St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-09

luanShip of William II. Seward, is now kuock-
ing, or will be in few days, at the doors of
the house of representatives for recognition.
ON the Sth day of last october delegates
from all the camps ana settlements in Alas
ka met at Juneau pursuant To call issued
some time previously, and, after preparing
memorial TO congress on the condition of
affairs, unanimously elected Hon. James
Carroll, of Juneau. to carry this memorial to
Washington and demand admission SIS ter
ri,orial delegate.
This duty Mr.. Carroll who has for twelve
years been resident of the territory. accept
ed and yesterday reached ST. Paul on his
way to the capital of the country. He was
detained in this city day by the illness of
his wife. but to-day he will resume his jour
ney He is 4 elear-headed business man,
largely interested in the Pacific Coast Steam
ship company. as we'll as many of the mining
enterprises that are being carried on in
southern Alaska, and the people who elected
him made no mistake. If any one can turn
the attention of the United States congress to
the disgraeeful condition of affairs in Alaska
Mr.. Carroll can. His long residence and ex
tellsiye acquaintance in Alaska have given
him facts and figures of immense value. In
addition TO this he has the power and ability
to present these facts in manner that will
command the consideration OF the statesmen
st Washington. Last evening in speaking of
the condition OF affairs ia Alaska MIR. Carroll
said:
Il am on my way to Washington to present
memorial from the people of Alaska asking
for some recognition from the government.
l DO not know that can do anything. but l
do know that congress- ought to do some
thing, and that at once. We are not demand
ing but rather begging. The people are
poOr-starving because the government will
not give us title 10 anything. The fact is
the territory of Alaska has paid for itself in
the twentythree years that have elapsed
since its purchase and under the new con-
tract with the fur company the government
Will receive Sl,u00.u0u 4 year from this con-
tract alone. Surely the government ought to
do something for the richest of its territories;
no other one has paid anything near the
revenue Ala ka has paid and is paying
into the United States treasury. ana yet
ii is the one territory in which no settler can
obtain title to n foot of land. The general
mineral laws have been extended to Alaska.
but the territorial land laws have not and
consequently no title can be obtained except
for mineral lands or claims
In fact continued the new congressman,
81 know people who have lived for twenty
deal OF money on improvements, and yet
anybody can come in and build alongside of
them and yet they cannot prevent it. This
fact is Of itself very bad thing and an in
surmountabIe bar to progress and the devel-
opment of the country. If there were
presumption or homestead laws this would
be quite different, and / can see
no reason in justice or common sense why
there should not he such laws for Alaska as
well as for the other territories. This is the
great question with us, and l feel sure that
when the government thoroughly under
stands the matter. all viii be changed. We
have suffered for years from this and unless
ii is changed the territory cannot grow as it
should.
Another bad feature of the situation
continued Capt. Carroll, lis that we have no
timber law. Why, we cannot even cut wood
enough to cook our meals without being ar
rested and put in Jail 10y the United States
officials. The saw mills cannot manufacture
lumber for the use of our people, although
We have an abundance or good timber. l
know people who have spent 5000 to
$4,000 in putting up saw mills. that they
were obliged to shut down while the people
who needed lumber had to send to Puget
sound, where cheapest quality costs $40 per
1000 and pay at least SlO more per l.OUO
freight. The government is damage to the
country as it is to-day. and l would guaran-
tee to get up company that would pay Sl4,-
5000 or So, UU I,nU0 TO the government
Tor the territory and do twice as much to
develop it as the government is doing or
ever has done.
Few people have any idea of the wonder
ful country we have up there" continued
Mr.. Carroll, with Enthusiasm. at has an area
OF over $4,000 square miles, and in the ten
or twelve years l have been there have
never known it to be below zero AS rule
the thermometer stands 30 or 10 deg above.
1t is damp. but healthy. Grain crops cannot
be raised, but it's great vegetable country,
and potatoes, cabbages and all that sort of
stuff grows in great profusion. 1t is great
grass country, and, consequently. stock-rais-
ing can be followed to advantage. The rea-
son it has not been engaged in heretofore
to any extent is because no inducements have
held out to the actual settler If we had lib
erai land laws The settlers would flock in and
the whole country flourish. The population
IS now between 81, 90 and 4U,OUU about
one-third beipg white.''
THE extension of the mail service over
the entire territory is something we require
very badly. l know place way out to the
westward where one or two schools have
been established The mail from these places
is in such bad shape that when the school
masters make their reports and send them to
Sitka. where the school commissioners meet
to audit them, if they are found in good
shape, the poor tea hers are lucky if they get
their pay in the course Of year. 1 know of
cases where people have been arrested and
taken to Sitka. by way of San Francisco, and
the United States marshal has considered
hignCalf 70 hnal 49,,
year.
rs there anything in the report that the
seals are being exterminatedg'
u do not think that report is exactly cor
rect, replied Dir. Carroll. The seal fisheries
can stand the taking of $4,000 seals wear
II the poachers are kept away from the banks
at the breeding periods. The seals are get
ting scarce Simply because of these poacners,
who hang around with small feet and scare
the seals before they get upon the breeding
grounds.
some time ago the governor Of Alaska
was requested to issue call for convention
to prepare memorial and take such action
as was deemed for the best interests of the
territory. Gov. Knapp did not feel
that ne ought TO do this, and
the call was gotten out by other
parties and sent to all the settlements and
~'tAI PS Az tSiiIIOIy. On OCt. last THIS
convention met at Juneau and prepared a
memorial, and elected me TO take il to Wash
ington. Although | am a Democrat there
was no politics in this matter. 1t is purely a
business matter and it means great deal to
US IL l am successful. If am not, l shall
Just go down next year again. | have as
surances from the senators from Washing
lngion, Oregon and California, ana various
chambers of commerce have passed resolu
tons indOrsing our memorial. Indeed.
many of them have prepared strong memoir
ials in the natter
Congressional Delegate Carroll, soon-to-
be, is a veteran sea cautaIn, and for many
years ran steamship for the Pacific Coast
line between San Francisco and Alaska. He
IS particularly well known to the tourists of
Inc past few years. This is his first trip East
IN twenty-five years. He is accompanied bv
John FL. Mitchell Jr., son of Senator Mitch
ell, OF Oregon, who is going on to visit his
father at Washington. Young Mr. Mitchell
IS the Northern Pacific's attorney at Seattle
an IS et,1s.