The Cordova daily times., 1917-03-30
PLENTY OF PULP IN ALASKA FUR ;:::!A. \. MILLS
 ms suHAO


 forests of Alaska is the statement of Secretary Houston, of the department of agriculture, who is now recon mending the establishment of govern ment pulp mills in this territory.
 The following is part of a statement recently issued by him:
 "The forest service has estimated the pulp wood in the national forests at three hundred billion feet. This means six hundred million cords, and for all paper of all kinds we use but seven million cords year. There are other large supplies of pulp wood on privately owned lands in the west. These western raw materials are much cheaper than the woods now used by paper mills in the northwest. While pulp wood stumpage in the northern states costs from $2.50 to $500 per cord standing in the forest, first class western timbers are available at prices ranging from 25 cents to $1.50 per cord. Long distance transportation and the large investments tied up in paper plants necessarily will retard the westward expansion or migration of this industry; but unquestionably it should afford one means of increas- ing the production of paper to keep pace with current demands.
 The Two Western Paper Wood Belts.
 From the standpoint of geographi- cal location and transportation to the bulk of paper users in the central and eastern states, the western paper woods fall into two broad belts. The first is available to tidewater ship ments from the Pacific coast, lying principally on the west slope of the Cascade mountains, Oregon and Wash ington, including vast areas tributary to Puget Sound, and running up along the seaboard in southeastern Alaska. There are seventy billion feet Of spruce and hemlock in the national forests of Alaska alone. In many re- spects, it's conditions as to abundant forests of paper making woods, water power, and direct tidewater transpor- tation duplicate that of Norway, the leading country of the world in it's paper industry. It is safe predic- tion that in the last analysis the value 41 I,,tf n source of paper will be found to ex' ceed the value of any other of her en ormous resources, coal, minerals, or fisheries.
 "The first plan is that of public sales of raw material to the manufac turers. This already is being done tC some extent. During the last year ma tional forest timber sales to lumber companies, railroads and mining com panies and one western paper mil amounted to $1,750,000. This plan calls for contractual relations between thu government and private capital. New mills might be erected in Alaska, thu Puget Sound country, or the Rock. mountain region, under agreement with the government for long tern supply of raw material, guaranteed un der an equitable adjustment of price from time to time. This already i being done in the case of certain saw mills. Such contracts may readil contain provisions which give tn public effective control of possible 1T dustrial combinations or monopolies.
 Alaska News Print Factories Practice
 Experts of the forest service rt port that it is entirely practicable t manufacture news print in Alaska an deliver it to New York drought tn Panama canal at a cost of not nor than $35 a ton. When 1t Is considere that recent prices have ranged fror $6O a ton upward, 1t is evident tha an excellent competitive basis exist for the introduction of western paper
 "The development of private pape plants in the west might be suppl
 mented by the erection of mills by u
 federal government itself. It is est
 mated that a mill with capacity one hundred tons of news print ds
 can he built in Alaska for two and
 half million dollars. Even If the ou
 put of the mill was confined to u
 needs of the government alone, it
 probable to such mill would pt
 for itself in no great length of tim