Daily Kennebec journal., 1895-08-26
lABOR'S LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY.
Stealing Our Birthright.
Secretary OF State.

One Is disposed to take 1t for granted
that Yankee in selling his birthright
would make sure that he had the mess OF
pottage in return. 1t smacks Of disloy-
atty to suppose that Americans would
give their birthright away with sigh of
relief that 1t was to be removed from them
as burden. Yet that is just what they
are doing. And how easy it has been to
do this under our anglomaniac admins
tration with tentative sense of its own
insigniflcance and confused with the
wholly wrong impression that its own
insignificancc indicates that the country
ms whole Is Insignificant. 1t would all
be extremely ridiculous were it not for
the fact that it Is true, that il Is shameful
that 1t is outrageous.
England has stolen our seals, taken
them away from the bays and inlets of
the Alaskan country which we bought OF
Russia Having secured oil the spoil,
which tho west coast of this country could
afford, England and Canada have turned
their attention to cncroaching upon the
other side of tho country and have laid
claim not only to the most valuable part
Of the entire country, according to the
opinion of those who are best acquainted
with the resources of Alaska but will
control the gateway to the interior and bt
t., 70, ha n,Y,lx ~
tho country.
This boundary which Canada, and Eng
land sbetting, have called In question
remained In force fifty nine yea RS without
any question arising concerning 1t. Dur
ing the forty years that Alaska was in
saying that England did not make any
the possession of Russia it goes without
claims to territory beyond the present
line. She knows with whom to drive
sharp bargains and is not slow to remem
ber that while this country can whip her
out of her boots we nearly always get tht
worst end of dickcr.
In 1884, (mark the year, the Dominion
Of Canada, on its maps changed the Alas
kan boundary line to suit its own purpose
the British government recognize Can
ada's claim and at the instgation of heI
MAZE sty's government the United State
on J July 22, 1892, appointed commission
for the purpose as set forth in article OF
the convention agreed upon" Providing
for the deimitation of the existing
boundary between the United States and
her majesty's possessions In North Ameri
oa, in respect to such portions Of said bound
ary limo as may not in fact have been per
manently marked in virtue Of treaties here
tofore concluded, The time allowed t,
complete surveys and submit final reports
ended Nov. %, 1894, but final reports ar
to be submitted by caoh Of the "high
contracting parties" Dec. 81, 1895. Tn,
disputed lands are In the southeastern divi
sion Of Alaska, In what is known rs tn,
Panhandle Of that vast empire. Th'
claim set up by the British government
In brief is that instead of Portland chan
mel, Benin channel the first inlet wes
Of Portland channel, was meant; and,
starting from this point, the line of de-
marcation includes an area about six hun
dred miles in length, and of varying
widths up to $50 miles including about
hundred miles Of scacoast with its har
bors and the islands adjacent thereto
The value of the strip is almost inesti
mable. Alaska last year In her fish can
neries alone did business OF full.
$4,000, 900, the greater part of which
business Is In the disputed Alaskan ter
ritory. The untouched forests of thil
section are greater than any in the United
States. Besides this, there are larg,
deposits Of copper, iron, coal and marble
The population is now $4,000, of which
number about two-thirts are In this dis
puted division The army OF men VIII,
are working into the interior or malt
part of Alaska come by steamer t,
Chilkat, and thence follow trail a dis
tance OF forty miles to Forty Mile Greek