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Show JYunJ ly ' WeeJclv - The cover photograph and the dramatic pictures on these pages were taken exclusively for Family Weekly by Ozzie Sweet, who traveled more than 9,000 miles to capture on film the people, the industry, and the scenic splendor of our 49th state. During his trip, photographer Sweet grew the handsome beard shown tn the accompanying picture. often-rugg- New state's biggest dilemma is transportation or lack of it. Scarcity of highways and railroads makes boat and Ketchikan, and even Juneau, the capital are reachable only by sea or by air. This is probably the most striking contrast of all the chief means of transportation in Alaska are the oldest and newest, the boat and the plane, unless you count the dog sled. There is only one railroad, less them 500 miles long, from Seward, a seaport, via Anchorage to Fairbanks in the interior. Its operated by the Federal Government and has been an open sore among Alaskans for years. They claim the railroad has been operated solely for profit, unfairly and ruthlessly, and should have been used instead to develop the territory, regardless of cost. One charge is that it raises its rates in Winter, when highways are closed to trucking, and lowers them in Spring below normally profitable trucking rates. The railroad freely admits the charge. One official explains that the Government lost about $44 million dollars operating the road from 1914, when it opened, to 1954, when it was ordered by Congress to operate within the revenues i.e., make a profit. Since 1954, its made a profit nearly a million a year, and truckers are feeling the pinch. In any case, next to a network of highways connecting the major cities (theres one under construction between Nome and Fairbanks) , Alaskans hope to build more railroads, notably one connecting them with the other 48 states. Better shipping facilities are also in view. Anchorage has launched an $8.2 million port development program which, it hopes, will make it the No. 1 port in Alaska. Seward, 114 miles south, now holds that position. Transportation is unquestionably ed airplane only links to outside for many isolated areas of sprawling state. Bush pilots are Alaska's truck drivers. Alaskas No. 1 headache, and one that must be soothed before any of its other problems can begin to be solved. Its a chicken-and-eg- g problem. Business and industry claim they cannot expand until they get better and cheaper transportation, and transportation services claim they cannot improve until business and industry expand enough to make it worthwhile. Under statehood, perhaps neither chicken nor egg will come first, but both together. The new state government, in addition to plans for improving its transportation, is offering inducements to new industries exemptions from state taxes, for instance to help broaden the states economy. It will have to, because one of the hardest facts of Alaskan life is that almost everything comes into Alaska, almost nothing goes out. Its this lack of a haul back load that has helped keep the price of transportation so high. Once Alaska starts exporting in volume, Alaskans say, the cost will come down. theres the rub. Export what? Ah, but The obvious answer would be the same things its been export- ing for years its natural resources, its fish, its almost untapped lode of minerals, and its prolific, untouched forests. But these things have been available for years and the unhappy truth is that their exports have been dwindling. Take fishing. Long Alaskas leading industry, it has gone downstream in recent years. The salmon catch alone has dropped from eight million cases a year ago to two million. Alaskans claim its because of unrestricted trapping by private fishermen, who catch the salmon before they can get upstream to spawn. Under statehood, they hope to impose some workable restrictions to build up the stock once more. Take mining. All that glitters in Alaska may very well be gold, because theres still plenty of it up there. But, in one of the most ironic twists in economic history, theres no longer any profit in it. The old sourdough who panned for gold along streams is almost extinct; he cant compete with the big mining companies, who have bigger and better equipment. But even these giants are in trouble. The biggest, the United States Smelting, Mining, and Refining Co., has shut down a number of its mines and expects to completely suspend operations within four years. The gold is still there seemingly inexhaustible but its too hard to get out because of the perpetually frozen subsoil and, while the price of gold has remained stable, labor and equipment costs have increased several times over. Other metals, whose prices arent fixed, arent much more accessible. Only 2 percent of Alaska has been surveyed, but 31 of the 33 strategic minerals have been found there. Oil has also been discovered, and a gas field north of Fairbanks is awaiting exploitation. To all of which, one might ask, So what? Its still going to cost too much to get the minerals out of the ground and out of Alaska to make it pay off for quite some time. Now take lumber. Here even the critics admit that Alaskas potential is phenomenal, that its vast timber riches cant even be estimated accurately. To exploit some of this virgin forest, the first pulp mill was built at Ketchikan four years ago. Another mill is under way at Sitka, and two more are planned in the Panhandle. Sound promising? No, said an official of the Ketchikan mill. Right now we arent producing our full capacity, because we cant even sell the little we do produce. The cause? Those old bugaboos, labor, equipment, and transportation costs. to all of Alaskans have answers bring down the costs and find closer markets. Japan, for instance, is being eyed covetously as a potential customer. But, when pressed, Alaskans admit that even this wont be enough. The real answer is not only to develop its own resources but to create a greater variety of business and industry. For the enterprising man with money, the opportunities to start a new business are almost limitless. Needed most desperately are the service facilities stores, restaurants, hotels, repair shops, and filling stations and factories producing consumer goods from natural resources, such as furniture and building materials. Hydroelectric power is another potent possibility. More than 200 sites have been located with an estimated capacity of well over eight million kilowatts, one-ten- th the present capacity in the United States. Alaska believes that, as a state, it will be much more attractive to new investments along these lines than it ever was in the unpredictable atmosphere of Federal control. The new home-rul- e government is dedicated to economic growth. But it will take plenty of capital to Family Weekly, November 9, J95 S 7 |