The Alaska daily empire., 1917-03-30
Secretary of State Com pIeted Deal for the Northern Territory
 50 Years Ago.
$7,2OO,OOO WAS PRICE
Products of Alaska Have Paid for Contract Price to People
 Many Times

WdIly llIIlGS
 Fifty years ago today, to be exact 90 years ago at o'clock this morn, ing. Secretary of State William IT. Seward, acting on behalf of the Unit ed States. and Baron Stoekl. Russian Ambassador. completed the little real estate deal" which gave to the United States the Territory of Alas. ka.
 It was stipulated that the United States should pay to Russia $7,20O,- 900; that Russia should transfer to the United States Q big strip of ter ritory. known as Alaska, that wasn't of much use for anything but Eski- mos and polar bears, and that when the transfer was made, all Obliga- tions, legal and moral. should be con sidered as having been discharged
 About 3O,OOO was expended in cabling back and forth 10 Russia, and when it came time for the pay ment of the money, a quarrel arose as to which nation should bear this expense. There was considerable diplomatic negotiations about this matter: but the United States finally agreed to pay the whole sum and took over the property.
 The United States was just recov. ering from the effects of the Civil War, and it owed some moral obli- gations to Russia, which had sent Q fleet of warships into San Francisco Bay at a given time when their ser. vices might be needed. These war. ships had a moral effect on certain other nationalities that were threat ening to interfere in Americas tsrug- gle. and Seward felt that the Unit ed States was under some obligations to Russia for it's moral assistance.
 Secret Treaty Made
 A secret treaty was made April 10. a bill providing for the payment of the money was passed by the House of Representatives on May r., with General Garfield, afterwards President, in the chair; and the trea' ty was proclaimed June 2O The Ter ritory was turned over to this COun. try October IS. 1867. Because so many dates are concerned in the purchase of Alaska, the Territory has decided to celebrate the semi. centennial of it's AmeriCanization dur. ing the entire summer of 1917.
 Before making the final payment, Seward took a trip 10 Alaska and spent several months looking over the Territory He went back with the report that the land was rich in mineral and aquatic and agricul- tural possibilities. Of course, only Q very few persons believed him, but one of these was Senator Summer, who delivered a most exhaustive speech on the subject in the Sen ate and finally induced that body to ratify the treaty. An American warship was sent to New Archangel, now called Sitka, the Russian capital of Alaska, and it's captain hOisted the American flag. This concluded the whole deal and Uncle Sam gave his check for the $7,2OO,OOO and paid the telegraph company's bill.
 That little deal" developed into one of the greatest real estate bar gains that this nation has ever made. The purchase price has been repaid to the people of the country many times over. Altogether the records show, that up until the close of the year 1916. Alaska has produced min erals, fish, aquatic skins and furs, furs of land animals and other pro- ducts to the value of $665, ,O76,721. This is the amount actually shown on the records of the government, and it is conceded that a large amount of wealth has been taken from Alaska without any record be. ing made of it.
 Gold Discovered in 199S
 Gold was discovered in Alaska in 1883, and since that time the Terri tory has produced $2S5,37O,O66 worth of the glinting metal For many years gold was the leading mineral product of the North, but in the last year it has yielded first place to cop. per. The total copper product of Alaska is little in excess of S70,- GOO. .OOO, but more than half of this amount was taken out of the North last year. Three or four copper mines produced S35,534,O39 worth of red metal last year In other words these few mines in one year returned to the people of the United States five times as much as was paid for the entire Territory.
 When making the deal Seward in cluded the waters surrounding tho Territory-the seas of Alaska were thrown in as "boot" This uncon. sidered trirle of the "waters sur, rounding Alaska" which the great Secretaory of State included in this deal, has proven a greater asset than the land itself
 Like the Pilgrim Fathers who land ed on Plymouth Rock, the first Amer