El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-10-07

( large, it has paid US better than any
investment the nation has made 1t
cost US less than two cents an acre.
and spreading our receipts over the
whole area. we have already netted
more than $3.50 an acre, and that. not
WithstandinE We have scratched the
surface OF but few Of its $50 900 square
miles The furs from the land animals
have already paid the price of the terri
tory. and those from the seals have sold
for nine times as much AS 10 the
fisheries, they have yielded more than
80 times the cost of Alaska. and the
output Of the mines has been 40 times
its purchase price
The most Of this money has gone
away from the territory Alaska has
been exploited largely with capital
from the outside, and the country sup
ports a number Of absentee landlords
Nevertheless. the amount spent in the
territory is large and this will increase
IN the future More and more families
are coming here TO make this land their
permanent home The younger genera
ton is prepared to stay. and thousands
viii come in to grow up with the coun-
Try have already spoken of the enor-
nous per capita commerce. This will
continue and Alaska will grow as one
OF the best markets of the world.
A Great Trading Company.
To give you some idea of the business
1
quarters OF the Northern Commercial
company at Fairbanks. This company
Is the offspring of the Alaska CONNER
cial company. which leased the seal
islands about a year after we bought
the territory and established a general
fur trading business something like that
Of the Hudson Bay company. It leased
these seal islands OF the United States
and made such vast sums by dealing
in sealskins that the royalties paid TO
our government were more than the
first cost Of the territory.
The Alaska company originated and
developed the transportation OF Alaska.
and had its stores and trading posts
not only in the islands Of the south
cast. the Aleutians. the southern coast
OF the mainland, and in Boring sea, but
also at st Michael, at the mouth OF the
Yukon. and all along that river to the
boundary Of Canada.
When the Alaska Commercial com
pany dissolved the Northern CONNER
cal company took over its business IN
interior Alaska, and it now has IS OF
more stores in the basins of the Yukon
and the Kuskokwim. covering the
mining camps and chief fur-trading
points II supplies many OF the road
houses and does a wholesale and retail
business over territory which is per-
haps one-tenth as large as the United
states proper The company has a cap
ital Of S3.500,000. the stock being owned
mostly in san Francisco and England.
Has sI.0OO.OOO in Stock.
People who base their ideas of Alas
kan trade on the small country store or
the mining camp. should go through
some Of these mercantile establish
ments OF Alaska There are some out
side the Northern Commercial company
that do large business. but none that
covers such great area and handles
everything needed by the people. The
esta blishment here at Fairbanks. for
instance. consists Of stores, warehouses
ana cellars with a floor space of six or
eight acres II includes machine shops
and foundries. cold storage and warm
storage quarters, branches devoted 10
wholesale and retail as well as water
works, steam heat and electric light
Plants
The mercantile establishment has
row on hand more than q million dol
lars worth Of groceries. provisions and
other supplies; and its Petail branch is
like a small department store in the
states Goods have to be bought in
large quantities for the country is
llcked in ice for seven months Of the