Alaska Forseen As Powerful State,
Half Across Pacific Keystone Commerce Trade
The following address was
given by Ernest Walker Sawyer,
member of the International
Highway Commission, in a
speech presented at the Pacific
Foreign Trade Council at its
eighth annual convention afc
Oakland, Calif., Sept. 17, 1931.
-x
“I will endeavor to give you a
description of the Pacific Inter -
national Highway to Alaska and
its possibilities. Two thousand
miles northwest of the Golden
Gate is a vast expanse of unex
plored and undeveloped re
sources called Alaska. Three
hundred and 78 million acres of
possibilities, a land where dah
lias are eight inches across and
cabbages average 25 pounds,
greater in area than the 13
States including Illinois, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, few York, Michi
gan, Indiana, Massachusetts and
others served by the Pennsyl
vania Railroad system. Even
when the area of California is
added to the area cf those 13
States you find Alaska still
larger. Those States support 60,
uOO.OOO people. Alaska has today
a population of 60,000. Six thou
sand and 400 acres of land for
every man, woman and child
and about a half a mile of sea
coast for each of the inhabitants.
A country of minerals, oppor
tunities and wilderness.
“The map of the world drawn
by Marco Polo shows that he had
a better idea of Alaska than
most people have today. Gulli
ver’s Travels in 1700 show by
the maps in the first editions
that Swift referred to Alaska as
the land of the giants. Later in
1741 the Russian officers, Bering
and others, explored parts of the
coast line and in 1804 the beauti
ful town of Sitka was located as
a center of a great trade in sea
otter and seal skins. Alaska is
still a land of mystery. Only 40
years ago, great Mount McKin
ley, ‘Denali, the Home of the
Sun,’ was unknown to white men.
In 1867, Secretary of State Se
ward purchased Alaska from
Russia for $7,200,000 in gold.
Since that time Alaska has ex
ported products valued at over
$1,600,000,000. The exports of
Alaska are over twice her im
ports. Seattle, that beautiful
city of 365,000 inhabitants, was
torn of Alaska.
“The Alaska salmon catch for
the summer of 1931 averaged 5,
100,000 cases. The mineral pro
duction of gold, silver, copper,
tin, lead, platinium, and other
metals has been $636,000,000, and
yet only a few lumps of gold
have been taken. The great
quartz veins have been only
scratched. Two thousand and
150 miles in an airplane from
San Franci co, is the thriving
community of Fairbanks. Fair
banks is eot only the center of
the Territory of Alaska but it is
strategically placed as the a
viation center of the North Paci
fic. Fairbanks is 3,150 miles from
lOKyo, d,2b0 miles from New
York, 3,820 miles from Petrograd,
4,270 miles from Berlin, and 4,
430 from London. Petrograd is
due north of Fairbanks. Honolu
lu is almost straight south of
Fairbanks. Approximately 70 per
cent of the population of the
world lives within 5,000 miles of
Fairbanks.
“Alaska is the stepping stone
to Soviet Russia through Siberia,
with only 56 miles of water be -
tween the two mainlands. Under
ordinary circumstances the fur
and gold trade of Siberia would
be coming to us through the air -
ports of Nome and Fairbanks.
“Southward from Fairbanks,
the new Alaska Railroad winds
its picturesque and substantial
path 476 miles to the Port of
Seward. Seward on Resurrection
Bay, lies directly in the path be
tween San Francisco and the
Orient. From San Francisco to
Manila via Honolulu it is 7,700
miles, but via Seward it is 7,sou
miles.
“Alaska is today an island.
Radio, airplanes and ships are
the only means of communica
tion. California even in 1849
could be reached by ox team.
Alaska, 82 years later, is still
impossible for the modern cara
van. Civilization follows the
sword, but population andi^ros,
perity now follow the motor ear.
The United States has 26,50ft,000
motor cars.
“Three million miles of high
way have made these cars tri
butary to the successful develop
ment of the Pacific Coast States.
Seventy million tourists are now
coming to California via motor
every month. From Tia Juana to
Vancouver stretches today the
longest paved highway in the
world. Billions have been spent
to develop the areas contiguous
to that highway. Northward
from Vancouver for 75 years the
pathfinders of British Columbia
have been extending their high
ways. In 1859 British Columbia
had a gold strike. Two hundred
million dollars was taken from
the Caribou district and her
Majesty Queen Victoria sent a
detachment of her own Royal
Engineers to the Fraser River to
build a highway. The rock walls