The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-12-19

Alaska have become a must" as a vacation land Block maintains that the most immediate develop ment need lies in the construction of accommodations.
 The tourist trade has become the basis for a real industry said Bloch, and it's early development can become the foundation or out come of innumerable other indus tries. great and small"
 Taking into consideration the prohibitive costs of building ma terial and supplies from the out side he cites the possibilities of substitutes that can be developed within the Territory. A good ex- ample is pumioe, which makes an excellent panel resembling light weight brick when mixed with ce-. ment. This can be used in place of costly lumber for construction purposes. In sections where timber is plentiful, pre-manufactured logs (spliced for perfect fitting) have al- ready been proven highly satis- factory for use in rustic type dwell ings. In other words. he strongly feels that Alaska's very liabilities can be turned into assets and has pinpointed his theory into three specific channels.
 Natural Resources
 In turning adversities to advan- tages, Bloch considers, first, Alas kan needs that can be solved by domestic development. This em- } braces all the natural resources, in- Guiding minerals, timber, fur and | fish industry, food production, : transportation facilities, and all the other industries, which now lie , either dormant or not fully de- veloped Utilization of all possible raw materials and resources for the needs of the Territory could go a long way towards relieving Alas ka's biggest headache-prohibitive transportation costs.
 Basic Resources
 Second consideration is the basic resources that are as yet untouched in the Territory while diminishing on the outside" Such resources, pulp as an outstanding example, will find ready market in the States and the transportation probil.n in- volved will be handled f:om the seller" angle instead of the buyer.
 Third on tl.e list of best bets for immediate development ranks commercial sales for the home grown products that are to be found exclusively in the Territory. Fur, fish, ivory, minerals, hand craft, etc, offer unlimited fields for the outside" commercial market as well as the tourist trade.
 Bloch also believes that, with the exception of few industries, all future development should be con- fined to small markets. He be- lieves that Alaska should not try to compete with the large, efficient plants of other countries, but rather , concentrate their efforts in limited production on a very small scale
 Shameful Situation
 !, Expressing his views on the ship ping situation, Bloch said until i,,fo fc full a nd i the precarious position of Alaska, little can be done to remedy the present shameful situation" While voicing his opinion on the fantasy of the present freight rate predica- ment, he feels that the local mer- chants should take matters into their own hands, if necessary, to insure uninterrupted shipping ser vice. "The problem is not to be solved by government operation, 7 he stated. "Open competition is both desirable and necessary be- tween Alaska and the States"
 Touching on the subject of large scale industrial development, he mentioned the proposed pulp mills of Southeast Alaska. Through the efforts of men like B Frank Heintzleman of the U. s. Forest Service, the work of the Alaska De- velopment Board and a host of oth- CT groups, the development of this gigantic pulp undertaking has long passed the possibility stage and is soon to become a reality" said Krug's consultant. Since private capital is willing to invest in the pulp mills project, it should def . initely be handled as a private en- terprise, but with the aid of the government, if necessary, to insure early operations"
 Bloch expects to leave Juneau to- day to spend the holiday season : with his family in Portland, but he plans an early return trip to the > Territory to complete his study for the Secretary of the Interior.