Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-10-11

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THE ALASKA BOUNDARY DISPUTE.
The Points ut Issue Between the Two Gov.
ernments-Results Of Recent Surveys.
When q man buys Fleece Of property, 90
cording to business adage, the purchaser usu-
ally entails law suit, but when the United
States bought Alaska from the Emperor Of Rus
sia in 1867, it also accumulated in embryo two
lively quarrels. At that time the possibilities Of
controversy was probably not suspected, but II
has since developed in . most marked manner.
just now the two are engaging the attention Of
the governments of the United States and Of
Great Britain, the seal question and the bound
airy between Alaska and British Columbia. The
matter Of the seals has been pretty thor oughly
exploited; that Of the boundary line is not
SO well known, but is likely to be within the
next few months.
The controversy has been going on with moro
or less force between the two governments for
several years and has now reached q stage
where each has appointed . commissioner to
confer together upon the subject and nee IL they
cannot agree upon q line. The British commits
sioner is the chief astronomer Of the Royal Col
lege OF Canada For the United States Prof 7.
@. Mendenhall, superintendent of tho coast and
geodetic survey, has been appointed by the
President. They will meet in Montreal prob
ably next month, but 1t Is not thought they VIII
then reach jointly satisfactory conclusion
The line in. dispute was laid down originally
in the treaty between Russia and Great Britain
executed in 1925 and is there described as fol-
lows:
Commencing from the southernmost point
Of the island called Prince of Wales Island,
which point lies in the parallel OF "a degrees,
10 minutes, north latitude. and between the
1S1st and the 13Sd degree of west longitude
(meridian Of Greenwich), the said line shall
ascend to the north along the channel called
Portland channel as far as the point OF the
continent. where 1t strikes 56th degree Of north
latitude: from this last mentioned point tho
line of demarcation shall follow the summit Of
the mountains situated parallel to the coast AZ
far as the point of intersection Of the 141st de-
gree of west longitude Cot the same meridian),
and finally, from the said point of intersection
the said meridian line of the 141st degree in its
prolongation as far as the Crozen ocean.
With reference to the line of demarcation
laid down in the preceding article it Is under
stood:
First. That the island called the Prince Of
Wales Island shall belong wholly to Russia
(Now. by this cession, to the United States
Second That whenever the summit Of the
mountains which extend in a direction parallel
to the coast from the 56th degree Of north lati-
tude to the point of intersection Of the 141st
degree of west longitude shall prove to be at
INC OlslduCe VI more luan ten marine leagues
from the ocean, the limit set when the British
possessions and the line of coast which is to
belong to Russia, as above mentioned (that is
to say, the limit to the possessions ceded by
this convention), shall be formed by 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 was
but little known, hence the insertion 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 parallel to the coast does
not exist, so the line must be established.
There will not be much difficulty in locating the
line after the meaning of the word coast" has
been agreed upon. Herein lies the only proba-
BILE important points of difference. The British
officials, 1t Is understood, will assert that what
is meant is the outside line Of the fringe Of
islands skirting the coast, and to support the
contention will allege that Portland channel
was named in the treaty by mistake; that what
was meant was another arm of the sea, some
miles to the westward. Portland channel or
canal, as 1t is known, by the way, is not canal
at all, but an arm Of the sea, narrow and well
defined, somewhat resembling a canal. An
other point made by the British officials is that
Portland canal does not extend to the 56th de-
gree Of north latitude, and therefore it could
not have been meant. On the other hand
the United States commissioner will contend
that the "coast" line means the main land not
that of the outlying islands. As to Portland
canal, he will assert that at the time the treaty
was made the canal was believed to extend as
high as Sc degrees by both parties and was used
adyisedlv.
The United States has been for several years
working on the boundary question. Parties
have followed the Yukon river and its branches
up to the l41st degree west longitude and have
located that meridian at several points as far
north the Arctic ocean.
81 have had another party" said Prof. Men,
denhall yesterday, ''at work this summer who
are just leaving for home and should be here
within the next fortnight"
us that the one referred to in a dispatch
from Victoria, which states that Mount st.
Elias is at the beginning at the north and south
boundaries Of Alaska mountain; liz not in the
exact corner of Alaska, but is just one mile
from it. Its height is II, POI feet"
II presume it u.s." answered the professor,
although the probabilities are that they don't
know any more about the results of the party's
work at Victoria than do here-which is
nothing at present. / should be very glad to
know that Mount st. Elias is in the United
States. but that dispatch does not make it clear,
if true.
"The boundary question" continued the pro-
fessor, fought to be settled soon. 1t can be done
done now without much controversy for the ter
ritory involved is not known to be valuable.
There are reports Of good mineral finds, but they
are not wholly verified. If they should turn out to
be true, Of course, the settlement will be that
much more difficult to make. We could have
agreed with England about the seals in two
minutes a quarter Of a century ago; now sew
eral years are required to reach a settlement.
II shall suggest to my co-commissioner in
Canada" continued the professor, THAT parties
be sent up the several streams emptying into
the ocean distance of thirty miles. establish
those points and then unite them by short
straight lines. OF course this is upon the
theory that the coast of the mainland be taken
as the base Of the thirty-mile operations. II
that is not done the territory will scarcely be
worth contending for.
'If the island line be taken it will cut off
from the United States the greater portion of
the mainland, including Juneau, the largest city
IL Alaska"