Arizona republican., 1902-06-19
ALASKAN TRADE
 FOR THIS YEAR
First Facts Regarding Con-
 merCe of That Territory
A Showing That That Bleak Region Bas Paid for Itself Many Times Over in a Third of Century.

Washington, June 1S.-"COmmercial Alaska in 1902' is the title oi a mono graph prepared by the treasury bureau of statistics for publication in the forthcoming issue of the Monthly Sum- mary. In this the commercial condi- tions, opportunities and prospects in Alaska are set forth, the number of in dustries at the present time, the route of travel, the methods of reaching that once distant but now accessible terri tory, and a standardization of the com mercial and financial results of own ership of that territory by the United States. This statement is presented at the present moment, both by reason of the growing interest in Alaska, and es- bureau of statistics is to publish in fu- ture monthly statements of the com merce oi Alaska with ports of the United States. Heretofore no detailed statistics of commerce with Alaska have been obtained because of the fact that no provision of law existed for the collection of statistics of commerce be- tween customs districts of the United States: and as Alaska was by law Q customs district such statistics could
 
 the Hawaiian Islands and Porto Rico were also made customs districts of the United States and the collection of sta tistics of our commerce with those is lands was rendered impracticable, measure providing for the collection of statistics of trade between the United States and it's noncontiguous territories all of it's non-contiguous territories %l tics, approved by the secretary of the treasury. sent to congress, passed and signed by the president: and beginning with the new fiscal year the record Of trade between the United States and all of it's non n-cortiguouS territory will be available in form similar to that Of commerce between the United States and foreign countries.
 ln general terms it may be said that Alaska, for which the United. States paid Russia $1,200,000 in 1867, has sup piled furs. fish and gold amounting to 3o000. GOO in value, about equally di- Nided between these three items. that the investments of capital from the United States in Alaska are proba bly S25, ,G0G.oG0, with d larga 2-.* adACione sum invested in transporta tion to that telIIlOfE- ana that the annual snip ments of merchandise to Alaska now aggregate more than $12,000. COG, and have aggregated since the purchase nearly CT quite $100,000,0 00G. Meanwhile the population has grown from ar cs- timated 30.C09 at the date oi purchase to 32.G52 in 1890, 63.592 in 1900. and an cs- timated 75.O00 at the present time.
 The number of fur seals taken on the PribilOf islands from 1870 to 1901 is 2,1Sl,31l. and the value Of the seal and ether furs taken since the purchase of Alaska by the United States is esti- ma:cd at about s50.000.GOO. The fur seal industry. which. has declined in the last few years, was succeeded by the fishing industry, Alaska now supplying about Onc-half the salmon of the coun- try. The value of the salmon pack in Alaska last year is estimated at about $1,OG0, 0o0, and the total .vaIuc of the fish taken in Alaska since the pur- chase, about $5O,OOO. 900; while the value of gold and silver mined since the pur- chase is also about S50,0OO, ,000.