The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1903-02-17

which would leave us in possession
of all of the inlets. harbors and bays.
which have been in possession Of
Russia and the United States for IS
years and We're never even claimed
by Great Britain until the high joint
commission met in Quebec in 1898.
Not only has Great Britain never at
tempted to exercise sovereignty
either On the water or the land but
the territory now claimed appears
first as Russian maps and in all Eng
lish publications, and the Canadian
government has time and again rec
ognized our title by asking privileges
of commerce and paying duties at
the custom houses established at
points which it now claims to be
within its jurisdiction.
When the American commissioners
positively declined to admit the
claims of Canada the Canadian COM
misGioners offered to leave the nat
ter to arbitration, but the Americans
insisted that there was no precedent
in history to justify nation in con-
senting to arbitrate the title of terri
tory which has been conceded and
occupied without question for three
quarters of century.
In 1899 John Zachert. a mining eX-
pert made the claim that monuments
had been erected in 1888 marking the
boundary as claimed by Great Brit
ain and that charts showing the loca-
ton of the monuments were in exist
ence The library of congress at
Washington. the coast and geodetic
survey and the photographic office
have large collections Of maps of the
disputed region. including some Rus
sian maps. but there is none such as
is referred to by Mr.. Zachert. and
none was found by the diplomatic
representatives to Russia, who
searched for boundary line evidence
in st. Petersburg. If the boundary
had been marked by monuments
prior to the cession of Alaska to the
United States some reference would
naturally have been made to them in
the treaty, but there is none. 1t is
believed here that if such monuments
existed they would have been discov-
cred recently by the miners.
The government map collections
bring out one important fact-that Is,
that all the old maps, American and
British locate the boundary just as
is claimed by the United States.
nHoio1 o1 iro1tx oh hoo vi ,ty
date from 1902 to the time of the
cession of Alaska, differ somewhat as
to the configuration of the coast and
the islands that lie along it, but all
show the boundary line parallel to
the windings of the coast, 10 marine
leagues from the shore, just as it is
asserted by the United States today
it should run.
Evidently the Russian government
never had any doubt as to the loca-
ton of the boundary. But the Brit
ish government also held the same
views. British admiralty charts
from the earliest to the latest accessi
bic, that Of 1887, mark the boundary
the same as on American maps.
1t was not until 1895 that Canada
raised the question whether the boun-
dairy line ran where the United
States, Great Britain, Russia and all
the map makers of the word had uni
/ formly placed it. Gold has been dis
covered on the upper Yukon. The
Lynn canal and Portland channel be-
came important highways to the in
terror, and the British Columbia chief
commissioner of lands and works got
out a map on which he ran a line
which he called the undetermined
boundary" This was drawn SO as
to give Canada both Portland channel
and Lynn canal. He set up the con
| tention that the map makers had To-
Gated Portland channel wrong and
that the real Portland channel was
what is known as Benin canal
Interesting light is thrown on this
claim to Portland channel by Brit
ish admiralty chart of 1S6S-the veal
after the cession of Alaska to the
| United States. Commander Pender
survey of Portland channel. He not
only called it that, but in naming
| mountains on each side of the chan
mel he gave British names to the
mountains on the south side and
American names to those on the
north side
If Your eyes trouble you. see DR.