New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-07-25
THE ALASKA BOUNDARY.

| Progress is reported on the demtatiOn of
| the provisional boundary between the Alaska
| panhandle and British Columbia according TO
| the terms of the modus vivendi of last October.
| The work done does not, however, give entire
| satisfaction to Americans in that region. They
| find that some land and some mines which have
hitherto been regarded as on the Alaskan side
of the line are now on the Canadian side. Natu-
| rally, that is unpleasant to them. They deem
| it a surrender of American territory, and they
| are memorializing the President on the subject
| and soliciting the aid of various commercial or
| CARNATIONS on the Pacific Coast in making their
| protests effective
1t is not difficult to understand this feeling.
| But at the same time it may not be possible
altogether to sympathize with it. Or at least we
cannot sympathize with the apparent surprise
with which the work of the surveyors is re-
garded. 1t was known perfectly well nine
months ago that the provisional line under the
modus vivendi was a compromise between the
conflicting claims, and that it temporarily con-
coded some territory to Canada. We remarked
| upon that feature of the scheme at the time,
| and published a map showing just what terri
| tory would probably be conceded. To-day's
| news exactly confirms the showing Of our map
at that time, as will be seen from the dispatches
and from the map with which we illustrate
| them. The part of the boundary in question is
| that at the head of Lynn Canal The Canadian
| claim is for a boundary that would give Lynn
| Canal to Canada, cut the panhandle in two
| and crowd the United States off the mainland
| altogether. The United States claim is for
| line sweeping boldly in an arc of a circle far to
| the north of Daltons Cache and Lake Linde-
| man. The provisional line, which is, of course,
| not to be deemed permanency, runs between
| the two, but very much nearer the United
States than the Canadian claim. The strip of
land which it temporarily comedies to Canada
Is about a hundred miles long and nowhere
more than twenty miles wide, and it contains
no port and no town.
The grounds on which these lines have been
drawn may briefly be set forth to give a clear
understanding of the case. The treaty provides
that the boundary line shall follow the noun
tain ridge parallel with the coast, if there be
one not more than thirty marine miles from
the coast; and If there be none 1t shall be
drawn arbitrarily at that distance from the
coast, following the windings thereof. The
Canadians assumed that there was no such
ridge. So did the United States Both, there
fore, drew arbitrary lines. But Canada held
that coast meant the outermost edge of the
outermost fringe of islands, from which the
thirty miles should be measured inland, and
that the coastline should not follow the wind
ings, but run boldly from headland to headland,
and so she drew a line that cut that part Of
Alaska off from the continent altogether. The
United States, on the other hand held that
coast meant the edge of the mainland, and
that all wipdings of the line between headlands
six miles or more apart should be followed and
so n line was drawn on the arc of a circle thirty
miles from the centre at Dyea, the head of tide
water navigation on Lynn Canal. But it will
be observed that the treaty gives first prefer
ence to mountain ridge, if there be one, and
that there is one recent surveys seem to indi-
cate There seems to be a range called the
Kotusk Mountains, running northwest and
southeast, about dozen miles above Dyea.
They are the mountains which are crossed by
White Pass and Chilkoot Pass-names famous
in Klondike history. The surveyors under the
modus Vivendi have therefore, in accordance
with the express terms of the treaty, run the
provisional line along that ridge. That seems
a reasonable thing to do.
The whole case turns on whether there is or
IS not mountain range there. If there is, 1t
should be the boundary. If not the full Ameri-
can claim must be maintained. Our continental
coastline must be preserved unbroken. And it
will be thus maintained, even though this pro-
visional line be ultimately made permanent
which Is the utmost conceivable concession to
Canada. For on that line the nearest approach
of Canadian territory to the coast would be
twelve miles above Dyea. There may have to
be certain adjustments of the line here and
there, as more accurate surveys shall determine
the character of the land. The one thing that is
absolute and Interchangeable is that the mainland
coast of Alaska belongs to the United States. in
one unbroken line, from Mount Saint Elias to
Portland Canal There was never for fifty
years the slightest question of Russias title TO
it, and our title to it is identical with hers