The St. Johns herald., 1898-01-29
ALASKA
Interest in Our Far-Off Country Is
 Growing Rapidly.

kutcAcSt HI Our dT-On Country 1e
 Growing Rapidly.
 The Civil and Judicial District" o1 Alaska has of late begun to attract some serious attention from the people of the United States. Nine out of ten of US probably speak of it as Terri tory; but such it has never become. Gold. and a disputed boundary line will always suffice to draw attention tc any particular part or the earth's sur face. Venezuela and South Africa are cases in point. h the case of Alaska srr -rs many other boundary disputes the trouble can be traced to 8 deficien. cy of geographical knowledge on the part of the makers of treaty.
 When the convention of 1895 was rat. flied by England and Russia, 1t was thought that a mountain range ran parallel to the coast of what is now southeastern Alaska. The summit or that range was made part of the bonn. dary between the Russian province and British America. But though there are plenty of mountains, there Is no coastal range. It was further provided that wherever the summit of this mvtbicoI range should lie more than ion marino leagues from the coast, the line sbouId run parallel to the windings of the coast, but not more than ten marine leagues therefrom.
 To this clause some uncertainty has been attached by the raising of the question, What is the coast? Is it the coast or the matnlani OF the seaward edge of the adjscel islands? Other difficulties lie in deterrlihirS the +-vc Portland Channel" through which the southeastern boundary of Alaska runs; and in determining the one hundred and forty-frst meridian of west longl. tude, which is the northernmost part of the eastern boundary.
 None of tlese questions were ever pressed wble Alaska was a Russian province. Until quite recent years they never caused any controversy be- tween England and America. It is the growing sense of the importance of Alasfa, particularly of its mines. that males them practical questions. It would, perhaps, never have been neces- Sry to determine the one hundred and forty-drst meridian, if the discovery had not been made that it runs close to, or through, some promising deposits of gold.
 Or these deposits the latest report of the United States Geological Survey declares that they form a belt three hundred miles long, entering the dis trict near Forty mile Creek and extend ing westward across the Yukon ValIev. h southeastern Alaska, the narrow coast belt whose width is still to be finally determined there are gold de posits which are already being miued There are also important fishing and canning industries.
 The experience of the year past Is enough to assure us that the boundary question will be peaceably settled In the end, whether the present plan of a commission is successful or not But Alaska has other difficulties. It has been asking for better land laws and for representative in Congress. The settlers now between thir- ty and forty thousand-are anxious to be recognized, not as adventurers, but as an orderly community.
 A government official was recently indicted for indicating in an official re- port. that there was a state of lawless- ness among them. The pioneers in the westward march of the American peO- pie have always been quick 10 develop 8 healthy pride in the regions they have Companion.