The Cordova daily times., 1921-01-07
Alaska Needs Immediate, Definite, Adequate Relief By eeodetc suv


this property has been shown clearly,
 nothing definite has been done. Dutch Harbor is the old home and village
 of the North American Commercial
 Co.,, where now the government wire
 less station is located. The place is
 practically abandoned. The buildings
 are in fair state of preservation.
 The harbor is excellent and far bet
 ter and safer for large vessels desiring
 to dock there than at Unalaska. There is an abundance of excellent water. which Unalaska lacks. There are
 also good buildings for living quarters for various government officials. There was never a greater need for government base in western Alaska
 than at this time, where coal, fuel, and other supplies can be obtained at
 any time of the year, which under ex-
 isting conditions is impossible. The | idea of making Dutch Harbor an ideal government supply station is one that should be encouraged, and the oppor- tunity now presents itself, and if fur ! ther postponed the opportunity for
 carrying out this wise business ven-
 ture may be lost.
 FIELD STATION AT KErcAlkAN Since 1898 practically the entire fa- cilities of the coast and geodetic sur
 vey on the Pacific coast of the United States have been employed in Alaska
 in an effort to keep pace with the growing commerce carried on with
 it's coast ports. During the period from 1907 to 1915 three of the surveys vessels were employed in southeast
 Alaska in an effort to obtain, by means of adequate surveys, accurate charts to assist in the commercial de- velopment of the country. To assist in this work, launches were employed for the development of shoal areas
 and ledges and to search out intri-
 cate areas where the larger vessels could not be maneuvered. A small boathouse On the naval reservation at Sitka was used to house these launches during the winter seasons. and the naval station at that place
 was used as the base station for sur
 Veying operations up until 19O7 when
 1t became necessary to remove the
 launch equipment to a place more ac- cessible to the working grounds ill southeast Alaska. Ketchikan was se- lected for this purpose and a boat house constructed at MetIakatla for housing the launches and storing such ot the equipment as it was found ad- visable to leave in Alaska.
 In 1914 wire-drag work was begun in southeast Alaska, and from 1915 to the entering of the United States into the World war two parties were employed. The launches used upon the work were chartered makeshifts re- modelled to serve as best they could and were returned to the owners at the end of the season. At the termin- ation of the war relief came in a | measure to this very unsatisfactory way of procuring equipment. The | navy supplied the survey with num- Der of large launches which were made suitable after alteration for as- sisting in the wire-drag work.
 The additional equipment made it | possible to resume survey work with | increased activity in southeast Alas ka, and the necessity for providing suitable space for housing the euuip- ment at the most advantageous point now presents itself There are today four large steam launches and six large motor launches which will re- main in Alaska during the winters, | as it is not practicable to tow them or run them south when the approach of | winter weather makes it no longer ! economical to attempt wire-drag and | other survey work. To these will be | added during the coming year three | gas launches which are now stored in Seattle. The repairs incident to the upkeep of this equipment, together with repairs to the wire-drag appara- tus, can only be accomplished after the close of the surveying season and must of necessity be completed be- fore the opening of the season in the early spring.
 There should be the most serious thought given to the care of this equipment, it's upkeep, and it's ap- portionment to parties given the task of sweeping the channels with the wire drag and extending the surveys -