BUM OF
The Bank of Service
J Safe Deposit Boxes For Rent—Gold Dust and Bullion Handled at Reasonable Rates
4 Per Cent Paid on Savings Deposits
Drafts Sold on All Foreign Countries
Collections Handled Promptly
MEMBER OF AMERICAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION
Deposits Over a Quarter of a Million and More Than One Thousand Satisfied Customers
Bank of Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Strong Plea for Statehood
Is Made by Dr. F. M. Boyle
'
-****-****-*-* +
+ By DR. FRANK M. BOYLE. ■¥
-k Doctor Boyle has been ror ■*
■¥ 20 years a resident of the -K
-k territory, during which time ■¥
-K he served as a member of -k
M the legislature and as mayor -k
•k of Valdez. *
********** +
Bought from Russia in 1867 for
$7,200,000 and comprising an area
one-fifth the size of the United
States, the acquisition of Alaska
was made with a view of extending
national jurisdiction and republican
principles’ in the American nemis-|
phere, and the purchase of the ter
ritory ranks as one of the greatest
real estate deals in the world's his
tory. Commemorating the 49th an
niversary of the transfer of the ter
ritory to the United States rrom
Russia, Representative .Tames Wick
ersham recently introduced the
Alaska statehood bill.
With a population at the present
time of approximately 90,000 people
the greater proportion of whom are
American citizens, we ask the pri -
ilege of having a voice and a vote
. in making the law's to which we are
* subjected, as one of the inalienable
rights declared in the Declaration
of Independence, a right at present
enjoyed only in a limited way.
In the acquisition of Alaska sub
stantially the same obligations were
assumed by the United States as in
the purchase of Louisiana and Cali
fornia. The inhabitants of the ac
quired territory were to be admitted
to the enjoyment of all the rights,
advantages and immunities of citi
zens of the United States. In fact,
American statesmen who conducted
and concluded the negotiations for
the purchase from Russia employed
the form used in the acquisition of
the great Western states. There
fore Alaska stands exactly equal in
respect to its entrance into the body
of the nation, and the United States
is bound by exactly the same prom
ise made to Oregon. Washington,
California and other Western states
^ in complying with Alaska’s request
for admittance into tlie union.
Seuboard of 3,000 Miles.
Tiiis embryo state, while noncon
tiguous, is, notwithstanding, entit
led to the same consideration and
treatment as its elder brothers and
sisters received in their youthful
struggles for a start in life, for it is
a part of. the body of the nation.
Alaska's vast coast line extends
30.000 miles in length, a large por
tion of which is washed by the .lap
anese current, exercising a marked
influence upon the temperature of
tthe southern coast-line region, mod
erating the climatic conditions,
which are similar to what prevail
summer and winter upon the middle
Atlantic seaboard between Boston.
Mass., and Richmond, Va.
On the southern portion of the
territory on the great Gulf of Alas
ka nature has provided the largest
and grandest harbors in the world,
as easily protected and fortified as
Philadelphia or San Francisco.
Numerous interior harbors, unriv
aled in strategic position for ship
ping and naval use, branch inland
from these great outer harbors, up
on which are located the principal
commercial centers; and, favored bv
the warm Japanese current, ice nev
er forms, which cannot be said of
Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
Alaska extends for a distance of
3.000 miles west of the Pacific sea
board of the United States directly
north, but tributaray to the linees of
ocean travel to the Orient and with
innumerable harnors suitable for
naval bases and coaling stations.
Naturally defended by mountain
sites for fortifications, the future
strategic value of this territory of
the United States in maintaining
our prestige on the Pacific coast
cannot be overestimated and is. in
fact, beyond the computation of hu
man arithmetic.
Grandeur Excels the World.
The Nipponese are aptly styled
the Prussians of the East. They are
undoubtedly aware that the Ameri
can navy does not possess a 60-da.v
supply of coal on the Pacific and it
I is a recognized fact that they nave
I looked with longing eyes for years
upon the greatly increasing produc
tion of our territory, holding, as it.
does the key to the domination of
the Pacific.
The great Alaskan Gulf, Includ
ing Bristol Bay, Bering Sea and
: thousands of tributary streams,
abounds with fish of a superior
quality—salmon, halibut and cod
' predominating. The value of the
salon pack alone for the year of
1U15 exeeedg ¥18,000,000. On the
shore line in many places shellfish
and other seafoods are plentiful and
the people living on the coast can
! rightly say, “when the tide is out,
the table is set.”
The slogan applied to the Ameri
can tourist, "See America First,”
should be made particularly to ap
ply to Alaska, for in the grandeur of
its scenery and tne magnificence of
its mountain ranges, glaciers and
volcanoes, Alaska, without exception
excels the world. Mount McKinley,
arising to a height of nearly four
miles, 20,664 feet, is only one of a
dozen or more peaks which overtop
the highest in America. The just
ly famous Vesuvius, of Italy, can be
duplicated in Alaska, for we have
many active volcanoes.
Abounding In Game.
The country abounds with lakes,
rivers and mountain streams, afford
ing the finest fishing and hunting in
the world. The moose and bear of
Alaska are the largest specimens
known, while caribou, deer, moun
tain sheep, goats and water fowl
furnish game for the sportman
with minimum of effort.
The total mineral output and the
sea and fur production, since Alas
ka’s purchase from Russia up to the
present time, exceed the sum of
$600,000,000. And the volume of
merchandise shipped between the
United States and Alaska for the fis
cal year 1915 was more than $70,
000,000.
All Known Minerals Exist.
It is not onlv a land of gold but
platinum, tin, iron, lead, and, in fact
all the known minerals exist and
await development; for, so far, the
country has only been superficially
explored and prospected. The larg
est copper deposits in the world are
now being developed, the output of
this commidfy alone for the year
1915 being valued at $20,000,000.
Along the southern coast the exis
tence of large mountain ranges, pon
deroiis glaciers and snow-covered j
peaks are apt to give one unfamiliar j
with the complexities of tlie topo- 1
grapV and climate of the territory
the impression that Alaska Is a re
gion of inhospitable mountains, gla
ciers and perpetual snow, a coun
try without farming possibilities. j
The fact is, based upon the prelim- j
inarv surveys made by the rnited
Statees Geological Survey and re- j
connaissances by the Department ot'
Agriculture, that there are millions
of acres of level land in various
parts of the territory, topograph!- i
rally and climatically well sotted to |
farming. With the equable sum- ’
mor climate, long hours of sunshine :
and the exceptional quality or the
soil, farming in tlie future State of
tlie \orth is destined to become a i
mainstay of the country.
The climatic conditions are very
similar to what prevail throughout
Canada, with the exception thar we
have from 17 to 22 hours or sun-1
shine during the months of .Tune,
July and August. This necessarily
stimulates and puts vigor into all
forms of plant life, which responds
so readily to the magic touch of the
sun.
Agricultmal Products Thrive.
All the hardier vegetables thrive:
potatoees are a staple crop and their
importation from the states, quite
general in the past, has virtually
ceased, and the celery raised in the
interior sections excels the famous
Kalamazoo product. In certain io
caliites wild berries are in amin
dance and the recent productions of
cultivated strawberries have proved
successful. Several of the towns In
the southeastern section of the ter- j
ritory and in the interior, holt! an
nual agricultural and horticultural
fairs, where the finest variety or
grains, grasses, vegetables and flow
ers are exhibited.
To establish further the n< sslbili- j
ties of agriculture a comparison |
with Norway, Sweden, Finland and
the Province of Archangel in Rus
sia, all countries lying in fhe same
latitude as Alaska and covering ap
proximately the same area, has been
made. It is established that the to
pography, climate, gei! and plant life
are very similara. These countries
in T-'uiope sustn!n a population of
1 1,000,000 neofde and have more
than 8,000,000 acres of land under
cultivation, producing cereals of ail
kinds; the total yield annually of
wheat, rye, Barley and oats exceed
(ng 195,000,000 .bushels, a state
ment based im dependable statistics.
In addlton, live stock returns for
these countries show horses, 1,500,
000; cattle, 6,100,000; sheep, 4,
000,000; and hogs, 14,000,00; cer
tainly, with the development or ag
griculture as in Europe to supple
ment our mining, fishing, and other
industries, Alaska should support a
population o£ 1.1,000,000 American
peopTe.
In the past a factor which has
naturally handicapped the develop
ment of the Pacific coast has been
the absence ol’ coal of a suitable
quality. The American navy sta
tioned on the Pacific is dependent
upon British coal for its sustenance
or such coal as may he shipped from
the Atantie s,-aboard at an expense
of $9 per ton for transportation
alone; con'seqt ntly, we maintain
our navy at an enormous expense
for fuel and for want of a ready
supply of coal on the Pacific coast,
in case of war. we might as well be
deprived of this particular or de
fense.
Reconnaissance surveys conducted
by government engineers show that
Alaskan coal fields cover an area of
20,000 square miles, and oxnaus
tive tests conducted by the navy
prove the coal to he of a superior
quality particularly suited for nav
al purposes. W’ithfn another year
upon the completion of the govern
ment railroad, a portion cf this vast
coal area will be made accessible,
thereby stimulating the manufactur
ing, mining and smelting industries
of the great Pacific Northwest. The
extent of the anthracite coal depos
its has not been yet fully determined
but it is estimated by government
geologists at about one-sixth or the
total known area.
This coal which occurs largely in
the Matanuska fields, tributary to
the government railroad now build
ing, will compare favorably with
the Pennsylvania or Virginia pro
duct, and the development of these
fields will give immediate employ
ment to thousands of people.
The building of 1,000 miles of
railroad, authorized by Congress and
now under course of construction
will prove to ’ 3 one of the greatest
factors in rendering accessible the
vast interior of Alaska and the es
tablishment of new mining and bus
iness centers. Already new towns
are springing up along the railroad
right of way, and several thousand
homesteads, comprising agricultural
land, each 220 acres in area have
been taken up by settlers ana are be
ing gradually placed under cultiva
tion.
While as yet strictly pioneer con
ditions prevail and settlements are
largely confined to communities m
the vicinity of mining camps, for the
country is largely inaccessible, ow
ing to the absence of adequate roads
yet at the same time 'here is no
country in the world today which of
fers such opportunities for the young
man properly endowed physically
and with the right spirit of stick-to
it-ness.
Alaska with her unlimited and va
ried resources and vast possibilities
of mining, agriculture and com
merce, seeks admission to the fam
ily of states as the tilth star or the
union. It is ctrtainly an inalienable
right of the people of this Northern
Empire that they be granted the
same privileges and immunities now
enjoyed by the people of the is
states of the unioon and that they
be admitted upon an equality.
With statehood the development
of the latent wealth of Alaska will
he materially hastened, and the re
sults within the next few years will
amaze the world. Idle people have
faith in the country. They are
building homes, developing resourc
es, ti' ing up homesteads and estab
lishing permanent settlements. They
do not seek special favors, but ask a
square deal.
Alaska needs statehood because
Congress which now governs it, and
the various official governmen bu
reaus in Washington are situated
thousands of milese distant. They
know little about the territory or
the wants and requirements of the
population and have not the time to
give the intelligent consideration and
attention required.
BAXTER’S NEWS DEPOT
Fancy Box Chocolates, Fruit Tab
lets, Bon Boris, Fancy Package
Goods, “Sweets Candies of Quality,”
BUSINESS CENTER.
Courtesy My .Motto. Remember
the place. Robarts’ Billiard and
Bowling Parlors.
Fancy Groceries at Ohlsson's. Pri
ces right. 5th, between 1 and K.
7-14-tf.