Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-04-27
THE NEEDS OF ALASKA
Plan to Divide the Country h. .-.. to Three Territories.
POSSIBILITIES OF THE VAST TRACT
Tremendous Distances and Lack of Good Roads Are the Chief Obstacles to Efficient Admintstration-Tra portation the Key to Alaska's Min- eral Wealth-Indian Mission's Suc- cess at Farming,

Alaska divided into three territories, each with delegate or commission CT or an agent to represent its inter- ests in Washington. is the picture for the future of that great stretch of country which John s. McLain draws in recently published book on "Alas- ka and the Klondike," says the Wash ington correspondent of the New York Post. The circumstances under which it was written lend interest to it. When the special subcommittee of the senate committee on territories visited Alaska in the summer of 1908 to study the legislative problem which the new development of that region presented MT. McLajn was invited to go with them in an unofficial capacity. He saw the same things that they saw, and his view to a considerable extent is that of other persons who have visit ed this newest northwest.
 The tremendous distances and the lack of good roads have been the chief obstacles to the efficient administration of the law in Alaska, and for better transportation facilities Mir. McLain makes quite as strong a plea as for a subdivision of the territory. He tells that Judge Wickersham of the central Alaska judicial division holds court for a district 800 miles long and 900 miles wide, or fifty times the size of New Hampshire. And yet it contains not a mile of railroad or even of wagon road worthy of the name. Steamships along the south coast and on the Yukon riv- CT, which runs through the middle of the district, furnish the only real trans portation. It took Judge Mckenzie, United States commissioner at Cold Foot, on the upper Koyukuk, twenty seven days to get to Rampant to at- tend court, although the distance is somewhat less than from New York to Chicago.
 Lack of transportation facilities greatly increases the price of the com modities which Alaska produces. This is an axiom of trade the world over, but 1t is doubtful if it has been illus trated better in modern times than in Alaska today. Gold Is still an ex- pensive commodity to produce. Seat tie shipped during the season of 1903 to Nome and St. Michael more than 100000 tons of freight at rates ranging from S7 to $22.5O a ton. Coal, which costs $17 in Nome. sells for $50 ton twenty-five miles inland. This rate at Nome would be considerably reduced and correspondingly for all the back country if suitable harbor facilities were provided there. A breakwater Is the first need. It is estimated that it costs S ton for the lighterage of or dinary merchandise at that point. The vessels must anchor about two miles from the shore. Their freight and pas sengers are then conveyed in small boats to a point but a few rods from the waters edge, where everybody and everything is lifted by sort of travel ing crane from fiat boats and carried to the shore. The people of Nome be- lieve that a jetty built out from the mouth of Snake river and the dredging of sand bar which lies near the en- trance would make it possible for small vessels and lighters to pass through to a safe harbor within the sand pit
 Mir. McLain's plan of division is to make southeast Alaska. which is in substance the panhandle strip. a terri tory by itself. with it's capital at Ju-