The Alaska daily empire., 1921-03-26
NO CURTAILMENT SALMON PACK BY
 LIBBY COMP ANY
U. 5. Commissioner Axelson Says Cannery at Yakutat
 To Work at Capacity.

There will be no curtailment in the output of the Yakutat cannery of Libby, McNeil & Libby, according to E. M Axelson, United States Commissioner, of Yakutat, who ar rived in Juneau last Thursday to spend two or three weeks here. MT. Axelson says the company is mak ing plans to put up a larger pack than last year, which aggregated about 64,000 cases, chiefly red salmon.
 The cannery tender Libby Maine, which recently landed the first crews and supplies at Yakutat, is now on it's waw to Seattle to load similar cargo for the cannery at Kenai after which it will return to the Sound and outfit for trip to the Bristol Bay canneries of the company Libby. McNeill X Libby will be one of the few Alaskan con- cerns preparing for normal can ming season. The plant at Taku Harbor is expected to put up it's usual pack.
 "The cannery at Yakutat gives employment to at least 300 people, counting both whites and natives, said MT. Axelson, "so we are look ing forward to a good season there
 Poor Mail Service
 4 "Our greatest trouble continues to be the wretched mail service. It rh m ciu of ho Libby Maine this month brought us our first outside mail since Hast Christmas, and the Christmas mail was the first since SeptemberS. We are more fortunate with our out going mail. which we dispatch on fishing boats whenever they call at the place.
 Ten years ago, when I first came to Yakutat. the mail service was considerably better than it is to- day. Steamers used to call therej several times a month during the fishing season and once a month during the winter We may be off the main houte of travel but we are a regular Alaskan community of sev- eral hundred souls and are entitled to better treatment than we are get | ting"
 No Oil Activity
 Commissioner Axelson says Yaku- tat is nursing no oil boom and re- fuses to get excited over any prom ise of activity along that line He says some indications of oil have been found in the vicinity but his opinion is that the geological form | ation of the mountains in the Mt | St. Elias district is not very favor | able for carrying oil in commercial | quantities.
 Native School Problem
 In addition to holding the office of United States Commissioner at Yakdtat, Mir AXelson is the teacher of the Government school and a | preacher, serving as missionary for the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America, Asked for his views on the question of ad- |. hitting natives to the public schools |. of the Territory, MT Axelson said
 Judging from the experience de rived from ten years close associa- | tion with the natives of Alaska, Il am obliged to confess that in my opinion the time is not ripe for such step. And it may take a l generation-perhsps two-before the natives will be ready. I have a great real of respect for the native who has many admirable qualities and I think I understand him pretty well. but much work remains to be done before he and the white chil- dren can associate together in the public schools to the benefit of either race or of the Territory as a whole
 "The greatest obstacle to the de velopment of the natives as a race is the liquor traffic Just so long as they are permitted to get hold of booze-that they seen to have little difficulty in obtaining now-they will never make the progress that will entitle them to a higher social status. Kill the liquor traffic and the native has a good chance In this fight the natives should have the earnest support and cooperation of the white people of the Terri tory"