Valdez weekly prospector., 1908-08-27
THAT SALMON TAX.

meeting in Valdez in June, quoted in the Prospector, alleging that all D. H. Jarvis ever did for Alaska was to lob- by through congress bill to use the tax on canned salmon for the encour- agement of hatcheries, thereby taking away large revenue from the Alas ka school and road fund. Mr. Anderson or Miss Anderson, as the case may be, who evidently has something to learn about law, asks:
 "Will you kindly explain to me how that can be. Alaska has three classes of school. The native schools under the supervision of the Bureau of Ed ucation, supported by direct appro- priation from congress. The Terri torial school under the supervision of the Governor of Alaska and supported by an appropriation from congress. The Schools within the limits of i'm corporated cities and supported by one half the revenue collected from liquor licenses? l believe it is true that the appropriations for the school funds these last two years have been larger than at any time before.
 "lt seems to me that Alaska would stand n far better chance of obtaining recognition at the hands of congress- if the newspapers would stop their petty quibbling, cut out personal spite, and devote the columns of their papers to the discussion of the prin- ciples of the issne which effect the country at large "
 The PrOspectOr wishes to be fair with A. F.. Anderson because A. F. may stand for Amelia Elizabeth, or something like that, and the owner of the name may wear Merry Widow hat and with d mouth full of hair pins dress before d glass in the morn ing. It will therefore refer A. F. to the act of congress of January 27, 1905, which reads az follows:
 That all moneys derived from and collected for liquor licenses, occupa- tion, or trade liccnsos outside of in corpOrated towns in the district of Alaska shall be deposited in the Treasury Department of the United States, there tO remain as Il separate and distinct fund, to be known of the Alaska fund.-" and to be wholly de- voted to the purposes hereinafter sta ted in the district of Alaska. One fourth of said fund, or SO much there of az may be necessary, shall be de- voted to the establishment and main tcnancc of public schools in said dis trict; five per centum of said fund shall be devoted to the care and main tcnanco of insane persons in said dis. trict, or so much of said per centum as may be needed; and all the resi- due of said fund shall be devoted to the construction and maintenance of wagon roads, bridges and trails in said district"
 Under this provision half the tax of cents case upon canned salmon went into the school and road fund of the territory. The bill lobbied through by Capt. Jarvis transfers this Accent tax to fund to be used for the en- couragemont of private salmon hatch cries. It gives the packers a rebate
 
 mon fry liberated from their alleged hatcheries. No provision is made for official supervision of this hatch cry industry and reports of it's output are left to the packers them selves. The grand jury of the Janu- ary 1908 term of the district court ol the Third division reported that the salmon packers arc apparently using tho law to swear themselves out of the salmon tax altogether. It found that the Alaska Packers Association in 1907 paid balance of 32 cents into the office of the clerk of the court as tho amount due at 1 ccnts case af- ter doducting the rebates claimed for the liberation of fry from it's purpor- ted hatcheries, offering no proof of the same.
 Even though the packers hone stly report on the work of their hate her ies thoso industries benefit nobody by themselves, and the diversion of the salmon tax is q bounty to the pack CTS at the expense Of the Alaska school and road fund.
 This, of courso, has nothing to do with "tho principles of the isstio, which effect tho country at large"
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