confined almost wholly to the coastal regions of the first and third judicial divisions. From 35 to 50 per cent of the labor in the first judicial division, which embraces all of southeastern Alaska, is secured locally from the resident population, about 10 per cent of those so employed being native Indians. The balance of the employees are imported from the States for the fishing season only. Of those so imported approximately 45 per cent are engaged under what is known as the orientalcontract system. Owing to the remoteness of many of the large canneries and the sparsity of the resident population in the third division, where the largest percentage of the fishery labor is employed, from 15 to 20 per cent of the total labor is secured locally, the balance being imported from the States. Of the labor secured locally in the third division, from 50 to 80 per cent are native Indians. From 35 to 45 per cent of the labor imported into the third division during the fishery season is contract labor. WAGES Fishery-Wages paid general cannery labor secured locally in the first division range from $2 to $3.50 per day for females and from $3.50 to $5 per day for males. In the third division wages for females range from $1.50 to $2.50 per day and for males from $2 to $5 per day. All other labor is paid on a monthly or seasonal basis, according to the following scale, in addition to which, in most instances, board is furnished by the operators: Wages per month in the fishery industry Mining.-Labor employed in the mining industry in Alaska works under widely varying conditions that are controlled both by the location of the operation and the nature of the work. General statements as to wage scales are, therefore, difficult to make. In the placer-mining industry wages for general labor range from 50 to 80 cents per hour and board. The hours of labor per shift range from 8 to 10 and the cost of board per man per day ranges from $1.50 in the Cook Inlet region to $4 in remote districts, such as Shushana and Koyukuk. The wages for skilled workmen range from $5 per day and board for oilers in the Yentna district to $13 per day and board for dredge masters in the Iditarod-Innoko district. The wage scales for coal miners is quite uniform. Underground coal miners and timbermen receive $8.60 per day; underground laborers, trammers, and rope riders, $7.80 per day; and outside labor, $5.50 per day. Fire bosses are paid $250 per month and foremen from $250 to $300 per month. Deductions from the above wages are made for board at rates of from $1.50 to $2 per day. Except for small winter drift-mining operations, prospecting, and development work, placer mining in Alaska is, of course, confined to WHITES 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 the open season, which usually extends from May or June to the freeze-up in September or October. The lode-mining industry is confined principally to the coastal regions of the first and third divisions, where it gives all-the-year employment to approximately 1,500 men. The wage scales for an 8-hour shift at the larger lode mines of the coastal region range as follows: From the above wages deductions are made for board and room and for hospital fees and medical attendance. Deductions for board TOTAL BIRTHS AND DEATHS 1917 1918 1919|1920|1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927|| range from $1 to $1.50 per day and for hospital and medical attendance from $1.50 to $2.40 per month. At the larger lode mines and at the coal mines the custom of letting contracts for much of the underground work is prevalent. HEALTH CONDITIONS A summary of data and reports received from physicians, nurses, and Government teachers throughout the Territory shows that there were a total of 462 cases of contagious disease reported during the year, as follows: Measles, 228; German measles, 49; diphtheria, 18; chicken pox, 16; gonorrhea, 15; influenza, 24; meningitis, 1; syphilis, 6; scarlet fever, 3; typhoid fever, 3; tuberculosis, all forms, 15; and whooping cough, 94. Fourteen cases of diphtheria were reported at Nome, doubtless a continuation of the epidemic prevalent there during the past two winters. One million units of antitoxine are now in the hands of the assistant commissioner of health at Nome, which will be sufficient to prevent any spread of the disease. A severe epidemic of measles, complicated with whooping cough, occurred in Hoonah the early part of the winter. There being no physician or nurse in the village, the disease was not curbed until it had spread widely and resulted in 14 deaths. A total of 155 cases were reported. The United States Public Health Service has continued its policy of examination and vaccination of all cannery employees coming to Alaska, with most satisfactory results. Many cases of contagious disease have thus been kept from reaching the isolated communities, not the least important of which are the venereal diseases. It is to be hoped this service will be continued indefinitely. A tabulation of reportable diseases occurring in the various communities, as well as a compilation of deaths and births, is given below. On the whole, there has been a marked increase of births over deaths, and health in the Territory has been excellent. Report of contagious diseases for fiscal year June 30, 1927, to June 30, 1928 UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE The activities of the Public Health Service in Alaska consist chiefly of furnishing medical relief to its legal beneficiaries at the following authorized relief stations: Third-class stations-Cordova, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Sitka, Wrangell. Fourth-class stations-Nome, Petersburg, Unalaska. Beneficiaries include seamen from documented American merchant ships and from vessels operated by the Coast and Geodetic Survey, Lighthouse Service, Bureau of Fisheries, and United States Army. Personnel of the United States Coast Guard, lighthouse keepers, and injured Federal employees who are patients of the Employees' Com 13850 28-7 |