The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-28
CANNING Of SALMON FURNISHES
work FOR THOUSANDS
OF MEN
CAUGHT IN PUGET SOUND
All Companies Now Engaged in the
Business to Be CONSOLE
dated Into One
Concern
n D. AEING successfully foate

OUT lot lines OF trade which have not yet
been pressed into a combination, after
| the new century fashion, says the New
York Tribune The teothsoma salmon Of
the Pacific coast, from the Columbia
! river to Behring sea, has for years teen
tie object of fierce commercial warfare.
With the formation of the Pacific Pack.
ing ana Navige~< n company, capitalized
at $3,eO0eG0 this warfare IS 10 end. Fight
ing companies to the number of at least
hfteen, VIII be merg d into the trust.
| and the stockholders will ct ase to worry
or to cut each others threats for the
possession of markets
Nearly all OF the Big companies in Alas
ka and Washington which are net al
ready in the Alaska Packers assoeia-
ton combination have signified their IN
tentlon OF joining the salmon trust. 1t
Is estimated that they viii pack 10000
cases this year, and that without adding
materially to the canne1ies already in op-
Grafton the pack can be increased to 2,50},-
| 00O cases by next season. BeS. deS the
canneries, fish traps, wheel AMI trap
nets, the trust abscrbs a large fleet of
steamers and sailing vessels The Pacific
steam Whaling company has half a dozen
large steamers, to say nothing of a
score Of cannery tugs. Other COM
panies operating in Alaska own steamers
and large sailing vessels
The Alaska Packers association with
headquarters at San Francisco and fish
ing grounds all along the western coast,
is the rival of the new trust, and
| lively competition is expected ]. K
Arnsby q Co., who represent the as ocia-
ton in this city, say that with the pur-
chase OF big canning plant at Ana
cortes, which has just been constructed,
the Packers association will put up so
per cent Of the worlds supply of salmon
this year. A fight between the old and
new trust would be interesting but Wall
street men believe. it will be avoided
On Puget sound and the rivers flowing
into 1T salmon fishing and canning have
! been carried on successfully for years.
! Within the last five years the increase
In the number of canneries has been
! large, and the output has. become enor-
/ NOUS. The eanReries are built, as a rule
IN the center of the various fishing
grounds, and vary in size according to
| the extent of the grounds. Nearly every
form of apparatus known to be adapted
to salmon fishing has been brought into
use. Trap nets were the latest to be in
| troduced, but have Become recognized as
most effective3in salt water, and on them
the trust will depend for the greater part
of it's catch. The nets are hung on heavy
frames of permanent construction. They
are placed in shallow water along the
path taken by the salmon on their way
| from the sea to the spawning rivers.
There are no trap nets in the Straits Of
Juan de Fuca because the salmon do not
| skirt the shores of that channel. The
nets are found, however, on the southern
end of San Juan island, in Deception pass,
Canal de Haro, Rosario strait and various
bays in the vicinity Purse nets, which.
like the traps require considerable out
/ lay for operation, are used farther UP the
sound for the later running species of
salmon. The drag seine is used by the
individual sherman, who brings his catch
to theSnearest cannery in his own boat
and sells the fish for a few cents apiece.
The phenomenal abundance of salmon,
the perfection to which their preparation
has been carried, and, above all, the
firm hold which the canned product has
secured in the markets throughout the
world, are the reasons which the United
States commissioner of fish and fisheries
gives for the wonderful growth and sue
cess Of the salmon industry.
Six species are recognized-the qHinnat,
sockeye, silver, humpback, dog and steel
head salmon The auinnat is highest
in quality, and, with the steelhead, stands
most in favor for the fresh trade. The
cannerfes would use nothing but sock
eyes could the species be obtained in
sufficient numbers to satisfy their de-
mands The other varieties are used
to complete the pack, and form the
cheaper grades. The sockeye salmon
runs from six to. ten pounds in weight,
and is popular with the canneries be-
cause of the depth and stability of it's
color and the firmness of it's flesh. The
-socl1eye run is at its height in July and
August and in those months the greater
part of the salmon pack is taken. Every
fourth year the run of salmon is much
larger than usual according to the sta
tistics of the last twenty years. The
largest run ever known was in 1897 when
the fish were taken in such quantities
that the Gamers could not handle more
than half of the catch. Another phe-
nCmenal run is expected this year, ac-
cording to the four-year scale. On this
expectation the salmon trust is depending
fo1 a good start.
Most Of the labor employed in the can
neries of Washington and Alaska is
Chinese, 1t is furnished by the contract
oIS living in San Francisco, Portland and
Seattle. The Chinese are exceedingly eX-
pert in every branch of the business, and
work with great rapidity. They will
wO.k for wages which would hardly sup
port white man, even II 1t We're pos
sible to secure the amount of white labor
necessary in the large canning districts,
in view of the temporary nature of the
work Nest of the fishing is done by
white men, however, and all positions of
trust in the canneFieS are held by them.
Many of the Alaskan canneries are out
fitted from San Francisco A month be-
fore the season opens a sailing vessel is
loaded with supplies, including hundreds
OF tin cans and the necessary shipping
cases. From fifty to a hundred Chinese
cannerymen are taken on board, and the
ship sails direct to the cannery. Most
of the Alaskani canneries are at the
mouths of the big rivers, and the ship
is able to anchor in a protected harbor.
She remains until the catch has been
completed, and returns with a cargo of
canned salmon. 1t is not expected that
the tr;lst VIII continue this plan of
operation, which is rather expensive.
Steamers will doubtless be used. and the
Ganneries visited from time to time dur
ing the season and relieved of the pack
as it is made.
There will be several thousand Wash.
ington fishermen who will watch the
growth of the salmon trust with a great
deal of interest. They gre the persons
who will be most affected by the com
bination. These mon, mostly from Sweden
and Norway, sell their catch to the DIFF
ferent cannerieS instead of working for
wages The price which they receive for
their fish varies from % cents to 10 cents,
according torthe season and the amount
of competition between buyers. In sea-
/ sons of extraordinary runs prices fall as
low as or s cents The Washington
Indians spend three months of every
year at salmon fishing, and always sell
cheaper than the white fishers.
The largest cannerieS acquired by the
new trust are at Peint Roberts, in Wash
ington. near the British Columbia line
The largest salmon catches are made in
this vicinity. It is an ideal place for
reef and trap net fishing. and well in the
line of the SOcNeye run. In 1865 the Unis-
ed States made a treaty with the In
dams giving them the perpetual right 10
used in Washington was placed off Can
merry Point, the southeast corner OF Point
Roberts IN 1850, by john Waller. He was
followed by fishermen from the Great
a O II TlaI1t h tn arfTa ff,.x,