The Chitina Leader
FIFTH YEAE
CHITIXA, ALASKA, TUESDAY, JULY 27, 1915.
NUMBER 40
ADMIT MISTAKE
' IN SELECTION
OFTERMINAL .1
R. W. Wiley, the original locator in
|*ie White River country, who staked
Billy James, discoverer of the rich
placer claims in the Sushanna, arrived
Sn Cordova today. He is accompanied
by Marcus Beebe, of Boston, and M.
Voorihees, of Portland, and they will
leave on tomorrow’s train for the
interior, where Mr. Wiley will spend
a couple of weeks looking after his
vast mining interests.
“I have just returned from a visit
back east,” said Mr. Wiley to a
Times representative, “and among
those who have made a study of
Alaska the sentiment is prevalent
that the government has made a mis
take in the selection of its terminus
for a trunk line. There is no tonnage
for a railroad to the westward and
this is especially true since investiga
tions have proven that the reported
pfch quartz strikes in the Broad Pass;
section have proven a myth. The
ground has been experted and no1
values found and thus is another of
the political reasons for selecting
Seward as the terminal, exploded.
“The backbone of the territory is
the mineral belt at the head of the
Copper, White and Tanana rivers. Iv
fact it is the only section in Alaska
that offers any tonnage for a railroad.
It is generally believed in Washington j
and New York that after the road’
from Anchorage to the Matanuska
coal fields has been completed that
the government will direct its atten
tion to the opening up of the Copper,
River valley. The only thmg tnat
stands in the way of Cordova becom
ing the biggest town in Alaska is the
lack of transportation to develop the
mines tributary to your town.
In my opinion there will eventually
be a railroad built from McCarthy,
via Scolai Pass, to the head of the
White river. The distance is only 58
miles, and although there is consider
able grade in places the road would
not be difficult to build, as there are
no glaciers to cross or engineering
feats to overcome. After crossing
Scolai pass, the road can be built for
§10,000 a mile.”
Mr. Wiley was the first prospector
to locate claims in the White River
country. It was in 1902, and against
the advice of friends he took a horse
«d fifteen dogs and set out for that
explored section. After a long and
hard trip he reached his destination,
where he spent the winter. On
Beaver river he located a copper
claim, but on account of the high cost
of packing he has been unable to de
velop the property sufficiently to put
it on a shipping basis. The cost of
driving a tunnel was from $35 to $41
a foot, but in the face of this draw
back he has a tunnel 149 feet long on
his property. The North American
Trading & Transportation Company
has done considerable work on 30 or
40 claims for patent purposes, and
numerous tunnels from 30 to 50 feet
long have been driven. There are a
•jjpmber of other copper properties in
the White River country, all of them
carrying good gold values.
-:o:
MINING INSPECTOR SMITH
GOES TO MATANUSKA
Sumner Smith, federal mining in
spector for Alaska, who went to
Anchorage on the Alameda last week,
later proceeding to Matanuska accord
ing to instructions from Washington.
Mr. Smith does not know the real
reason for his bein gsent to the local
fields at the present time but seems
jo think it can have no other meaning
ban to have him present with the
government surveyors when they
*‘art the work of surveying the coal
elds into tracts for leasing. He even
eems to be under the impression that
-,ie surveyors are already at work
'.ere. Mr. Smith has had a busy sea
t recently inspecting the mines in
various camps throughout the
• itory.
INSANE ASYLUM
BE STARTED AT
For years, Alaska, through its repre
sentatives, has been asking that the
insane people of the territory be kept
at home for treatment. At the last
session the territorial legislature, both
for the benefit of the insane them
selves and, incidentally for the bene
fit of the territory, formally made the
request to the government that the
unfortunate residents of Alaska who
are sent outside to Mornngside asylum
for treatment be kept at home for
treatment under the eyes of their
friends, and, now, two Seward doctors
have taken the initiative by applying
for a contract to take care of the
territory’s insane in future near this
city. The doctors are Drs. Romig and
Sloan.
The care of the Alaska insane at
the Momingside asylum costs the
United States government the sum of
eighty thousand dollars a year. The
number of Alaska patients now in the
asylum is 180, each of whom costs the
government forty dollars a month ac
cording to the terms of the contract
with the people who conduct the
asylum. Added to this is the cost of
sending pationts out. This cost is
something like $400 to $700 a case as
guards must be employed and their
fares paid. On the whole, therefore
the ottal expenditure would be more
than $100,000 a year and this money
expended here instead of outside
would mean an immense advantage,
it goes without saying, to the whole
community, while keepng the patients
here near their acquaintances and
friends would insure sympathetic
treatment. Drs. Sloan and Romig
spoke to Governor Strong while he
was in Seward and it is said that the
governor is entirely favorable to the
idea of having Alaska’s insane treated
in Alaska. When the legislature took
the matter up it brought charges
against the present keepers of the ter
ritory’s nsane which were very seri
ous—so serious, in fact, that it is not
advisable to repeat them without hav
ing had them properly substantiated.
Similar complaints have, however,
been heard in other camps of Alaska
I and the feeling has been that where
: so much smoke is seen there must be
1 some fire.
But. apart from all this, there is no
j reason why the insane of the territory
j should not be treated at home. The
intention of Drs. Romig and Sloan
is to apply for the contract and to
build the asylum somewhere near the
railroad a short distance from the city.
They are now arranging the financial
end of the undertaking so that they
may be in a position to show the gov
ernment that they can build the asy
lum and handle the business of con
ducting it in a perfect manner. The
saving to the government by estab
lishing the asylum in a central place
like Seward would be immense while
every other consideration is in favor
of the idea also.—Gateway.
:o:
A shipment of 150 tons of antimony
ore was made from Fairbanks last
week. This ore is the first shipment
by Si’Scrafford to the smelter at San
Francisco in accordance with a con
tract entered into by him last winter
when he was outside.
Antimony is demanding 28 cents
pet* pound on the outside now and the
shipment made by Mr. Scrafford will
mean a net return of thousands of
dollars. The ore will be shipped out
side by way of St. Michael.
Antimony ore will be shipped from
the mine on Chatham creek to Fair
banks as rapidly as possible and other
shipments will be made from time to
time during the summer.
:o:
PANAMA CANAL TO
HELP KENNECOTT COPPER
The Panama Canal will give the;
Kennecott Copper Co., a great advan
tage over Western copper mines in
the matter of costs. The product of
the Kennecott is shipped direct to
Tacoma where it will be refined, and
from there by boat through the Pan
ama Canal to Europe. The result will
be a great saving in freight.—Wall
Street Journal.
-:o:
Send in your subscription now.
HOMESTEADS BE
ALLOWED IN
DESERVES
The Juneau land office Is in receipt
of an executive order regarding the
Alaska timber reservation No. 1 which
provides for the reservation of timber
for railroad construction purposes in
several tracts along the railroad right
of way. One of these tracts is a strip
of five miles wide along the right of
way from Knik river to the end of
the branch line which leads to the
Matanuska coal fields, another tract
of the same width leads inland on
Knik arm to the mouth of the Susitna
river. A third tract, ten miles wide,
runs along each side of the Susitna
river as far north as the Yentna. The
fourth tract extends for a width of
five miles along the Matanuska
branch line up the Susitna river to
Broad Pass.
The order provides further that the
reservation shall not prevent location,
settlement or entry under the public
land laws of Alaska subject to the con
dition that the locator, settler or
entryman must subscribe to an agree
ment whereunder he agrees not to
cut or remove any of the timber on
the lands located, settled upon or
claimed, unless authorized so to do by
the Secretary of the Interior.
No certificate of final entry shall be
issued in connection with this land
until the Alaska Engineering Commis
sion shall have determined that the
government has no further need of the
land for timber. This order, however,
is not to be construed to disturb any
vested right.
In transmitting the order the Com
missioner of the General office sends
a copy of the letter of the secretary
to William C. Edes wherein the state
ment is made that the secretary rec
omended the issuance of the order
only with great reluctance, believing
that it would have a tendency to re
tard the development of the country
adjoining the railroad. In view of this
belief the secretary makes the request
that as soon as the government shall
have finished with the land in ques
tion, or i nother words, as soon as the
engineering commission shall have
secured all the timber from any par
ticular tract that it intends to use,
| that he be notified in order that such
tracts may be eliminated from the
above mentioned conditions regarding
location or settlement. The commis
sion is therefore required by the sec
retary to report from time to time
such areas as may be eliminated from
the reserve in order that all restric
tions as to the disposition of the lands
: may be removed.
"In the area withdrawn, no final
proof has as yet been submitted, and
it is not likely that for a period of
three years any settler will be able
to submit final proof,” said Register
Walker, "so that there will probably
be no delay in the advance ot any
settler’s claim to patent.”
•n*
RIGGS SPENDING
SI,000 PER DAY
Thomas Riggs, Jr., member of the
Alaskan Engineering Commission has
been in town but two weeks, says the
Fairbanks Times, yet in that time he
has spent practically $1,000 every day.
G. F. Cramer, the disbursing agent
for the commission in the Interior,
completed his report yesterday for the
first 12 days and they show that
$12,137 has been expended.
Engineer Bailey, who is in charge
of the Coldstream surveying party,
was in town yesterday on business.
He is going out again this morning to
the new camp at Sheep creek. He is!
expected to return to Fairbanks again
with his party to spend the Fourth of
July. On his trip to town yesterday,
he was accompanied by F. S. Ryus,
his assistant.
Since starting work, they have run
preliminary surveys as far as Sheep
station and have located the route
that is to be used for the railroad.
They sun-eyed all possible routes and
were able to find good grades and a
suitable line.
:o:
STEFFANSON IS BELIEVED
TO BE DEAD AND GONE
The Polar Bear, Captain Louis Lane,
has left Nome to begin the search for
Steffanson the explorer who has been
missing for more than a year. Noth
ing has been heard from Steffanson
from any source and the people who
know the north coast and those who
are living there have given up hope
that he will ever be heard from again.
ANCHORAGE, July 20.—The new
Post Office building in the new town- -
site was started Monday. There has
been a whole block set aside for this
property, two blocks for public parks,
a block for children s play grounds
and one for other federal buildings.
A contract was let for digging a cis
tern, which will hold 50,000 gallons of
water. The hole will be 12x12 and will
be bricked and cemented inside. This
storage will supply the government
buildings and yards.
The right of way has been cleared
to the Matanuska coal fields, and
graded to Seward Junction which is
four miles from Anchorage. All is
ready to lay track to there.
Chas. Crawford who was a heavy
loser in the Valdez fire has returned
to Valdez, where -it is understood he
will construct Sam Blum’s new store
at that place. He has been over at
Anchorage where he and Chas. Bush,
formerly of Valdez of the cigar firm
of Ingram & Bush, are now in busi
ness.
Rev. E. H. Maloney, of Valdez, has
purchased two lots. The money was
raised on the grounds to purchase
same. These lots are in the new
townsite. Mr. Maloney will return to
Anchorage after a short stay at Val
dez, and will then make arrangements
to build a reading room, which will
be used as such during the week and
strvices will be held in this same
building on Sunday.
I was talking to T. B. Needham and
he tells me that Mears and Edes tells
him that the railroad will be com
pleted to the Matanuska coal fields by
December 1, 1915.
:o:
LIGHTER LOAD OF R. R.
RAILS LOST IN INLET
Last Sunday, a lighter which had
; aboard 20 tons of rails for the engi
neering commission at Anchorage cap
sized and the rails went to the bottom.
They had been brought from Katalla
by the Evans and are, of course, a
total loss.
Government Stops All Development
Stephen Birch, President of the Kennecott Cop
per Corporation and Managing Director of the
Alaska Syndicate, is in Cordova today and after a
short visit to the Beatson mine at Latouche will
return here and go to Kennecott to inspect the
Bonanza and Jumbo mines.
Mr. Birch comes direct from New York and is
authority for the statement that the Alaska Syndi
cate does not propose to extend' the Copper River &
Northwestern Railway from Mile 38 to the Bering
River coal fields, neither does it intend to erect a
smelter at Cordova.
“It was our original plan to build a spur to the
c oal fields with the possible extension of the rail
road to the interior but the government, in its wis
(lom, saw fit to stop development of the Copper
River valley and discourage capital from further
railroad building. Now it is up to the government
to open up and develop whatever section of the terri
tory it sees fit. We will continue to operate our own
mines and provide whatever railroad service is
necessary .to handle the tonnage. ’ ’
The above statement from one high in authority ■
is significant, and although not very gratifying news
to Cordovans it should at least arouse our people to
a full realization of the gross injustice done us by
the government in entirely “passing up” the Copper
River section, without even an investigation, when
it came to a selection of the route for the govern
ment railroad. Practically a whole summer and
$400,000 was expended in preliminary surveys to the
westward and not even the pretense of an examina
tion of the route from Chitina to Fairbanks, which
has the only tonnage that Alaska can offer a rail
road. This fact, together with the many other
advantages Cordova possesses as a terminal for a
trunk line to the interior, are becoming generally
known and it is up to the local Chamber of Com
merce to herald the truth to the world and not allow
Cordova to continue to be the football in the
political game that is being played at "Washington.
It was the intention of the railroad bill to open up
Alaska and this can only be done by building a road
through the rich mineralized belts of the Copper,
White and Tanana valleys.
SMELTER HINGES ON OPENING OF COAL
R. AY. Baxter, \rice President of the Alaska
Steamship Company and the Copper River & North
western railroad arrived in Cordova this morning
and will continue to the westward on the Steamer
Northwestern, stopping at Ellamar, ’Valdez,
Latouche, Seward and Anchorage. Upon liis; return
Mr. Baxter will stop over here long enough to make
a trip over the local railway as far as Kennecott.
Mr. Baxter is on his annual tour of inspection and
while he has nothing definite to give the public in
reference to the plans of the Alaska Syndicate he
expressed a most optimistic view of the future for
Cordova.
“The extension of the Copper River railway
from Mile 38 to the Bering Kiver coal fields will
naturally depend on the basis upon which the gov
ernment intends to allow this vast area of fuel to be
opened up and developed. If the present leasing bill
is put into workable shape many of the claims will
undoubtedly be worked and we are after all the ton
nage we can get.
“With the opening of the coal mines, coke would
be available for a smelter at Cordova. As you know
Prince William Sound has the fluxing ore for the
rich copper glance at KenUecott, but everything
hinges on the marketing of your coal. Just what
will be the outcome of the government’s plans no one
can say, but I share the hope of all Alaskans that
at no distant time the whole territory will be thrown
open to development and the patience and fortitude
of its residents, who have so nobly carried the bur
den for a number of years, will be fully rewarded.”
Questioned as to the reported purchase of a
speedy 10,000 ton Steamer, by the Alaska Steamship
company, Mr. Baxter was non-committal. He merely
said: “We are in the transportation business and
we will put on enough boats to handle the business
as fast as it develops. If we should decide to pur
chase the boat referred to, and there was not suffi
cient business in Alaskan waters for it during the
winter months, she might be sent to New York for
a couple of trips, providing, of course, that condi
tions warranted such a move.”