Bright Future for Alaska Pictured
by Late President in Seattle Address
Concerning possibility of statehood
for Alaska, as well as discussing the
suojects of its mineral production, geo
graphical location ana population, the
following excerpt from the address of
the late President Harding at Seattle
.. will be found most interesting"
“Let me say that l .shall undertake
no more than a preliminary report at
this time. He who undertakes to fore
„ cast the future of Alaska and formulate
a program for- its realisation, on the
strength of such a fleeting glimpse as
has been permitted to us, will be a
wiser, and a far bolder, man than I.
We have seen ranch, but it is only a
little of the stupendous whole. We
have learned something, but its first
effect has been to impress us that no
body yet knows AJaska. We have been
astounded at. the immensity of re
sources and possibilities. We have
wondered at the variety of its riches,
at the luxuriance of its glorious vege
t iation, at times at tbe almost tropic
heat of its night-long summer days.
We have thrilled to its wonder and
felt the charm which holds to it the af
fections of all, who have breathed its
air and lived its life. More than all,
we have enormously strengthened our
faith in the future of Alaska as the
home of a great state in the American
commonwealth.^ A brave, hardy, en
terprising, uncomplaining people are
building, for Alaska’s tomorrow pre
cisely as our, forefathers built for our
today in the older, communities, and I
am sure that they will, in their time,
bring another , great state into the
i Union.
“There lias-been disoosition in many ,
quarters to-assume that Alaska has j
lately beet*, experiencing' a serious)
backset. This seems to be based on a
loss of rather less than 15 percent in
population from 1010 to 1020, and on
some curtailment of the Territory’s
( production of wealth. Judgments ad
* verse to Alaska will not be based on
such adventitious conditions, save by
the unintelligent or by those who
would deliberately cry down thu coun
try’s availability as a land of homes, in
- the hope of getting it turned over to
wholesale exploitation on a scale that
s would ruin it for all the future. Against
a program of ruinous exploitation we
t must stand tinmly. Our adopted pro
gram -tnust.be.Or.development of Alaska
t for AmskaDSi', To plan for wise, well
. rounded development into v. permanent
, community of-homes, families, schools
and an illuminated social scheme, we
must give all encouragement. Few
similar areas in the world present such
natural invitation to make a state of
widely varied industries and perma
nent character.
"Let me present a parallel—and a
contrast. Fully three-fourths of the
area of Alaska is south of the Arctic
circle. There are found most of its re
sources in forests, metals, minerals,
'fisheries, and agricultural lands.
'Within this temperate.-cone Alaska is
an-area nearly three times that of Fin
land. Its climate is milder and more
equable. Its forests far exceed those
of Finland. Likewise its fisheries. Its
coal deposits are among the world’s
greatest, while Finland has no coal.
Its wealth in gold has scarcely been
scratched; Finland has no gold. There
is copper in Finland, but there is a
thousand times as much in Alaska.
“Now come with me for a little,jour
ney of exploration along the sixtieth
iparallel of north latitude. We find
that it boasts two of Europe’s great
cities, , Christiania and Petrograd.
Trace it westward across the Atlantic,
and we find that it also passes through
Seward, Alaska. That means that most
of the present wealth and population of
Alaska arg farther south than either of
these two European capitals. Stock
holm, ‘the Venice of the North,’ with
its 400,000 people, is Jo tlie same lati
tude as Juneau, our Alaskan capital.
Glasgow, one of the world’s greatest
workshops, with over a million inhab
itants, if translated in its own latitude
in the Pacific coast of America, would
be the metropolis of Alaska. Copen
hagen, with its 600,000 guardians of
the Baltic portals, ts in almost exactly
the same latitude as Wrangell, Alaska.
•’This study of latitudes and locations
seems likely ts help us in projecting a
picture of the future Alaska. Let, us
now follow our sixtieth parallel east
ward once more, on a return trip to
Finland. We will be amazed to find
that all of Finland lies north of this
latitude. Helsingfors, the capital, in
the extreme south of the country,
would be an interior city of Alaska;
yet it is one of the fine cities of Europe,
with well nigh .200, 000 inhabitants.
From this capital northward extends
Finland—far into the \rctic circle, is
it possible that in such a latitude a
great state can exist'-1 Not only pos
sible, but the fact, for Finland has the
same population as Missouri, and is one
of the most ad vanced countries of Eu
rope. If the Finns owned Alaska they
would in three generations make it one
of the foremost states of modern times.
Ifc-is not possible that Americans, who
in three centuries have builded the
greatest country in the world, will fall
into error about such an empire as
Alaska. I cannot speak of comparative
rainfall, but the climate in Alaska as
to temperature is no more severe than
in those largely developed European
sections. . . .
“Why, then, are here so tTjany 'mis
givings about Alaska? Why the.ques
tionings as to its permanent usefulness
for a homeland? True, it lost 15 per
cent in population in the decade where
in the threat war demoralised the whole
world. But one province of "Canada
lost 80 per cent and another CO per
cent, respectively. Alaska is once
more gaining in everything which tes
tides prosperity; but from the agricul
tural provinces of Western Canada
comes report of a still continuing ex
odus. Borne of our foremost states lost
notably in population between 11)10 and
1920. The other day I read-mat 77,500
colored and 29,000 white people had
left Georgia farms. There are like re
ports from all over the South, and the
farming sections of the West are not
farr behind. Australia-and Couth Af
rica are offering direct money induce
ments to immigration, and failing to
get it. .If we would take down our imw
migration bars, there would be a tidal
wave of emigration from all Central,
Southern and Southeastern Europe.
Evidently Alaska is not alone in feeling
the effects of the war on her popula
tion. Anyhow, we have some, in these
later days, to ayrpraise -population by.
its.quality rather than . quantity, and
Alaska will loom big in any quality
test.
“But, we are told, gold production in
Alaska has fallen Off discouragingly. i
Let us see about that. In 1915 Alaska
turned out $10,000.000 of gold, and in
1021, $8,000j8€0. That is a loss of one
half. But the United States as a whole
fell off in gold takings by almost the
same percentage; from .8101(000,000 in
J915 to *50,000,000 in 1921. The world
never Deeded new gold supplies more
thanmow, to rehabilitate ruined-finan
cial systems. Yet from 1908 to 1920
Australasia lost over two-thirds of its
gold • production, and .since the war
began in Europe the world, as r. whole,
has lost; just about one.fourth. We all
know perfectly well that this has been
the result af world*-wide economic con
ditions, Goldris worth just cue-ha!f as
much, in buying nawer, as before the
war. The wonder is not that Alaska’s
gold production has fallen pff, t^ut, that
it Iras, fallen -relatively so little, There
ie every reason to-.believe that its gold
crop will be resisted, iust.as soon as
the world resumes a normal economic
balance.
“Precisely the^wiic storv is told by
the figures on copper. ..Sippe,, 1916 the
Alaska copper produpt hh8 fallen,pf* 44
per cent, which looks gray?', but when
we turn to the other side ,yve. find that
the total product of fche I’pitpd States
fell off 41.6 per cent* and stijll.our coun
try holds its olaee chief copper
source pf the world. The shrink! in
copper prices was a discouraging fact,
it is try#; but.Alaska’s copper did not
lose in price so much as Minnesota’s
Wheat, or Iowa’s corq. Look at it as
you wilj. AJaska is ,simply going
through the wash with the remainder
of the wor|d. } t will come .put w,ith the
rest, and then, able to realise on its
natural, riches, wjll be second to no
community in prosperity.
“,It may be said no.w, as well as later,
that there, is no panacea for Alaska,
largely.bepapse AJaska needs none, but
also because Alaska’s troubles flow
‘from the .samp general .causes whjich
make troubles elsewhere. The world
has burpqd upriso much of it,s capital
that, there is.Doteoough tQ go around.
When the stocks of iiouid capital are
restored,. Alaaka will cotpein for a bet
ter share than ever before has fallen to
its lot,, simply because pn,r country, if
it clings to, stable ways, will be the
-greatest capital nation. ,, It impose^ no
strain on pr.eddity, fo belipve that wjjen
tnat time .cornea'AJaska will go for-,
ward at,such a rate that the ground
recently lost w;lj soon be inprp than re
gained.” !
New Yottic.—’“Prohibition h^s failed I
| because tbe United States, is bounded
on tbe north by hard liquor, on ,the
south by liquor, on the west by rum,
and on the east by no-limlt,” sqys an
eminent authority.
-j 1
t ‘Notice.
Havmg been appointed admitis
trator of the Altiska estate of Jacob [W.
Sehneirla, who died July 30, 1923,! at
Clinton, Mich., notice is hereby iriyen
to all persons to present any claims
against said estate within si:t months,
•of this notice.
iiDWAKD'SCHjNriplRLA.
Administrator, 1
Ophir, Alaska.
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