The Alaska daily empire., 1915-06-23

paying by no means win relieve the people of those countries from the support or crippled men and of the dependents killed in battle or by dis ease. Society must look after those ! helpless creatures. if not in one way then In another
 Therefore it is plain enough that this war must bea a dreadful strain up on the financial resources and energy of Europe for at least two genera tions
 What appeals to me as the strong est argument for peace therefore, is mot love of peace. for its own sake. There are many things more desirable than a fight it is true, but also 1t is true that many things may be less desirable
 Vast Riches to Be Developed Here
 "lt is especially fitting that at the present time the attention of the peo- pie of the United States of America should be directed to this fact. We can't be warning people and a real democracy
 Here we have territory larger by far than any which a democratic gov ernment has attempted to handle think lJ reasonably may be consider. ed doubtful ir Che United States today would have been in existence had it not been for the railroads and the telegraph Thought and quick com munication hold a people together.
 "0n such things we wisely have spent our money If we had been en- gaged in and had drained our resour- ces through war we could not have spread across the continent and made q nation compact. unified. coordinate.
 "We look forward to greater Unit ed States, not in territory, but in peo- pie and in ability to support popula- tion Two.thirds of this continent is comparatively undeveloped today. and that one.third which longest has been producing is not producing one.third of what it should and could yield. One-half of the arabic land east of the Mississippi river produced nothing and the other one.half does not pro. duce fifty per cent. of it's capacity
 "Our farmers. like our manufacture CTS. are only now beginning to learn what efficiency is It no longer is regarded true that the worthless boy safely may be turned into farmer.
 "it is beginning to be realized that farming is as much an art as any oth- CT of the expressions of the creative instinct. that it needs thought as well as patience.
 With the pressure of population and the increased respect paid to the potential value of land 1t is becom. ing evident that we soon must begin effectively and systematically to put the unused and the partly used lands into service.
 i know the farmers of our west ern country well. and not one of them succeeds who has not in him the spirit of conquest. His life is a bat tle every day against reluctant na- ture and he gets his glory and his triumph out of making this land field against its will If he does not feel and glory in the stress of this contin- ual conflict he is not good farmer
 29o,o00,ooo Acres Undeveloped
 When the man wins, nature really reioices with him over his success. but there are sections wonderful in potenuality which require more than he effort of the earnest and ambi. ious individual.
 "The land lying to the westward of the Mississippi river is that which gives me most concern, for it is that part of our territory which is least developed
 What are we to do further with it? Men who have studied it tell me that its capacity is infinitely beyond any thus far realized agriculturaliy. minerally and industrially Over itI we have distributed great body oil people. yet we have left outside Al aska. 290,00OOO0 acres. Most of this is desert from which. as things now stand, no man can make a living.
 Two things have been done for this territory We have saved the great forests and we have invested $9O.0OO.O0O in irrigation projects. We have conserved some water power sites, cad Of other resources we have 1 made some more or less superficial l surveys.
 Through our Agricultural Depart | nent We have found grasses and grains which are adapted to our semi lrid country and we have worked out methods of farming which successful. y may be applied to some of It.
 But. generous as our expenditures lave been. we have lacked money with which to accomplish the best which night have been done. because of the tremendous tax of war and prepara- ion for war. and because of the very ionorable tax imposed for payment f our pensions.
 "Ihe expenditure of S200000.000 a ear for 10 years would protect the lhio and Mississippi valleys against Iood. redeem these lands as fertile 8 those of the Nile. and, in our arid egions bring into production millions f acres that are now inhabited only y the horned toad and the rattle make"
 What War Tax Would Do.
 "Let us consider what might be ac. in the matter of irriga- ion An amount equal to that which e now snend nnon the army and