r
Purchase Price, $7,200,000
I Production, $840,000,000
Tli" mii mei- -no mvi'-lcr was cvpr;
'Use «ui!Ehiny woods all ntlirlll;
The gruylins aietip in tin- rive*-.
The high"ui aslc-p on the hill
Tlie strong life that ntn-r kr.ov, ■ harness.
The wilds where the , arib *u call;
The freshnesc, the freedom, the farness—
O Cod: how I’m stuck on it all.
—The hpell of the Yukon (Service).
FMli: bouse of r«-j>ft--:-niativi s the other
"hi.v passed tin amendment to the gov
ernment Ahtsktm railroad act by
which the additional sum of $17,000,
000 was appropriated for tlie comple
tion of the road by December 31. 1022.
The debate was presumably more or
less tinged with partisan politics.
Leaving out the politics many inter
esting fin ts of value were brought
out concerning Alaska—Lund of the
Midnight Sun—which lias proved a
veritable treasure trove to the United
States anti is only at the beginning
•f if- development. Some of these facts are here
;t a, vtiiii credit to tin* various representatives.
Mr. Dnn v of California.- Mr. Chairman, in 1SG7
in » Alaska was purchased through the efforts
! Secretary of State Seward from Kussia for
.',200,000. which was less than 2 cents an acre.
Luropi-iiti nations poked fun at tin* United
-hies, and the papers of the United States ridl
nJe<| Secretary Seward and referred to Alaska sis
Seward s Iceberg.”
The climate of tl«e most of Alaska is better than
it of Scandinavia and New Uonudland. Vege
ddes and eereals can he and are raised there,
nod it is the richest undeveloped mineral section
ft tlie face of tin* earth.
'.”ime lins justified Seward s purchase of Alaska
er the United State-. Since IsC.O Alaska lias pro
• bleed over SS40,000.000 worth of wealth; $300,
* to ,000 of Unit from her fisheries, most of the
st from her mines anil from her furs. In the
vine time Alaska has bought Tain the United
hates $400,000,000 worth of property. Il has done
hr t under existing law that practically lies up the
•sources of Alaska and prohibits them from being
developed.
in !!>14 under these conditions, knowing that
Alaska should be developed and that a railroad
uid not and would not he built by private enter
! r sc. the r. tigress of tin* United States enacted
law authorizing tin* president to construct a rail
oail or railroads in Alaska, not to exceed 1,000
lib's in length, mid authorized the expenditure
tiiin of S.'Ci.Mt&.iitm for that purpose. The presi
.1 nit placed the construction of the mad under the
or.troi of the secretary of the interior, and he hi
mm organized what is known as tiie Alaskan
engineering commission to take practical charge of
the work.
The original authorisation of $37,000,000 would
!::• v«» constructed this road under ordinaly condi
■ie*is and circumstances, imt the war came along,
wages? increased fit) per cent, the cost of material
increased up to 101 per cent and transportation up
147 per cent. Under those circumstances tin*
.-Ti.OOO.noo is not sufficient to complete the work.
4* is. therefore, absolutely necessary, unless we
w'sh to sacrifice tlie $;’T>,U00.(KH» already invested,
tli.it tics $ 17.o<Xi.pdo aniliorizatii.il lie allowed.
The road, when completed, will he tJOl miles in
to* gth. Tiie nmin line, from Seward to Fairbanks,
-.*. :| lie 471 miles hi length. The spurs and branches
■ c,j side lines will make up the 1101 ticlcs. Ail of
the road lias been completed, with the exception
,.f some work to he done to eumpiele tic tirsi ,1
miles from Seward north and :t gap of P-0 miles
and another small gap of 2.7 miles. Most of tlie
P>0-mib- gap lias been surveyed and some of tin*
If,cd lias been made.
road skirted from Seward on tlm soutl»:*m
-it (,f .V1 ;t -k-i. and wont to Arehien;,'o, 1 ’. rt of
|on<l- 71 mites—1m«l boon cons;, m-ted from
Anchorage ov<*r to the nortliorn torniinnl of tho
mad, FaIrlmnks If? loeatod on tho Tatuum river.
The Tatiana rlvor is a branch of the Yukon rivor,
on 1 the Yukon rlvor and tho Tatiana ri\or arc
tiav!s:ib!e for eiihTho Alaskan railroad
, o'.amlssion oommonood building from tho sonth
• ra point north. They brought too materia! to
vard and AnehoiTgo, mid they ooitmtonct'd to
auibl front tho northern tormimil south, so that
!l ; could save time and stive money.
’j l.o road already reaches to the coal the K.
-rjv>r<‘ the l.""-’ si|tmre miles of coal ti(>lds in
Mt'-'-tt that have boon explored and exported by
,h • const tint! geode. :e stirvoy, the geological sur
vey i ttd by t;;■ • Maskan engineering enumiission.
■epat IS • I! oil the line of tills f< atl. It is estimated
■hat there are "O.PoO.oon.thKl tons of eotl th.-tr will
be opcm 1 to eonim* ree hy this road, and Ifi.tMiO.
sx. lK >i tons of it will bo high-grade eonl wltleii
■ >r'd he used for coking and emeiflirr ore. and
t:t h purpose*. and the rest of it for fuel and mat
i-s of that kind. In Alaska it lias been estimated
that there are 1.V'.fXX),<XX>.(XX» tons of ooal. Xo
person knows how much there Is.
ytv. strong of Kansas.—There has been diseov
. red In Alaska not only sold, hut silver, copper.
■ lead. iron, antimony, tungsten and platinum
In !jir>:.> quantities- In addition, there has been
d’K'-nver; d lury*' fields of oil. It has splendid ngri
••tritnri’I advantages. It Is estimated that it has
V'p.fV1 • uutire milt's of liilable land. It ims
• ..row i tv; sett sea 'if HIM ’days, a lid because of the
7>mi7NCr' a&jL
AULSKArr goz,a> xuzzyg
H&xSi
gnat length of (lit1 (lnys. lliat "rowing season is
worth about L’fHt of our days. So that thoy arc
enabled to "row crops suitable to take ••are of a
large population and take care of the stock that
they may produce. The crops are wheat, oats,
rye, barley, l ay, and they have produced ati alfalfa
which makes tt good crop. Its vast forests of tim
ber suitable for pit per pulp are awaiting a ready
it . .'kct. while its tisheries are 'he greatest on this
continent.
-Mr. Miller of Washington.—I have been over
iieari.v all of Alaska, i have gone into the hills
uith m\ pack on my bn k. I have teamed what
few provisions l had ‘JOO or ,'!<!(> miles with a dog
team out to my diggins. The greatest copper
m aes on tiie face of the earth are within the
territory of A'ttska. You know how we searched
the world for metals during the war. We have tut
per cent of them in Ait ska. They are there await*
it.g the l and Hint will develop them.
.Something has been said here of the reindeer
situation. There is no prettier sight in the world
than to see a tnousnnd bead of reindeer grafting
oil a mountain side. The Aleutian islands are full
of them. There tire loO.ttftd or 100,000 reindeer in
Alaska. They are a god end to the natives. They
go out with their little herds. An Indian or tin
liskitno may not have over h‘-"> or HO reindeer, but
he herds them as a careful husbandman takes care
of his lit tie thick of sTteep. Incidentally they are
eieaning out the waives and lynxes and the other
predatory an.mals that infest the country. The
reindeer support the natives. And I truly believe
that with the great grazing lands that there arc in
Alaska, the future development of the reindeer
a* a substantial source of meat supply for our
fountry is one of the most promising that wo have
before t: s.
Now, Hr- (-Minute tln’i->> is not bad. Over in tin*
interior, in tin- Yukon valley, the atmosphere is
dry. and with tin* temperature 2fi decrees helow
zero yen ean wear an ordinary hut all day long
and your e.tl.- will It'll g.-l eold. \\ Iu4i you go out
to .lie i'u„ a you get toe mo store. (> o i n g hw;iv
!i ittt tin* eotist into the Yukon valley you gi,
i ■o r a uiountain chain some 4,000 feet high. and
wl.t'ii you •■! ivt-r that eliuln you are In the great
are;;, slope. I have coin • out of that valley with
the thermometer -12 decrees helow zero, where 1
eo'.ihl stay out doors all day without disenmfort.
d have dn-iP d over that mountain chain only
:it> miles a.ml come out to the coast where the
thermot.il ter was s decrees helow zero and have
marly j»* t is!.. <1 with In* eold. Tin* interior is a '
eold. dry climate. Animals can forage all winter
itt the interior country.
It wouhl surprise some of you to know that In
that (otedry the ground is eternally frozen. \n
one has ever dug through the frost, end they have
heir down a thousand feet.
I'll:* Holds of hurley mid rye and wheat are
prowi. on the top of ground that is frozen f1)r a
hm s:.; .I feet beneath. It thaws on (he surface
in the summer time. It gets very warm. There
is d. yl ahl Id. IS and 24 hours in the day. and
crops lie rare <phol;ly. They come right up over
i:iprtii. of course, iii th • w inter ilie* nights are long
and dark and eoid. hut the summer .seasons are de
.l.i i ;il. The thermometer cues up to 80. >.x) and
;r, :*| summer, but in the winter it liecontes exceed
ingly cold. The coldest weather I ever saw In tin*
Yukon valley \ as (PI degrees helow zero. That is
Id weather, and it is dangerous weather; hut as
yon go down the Yukon river, and perhaps .Yoo
miles from u.e month, there is a Catholic mission,
ihe Iloly Cross mission. There is one of the most
lieumint! apple orchards I have ever seen, perhaps
s.o acres of the most beautiful young apple frees
just coming into bearing. And grazing over Itpoud
acres of clover was one of th<* tinest herds of Jer
sey cattle 1 have over seen. All that in a land that
Is frozen. It Is a queer country, livery rule yf the
geologists Is reversed when you get to Alaska.
And I tell you. gentlemen, just as sure as God,
the future will* unfold for Alaska «u«| (he Auert
fan people the wealthiest possession hold by any
nation in tin* world. Minoral, agriculture, fish
eries, slock raising—everything for future develop
ment. it is the golden land of promise for the
coming generation. All they want is your help.
<\>me and help them. Let us have 250,<HX) people
in Alaska.
None of the speakers mentioned Mount Mc
Kinley. !i will be noted that the small map sug
gesting the general course of the Alaskan railroad
shows Mount McKinley. This great peak, with a
surrounding area of 2.2<mi square miles, is now
Mount McKinley National park. The government
railroad runs close to one corner of the peak and
will make it accessible.
Mount McKinley National park lies approxi
mately tn the center of Alaska, in the midst of
the vast wilderness to tin* south of the Yukon and
to the west of the Tanana. Here the Alaskan
range which forms a line of snow-capped sum
mils 200 miles long, culminates in several gigantic
peaks, the highest of which—Mount McKinley—
towering 20,-KM) feet, is the highest mountain in
the world above the line of perpetual snow, and
one of the most impressive mountains of the
earth. Seen from an altitude of 1,800 feet, Mount
McKinley i< stupendous; travelers say that there
is nothing like it. even among the higher Andes or
Himalayas.
The park area is in scenic keeping with forests,
giaeiers, lakes, streams and lofty peaks. So from
a scenic viewpoint the new McKinley National
park takes place in the front rank of our 17 na
tional parks.
Mount McKinley is a natural bis game refuge.
It is the fountain-head of the bis game supply
south of tin1 Yukon and west of the Tanana. It is
ihe ten!or of a region where big game abounds.
Hero i: ii still bo seen the wild game living in
security, protected by the remoteness and rugged
m >s of the region. Oroat moose stalk through the
valleys about timber line. Herds of caribou feed
on the moss-covered bills. Bands of bighorns
browse mi tlie high mountain slopes. The grizzly,
monarch of the American wilderness, gives the
crowning touch to this picture of a wild guuie
paradise.
But already is this big game paradise menaced.
The prospector, miner and market hunter are
cbis’ug tin The white man’s civilization is draw
ing near. Already slcdioads of '••lid game reach
the Fairbanks market. With the completion of
tin* government railroad Now York will be but
three weeks away. Our national expansion lias
always carried with it evils as well ns good.
Fires have swept away forests; dynamite and
filth have killed off the fish; a leaden hail lias
exterminated the wild life. “ltemeirdver the buf
falo!”
When this day comes the leg game of (he region
will naturally gravitate to Mount McKinley. And
there it will find sanctuary in the national park.
So, aside from its scenic magnificence, the creation
of Mount McKinley National park is well worth
while as a game preserve.
On the other hand, so remote is this vast wildrr
ru-ss that the net contains a concession to the pros
pector and tiie miner in the matter of killing
game for food. Tin* act establishes the park as a
gam ■ refuge and provides a heavy punishment for
the killing of game, 'there is. however, this pro
viso :
“provided. That prospectors and miners en
gaged in prospecting or mining in said park may
lake and kill there so much game or lards as may
be needed for their actual necessities when short
of food; but in no ease shall animals or birds tie
killed ht said park for sale or removal therefrom
or wantonly.”
It is obvious that Inasmuch as the passing of the
park net d<ies not modify or affect the mineral land
laws now applicable to the area and hence does
not exclude prospectors and miners. It would not
do to prohibit the killing of game for food by them
in ease e* necessity.
Where Honors Are Even
T::H - continue to come from
the ! n: manufacturers in two dis
tliK-'l . nut typos, with the buying
I>uh!h -lowing a preference for the
futni >■ designs.
1 r: i: :t11or of decorations, fur is
wide i)iit not lavishly used, and
can . d<..n» silk embroidery is very
oft*.: ■ n ,.ith it. lioing of ttie same
char i"! r tiiey look well together. At
the i M >>i ilie two suits pictured
her. ‘‘ <•;•«> is a line example of the
con '1 • • t'i.'tt of fur anti embroidery in
a sod of w. ol velours. The skirt in
1 liis c ■ del lias two narrow plaits at
tin1 side ami is very long. The coat is
it v. ~v handsome affair, uneven in
leti .1 ’.i about the bottom and having
wilt, panels, shorter than the front
and t ack, set in. 'They are banded
with two narrow hands of dark fur.
Ketbroitlery. in the same color as the
cloth, finds an advantageous position
at etc-b side of the coat skirt. The
body buttons a little to the left of the
front with large, flat cloth-covered but
t< .s, and there Is high collar of (he
doth. banded with fur. Unit fastens at
the left side. Fur in two large orna
ments finishes the narrow girdle with
long ends at the front. With this
dressy suit a sailor hat of silk beaver
looks particularly well.
Tl’« suit at the left is a quite differ
ent affair, much plainer and made of a
sturdier material, Bono buttons and
narrow braid are tin1 very praticnl em
bellishments allowed to it and its lines
are simple and mannish. But it has
the high, cozy looking collar of fui
that is found in the company of nl*
sorts of suits and the narrow belt of
the material. But this is extended only
across the front of the coat, button
ing at the sides. Just by way of not
going to extremes in being plain and
practical, the belt is double, witli no
particular reason for being so except
that it adds an attractive and unex
pected interest to this small item lq
tin* suit's make-up. The hat is a tail
ored model, but not so plafn as u
banded sailor. Neither suit is afraid
of comparison, honors are about even
between them.
Three-Piece Matched Suit
Tin- sumptuous ribbons which the
rooms have turned out, more than
an'tliiim else have Inspired the design
ers of iircss accessories this season. It
seem; these wide and gorgeous prod
ucts of tl< ribbon weaver’s art. are
most beautiful when not too lavishly
used and
against :t 1
somber tot
wonderful
appear in
blouses ■>
gowns of
At the
matched ■
used for
piece si :
and bag
rie mai e
liunce <e
wbldi e
and
through
wide s.-i
bon chi
oi him*
bn
(1 jii>
o e at their best when used
■ ckground of black or other
o, that casts into relief titelr
•o'e.rings. Therefore they
• .'H'.nery in scarfs, over
‘ bags to be worn with
iark and quiet colors,
dght of the picture of two
•ts si own here, duvotyn is
n.> f lurulatlon of a three
■ ut Includes a turban, scarf
This soft, glove-finish fab
au
t’.'O
; til S‘.
ied
M t,.
i h
’deal foil for the bril
I brocaded ribbon in
• > colors are blended
vlth silver tinsel shot
ftern. The emls of the
bordered with the rib
nlshed with deep fringe
i. The hag is a well
xodtion of duvetyn and
- ik uoMf, and the siaail
draped turban is made almost entirely
of ribbon having a silk tassel like
that on the bag, for Its finishing touch.
For more practical wear (he set
ninth* of duvetyn, shown at the left
of the picture, also includes a scarf,
hat and bag. A dark and rich color
is chosen for a set of this kind, and
It dispenses with magnificence to con
tent Itself with smartness—therefore,
it is made without ribbon. The hat
is an ofT-the-face model, draped with
consummate cleverness, and flnisheti
with an ornament. The scarf ends in
big chenille tassels and fastens under
an ornament like that on the hat. In
its arrangement about the neck it fol
lows the universal mode for neck
pieces by its cozy effect. They alt
suggest a nice, warm place Into which
the chin may snuggle down. A tassel
of chenille makes the right finish f\>r
the shopping hag that completes this
set.