The Nome nugget., 1903-10-03
WIRE L|NES
 ln ALASKA Governments New TeIe. graph System. 70 JOIN TINE CABLE The Only Missing Link is Be- tween Nome and St.
 Michael.
TO JOIN TINE GABLE

In the district of Alaska since July, 1900, the government has constructed l,Gl9 miles of land telegraph and l2l miles of cable. Within q few days work will be started by the cable ship Burnside, on a 1,0J0-mile cable line between Seattle and Juneau; 266- mile line from Sitka to Juneau, and a connecting line of about l50 miles join ing the SiLka line with the Seattle Juneau system. All of this work will be completed this fall, when there will be cable and land telegraph lines from the North Pacific coast shore to every important point in Alaska, footing up an aggregate of 3,200 miles, says the Seattle r. l. of Sept. l2.
 But at this, the work of putting the rich northern district in quick touch with the outside world is not to be stopped. Another year. and it may be almost definitely stated. the govern ment will begin the construction of a cable between Valdez and Sitka, which will make the United States northern territory independent, in it's telegraphic communication with the world, of any of the Canadian lines.
 At the present time this is not the case, nor will it be with the compile tion of the cable now laying, except from the Lynn canal district. Although tle western part of the district is liter ally webbed with wires in all the i'm pUrtant sections, the only outlet is by way of Eagle, on the upper Yukon, at the eastern border of the northern ter ritory of the United States. Here con nection must be made with-the Cana dian lines to Dawson, and thence either via Ashcroft to Vancouver, B. C., or over the lines of the White Pass & Yukon wires to Ska2way.
 From the latter point, after the con- pietion of the cable, messages will be handled by it and share of the Cana dian mileage cut off, which, 1t is ex- pected, will be the means of greatly reducing the present expensive tolls. At the present time, however, and until the cable is finished. the only exit from the land wires of the North is by way of Vancouver.
 From the remote western parts the tolls at the present time are so high as to preclude the general use of the lines in business way. This is due to the fact that all through messages must pass over the Canadian system, where nearly two-thirds of the present charges are absorbed. With the completion of the work the department has laid out fer this year, these rates from Nome and other points in the territory will be materially reduced, so as to permit of a-greater commercial use of the lines.
 At the present time there are forty two land telegraph offices in the dis trict of Alaska. They are as follows, beginning from the west: Nome, Fort Davis, Safety Harbor, St. Michael, IOlSOVld, Onaldkllb, Olu WOiHdIl, hal- tag. Nulato, Koyukuk. Grimkop, Lou den, Melozi, Korkrines, Briches, Fort Gibbon, Rampant, Cosna, Baker, Glen, Tolavava, Neanna, Cinema, Fairbanks, Salcha, Goodpasturo, Central, summit, Ketchumstock, Fort Liscum, Valdez, Saina, Teikhell, Tonsina, Copper Cen ter, Christochina, MentaS.ia Pass, Tan- una Crossing. North Fork, Fort Eg- bert, Skagway, Haines Mission, Ju- ncau, Sitka and Seattle, the latter tw o to be placed in operation as soon as the cable is completed.
 At each of these offices there is sta- toned an operator, and through them he districts of Nome and the lower Yukon to Rampant on the upper Yu- kon, the entire Panama and greater portion of the Copper river are covered. This takes in the entire settled portion of the far North, each port of which is al the present time in direct communi- cation with all parts of the globe.
 With the system thus far ad vanced, the necessity was apparent for cutoff line to join Rampant, on the Yukon, with Baker, on the Panama line, and