Evening star., 1923-04-22
RADIO TO KEEP PRESIDENT
I'm TOUGH ON ALASKA TRIP
Vast Areas Almost Devoid of Wires Fa-
vorable for Aerial Communication,
With Many Stations Maintained.

! time although they meet the urgent
| requirements of that sparsely popu-
! lated region.
The existing facilities are virtually
! AL government owned and govern
| ment operated. private capital not Yet
having rentured into Alaska with
commercial communication enter
prises.
The Army has land wire system
! which stretches from Cordova on the
Gulf of Alaska northward to Fair
banks, or almost to the Arctic circle.
At Fairbanks the line turns to the
| eastward and extends through the
heart of Alaska to Fort Gibbons and
! ton of Seward peninsula and Bering
strait. the latter separating Alaska
, from Siberia.
| Army radio stations are located at
| intervals of about every 200 miles
along the line of the land wire sys-
| TEN from Cordova to Nulato and other
Army radio stations are situated at
| isolated strategical points. such as
! Fort Egbert, on the Canadian border;
| Fort Yukon. on the line of the arctic
circle; Nome, on Seward peninsula;
st. Michael, on Norton sound: Nc
! Grath, on the Kuskokwim river, and
! Holy Cross on the Yukon river.
! To the eastward paralleling the
! Armys land wire system there is also
the recently constructed government
| ing from Seward. also on the Gulf OF
Alaska. northward through Anchor
age. Deadhorse. Healy, TO Fairbanks,
with short branch lines thence to the
northward. eastward and westward.
These comparatively meager com e.
munication systems serve the whole
of the interior of Alaska, an area COM
prising some 100000 square miles.
For the exchange of rapid commu-
nications between Alaska and the
vi ah
served by the military cable. single
thread of copper which stretches on
the bottom Of the Gulf of Alaska and
the Pacific ocean from Cordova TO
Sitka and thence to Seattle. Wash Il
| total distance of approximately 1000
miles.
Radio stations on Coast.
There are also nine radio stations
maintained by the Navy along the
the Bering sea. These stations serve
ships in Alaskan waters. various gov
ernment agencies. and some fifty low
power radio stations maintained in
stations by industrial mining. can
merry and other concerns.
The principal coastal stations also
maintain contact directly with the
Cnited States through corresponding
stations in the states of Washington
During cable breaks, when contact
between Alaska and the United States
! would otherwise be interrupted for
weeks at a stretch. these coastal ra-
dio stations maintain intimate contact
with the United States by taking over
the cable traffic and passing it
through space by radio.
Likewise during Interruptions to the
! two government land wire systems in
the interior the few scattered inland
radio stations comprise the only
| the coast and thence with the Cnlted
! States.
The functioning of the service of
radio being independent of the threads
of connecting metal wire. whether
resting on the ocean beds or support
ed overhead on long lines Of poles on
! land, and being immune TO topo-
graphical and severe climatic condi-
tions. is destined to play an extremely,
! awakening of Alaska and the future
welfare of it's people.
Our present limited Alaskan radio
service will comprise the principal
medium through which intimate con-
tact will be established between the
chief executive and the people of in
terror Alaska during the Presidents
forthcoming epoch-maiinG visit 10
our northernmost possession.
These limited facilities will at the
same time enable the President 10
maintain intimate contact with i'oints
along our Pacific Seaboard and thence,
through our marvellous networks Of
wire and wireless systems, to all parts
of the United States and the rest of
the world.
copyrighted. 1923 2lst Century Press)