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Show MORE BUSINESS IX ALASKA GOVERNMENT President Harding's approaching visit to Alaska undoubtedly will mark the beginning of a new era in the history and development of that territory. The President will be accompanied ac-companied by three of his cabinet members) the secretaries of Agriculture, Agricul-ture, commerce and interior. Neither the president nor his cabinet companions com-panions are taking the trip to Alaska for vacation purposes. It is a business busi-ness trip. Whatever the reason, the territory, which is the largest and richest territory ter-ritory in the possession of the United States, has not developed as it should Without exaggeration, it is the greatest great-est storehouse of wealth now possessed pos-sessed by this government. It is estimated there are 21,000,-000 21,000,-000 acres of coal land in Alaska. One gold mine' alone, the Tread-well, Tread-well, hs produced seven times- as much gold as the United States paid Russia for" that territosy. These are more than 64,000,000 acres of arable and grazing land 1n the territory. It contains the only tin mines on the North American continent. Its copper deposits, although largely large-ly unexplored, are known to be probably prob-ably greater than any copper deposits within the jurisdiction of the Unite States. Oil has been flowing into the Arctic Arc-tic Ocean from various points in Alaska Al-aska for years, perhaps for centuries. What is believed to be the greatest oil field in the world is located near the Aleutian Islands. The Alasldan cod' fish ' banks are among the most valuable in the world. Its other fisheries are of enormous en-ormous productivity and value. Property safeguarded, its fur-bear- 111 ElLlllilcLlB YV11I LUU11UUC LUUC llilllC- ly to be the source of tremendoos amounts of furs, exceeded probably by no other section of the globe with the exception of Siberia. Its virgin timber, if properly conserved con-served and administered, will solve for generations the problem of wood pulp for the United States. Despite all this, Alaska remains a sealed territory. An insignificant amount am-ount of private capital has been invested in-vested there. Immigration has been nil; in fact, the census reports show a decrease in the population of the territory during the last decade. Something is wrong. There are many explanations offered. The most persistent one is that Alaska is the victim of bureaucratic red1 tape, wound up at Washington by individuals indivi-duals who have no knowledge firsthand first-hand of the conditions in Alaska or the needs of that territory or its people. peo-ple. This has been denied by others, who claim Alaska's non-development is attributed to other causes. It has been an endless warfare of words which led nowhere. It is to ascertain, if possible, the reason, or reasons, for Alaska's being be-ing the Cinderella of all the territories territor-ies of the United States -that President Presi-dent Harding and his cabinet officers are taking the trip to the northern country. The three cabinet offiers who will accompany the president are the three whose departments nave me to do. and in point of fact practically practical-ly all to do, with the admlnstration of Alaskan affairs. If there Is a serious seri-ous conflict of authority between bureaus bu-reaus administering Alaskan affairs, overlapping of Jurisdiction and duplication dup-lication of work, it exists somewhere among these'three departments. It is most fitting and businesslike, therefore, that the heads of these three departments accompany the president on the trip which is for the purpose of ascertaining how much, irony, ir-ony, of Alaska's troubles are due to !a lack of coordination among the j various federal agencies which have j to do with the administration of its affairs. The Harding trip is but one more examde of thn working nut of the policy of the Harding administration to'inaugurate more and better business busi-ness methods In the administration of our public affairs. It Is exactly the method that would be used by any successful business corporation if It owned the territory of Alaska, were responsible for its successful administration admin-istration and would profit by a prop- ! or development and conservation of '. i!s resources. The trip of the president and his advisors will undoubtedly result In a formulation of a definite policy In j connection with Alaskan affairs, and ! it is safe to say that this policy will lift the administration of Alaskan affairs af-fairs out of the ruck of politics and place it on a businesslike footing. |