The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-02
The Lynn Canal Dispute.

Whatever the exact proposals Of Canada
may have been, as to modus vivendi pend
ing the suggested arbitration OF our Alas
kan boundary. she has succeeded In forcing
into the front rank OF disputable points
a claim which a few years ago did not
exist at all.
For more than half century after the
treaty Of 1925, which defines the frontier
line between Russian America and Canada
the maps Of all nations, including the
British, set forth that line as We hold 1t to
be to-day. What is still more noteworthy,
the Dominion official maps themselves, for
more than dozen years after our acquisi-
ton OF Russia's territorial rights in 1887,
continued to mark that line as we mark 1t
to-day. The first map anywhere to be
found that departs from that line was, We
believe, Dominion map published in 1884,
nearly threescore years after the Anglo
Russian treaty. and seventeen after our
purchase OF 1867. This was followed by
another in 1887, making a still greater
claim upon territory conceded to us by all
previous maps. At first secure in our long
possession, this endeavor to break into our
continuous coast line attracted little atten-
ton, but the rise OF the Klondike region in
Importance, and the fact that the Dominion
claim was aimed at securing control Of the
entrance to the principal overland trail to
that region, made the matter serious.
As is generally known, the treaty OF / 1876
says that the boundary shall begin at the
southernmost point of Prince Of Wales
Island thence run through Portland Chan
mel to the tifty.sixth degree Of north lati-
tude and then along the summit Of the
mountains situated parallel to the coast to
the l4lst meridian, and along that merid-
Ian to the Frozen Ocean. Whenever the
summit Of the mountains should prove to
be more than ten marine leagues from the
ocean, then the dcmarcation was to be "a
line parallel to the winding OF the coast,
and which shall never exceed the distance
of ten marine leagues therefrom" 1t was
soon found that no mountain chain parallel
to the const existed, so that the alternative
OF ten marine leagues had to be adopted.
1t Ia clear enough what the makers of the
treaty of 1928 were trying to get at. They
aimed to give Russia narrow but contin-
uous strip of main shore coast all the way
down from the Hist meridian to the south
ern end Of Prince OF Wales Island In the
treaty occurs tho phrase the line OF coast
which Is to belong to Russia" while the ex-
precision "a line parallel to the winding Of
the coast" shows that the entire shore line
was to be hers, with no suggestion OF cut
ting through the winding anywhere from
headand across to headland Such an ex-
preston became the more necessary since
the whole hintrrland was Great Britaln's,
80 that to give hor sovereign rights here
and there along the coast through not fol-
lowing Its wlndngs might break up the
Russian line into disconnected bits
When Canada began to covet direct
access Of her own to the Yukon along this
strip, her first claim was that the line
should not run through Portland Channel,
but through one west OF it called Benin
Canal. This would take from us a large
tract OF territory, including two important
islands. Next, some Of her people insisted
that she could construct series Of sum-
mits out of mountains scattered along the
coast nearer than ten marine leagues, or,
II she could not do that, that the treaty
distance ought not to be measured from the
coast OF the continent, but from the outer
edges Of the archipelago which fringes IL.
Still others argued that the rule should be
to jump from headland across to hoadand
instead Of following the "sinuost6s de la
cote" as the original French Of the treaty
expr"ssively puts it,
Such are the efforts to depart from the
plain intent OF the treaty, which was to
give Russia belt of coast on the continent
and hence to allow her To control the
mouths of the inlets. Lynn Canal, az a
glance at the map shows, is most impor-
tant highway constituting the water ap-
proach to the Chilcat Pass and the Yukon
trail. Gnada's claim would transfer
to her such important towns Of