The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-06-01
} ~ALASKA---LAND OF
) VAST RICHES.
sessssse

Hampton's Magazine, considers the
subject of who Shall Own Alaska
The G~uggenheims or the People?" Of
so much Importance that he himself
has prepared an article on the subject
for that periodical. A table of sta
tistics shows Alaska's wealth to be
anywhere from fifteen billion dollars
to a trillion and a half.
"No man can estimate accurately
the wealth of Alaska" says Mr.
Hampton, wealth that is to-day the
property of the people of the United
States, theirs just as surely as If they
were stockholders in a corporation.
Nearly one quarter of Alaska has not
even been explored. An Alaskan said
recently that the only two persons
who really know anything about
Alaska are the Almighty and Alfred
H. Brooks. The latter Is a member
of the United States Geolo gical Sur
vey, and we have what he knows
about Alaska.
"Mr. Brooks says that only twenty
per cent. of Alaska has been sur
veyed at all. That is, only this much
has been passed over even in recon-
uoissance surveys, which barely d.
vide vast stretches according to their
|. geological character. Survey in de-
tail has covered less than one per
cent. of the territory. This affords
at least some basis for an estimate.
What is known of that one per cent,
added to what is known Of a patch
here and there, suggests the possibili-
ties for the rest.
There Is sound reason to believe
there is $500, 1000, 900 worth of placer
gold in Alaska. There may be a hum
dred or a thousand times that
amount.
LAS for lode gold mining, there is
practically only one deep gold mine
being worked in Alaska, the Tread
well-the Rothschilds are said to
control that-and it has produced so
far $50, 900, 900. There may be- at
least 100000 lode gold in
Alaska.
LAS for copper, this one item alone
will some day make a big crop OF
Alaskan millionaires. The Govern
ment survey experts say, 1T is impos-
sible to estimate the copper reserves.
Others say there is another Montana
there, another Arizona.
In coal, the official Government fig
ures can be definitely obtained, The
coal areas known at this time aggre-
gate 1888 square miles, three times
the area Of Pennsylvania c%oal-bear-
ing ields-and much Of Alaska's coal
EQUALS or betters Pennsylvania in
quality. In u~nsurveyed areas there
are some fifty thousand square miles
Of ~coal-bearing lands. MI. Brooks
lowest estimate of Alaska's coal
reaches the stupendous total Of 49,
104,500, goo tons; and, he adds, 1t
would be conservative to multiply
this figure by ten, Or even a hundred.
There are thousands of tons Of
other minerals: silver, quicksilver,
tin, lead, iron. There is also petro-
leum. There may be vast quantities
of oil under large areas. Of silver,
$4,000 ounces have been taken
out. Iron abounds.
lone great source Of wealth-seal.
ing-has been exhausted already.
The total Of this single item reaches
the amazing figure Of s125, 100000.
The salmon industry produces a value
of 100000 every year.
1t Is estimated that there are IT,
100000 feet of saw timber in
Alaska; probably there Is twice that
much. There are agricultural and
grazing lands that may some day
support a population of ten million"