The Alaska daily empire., 1918-12-17
Cong Informed of the Man, in Which Regis tra Had to Travel
 | Country.
ABOUT MAIL SERVICE
Better Mail Service Is Im- perative; Touches on "BonedryIA Alaska and
 Coal Situation.

WASHlNGTONt Dec. lf.-AmonS subjects touchdictlp6n in the report of Gov Thos .tbss. and transmitted to Congress in the annual report of Secretary Franklin K. Lane, are the Alaska draft, mail service, coal min. ing, agriculture, necessity of consoli dating departments, bone dry Alaska. and the value of Alaska's commerce.
 The operation of the selective service law in Alaska has produced extremely gratifying results. Par ticularly is this true owing to the adverse conditions of transportation, mail and telegraph service, climate, and immense distances. Many regis trants are located from 300 to 1000 miles from the earest local board and have volrlyrssssssa iyf travelled such distances for purposes of examina- tion and induction.
 Yhe first registration extended over the period between July and September 2, 1917. The number of persons registered was 11,071, at a cost of $38090, or 3.2 cents per reg istrant, as compared with the na- tional average of 54 cents in 1917. Thirty eight per cent of the above were aliens, of whom approximately 1000 were alien enemies, 326 being Germans, and 11S were colored per sons No Indians were registered. Of the above, 4496 registrants gave ( in inn other States and they were trans ferred thereto Thus. the net regis tration was 6,575. The number fi- nally classified in Class l was 3,496, or 532 per cent.
 On October 1, 1918, 2,200 regis trants, or 3315 per cent. of the gross number, will have been inducted. In addition thereto many hundreds, i'm patient for action, enlisted prior to the registration period or joined the British and Canadian forces.
 The Territory has furnished at least 5000 men to the ColOrs, not counting those transferred from oth CT jurisdictions, or approximately lZ per cent. of it's present total white 1 population. The expense of accom- plishing the registration and selec- | ton for the first 15 months will not exceed $12,000, or $5.45 per man in | ducted The national average for | 1917 was S493 Incomplete returns disclosed that an average of 10 per cent of the registrants physically ex- amined were rejected by the local boards. Twenty-nine per cent. was | the national average for 1917 or those examined by local boards and | accepted, who were again examined at mobilization camps, 2.66 per cent. were rejected. The national ratio for 1917 was 5.8 per cent.
 Mail Service
 It is to be regretted that in the interest of economy, the mail ser vice in the Territory is being con- stantly impaired. If the Postoffice Department could only be brought to realize that on their service the growth of the country is as much de pendent as on the work of more ! typically constructive department, a world of good would be accomplished Although writing subsequent to the fiscal year 1918, the Governor con siders the situation of sufficient gravity to make a brief mention of some of the hardships entailed under the present system. After August 1. 1918, all through mail contracts to Southeastern and Western Alas ka were discontinued, first-class mail being sent by express and second class and parcel-post mail by freight Mail clerks were removed from all steamers.
 Shortly after August 1, the steamer Dora on the Seward-Nushagak run discontinued service on account of the loss of the mail contract. To the date of october there had been l Continued on Page Five.)