REPORT OF THE ALASKA ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Introduction .
The Alaska Advisory Committee,
made up of representatives of the In
terior, Postofflce and Agricultural de
partments, was appointed by and at
the request of Hon. John Barton
Payne. Secretary of the Interior: its
purpose being to advise the Secretary
of-the Interior as to what immediate
steps can be taken to better conditions
in Alaska, what industries can be de
veloped, and resources exploited to
give employment to a resident papula
an which. In turn, will give a home
market for Alaska products.
The Committee has examined .« lar:, *
mass nt Jvta bearing upon Ala.-ka In
the flies of the various government
departments, including the records and
hearings of several previous Alaska
Investigations. Informal conferences
were also held In Seattle with many
persons interested in the development
of Alaska. Including mining, canning,
timber, transportation, an*d commer
cial interests, as well ais fepresenta
lives of the Alaskan Engineering Com
mission and of other Government de
partments. About a month was de
voted to the inquiry, and the report
and recommendations of the Commit
tee follows, the arrangement being (1)
a summitry of most important recom
mendations, (2) brief statements of the
industrial conditions in Alaska, and (3)
detailed recommendations arranged by
Principal Recommendations
The canvass of th; Alaska sltua
lion leadH the Committee t.» nv.kv
many recommendations for t:ie im-'
rrrvement of Indus*, -in! conditions!
wit!.In the Territory and these are
fully net forth in later sections of this
report. The most important and ur-:
gent of these recommendations are
briefly stated as follows:
1. lowering of ocean freight and
passenger rates and improvement of
transportation and mail service thru,
economies introduced by combination
of two existing steamship lines Into
2. Concentration and coordination
of federal control of Alaska lands and
resources by obtaining legislatfffe au
thority for an Alaska Development
BoftYd, and, pending Ails, by the ap
pointment of an Inter-Departmental
Alaska Committee.
3. Coordination of federal road con
struction, and the development of a
plan for a comprehensive system of
roads and trails to serve the entire
Territory. Also the requesting of an*
appropriation of at least one million
dollars for the inauguration of this
system.
4. Investigation of the commercial
feasibility of smelting Alaska copper
ores within the Territory.
6. The immediate development of
an Alaska pulp-wood industry, and ad
ditional surveys of timber and water
power looking to the largest possible
development of this Industry.
Industrial Conditions and Resources
Population
The white population of Alaska,
39.000 In 1910, increased by 1915 to
about 50,000. From 1915 to 191S, ow
ing to war conditions, the population
declined, but in 1919 the tide set
northward again and there was a
slight Increase, which will probably
continue in 1920. The present white
population of the Territory Is estimat
ed to be 16,000, in addition to about
25.000 natives, some of whom are civil
ised. The Industrial population of the
Territory exceeds 40,000. The loss in
population during the period of the
war was due to—-(1) men entering
the military service, estimated ta num
ber 3.000, (2) high wages in the fates.
(3) the decrease in number of men em
ployed In mining. In 1916 about 9^400
men were empfeyed in the Alaska min
ing industry as compared with about
4.600 in 1111.
The Committee believes that under
present industrial'Conditions it Is un
deslrable to make special effort to at
tract men without capital to Alaska.
It would be a mistake to draw to At*
MNa a greater number of men than
can be absorbed by the existing indus
trial development. What Alaska needs
le the development of Industries to
gl^s employment to labor and thus to
attracts population that, In turn, will
glVs a market for local products.
Alaska’s basal industries am and al.
ways will be mining and Ashing, but
the Territory includes large resources
- In pulp wood.' em Umber suitable
ter export extensive reindeer pas
tares. and !e«tt|r areas suitable for
* teook raising1. Ttar* arc large areas
of arable lands |l» Tetriterjt but
these will be used principally to sup
plf the local popular* attracted by
ether Industries. . • • *v ■ " *>:
The total vmtya^ Alaska's mineral.
Mr and fur products, ate., <1M7-Itlt>
"Sin tXMdd^Ot. Alaska’s mote,.prop-/.
.' JteofM year was lfld, when the value
AS TO WHAT IMWEOIATE STEPS CAR HE
TAKER TO BETTER COHOITIOHS
IH ALASKA
of her total products was $8!), 3.10,000.
The value of all Alaska products in
1919 was about 171.000,000.
In 1919, 25 American vessels (net
tonnage 32,444) and 5 Canadian ves
sels (net tonnage 4,870) were operated
as common carriers to Alaska ports.
These carried 295,490 tons of freight
and 32.803 passengers northbound and
278,199, tons of freight and 31,717 pass
engers southbound. A total of 370
private vessels (over 20 tons) were
ope'rated in the Alaska service during
1919, having an aggregate net tohnage
of 118,169. Mr Robert Semmes esti
mates that these private vessels ca.-1
ried a total of 465,000 tons of freight
(north and southbound.)
Nine river steamers were operated
on the Alaska Yukon and Its trihut: ,
les in the summer of 1919. These car
ried a total of 9,691 tons of freight, of
which 1,906 tons was for the Alaskan i
Engineering Commission. Resides the1
■focal passengers, of which no record!
is available, a total of 1,369 in and|
outbound passengers were carried by
the steamers. One steamer was op
erated on the Kuskokwim River dur
ing the summer of 1919 and carried
a total of about 800 tons of reight.
Mining
: .-tmsKii mines nave produced miner
als to the total value of $-138,000,000.
iof which $311,000,000 is the value of
the gold output. In 1914, $19,066,000
worth of minerals were produced; in
1919, $19,700,000. During the war there
was an abnormally large output of
copper, which in 1916 brought the val
ue ofr the total mineral output up to
$48,637,000.
Alaska gold mining, like that of the
rest of the world, has' been curtailed
because of economic conditions impos
ed by the war. As a consequence tho
vahie of the Alaska gold output has
steadily declined from $17,242,000 in
1916 to about $9,550,000 in 1919. Gold
mining has long been the principal Al
askan industry, for though it has em
ployed far less men than the fisheries,
yet the prospectors and miners, unlike
the fishermen, were all penman
residents of the Territory. In the past
over 60 per cent of the population
has been directly or indirectly em
ployed by the gold mining industry.
Therefore the decline in gold mijitng
has been the principal cause of Alas
ka's loss of population and the dis
couragement of her residents. In 1916,
4,000 men were engaged in placer min
ing; in 1919 only 2,000. A revival of
igold mining would undoubtedly great
| ly increase the prosperity of the Te»>
The total placer production in Al
aska has a value.of $218,000,000. Much
of this has been won from the rich
bonanza deposits whose exploitayon
requires little capital. It is not im
possible that other -rich placers will
be found, but the only certain reserves
of placer gold are in the extensive de
posits of auriferous gravels containing
comparatively small gold values. These
must be exploited by mechanical meth
ods involving large investments. In
cluded in the reserves only the aurifer
ous gravels of which some test has
been made and which are believed to
carry enough gold to warrant exploita
tion under pre-war economic condi
tions, tho Geological Survey estimates
that tho Alaska placer gold reserves
have a value of between $240,fM)0,noo
and $360,000,000.
Alaska gold lode mining in the past
•has been chiefly based on large low
grade deposits of the Juneau district,
whoee profitable exploitation has been
possible only by very large operations.
The enormously increased cost of min
ing, owing to the present economic
conditions, has greatly ciA-tailed min
ing at Juneau.
The most promising present field foe
Alaska gold lode mining is in the ex
ploitation on a small scale of the auri
ferous lodes of higher gold tenor which
have been found In many localities, no
tably In the Willow Creek and Fair
banks districts. Geologic informa
tion Indicated a wide distribution of
auriferous deposits, and there 1s every
reason to believe thgt other workable
dsfeoftits of gold-bearing quarts win W
developed wtfen the country is opened
■P by milroads and wagon roads.
Alaska copper mines, first dfcerated
in. ljktt, finVo produced a total of 5«&
•*6,006 pourtds of copper, valued at
IU4, 616,060. Stimulated bp the war
prloe of copper the Alaska mines made
their maximum. output in 1916, amount
ing to 119,855,000 pounds of copper,
valued at $29,484,000. Owing to the
fall In price of metal and to uncertain
ty of market fche Alaska copper pro
duction fell in 1919 to 47.220,000 pounds
valued at $8,783,000.
Topper deposits are widely distribut
ed in Alaska, and there Is every reason
to believe that their exploitation will
increase under better transportation
conditions. Much the larger part of
th^ present copper output has come
from high grade ores of the Chitina
district. Larger bodies of low-grade
ore have been found in several dis
tricts, p notably on Prince William
Sound, and the exploitation of these
should give a greater stability to the
Alaska copper-mining indusry.
Owing to the withdrawal of all Al
aska coal lands from entry in 1906
there was no development of the coal
fields until the leasing law went into
effect in 1914. Since then some ad
vances have been made but operations
have been hampered hy economic con
ditions imposed by the war. and by
certain restrictions in the leasijy; law.
As a cotisMiuenee Alaska has produced
in all only 253,000 tons of coal, and her
output in 1919 was only 60,000 tons.
Meanwhile, she is importing annually
about 100.000 tons of coal from Wash
ington and; British Columbia.
Much of the larger part of the coal
reserve's of Alaska are llgnilic, which,
under present methods of utilization,
are not available for export. The
• Bering Ffiver and Matanuska fields
contain, however, very high "grade bi
tuminous coals of a better grade than
any found on the Pacific seaboard, as
well as some anthracite. These coals
are for the most part closely folded
[and much broken making them expen
sive to mime and rendering them in
part unavailable for present profitable
exploitation.. There- are, however, .in
| both fields high-grade coals that can
be mined and these will find an ex- j
port mnrfcft. Until these fields have
been more thoroughly prospected hyj
underground exploration It Is impos-,
I slide to predict how large an annual I
tonnage, can be produced from them.
The Alaska oil land.u were with
drawn. from entry in 1910 and t ereby
practically all letroteum <1 ‘velopment
[ was Mopped until the paanag: of the
law in 1920. ln'*y>t e of ttie*
[handicap some 53,000 Imrrots of petro
| leum, have been produced in the K;i
tfilln. fields. Meanwhile. Alaska is
[drawing on California annually for
nearly 500,000 barrels of petroleum and
[ petroleum products. This does not in
clude the oil consumed by steamers,
funning ot Alaska ports. The itifor
’ mutlon afforded by seepagen indicates t
that there are five oil fields in Alaska
which could probably be made produc
tive. So far as known the Alaska pe
troleum is a high-grade refining oil
for which there is at present a great
i need. Therefore the development of
the AJaska petroleum. Aids is not only
of gneat importance to the Territory
hut also to the entiro nation.
| Incidental to gold land copper min
ing considerable silver and some lead
hp.ve been produced from Alaska ores.
Galena ores, some of which carry ^
high percentage of silver, are widely
distributed |n Alaska and are now re
ceiving considerable attention. Both
i placer and lode tin. have been found
In the York district of Seward Peninsu
la. Placer tin has afro been found in
some of thie Yukon, camps. So far as
known there are no Barge reserves of
placer tin in Alaska. The outlook for
lode tin mining in th e York district
is rather hopeflil.
Platinum and relate*!’ metals are be
ing mined in AlnAa. During the war
1 Alaska produced antimony, chromite,
and tungsten. The Ttnown reserves
of thesa metals are considerable,
i Qntcksllver mining has been carried
Jon In a small way for many years In
the Kuskokwim. regiosi and will no
doubt continue. Molybdenite and bis
Imuth ores are Tather widely distribut
ed in Alaska* and nlcl*.le ores have
I been found in the Territory.
' There ai*e large deposits of marble
[ In ootheaateim Alaska, and m« *'
, quarrying Is increasing. Gypsum hns
| long been mined In the Sitka district.
i Sulphur deposits occur In Jhe Aleutian
Islands and are now being! developed.
Thera is co nsiderable graphite in Sew
ard Ptonlns ala and some of tills mineral
fas'been p roduoed. j ^
Fisheries i
The total value of the Alaska fishery
products up to the close of 191ft is
M1S.042.00U. Measured ftom the stand - ■
point of value of annual product and ;
men employed the fishing industry is
the most Important of the Territory.
It was especially prosperous during
the war, the value of its total output
Increased from $15,739,068 in 1913 to
$59,144,859 in 1918. The number of
employees rose from 24,263,^ in 1913 to
31,213 in 1918. Much of the larger
part of this output is canned salmon, j
the value of the cannery output in |
1913 being $13,531,604 and $51,041,949
in 1918. Of the total employees in the ,
fishing industry 16,513 were employed j
In the salmon canneries in 1913, and j
26^*02 in 1918. The canneries are op- j
era ted for only a few months In the |
year and much the larger part of the
labqr is imported. The total invest
ment in the Alaska salmon canning in
dustry increased from $31,341,670 in
1913 (79 canneries) to $63,901,397 in
lftlx (135 canneries).
Through the size and value of the
Alaska salmon catch overshadows the
rest of the fishing industry, yet notable
increases were made during the years
1913 to 1918 In the halibut, cod, herring,
and other Alaska fisheries.
The Alaska salmon catch has prob
ably reached its maximum and any
effort to a more extensive development
of these fisheries would lead to their
rapid depletion, (liven proper safe
guards against overfishing, u.e salmon
fishing industry of Alaska can be made
to yield a large and continuous annual j
ka halibut fisheries and of the adjacent
seas will soon he depleted. As many
of the halibut banks lie without the
three-league limit, their', protection is
only posssible by international agree
ment.* The herring and rod tlsheries
of Alaska tire enormous, and the pres
the fish that could he produced. There
are many other varieties of flsli in Al
laska waters which will eventually b
developeil as part of the commercial
fisheries.
Farming And Stock Raising
lands suitable for raising the hardier
grains, including wheat, potatoes, for
tigecrops, and many varieties of vege
tables. TejjJs have show that sugar
beets can he matured in the Tnnana
and Suistna valleys, and that these
contain a high percentage of si.gtr.
The most promising agricultural fields
are in the Tanana and the Susitn i
Valley, both tributary to the Govern
ment Railroad. Extensive areas of
agricultural land are also found in
other parts of the Yukon llasin, and in
lesser amounts in some of the Pacific
coastal regions.
The best developed farming region
Is that tributary to Fairbanks. In
this region there are 102 homesteads,
with about 2,000 acres of land under
cvultlvation, and with an aflricultural
population of about 250. These farms
produced in 1919, 60 tons of wheat, 40
tons of oats, 10 tons of barley, 500
tons of hay, 325 tons of potatoes. 60
tons of vegetables, and 150 hogs. The
success during the last five years in
the raising of wheat has so encouraged
the farmers and local business men
that they are now building a small
flour mill at Fairbanks. There is a
little dairying at Fairbanks, and in
other parts of the Territory, but the
raising of cattle has not yet been
greatly developed in connection with
other farming.
There are good grazing lands in the
j interior, but the period of winter feed
I Ing is about 8 months. Tn the coastal
region of southwestern Alaska the
| season Is much longer. Cattle were
i Introduced on Kodiak and other Is
lands by the Russians and have been
raised ever since. It is probable that
there are cattle ranges in southwestern
Alaska where beef and mutton could
he raised for export.
Timber Resources
The beet timber in Alaska, chiefly
composed of Sitka spruce and hemlock.
Is in the Tongass-National Park In
southwestern Alaska and in the Chug
ach National Forest in the Prince
William Sound region. These two
Forests embrace 20,000,000 acres, ap
proximately. live percent of the total
area pf Alaska. Between these two
forests lie about two million acres of
timber of similar character. In the
Interior there le approximately be
tween fifty and seventy-five million
acres of spruce, birch. and cottonwood.
This is chiefly valuable for local use.
The National Forests are estimated
by the Forest Service to Include 78,
000.00n.000 feet <BM> or timber suit
able for lumber and pulp. The annual
production of timber is relatively
small, but the proportion of timber
cut from the National Forests. as
compared with lumber imported, is
steadily increasing. In 1916 the lum
ber shipped into Alaska composed S'
per cent, as compared with 14 per cent
cut from National Forests. In 1919
the proportion was exactly reversed
86 per cent being produced locally and
14 per cent imported, chiefly Douglas
fir for heavy construction purposes.
Alaska Sitka spruce is now being ex
ported as far as the Atlantic coast for
specialized use, and the birch will also
in all probability find an export mnr
Reindec
Rot ween 1*9:.’ and 1902 the
ment imported 1280 reindeer Into Al
aska for the use of the Alaska natives.
The natural Increase from the original
stock has resulted in a herd numbering
nearly 200,000 besides which .amount
100.000 have been killed for food and
skins. Of these about 09 per cent be
long to the natives, S per cent to the
missions. 2.1 per cent to Laplanders
and other whites, and 3 p*-r cent avc
skill in government ownership.
There is a company at Nome which1
engages in raising reindeer for the
giarket. Their herd now includes
nearly 20.000 animals, and thev have
3 cold storage plants in operation and
2 more in construction. Shipments of1
reindeer meat are limited *o cold xtor- i
age capacity of steamers running to
Nome, and wen* 99,000 pounds it 1918.1
and 37.000 pounds in 1919.
There are extensive reindeer pas
tures in inland Alaska, and on the(
shores of Bering Sea and A retie Ocean
ft is estimated that these pastures
should support a total of 9,000.000 to
10,000,000 animals. The reindeer range j
tributary to Broad Pass, and hence to]
the Alaska ItailroMd, should )■/ capa
ble of supporting some 000,000 animal-.
This, if utilized, will give tonnage to
the railroad and would furnish a now
source of meat and leather from a re-*
gion which has no value for other
purposes.
Findings and Recommendations 1
Water Transportation
Alaska is served by three ore in]
transportation systems: the Alaska
Steamship Company and Pacific
Steamship Company being American
lines, and She Canadian Pacific being
a Canadian company. The Alaska
Steamship Company serves all main
•cctions of tiie Territory, the Pacific
Steamship Company all sections ere
cepting the Bering S a or Nome route,
and the Canadian Pacific Company on
ly Southeastern Alaska ;nside p iss.
The freight and passenger rates >f
the American companies show a gen
eral increase since 1911. Whether
these late increases have been justi
fied was not inquired into I v the Com
mittee. as suoh inquiry, neeessi* iting
an expert examination of the com
puny's operating costs and property
valuations, could not he undertaken in
the brief time allowed for the Commit
tee's investigations. The Committee
therefore attempted only to ascertain
whether the Territory con Id develop
under existing rates.
It was the opinion of practically
every person appearing before the
Committee that money could not lie
attracted to Alaska, industries depend
ent upon transportation by regular
lines sartod, or general development go
forward freely under existing rates,
and this was the conclusion readied
by the Committee. Having reached
this conclusion, the Committee sought
to determine the elements in the ti-nns
porution situation, controlling effic
iency and cost of service, to ascertain
whether an equal or better service
ir'ght be secured at a lower cost, and
If so, whether freight rates might not
be reduced accordingly.
The following were the outstanding
transportation elements thus develop
1. No material benefits now accrue
for maintaining two American lines.
There la no competition.
2. The Alaska, freight and passen
ger truffle loud has two thigh peaks,
spring and fall, requiring an excess
equipment in order to insure sufficient
elasticity to meet them.
3. The total freight carried yearly
by the American lines is approximated
half the total cargo space, p v-aling
the extent of the economic lo-s occa
sioned hy tlie traffic peaks.
regular, due to the nature of the traf
fic handled and lack of coordination f
sailing between •£»>•• two companies.
service to all districts of Alaska, r.ia
not be given hy existing companies
under their present met;,mis ,cd l in -
dens of operation
«. The Post Office department is
not functioning, and cannot fun< tion
to meet the ne ds of Alaska under th>
existing organization or transportation
facilities.
7. The combined control of land and
water transportation facilities pre
cludes the most efficient supervision
and regulation of either, and the fur
ther allianee with mining and smelt
ing interests produces a psychnlogic'1
situation injurious to Alaskan devel
opment and consequently to traffic ex
pa nsion.
8. Canadian competition to South
eastern Alaska is a serious factor in
the development of an adequate Amer
ican service. Southeastern Alaska
traffic should help support the entire
Alaska transportation system. The
portion of that traffic going to the Ca.
nadian line cripples t<> that extent .»
comprehensive transportation schema
The Committee is unanimous in tie
conclusion that the two independent
steamship lines, as at present organ
ized. cannot solve the transportation
problem of Alaska. It. therefore re
l That an ffort he made to consol
idate, under proper safeguards, exist
ing American lines in*>. or substitute
therefor, one purely ocean transporta
tion c ompany, as the quickhst and sur
est method to reduce existing ocean
freight rates and to meet other trans
portation necessities.
2. That the Shipping Hoard he- re
quested to at once begin an inquiry
[ into all elements entering into the
| reasonableness of present ocean
freight rates, to the end that the Cmn
Imittee's first recommendation failing.
hie. In- secured by an adequate redue
3. That in ease it should dev lop
that the- Shipping Hill rent nt'y pissed
does not adequately protect American
ecastwise lines from f’un.idlan compe
i titors. such protection he sec ured hv
furthei legislation.
i. That the Post Offic e Department
lie reque sted to assist in every manner
permitted by existing laws or hy ad
ditional legislation, in providing an
adequate transportation service for Al
aska. which shall permit of the reas
onable development of that Territory.
That, if one line- he substituted
for the two existing American line .
the vessel routes and sailings he en
tirely rearranged by and with the co
i operation of the Shipping Board and
Post Office Department, to the end
that all sections of Alaska may receive
| reasonable transportation and mail