ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 307 



FUEL. 



lu ray report of 1891 I spoke of the dift'erence of opinion existing as 

 to the issue of coal to widows, orphans, aged and infirm inhabitants, 

 between the Government and company agents. It was claimed by the 

 lessees' agent that under the terms of their lease "necessaries of life" 

 applied only to food, and not to clothing and fuel. By mutual agree- 

 ment the question was referred to the Department for decision, and it 

 was further agreed that the company would furnish in sufficient quan- 

 tities fuel and clothing to them pending the decision and in conformity 

 therewith This agreement was only i)artly complied with, the com- 

 pany agent on St. Paul Island refusing to issue over 100 pounds of coal 

 per week to a family during the coldest weather in winter. This made 

 it necessary to supplement the company issue of coal by an issue from 

 the Government coal in order to keep this class of indigent i)ersons 

 from suffering. 



In the instructions of May 2, 1892 (p. 8), appears the following: 



Your especial attention is called to that clause of the lease which states that the 

 company "will also provide the necessaries of life for the widows, orphans, and aged 

 and infirm inhabitants of said islands who are unable to provide for themselves," 

 and you are informed that the Department understands tiiat this clause includes 

 widows and all other persons, regardless of age, sex, or condition of parentage, who 

 are physically unable to provide for themselves. The "necessaries of life" referred 

 to therein includes fuel as well as clothing and subsistence. 



This decision of the Department is questioned by the agent of the 

 lessees, and I infer from his letter to Mr. J. Stanley-Brown, the Gov- 

 ernment agent in charge at the time (Brown's report), that a claim is 

 to be presented at some future time by the North American Commer- 

 cial Company for all coal furnished by them to the widows, orphans, 

 and aged and infirm inhabitants. 



The question of weekly allowance of fuel to each family has arisen 

 this year and should be provided for in next year's instructions. Tiie 

 matter ought to be easily and satisfactorily adjusted, for whatever 

 amount of fuel the Government agent may find necessary to issue 

 weekly to the family of a native sealer, the same amount should be 

 provided each week by the company to a family to whom, under the 

 terms of their lease, the lessees are to furnish the "necessaries of life." 

 It takes as much fuel to cook the food and warm the house of one fam- 

 ily as it does that of another, and of a necessity the issue of coal must 

 be regulated by the season of the year and the condition of the weather. 



GOVERNMENT AID TO THE NATIVES. 



Owing to the small number of seals killed by the natives in the last 

 few years the savings of former years of most of them were exhausted 

 at the close of the year 1891, and I set forth in my report for that year 

 that it would be necessary to extend aid to keep them from suffering. 

 Mneteeu thousand five hundred dollars was appropriated by Congress 

 at its last session for that purpose, and a careful and economical ex- 

 penditure of the same has been the desire of the Government agents. 

 How to extend relief unto the needy and not have it appear that the 

 Government would in the future support them in idleness was the 

 chief object to be arttained. It was with this end in view that compen- 

 sation for watching on the rookeries and for labor in making improve- 

 ments on the islands was inaugurated, and the agents report that their 

 efforts in that direction w^ere fairly successful. As to the sufficiency or 

 insufficiency of the appropriation I am unable to report at the x)resent 



