The Chitina leader., 1914-12-01
IF GENERAL INFORMATION

l labor, for men of brain and brawn such as have caused the great west to bloom and blossom.
 '-The construction of railroads by the government" the governor added, will be 8 means of opening to development vast extent of ter ritory, now practically inaccessible, but which is known to possess great possibilities from a mineral and agri- cultural point of view.
 "I wish to emphasize here, how ever, that supplementary to rail- roads, and as producers of added tonnage for railroad transportation, i.ere should be largely increased appropriation by congress for the construction and maintenance of new roads and trails.
 Health conditions among the white people of Alaska" said Gov. Strong, continue to be excellent. Among the native population, how ever, diseases of various kinds are widespread, this being especially true in remote sections, in some parts of Southwestern Alaska and
 the eastern shore of Boring sea. where such things as sanitation and
 hygiene are unknown" he added. The fisheries industry, second in importance to mining in the terri tory, calls loudly for the protect ing care of the federal government, . Gov. Strong declared. Ut has been and still is the victim of neglect and this neglect is directly attributable to the insuff1ciency of funds to em- ploy the necessary personnel to en- force the laws and regulations for l the protection of the. fisheries and for their proper supervision and ex- tension. Fragrant violations of these laws on the part of fisheries oper- ators are common occurrence, and attempts to prosecute known violat- ors have been only partially success Iui. 1ho "dStS O1 hSu dl many oi the canneries is excessive
 Governor Strong declared that the waters of Alaska had been exploited for their wealth for many years, but 1 that at no time had the exploiters contributed an aaequate return for
 their privileges.
 The system of relating taxes, '' he said, "in return for the release of salmon fry by some of the can- nery companies operating hatch cries is, and always has been, more
 or less of a solemn farce. No one has benefited except the cannery 1 companies, which are thus given a
 direct bonus by the operation of the
 relating system, and the govern ment has been deprived yearly of 2 substantial amount of taxes.
 These fisheries should pc held Tn trust for all the people and not re- served for wholesale exploitation.
 This statement applies not alone to
 the salmon fisheries, but to all the 1 others prosecuted in Alaska, and
 those who are engaged in the in-
 dustry should be compelled to pay
 a just and reasonable tax for the privileges which they enjoy" The governor added that taxes were
 levied on the salmon output alone. Gradual transition from placer to
 lode mining was indicated in the
 gold industry, Gov. Strong said, but
 the building of roads probably would
 result in increased output from the 1 placer mines. Decrease in the 1913
 output, he said, was partly accounted | for by shortage of water in the lplacer mining regions. Gov. Strong
 urged that Alaska be given a full
 territorial form of government. Under enlarged powers" he said,
 mo additional expense to the fed eral government would be entailed,
 and matters which properly belong
 to the legislative functions of the
 local legislature could be dealt with
 in a way suited to the needs and re-
 quirements of the territory"
 He declared the need of an attor-
 ney general for the territory was
 imperative"
 '; Sixteen hundred pounds of mail
 went out for interior points on the first train of the new Iri-weekIy
 winter service, yesterday morning.