Valdez daily prospector., 1912-01-17

added would aggregate about $5OO,0OO, on the basis of the col lections for the fiscal year 1911. If it be assumed that the ob- Jects to which the tax and license monies are applied at present ought to be and would be SUD- ported to the same extent under the now government, there would be, then St00,000 to devote to new objects. If, however, the nation al Legislature should withhold from Alaska certain present ap- propriations which are withheld
 from territories where full terri torial government prevails, this additional $tOO,OOO would be more than offset by the amount of funds now being appropriated specifically for roads, protection of game and care of insane
 funds which aggregate pn the average about $250,OO0. Unless other new sources of revenue be
 found, it seems possible if not probable, therefore, that Alaska under a local government would have annually less money avail able for public uses by at least Sl5O, O,0O0--and if fair amount be added for the support of a territorial prison and jail, by at least $500, ,000--than is afforded m Irrnrnrni.
 The slfrr possibilities, how ever, in connection with the iinan- irial side of the questions are io be considered. A territorial leg iSlaiurr being installed and a separate territorial treasury be ing established, if the national government should decide tO leave the care and education of the na- tive people io the local gDv6rn- m"nl, the present appropriation Tor schools, reindeer, suppression lOf liquor traffic and relief of drs- | lilutiun and medical relief would irllhrr have iO be abandoned or supplied by the territorial treas ury. These appropriations now amount tu $22i,000 per annum. The other of the two possibilities alluded to is that of taxing one other large source of revenue, namely, the mines of the terri tory provided it is deemed good policy to tax the mines further at this stage of territorial dcvel- Opment. Quartz mines which op- crate stamp mills arc taxed all ready to some extent, the pro- IceedS being covered into the Alas ka fund, but tax of from i per cent to ? per cent upon the gross Output of all mines throughout
 the territory would yield from St75, ,O00 to $35O,OOO a year. This estimate is based, of course, ap-
 prOXimately upon the present production of metals.
 The Arizona territorial govern ment has for some years, l be-
 lievc, levied taxes upon assassed valuation of mines. Tn examining the tax lists of that and other ter ritorics, however, one is struck with the number of sources of revenue which exist in these ter irtOricS which either do not exist
 al all in Alaska or are so small as to render them unprnductivr IOf large tax returns. 4 curS0ry 1 examination of the sources of lpublic revenue in Alaska fails to promise returns under anything like a just system of taxation of more than Si5O,0O0 per annum over and above the present rrv- cnucs. even if tax of per cent
 be levied upon the gross output of all mines, as some persons
 have suggested. Under a terri lOrial form of government, ihiS
 increased revenue would prcsuni-
 ably be offset to the extent of
 $250,O00 of appropriations which
 the national congress now gives, furthermore by at least Si50,000
 of the amount which the fcdcr-
 al government now pays for
 maintenance of penitentiary and jails; and perhaps even ovcrbal-
 anced by the withdrawal of .other Appropriations, already mention
 cd, amounting to S224,OOO. Ac-
 cording to this estimate of fnan- ces, therefore, the possible gain
 under territorial government would be S450,0OO a year and the
 possible loss S642,OO0. Whether