FISHERY INDUSTRIES. 



17 



. dollars per annum, ten dollars per annum. The 'annual business' under this section 

 shall be considered the gross amount received for the product and for storage of produce 

 for others. 



"Tenth. Fish-Oil Works: Using Herring in whole or in part in the manufacture of 

 fish oil; two dollars per barrel. 



"Fertilizer and fish-meal plants: Manufacturing Fertilizer and Fish Meal in whole 

 or in part from herring; two dollars per ton." 



The legislature also appropriated $80,000 for use in the construc- 

 tion and operation of fish hatcheries, and for the protection and care 

 of the natural spa^vnin^ grounds in the Territory, and also provided 

 that the governor of Alaska shall appoint a board of three fish com- 

 missioners, of which he shall be a member ex officio, whose duty it 

 shall be to direct the work of propagating fish and caring for their 

 spawning grounds, with authority to appoint a general hatcheries 

 superintendent who shall select the locations of hatcheries and pro- 

 vide a working force for each establishment. The general hatcheries 

 superintendent is also directed to supervise spawning operations, and 

 where it is possible to collect more eggs than the hatcheries will 

 accommodate, to take and plant this excess quantity in the beds of 

 rivers and creeks. 



In respect to the increased license tax referred to above, the Terri- 

 torial treasurer of Alaska wrote the Commissioner of Fisheries on 

 April 10, 1918, as follows: 



The purpose of the Territorial Legislature in increasing the tax rate on the several 

 classes or varieties of canned salmon was, by agreement with the fisheries interests, 

 to provide for a "fish-hatcheries fund;" the moneys from such fund to be available 

 for "building and operating fish hatcheries and for the protection and care of natural 

 spawning grounds in the Territory of Alaska." Figuring that the increase would net 

 an additional $40,000 per annum, both branches of the 1917 legislative assembly 

 passed a measure which provided for the setting aside of a fund in amount of $80,000, 

 same to be available for expenditure for the purposes mentioned during the biennium 

 ending March 31, 1919. However, although passed by both houses, the bill was mis- 

 placed and was not transmitted to the governor for approval until several days after 

 adjournment; the legality, therefore, of the measure is cjuestioned, and to date the 

 fund provided for has not been set aside nor have any disbursements been made in 

 this connection. 



TERRITORIAL LICENSE TAX. 



Information has been received from the Territorial treasurer of 

 Alaska in respect to tax collections made for the fiscal year ending 

 December 31, 1917, under the several fisheries schedules of the 

 Territorial tax law. The following is a statement of receipts as of 

 April 9, 1918: 



Fishery License Taxes Collected by Territoky for the Fiscal Year Ended 

 Dec. 31. 1917. 



99805°— 19- 



