The Ketchikan miner., 1908-07-04
OUR WONDERLAND AT HOME.
 ERx Csnt. ]. noxle.

called, 10 feast their eyes on gorgeous scenery, when they can ly coming to Alaska mud in the line oi natural sonCers and scenery. beautiful water sass. grand and rugged mountain
 ss Ss, shcisrs, natural parks. fish by .aS sailslouS, aud game ia abandanees
 Rseaase Alaska is no, properly as- |veSS Sed in the East. and it's manifold 9e~s es set before the public in glow issss l0rs> Because it Is pictured in tr ,..sss as land of frost and snow, pa sr bears and ssvages. and because aneTe i> not effort enough made to dis pel shSs Illa sion. and mainly because we are not a self-goyerning people snG have no power so make the neces- sary appropriations to advertise this great and glorious section of the country called Alaska.
 So the rich man. ia me golden sum- mer time packs his grip, puts string on. his valet. hecsons his wife and da0g htsr, who grab parrot and a poodle dog and follow papa to the Lakes of Killarney. in the county oi Kerry, in Ireland, whose beauties are widely advertised the world over. and have formed the topic of many 2 poem.
 Then they sail over to Scotland. play game of golf with Andrew Car usgie. take wander over the Gram pian Hills, plunge n the Firth of Forth. look at ths ship yards on shs Clyde, and hIe themselves to ' England to call on His Majesty tine King, and he presented al court. Next they sail for sunny France and take in Gay Paree'. then wander to Mt. Btarc. the highest peak ot the Alps in the southeast of France. which has been advertised for years IS world wonder and is visited every rear by ihOUs4nds-she foot of is 1t least. And really the Alps have icy summiis and { glaciers travelling grandls 10 the sea. just as one sees anywhere between { WEaugell NarFows and. well, say Yasatat Bay, without mentioning the great MaIaspina. Glacier (which is about forty-hye miles across the face. But they also visit Mer de Glaee. one of Frances famous glaciers and take an auto ride through the lovely valley of ChamOuni. and gazing skyward, (if one has seen Alaska. think:
 Those Alpine heights, magnificent
 and grand;
 Do they excel the mountains of our
 land?
 With Mount Mckinley towering to the sky,
 And Fcraker visible from Cooks In-
 let, to the ere.
 And many. many peaks of lesser fame
 Which for rugged grandeur put the
 Alps to shame.
 Then they wander over 10 Spain and see D bull-fghl. with the tiiermome- fer up 90 high that the mercury tries to break through the top. skip through Madrid. Barcelona Palos. Seville, and Cadiz- Then perhaps they go ouI and view the Pyrenees mountains and then hike to Algeria, ges taken into camp by bandits. pay very fat ran som to get ou. and come home in the fall and tell what a glorious summe, they had.
 | I have often wondered. hat, if it ever rsvisits this mundane sphere, E the reflections of the shade ot ] William H. Seward must be anent ! Alaska With what acFimony and sar- casm Seward WAS pursued in 1o57. w hen he dared 10 arrange for tEle p1E- chase of what was then Russian America for g. 200. 0s0 in gold when { the yellow stuff was at great premi- gum and our knOwledge of the region was limited 10 icebergs.. mountains ! and few fur seals. Where. out Oi < these were ~e 10 receive an equiya- E lent for such sum of money: Not " wjthstsndiDg khs strenuous oppOsi- :ion. the deai WAS consummated and. like the rest of our national land pur- cbases, beginning with that Of Louisi- ana. is has returned us an hUn6reG 5 fold 0l the investment. and, in reality beginning has but been made. Since we purchased Alaska, the ez- ports from here nave amounted to oyer s200. 0nsl, 0sBY. This includes the returns from gold. fish and fBrs. The merchandise shipments into Alaska have been more than slOO. .0DJ- GrO- The average annual product of the salmon fisheries exceeds sne origina. cost of Alaska by a million dollars. and the total product since Alaska be- came an American possession will ex- ceeG seven times the amount paid Dy Mir. Seward for the entire district.
 AIzska vas discovered in I'll bt yitgs Bering, the Dane who was in command of the Russian exploring party. The Russian occupancy O. Alaska was not one so be proud Of, it being repIese with arbitrary rule and Fsruezlfsv The. recAnt .effIernert 0f