The Alaska daily empire., 1920-05-18
Washington Policy
Gripping Us, Says
Alaska s Governor

absolutely discouraged particularly |
when he finds he has no right to use
the water power. To cap the climax, |
brown bear comes down out of the |
mountain and kills his COW and
sheep. He kills the bear and is
promptly arrested by the game war
den for shooting bear out of season.
IL he can raise the money, the next
steamer takes him back to Seattle
where he becomes leader in the
l. w. w.
Great Oil Rush On
Only the other day Congress
passed an Oil leasing law. Already
"a great rush is on to the probable
oil fields of katalIa. Yaka Tagt and
Cook Inlet. Oil in small quantities
has been discovered at Katalla. One
company spent over a million dollars
in development work. Then without
warning all oil lands were withdrawn
from entry. A few shallow wells on
the one patented oil claim In all
of Alaska kept pathetically at work
1t produced few barrels of oil daily
but what might have been a prom
Using industry was killed. In the
Boring River coal fields mine devel
opment was well under way Rail
roads and smelters were projected
Then came the crash All coal lauds
were withdrawn from entry. A busy
district became deserted Fortunes
and regulations were lost Prosecu-
lions by the government became so
numerous that as one man put it, 1t
became a badge of honor to be in
dicted.' 1t is not rec rCded that any
good was accomplished. Before
this time the population had been
steadily increasing Towns, though
small, were prosperous. In a few
years Alaska would have been clam
oring for admission into the fedora
tion of States. But industry had
been killed and capital. always wary
refused absolutely to invest where
confiscation was not only possible
but probable.
Forest Lands Withdrawn
I'm the forested area the cry for
toHoCi dtlOb Hdut IcSutlCu III inc
withdrawal of some $4,000 square
miles into national forests. 1t seem
| ed more than probable that pulp
mills would have been established
but for this short-sighted policy
For some other unfathomable
| reason there were vast withdrawals
of lands; for instance the AIeutian
Islands where it is against the law
to land without the consent of the
Secretary of Commerce do not
believe that the Secretary would
! bring criminal action against a ship
wrecked mariner who might be cast
up on the island, but it Is within his
power. 81 visited the office of the
| Surveyor General of Alaska a short
time ago and counted up the various
reservations and Withdrawals. There
were 347 of them, some of them for
such silly reasons as to be beyond
belief. Twenty thousand square miles
in the Yukon Delta Bird Reserve
st. Lawrence Island, Reindeer Re
serve; Fire Island Game and Bird
Reserve where game and birds hap
pen only by accident; Aleutian Is
lands Fox and Bird Reserve; Afognak
Island Reserve controlled jointly by
the Department of Agriculture and of
Commerce; S0-rod strips along all
navigable waters.
| Signs OF Awakening
mo wonder that investors have
picked any place other than Alaska
to plant money. All this sounds
! rather dismal for the future but
there are signs of awakening. A
bill is now before Congress, which
when enacted, and 1t will be enacted
will localize all bureau authority in
a resident commission An enlight
ened forestry administration is issu-
ing timber regulations which Will
permit the establishment of pulp mills
II capital is willing to trust to reg
uiations rather than law Coal lands
are offered under a leasing system,
which, when made more attractive,
should promote coal mining. Oil
discoveries may be made equalling
the Texas fields. When the mining,
oil and timber industries are under
way, then will the farmer rejoice IN
a local market. so
"rhe known bonanza gold diggings
have been worked out, but there are
vast areas of low grade placers.
Given normal conditions OF labor and
supplies coupled with better trans
partation facilities and these placers
will become large producers OF gold
Should the proposed bonus on gold
become operative, there will be great
activities in all the placer camps
and on the Seward Peninsula.
Great silver discoveries are be-
ing made in Southern Alaska. look
forward to discoveries OF silver lodes
from Portland Canal to Lynn Canal
The fisheries are unedualIed in the
world and are fully reveloped only
so far as the salmon are concerned.
Herring and cod industries are in
their infancy. y fss@ =
There is nothing wrong with AL
aska. All that is needed is gov