Valdez daily prospector., 1912-09-25
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25, 1912
SEATTLE'S BLIND GREED.

\ correspondent to the PaclilC Mining Journal, published in Sc- attlc, in writing about the city's neglect of mining, from a view po,nt of it's peoples financial in- tcrcsts, unconsciously hits the keynote of the present feeling cX- isling in this territory, against inc business interests of the Pug ct sound city, whose policy it has been and is to take what they can from Alaska without ever invest ing a dollar in it scntcrpriscs:
 The lack of appreciation of mining and it's possibilities in Sc- alllr not only lo those interested in it, but io the communities ben rlitrd directly and indirectly, has been brought out rather strong ]y by some recent incidents < which. tn one interested, would hc very significant of the growth of real mining in Alaska in the last three years and of it's possibilities.
 The points referred to arc news items published recently in local papers as such only, stating for example, that the s. S. Seward, a vessel with capacity of about i,- 900 tons, had been sent up to Prince William sound empty, to he returned with a cargo of cop per ore; that the Tacoma smclter is to be rebuilt and rcmodcllcd, giving it much increased capac- ity, etc, etc.
 When one who is at all familiar with conditions of Alaska mining during the past five years, and inc steamship traffic to Alaska, considers that only three years ago it was the usual thing for the ships to go up to Alaska full and return empty, or with al most On- 1y a part cargo of ore OccasiOn- ally, also the small amount of money actually spent in mine de- rclopment in the north, as com pared with the sums put into the mines at Butte. Bingham, Utah, COucr d'Alrnr district. and other producing mining camps, ihis sending of such ship tO Alaska empty io return full should be very significant of the progress in real mining during lhe last few years. However, beyond most casual mention ol these matters, no comment has been made in any nf ,Lc local news organs. This lack nf any further note indicating interest in inc conditions is re- markablr, especially when event B of much less importance regard ing lumber. manufacturing or fishing, are commented on and exploited extensively. and real es- tate movements involving much less Io the community and mean ing little in growth of subsIan- tial nature arc brought out will cons siderable strength.
 Legitimate mining, OF mining for and extracting metals and minerals of commercial value from tho ground Gas distinguish cd from the other forms mining is supposed to take. in the minds of the public at large al timcs) , is not only business capable of being conducted as such, but is also one of the four great fun damental industries and not the least important of the four.
 This is a point that Inc people of Seattle seem 10 have lost sight of. Seattle is not a place where mining interests the people gen. orally, and as a result, even most of fhc best informed bushes men of lhis city are woefully ignorant of fhis great industry and what it. has done and is doing for those who arc interested in it, and tho communities it. benefits. This is not condition that should or need bc permanent. and it. is io b6 hoped that fhosc who have the op- pOrLunity to observe Inc signifl- cant facts as they develop. and tC present them to tho public. vii mako use of them. With better understanding of real mining, Sc. attlf people collectively and ndi- vidually would help themselves tc a realization Of the hoped fol growth of their city much more