208 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



ON lllL hjTPEK KI\"LK. ALASKA 



The prevailing type of combination of water, forest and mountain scenery in Alaska. It is country like this that may supply much of the pulpwood used 



in the future and which, if need be. can also supply the water power for paper mills. 



mcnt owns great coal fields of tremendous richness, abun- 

 dantly able, so the experts report, to supply every Na- 

 tional need for many j^ears. The one problem to be faced 

 is that of the best means of utilization. How may our 

 tremendous natural resources be given the quickest and 

 most effective relation to the National needs' 



The first plan is that of public sales of raw material 

 to the manufacturers. This already is being done to 

 some extent. During the last year National Forest timber 

 sales to lumber companies, railroads, and mining com- 

 panies and one western paper mill amounted to $1 ,795,000. 

 This plan calls for contractual relations between the 

 Government and private capital. New mills might be 

 erected in Alaska, the Puget Sound country, or the Rock\- 

 Mountain region, under agreements with the Govern- 

 ment for a long term supply of raw material, guaranteed 

 under an equitable adjustment of jiriccs from time to 

 time. This already is being done in the case of certain 

 saw mills. Such contracts may readily contain provisions 

 which give the public effective control of possible indus- 

 trial combinations or monopolies. 



Practicable to Manufacture News Print in Alaska 

 Experts of the Forest Service report that it is en- 

 tirely practicable to manufacture news print in Alaska 

 and deliver it to New York through the Panama Canal at 

 a cost of not more than S35 a ton. When it is considered 



that recent prices have ranged from $60 a ton upward, it 

 is evident that an excellent competitive basis exists for 

 the introduction of western papers. 



The development of private paper plants in the West 

 might be supplemented by the erection of mills by the 

 Federal Govemmenb itself. It is estimated that a mill with 

 a capacity of one hundred tons of news print a day can 

 be built in Alaska for two and a half million dollars. Even 

 if the output of the mill was confined to the needs of the 

 Government alone, it is probable that such a mill would 

 pay for itself in no great length of time, while adding 

 something to the paper supply of the nation. 



Should the Federal Government Enter the Industry? 

 The fundamental problem is to build up paper pro- 

 duction in the United States to keep pace with a growing 

 demand and afford a sufficient supply at all times to hold 

 prices at reasonable levels. To the extent that private 

 enterprise will do this, it would appear unnecessary for 

 the Government to undertake it, particularly if the pub- 

 licly owned forests can be utilized for the purpose under 

 conditions which give the public control of industrial 

 organizations. In the event that private capital cannot 

 be enlisted, however, to meet the needs of a larger paper 

 supply available at fair prices, it may be well that the 

 Federal Government should enter the industry as a direct 

 method of controlling the situation. 



