Douglas Island news., 1912-01-17
The NOrthIand The Latest News, from Reliable Sources, Concerning the Great
 North, Condensed. Information for Everybody.

Halibut is high.
 Fifty men are working on the new cannery at Ward Point, near Wrangell. The Sixteenth Infantry will be trans ferred from Fort Seward to the States next summer.
 The number of Alaska insane persons cared for in the asylum was l45 oil July l6 last, as against 12O on the same date in 1910
 Lieut.. Col. Wilde P. Richardson, president of the Alaska road commis- sion, fell on the icy pavement at Wash ington, D. C., and broke his ankle.
 A WraDgell preacher took for his text the words "Getting Hot." which we may take either as up to-date slang, or hint as to the place some of the Wrangell folks are bound for.
 The Grand Trunk Pacific By, which has almost completed it's route from Winnepeg to the Pacific coast, will build large floating dry dock at Ru- pert, with complete electrical and machine shops in connection.
 The Seward Gateway says that late last fall Measrs. Sargent and Bayley and their crews; of the United States geological survey, acting upon orders from pr. Brooks, made complete sur vey of the Alaska Northern line, as far as mile 59.
 The Skagway Alaskan declares that the suit of the United States against the White Pass & Yukon Ky. has been dropped. In this case the White Pass was accused of shipping in Canadian laborers to take the jobs away from American longs horemen at Skagway.
 The North Pacific Wharves & Trad ing Co.,, better known as the Moore's Wharf Co.,, of Skagway, has asked that an order of the court be issued enjoin ing the City of Skagway from handling coal. The case has been set for final hearing at the Skagway term in June.
 In his annual report Gov. Clark says that the density of the white popula- tion in Alaska is about to 19 square miles. Of the fourteen incorporated towns in the territory In 1910, five in- creased in population between 1900 and ! 1910, five decreased, and four are towns which did not exist in the former year.
 There are now fifteen incorporated towns in the territory, one of them (Iditarod) having been added this year. The nine incorporated towns which caused an assessment of property to be made and a tax to be levied this year report total assessed valuation of S7 ,669,O47. The tax rate of these towns rauges from oDe-half of one per cent to two per cent, the average being l.6 per cent.-Governol' report.
 Next to mining, the fishing industry is the most productive in the territory, says the Governors report. la the calendar year 1910 there were employed in the several branches of the fisheries | 1562O persons, an increase of 3,032 over 1909. Of these 6,836 were whites, 4,l47 Indians, and 4.637 Orientals. The most gratifying feature is the large increase in the mum Der of whites and natives employed, as all the natives and many of the whites are permanent residents of Alaska. The total investment in the fisheries last year was S20,711, ,422.
 The singular lack of certain laws applicable to Alaska-all or nearly all of which laws have been enacted for or extended to every other territory under the jurisdiction of the United States is a matter which should be neglected no longer, says the Governor in bis report. These measures, which belong to minor class of legislation, but are important absolutely, are AS follows: 1. Territorial quarantine law. ?. Sanitation and public health. 3. Reg istration of vital statistics. 4. Super vision of banks. 5. Compulsory school |