Evening star., 1940-06-23
Alaska Air Line ,
To Open Passenger
Service Tomorrow
System Will Extend
From Arctic Circle
To Buenos Aires
BY DEVON FRANCIS,

SEATTLE, June 22.-Along the
shores OF Canada and the United
States northernmost possession
Alaska-a four-engine flying boat
will open regular passenger service
Monday on the final link of an air
transport system extending from the
Artic Circle to Buenos Aires.
Airmail service started over the
route last week, with the big clipper
carrying list of special guest pas
sengers.
This air route covering the length
OF the two continents of the Western
Hemisphere has strong military i'm
plications.
1t is wholly Americana controlled
Army and Navy Interested.
Hardly an air transport line in the
Western world has been established
in recent years that has not drawn
the active attention of the United
States Army and Navy. That has
applied especially to trans-Pacific
and transatlantic routes and to the
network of air services along the
coastlines and in the interior of
South America.
Establishment of air passenger
service between Seattle and Juneau,
Alaska. by Pan American Always
will coincide with work which Soviet
Russia is reported to be doing on
bleak Big Diomede Island, only four
miles from Little Diomede Island on
the American side of the interna-
tional boundary.
June IA the Nome Nugget re-
ported reliable source had in
formed 1t Russia had begun con-
struction of an airfield and wireless
station on that site. The report
said about IS White Russians were
working on Big Diomede.
The following day two Eskimos
arriving at Nome confirmed that
work was progressing on the wire
less station and weather station,
but made no mention of the air.
field. They said only five White
Russians were working on the island
although whaleboats were contin-
uing to ferry supplies from the
Asiatic mainland
Last month Brig. Gen. George v.
Strong. the Army's assistant chief
of staff. declared in an address be-
fore group of military engineers
that Alaskan bases ARE of tremen-
dous Importance to the United
States because. held in reasonable
strength, no enemy would initiate
operations against the Northwest
ern part of the United States If
subject to the possibility Of flank
attack over distance of almost
1000 miles"
War Planes Can Follow.
Just as the Nations domestic air
transport services would become
military adjuncts in wartime. so the
services linking continental United
States with its territories and pcs
sessions are considered of vital MIL
ltary Importance. The theory is
that where a commercial transport
has blazed the trail, bombing and
HNA oNAc EAoAASS SC1l 4OllOW.
The 942-mile run of the Alaska
Clipper. q 201s ton, 32-passenger
plane, links in on the map a bit
OF the Alaskan-South American
service heretofore unserved by air
Other airliners fly down the Ameri-
can West Coast. cruise through
Mexico and Central America to the
Panama Canal Zone, and ian out
along both the Eastern anc West
ern South American seaboards.
The new service between the
United States and Alaska vii, carry
Pan-American airliners on a sched-
ule OF two round trips a week out
side the limit of Canadian waters
to Ketchikan. thence to Juneau.
territorial capital Inside Alaska
proper a subsidiary of TIE same
company for years has maintained
network of air routes.