Show alanskas vast territory now being opened reindeer meat one product which uncle sam hopes to male mae by CALEB JOHNSON had your reindeer steak yet the introduction of reindeer meat As a staple lood food product la Is the governments rn latest method of getting the test rest of the united states interested in alaska in the larger cities reindeer steaks chops and roasts are being served in many hotels and restaurants and it la Is expected that in time a 96 great meat packing industry will develop in the northern territory alaska is petting getting closer to the rest ot of the nation all the time now the united states and canada are operating cooperating co in the construction of a great motor highway w e y which w when completed will make it as ag easy ca sy tor for automobile tourists to visit alaska as it Is now for them to drive to florala fiorala the driving force behind this latest project Is the indefatigable col samuel hill of seattle who more than anyone else has been responsible tor for the building ot of good roads in the northwest it will take only miles of 0 new construction to complete tho the highway link between the mexican border up the pacific coast through canada to fairbanks alaska and the new road will pass through the famous peace portal which stands on the international boundary dary line although alaska has been the property of the united states since it was bought from russia in 1867 lor for large parts of the territory are still unexplored nobody knows what riches government estimates that 60 million may yet come out ot of this northern wilderness so tar far products worth more than times the tha original cost ot of the territory have been yielded chiefly in gold salmon seal furs and lumber there it at least one oil field and a good grade of steam coal Is found at several points the united states navy Is making an aerial survey of the whole territory photographing it from the sky this survey v ey has already resulted in the discovery of a waterfall capable of generating at least horsepower and of forests which can supply all the wood pulp the united states needs tor for paper making few realize how big alaska Is you could put into it all of the atlantic coast states from mame maine to florida add tennessee alabama and mississippi and still have room to spare in all ot of this territory there are only about inhabitants of 0 whom halt half are eski eskimos moa yet the climate in a large part ot of alaska la Is milder than in most of the northern parts of the united states the principal drawback being that it gets pretty warm in summer in the interior the tha thermometer sometimes goes to 60 below in winter and raises to 80 90 or more in july but along the coast where the warm japanese current tempers the climate it seldom drops below zero and 80 a above b ove Is about the highest in mid sum mer there fire are considerable areas of good farming land where wheat can be grown economically but there are less than farms in the whole territory so tar far the acres are adaptable to tanning farming ono one drawback has been lack of transportation facilities the alaska railroad owned by the government Is 3 extending its lines and the proposed new highway will open up sections heretofore inaccessible it will be many years however before the interior of alaska will be very easy to get at except as industries develop and establish their own means of communication the me reindeer herds which pasture in tho the great ranges in the northwestern part of the territory have developed from a few which were brought to alaska years ago from lapland to provide food lor for the eskimos they now number more than a million head of which are re females and are increasing at the tha rate of or more a year it Is the governments purpose to induce capital to establish packing houses bouses for the slaughter and rid shipment ot of reindeer meat which can compete with beet beef in quality and in d price and to establish colonies of farmers to take up free land on which to grow grain to fatten the reindeer tor for market other industries which are being tried out experimentally in alaska are sheep grazing and fur farming the latter with considerable success alaska Is the last great unexplored part of the united states there are still more than a hundred million acres which have never even been seen from an airplane p ane young men with the pioneer spirit which has made this country what it Is are the ones to whom uncle sam Is looking to open up this great territory |