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radio with all settled parts of the Territory is possible, and airplane service has been inaugurated.

The question arises, therefore, and has frequently been put to me, 'Why has Alaska not gone forward faster?' Mr. Roosevelt in the latter part of his administration had occasion to put some inquiries to me concerning Alaska, and made the statement that he hoped the rich placer deposits of gold, which were then producing many millions yearly, would last long enough for a population to become fixed and other industries established. This seemed to

be in a fair way of fulfillment. Rich copper deposits were being opened, large coal areas had been located, and oil discovered of high quality but not in large quantity. The timber of southeast Alaska was known to be abundant and of excellent quality for wood pulp. Mr. Taft, then Secretary of War and recently returned from the Philippines, where he had done much to advance the development of those islands, had become interested in Alaska and was giving hearty support to the work of the Army there. Military posts had been built and garrisoned along the coast and on the Yukon, not so much for military purposes as to help the general progress of Alaska; cable and telegraph communication had been established, under direction of General Greely, Chief Signal Officer of the Army, connecting these posts and the principal towns. Work had begun upon a system of roads and trails throughout the Territory under an act of Congress. (Most of the garrisons have been withdrawn in later years, but the operation of the military cable and telegraph system and the construction and extension of roads and trails continue with marked efficiency under the War Department.) Capital seeking investment was turning its eyes toward

Alaska.

Exaggerated stories presently began to be circulated concerning the great wealth of the Territory, especially in its coal deposits. But about this time a blow to its further development was dealt by the withdrawal from entry within a short period of years of its coal, oil, and timber lands. There followed, after Mr. Taft became President, a widespread propaganda under the name of conservation of Alaska's resources, especially the coal, which became political in its aspect and in its obvious purpose. It was a period of muckraking against corporations and 'predatory wealth.' The public mind became excited and confused in its ideas on the subject, not discerning the difference between 'conservation' and 'development' in Alaska, and accepting the former term apparently as synonymous with 'trust-busting.' Large numbers of people throughout the United States were led to believe that they possessed a substantial and definite money interest, payable upon demand, in the coal lands of Alaska, of which they were about to be robbed; also that the country was rapidly approaching a time when the inhabitants would all freeze to death, unless this coal of Alaska was protected for future generations. The arguments in support of this belief were about as sound as those advanced in support of the Malthusian theory of overpopulation.

Investigation followed and it was brought out that two fifths of one per cent of the coal in the United States had been used up at that time. The amount of coal involved in Alaska was about one thirtieth of one per cent of the coal areas already located in that territory. And nobody was trying to steal it! Yet it became almost worth one's reputation to express an opinion contrary to this prevailing conviction. The field of investigation was in far-away Alaska, then but little

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The writer believes in the conservation of our natural resources as he understands the right use of the term, and had no interest in the controversy beyond a natural concern for fair play and a desire to see Alaska go forward; but he had knowledge of the facts and ☐☐ did not hesitate to condemn the whole procedure. It is now almost a forgotten episode, except in Alaska, where the greatest injury was done. Development suddenly began to lag, then threatened to stop. It was the vain hope that the building of the railroad

- would help to correct this, but capital had become indifferent and sought other fields.

!

Recently a corporation has gone into the Fairbanks district with plans now well under way for extensive golddredging operations, giving a hopeful outlook in that district for the near future. Some of the proponents and defenders of the railroad claim that this would not have happened except for the construction of the road, and that this fact alone justifies the government expenditure on the project $70,000,000, with more to come, to enable one corporation to take out its own millions. What a change in point of view!

Alaska needs capital to develop industries and support a population, and the cry that the Government is trying to give Alaska away, which once went up whenever any mention of - concession or encouragement to capital was made, is no longer popular. In fact the Government could do nothing better with Alaska, so far as its development is concerned, than to 'give it away' - that is, to grant liberal concessions and encouragement to citizens who are willing to go there, make homes, and develop the resources of the country as the settlers in the great

tions and reservations as would protect the general interests of the Government, and not measures chimerically intended to protect future generations from freezing to death, should control the progress of the Territory.

Congress and the departments, apparently under threat and fear of public sentiment, seemed unable for several years to frame laws and regulations under which capital was willing to work. In fairness it must be said that conditions have gradually changed. Oil-leasing regulations became acceptable, and several companies, including the Standard, have expended large sums of money exploring for oil, so far without marked success. The coal has become of little interest except for local uses. Two large contracts for timber for the manufacture of wood pulp have been recently let in southeast Alaska by the Forestry Bureau, and this forecasts a valuable and permanent industry, with much added prosperity to that section of the Territory.

This Bureau was originally much criticized in Alaska. To some extent it is still subject to disapproval in those reserved areas which have little timber of value. But through the courtesy and efficiency of its agents, through the money expended in road improvement in the forest area, and through the present happy outlook for the woodpulp industry, the Bureau has become very popular in southeast Alaska. The development of a wood-pulp industry within the forest reserve of this section of the Territory is of course local and will have no effect upon the railroad or upon general development

elsewhere.

IV

Each year, from the Governor's report and from other sources, come statements of small advances and improvements, with predictions of steady and greater advances in the near future, but these predictions seem slow to materialize.

The question, 'Why does not Alaska advance more rapidly?' still seeks its

answer.

Considerable ink has been expended in the public press charging that Alaska does not go forward because of the large number of interlocking bureaus and the lack of coördination between them. Some ineffective efforts have been made to change the situation. As a matter of fact, this has very little to do with the state of the Territory. The bureaus function with efficiency and in pretty much the same way in Alaska as in the United States and in the Hawaiian Islands.

I have observed that Secretaries are generally willing to coördinate to the extent of taking over new activities, but are not enthusiastic about giving up any. This is only human nature, coupled with a reasonable pride in the operations of one's own department. The same sentiment has been observed in the effort for the past three or four years to bring about a general reorganization of the various departments of the government. In Alaska the reorganization of the bureaus might serve to smooth down friction in cases where activities overlap, and perhaps result in some small economies, but can have no material effect upon the development of resources.

Far more effective would be the provision of a single commissioner invested with broad powers, with limitations fixed by Congress, and directly under the President, subject to his final veto; or the investment of the Governor with such powers, backed and supported by enlarged powers in the hands of the territorial legislature. But such a departure in policy lies

probably in the realm of the impossible. Washington, speaking generically, would never give up. A solution must be sought, therefore, in paths more familiar in the history of our Government.

It must be apparent that Alaskan affairs have been muddled; too much experimenting and long-range control, not always in competent hands, form the gist of the matter and explain why this adopted child of the Republic has been needlessly backward.

What is the remedy?

Home Rule! I quote from an editorial appearing in the New York Herald of July 5, 1923, entitled 'Conservation in Alaska':

Alaska will never be satisfied until it gets 'the American chance.' Some day the Federal Government must take the risk that Alaskans will know how to run Alaska and dispose of its resources. It is better that men grow through self-government than that things should be saved for their descendants through the holding power of a paternalistic government.

Just what changes or modifications might be made in the present territorial form of government in Alaska, I am not prepared here to say, leaving that subject to Alaska's representative in Congress and to other members of that body, more experienced in political organization and the science of government than I. But I offer my opinion that the local legislature should be relieved of vexatious and obstructive limitations, and given a free hand in Alaskan affairs. The men composing this body know the problems facing them and there is no occasion to keep them in leading strings. They will not see the country looted.

V

Much has been accomplished during the past three years in the way of

reorganization, stabilization, and econ

omy of operation of the railroad. (Report on Alaska Railroad, 'Then 1923-Now 1926.') But no considerable or permanent increase in traffic has occurred. The Secretary of the Interior states that 'the general manager, located at the railroad's headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska, has supreme authority over the railroad's affairs,' and that 'the railroad is being managed in the same manner as privately owned railroads in the States.' A privately owned railroad usually has a board of directors and an executive committee who outline a policy for the road and are responsible for its expenditures. It would seem that such a body might very properly be organized to do this in the case of the Alaska railroad, leaving to the general manager the work of carrying out the general policy and superintending operations.

It would become one of the duties of this board to organize a definite plan of colonization with an office centrally located and agents in different parts of the country. This office or agency should collect and condense all available information concerning Alaska, verify its accuracy, and distribute it in communities where it might be expected to bear fruit. Areas contiguous to the railroad should receive most attention, of course, and especially the Tanana Valley and the region around Fairbanks. It is beyond dispute that the road can never succeed financially or fulfill the purpose for which it was authorized until this valley and the country surrounding and tributary to the interior terminal are populated by a permanent citizenry many times greater than is the case at the present time. The population of this region has declined since the beginning of the railroad construction.

Every inducement should be offered

to intending settlers in the way of free railroad transportation of persons, household effects, implements, and animals; some sort of bonus, even, might be given to get them started. The cost of clearing land is high in most cases, as is also the expense of transporting products to market. The cost of transportation will improve with the extension of roads, while the growing towns of the coast engaged in fishing, mining, and other industries will furnish increasing market demands. The United States Land Office at Anchorage has this to say on the subject:

We do not advise settlers entering upon these lands with the idea of getting their living entirely from the soil while improving their property. Unless the settler has sufficient money to carry him over that period, he must work elsewhere to provide these necessities, not obtainable on the farm. Alaska can absorb the number of settlers each year consistent with the developing of other industries in the vicinity of agricultural districts. With the expansion of these industries market facilities will be increased and the farmer properly supported. This advice is not given for the purpose of discouraging settlement, but to inform the prospective settler correctly as to the present situation.

The last of these sentences should be the guide to all information sent out concerning the Territory.

The present homestead laws appear to be liberal enough, but they should be further liberalized, if it is found advisable, not following necessarily the experiences of the past in other and more favored sections, but seeking what will bring the best results in Alaska.

It would be well if the present United States immigration laws could be amended to permit a larger percentage of immigrants from the Scandinavian countries to move directly to

Alaska, and if an agent could be sent to Scandinavia to superintend the business. Immigrants from those countries make excellent citizens and are familiar with the climatic conditions that prevail in Alaska.

With the formation of a board of directors of the railroad and a definite policy agreed upon, Congress might be asked to authorize an issue of bonds upon the railroad in an amount, say, of $30,000,000 to run for thirty years, interest guaranteed by the Government; but only so much of the authorized total to be issued each year, and upon the approval of the President, as might be necessary to carry out the policy of the board of directors and to meet any deficiency in operating expenses. This would obviate the necessity of going before Congress each year for appropriations and would permit sufficient time to determine the value and future usefulness of the road.

It might not become necessary to issue bonds to the total amount authorized, and the traffic of the road might be developed in the meanwhile to a point where its earnings would pay the bond interest. If this could not be accomplished by the end of the appointed period, with the Government then involved to the extent of more than $100,000,000, it might be in order to consider the saving of further expense by disposing of the road for whatever it might bring.

For the present it is essential to save the railroad to Alaska, now that we have it, and to provide for the accomplishment of the purpose for which it was constructed. The proposal to establish a different coast terminal from Seward, bringing the road out at Portage Bay, has been discussed since construction of the road was first begun. The suggestion will probably bring forth expressions of opposition,

but no harm can come from the determination of the matter finally on its merits, all the factors involved being faithfully considered.

VI

From the earliest discoveries in this far province of the North through the period of our own possession, the stories of fur, of giant moose, great Kodiak bear, vast herds of caribou, the beautiful inland waterway of southeast Alaska, the fur seal, the salmon, the glaciers, towering Mount McKinley, the broad Yukon, the rich discoveries of placer gold deep under the frost, have gripped the public mind with a romantic interest which is not readily displaced by talk of material development. This sentiment is of substantial value and may be utilized for the benefit of Alaska, and for the pleasure and happiness of great numbers of people.

Let Alaska be offered to the traveling, touring, scenery-loving public. Let the expenditures already made in Alaska, or further required, for the maintenance of the railroad and for the extension of roads and trails be accepted as contributing to this end, just as expenditures are accepted in the States for improvement of parks and highways. Let the plan of Yellowstone Park be followed in a large way without applying its restrictions to the whole Territory. Alaska will then truly become a possession of the American people. It may be used to preserve and protect big game and the countless forms of wild animal and bird life. As the Alaska Bureau states, 'The last stand of the big game in the dominion of the United States is in Alaska.' Practically every variety of fur-bearing animal and wild fowl known to the North American continent, all still in great numbers, is to be found there, as

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