The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-03-31
ALASKA.
Tho semi-Arctic Wonderland and It's Pos
sibiiities-Its Great Need Of System oil
Laws Affairs In "A State of Chaos-Cii-
mat and fish-The seal Industry.

IL being question whether the relations |
between the United States and its solitary |
possessions are perfectly understood by the
public, the Chronicle has taken advantage
o. the presence in the city of an authority
on Alaskan affairs 10 interview him on the
the subject. The authority In question is
Paul Schulze, president of the Northwest
Trading company, which recently figured
as the party with grievance upon which
was based the Smelling of the Indian village
by the Corwin. Mr.. Schulze Is returning
home via San Francisco, from an unsuc-
ocss.u attempt to secure u territorial form
OF government for Alaska, the causes lead
ing to the demand and those bringing
abou, ITS failure being detailed in the fol-
lowing conversation:
"At present. said Mr.. Schulze, "the
only representatives of the United States
In Alaska, are the revenue cutter the col
lector of customs and his deputies. The
stay OF the first with that OF an occasional
man-oiwar, is, however, but transient and
thepowers OF the respective commanders do
not extend beyond those of general surveil-
ance and to protect the whites from native
outrages. The collector is located at Sitka,
aud has one deputy in that town, one at
Zodiac, in western Alaska; one at
Wrangel southeastern Alaska; one at
0unalaska, in northern Alaska, and an in
spect0r at the mines III Harrisburg. His
duty and those of his deputies are indi-
Gated by The names, and consist, of course,
81 guarding the interests oft the customs de-
partmont and seeing TINT the provisions of
the tariff are properly administered. The
consequence is that Alaska is in u state OF
legal an d civil choas. A man can neither
sue nor be sued; there is no protection to
honesty nor punishment to the dishonest
PROPERTY cannot be acquired eXoept by
seizure and can only be defended by force.
Legitimate trade cannot compete with lille
climate, and irresponsible people from
Portland, San Francisco and elsewhere can
carry on business and then iraudulently fail
for 20 cents on the dollar and no one have
the power TO lay finger on the cheat.
The Northwest Trading company has spent
thousands upon thousands of dollars in i'm
proving its land, hut we have no title what
ever to our property and cannot secure
any. Two years ago the Alaskan mines
were discovered, and much California capi.
tai was invested, but the claims cannot be
secured and the mines are only held by the
argument OF brute force"
''But surely" asked the reporter, "there
must be some measure of restraint upon
crimcY'
Certainly there are,n replied Mr..
Sohulze, but they are of the most cum
brons character AS u possession Alaska is
subject to the general law of the United
States. Criminals can be arrested by
authorities sent from Oregon and taken TO
Portland Tor trial, but, as you can well inn
aginc, the instances in which this trouble Is
taken are not very numerous. Fully aware
OF the unsatisfactory condition of our
affairs, the residents held convention in
the fall OF 1881 and elected Collector Nj. u.
Bale, OF Sitka, as representative of Alaska
and sent him to Washington, where he
was to formally ask for admission into the
house. That request, need not tell you,
was denied, Last winter 1 followed him,
aud IN conjunction we drew up bill max.
ing the request for simple form of govern
mcnt for Alaska"
"Do you remember its terms?"
Yes but before telling you them |
should state that endeavors had previously
been made IN congress TO secure full terri.
torial government for Alaska, which en-
deayors lailed, as they deserved TO- The
bill, which referred TO southeastern Alaska,
only asked that the president should
appoint prosecuting attorney. who should
hethe executive officer of, what was to be
called the judicial district; that there
should also be United States district
judge; clerk Of the court. who should
W the registrar of wills and deeds; three
United States commissioners, who should
e justices OF the peace, under the laws of
oregon; collector OF customs, who should
be ex-oilcio marshal OF the district; three
deputies, who should also act as constabes,
and surveyor-general, who should act as
registrar and receiver for the United States
We further asked that the civil law of the
United States should be extended over the
district; that the code of Oregon should DO
made the law of the district, ana that cor
porations who had improved the land
should have the privilege of buying ID at n
price determined by the secretary OF the In.
terior. Lastly, and ill.advisedly, | think, a
demand was made for q delegate to the
house. Representative George and Senator
Slater, of Oregon, introduced the bill. The
house committee amended II only by strik.
ing out the representation by delegate and
by extending the contemplated form of iu-
risdiction over the whole possession. In the
senate the subcommittee reported fayora-
bly,, but when the bill came before the
whole committee the senator from South
Carolina fought for laying it aside in favor
Of his old bill on the same subject. which
sought to establish territorial govern
cent, at an annual expense to the United
worked for $4,000. The movement TO OK
tend the jurisdiction over the whole posses
sion excited the enmity ola very powerful
corporation, and when the bill was to be
taken up under suspension of the rules
the motion was lost by four votes, the prin-
cipal objection TO 1t being the allegation
thai the measure would turn over all the
public lands TO corporations or place their
disposal in the hands of the secretary of the
interior We have not given up the fight,
however, and the same bill will be intro.
duced next season.
"What are the prcsnects and present con-
di.ion of Alaskan"
III cannot speak with authority of the
whole conntry," replied Mr.. Schuze, 'be.
cause my experience has been confined to
southeastern Alaska, | know enough.
however, to say that the possession has
been systematically decried, spoken against
In the lobbies and published az u barren
waste. To my mind Alaska much resem-
bies Norway, especially in its fisheries, the
waters actually teeming with cod, salmon,
herring and haibut. Then, too, it is rich In
ilrrs and minerals, We have white popu-
lation OF 5000 and there is, ! should say,
from S3,0oOOoO to siC00O00 capital in.
vested. The climate OF southeastern Alas
ke Is u little more severe than that of
Washington territory, but Is not so cold ~
Montana or Idaho, the moderation being
due, think, TO warm Japanese currents.
Our summers are delightful and our seen
cry 3 certainly the most magnificent In the
world'n
How. extensively is the fur trade carried
on IN Alaskan
II cannot state with any great exactness.
but you may Judge for yourself when tell
you that the Alaska Commercial company
has a contract with the United States BIZ
Which 1t is allowed to XII 100000 seals per