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Show THE RICH COUNTY NEWS, RANDOLPH, UTAH Work Would Solve Reclamation Problem Thomas E. Campbell of Arizona ; Former Gov. David W. Davis of Idaho, now commissioner of reclamation, and Dr. John A. Wldtsoe, formerly president of the state university and agricultural college of Utah. The letter of invitation sent forward by Secretary Work follows, in Formation WASHINGTON. the whole system of government methods in reclaiming arid and semi-ari- d lands by irrigation has been announced by Dr, Hubert Work, secretary of the interior. Invitations were sent to seven citizens of national reputation and prominence to serve as members of the commission and conduct an Intensive study of the problem which is characterized as one of national concern.. This is in furtherance of a policy instituted last April. Secretary Work, in outlining the reclamation situation, declared, It is generally reported that relatively few of the original settlers on projects now remain on them as water users, He also cites the fact that one hundred 'and thirty-fou- r millions of government money have been expended for reclamation, and but fourteen millions have been returned, while six millions are due and unpaid. Those asked to serve on' the commission are: Julius Barnes, president United States Chamber of Commerce; Oscar E. Bradfute, president American Farm Bureau federation; James part: Time extensions for payment of both construction and . maintenance charges hgve been asked which, if granted, would multiply deferred an-- " nual payments, it is feared, beyond the ultimate ability of the settler to pay, entailing probable loss of bis home and to the government the loss of the investment. "Reclamation has done much toward the development of the West, but it now clearly requires to be adapted to existing conditions, so that its future success may be achieved and the pos-- . sibility of home ownership be assured to settlers. Although only recently charged with the responsibility of reclamation, I am not a stranger to the Irrigation of arid lands, but prefer, however, not to suggest procedure and would not expect to advance opinions to this R. Garfield, commission unless requested, asking of the inteonly that the questions may be treated rior;' El wood Mead, engineer and of works on irrigation and recla- with open publicity and that I may . mation, Berkeley, Calif.; Former Gov. transmit your report to congress. . au-.th- Government Essay Contest in Schools to exceed five hundred words in length. Those eligible are pupils of the; fifth, .sixth; seventh and eighth grades, who are not more than fourteen years of age. The contest opened with the beginning of school and will close December 4, 1923. Teachers are requested to submit safety lessons on the subject "Training Children in Habits of Safety on the Highways. The limit suggested is between 1,000 and 3,000 words. All elementary school teachers In the eighth and lower grades are eligible to . , submit lessons. .... contest In the teachers the first national award, is $500 and a trip to Washington with all expenses paid. The second Is $300, the third is $1,200. The first national prize for pupils is fully grown In the interior of Alaska wherevet a gold watch and a trip to Washingthe snowfall is deep enough to protect the grain ton with all expenses paid. The secfrom severe winter temperatures, say, from thirty ond and third prizes are each gold to forty Inches. Hay is successfully made every watches. season from native grasses and from grain sown The board announces that the confor the purpose. tests will be conducted with the co"Of the agricultural land tributary tof the govern, ment railroad In the Cook inlet and Susltna region tumn. . operation of state departments ' of The subject of the essays which education, womens clubs, civic organit is estimated that 1,296,000 acres are suitable for farming without costly drainage. This area would children are invited to write Is izations, safety councils, .automobile Highway Safety Habits I Should clubs, and kindred organizations that provide 8,100 farms of 160 acres each. Homestead claim may be initiated by any per- Learn. Essays, as last year, are not may wish to assist. son having the qualifications required of an applicant for land in the United States, and a homestead entry made in the United States does not operate to disqualify him. MELLONS dents, and the best known faces have J. J. Underwood says in "Alaska, an Empire in SECRETARY designs for paper been chosen for the bills most used. the Making : consideration for The one dollar bill for Instance, will "The coast-lin-e of Alaska, measuring around all more than a year, has been an- have Washingtons portrait; the five, of th? Islands, is approximately 26,000 miles long, nounced at the Treasury department Lincoln, and the ten, Jackson. Clevemore than the distance around the world. and many brand new bills of distinc- lands likeness ' will appear on the The gross area of Alaska Is 590,804 square tive type and marking soon will be in twenty-dolla- r bills while for the fifties miles, or more than the combined area of Maine, and one hundreds, the portraits of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode circulation. The new designs at first will affect General Grant and Benjamin FrankIsland, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, PennUnited States notes, silver certifionly lin, respectively, have been selected. Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, sylvania, deThe backs of the new bills will be North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, cates and federal reserve' notes in nominations up to $100, with the ex- of the same Mississippi and Tennessee. general character as the The Yukon river has a total length of nearly ception of the "unpopular two dollar present gold notes, consisting of the three thousand miles, and it is about the fifth note, but it is hoped later to extend conventional scroll work panel with the new designs amounting almost to lathe work border and not largest stream in the world. It is navigable for a pictures program of standardization to na- and thus the design of any pne denomir of twenty-foua distance about river vessels for tional bank notes and ultimately to nation will become well known,-whethhundred miles. , !tie rare gold certificates. it be a United States note, silver "According to the estimates of competent engi' Working to make the Job of counterneers .and geologists, the coal in Alaska is sufficertificate or federal reserve note. cient to sustain the people of the United States feiting less remunerative, treasury The whole design will be uniform, for 5,300 years at the present rate of consumption. experts chose the method of standardand the difficulty of "raising bills to one denomination Alaska contains about twenty active volcanoes. izing designs, giving denominations, Chief Moran of higher all of kinds of distincone currency are Alaska said of the United "The cod banks by the secret .service believes, will be tive so for face and that design back, States fish commission to be among the finest in increased. the world. The same Is true of the halibut banks. those persons into whose possession greatly As for the unpopular bill, Statistics show that In Alaska there is less the money comes may recognize instantly if alteration has been at- a new design for it was not Included crime per capita than in any state in the Union. since .its discontinuation Is being contempted. Andrew J. Stone writes in the Century: The faces of the new bills will sidered, If it finally Is decided to conAlaska has in active operation the largest copcarry portraits of well known figures tinue the bill a portrait of Thomas per mine in the world. in American history, mostly - presi Jefferson will be used. The territorys extent of latitude and coast-lin- e influence of the current the warming and Japan have combined to give it almost as much climatic to possess. variety as California claims WILL require five years to lay urging the American people to com Alaska has pasturage for 30,000,000 reindeer, the foundations of the new cities to the aid of the stricken people ol from which 900,000,000 pounds of the choicest and Tokyo and Yokohama, and from Japan and designating the America! most delicious meat could annually be marketed. ten to fifteen years to complete In addition, the territory has 65,000,000 acres of Red Cross to administer the reliel their construction, according to relichoice grazing ground. Then the commander of th same able the estimates compiled, in this city. work.,. qualities that make the The soil has American Asiatic fleet lost no time ii An approximation of the Japanese wheat of Manitoba famous. the ships under his com' dispatching : . Book Year losses International the $2,000,000,-000at says "New The places figure mand to the scene of the disaster and methods conservative This area is one of the most adopted by the Under the offered the services of the entire fleet government, the Pribilof islands seal herds in- densely populated in Japan, supportfor the Immediate relief of the suffer' creased from 215,738 animals In 1912 to 604,791 ing 15,000,000 people, more than ers. In secured 1921 sealskins numbered the entire inhabitants of Japan. in 1922. The "The report of these spontaneoui A touching expression of gratitude 23,681, and at St. Louis during 1922, 22,976 of these skins were sold for $722,060,, The skins of for the sympathy and assistance of the and prompt measures, taken by the President, the government and tb 1,139 blue and white foxes caught on the Phlbilof United States in the Japanese disaster people of the United States, Is creat islands during the season 1920-2- 1 -- were sold for was communicated by Count Yamamoto, premier of Japan, on behalf of ing a profound impression In tb $109,398.. Although the fiscal year 1922 was one of marked the Japanese people to the American grateful hearts of suffering Japan. 18,000,000 board feet of government. The message was trans"With these facts in mind, I desin depression In Alaska,commercial use. mitted to the State department by to express in the name of lumber were cut for the Japa "The value of furs shipped from the territory Masnao Hanibara, Imperial ambassanese government their, moat heartfelt dor here. It reads in part : in 1921 was $762,297. thanks to the American government Fox farming in Alaska Is Increasing, 76 fox . At a time when Japan was making and at the same time to convey t her best endeavors to follow the letter the President and people of the Unite farnis now being in operation. States United of Signal corps system and spirit of the Versailles treaty and States the deep sense of Over the gratitude ol 795 miles of land lines, the 2,703 miles of cables and Washington treaties, which we be- my sovereign and of the entire natloi Iri 1921 messages, governtransmitted were lieve have laid the foundation of world of Japan for this noble manlfestatloi there tariffs amounted to peace and will ment and commercial, whose ' greatly promote human of a sincere and generous sympathy. t $221,781. welfare, the emprle wqj visited by a am happyMn believing that this pre A report of the governor emphasizes, as the most appalling disaster, in which ail clous gift of the American sympathy paramount need, liberalized laws and more flex- the. elements combined. In the hour of greatest trial for th In this hour of deep grief and anx-et- Japanese nation cannot but servo tb ible rules and regulations thereunder, with a concentration of authority and responsibility and m felt alike by the emperor and all peace of the world, in drawing still and brought closer administration tls subjects. ,the President of the closer the bond of friendship an trust home. "ntted State issued a proclamation between the two countries. ENEWAL of its annual safety contests, in which $6,500 will be given away In prizes, Is announced by the Highway Education board. Training ' children in habits of highway safety is the principal task of the 1923 safety campaign, but through the children it is hoped that the principles of traffic regulation and safety education will be impressed upon adults, both pedestrians and drivers alike.) The third annual safety campaign takes the form of two contests, one among elementary school pupils ahd another among elementary school teachers. Approximately five hundred state and national prizes are to be given for the best essays and lessons written. The prizes offered are the gifts of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, which is desirous of reducing the number of accidents and fatalities due to traffic mishaps. In the two previous .years approximately 400,000 pupils and 50,000 teachers have participated each auB E&STJg ; AEXDtUnr A E3AUT1KL MMiBtLIIRa By JOHN DICKINSON ARREN passing tention Problem portant SHERMAN. In many cases their activities overlap. In general there has been little and In addition, it is government at long range. Rules and regulations under existing statutes are made by the authorities at Washington, who are also In large measure charged with their governing. HARDINGS tragic has directed public atanew to the "Alaska as one of the most iminherited by President Coolidge. For it was President Hardings Alaskan trip, made for the purpose of getting firsthand Information on the problem, that brought about his death and his last public ad-- 4 dress at Seattle was in effect a the name means Great plea in behalf of Alaska Country and John- Muir used to call It My beautiful, fruitful wilderness. Said Mr. Harding: G. Against a program of ruinous exploitation we must stand firmly. Our adopted program must be a development of Alaska for Alaskans. Incidentally, in his Seattle speech, Mr. Harding made these points : That Alaska does not need federaliy-paid-fo- r, government-managehothouse more restriction of the fishthat development; ing Industry is necessary and urgent; that more liberal terms in leasing may be necessary to develop the oil fields ; that there should be an organization capable of the readiest response to demands for roads and trails; that there is the necessity to' provide feeders for the government railroad ; that in a very few years we can very well set off the Panhandle and a large block ofthe connecting southeastern part as a state. The purpose of this article, however, Is informative, not argumentative. What follows is largely a compilation from the latest authoritative sources bf information of interesting facts about Alaska. Ofcourse, until development takes place It Is Impossible to estimate, even approximately, the probable value of Alaska's natural resources. There i3 no question that they are varied and Immense: Coal, oil, copper, gold, silver, lead, various metals, marble, timber, fish, fur, agriculture, water power, scenery. Probably no state In the Union has so great a variety of assets and so much potential d, Wealth. Even now, when it is admitted that Alaska is not flourishing, that its production is decreasing and that its population is falling off, it pays annually several hundred per cent on Its original cost in 1867 $7,200,000 (less than two cents an acre). The total mineral production in 1921 was $17,004,-12The total of fishery products In 1921 was 4. $24,086,861. Alaska, since 1867, has produced mineral, fish and fur products considerably in excess of one billion dollars. Gov. Scott C. Bones latest available report to the secretary of the Interior contains these figures : According to the 1920 census, the population was 55,036, an apparent decrease of 9,320 from that of 1910, though the former was taken In the dead of winter and the latter in the spring. In 1921 the number of persons employed in the fisheries industry was 15,070, and the total active investment was $39,001,874. The total value of the fishery products, exclusive of seal and other aquatic' furs, "was $24,086,867, a decrease of $17,-402p7 from the preceding year. The output of canned salmon consisted of 2,596,826 cases, valued at $19,632,744, as compared with 4,429,463 cases ' in 1920, valued at $35,002,800. The total commerce of Alaska for the calendar year 1921 was $65,954,566, a decrease of $42,375,-32- 9 from the amount In 1920. The total commerce with the United States was $63,541,381, as against $i06,586,095 In 1920, a decrease of $43,044,814. There were approximately 260,000 reindeer, of which belong to the natives. There were fifteen territorial and three national banks; 214 domestic and 428 foreign corporations. The government of Alaska is more perplexing than any Chinese puzzle. The executive power is vested in the governor, who is appointed by the president for a term of four years, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. The legislative power Is vested in a territorial legislature consisting of a senate and house of representaThe judicial power of the territory Is tives. vested In the District court of the United States for the District of Alaska. The territory elects a delegate to congress, who may participate in debate, but who has no vote. Yet, according to Alaskans, It is a case of tpo much government by too many bureaus, too far There are at least thirty-eigbureaus of away. the several departments that have a hand in this 5, two-thir- ht M execution. Bear in mind that nearly' all of Alaskas resources are directly or indirectly controlled by the federal government. About 99 per cent of the land is still in government ownership. The development of coal and oil deposits is under government leases. Water powers and fisheries are under federal control, and nearly all Alaska timber is in government ownership. Moreover, the territory has its own fiscal system, controlled by laws enacted by the territorial leg-- , lslature, which is entirely separate and apart from the revenues received by the federal government from business and trade licenses and which are covered Into and disbursed from the Alaskan fund in the general treasury. first-han- d There should be no lack of Information in Washington presently concerning the various phases of the Alaskan problem. With President Harding were Secretary of the Interior Work, Secretary of Agriculture Wallace, Secretary of Commerce Hoover and many bureau officials. A congressional committee, including Senator Francis E. Warren of Wyoming, chairman of the Senate appropriations committee, visited Alaska during the summer. Six scientists of the Interior department have been exploring this summer the naval oil reserve of 35,000 square miles In Alaskas northwest comer.The government railroad from Seward to FairIt Is banks, begun in 1915, has been completed. It 467 miles long, and cost over $56,000,000. operates Pullmans, passenger coaches and freight cars to the total number, of about 800. The government operates two connecting Yukon river transports and mosquito fleets navigate the smaller rivers. The fare is about six cents a mile. The railroad Is administered by a commission of the Department of the Interior. Col. Frederick Mears is chairman and at present in charge of the road. Says Colonel Mears: "Wherever a region or a development proposl-- tlon warrants it we will build spurs from the main line. Of course, we do not expect to break even, at least for some time. Until the Interior Is more thickly settled, until tourists come in greater numbers to enjoy the beauties of the McKinley park region, qntll the varied resources of the interior are developed, this road will not pay. But without the railroad the interior of Alaska never will develop, and without the exploitation of these resources the road never will get tonnage. Each is dependent upon the other. The completion of the government railroad will doubtless stimulate tourist travel, especially to Mount McKinley National park, which has hitherto been practically Inaccessible. The park contains 2,695 square miles and Is next in size to YellowIts biggest feature is Mount McKinley, stone. 20,464 feet, the highest mountain in North America and one of the most impressive on earth. It is a wonderful preserve of Alaskan wild animal life; caribou, bighorn, moose, deer, goat and bear live and breed there In Immense numbers. Unique among Alaskas majestic and varied scenery Is the new national monument, Katmai, "The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes," which is easily accessible by automobile. Katmai volcano blew its head off during three days in June of 1912, covering all Alaska with a thick coating of dust. The explosion left a crater 3,500 feet deep and eight miles around, with a lake at the bottom. Close by is a valley several miles long, from which are shooting up thousands of steam jets. It is a sample of earth In the making. Some day these steam Jets may cool off enough to become geysers, like those of the Yellowstone. The principal A government booklet says : shipments from the United States to Alaska during the past three years were chemicals, automobiles, coal, coffee, confectionery, eggs, electrical machinery and other manufactures of iron and steel, explosives, fruits, boots and shoes, meat and dairy products, mineral oils, sugar, tobacco, vegetables and manufactures of paper; wood and This means that Alaska, with its own coa wool. deposits. Is Importing coal ; with its own oil fields, is Importing oil ; with its own forests. Is Importing manufactures of wood! The same booklet says: "Winter rye and winter wheat can be. success- - . . ' Uncle Sam to Make New Paper Money - er two-doll- Japanese Government Thanks America IT one-four- th I y, |