4:2 ALASKA FISUERIES AND FUR INDUSTRIES, 1911. 



STATISTICS OF THE CANNING INDUSTRY. 



Persons engaged. - The fisliermen engaged this year numbered 

 4,395, of whom more tlian one-half were white. The shoresmen, 

 nearly all of whom are employed in the canneries, numbered 9,948. 

 All nationalities show increases as compared with 1910. The trans- 

 porters numbered 443, a decrease as compared with 1910. In all, 

 14,786 persons were employed, an increase of 2,355 over 1910. This 

 is an increase of nearly 19 per cent over the previous year, while the 

 increase in investment is less than 8 per cent. This variance may 

 in part be accounted for by the additional help needed in the instal- 

 lation of the new plants, but is perhaps more largely due to the 

 increased number of employees required to handle the heavy run of 

 fish. It will be noted by comparison with the report for 1910 that 

 the increase is mainly in shoresmen, about two-thirds of the total 

 increase appearing in that class. 



Another significant item is the increase in the number of Japanese 

 in southeast Alaska, nearly one-half more than 1910, while there was 

 almost no increase of this race in the other sections. Nearly 40 per 

 cent of the total number of persons engaged in the industry in 1911 

 are whites, while only ab )ut 22^ per cent are Indians, the same per- 

 centages as in 1910. Ab )ut one-third of the total number of fisher- 

 men employed are Indians. In southeast Alaska over 70 per cent of 

 the fishermen are Indians; in western Alaska almost no Indiang are so 

 employed. This is due partly to the peculiar conditions in western 

 ^Uaska and partly to the nature of the natives. In southeast Alaska 

 the employers are in touch with the sources of the labor market and 

 a defection of their fishing gangs would not ruin the season's work. 

 In western Alaska tlie industry is dependent upon reliable and respon- 

 sible labor to furnish the raw material f(ir the cannery. Unfortu- 

 nately the western native d')es not yet rank in this class, and the 

 canner is dependent almost wholly upon his imported labor. As the 

 native becomes more responsible and learns the nature of contract 

 he will find more ready employment in the canneries. The employers 

 of labor would be only too ready to be relieved of the expense of 

 transporting help to and from the place of employment and to be 

 able to take on or lay (^ff their workmen to meet the exigencies of the 

 varying abundance of fish. 



