Alaska Panhandle: Stolen key to the B.C. north By NIGEL MORGAN AWN of a new era of develop- ment in the Canadian North- west is focusing public attention on the continuing price Canadians * pay for the United States ‘“Pan- handle Steal” of 1903. Cana- dians are becoming aware that the Panhandle—a part of their natural heritage, and a very im- portant part—has vast potentiali- ties. : The Panhandle, created as a result of the 1903 Alaska Bound- ary award, is a diplomatic heri- tage of power politics at the turn of the century. A narrow strip of coastline about 600 miles long and half the size of Scotland, it artificially separates the north- ern part of British Columbia from the Pacific Ocean. This unnatural winding boundary of the Alaskan Panhandle, just a few miles from the sea, cuts off one of British Columbia’s richest areas from the advantages of tidewater transporation. _ At the same time, because the boundary runs so close to the sea the Panhandle’s industrial po- tential is of little significance _ without Canadian hydro and raw material reserves. . : By all logic is should have been a part of Canada, but as a result of 19th century diplomatic conventions, the conflict of in- terest between Tsarist Russia and imperialist Britain, and the aims of the U.S. expansionists in the North Pacific, it is part of Alaska. The Panhandle, in effect, was seized from Canada. President Theodore Roosevelt, having agreed in 1903 to settlement of the boun- dary dispute by an international commission composed of three Americans, two Canadians and one Briton, then proceed virtual- ly to blackmail the commission in- to submission. In a letter to Mr. Justice Holmes of the U.S. Supreme Court (one of the U.S. nominees for the “impartial” commission) he ‘wrote “that if there is any dis- agreement—not only will there be no arbitration of the matter ‘but in my message to Congress I shall take a position which will prevent any possibility hereafter . .. and which will give me the authority to run the line as we claim it without any further re- gard to the attitude of England and Canada.” What more need be ‘said to establish the way in which the Panhandle was taken, and the arrogance and contempt display- ed for Canadian rights. — As might be expected, fhe Pan- handle was awarded to the United States, Lord Alverstone, the British commissioner, siding with the three Americans, although he had previously upheld a number of Canadian claims as “unim- peachable.” . : : 4 To Lord Alverstone, the ques- _ tion was of little importance. He saw in it nothing but ‘ta squabble over a little useless territory”; a 66h, PRINCE RUPERT = i ‘. VANCOUVER S squabble that “ought to be got Tid of in order that the United Kingdom might have comfortable relations with the United States. _ It ought to be got rid of, no doubt, with as little Canadian irritation as possible, but in any case, it must be got rid of.” Canada was thus excluded from every port on the coast north of . 56°, but, declared Lord Alver- stone, “what does it all amount. to compared with the inestimable gain of American goodwill?” Indicative of Canadian reaction was the bitter comment of Brit- ish Columbia’s leading newspaper of the day, the Rossland Miner, that “perhaps we should be thankful there is no territory left which grasping Americans can reach for and complacent British commissioners give away.” But the expanionist hunger the United States was ae ne satisfied that easily. It was des- tined to be stimulated again with discovery of the vast resources that lie behind the Panhandle strip in Canada’s hinterland. 6 & Just as cheap Welsh and Eng- lish coal fired the steam engine that catapulted Britain into in- dustrial prominence a century ago, so the newly discovered hydro, natural gas, oil and min- eral reserves of the Canadian Northwest are giving a new im- portance to this long-dormant area. The_ fabulous electrical, chemical and metallurgical poten- tialities of the Pacific Northwest: are about to be realized. Already a multi-million dollar metallurgi- cal-chemical empire (reputed to . January be the world’s biggest) has reach- -ed the drawing board stage and survey parties are pushing their way into British Columbia’s little known northern hinterland. The battle that is developing. over Canadian water rights on the B.C.-Alaska boundary involves the whole northern third of British Columbia and the Yukon basin. Control is being decided of a vast and rich new empire, equiv- alent in size to Czechoslovakia, still practically uninhabited, but endowed with an estimated hydro electric potential of 20 million horsepower and enormous raw Jmaterial reserves. The Panhandle, which first ori- ginated in a ukase of Tsar Alex- ander I of Russia to protect one fur trading monopoly against an- other in 1825, has long ceased to have any economic validity. The Yankee war trusts, awak- ening to the unique possibilities, sorely want the power and raw material reserves that lie beyond - the narrow Panhandle strip, and which they missed in the 1903 steal. No less arrogant than in 1903 and striving now to fit Brit- ish Columbia’s resources into a hemisphere plan of exploitation, ~ of which the Alcan project is only the start; today they are using more devious methods. rig Here, for instance is how the issue of Weekly -describes' in diplomatic double-talk “today’s needs for in- tegrated development of the new Northwest power and _ industrial empire.” “Alaska’s governor is sympa- thetic to the idea of developing rae “The Yukon River is one of the largest undeveloped so _ 1S @ Precious asset that should be preserved in perpetuity and developed for Canadian us& € ‘need for “U.S. capital and Yan- the Alaska’ B.C., Yukon and. Alaska as one integrated economic unit,” it states. “Men of goodwill in this section of the continent appear ready to support the integrated development idea”—an unwitting warning of: how the St. Laurent government’s policy of “integra- tion” with the U.S. is betraying the interests of the Canadian peo- ple. Simultaneously, the Financial Pos:, Vancouver Province, Van- couver Sun and Victoria Colonist echo this anti-Canadian line about “economic integration” which is the 1954 version of Lord Alver- ston’s “inestimable gain of Am- erican goodwill.” The Frobisher Corporation’s plan for anl all- Canadian de- velopment is challenged by the Aluminum Company of America, whose scheme involves drilling through 13 miles of mountains to the B.C. side of the Alaskan boundary, to drain off the Yukon basin waters to produce power and develop industries on the Alaskan Panhandle.. Premier W. A. C. Bennett is quoted in a Victoria news dis- patch as saying he is prepared to seek the cooperation of Ottawa and Washington in getting the go- ahead for the Aluminum Com-- pany of America. Thus the stage is set for the worst betrayal of British Colum- bia and Canada since the Pan- handle was surrendered before . the jingoistic Yankee threat of “54-40 or fight.” heh ee J awe All the propaganda about the kee know-how,” “economic inte- gration” and “horse-trading pow- er for a Panhandle corridor,” is nothing but bait to trap us into selling our birthright. The U.S. took the Panhandle’ in 1908. Now it is eyeing the rich resources beyond. It is even offering to build a corridor road through the Panhandle to the newly discovered mountain of copper on the Canadian side. What the U.S. conveniently would have us overlook, of course, is that the Granby Consolidated, which wants-to mine it for pro- cessing and. manufacturing in United States, is a U.S. company. _ No amount of dressing up can hide the fact that the real ques- tion at issue is whether the po- tential power resources of this fabulously rich basin are to be used-for the Yukon and B.C., or if our heritage it to be sold for a fast dollar to the U.S. for Alas- kan development. Picture shows the famous Miles Canyon on the Yukon River. FACIFIC TRIBUNE MAGAZINE SECTION — JUNE 25, 1954 — ‘land comes into its own “Res : s = ay vent urces of power on this conti nis Exports of power are complete: ly different to any other expo In power we are exporting 4 Pet petual basic resource, which can not be replaced or renewed, an which cannot be enlarged meet an increased demand. We are, in fact, permanently part! 1 with an essential of industr@ and community development and thereby agreeing to stunt our country’s future growth perma® ently. The Yukon is one of the Jare est undeveloped sources of powe? on this continent. It i6 # precious asset that should be preserved in perpetuity and de: veloped for Canadian use. In considering this questio® the provincial and federal govern ments face not only the issue immediate use of hydro power but a vital issue of national P° cy. Should any asset like the Yukow River waters be alienated? Am if it is alienated, are these \"" monopolies likely to agree to linquish hydro-electric enerey once their country has secure™ control of it and they have ae yested a billion dollars in it? No immediate benefit ye export of power could provit” can compensate for this perman: ent injury, no matter how attrae pansion are at stake. future of this great and pount! ful province, and particularly ] future of the entire nor s third, hinges on harnessing et Yukon basin waterpower. There is but one guarantee that citizens of the Canadian Nove west will be able to enjoy benefits of a sufficiency of nya power, harnessed to developme? of resources, and this is 2 wae ing commitment by the gover. ment that hydro developmet shall be by Canadians and for expansion of Canadian indu and home needs. Once that basic need is sul ed, it will be time enough to co sider “sharing” any surplus may be left over for foreig? port. — As for the Panhandle itself, i belongs to Canada by every of geography and history. . the new era of development 1? id Canadian Northwest will intere fy the demand of B.C. and ce Yukon for access to the ¢045" Be ts As British Columbia’s tore the Panhandle” will be increm ingly heard. The Panhandle M™, remain’ a problem that athe people’s government may i is —but a people’s governme? coming. ex pace ?