The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-28

uOuHudry convention ratlueu at w aSnlHS-
| ton August %, 1892, and extended to De
cember 81, 1895, by the supplemental con-
vention ratified at Washington March 20,
| 1894
The urgency Tor some international
| agreement for at least a temporary deter
| mlnation of the status of the boundary
line Is found in the announcement that it
is the intention of the Dominion Govern
ment TO direct mounted police to assume
control of the whole frontier, along the
Canadian boundary of Alaska, with power
| to collect customs duties, preserve law and
| order and hold court-martials to try Grim
| inal cases.
With the coming of spring not less than
$500 American miners will make their way
up Lynn Channel and through Chilkoot
Pass, in Southeastern Alaska, cross the
divide and float down a chain OF lakes to
Lewis River and from there into the waters
OF the Upper Yukon at Fort Simpson. By
this route the distance to Forty-mile Creek
| is about 600 miles, journey full OF hard
ship and with many portages. This route
lies almost entirely through Canadian ter
rltory. When these miners arrive in Forty
| mile Creek and find the mounted police
exercising jurisdiction west of what they
have been told was the American boundary
line there will surely be trouble Among
the miners will be many lawless char
acters. but even the most peaceaDle Ameri-
can among them will resent what he con-
siders an invasion by the Canadian
mounted police.
Ii aggressive acts occur, or if they have
not already taken place, the United States
will have boundary dispute of its own
which will overshadow that of Venezuela
Even were the single American boundary
monument to be accepted as correct by the
Canadian police the line would be lost ten
miles away, and again the danger of col
lision would arise There is reason to believe
Secretary Olney will take the matter up at
once with Sir Julian Pauncefote and come
to definite understanding, probably CO.
incident with the determination of the
Canadian sealer claim, which will be
taken up this week.
John e. McGrath, who erected the
American boundary monument, and Mr..
Ogilvie, who placed the Canadian monu-
ment, worked independently of each other,
and made their locations astronomicaIly,
with the aid of chronometers. 1t is evil
dent that variation in the chrOnometer
was added to the personal equation in pro-
duclng difference OF over seven miles,
when the utm ost range ofdifference should
not have been over three seconds, or less
than hundred yards. The final determi-
nation of the whole length Of the boun-
dairy along the 141st meridian will be had
by strictly geodetic work, working north
| from the station established on Mount st.
Elias, on the 141st meridian, with monu-
ments at short intervals, but an astronom-
ical determination by joint party can be
made with sufficient accuracy for tenn
| porary purposes at the points where min
ing operations are being conducted.
General Dutfield, the present head of the
survey, was very much surprised when
THE CALL correspondent called his atten-
| ton to the lack of anything like exact
results from the McGrath expedition. A
hurried investigation showed this to be the
case, whereupon General Duffield tele-
graphed TO st. Louis for Mr.. McGrath to
return to Washington at once and work
up his figures and computations. Other
computers have also been put to work on
Mr.. McGrath's record.
| The duty OF the United States Govern
ment will not stop, however, with the
determination of the line There is need
into the Forty-mile Creek region early in
the spring, but there is no judicial officer
of the United States in the interior of the
| country nor along the western boundary
between Alaska and British Columbia.
| In fact the only United States official in
the Yukon district is Walton D. McNair,
who is stationed at Fort Cudahy, near the
boundary line on the Yukon River, as a
deputy collector and inspector of customs.
In case of trouble along the frontier in the
Yukon mining region the United States
District Attorney at Sitka would have the
authority to employ deputy marshals to
preserve law and order, but it would take
| several months for the news of the disturb
ance to reach him at Sitka and for his
orders to be carried into effect. Official.
OF the department of justice say that he
would not have the power to place men
along the line for police duty or for any
other purpose except on special occasions,
such as riot. If this be the case, prompt
action by Congress this winter will be
necessary to remedy the difficulties, and it
is understood that bill will be introduced
to provide ALASKA with more perfect form
of government.