The Saber and Scroll
which restricted freight shipments from foreign vessels . “ The Skagway Commercial Club ( in a letter to the Juneau Empire ) strenuously protests against the passage of any bill that will curtail steamship service to Alaska . Senator Jones ’ amendment to H . R . 10 , 378 providing for the elimination of Canadian steamship service will injure busines interests of entire Southeast Alaska .” 52 The main concern of Club , according to an earlier editorial , was a new shipping tax that would be levied on Canadian lines . The editorial stated that it was simply a tax that American shipping lines were already paying , “ while Canadian ships come and go without charge … It is not likely that a tax of $ 14,000 a year would cause Canadian lines to quit operations in Alaskan waters .” 53 In 1921 and 1922 , very little activity toward promoting Skagway was published despite increasing numbers of visitors . In 1922 , the only specific mention of the Club is due to the arrest of the Club president , Colonel W . L . Stevenson , and a brief article on the incident of apparently mistaken identity . 54 There were several resolutions passed 55 and the issue of the foot bridge over the Skagway River at Fourth Street was a concern . 56 After 1923 , any search for the Skagway Commercial Club comes up empty and The Daily Alaskan ceased publication in 1924 .
The Skagway Commercial Club was formed to promote Skagway to summer tourists , creating an image of Skagway that capitalized on its stunning and beautiful location at top of Lynn Canal and the historic point of entry for the stampeders on their way to the Yukon interior in search of gold . Although made up a businessmen and women such as Herman Kirmse , the Keller Brothers , and Martin Itjen , and some local citizens , it did not adequately function as a promotional organization for Skagway . It languished for unknown reasons for years at a time , or at least there was no indication of its meetings in the local newspaper . The Club considered ways to make Skagway more attractive for residents and visitors by demolishing blighted buildings and other important aspects of life in Skagway so , the Club was very active in the community . Its existence was part of the need to capitalize on Skagway ’ s location and history to gain economic stability and provide a unique experience that was not available in other locations such as the White Pass & Yukon Railroad excursions and the stories of its colorful past related to the Klondike Gold Rush history .
Bibliography
The Alaska Daily Empire , April 10 , 1920 . The Empire still operates in Juneau today . The Alaska Daily Empire , May 18 , 1920 . The Alaska Traveler ’ s Guide , July 12 , 1900 .
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