Seward daily gateway., 1932-04-28
REVENUE CUTTERS. LIGHTS. SURVEYS,
 WESTWARD NEEDS
WESTWARD NAVIGATOR TELLS OF DANGERS ALONG THE
 COAST

we need revenue cutters! We need lights and surveys! Normal times out Westward, fur is produced to the extent of at least quarter of million dollars and to get this fur ready for the market, it is nec- essary for trappers from various native villages to travel from island to island. Sometimes in seaworthy vessels, but many times in power dories," stated Roy A. Wheeler, Westward fur raiser and transpor- tation man, who went South on the SS Starr.
 "The trapping season, coming as it does in the middle of the winter, all inter-iSland travel must be done during the early fall and late win ter, which has proven to be the worst times of the year for storms and seas.
 including Unalaska and all the territory to the Westward. as far as Attu, there have only been three vessels capable of making the in ] ter-island trips, the longest of these 1 being a vessel of 65-fOOt length They have been spending most of the past winter playing revenue cutter to each other with short in- tervals of time between for the carrying out of their own work.
 "The solution for this problem would be the stationing of a rev. enue cutter, summer and winter where it would be immediately ac- cessible to all shipping in that To- cality; and while accessible to loca! shipping, would also be in a posi- tion to render aid to trans-Pacifle
 vessels following the great circle tract which takes tn m within
 sight of the Aleutian Islands.
 "As regards lights, anyone who
 has made a trip Westward car
 realize the value and necessity o1
 adequate aids to navigation, ane with the installation of these aidE to navigation the travel would be
 safer and the country developed
 faster for that reason. From Un' alaska to Attu, there is at present
 but one light and it seems tha'
 with all the money being spent tt enforce certain wartime measures
 with such poor results, that they
 could at least appropriate a yer!
 small portion for the protection O. the lives of citizens who are dail.
 risking their lives in the further ance of their own interests, who at the same time, are developing ! the Last American Frontier.
 While aware of the fact tha the Coast and Geodetic Survey ha! been doing wonderful work in th' past and at the present time, on' ! wonders if it would not be possible for a brief survey of the Aleutia1 Islands merely touching the sur face, as it were, by paying specia attention to harbors which are uset ! with the utmost precaution by To cal vessels and are practically un known, and are not, at the presen .. time, even shown on the charts. ] -Four of these harborS could pro vide shelter for a good many de stroyers and scout cruisers, ant .. one, which is about seven mile ! long and three wide, would prov ] an ideal anchorage for several o the largest battleships. These har
 bors are absolutely land-locket and visible only from the air. Il , addition to this, there are two mucl larger harbors which are protecte' from all winds except those iron ! one direction. The value of thi |. particular territory in war-tim need not be dwelled upon as on glance at a map of the North Am erican continent will show tn |. strategic value.
 , "Think it Over!"