Evening journal., 1892-10-10
THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY
Great Britain Trying to Get a
Slice of Our Arctic Shore.
MOUNT ST. ELIAS A DISPUTED POINT

British Columbia Contends That the Shore
Line Is Not Correct and Commissioners
Have Been Appointed by the Two Coun
tries to Settle the Question.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 10.-When the United
States bought Alaska from the emperor OF
Russia in 1877 it accumulated two lively
quarrels with Great Britain-the seal ques.
tion and the boundary between Alaska and
British Columbia.
The controversy regarding the boundary
line has now reached a stage where each
government has appointed commissioner.
The British appointee is the chief astrono-
mer of the Royal College of Canada; for
the United States, Professor T. c. Menden
hall, superintendent of the coast and
geodetic survey, has been named by the
president They will meet in Montreal,
probably next month.
The line in dispute was laid down origin
ally in the treaty between Russia and Great
Britain, executed in 1926 and is there de
scribed as follows; Commencing from the
southernmost point of Prince Of Wales is
degs. 46 min. north latitude, and between
the l3lst and 1S3d degs of west longitude
Cmeridian of Greenwich) the said line shall
ascend 10 the north along Portland chan
mel as far as the Goth deg of north latitude;
from this the line shall follow the summit
of the mountains parallel to the coast as far
as the point Of intersection of the l4lst deg
of west longitude, and finally the me
ridian line of the 141st deg. in its prolonga-
tion as far as the Frozen ocean"
What Coast Means.
1t was understood first that the island
called the Prince of Wales island shall be
long wholly to Russia (now, by this ces-
sion, to the United States).
Second that whenever the summit OF the
mountains which extend in a direction par
allel to the coast, from the 56th deg. of
north latitude to the point of intersection
of the 14ist deg. of west longitude, shall
prove to be at the distance of more than ten
marine leagues from the ocean, the limit
between the British possessions and the
line Of coast which is to belong to Russia,
as above mentioned, shall be formed by a
line parallel to the winding Of the coast,
and which shall never exceed the distance
of ten marine leagues therefrom.
At that time the interior of the country
of the alternative line, "ten marine leagues
from the coast" Better acquaintance with
the territory has developed the fact that
the then supposed range of mountains par
allel TO the coast does not exist, so the other
line must be established.
There will not be much difficulty in To-
eating the line after the meaning of the
word coast" has been agreed upon. Here
in lies the only probable important points
of difference. The British officials assert
that what is meant is the outside line OF
the fringe of islands skirting the coast, and
10 support the contention will allege that
Portland channel was named in the treaty
by mistakes that what was meant was an
other arm of the sea some miles to the
westward. Another point made by the
British officials is that Portland channe
does not extent TO the 56th deg. of nortf
latitude, and therefore could not have beer
meant.
A Valuable Territory.
The United States commissioner will con
tend that the coast line means the main
land, not that of the outlying islands HI
will assert that at the time the treaty wa
made the channel was believed to extend a
high as So degs. by both parties and wa
used advisedly.
Mount st. Elias is at She beginning o
the north and south boundaries Of Alaeka
is not in the exact corner Of Alaska, but !
Just one mile from it. It's height is Il, 20
feet. The British may lay claim to thi
mountain.
"The boundary question" +" said Professo
Mendenhall yesterday, ''oughtt to be settles
soon The territory is not known to b
valuable. There are reports of good min
eral finds, but they are not verified.
they should turn out to be true of cours
the settlement win be that much more diff
cult to make. We could have agreed wit
England about the seals in two minutes
quarter of a century ago; now several year
are required 10 reach a settlement.
Il shall suggest to my co-commissione
in Canada, " continued the professor, ''tha
parties be sent up the several stream
emptying into the ocean, a distance {
thirty miles, establish those points an
then unite them by short, straight line
OF course this is upon the theory that th
coast of the main land be taken as the bas
of the thirty miles operations; if that is NJ
done the territory will scarcely be wort
contending for. If the island line be take
it will cut OIL from the United States I'll
greater portion of the mainland includin
Juneau, the largest city in Alaska"