on fishery products as follows: Canned salmon, 4 cents per case; pickled salmon, 10 cents per barrel; salt salmon in bulk, 5 cents per hundred pounds; fish oil, 10 cents per barrel, and fertilizer, 20 cents per ton. Section 260, Compiled Laws of Alaska, 1913, provides that the catch and pack of salmon in Alaska by the owners of private salmon hatcheries operated in Alaska shall be exempt from all license fees and taxation of every nature at the rate of 10 cases of canned salmon to every 1,000 red or king salmon fry liberated," that is, a rebate of 40 cents is allowed on every 1,000 red or king salmon fry released. Sixty-five per cent of the monies paid into the Alaska fund is appropriated for the construction and repair of roads and trails outside of incorporated towns, 25 per cent for the maintenance of schools outside incorporated towns, and 10 per cent for the relief of indigents under the act of Congress approved March 3, 1913. The Territorial revenue act passed by the Alaska Legislature, session of 1915, imposes the following schedule of taxation upon fisheries: Salmon canneries, 4 cents per case on king and red, or sockeye, salmon; 2 cents per case on medium reds; 1 cent per case on all others; salteries, 2 cents per 100 pounds on fish salted or mild cured, except herring; fish traps, fixed or floating, $100 per annum; gill nets, $1 per 100 fathoms or fraction thereof; cold-storage fish plants pay a graduated tax in proportion to business transacted, running downward from $500 to $10 per annum. LAND SURVEYS. The importance of continuing the surveys of agricultural lands in Alaska can not be overestimated. The demand for these lands is increasing with remarkable rapidity. Hundreds of homesteads have been located during the year, some on surveyed and some on unsurveyed lands. These homesteaders should receive encouragement at the hands of the Government, and one way in which to aid them is by surveying without cost to themselves the land they have entered upon. This is not done under the system now followed. No homesteader should be penalized by being compelled to pay for the survey of his homestead. This course is not followed in the public-land States. Why should not the same plan be followed in Alaska? Up to the close of the fiscal year 1915 the extent of the base and meridian, standard parallel and guide meridian lines surveyed in Alaska was 290 miles, distributed as follows, according to the figures furnished this office by the surveyor general of the Territory: Copper meridian, 198 miles; Fairbanks meridian, 42 miles; Seward meridian, 50 miles. From these lines 35 township surveys (whole and fractional) have been made-4 townships in the Copper River meridian, 11 in the Fairbanks meridian, and 20 in the Seward meridian, a not extensive showing for a country with 50,000,000 acres of land suitable for agricultural purposes and with an area of approximately 600,000 square miles. These surveys should be continued as rapidly as possible. During the year the surveyor general's office has approved 16 Indian land allotments embracing 1,154.07 acres. METLAKAHTLA INDIANS. The legal status of the Metlakahtla Indians remains unsettled. In 1887 they immigrated from British Columbia and settled on Annette Islands, Alexander Archipelago. These islands were set apart as a reservation for their use by act of Congress approved March 3, 1891, and the act also provided that the lands should be held and used by these Indians in common under such rules and regulations and subject to such restrictions as might be prescribed from time to time by the Secretary of the Interior. It was not, however, until the present year that any rules, regulations, or restrictions as provided by law were prescribed. In the meantime, Mr. William Duncan, a missionary who had gone among the Indians in 1856 in British Columbia, where they then resided, assumed complete control over them both spiritually and temporally. The powers he exercised were almost completely autocratic and he brooked no interference in such control by any authority, either constituted or otherwise. Dissatisfaction among the Indians over the control thus exercised by Mr. Duncan had been growing for many years, and the unrest reached a culmination in the fall of 1913 when a school, for which a majority of the Metlakahtla Indians had petitioned the United States Government, was established by the Bureau of Education. Mr. Duncan vehemently resented the establishment of this school as an invasion of his rights and denied the authority of the United States Government to interfere in any way in his direction of the affairs, industrially or otherwise, of the Metlakahtlans.. Rules and regulations for the government of the community were formulated in February last by the Secretary of the Interior. Under these regulations a form of local government was instituted, and a town council was elected with limited powers, but probably ample for the time. For several years prior to 1915 the town of Metlakahtla had elected a town council, its powers resting solely upon the consent of the citizens of the town. Had the plain intent of the law of 1891 been carried into effect and rules and regulations prescribed for the government of these Indians the difficulties that have since been encountered would not have developed. These Indians have made great progress in the ways of civilized life. They are generally industrious and progressive and are highly intelligent, but they have no status as citizens, although by act of Congress, approved March 4, 1907, certain civil rights were conferred upon them which enabled them to become masters, pilots, and engineers of steamboats and other craft. Under the interpretation of section 2022 of the Compiled Laws of Alaska, 1913, the district court of the first judicial division of Alaska, decided some years ago that the Metlakahtlans were not citizens of the United States in the ordinary sense as applied to native Indians of the Territory, and therefore they were not affected by the law providing for the suppression of the liquor traffic among the Indians. Legislation is needed defining the political status of these Indians, and to enable them to attain citizenship should they possess the necessary qualifications. Surveys of lands of the Annette Islands should be made and the Indians given title to them in severalty. ALASKA MILITIA. Section 350, Compiled Laws of Alaska, 1913, inter alia provides that the governor of Alaska "shall be ex officio commander in chief of the militia of Alaska, and shall have power to call out the same when necessary to the execution of the laws and to preserve the peace, and to cause all able-bodied citizens of the United States in the Territory to enroll and serve as such when the public exigency demands; and shall perform generally in and over said Territory such acts as pertain to the office of governor of a Terrirory, as far as the same may be made or become applicable thereto." As yet Alaska has no militia or other military organization. In 1903 the War Department decided that no useful organization of the militia in Alaska could be perfected under the existing law, which was regarded as obsolete, and it was therefore recommended that no organization of the militia be attempted in advance of appropriate legislation by Congress. At the same time the War Department was of the opinion that it was both practicable and desirable to maintain a force of militia in Alaska, particularly in the vicinity of Juneau. The matter seems to have rested there, for no effort has been made to remove the obstacle referred to by the department in the way of organizing the militia of the Territory and to extend to it the provisions of the act approved January 21, 1903, "to promote the efficiency of the militia, etc." I have therefore to recommend that such legislation be enacted by Congress as will make it possible to organize and maintain a force of militia in Alaska. The time seems to be opportune for such organization. And if this be done a force of militia 1,000 or more in number can be enrolled, whose personnel would comprise men of previous experience in the militia of various States and who are now seasoned Alaskans. COMMERCE. The volume of merchandise shipments, including precious metals and copper, between Alaska and the United States and between the Territory and foreign countries for the fiscal year 1915 amounted to $70,113,916, as compared with $61,076,692 for the fiscal year 1914, an increase of $9,037,224 for the fiscal year 1915. Shipments of domestic merchandise from the United States to Alaska showed a decrease of $525,482 from the previous fiscal year, while shipments of domestic merchandise from Alaska to the United States increased $4,321,035, and shipments of domestic gold and silver increased $3,172,154; shipments of foreign gold and silver increased $928,588; and the value of fish shipments of all kinds showed an increase of $4,023,411. There was also an increase in copper production of $1,305,593 over the previous year. The volume of business for the present calendar year will show a large increase over the calendar year 1914. In almost every line of industry the shipments of merchandise from the United States to Alaska have been larger than ever before. This is due principally to the increased mining activity in the vicinity of Juneau and elsewhere on the southeastern coast. In southwestern Alaska, or the third judicial division, there is also increased commercial activity due to the increased production of ores in the Valdez and Copper River districts. There is considerable activity in the Cook Inlet country, due to a large influx of people to that section and the building of the Government railroad, and trade and commerce, therefore, in that section shows a substantial advance. The volume of business of Seward Peninsula and northwestern Alaska shows little change as compared with last year, and the total merchandise tonnage of interior Alaska, including Iditarod, Fairbanks, and Yukon River points, is about the same as in 1914. The notable increase in the volume of exports from Alaska is due to increased shipments of copper ores and fish, principally canned salmon. Domestic merchandise shipped from the United States to Alaska, 1910–1915. 1 Besides the domestic coal above mentioned, foreign coal was imported to the value of $356,435 in 1910, $382,197 in 1911, $256,502 in 1912, $279,788 in 1913, $108,355 in 1914, and $141,480 in 1915. General classification of merchandise shipped from the United States to Alaska, 1913–1915. Value of merchandise and precious metals shipped from Alaska to the United States, Total commerce of Alaska for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1915. Shipments of domestic merchandise from the United States to Alaska.. Domestic exports from Alaska. Total..... LIQUOR TRAFFIC AMONG THE NATIVES. $20,792, 609 467, 433 25,801, 101 402,865 971,739 15,612, 272 4,423,622 640,886 997, 184 4,205 70, 113, 916 Operations for the suppression of the liquor traffic among the Indians were continued throughout the year under an appropriation made by Congress for this work, the amount available being $15,000. Four special employees were regularly engaged in the work during the fiscal year, and one native officer. The official stations of these special employees in this service are Juneau, in the first judicial division, Nome, in the second judicial division, Valdez, in the third judicial division, and Ruby, in the fourth judicial division. The native employee is stationed at Eagle. The results obtained by these special employees, generally speaking, have been satisfactory, not only in the number of arrests and convictions obtained, but also in the preventive work, whose value can not be estimated in mere figures. The districts covered by these employees are extensive, means of communication between objective points are not infrequently slow and uncertain and the work done by them justifies the statement that their labors are such as secure results. A marked decrease in the illegal sale of liquor to the natives is manifest and is a gratifying indication of the vigilance exercised. Many intelligent Indians throughout Alaska discourage the use of intoxicating liquors among their fellows, and through their influence and the activity of the special employees drunkenness is not only decreasing among them, but a healthy temperance sentiment is being built up in a number of communities. The reports of the special employees show a total of 64 cases instituted, and in addition to these several cases were prosecuted upon evidence obtained by the deputy United States marshals. In the first judicial division 27 cases were acted upon. Of these 11 were found guilty of furnishing liquor to natives and given jail sentences ranging from one to eight months; 3 were given penitentiary sentences of from one year to 15 months; 2 cases were dismissed; 1 fled from the jurisdiction of the court; in 3 cases the grand jury returned not true bills; 4 were bound over to the grand jury and were awaiting action at the end of the fiscal year. Three persons were fined $250, $700, and $800, respectively, upon conviction of selling liquor without licenses. In the second judicial division the special employee engaged in the work on August 15, 1914. Six cases were prosecuted and a large amount of patrol and preventive work was done by this officer, who covers a vast territory. In the third judicial division four arrests were made; two of the persons arrested were bound over to the grand jury and were awaiting action at the end of the fiscal year. The officer employed in this |