fixtures it purchased;
and one Of the conditions on which it holds the
lease Of these islands, is that it shall furnish the
native inhabitants residing there, with clothing,
medicine, and the means Of educational and re-
liaious improvement. This contract, it is said,
is constantly violated by the managers of the
COMPANY. They do not furnish the supplies;
while, on the other hand, they seek systematic
cally to bring the people into debt for supplies,
so as to be able to hold them in kind of slavery
or peonage to the company. Consequently, the
people inhabitug the islands are oppressed, and
complain that they are subjected to kind of
imprisonment.
The inhabitants have made several attempts
to have the case brought to the attention Of con-
gross. In 1862 they prepared petition and
tried TO have it reach Washington, but in vain.
They made another attempt, in 1871 and dc
livercd a copy Of their petition to a government
official, but the watchlul company contriycd to
make the effort abortve. Then they sought to
have statement of the case published in the
San Francisco newspapers; but only one o.
them printed it, aud this paper having been
"seen" by agents of the company Immediately
afterwards, apologzed for having printed the
he,
Iany as great and sanity institution. These
facts have been communicated to the Nation
"from a very respectable source in san Francis
CO.." and they certainly indicate that the pro-
ce5dings of this Alaska Commercial Company"
should be investigated by the government
The company has exclusive control Of the seal
fisheries, and of the fur and oil business, in the
islands named. There would be no good rea-
sons to complain Of this, if it would do faith
fully what it is bound to do, by the contract
which gives it this monopoly. But the company
has great advantage over the poor people Of
the Islands, and can Cypress them if allowed to
do SO. Their experience shows that it is very
difficult TO get what is doue up in the Alaskan
islands honestly reported to the government and
the country. Ifthe statement of facts is correct,
the company should be deprived of its lease as
soon as possible. Under any arrangement, the
native inhabitants of the islands should be
allowed to catch seal, collect furs, and deal
in oil, in their own way, without interference
from any quarter. As it is, they can deal only
with the company which prescribes what they
may do, pays its own price for skins which they
are not at liberty to sell to anybody else, fails to
furnish the supplies and does every thing in its
power TO reduce them TO abjcct dependence and
hopeless paupcrsm. We agree with the Nation
that congress should institute prompt and
searching inquiry into this matter. The COM
pany has power to infict such wrongs as are re-
ported; and it is quite POSSIBLE for it to have IN
scrupulous managers who would not hesitate to
d. what is charged.