Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-23
ALASKA WANTS STATEHOOD
Annual Report Of Gov. Brady to the Secre-
tary Of the Interior.
Abuse of the Salmon Fishing-Dfsap-
pearance of the seaIs-GO1d Mining
Future of the Country.


cussion of the salmon fisheries of Alaska
The pack last year was 974,6O1 cases,
20, 51S barrels and 4,30O half barrels with
total value of So, 544, 1913 This year, he
says, 1t Is safe to say that not less than
100000 cases and 1900 barrels Will be
packed, bringing their total valuation up to
81, 12o,ooO. The governor quotes from sew
eral letters sent him by Indians relative to
Illegal fishing, all asking protection from
the men who operate the canneries. Suita-
BILE laws should be enacted. he says, capa-
Bile of but one Interpretation, which should
give protection alike to the capital invest
ed as well as the natives. Reference Is
made to the rivalry existing among the
canneries 1t is so great, the governor
says that al times one cannery Will catch
and destroy tens of thousands of fish
which they are unable to can rather than
to allow the rival canneryS fishermen to
catch them. 1t IS to be hoped, he says, that
at the coming session of Congress proper
legal protection will be given to every COM
munity.
Disappearance of the Seal.
Reference is made to the fur industry.
Only about 125 skins Of the fur seal were
taken, and the animal is disappearing rap
idly The governor thinks it might be well
to prohibit the hunting of the seals for
fifteen years to save them from becoming
extinct. Pelagic hunters are still active,
as numbers of pups were found starved to
death by the failure of their mothers to
nourish them
In this connection the governor says:
IL would seem, therefore, that If we
wish TO preserve these valuable and in
terestng animals upon these islands the
United States has but one policy left to
pursue We should maintain stoutly that
we nave a property right In the seal, and
TO make this palmer and more certain we
should proceed to put brand with the let
tiers |. S, four inches long and half or
three-quarters of an inch wide, upon the
back of every female. If one of these ami
mails so branded is killed by the pelagic
| sealer his skin will bring but small price
IN the fur market, for it is spoiled for the
furrier's purposes.
'As about so per cent of the animals
taken IN the sea females, the sealers
| eaten for the year would not be profitable
| and for that reason sealing would soon
| cease.
| 1T is urged, therefore, that the depart
| ment give this matter its careful consid-
Grafton and be ready in the coming season
to send sufficient force of men. who are
experts IN the business. and furnish them
with the most recent electrical appliances
for branding, which the stockmen have
found to work so well upon our western
plains
Agriculture in Alaska
Nothing should concern any of the peo-
pie of Alaska much as its agricultural
interests. From the purchase until now
the impression that the general public has
mad is that, agriculturally, Alaska does not
amount to much, and those who have per-
s1stently cried up its possibilities in this di-
recton have been derided and looked upon
as being cranky. 1t is true that we have
rain and snow, and glaciers and polar
bears but all when and where they belong
and at the proper season: but it is also true
that we have warm ocean currents along
the coast, and that we have a climate in
the southeastern part that is astonishingly
mild and equable.''
Gold Mining.
A considerable part of the report relates
to the mining of gold and the governor
| acknowledges there is no way of even ap-
proXfmating the production of gold at the
present time. 1t is only here and there that
reliable reports are obtanable. Reference
IS made to the discovery of gold on the sea-
shore, and attention is invited to the fact
that the miner can have right to mine
the beach under any mining law of the
United States. In this connection Gov
ernor Brady says:
Now, the question is, What shall be
done? There IS no telling how many miles
the seaShore may be profitabIy worked
either by rockers or machinery. It is prob
able that the same shore can be mined
protitably for years, as the surf does its
mighty work in changing and driving the
sands from one position to another We
are all concerned TO see that the gold is
taken out ana put in circulation. and the
DedCn Will sun De none the worse for OF her
purposes; but there should be rules and
regulations to give a man encoura cement
ard a certainty of tenure as to the amount
which one applicant could hold and the
length of time. Shores that cannot be
worked profitably by miners with rockers
might be made profitable with proper ma
ChiHery. Such enterprises would want,
naturally, good space of ground. In view
of these difficulties, it IS suggested as a
possible solution, that the Secretary of the
Interior be authorized to lease the right to
applicants in their order of filing at
nominal sum per hundred feet measured
along the ordinary high-tide mark The
amount which any person corporation
so applying shall have, more than 100 feet,
shall rest with the discretion of the Secre-
tary of the Interior"
A gratifying report is made of the rein
deer industry. The deer are increasing rap
idly, and there is pasturage for several
million in northern Alaska.
Future Of Alaska.
Gov Brady concludes his report as fol-
lows:
Alaska is a land wherein men must eat
bread IL the sweat of their faces The
thorny apple and the devil clubs are here,
ard they tear and hurt Nevertheless the
command to BE fruitful and multiply, and
replenish the earth will be obeyed This
country is capable of supporting a large
population. The Anglo-SaXon race, or bet
tel still, the mingled stock that We call
American, will thrive here. Such earthly
things as gold, silver, copper, platinum
coal, fish. potatoes and grass have in them
a divine propulsion. The forward movement
/ has begun and nothing can stay it
| Within very few years there will be hosts
| of busy people here intelligent and aspir-
| ing, bone of our bone and flesh of our
| flesh. When they send their petitions and
| knock at the doors of Congress. what are
i the eastern statesmen going to say? VIII
| they be hidden to enter. or will thew he
| kept waiting until hope dies? Our eastern
| friends should not feel alarmed about the
| growing importance OF western influences
| ard the preponderance of votes in the halls
OF legislation. 1t is inevitable If we ex-
! cept the time when the Constitution was
| framed, there has not been period when
| wiser craftsmanship was needed more than
| today. Now nothing is rigid but on the
| contrary, plastic and ready for the fornla-
| tive touches of the master Senator's and
| representatives of the east and south, will
you neglect the opportunity?
| Statehood Wanted
1T is true that Alaska is detached and
| this is why we look to you more confident
ly. Swift steamships, telegraphs and ca
| bles annihiate distance. Probably no peo-
pie outside of France were more interested