The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-29

Tn the next 25 years our commerce with Alaska will be very large. Already a good estimate has been made of the commerce for the year 1915, although complete reports have not been received at Washington, so that the exact figures cannot be reported But the Washington authorities are persuaded that the money value Of the commerce of Alaska for 1915 was not less than $73,000,00O That means an increase in the commerce of 5000, GOO over the preceding year
 RESPONDING TO CONGRESS This increase reflects the response which Alaska and it's commerce made to legislation adopted by Congress a year
 ago. Should Congress continue this healthful stimulation of Alaskan develop ment, not much more than $10,000,G00 would be needed for the year 1916. For instance, if the governmental railroad is to be completed in such manner that it's construction will compare favoraby-cli- matic conditions being recognized-With the best railway construction in the United States, there should be appropri- ated by Congress for that work about $S000,O00. Of course, this government railroad is purely commercial or indus trial railroad. At the most passenger traffic upon it cannot be very heavy But it is to do for Alaska what the con struction of the Pacific railroads did for that part of the country which was form erly known as the Kansas N ebra ska ter ritory and the great American desert, a section which now yields hundreds of millions yearly in new wealth.
 The government should spend $10O0 in 1916 in d geological survey and not less than $1,00O,000 in improving navigation and perfectng the accessories thereto. There should be about $150000 spent by the government in protecting fisheries and making public land survey.
 Of Alaska's commerce in 1914, which in the aggregate was $63, ,000,000, $22, GOO. 900 were for imports and $4l,0Oo,0OO for ex- ports, using round numbers.
 The larger part of the new wealth.
 about one-half, was furnished by the fisheries, while gold and copper fur nished about $1S,00U,000 of it. So far as copper is concerned, this is only begin ming, and those who are informed are persuaded that in 1916 the copper mines of Alaska will have an output equal to one-third of the aggregate output of Montana mines.
 William H. Seward for the United States, spent $7,200,0O0 in 1867 to obtain sovereignty over and title to Russian America which he named Alaska. For that service MT. Seward used to say he received criticism, abuse and ridicule and not much else in the way of recog- ntlon He visited Alaska a year or two after his retirement from the office of Secretary of State, and when he returned to New York he said that he was con vinced that within 40 or 30 years the United States would learn that it made an extraordinarily good bargain when it paid Russia $7,200,000 for this peninsula The new wealth which Alaska has yielded most of it within the past 20 years was in the aggregate of the money value of $533OO0,0C0, a little over one-half of this great sum having come from the development of mineral resources and the other half from fisheries and furs. This IS the increment which the United States has received. It can be maintained and increased if Congress by wise and gen. erous legislation fosters that increase