Time was in the United States when, beyond the Mississippi, Wilderness
was King! But this did not prevent the settler from breaking his way
through. So it is in Alaska. The trees are being hewn down for
clearings and in those clearings homes are springing up. More men each
year are locating homesteads and bringing their families with them,
secure in the knowledge that their children can be educated in Alaskan
schools, fed with Alaskan meat and vegetables, their bills paid in
Alaskan gold. There is a market for everything that can be grown and
this market will be much enlarged by the increased population which the
railroad will bring. Alaska will soon be a populous and prosperous
country and will one day ask admission to the Union. When she comes in,
bringing her six hundred thousand square miles, she will be the largest
State. Texas, so long the giant, will be a dwarf in comparison.
To sum up, then, the opportunities which offer themselves in
Alaska,--there are (1) cattle ranges of enormous size; (2) immense
salmon shoals; (3) huge tracts of farming land; (4) large forests (in
certain sections) of fine timber; (5) an almost unlimited supply of
fur. The United States has no tin mines except in Alaska. There is
enough coal buried under the soil to keep the whole world warm for five
thousand years! The coal, tin and gold must be mined. Here is a chance
for large numbers of workmen. The fish must be caught and canned. The
canneries employ large numbers of men. But the crying need of the
country is for homesteaders, because the agricultural development is of
prime importance to Alaska and to the world. The first binder operated
in Fairbanks in 1911 and the first threshing machine in 1912. In time
implement houses will be needed. Manufacturing enterprises offer a rich
field. At present (1918) there is not a single grain mill in the
country. This may be due, however, to the fact that there is not yet a
large enough amount of grain raised to justify the building of mills.
But in time there will be. There is unlimited water power for their
operation.
Mr. Michael O'Kee, a Yukon Territory gardener, is regarded as the
Luther Burbank of Alaska. He has specialized in berries and has proved
that they may be grown just as well around the Arctic Circle as in
sun-kissed California. Also, he has grown cabbages weighing eighteen
pounds with heads hard and sound.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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