The daily morning Alaskan., 1900-04-27
srNnAY SOCIAL
WATCH THE BOUNDARY.

Americans should not loose sight Of the fact that the question of the Alaska boundary from Portland channel to Mount St. Elias. over 800 statute miles in straight line, still remains to be settled. Everybody knows that we sue ceeded to the rights of Russia under the treaty of 1895 by which the boundary between her possessions and those of Great Britain was defined saysthe New York San-
 The treaty makers using the charts of Vancouver, which showed a contin- uous range of mountains back of the coast, agreed that the boundary should follow the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast Ss far as the point of intersection Of the Hist degree ot west longitude { Mount St. ElAsl and thence follow that merid. ian to the Arctic ocean. It happens however, that there Is DO such noun tain range.
 But the treaty provided further that whenever the summit of the mountains proved 10 be more than ten marine leagues or thirty nautical miles from the coast the boundary should be form cd by line parallel to the winding of the coass and never more than ten mar- inc leagues from it. The American case Is simply that as the mountain range does not exist. and, therefore cannot be made line of demarcation, it is necessary to fall back upon the modifying clause in the treaty and hx the line at ten marine leagues from the coast.
 The Canadians insist upon running the line over the tops of isolated noun iains irregulAtly scattered along the coast. for the most part. less than ten miles from it and very far from parallel with iis windingS This arrangement would give us 0nlv the western sea foo, Of the mountains. It would also cut Of the continuity of our coast line for it would leave the more important estuAries, bays and harbOrs in Canadian territory. This claim is contrary both to she spirit and letter Of the treaty. It vas never advanced by Great Britain in her dealings either with Russia or this country until after the discovery of the Klondike gold.
 Ia his recent address before the American Geographical Society, Pres ident T. C. Mendenhall of the Worces- ter Pol, technic Institute expressed re- gret that the Department Of state con- sented to the temporary arrangement of last October. In his opinion it would have been safer and better if the United States had stood squarely by its case in every particular.
 Mir. Mendenhall directed the survey which proved the nouexistence Of Van couyer's mountains, and he is our lead ing authority on the topography of that region. He Is not in favor of submit ting the question tO arbitration. for the result would b. a compromise, regardless Of our real rights. and these are SO clear that DO concession ougel 10 be made"
 The fact Is that the best English maps show the boundary in agreement with the American claims. No CAnad- ian map shoEed any other line than that which we claim until after the gold discoveries. Not a few American enterprises were begun in the now dis pIted territory without a word of pro- test Americans and not Canadians settled in that region. This nation de- sireS io do exact justice to others. but ii i- not willing to sacrifice one tittle of its rights.