STATEMENT OF MAJ. GEN. L. H. BEACH, CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY,

General BEACH. A previous report on the examination and survey of Wrangell Narrows was made in 1903, published in House Docket 39, Fifty-eighth Congress, second session, and was favorable to the improvement of the narrows by blasting and dredging a channel to a width of 200 feet and a depth of 20 feet at low water (23 feet at mean low water), at an estimated cost of $1,600,000.

A report on preliminary examination of Dry Straits made in 1907 is published in House Document No. 556, Sixtieth Congress, first session, and was unfavorable to the improvement of Dry Straits in view of the probable high cost of maintenance.

A second report made in 1917 on examination and survey of Dry Straits is published in House Document No. 68, Sixty-fifth Congress, first session, and was favorable to the improvement of the straits by dredging a channel to a width of 200 feet and a depth of 26 feet at mean lower low water and constructing a dike to exclude the waters of the Stikine River, at an estimated cost of $2,000,000, with maintenance estimated at $100,000 for the first year, $50,000 the second year, and $30,000 per annum thereafter.

The commerce carried through Wrangell Narrows during 1919 was 201,525 tons, which at an estimated value of $150 per ton had a total value of over $30,000,000. The traffic consisted of fish, coal, lumber, furs, minerals, and general merchandise. This commerce was carried in 26 vessels, which had loaded drafts varying from 15 to 21 feet, and made a total of 373 passages through the narrows. The number of passengers carried was approximately 20,000.

You see the inland passage shown on this map in blue. If the boats do not go through Wrangell Narrows, it is necessary for them to take this route, shown by the red line on the map, with a consid erable detour, and which also brings them out into the ocean at this point [indicating on map]. As I said, in 1919 they had 201,000 tons of commerce moving with a valuation of $30,000,000, and during this same period 170,000 tons of freight, valued at $22,500,000 was carried via Cape Decision, all of which would probably have been carried through Wrangell Narrows or Dry Straits had a suitable channel existed at either place. Approximately 10,000 passengers were carried via Cape Decision.

The trouble with the narrows is that there are several pinnacles of rock and some bars in there, the rocks being extremely dangerous, so that the larger vessels or the more deeply laden vessels do not dare make the attempt, especially if the weather is thick or snow is flying. They also have to look out about going through there in the dark, and as you know during the winter the days are extremely short up there, and that is a very important matter in this case.

The CHAIRMAN. Is that open in the winter and summer, General? General BEACH. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. It is not frozen over?

General BEACH. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. It is not icebound?

General BEACH. No, sir; the climate in there is really not much

colder, I think, than it is in Washington.

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Mr. SUTHERLAND. No; it is not any colder than it is in Washington. General BEACH. It is in about the same position on the Pacific coast in that latitude as you find in Europe. The Gulf Stream, you know, keeps England habitable when the shores of Labrador on the opposite side of the ocean on the west side, in the same latitude, are absolutely uninhabitable. Vegetation can not grow sufficiently to support life, and in the same way on the east side of the Pacific the warm climate extends much farther than it does on the west side. The CHAIRMAN. General, how long is the distance by the detour from the place where you start to the place where you end, going north and going that roundabout course of the ocean?

General BEACH. It is 90 miles farther.

The CHAIRMAN. It is 90 miles farther that way than it is the other? General BEACH. Yes, sir; it is.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the distance by one course, and what is the distance by the other?

The CLERK. On page 3, paragraph 2: Wrangell Narrows is about 21 miles in length, and farther down is the town of Wrangell, with a population of 1,200, which is 47 miles from the south.

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General BEACH. On page 18 you will find tables of distances, and also a case of saving in distance, via Cape Decision direct from Lincoln Rod Light to Point Hugh, 176 miles; via Cape Decision with stop at Wrangell, 210 miles; via Wrangell Narrows direct, 115 miles.

The CHAIRMAN. General, will you not be good enough to take your pointer and show us what that means. I do not think any of us will understand it unless you do.

General BEACH. Mr. Sutherland will point it out.

Mr. SUTHERLAND (indicating on map). It is right here on the straight course; Point Hugh is here.

The CHAIRMAN. The total difference by detour is 176 miles, and the total distance to Wrangell Narrows is

General BEACH. Eighty-one miles.

The CHAIRMAN. Eighty-one miles, and that makes a difference of 95 miles?

General BEACH. Ninety-five miles, yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Just what you gave originally.
General BEACH. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, General, is the detour dangerous?

General BEACH. It is by no means as dangerous as the passage through Wrangell Narrows, because it is much wider and has more ocean water. A vessel has to go out in the ocean, which involves, of course, some risk at times.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, would the route through Wrangell Narrows be safe after the improvement recommended in this report? 1. General BEACH. Not entirely, because it was estimated that to excavate the channel, remove the reefs and rocks to a depth of 23 feet, at mean lower low water, would involve an expenditure of $3,908,800.

The CHAIRMAN. $4,000,000 roughly?

General BEACH. $4,000,000 roughly, or a channel 21 feet would amount to $1,985,000, or practically $2,000,000.

The CHAIRMAN. A depth of 2 feet would make that difference? General BEACH. A difference between 21 and 23 would make a difference of $2,000,000.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the average depth, the average draft, I mean, of the vessels?

General BEACH. They vary from 15 to 21 feet.

The CHAIRMAN. Except for the very large vessels, a 21-foot channel would be perfectly safe.

General BEACH. And especially if they were careful to go at high tide.

The CHAIRMAN. You would have the tide in addition to the depth? General BEACH. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. How much of a tide is there there?

General BEACH. I will have to look that up.

Mr. SUTHERLAND. I think it is 10 or 11 feet at Petersburg.

Mr. HULL. Is this all out of the bay?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. It is inland channel.

The CHAIRMAN. The blue line indicates the course pursued by the vessels, and where the red line comes it is a detour which is made. From the south end of the red line to the north end of the red line the Wrangell Narrows, there are jagged rocks at the bottom of the water, which makes it dangerous for the larger vessels to traverse that route, and so they have to make the detour. The difference between the two routes is 95 miles.

Mr. SUTHERLAND. It is that section [indicating] involved in the

narrows.

Mr. HULL. That is where the jagged rocks are?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir. The jagged rocks are in the lower end of the narrows. In the upper end they do not fear grounding much when they go through on the tides.

Mr. MANSFIELD. What is the improvement?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. To blast out the rocks at the lower end of the

narrows.

Mr. MANSFIELD. You do not want to use the route traced in red? Mr. SUTHERLAND. That [indicating] is the detour. Deepen the narrows so ships can pass through. If the narrows are straightened out any draft can go through on a high tide, but it is crooked on account of the ledges at the lower end.

General BEACH. There is a large-scale map at the back of the report which shows the reefs and ledges in there very well, on the left-hand side of the map, and I would like to state that the range of the tide is practically 14 feet-13.8 feet.

The CHAIRMAN. There would not be any question then, General, of a smaller excavation being absolutely safe during high tide? How long does the high tide stay in. Tell us as to the tide.

Mr. SUTHERLAND. The period in which they can go through lasts for two or three hours. The time to go through is from the upper end, and that is the ebb at the lower end. It comes from both sides, from the south and north, and the tides meet a little north of the mouth of the narrows.

The CHAIRMAN. How many miles do you say through the narrows? Mr. SUTHERLAND. Twenty-one miles through the narrows. A good deal of that is good. If it could be straightened so the large ships could steer a straight course where the ledges are, they would not have much difficulty on tides, but in order to go through on tides, there would have to be a general deepening, not all over, but where the bars are, and there would have to be dredging. If the lower

end of the Narrows was straightened, all ships would go through on the tide.

Mr. HULL. Would 21 feet take all ships up there?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir; I think so.

The CHAIRMAN. General, have you anything more to say.

General BEACH. I want to state that the rocks are in about the lower 10 miles, the southerly 10 miles of the Narrows, and at another point further up, in a space of about 2 miles. Outside of those two localities, the narrows are free from obstruction.

The CHAIRMAN. Making 12 or 12 miles.

Mr. HULL. How many months in the year is that navigable?
General BEACH. All the year around.

Mr. HULL. Does it not freeze up at all?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. No; there is no freezing there.

Mr. WILSON. Do I understand you to say that you go out into the Pacific Ocean by way of the long route, coming up from Seattle?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. All the way from Seattle by the inside passage, except at this entrance, the ocean comes in there, but it does not have the sweep that it does at the detour.

Mr. WILSON. Just a moment.

If you go from Seattle by way of the inside passage, and follow your proposed improvement, you would not come out on the ocean at all.

Mr. SUTHERLAND. No, sir.

Mr. WILSON. What is the full length before you come back into the ocean?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. About 1,150 miles.

Mr. WILSON. All inland passage?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. All inland passage; yes, sir.

Mr. WILSON. That is the length of the inland passage?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir.

Mr. WILSON. About 1,150 miles?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir. From Seattle to Skagway is about 1,075 miles, I would say, very close to 1,100 miles, but if you take this course out there, it will be a little longer [indicating on map].

Mr. MCDUFFIE. Is that the most thickly populated part of Alaska, where this improvement is?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, that is the most thickly populated part of Alaska. It is not very dense.

Mr. McDUFFIE. Of course it is not, because you only have about 65,000 population in the Territory.

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, that is correct.

Mr. MCDUFFIE. Is the population increasing any?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. I think it is gradually increasing, slowly, but I have no doubt that it is increasing.

Mr. McDUFFIE. Did this act of Congress, which dealt with the opening up of certain land, have a tendency to attract people to go to Alaska?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. No, sir; they do not seem to be attracted there very much, but some people are settling in the agricultural valleys. Mr. McDUFFIE. Are the people going there, going there to remain? Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes; people are going there to-day, are going to remain. Our coast population is largely Scandinavian, and I think the future Alaskans will be of Scandinavian descent.

Mr. McDUFFIE. That territory along here [indicating on map]—is that in the dairy-products section?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. No, sir; it is not.

Mr. McDUFFIE. Of Alaska?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. No, sir; this is the fish section and lumber. This is a section where all the pulp mills will be in the future.

Mr. McDUFFIE. Considerable lumber will move along this canal, will it?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir; the big timber is north of that canal, and at present a concern in California is negotiating with the Department of Agriculture to establish a pulp mill there.

Mr. McDUFFIE. Have you any idea of the amount of stumpage,

or the amount of stand in feet?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. I could not give you that.

Mr. McDUFFIE. It is virgin timber?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir; it is virgin timber, never has been cut. The CHAIRMAN. Does the Government own that timber?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. The Government owns it.

The CHAIRMAN. It is Government owned?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Can you give us any idea of the extent of timber adjacent to Wrangell Narrows, owned by the Government?

General BEACH. I do not know whether that is spread out on the report or not.

Mr. SUTHERLAND. The most desirable timber for pulp in Alaska is right in this section.

The CHAIRMAN. That is along Wrangell Narrows, hence for a short distance to the north and to the south.

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir; some little distance to the south.

Mr. McDUFFIE. What sort of timber is that? What do you call it?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Spruce, fir, and hemlock.

The CHAIRMAN. It is what is called the Douglas fir?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. They do not call it the Douglas fir, they speak of it as Douglas fir in British Columbia. It is virtually the same

tree.

Mr. DEAL. How large is that timber?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. That is pretty large timber. Why, I guess a great deal of the forests there will be 3 feet through at the butt. Mr. DEAL. Three feet through?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir.

Mr. DEAL. Is it near the water?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir; it is.

Mr. DEAL. Are there very large forests up there?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. Yes, sir; the entire country is covered with forests.

Mr. DEAL. Is that forest controlled by the Government?

Mr. SUTHERLAND. By the Department of Agriculture exclusively. It is in the national forests, this entire section.

The CHAIRMAN. Let me suggest this, Mr. Sutherland. We are going to have Congressman Newton give us certain statistics with regard to Alaska, and will you step across to my office and call up the Forestry Division of the Department of Agriculture and find out how