WRITING ALASKA’S
BALANCE SHEET
By JOHN E. MEALS.
Suppose that some Immense syndi
cate proposed to buy Alaska, and
carry it on as a business proposi
tion, and they asked for a Consoli
dated Balance Sheet. There indeed
would be an engagement to satisfy
the most ambitious of public account
ants!
Any investigation which attempted
to calculate the value of Alaska in
dollars and cents would be an ex
haustive one, necessarily, and would
involve consideration of factors de
manding the advice of financiers; en
giners; sociologists; historians; poli
ticians and many others—it would
confront the accountant at every turn
with assets so intangible that valua
tion would be nearly impossible, and
estimates soon become guesses.
For who can set the value of the
happiness of a whole people, or say
what a man’s life is worth—or pro
phesy what is hidden beneath the
rock, or what the soil will bring
forth?
At the outset we would meet trou
ble in consolidating the records of
fifty-seven varieties of bureaus, and
attempting to translate their reports
into one coherent statement.
When we investigated the reports
of gold production, we would find
that no law obligates an operator to
report his production, and we would
conclude that the figures were prob
ably understated; we would find that
a good many furs had slipped thru
without being mentioned to the Biolo
gical Survey folks, and that the Cus
toms House figures took no account
of Parcels Post shipments.
And then we would find that but
little distinction had been made, by
the present owners between Capital
Investment and Revenue Expendi
ture, and remember that everything
is a dead loss to the Federal Gov
ernment—the theory being that it
outlives all living and material things,
and it is therefore immaterial wheth
er the new marble Postoffice is charg
ed to Investment account, or thrown
into the same bag with the salary
of a prohibition agent, except that
capitalization and depreciation would
provide employment for another Com
mission and a great many account
ants, and might be worth considera
tion from that point.
And, I suppose that even if we did
audit and reconcile all these vol
uminous reports and consolidate
them, someone with a bent for eco
nomics would suggest that the chang
mmis&mmmmmn
s^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ *^k *^* • -tJQ
f
Schallerers’
Alaska Shop
News - Stationery
CANDIES and TOBACCOS
Ice Cream Soda Fountain
KODAK SUPPLIES — TOILET ARTICLES
PERFUMES
Brunswick and Columbia
PHONOGRAPHS and RECORDS
Hand-Colored Alaska
Views .
'i
Ivory Curios - Moccasins
Indian Baskets
m
DEVELOPING
PRINTING
ENLARGING
Mail orders rceive our prompt attention
SEWARD Tel. Madison 119 ALASKA
Is*.' %
ing purchasing power of the dolla
through all these years had an im
mense effect upon the reports.
So, In the end, I think we woulc
throw the mail in the wastebasket.
And after falling to estimate th<
actual inventory value, so to speak
we would probably turn to the cap
italization of income, and our ac.
countant would say, “Here is a coun
try which has produced over a bil
lion dollars, with imports of approx,
imately half that amount. The year,
ly exports are about fifty million
and the imports—if we leave out the
values used in Capital Investment
are about half that amount.”
Then, by the use of Algebra, Cal.
cuius and the Ouija board, he woulc
compute that every one of the 25,
000 or so white men, women and chil.
dren in Alaska had an annual produc
tion credit of about $2,000. One thou,
j sand for the excess exported, anc
the other thousand for capital im
provements at home.
“The problem is simple,” he mighi
say. “The net profit or capital in
crease is about fifty millions a year
and the country is worth one and
a quarter billions because that is
the principal which would earn fifty
millions at four per cent.”
Of course he would ignore anj
question of depreciation of deple
tion—as he might very well do in
such a vast territory.
And then, I think, we would heai
a great grumble from all the com
mercial clubs. They would wire back
to Washington or Paris, or wherever
negotiations were being held, and
say: “Wait! This man is obviously
inpompetent and corrupt, and we ask
that he be removed because he hasn’t
given Alaska credit for holding God
know's how much more wealth that
is not now being touched, and we de
mand that the capitalization figures
be based upon an estimate of what
the country could produce if we had
the population which we can sup
port.”
And'they would hire more account
ants and figure that the territory
could support three million people—
the Scandinavian countries would
prove a reasonable yardstick—and
they would say that if we had two
million people in Alaska, they could
then produce net profits of four bil
lions a year, and the proper valua
tion would hence be one hundred bil
lions!
Then I think some of the financiers
would remember what happened to
Henry Ford’s stock, and others would
recall their investment in dry gush
ers, while the administration be
wailed the fact that the government
spent ten millions in Alaska last
year and only got a million and a
half back, and Alaskans would con
sider the numbers of officials sent
out without their advice or consent
and feel like the woman whose hus
band beat her up, and then grumbled
because she was “spending so much
for her own pleasures” when the doc
tor’s and dentist’s bill came in.
And finally, I imagine, one of our
financiers would pick up bis Bible
(perhaps to find a name for the new
company), and -would come across
something about faith being “the
substance of things to be hoped for;
;he evidence of things that appear
lot,” and he would spring up with
i solution to the deadlock, and say,
‘We must buy it on Faith—and then
;et busy and move the mountains.”
AUAMAAJUUIJULIIJIJIJUJULI ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
: After that it would be a perfectly
- simple case of sordid bargaining,
with which of course, no accountant
[ would be asked to soil his white
hands.
, There would be long speeches in
'Congress, and flaring headlines in
the papere, and everybody would call
everybody else a crook, and when the
deal was made, William Randolph
Hearst would apply for an injunction
to stop it, and Will Rogers would
mention it in the Follies.
Before the thing got well started,
’ the Florida realtors would be sneak
ing off to Alaska, and men would
say to their wives, “There must be
something up there,” and they would
buy a fur coat and a couple of Oli
ver Curwood’s novels and start
North.
The syndicate would market its se
curities all over the United States,
and when thousands of people began
to ret little dividend checks, the
stock would go up higher than the
rent of a modern apartment—espe
cially if the syndicate happened to
remember that one can’t plant ap
ples today and pick them off the
trees next summer.
In the end perhaps the question
' of valuation would never be settled,
■ as the tax experts would find some
| way to assess a capital increase, and
i in any event, so much of the produc
| tion would continue to be in brains
land ideas and healthy bodies; in
1 prosperity and contentment, and for
such a number of people, that only
a very young and cocksure account
| ant would attempt to place a cash
! value upon it.
It is an intriguing subject, and
1 while Alaska’s balance sheet may
never be written, it wmuld be an en
lightening and inspiring thing to try.
I think it would demonstrate to the
world that Alaska is somewhat in the
position of the lady who worked all
week washing clothes, and gave the
money to her husband; when she
asked him for a dollar to buy some
more soap, he said, “Huh, not with
MY money!”
i Activity among the quartz prospec
i tors is evidenced by the amount of
work accomplished along Palmer and
Resurrection creeks during the sum
mer. Tunnels have been extended and
other improvements made. Altogether
this branch of mining has an encour
aging outlook for the future of the
1 district.
A persual of “Russian History of
the Kenai Peninsula” will reveal to
any one not familiar with this vicinity
that during the early days when Rus
sia possessed the Territory, a sea bat
tle was fought off the coast of Kenai
j in which hundreds of natives died.
! The bodies of those slain were depos
| ited in a nearby gulch. The rains of
I the past century have washed down
j much of the gulch with the result that
occasionally a skeleton tumbles down
to the creek bed.
The Alaskan peninsula or rather the
southwestern extremity of this big
body of land and the adjacent Aleu
tian islands, offer a solution of the
chief problem of the wool growers of
the Western States, now cramped for
grazing lands for their flocks of sheep.
In this part of Alaska, the climatic
conditions are not rigorous and there
are thousands upon thousands of acres
of grazing lands adapted to sheep rais
ing—all to be had for the taking.
! The j
■ ■[
Pioneer Barber j
Shop of Seward I
FRED MILLER, Prop. • ij ,
A Modern Shop with expert barbers !■
OPEN SUNDAY MORNINGS j; 1
BATHS jh
Seward - - - - Alaska || 1
YOUNG BUSINESS
MAN IS AMONG
LEADERS TOWN
RECENT TRIP TO STATES BROT
HOME FACT THAT SEWARD
IS COMING METROPOLIS
In the spring of 1915 there arrived
in Seward a little man with a big
stride. That fall he opened a cloth
ing store in the present location of
the Marathon Cafe. Six years later
he moved, lock, stock and barrel, to
the present location, which property
he has ^ince acquired. T/he gentle
man referred to is
i .--y;.
1
LEON URBACH
who owns today, the largest exclu
sive gent’s furnishing store in South
western Alaska. And the business is
growing steadily.
A more staunch booster for the
Seward and Westward district would
be hard to find. He has backed up
his faith in Alaska by substantial
purchases of real estate, including a
splendid residence, and this, after
returning to Seward last summer
from an extensive trip to the States.
In civic enterprises he ihas always
been among the first to put his
shoulder to the -wheel of progress.
Mr. Urbach is an ardent follower of
Isaac Walton but his favorite out
door sport is hunting the famed Al
aska bear.
In 1919 Mr. Urbach made a visit to
his former home in New York, and
came back a married man. Mr. and
Mrs. Urbach have two fine sops,
and whenever Mr. Urbach cannot
be found about his store he can gen
erally be located at home romping
with his sons and heirs.
In 1907 he joined the Masonic
lodge at Lewiston, Idaho; in 1916
he ran for Mayor of Seward and was
defeated by a scant seven votes; as
sisted in starting the Seward Ma
sonic lodge, No. 219. This was in
1916; from the years 1918 to 1926
he was Worshipful Master of the
local lodge; he has been an active
■member of the Seward Ghamber of
Commerce, and one of its organizers
in 1916; at present he is the secre
tary and treasurer of the loval vol
unteer fire organization. Mr. Ur
bach is a member of Nile Temple,
Seattle Shriners, 32nd degree Mason.
He is also a member of the Knights
of Pythias and a member of the Los
Angeles Masonic club; he is Worthy
Patron of the Eastern Star, and, in
conclusion is also a member of the
Seward Athletic Association and the
Seward Tennis Association.
When asked about /his political
status, Mr. Urbach said he was a
staunch Republican and a great ad
mirer of Dan A. Sutherland, delegate
tp Congress from Alaska.
His one weakness, he admits free
y, is the love for his new eight tube
radio outfit, which, according to his
iosts of friends, is said to be one of
he finest in this part of the Tern
ary.
The total enrollment of children
u Territorial schools was well over
1,000.
Digging for clams last summer on
he beach at Nuka Bay, a rich quartz
edge was uncovered.
So decomposed is the quartz ledge
>n one of the eight claims of the
Iheechako and Copenhagen group at
7uka Bay that sluice boxes were
sed last summer to recover the gold.
The “selfish” are those who grind
o axes for us.