Show n r ALASKA DEVELOPMENT I 1 Opposition to PurchaseNo Land Surveys Made The Tremendous Expanse Better Prospects Ahead Agricultural Ag-ricultural Possibiities Great Mining Region I Seattle Wash Sept 21 I VSTicn Russia t Rus-sia offered to sell her American possessions pos-sessions to the United Stat for 2 cents per acre andthe proposition was accepted a grXil many people thought Uncle Sam hnd neon taken In by th 2 for the t wily Csar The bill providing apnruprintlon v iU oppoft J 8trer1UUlY I Logan maine by such men 81t Wwhburn r Calhoun Butler Dclan and Uor gan rill iUld even Daoe Wcl ier Inhist bitterly to the leo time WR K oppwcil f g tcrcllory The Lon ct of acquiring this t fl commenting on the trdns i don Times raid jf the United States Is I cnn million for hta tinted to Pay even barren territory the name of nor one I Fpot of which Is I knoun J to any hut navi 1Ltol we know r Soiraphenf ana 91Ot L bcsrulRC her the of no potvfr that I fUI g r prJll Je ak Allhouh Alaska was very unwelcome I L when J1h came to us and has been tcnterl with sieanl consideration during I tup thirty odd yarz slncv she became tb herself es our nrorriy she 1m paid for hers a4L many times over with her wealth of I ty flsh furs and gold Sine her accps slon the value of the product of Iwr I nsherleo ha been over 70000000 of her j7 furs J34ooo000 and the yield of her I J f400flO00 approximately bV Lold mine hf One single mine the Treadwell on I r Domlnl Island has netted Its owners rnor goldthan the purchase prlcfr of frh r the entire country vhlclv was i200 I bij 000 I NO SURVEYS Notwithstanding ai thin not an aore t of this Immcnau domain hasbeen surveyed I C tL sur-veyed at the expense of the United State The country Is I not open for t < et tloment under the ordinary meaning Of 1 I re the term and the larger portion of Its iii Inhabitants have no place whIch in I reality they can call home Provisions for acquiring title to nonmineral J j lands In Alaska have been too restrictive restrict-ive and Involved too great an expense on the applicant to be of much benefit 1 1 4 to the ordjnnry homcseekei I The Jaw I provides that no homeriead In Alaska shall exceed eighty acres In xtcht r Considering the liberal policy followed by the Government Ii settling olher portions of the country the reason for I 1 4 this restriction Is not apparent There was no restriction who lever In the number l I num-ber of acres one could acquire In thc settlement of Michigan and Indiana and In the Middle West a ficlller could preempt 160 acreq from the outset 160 e acres more after a residence of six months besides a I timber claIm of 1CO I acres In other Stales one could oven acquire 610 acres In addition lo all this In return for Improvements under the 4 desert land act TCven these amounts are insignIficant when It Is considered i that two railway companies alono have 2 been donated sixty millions acres of Western land But In order to secure uII even eight acres In Alaska thc set tJcr 1t r1 must undergo the great expense of a 1cJ f private survey As i n example It may I po stotcd that survey has Just boon i made of a strip only 200 feet long at Karluk Kadlak Island 1 which require the surveyor to nIce a trip of forty i elx days at a toliil expanse of oveR R 5500 I lion Wlllam L Dlslln Surveyor J < General of Alpska K I very plainspoken In egid Xovrjib < UJti5co8sIly ocan1QJ1 I Ii IfbVivil Jaw He says ifA homesicad S rant should not brt 1 restricted to a = mhllvr art than ICO acres anywhere and especially In a region like this I 3 which IH n widely separated f from other 1E41 1 portions of our country sto make nc I tue 10 II dlincult and costly The ex N A xnse involved In I reaching this Terri toy Is almost equlviilenl to the pitr chaii > price of eighty acns of unlpi tv orov d laitcl In other localities Cer VcL thinly those who Incur the expense of r reaching and endure hardships and II Deprivations Incident upon clearing their claims and establishing homes In 1i thlH remote and Isolated pountry dr J serve ar generous ireatment at ih > lands of the Government t as Is no ti orded lo their fellOwcillzens elsewhere else-where 1ijr THE VAST AURA tQj1 Alaska ha many grievances and hftfi nuticrel much trgm being underesil muted The dimensions of the country it are too vst for conception without th > IJ1I nld of comparison With Its area of r over 600000 square miles It is larger ec thnn all that portion of the Qnlted I Slaten lying 1 east of the Mlssleslppl y rIver and north ttf Georgia and the ml I Carolina tulce as large a the Oregon tf r cojinlry w hlch now embraces the ru State lIoC Oren Washington Idaho f and the principal pare r > f Montana and Wyoming The Governor In nlf oHce 4 i4ii1 at t Sltke Is I nlt fnr from the western jrl I limit of hisVTerritory as lie In fronv I liiialporl Miifjie jnJd the little Island tV Aim Is so Jtatiyct that it counts Its t longltule < 05 7 from Grrijiiwych The f4 IWigih of Alaslyaf coast line IB l greater 1J I than ihft comhindd lengthy thr At lantlc and Pacific pepboards During a LIY portion of the year jiews travels very I jd nlowly rcro ur this great country Th r f people at Nome did not hsar < of the la tel t-el Uon of McKlnlcy until February C Srdof thlayear i BETTER PROSPECTS H > ls quite likely however that Alaska t 1 Lj > t1 will have better communications I The survey for the proposed Pacific 1 rili cable from fape Flatieryto the Philippines 1 n Philip-pines via 1 Alusku wall completed Ihl l I fumm ° r and If I the enterprise c Ojtl Li through there will be stations In AtasKa 1 J nl Sllka Kadlak Island Dutch Imrbor 13 and AUu If you draw the shortest lln j l fof 1l Manila und our roust It will QIt4 throuph YpJtiJhHiriR Jopan Attu i antiDutch harbor IFroni th 1lnitatflr 4 1 tloU at SjllkH a short branch l IK pro 7 imped to Juinuu vhiuh IH the center of I a fabulously rich 4 Auifrlk Held and Inl1u r in Sku unj the entry point Lii toUfa entire Yukon valley and lorfulnTiH Z of the Wrtlt Pflife railroad It la I claimed that his line over the t Jflld 1 1 would pay for Itself during ihfc Url4t 1 yetr of operation Tin rullrondnoxv fo Tij dolijK ti telegraph bii liitfSM of inorx thftii ilH a day sending the meatiaKCS to the nonretit Mallon In the States b > r4 lflelnIers whlJ1 nCccMtiLte fio day delay The building of this ckJjft Ut 9f Altai linporl f to United StRlop 1 tv pterejiiji Our G otnhal1t ought tp be I 11 dOFf loiuli with qj v athI2Ilt a UQ I sInn m Alu kiu OH ont1 ldo hi hi Oinudi for H neAr neighbor vlthfHo I ii Hon all Hlnnsr the border Ruswia U I 1 I neighborou the other side anrt the Ui Impending friction on her border Alnl I 34 ell hfK ioOCO miles of codfish bAnkS I I f wilmon and halibut nhfrlC valuable l I g I val-uable fur seals that Already I have been I the subject of International n sotla onl l tlon And gold fields that have aroiuftd I I ji the vondci mid the grcd of the world J Cable communication Ic oert In to prov San Ian I-an Important factor In the protection I EI development of thla valuable pOf I I 1 I ltdon 4 i Soil I Al the time of the purchase In ISiT D 1 the population of Alaska was e tl 1 uiated at aol of whom 2000 WlN t luiMlunR nnd SSAOO Indian The Run < tian were tenders nnd the ln3lan i hunters Oshermen When the oUHer4 1 of the Cur pUlled l down their Hag and milled axvaj th mot or tluelr country mrti followed ihpm Only a ftw re imtliiKl to look after the affairs of I churoj 1 and Htute The Ala kR J1 dlltU at tlltt 1Hikud Upon the ch ns of M matprtl with IndlTrrrn lie had 1 tlrJ1 the yoke of servitude unill his rj neck was well broken to It and iIL was I a matter of small consequence to him that a new nag waved over him But I of the advantages he coon became conscious vantages 4fthcnW order of things pnd lies turned edt to lie 1 one of the mcst valuable chattels In that remarkable re-markable Fight unseen bargain Pncle Sam drove with the Russian Czfljp This northern La is I u wonderful wonder-ful iisheimau nifd works at the trade IndustriouslyHe wears the white mans clothes has moved Into a frama bous and taken very readily to the j customs and Jiablts of his new master Without going further Into the subJect sub-Ject itis only faIv to the Alaska Indian In-dian to say < that he Is I In every way J superior to the plains Indian of the States The latter Is a loafer and a r shirk who makes a beast of burden out of his wife ami lords It over her like a king whlje the Alaska led nun treats his wffi with consideration advise ad-vise with her about everything and works hard to support her The census cen-sus of 1000 shows that the population has j morethandoubled since the purchase pur-chase thorp now being G35D2 pcople In the country Of these 30507 are whites I 253tj Indians and 3519 a mixture of JHRU OSC Chinese and negroes POOR FOR AGRICULTURE I Agriculture has never laken a place among the pursuits of the people of I that country It Is staled on good authority that there la not a single man In that entire region who derives I Il irveUiipodSQlely from tilling the soil This is due to unfavorable climatic i conditions a sell which In the main j Is not well adapted to culllvallon and as before stated insufficient and Im II pracllcable homestead laws Until quite recently no effort was made to encourage the farming industry but thc Department of Agriculture ha91 established experiment stations at oltka KcJiai Rnmpnrt and Fort Yu j J I hon The investigatIons are being 1 conducted under thc directions of Prof C C Gcorgeson an agricultural expert ex-pert who when asked for a statement said 1 gaidThere are uo accurate data as to the total area which can be used for fanning and pasture Probably 5 per cent of southeastern portion Is suitable for agricultural purposes 1 The Kcnal I peninsula and the legion bordering on Cook Inlet have thousands thou-sands of square miles which can bo cultivated or pastured but It Is chiefly the vast region In the Interior which tan furnish tho agricultural 1 land of Alaska At a conservative estimate the tillable and pasture land of the Territory will amount to 100000 square miles I do nol mean that there arc JOOOfO square miles which can br solllcd and brought under cultivation with the ame case that our extensive exten-sive Western prai eshavp bevn broken and cultivated It Is not likely thai there Will ever be bonanza farms in 1 Alaska It Is not a place for capitalists capital-ists to Invest In land and expensive I machinery with a view to deriving I large returns from the Investment but rather a place furnishing homes for I I the poo man The statement that farming wont pay I In Alaska Is true only from the standpoint of ihq bonanza bo-nanza former The farmer who will do the mostof the work with his own hands can secure good wages for his labor He can produce the beef pork jipullry YCgclaJbles ajid grain neces vHary to the support of himself and family and have enough surplus lo de rivea reasonable Income In cash from their sale If he Is l located near some town or mining camp This Is the style of farming which will be best suitable to Alaska and It Is this style of farming which will make poor men Independent and give to the future Slate a class of thrifty Industrious and selfreliant citizens ut what Alaska boll will produce Is a subject upon which there has been much debate It Is certain that most nil kinds of vegetables thrive well and It Is I equally certain that corn the staple American product cannot be successfully cultivated on account of the short seasons and cold nights Wlith HI comes to the cereals such as wheat oats and barley the authorities authori-ties differ Inasmuch as the Government Govern-ment Is spending large sums of money i < dpmopstrnle that these small grains can he successfully lapsed It Is only fair to suspend Judgment unlll It has had an opportunity to prove Us case o GRFAT FOR llJN NTh N-Th mining resources of Alaska have given her the greatest fame The gold discoveries there have taken her name around the world These discoveries came at an opportune time The plo i neer had perslslcnlly fought his way across thc continent unjll he found I himself checked by the Paclllc ocean Civilization was Crowding close upon his heels and he was becoming rest lofts 1 PLlK opportunely came whenn hoarded miner staggered down a gangplank gang-plank at Seattle with a fortunes welglil of Alftska gold upon his back I The trail swerved to the north and the frontier was thrown oul a thousand thou-sand miles In a day The pathOnd took up his pick and pack and 1 turned his ace toward the and of the Midnight Mid-night Sun In breaking down the way In Alaska he has had a terrible time of It The conditions have ajl been against him but with gold as the prize at stake he has fought hard nnd under the pressure of his effort lithe wilderness Is beginning to bend FREDERIC J HASKI |