The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-11-09
THE ALASKA BORDER.
Negotiations Soon to Begin Re-
garding Its Location.
OF VITAL INTEREST m SOUND.
infsrprstatfea Of the Treaty May Give
Esgfssd the Best Ports. II Not
Carefully Watched


the boundary between British Columbia
and Alaska BY the engineers sent cut By
the joint international commission prom
ises 70 make the question one Of the great
topics At Washington City this winter and
the progress of the negotiation looking 10
the final delimitaiion Of the boundary will
De watched with especial interest on the
Pacific coast. where the trade OF Alaska 10
done
The work Is In the hands of . commits
sion OF the two countries interested, which
was appointed to settle the two disputed
questions remaining. namely the bound
arg between Maine and New Brunswick
and that between Alaska and British
Columbia. While the work on behalf of
Great Britain is TO be done at the expense
OF Canada, the negotiations are 10 be con-
Quoted by the mother country. or at least
In its name, and no arrangement can be
closed without the approval OF the home
cabinet While this situation ties the
hands Of Canada in the matter. it does
not gre IL any compensating advantage,
Tor England 10 not prepared to
spend any mony or TO run the risk of q
serious dispute with the United States in
regard to the matter. nevertheless Canada
has shown more zeal and liberality in
taking up its side of the case than the
United States. for while congress appro-
priated 80. 900 for the whole survey, and
this has proved just about enough. Canada
has spent three times as much and has
sent out larger parties splendidly
equipped.
The old definition Of the boundary was
that Alaska Was to extend ten marine
leagues inland from the general trend of
the coast. but this vague definition has
left the way open for numerous disputes
as to what 10 the general trend of the
coast. which will be the business of the
commission TO settle. The boundary as at
present vaguely defined was agreed upon
before any survey had been made and
when the coast was supposed to be COM
paratively unbroken, like that of Caiifor-
MIA. Surveys have shown that il Is broken
by many deep. broad inists and estuaries
similar TO Puget sound, extending far in
land from the proposed line. and in many
cases more than the specified ten
marine league. II II on this point that
the most serious dispute 10 likely TO arise,
for the Canadian commissioners will claim
that the general trend Of the coast would
cut across the mouths of these inlets.
whether broad or narrow. II this conten-
ton should prevail, 1t would leave . strip
of water several miles at the head of each
OF these inlets and fronting on . point
where port for the back country would
naturally be established in British terri
tory. The United States. on the other
hand. will then either have to establish
ports on the steep and rocky sides of the
inlet or allow the products OF its territory
10 be shipped out OF the country through
these British ports. Thus. by conceding the
Canadian contention on this point, the
United States would be yielding up the
key to its own territory and would put its
Alaskan citizens in such q position that
they would have to pay perpetual
| tribute to the British. To secure control
of the sea coast is of vital i'm portance to
this country, since all the products of the
country are exported and almost all its
supplies are imported. and the sea is the
only means of ingress and egress. The
American commissioners will doubtless
claim that the thirty league strip should
be measured along botn shores and up
from the head of each of these larger inlets.
claiming that the intention was to give the
Qni,cd States the whole territory from the
backbone OF the coast range mountains to
tho sea. This would give the United
States control of the country far into the
interior. for the natives of the interior do
their trading with the coast Indians, who
do not allow them TO cross the range but
sell tho products brought from the Interior
| 10 the traders on the coast.
Tho boundary of the main part of
Alaska, the northern portion, will not be n
subject of dispute, bat wall simply follow q
certain degree of longitude. and crosses
the Yukon in the vicinity Of the mouth Of
Forty Mile creek, leaving the placer mines
of The Upper Yukon In British Column
bia. As the only practicable route 10 the
Upper Yukon - over the Chilkat pass, 1t
| will be quite natural for Canada to assert a
| claim TO the Chilkat country.