The Cordova daily times., 1921-08-18
WHAT'S THE MATTER
 WITH ALASKA?
md Ellsworth Sumner in Railway and Marine News

ard of any coal that may be mined in the future. But the mines at Matanuska have been opened since 1917 and the road completed to that point, and to date no coal has been shipped, and that Is the only possible tonnage In sight at the present time on the new government railroad.
 It may be well to figure the deficit on the operation of one steamship as above, from each of the three ports as specified Place the operat- ing costs at $4OOO00 and give the new government steamship line the full benefit of tonnage to and from Seward equal to the amount moved in May and at a freight rate of a flat S20 per ton. and Senator Cum mins' steamship earns S24,000 freight money during the year or a deficit of s376,000 per annum. These earn ings would be greatly decreased if the boat operated from Portland, and again decreased if the boat operated from San Francisco, owing to the less number of round trips that 1t could make.
 If the steamship handled it's year ly capacity of 144,000 cargo tons 1t naturally would mean that some ore or coal had been discovered or made possible to ship. Then the illustra- tion of s20 per ton could not apply, bu the rate on the bulk of the ton mage would be around $1 for coal and g for ore. The earnings then on the 144,000 tons moved in one year might approximate uearer SEQ. 900, or still a deficit based purely on a tonnage not now in sight
 Then would come the question as to what rate the coal, if marketed, would stand? In view of present prices of Utah, Canadian or Wash. ington fuel, the margin allowed for "a steamship haul from Alaska is very small. No orc ia in sight that could stand a S2 rate.
 These are freight steamers. re. member, and if passenger earnings are expected the government will have to build especially constructed passenger ships, for all of the gov crnment boats so far launched gre quite too large for the Alaskan trade.
 Assuming that the Matanuska mines can be successfully operat. ed, that market can be found for this coal that permanent and ca. pacity cargoes could be supplied at Seward, and deficit might be reduced by the volume of coal handled on , tue down trips, but there is no ore as yet on the new railroad.
 The thing we wish to emphasize more strongly for the benefit of this misguided gentleman from Iowa is the fact that one large steamship during the month of May, 1921, could have hauled in every ton of groceries and supplies northbound and brought back copper, fish and miscellaneous products representing the territory's entire output for that month.
 Finally, as one last word and this statement will be of particular in terest to well versed transportatior men, never in Alaskas history has this territory during one year had products to ship out amounting tc 1 45O,O0O weight tons. It Is doubtful | however. If the Iowa statesman vii catch the significance of that Al the present moment there are dozen ships on the Pacific formerly in the Alaska service which have been withdrawn on account of lacl of tonnage and either tied up or arc operating i'll other coastal service The normal annual cargo tonnage representing the weight of Alaska commerce would be around l60.0SC tons, most of which is to and from ports not to be served by the Cum mins steamship.
 The best year that Alaska ever had as to tonnage was 1917, but the bulk of the southbound move men was represented by 100000 tons of ore. and by approximately 2O0,oOC tons of canned salmon and other fish. Otherwise, the southbounj tonnage during this banner year was negligible. Ketchikan district led in fish tonnage and Cordova district in ore tonnage.
 The government railroad manage. ment is building a coal bunkering plant at Anchorage end has an,