MOOSE
PASS
MINER
Bv L. H. Allen
12 issues for $2.00 by subscription
Single copy 25£
WHAT GOES ON OFF ALASKA ?
FROM COLLIER'S - Week of September 21.
From Shanghai, China, the noted corres
pondent, Hallett Abend, sends a story that
in normal times would produce something of
an earthquake in American public opinion.
The Shanghai story concerns the doings
of Soviet Russia on the Siberian coast op
posite Alaska and in various islands that
lie off the coast.
The allegations are that in the last
six years the Moscow government has booted
some 80,000 "outsiders" - old Chinese and
Korean peasants - from this area, and has
replaced them with large numbers of young
Reds who believe themselves fated to con
quer the world for Communism.
About a dozen Soviet "bases of culture"
have been strung through the region, accord
ing to the story, from Komandorskie Island
off Kamchatka up to and including Big Di
omede Island. Big Diomede is 2-j- miles
across the Bering Strait from Little Dio
mede, which belongs to Alaska, which be
longs to the United States.
"Base of culture" turns out to be the
Soviets’ quaint way of describing a place
where there is a fort, a submarine base, an
airfield, a set of coast guns, or maybe all
those things co-ordinated. Foreigners are
rigidly excluded from these "bases of cul
ture" facing Alaska. But it seems that
German army officers anxious to view the
works do not come under the head of for
eigners in the Russian view.
Nor is this more than half the story.
The other half is that Moscow-controlled
newspapers in that part of Russia keep
talking about "recovery of rich lands which
once belonged to Russia, but do not belong
to the U.S.S.R. because they were ineptly
lost or corruptly sold later, when the dyn
asty became decadent."
Alaska was the only xerrixory uzarisx
Russia ever sold. The deal was begun in
President Buchanan's administration, lay
dormant during the Civil War, and was com
pleted Oct. 18,1867, when Russia made for
mal transfer of the property to the United
States at Sitka, Alaska, for the sum of
$7,200,000.
A Vladivostok newspaper has said in so
many words that the young Siberian colon
ists' Job "first of all is to get their
hands on Alaska, which so idiotically was
sold to capitalist America by the Czarist
government." All Russian newspapers say
only what the Russian government tells
them to say.
And that is the Shanghai picture in out
line - about as melodramatic a picture as
£6 could be painted for this country at
this time and well calculated to irritate
Americans.
It calls to mind various facts. Es
pecially the fact that Joseph Stalin ap
parently is afraid of Adolf Hitler,Also
the fact that the Germans have long felt
themselves capable of organizing Russia
into a huge arsenal, workshop and catspaw
for Germany.
Is it conceivable that Hitler has it
in the back of his head for Germany to
invade the Western Hemisphere some day,
not via South America or the St. Lawrence
River or Mexico or some base on Greenland,
but via Alaska - and that he plans to
have the Red army do most of the dying
in this adventure and for the German org
anizers and exploiters to move in after
ward if it succeeds?
It sounds fantastic. But a lot of
things that would have sounded fantastic
a year ago are accomplished facts now.
Alaska's sketchy defenses need looking
after anyway; and if there is anything
to this story, we need to look after them
on a large scale and in a hurry. Having
done that, we’ll be in a position to fend
off any piracies that may be threatening
us in that part of the world. We’ll
even be in a position, if it seems exped
ient, to make a deal with Stalin for the
defense of that part of the world against
Japan.
Right now, we hope that no strong na
tion wants Alaska badly enough to come
and try to take it.
Mrs. George Lindsay is at home from
their mine on Summit Lake. Mr. and Mrs.
Lindsay plan to go to the States early
in December.
Paul Williams is in the business of
making cement building blocks in Fair
banks and is reported to be very success
ful.
Mrs. Nell Cameron of Cameron's Cafe,
Seward, spent a weekend with Mrs. Leora
Roycroft recently.
Mrs. Nellie Neal-Lawing will sail on
Thursday for the States. She plans to
be gone several months.
Lewis Tulare was down from his mine
on Grant Lake Friday» he safce things are
developing just fine up there -
A new family will move into Moose Pass
soon with children of school age. A
teacher is coming from Ketchikan.
Dell Douglas is helping to rehabili
tate the Roytfroft-Estes brothers' tractor.
Mr. and Mrs. Brannon Casler and daugh
ter, Barbara are moving to Valdez where
Mr. Casler will be employed in the of
fice of U. i>. Marshal James Patterson.