The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1903-07-30

Puget Sound salmon packers, i'm
censed by the violation by British Col
umbia packers of an agreement made
this season as to the price to be paid for
sockeye salmon in American waters,
have determined to 'tcarry the war i'll
to Africa" and retaliate by buying fish
on the Fraser river, where the provin-
cial packers have, hitherto had no
American competition. The annual
"runn of salmon is about ten days to
two weeks earlier in American waters
than it is on the Fraser and before the
fish become so plentiful in the river as
to furnish an abundant supply for the
canneries there the cannerymen send
their steamers and buyers to this side
and obtain large numbers of fish from
our waters, buying mostly from purse
seiners, many of whom are outfitted
by or with the aid of the Fraser pack
ers. They are also the actual owners
of number of traps, "beating the
devil around the stump by having
the trap licenses issued in the flames OF
American citizens in their employ, and
companies likewise incorporated, it be-
ing contrary to law to grant such
licenses, or certificates of incorporation,
to foreign citizens. The fish purchased
by them are cleared through our GUS
tom houses in the same way that all
articles of merchandise for export are
cleared, and there is therefore an APP
proxlmately correct record of the num-
Der of fish purchased and the price
paid. There is, a Canadian tariff duty
upon fish imported which amounts
urder their regulations as to size and
weight 10 p or cents per fish, but
nearly all of this is rebated to the pack
ers upon the presentation of certificates
showing that the fish so purchased are
exported from Canada, SO the matter
of duty is of little consequence as it
does not materially affect the price.
The American duty upon salmon,
fresh, sated or picked, is l cent per
pound and there has hitherto been no
allowance for drawback, that is no re-
bate allowed by the government upon
imported fish packed in our canner-
les and subsequently exported. Such
duty is, of course, prOhibitlve with
out the privilege of drawback entry,
and for this privilege it seems never to
have occurred to Puget Sound can
nerymen to apply until few days ago
when the idea suggested itself to Re-
ceiver McGovern, of the P. P. & N.
and P. A.. +. Cos. A meeting of the
Fairhaven cannerymen was held and
all Joined in telegram to the sscre
tary of tho treasury asking that the
drawback privilege be granted and as
Collector Ide, of the Puget Sound dis
trict, has approved the application it is
confidently expected that it will be
granted, subject only to the determine
ton by test of the percentage of allow
ance to be deducted for waste, which
the cannerymen say is 40 per cent; that
is to say, sixty pounds, weight of
canned salmon can be packed from 100
pounds weight of fresh salmon just as
they come from the water. With the
drawback privilege, covering so per
cent of the duty paid, and an allow
ance of 40 per cent for waste, our can
nerymen will be in position to do unto
the Fraser river packers as they have
done unto them this season. At the
beginning of the season an agreement
was entered into by the cannerymen
on both sides not to pay over 124 cents
per fish for sockeye salmon purchased
in American. waters, whether from
purse seiners, gill netters or lndepend-
ent trap owners. 1t is alleged, how
ever, that almost Immediately after the
purse seiners ion the salmon banks, of
whom there are now about 900 operat-
los seins, began to catch fish the buyer
for the British Columbia Packers As
ISOLATION raised the price to 15 cents.
But for this action 1t is mot probable
that local cannerymen would have
taken steps to invade a'the eneuy's
territory" this season. Sunday the p.
A. F. Co., which has immense traps on