THE FUTURE OF,ALASKA, AS
VIEWED BY CHARLES FLORY,
IN ADDRESS AT COLLEGE
(Continued from Last Issue.)
The grazing of reii.deer is fast be
coming an, important industry, that
will not only furnish a valuable
source, of meat and hides for export,
but will, it is Boped, and as present
feeding experiments at the local rein
„ deer experiment station indicate,
, offer an, additional opportunity for
the growing of certain grain crops in
i.the Tanana valley. The reindeer in
idustry will also furnish a substantial
food supply for the fox and other fur
..farmers of the Territory. Controlled
J fur farming is destined to become a;
.. most important industry in many sec- i
Ittions. In .this connection we must!
r not overlook another great natural
resource ,in our big game—wild fur
I oearers .and wild life in general. I ■
, need but touch in passing on our
3 great mnng, fisheres, lumberng,
: recreaton and tourist resources.
It is well established that Alaska
possesses natural resources of such
i variety and extent that she can in
time^become a well-rounded industrial
* commonwealth capable of supporting
i. a large permanent population. As
our industries develop through in
j creased use of natural resources, pop
ulation will increase, larger local
, markets for farm products will be as
i sured, and consequently more will be
i grown. Thus I have now returned to
. the farm from which I set out in the
.. beginning. Now comes the fourth of
our important basic facts, that agri
, culture in Alaska at present must be
confined to the feeding of our own
population. It is on this basis only
i.that. such development can proceed.
* From the standpoint of perma
nency the far mis the mo^t stable
.. business enterprise known to man.
Fortunately, for its stability, also,
farming is not a rich man’s business.
At .the present time approximately
<: five million dollars’ worth of farm
products are shipped into Alaska each
year, which, in large measure, should
i be grown at home right now. So we
.. actually have an agricultural of no
i- smalL account existing today that
. could and should be encouraged and
i. developed. We, therefore, do not
need to wait on further industrial
progress before undertaking an active
program of putting a certain portion
o four farming lands into use.
t is in recognition qf all the funda
mental facts concerned and a full
. realization of the tremendous possi
bilities of this Territory that has de
\ ternjined the scope and character of
the policies of the United States De
partment of Agriculture looking to
its proper development.
Time idoes not permit of a descrip
*, tion of the many and varied ways in
Shop —
; Blacksmith,
.‘ Machine and
; all kinds of
.Sheet Metal
Work
^Stoves
"ROBERT LOWRIE
'Proprietor
which the activities of this depart
ment even at present materially af
fect the lives and prosperity of Alas
ka’s citizens. Its agricultural experi
ment stations, established in several
important potential agricultural re
gions, are endeavoring to determine
and develop a type o fagriculture that
will supplement the development of
other industries.
The reindeer experiment station,
located on these grounds and admin
istered in co-operation with this in
stitution, is carrying on research
work in the feeding and breeding of
these animal sand is studying the ex
tent and carrying capacity of the
tent and carrying capacity of the
open ranges adapted to the industry.
Entomologists are at work in other
sections seeking ways and means to
reduce the effect of insect pests prey
ing upon reindeer and thus to in
crease the value of the flesh and
hides. Our bureau of chemistry and
ui xiuxuc cuuxiuiiiica xxavc a.LL cauy uc
termined the best ways to prepare
and serve its meat.
The bureau of biological survey, in
cooperation with the Territory, is ac
tively engaged in a program of im- j
porting and transferring game an- j
imals to the various sections. The
buffalo has only recently been
brought to the Tanana and it is hoped
that within the coming year a herd
of muskox will be found grazing in
the vicinit yof Fairbanks. The bu
reau is also carrying on research
work in the biology of wild life and>
its relation to the region where lo- ■
cated, and has done much to assist in
establishing the controlled fur farm- ^
ing industry in the Territory. In co-;
operation with the Territory it is en
deavoring to reduce and control the
predatory animal menace to our do-,
mestic stock and wild life.
The Alaska Game Commission is
earnestly trying to establish better
yame laws and more effective meas
pres for maintaininy our supply of
wild fur-bearing animals. The weath
er bureau, in its daily observations,
secures data of great importance to
the predictions of weather conditions
not only throughout Alaska but the
whole of the North American conti
nent. It has only recently undertaken
to serve the Alaskan Airways with
information vital to safe bying of
airplanes over the trackless wilder
ness of much of the Interior. Along
the coast, with the two great national
forests, the Tongass in the Panhandle
and the Chugach around Prince Wil
liam Sound, the Forest Service has
Undertaken the important task of de
veloping a substantial pulp and paper
industry which apparently is about to
come into active fruition. Forests
have for many years supplied the raw
material for most of the lumber used
in local construction and for the fish
in gindustry, and are capable of ma
terial expansion. In coperation with
the bureau of public roads many
miles of roads and trails have been
constructed for the purpose of open
ing up mineralized regions or for
for other development reasons, and
will continue to construct them in the
futureas funds become available.
The several oureaus oi tne depart
ment are also actively engaged in ef
fective cooperation with all the other
Federal departments with the sole
purpose in mind of bringing about as
rapidly as is consistently possible the
best development of Alaska resources
for the benefit of all its people, re
gardless of section or locality.
And now, as the small boy saves
the choicest morsel on his plate until
the last, I have purposely refrained
from bringing the Alaska Agricutural
College and School of Mines into the
picture. This youthful but rapidly;
growing institution, although the last
to arrive on the scene, ahd but a new
comer along thee course',bf Alaska’s
destiny, is already well on its way to
become one of the most vitally im
portant factorS in ’the future ;of this
glorious land nf^opgostufcifo'.
Our greatest' and most* important
resource—the youth of our country—
is on* which must > not-be. overlooked
r ’
in th eanalysis and appraisal of our|
problem. The develoDment of *11
other resources pale . into insignifi
cance unless we ha''e, the wise guid
ance of well-trained men and women
to carry on. Upon their shoulders--—
upon the shoulders of Ihe young men
and women who sit before we and
who are about to go. forth into the
great complexity of our modern civil
ization—must rest the burden of the
ultimate solution of Alaska’s prob
lems and its future prosperity. Jt is
you, and those who will follow after
you, who will carry forward the ban
ner of Alaska in our onward and up
ward march to economical , saceeHo
and] freedom.
This institution, the last of the
land grant colleges and the farthest
north institution of higher learning
learning on earth, can well typify the
the spirit of that great emancipator,
Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Act.
nf Ho-nirress in 18fi2 hv T>rn.visions
of which this College has come into
being. Only a few days before sign
ing the Morrill Act creating the land
grant colleges, whose purpose was to
teach such branche sof learning a?
are related to agricultural and the
merhanical arts, President Lincoln
approved another act which created
the United States Department of Ag
riculture. And so the department
which I am proud to. represent has
not only a deep and abiding interest
in the welfare and success of this
College, but is, in a sense, a blood rel
ative.
This institution is not only an jn-j,
dustrial training ground for the indi
vidual students who are so fortunate
to bear away today their credentials
as having successfully completed
courses, but also the intellectual cen
ter for all progressive educational ac
tivities of the Territory. It has also
another great function of equal im
portance to the Territory. It is the
leader to whom we must look for en
couraging, guiding and coordinating
the underlying forces which have
bearing o nthe development ojf Alas
ka. It will search out the basic facts
in biology, chemistry, geology and
other sciences and then teach us how
to use these facts in their practical
application in agriculture, mining,
mining, forestry, homebuilding, etc.
And so the intellectual leader of
Alaska—this “Farthest North Col
lege”—has three great functions to
fulfill—education, research and dem
onstration.
Thus the education and training .of
our young men and women—our
greatest resource—is the fifth .and
most important of all our basic facts.
But an institution of any kind is
in large measure an expression of the
man at its head. Upon him devolves
the resp^nsibilit yof its success or,
failure. You are indeed fortunate in
having as your president, Dr. Charles
E. Bunnell. Upon him has rested the
heavy burden o festablishing this in
stitution of higher learning, in the
face of tremendous odds, in this coun
try near the Arctic Circle. It has
been due to the untiring efforts and
and high order of his services, sup
ported by an excellent and loyal fac
ulty, that this College has in so few
short years attained a commanding
learning throughout the country,
place among institutions of higher
The young men and women who
leave its portals today are to be con
n«nlnlnfn/l imnn fliniv rrArtH fftrtllTIP
having graduated from such an insti
tute nas this. You need not fear
that your efforts have been in vain
or that you will not find your proper
niche in our social fabric.
The Alaska of the future holds
much of promise, and it will rest upon
youoyung men and women to carry
on in helping this Northland of ours
take its place sooner or later as the
49th Star in the Flag of our Union.
..A crude steam craft is said to
have, been built by a Spaniard in
and several oti ers are said to
have been constructed before Fulton
built the first uac! ical steamboat in
1807.
She met him in the hall as he came
home late. There was a bodeful glare
in her..eye as she demanded to know
why he. had stayed out so late. “I
suppose you have been to see a sick
friend; holding his hand all evening,”
sue. saui, sarcastically.
*‘Np„ my dear,” said Mr. Henpeck,
sacjiy. AjL I'd been hoJding his hand
I’d made some money.”
Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, is
said to contain relatively large quan
t.tes o fradum.
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