The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1950-05-01
ALASKA STATEHOOD
Industrial Development, Past and Future
By BOB DeARMOND
By BOB DeARMOND

Alaska's golden age OF industrial
development was in the first two
decades of this century. In those
early years there were. for instance,
two copper smelters operated in
Southeast Alaska and a great many
mines produced both base and pre-
cious ores and metals. Today the
smelters are only memory and
most of the mines have long since
closed although great deal OF min
eral remains in the ground.
In that period Alaska also had a
pulp mill, a real, honest-to-goodness
operating pulp mill. 1t long ago
went ou. of business and today there
are hopes of getting another. but
only hopes.
In those years the copper mines
at Ellamar and Latouche and Ken
necott we're opened and put into
production. Mining was thriving
industry, in fact, from Portland
Canal to the Arctic Circle. Rail
roads were built and operated with
private capital and o. half dozen
steamship lines operated 20 to 30
vessels with full cargoes both north
bound and southbound. More SAL
mon canneries were built and OPP
Grated during the first two decades
of this century than have been built
or operated since, and the salmon
season then lasted from March until
November instead of a few short
weeks. Halibut fishing was year
around occupation and other fish
cries, including cod-fishing and
whaling, were thriving businesses.
Alaska Once Prosperous
Alaska was prosperous in those
early years, and the prosperity was
based upon solid industries, not
upon the spending OF taxpayers
dollars for government construction.
1t was also during the first de-
cades of this century, during the
decades of Alaska's greatest indus
trial development and prosperity
that the fight for territorial gov
eminent was carried on. 1t was near
the mid-point Of the period that
Alaska finally became an organized
| territory with her own legislative
assembly.
The fight for full territorial status
was a long and bitter one and 1t
parallels astonishingly the present
fight for statehood. Bills for terri
torial government for Alaska were
introduced in Congress after Con-
gress and many hearings we're held.
Virtually the same arguments were
presented on both sides of the ter
ritorial questions forty years ago
that are now being presented on
the statehood question and often
the language is almost identical.
Territorial government will pro-
mote the development of Alaska said
the proponents OF the various bills.
the cost of such government will be
burden on industry and will even
tually drive it away, the opponents
asserted.
Fed. Bureaus Increase
It is now apparent that Alaska
has not had the great industrial
development that was supposed TO
have followed the establishment OF
territorial government. Rather, the
reverse has been true and the de-
cline has been pointed out by MS
torians and other disinterested stu
dents of Alaskan affairs. Perhaps
the fact Of territorial government
had nothing to do with this, but 1t
seems significant that the faster
the cost of operating the territorial
government has risen and the more
the power of the Federal bureaus
has increased the faster the basic
industries of Alaska have declined.
A great many of the ills OF Alaska
have been laid to the defects OF the
Organic Act passed by Congress
when the organized territory was
created. The Organic Act contains
many restrictions and number
of defects. In reading the old bills
for an Organic Act of Alaska it be-
comes Immediately apparent that
each succeeding bill became less
| liberal and placed more restrictions
on the proposed territorial govern
ment.
These added restrictions were
necessary, it was claimed by sup
porters of the measures, to mini
mize opposition by the executive de-
partments and to insure passage by
Congress.
TT doesn't matter, so long as we
get the bill passed." they argued.
I'VE can cure the defects later"
Restrictions - Defects
Those restrictions and defects are
still on the books despite SO years
of effort by the Territory OF Alaska
to have them removed. And they are
the limitations in our present ter
ritorial government most COM
planned of by the proponents OF
statehood. any kind OF statehood,
for Alaska.
History is very evidently repeat