The Alaska daily empire., 1916-09-09

The following unbiased and inter esdng article appeared in the latest edition of the Business Chronicle published at Seattle It was written by a travelling correspondent Of this well edited and prominent journal
 Juneau, Alaska-Permanent min ing development activity in the fish ! ing industry: city improvement de- lvelopmeut of the adjacent country and healthy Increase in court and official business. have combined to give Juneau its most prosperous year. considered from all standpoints. The first flush of boom days with inflated values and over done busin- ess is over; and the town has set
 led down to steady business.
 Consolidation Of big mining prop critics seems Co be the order of the day Consolidation of groups of claims necessary in working out develop Iment plans of properties that seek Co emulate the success Of the Tread well. Alaska.Castineau and Alaska ! Juneau mines. is under way in many parts Of the district And as Juneau derives her sustenance from mining properties such as the Trcadwcll group on Douglas Island and the AL aska.Gasuneau south of Juneau, any increased prosperity which she hopes to achieve must of necessity conn from more such properties. The KeE- sington consolidation. the Eag'e Id- yer consolidation. the Aux Bay con solidation. the Nevada creek group ing. the the Gold Belt property re- organization Of the Ebner holdings and the Jersey property, present the hopes of Juneau for increased pros perity resulting from increased big scale mining activity Some of these properties are being developed on an organization plan; others are yet in the throes of financial readiustment and still others are being more thor cughly prospected Added to these Inewer properties is tho consolidation of the Treadwen holdings on Doug las Island, with the construction ot @ new central hoisting and milling plant.
 Money invested in property has .peid Juneau residents well. Rentals have been high. because the town has only a limited area with the mountain on one side and Gastineau ! Channel on the other Average iu- come on rentals is 10 per cent Store ing horeabcu; It is estimated that month. dwellings from Sl5 to $50. with few for rent Activity in real estate has been noticeably healthy. During the last five years. it is es- dmatad that property values in Ju- neau have doubled. with actual net speculative values. In 1912. the First National Bank corner was of- farcd for sale for S16.50O It failed to change hands and in 1914 was sold for s26.OOO
 Juneau is the biggest labor market in Alaska From this point employ ers from all points in Alaska draw their men, Notices are posted in Ju- ncou for labor wanted as far re- mote as the yukon territory. Labor, 600. E. supplied from this market 70 points as far south as Ketchi- : kan.
 The floating population Of the camp 's probably larger than that of any camp in the north. The permanent population or Juneau. including the. Douglas Island residents. is esumat- ed at 5000; but this may be high.
 As the capital of Alaska and the center Of the first judicial division. the official business in Juneau is no inconsiierable factor The annual payroll is in excess Of $2OO,O00, which includes the Territorial and U. s. lomcers.
 The financial situation in Juneau is sound Interest rates on promis- sory notes range from 8 to 10 per cent, 8 per cent prevailing on larg- CT loans
 Business failures in Juneau of ,ate have been few. consisting in the main part of restaurants. During the last year. one grocery furniture and one drug store were closed.
 Ordinary lines Of business appear to be well represented, some business men complaining that many are over done. There are hardware stores, with one store being absorbed by another The city also has 4 meat markets and a great number of gro cery stores. The bulk of the city's general merchandising is done by
 siores One of these reports an in- crease cs $5OO0 in gross sales for the first six months of 1916 over 1915.
 Credit business predominates in Juneau. Soventy-fye perecent of all business dcne by retail stores is on the credit basis. There is evident now slight tendency to tighten up so far as credit is concerned.
 The city has no indebtedness and owns it's own ocean dock, school bull dngs and town hall. The tax rate is 20 mlis on three-qrarters of the as- sesscd valuation which is the sole city rax The Alaska Organic Act prohibits the ci-.ef ncurriug any