The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1903-08-21
KIMBALI, SOUTH DAKOTA FRIDAY, AUGUST 81 1903
Alaska As An Investment
Chicago Inter Ocean: Since

Alaska As An Investment
Chicago Inter Ocean: Since the
discovery of the Klondike and the
establishment of the government
assay Office at Seattle, peroid of five
years, the total receipts of gold dust
and gold bullion amount to S73, 364, 100,
or more than sl4, ,OOO, 900 per year. OF
this amount l1,lS5,971 came fro m
the mines Of Nome, S54,842,1 144 from
the Klondike, s3,42s,7S0 from British
Columbia, S2,654,O37 from Treadwell
and other Alaska mines, 81, ,l53, 1856
from mines Of Washingtonand Oregon.
The United States in 1867 paid ST.
200 for Alaska. This was at the
rate OF two cents an acre, but con
gressmen quite generally agreed that
the price was too high.
General B. +. Butler of Massachu-
setts proposed in Congress on July T.
1868, to pay Russia the s7,2OO,t0O for
her friendship and ask to keep Alaska.
He declared that at any time with
in twenty years we could have had
Alaska for the asking, and added:
No 1nan, except one insane enough
to buy the earthquakes in ST. Thomas
and the ice fields of Greenland, could
be found to agree to any other terms
for the acquisition of Alaska.
MIR. Washburn of Wisconsin insisted
that Greenland was better territory
to purchase than Alaska, which, he
said, was absolutely without value
Hiram Price, congressman from
Iowa. said: "Alaska is dead loss to
us anyway, and tire more expense we
incur the worse it is for the country
and the people"
Orange Ferriss, congressman from
New York, declared: "Alaska with
the Aleutian islands is an inhospi-
table, wretched, and God: :forsaken re-
gion, worth nothing, but positive
injury and incumbrance as a colonYin
the United States y
Benjamin Il. Loan of Missouri said:
'The acquisition Of this inhospitable
waste would never add one dollar to
the wealth OF our country
The Alaska salmon catch of 1902
alone was worth S77,2OO,0OO, the price
paid for the territory. In five years
the Alaska mines have sent to Seattle
alone Sl4,00O,0oo in gold dust and
bullion, nearly twice the purchase
price of the territory.
III 1902 the total output of gold in
Alaska was SlS,S70, ,O75. and in 1901 it
was s14, $685. ,675, or for two years $685.
545, ,O0O-more than four times the
amount paid to Russia in 1867.
Previous to 1897 we had taken $685.
100000 gold from Alaska-also more
than twice the purchase price. From
1868 to 1897 the Alaskan fishery pro-
ducts brought us s6s, 900, 900. The fur
sale for twenty years after 1870
amounted to s33,o00,0O0 The fur
companies paid into the United States
treasury 81, 100000. Thus one item of
cash in the treasury was more than
the price paid for the territory.
| Meantime, the gold mines are in
creasing their output annually at a
rate Of 40 per cent, the copper mines
are being developed, railways are
being built, and naval station on the
Aleutian islands bids fair to become
| a great commercial center.
Alaska has paid for itself many
times over. 1t is doing so now al
most every year. 1t has more than
Justified the expectations OF Mr..
Seward. How sagacious today appears
his policy in comparison with the
puny wisdom of the anti-expansion
congressman!