The Alaska daily empire., 1919-08-20
Rapine vs. Reason
(Ketchikan ChrOr

(Ketchkan Chronice)
 Comes the announcement from San Francisco or the Alaska Packers that their boats are returning from the wealthy waters of Alaska in ballast; that the salmon pack for the year smaller than in any previous season in the history of the organization. The inference may even be drawn rom the an nouncement that the Alaska Packers are losing
 Can there be any doubt the reason? Do the Packers officials wonder why their boats are returning the North in ballast? Does any canneryman, fisherman, merchant, or resident of Alaska have to ask why? It is not miracle (, or Everyone knows the It is greed, lack of foresight and wanton destruction
 The selfshness reaches out in many directions It grasps the canneryman the troller, the seiner, the merchant. They want the fish, the money that the fish will bring, The lure of the gold has blinded their
 It is written that they shall all go down to de- struction, financial destruction unless they become instilled with the rule of d
 The fisheries of Alaska that have produced hun dreds of millions of dollars that have fed untold that helped manknd-they doomed. Only and foresight miracle can them. And the day of miracles has gone.
 Millions of dollars in property, canneries, small fishing vessels, large ships and equipment tied up in the fisheries They will all be lost And far worse the of supply of food for coming gen. erations will be wiped out. The shame of 1t! And all for greed.
 practically every stream in Alaska? Will anyone deny that the canneres, knowing that those seiners are robbng the streams, are buying their fish, and glad get them? Will anybody deny that too many traps are built close to the mouths of streams that they are the 1000 or tnS ana future generations? The facts undeniable They common knowledge.
 And to add to it all, administration, Repub lican Democrat, has shown itself big enough or knowing enough to put stop to it.
 Fisheries to the north of Ketchikan dis appointment for 1919. Fisheries of the whole Pa cifc Coast will be tragic disappointment within few years.
 Yet, it is not too late This destruction be avoided. This shortage of fish be remeded here before is too late and in other districts the production be brought back to normal, will be, must be-
 The farmer who prays for his crop be success does not reap the harvest that his neigh bor does who hoes out the weeds; will the praying of the fishermen for good of salmon get the pack that may be obtained by proper meas ures of preservation and propagation.
 The Federal administration of the fisheries would be joke if the matter not such a serious one It has been an utter failure, a disaster Politicians have harangued and "experts' have investigated" and have written volumes, uninteresting and un- avang. Too many swivel chair gentlemen have regulated"
 Now the time has arrived when the fishermen meaning all those interested directly or indirectly should take hand They should do it now this season They should get together, at least attempt to hit upon some means of conserving the fish, and send representative and sizeable delegation to Washington to get results If their appeal is not heard, they then should demand, a unit that this Territory be given opportunity try and solve the problem
 Such a joining of hands should take place in ketchfkan. with the others engaged in the business in Alaska, and not in Seattle,f or San Francisco or Chicago Alaska Is the place and Alaskans are the people most vitally interested Ia fact brought homo forcibly by this years experience.
 Cessation of the footing of the streams hatcher ies fairness and farsighedness the things that needed
 Get together!