ALASKA INDUSTRIES 323 



sugar, crackers, rice, molasses, jellies, yeast, condensed milk, and dried 

 liuits. White people would consider it a hardship to be deprived of 

 auy one of these commodities. On the islands a spasmodic attempt is 

 made to take away, first one commodity, then another, in the hope of 

 l)romoting temperance. This results in the innocent suffering for the 

 guilty and in the production of an intoxicant a little viler for the absence 

 of the prohibited article. I am not at all certain that the condensed 

 milk furnished for the sustenance of their babies is not diverted from 

 its proper object and used in the manufacture of quas. Under present 

 conditions human ingenuity seems unable to devise an effective method 

 of breaking up this habit. These natives possess so few amusements 

 that the use of quas is a diversion and its very illicitness renders its 

 manufacture more enticing. 



The only remedy seems to be the doubtful and tedious one of elevat- 

 ing them to a degree of intelligence above such things, in which event 

 they would hardly remain contented seal clubbers on a remote island 

 in tlie center of Bering Sea. In their present financial condition, sup- 

 plied as they are by the Government with the necessities of life, the 

 adoption of any system of fines or the employment of punitive methods 

 is impracticable. Even suppovsing they itad the money, they would 

 gladly pay any amount rather than forego the use of liquor, and any 

 attempt at control by compulsory labor is ineff'ective; for under the 

 present system the Government requires all to labor in order that there 

 will be less disastrous results from its enforced charity. 



FUEL SUPPLY. 



Coal furnished hy the Government. — In addition to the 80 tons of coal 

 supplied under the terms of the lease, the company has fnrnished at its 

 contract price 2li0 tons more, making a total of 300 tons which has been 

 distributed to the two islands, in the proportion of 200 tons to St. Paul 

 and 100 to St. George. In my Judgment this is a satisfactory amount 

 of fuel lor the islands, but it will be fully demonstrated by the expe- 

 rience of the Government officers during the coming winter. 



Coal furnished by the company. — Besides this fuel for general distri- 

 bution to the natives the Department has ruled that the ''necessaries 

 of life" referred to in the lease, and which the company has bound 

 itself to furnish to the widows, orphans, and indigents of the island, 

 include "fuel." Upon this ([uestion I found that, in the absence of a 

 definite statement in the instructions as to the amounts to be supplied, 

 there existed a difference of opinion between the Government and tlie 

 company officers as to the obligation of the latter, and that the whole 

 matter had only been partially affected by this ruling of the Depart- 

 ment. This difference of opinion furnishes another illustration of the 

 embarrassments which arise from the absence of a full and clear inter- 

 ])retation of the lease. To this ruling it was found tliat the superin- 

 tendent of the company objected on the ground tliat when they had 

 furnished the 80 tons of coal they had fulfilled the terms of the lease, 

 as the widows, orphans, and indigents are sharers in the benefit of that 

 80 tons. The company, however, furnished a certain amount of coal 

 last year, as will be explained later. There arose last year and again 

 this the question. If coal is to be furnished by the company, what is the 

 proper amount? Inquiry developed the fact that on one hand my pre- 

 decessor claimed he had arranged with the company's superintendent 

 (Mr. Tingle) to give to these widows, orphans, and indigents all the 

 coal actually needed, while^ on the other hand, the superintendent wiis 



