The Ketchikan miner., 1915-04-29
FROM FRIDAYS RALLY
 A RAY OF HOPE

is concerned is not nearly so dark as many imagine. The general impress si0A is that the Administration through tht Secretary Of Commerce had stated IL there ~as no chance of bringing t fisA markets of the Pacific to Ret ehikan IS compared With Rupert. That sucl is nc. the case is seen in the following communication which ar. peared in the current issue of the Pacific Fisherman, published in Seat tie. The closing paragraph of the let ter is the one in which we are in tefested and this paper in common with those who have gone Into the haibut situation believe that war out will be discovered.
 Secretary Redfield and The Order
 In-Council
 Washington, April, :, 1915 Editor. Pacific Fisherman:
 Your favor of the 29th ultimo. en- closing copy of Canadian order-in- council dater March 9 1915, is re- eeived, and has been given careful thought. The subject has many bear ings and it may be well to look at those which now occur to me as most important.
 In certain phases the action of the Canadian government is advantageous to the people of the United States Ii it is true that the Grand Trunk Pacific is the shortest line from the Alaskan fisheries to any of the mark es' of the United States. then. clearly, the opening of the port of Prince Rupert in the freest way, and the use of that railway, are to the advan- tage alike to the American fisherman of the Alaskan coast and to the American merchants and consumers who are supplied more expeditiously wiEh their products. Anything which fa silitates the rapid transit of a food product to it's market, particularly one so perishable as fish, is of advantage alike to the fishermen and the con. suner; so that the measure is one Which would make the opening of the port of Prince Rupert and the use of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway ad- vantageous to Americans. We need not dwell upon it's advantages to Can adians. They are obvious. And we al admit that it is proper for them to follow their own concerns.
 On the other hand. it seems appar- ent, and has been courteously and ably suggested to me by committee of Alaskan and Seattle gentlemen inter ested in fisheries. that this action.
 opening a readier access to the
 lrkets than now exists, may adver- y affect the existing ng-interests at Se- Attle and Ketchikan. If I recall cor fectly, suggestion of retaliatory leg lslation was made. though not of a very definite character. I think re- taliatory legislation is rarely, if ever. wise, and I doubt either it's wisdom or its praeticability in the present case, in view Of the unquestioned ad- vantages to sonle Americans of the proposed action.
 By reason of its geograp phical position in respect to the Alaska fishing banks inaugurated by the railroad connec- tions recently established at Prince Rupert, it is apparent that Seattle is at a disadvantage. Other things be- ing equal, the proximity of a port to the fishing grounds will determine its use and the most practical way of in surfing it's perInanence is to develop fisheries in it's vicinity.
 While the work conducted by the Al batross on the coast of Washington and Oregon last year did not indicatte the existence of banks even remotely comparable in size to Chose of Alas ka. it nevertheless located ground on which a limited fishery may be conducted. and. as is perhaps more important. it raised the question of the source of supply of these fish and a presumption that more exten- sire banks may exist off the coast. While the Newport Bank probably could be depopulated by one trip of the entire Seattle halibut fleet. never tleless the development of number Of such banks would insure moder- ate supply of fish, of which the ports of Washington and Oregon could not b. deprived by any conceivable de- velopment across the border, and which woul be theirs by virtue of natural not artificial, conditions.
 The Bureau of Fisheries deems these censiderat. sas of such importance to tie permar m prosperity of the fish cries of northwest coast of the United S 3 that it will detail the Albatross take up this work i'm mediately sfter July l, and 1t has under c1s lefition the employment