The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1939-03-23
UNITY ON THE BOUNDARY

1t is an old saw that a little cooperation viii
accomplish what great deal OF random effort will
not As nice an example of effective cooperation
as we could wish is the working of the new Coopera-
tive Boundary Patrol which is running down game
and fur violators on the Alaska Yukon border
In the field less than week. this group of but
four officers has already got their man. Jack Doan,
believed to be the kingpn of the fraudulent wolf
bounty claim racket Dolan picked up at snag,
Y. T. and convicted at Dawson Tuesday on four
counts of violation Of the Yukon laws. Conviction
meaning what it does in His Nfajestys domain Do
Ian wiz nos De running yukon wolf pelts across the
border again for some little time.
The Alaska Game Commission has known for
a long time that the Territory paying out good
bounty money on struggled wolf and coyote skins.
The bounty bill for the biennium just ending ran
to more than s165OOO which includes $4,000 in
deficiency appropriation which made by the
LEGISLATURE when it became apparent that the 100000
regularly appropriated would fal woefully short of
the mark Now even this extra s85,OOO fund has
been exhausted and Territorial Treasurer oscar G.
Olson has been authorized to dip into the sl65Ooo
appropriated for the 1894 biennium which does
not start until April l.
This is lots OF money to devote to a single pur-
pose of Government but Alaskans would feel it were
well spent if it accomplished the desired result of
reducing the Territorys wolf and coyote population
and thus cutting down the depreciation for which
these animals are responsible. That it has not ae-
complished this purpose is obvious Far from re-
ducing the number of wolves in Alaska, it is doubt
ful whether under the bounty system the Territory
is holding its own.
Many believe that pslts struggled across from
the Yukon Territory or from British Columbia, in
neither of which places is any bounty paid have
drained away large share of Alaskas bounty pool.
An indication of how big a business this bounty
claim fraud can be- is furnished by the fact that SO
wolf skins, with the leg bones attached, were found
In possession OF Jack Dolan at Snag, Y. T. There
is only one reason under the sun for taking the
trouble to leave the leg bones Yukon wolf skins
That is to smugge them into Alaska and collect S2t
bounty on each Canadian officers, when they cut
the leg bones off Doans 80 pelts this week, saved
the Territory OF Alaska exactly s160O which is tidy
little sum although probably only drop in tbs
bucket of bounty fraud.
If the good work of the Boundary Patrol can BIZ
continued so to put the fear of both Alaska ano
Yukon law into would-be vioators it is likely thai
great change will be noted in the bounty situation
in this Territory with Alaska's money being spent
to clean out the wolves this side of the border
is intended, rather than to go as a gilt TO
ring of international fur smugglers.
Alaska has furnished two Wild Life Agents ane
an airplane toward the Patrol with the Yukon Ter
ritory supplying two Royal Canadian Mounted Police
officers Alaskas stake, naturally, is larger thar
the Yukon's in seeing that the border is patrolee
properly although Wild Life Agents have done yeo
man service in the past in pointing up fur SNUG
Cling which has been to the financial detriment O
Canada.
Alaskans wish every success to the four men who
operating in the snowy passes of the international