The Daily Alaska empire., 1941-08-04

petitive bids the pulp timber in the two areas They set minimum bid figure of 60 cents per 100 cubic feet of Sitka spruce cedar and minimum price of 30 cents per 100 cubic feet of western hem lock, to be used in pulp making. On the Ketchikan area bids were received from the Crown zellerbach Paper Corporation of San Francisco and the Inter- national Paper Company, of New York, with the zellerbach interests submitting high bid. Only one bid received the Admiralty Island area com ing from George T. Cameron, publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, on behalf of himself and Harry Chandler publisher of the Los Angeles Times It was understood that these two publishers intended to build mill chiefly to supply their own news print needs.
 There question about the bidders being serious when they made their bids. All three of the bids were above the minimum price for the tim per asked by the Forest Service And all were ac- ,ompanied by certified checks for $250O0 to be aeld deposit on stumpage when cutting started.
 We all know what happened. Between the time he Zellerbach and Cameron bids accepted and 1929, when the bottom fell out of the stock market. he two interests had secured waterpower rights ad acent to their proposed mill sites and were making plans for early development of the But after the depression set in they became wary of the huge expenditure Forest Service officials granted several extensions the contracts and waterpower permits, but financing the deals seemed too precarious at that time and they fell through.
 But the opportunity is still there awaiting the
 time which will probably be not too far in the future when paper mill interests will again camor for the purchase of timber tracts, managed to assure them the production of 1000 tons of Alaskan newsprint day as long they wish to operate their mills.
 Pulp timber in the States has been exhausted to large extent. Canadian mills are furnishing the bulk of the newsprn for U. S. papers Biggest paper development in tho States is in the south now where southern pine, from which new crop of pulp timber can be grown every 20 years is being used
 But Alaska offer features of economical operation which make the two pulp stands in the Territory the most attractive propositions in pros pect today for the paper makers. Briefly, here major advantages
 l. In each of the two areas Ketchikan and Admiralty Island) the Forest Service offers firm contract for 50-year supply of hemlock and spruce stumpage for paper mill of 25O tons daily capacity at the start and 500 tons capacity after the first years of operation
 g. Assurance of permanently available supply of the timber under the governments policy of limit ing the timber cut to more than can be main tained perpetually by the growth of timber crops
 B. Practically no investment in stumpage The timber Is to be paid for in advance installments it is cut Advances for stumpage will never exceed GOO at any time.
 A. Mills will be on tidewater, open to navigation the year around. Logging will be into salt water No long logging railroads will be needed Timber will average higher yield per acre than in pulp wood operations in the eastern United States.
 g. Good waterpower can be developed at a low cost per horsepower.
 G. The mills will be on American soil and the newsprint go into American markets without danger of tariffs, embargoes. export duties and the ike. Water transportation from Alaska to Boston via the Panama Canal, is cheaper than from Mon- tana to Boston, land
 T. The mills will be between 500 and 1000 miles of Seattle by water, with reasonable freight rates over the protected Inside Passage the opportun- ty for the mill companies to develop their ,oat service for even more economical hauling.
 All in all, the industry looks like natural" for Alaska. It will be sad blow to the future pros ,ects of development in the Territory if national park plan is allowed to take the largest stand of this important pulp timber out of circulation.
 While the formation of the national park on Admiralty Island is immediate threat which wires ,f protest to Washington, D. C.. might now orestall, Alaskans who want to this paper mak- ng industry organized and flourishing have sell ng job to perform. They must not be bashful in calling the paper industrys attention to the advan ages of Southeast Alaska pulp timber regions.
 With paper mills operating to capacity in the Ketchkan and Admiralty Island sections. the Terri tory would find some 5000 at work in the new Loggers, tug boat men, pulp and paper would be permanent. year-around Alaska residents drawing weekly pay checks that would be spent in Alaska.
 was told "you no chance to get busy until the con-