The Daily Alaska empire., 1930-11-24
PROGRESS OF ALASKA TOLD
 BY GOVERNOR
All Activities Increase Ex- cept Fisheries Which
 Keep to Average

From all phases of activity, ex- cept fisheries, Alaska realized in- creased returns in the fiscal year ended last June 30 Gov. George A. Parks sets forth today in his an- nual report to Secretary of the h. terior Ray Lyman Wilbur.
 Mineral production recorded an advance, use of forestry resources gave greater promise, the fur take was larger and commerce generally was better as indicated by an aug mented balance of trade in favor of the Territory Public roads and trails were extended, public health was improved and population regis tered gain. While fisheries in the past year experienced recession as compared with the previous year, big-run year, they maintained their five-year average and so cannot be regarded as having suffered any de- cline.
 Output of Minerals
 Mineral output totaled $16 066, 900, an increase of S2,005 ,000 over the previous twelve months Gold, cop per and lead account for the gain. The gold yield was s7,761 ,000, which is $916,OO0 more than was recovered the preceding year. In connection with the yellow metal gratifying circumstance is that AT per cent came from lode mines, preferred because of their permanency to placers. Of the lode yield 97 per cent is accredited to mines in Southeast Alaska, and the largest producer is the Alaska-Juneau com pany of this city In placer out put, II per cent was due to dredges. Of the 30 dredges at work, 12 were on the Seward Peninsula, IT in the Yukon-Tanana region and one in the Kuskokwim Valley.
 AS a whole, gold mining achieve ments in the last year are indl- cative of considerable expansion and of greater production in the indus try by the close of the present fis- cal year
 Production of Copper
 Mining of copper ore was con- fined to two districts, Latouche Island. in Prince William Sound, and Kennecott, in the Copper Riv- CT district. Output was valued at S7,l3O,OOO, an increase of $1,165,OO0.
 Lead, which is recovered as by-product in the mining of other metals, established new high record in the history of the Terri tory. A total of 2,630,000 pounds was the yield, virtually all of It from the Alaska Juneau Gold min ing company's property at Ju- neau.
 Silver, which occupies position similar to lead in that it is by product, amounted to $252 900, a loss of S140O0, due to the low price of the metal rather than to the quantity of production.
 Metals of the platinum group were inconsequential, as was also stream stream, although both kinds showed some yields.
 Three Coal Mines
 Coal production from three mines aggregated 1OO,600 tons, and al though this amount is less than the output for the previous year, 1t has been exceeded in only three years in the annals of Alaska. All the coal was taken from two mines in the Matanuska Valley and one mine in the Healy River district, all tributaries to the Alaska Railroad. Approximately 56,O00 tons of coal were imported all of which could have been supplied by Alaska mines if transportation facilities were available. Several attempts nave been made to provide this trans portation, but there are many ao- verse factors to be considered, and it is not probable that the local production will supplant the lm- ported coal for some time.
 Petroleum yields are limited to shallow wells in the Boring River field near Katalla. The paraffln base oil is treated in a local re-. finery at Katalla and the products are sold at Cordova. Statistics show that 17,347,344 gallons of heavy oils 6.847,O5o gallons of gasoline 58s $40 gallons of Illuminating ,il , and 878,O94 gallons of lubricating oil were imported into Alaska in the last fiscal year, proving that there is a local market that could