The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1913-04-28
Henry Funkley Says Hundreds are
Wiped Out and Cannot Get Back
to the States.
RAISE DUST IN THE WEST
Montana, Idaho and Washington are
Day Dreams of Railroad Boost
ers Of Long Hauls.
NORTHERN MINNESOTA BEST
If We Were 1900 Miles From St.
Paul, the Half Could Never
Be Told, He Says.
NORTHERN MINNESOTA BEST

In response to- a request that he
give his impressions of the farming
value of the west, Alaska and Canada
in comparison with that of Northern
Minnesota, Henry Funkley has writ
ten the following article for the Pion-
eer. Mr.. Funkley recently returned
from trip to Alaska on which he
spent some time in the west and in
Canada. The letter follows:
"Dear Editor:
'1n response to your request for a
statement concerning. my trip to the
far north and west, I have to say
right at the start that I found no bet
ter place than Northern Minnesota.
This is no idle talk, made for the
sole purpose of pleasing somebody
but is based upon actual facts.
Of course in Alaska, practically
speaking, there is no such thing as
farming. Potatoes and roots are rails
ed which grow to an immense size.
On account Of the long summer days,
they mature unnaturally and are of
little value for food The climate
along the Alaskan coast from Prince
Rupert to Seward-2,000 miles-is
much warmer than Minnesota, the
temperature seldom dropping to zero.
The land is rock and waste and unfit
for farming. In the few valleys, the
climatic conditions of the state of
Washington prevail-too wet in win
ter and too dry in summer.
The principal industry is gold
mining with placer mining on the
wane and quartz scarce and of doubt
full value. The timber is neither
abundant or large. Coal is awaiting
government railroads, but if it had
them would still for time to come
wait for a market. The towns are
small, ranging from a few hundred,
like Seward, to 1900 inhabitants,
like Juneau, the capital.
But what the Alaskans lack in po-
pulation they make up in manhood
They are the best people I ever saw.
There is no stealing and practically
no crime and therefor an undesirable
country for lawyer to locate in
There are no uniformed policemen
and no gambling but saloons never
close. Good fellowship is the spirit
Of the north and equality among men
is the unwritten law of Alaska.
Montana and Idaho are the same as
they have been-great wastes of rock
and desert and dry as bone. All the
boosting the railroad companies have
done have not changed conditions
there any more than in Canada.
The people from the states who are
doing well in Canada are as a rule in
the saloon and hotel business They
harvest the tourist crop which is not
affected by either frost, fire, drought
flood or hail. They have a sure thing
from the time the money is laid on
the bar until it is landed in the till
If the railroad companies of Can
ada would publish one hundredth
part of one per cent of the fiat fail
ures that have developed where men
with means from here went to that
country to farm and are now toe
poor, but perfectly willing, to come
back, Northern Minnesota would
have a great boom.
In the state of Washington farm.
ing is impracticable and fruit-raisins
a fake. $z a. 80.
For a real money maker I would
rather have cranberry marsh in
Minnesota than the best orchard in
the Yakima. Over two thirds of the
state is neutrality-suspicious. rock.
piles. East of the Cascades irrigation
is necessary to raise anything but
dust which is everywhere and all.
prevailing. West of the mountains
it rains steady for eight months
during which time no crop can be
raised for lack of sunshine, and dur.
ing the other four months when the
sun does shine, it does not rain at all
making it necessary to irrigate ever
IN the rainy belt. It costs from 500
to 5000 per acre to clear this land
And only one crop can be raised eacl
year under the very best conditions