The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-07-18
HUMAN ELEMENT BELL AvERS, TO
 BE CONSIDERED
Listens to Pleas for Modi- fications to Aid Resi-
 dents Earn Living

tion possible, and the welfare of those who depend upon fishing for their livelihood will be one of the factors governing future regula- tions, declared Frank T. Bell, Con- missioner of Fisheries, during the open hearing held here this morn ing in the Hall of the House of Representatives. xs
 T am going to give every con- sideration to the human element. The people of Alaska have a right to the opportunity to earn living and so far as I can in admins tration of the fisheries it will be given them," he declared.
 Is We'll Attended
 The hearing was well attended by the public, by representatives of the fishermen and by packers them selves. While the main topic was the salmon fishery, Mayor I. Gold stein discussed briefly the seasonal limitations on the halibut fishery. w. L. Paul, G. w. Skinner of the Alaska Pacific Salmon Corpora ton, and Nick Beg of Peril Strait Packing Company, m ade state mentS.
 MT. Pauls argument was directed toward modification of existing regulations so that seine fishing would occupy larger proportion of the field than at present. He asserted that the poverty among the Indians today is largely the result of "inhuman and cruel regu- lations" of the Bureau of Fisheries which had put the Indians of Southeast Alaska on the beach and broke the best spending portion of it's population
 Data For Future
 ! Introduced by H. l.. Faulkner Chairman of the Legislative Com mittee of the local Chamber of Commerce, Commissioner Bell said frankly he had no intention of lchanging any of the current regu- lations unless it should be neces- sary to correct manifest injustices of serious import. T am seeking information now to guide me in the issuance of regulations for 1884, and before that is done, l want all the information I can get from Alaskans as well as other interests connected with the in- dustry."
 He opened the meeting with a general invitation to anyone pres ent to make any statement. re- commendation, or criticism desired He paused for a minute or two, awaiting a response. When no vol lunteers offered, he remarked dry fly: This is about the best meet ing yet Apparently everybody is satisfied"
 Mayor G0ldstein Opens Mayor Goldstein then asked for consideration of the situation in the halibut industry. He said fears were entertained that district num- Der three, comprising most of AL aska, would be closed early this Fall, due to the increase of fish taken from it this year. He said it was rumored that fish really talk en in district two had been re- ported as having been taken in the third district which had resulted in an apparent increase larger than it actually is.
 He urged that the Commissioner cause an investigation to be made of the rumors. The Commissioner replied that he was not in posi- ton to investigate rumors but he would welcome any facts that might give him basis on which to proceed. The halibut fishery, he pointed out, is regulated by the International Fisheries Commis- sion and at the time he came to Alaska he was not a member of that organization.
 Paul Describes Conditions
 MT. Paul spoke at some length on conditions in Southeast Alaska among the Indians. He asserted their poverty today is not the re- suit of depression that has brought hard times and suffering to millions throughout the world but to unjust regulation of the seine fisheries. A people whose favorable trade bal ance is 100 per cent ought to be the richest in the world, but in Alaska where that is the case. they are among the poorest.
 The policies pursued by the Bu- reau of Fisheries in the past, he asserted, are directly responsible for this state of affairs. He said he hoped a reversal was in the making. The old policy under MT.