davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

writer by an American who has great
interests in East Africa.
"On the LIST Of August, 1914. he said,
"a great exhibition of products of Ger
man East Africa scheduled to be
held at Dar-es -Salaam, the capital of
the colony. The exhibits consisted
of big guns, Marconi wireless installa-
tions. ammunition and similar war ma
terials which had been coming In for
months on end in cases marked
pianos. furniture 'crockery' and sim
ilarly. The British -owned Uganda
railway transported all the stuff for
them, carrying it across Lake Victoria,
just as. for years before the Boer war.
England had obligingly transported 20
the burghers all the arms and ammuni-
ton they needed for their attempt to
drive the 'redcoats' from South
Africa.
This Dar-es-Salaam exhibition was
planned to be big thing, and invita-
tons had been issued to practically
every prominent official OF British East
Africa to be present at the opening,
and most Of them were planning to
go. for existence Is dull down there
and anything in the way of a pleasant
1unket is mighty welcome Personally.
l don't believe they ever intended to
hold an exhibition but. as 1t hap
pened, for some reason the opening
was postponed. and four days later
August 4. England came into the war.
and after that the 'postponement' Of
the exhibition was indefinite. If the
thing had started August !, however.
caught practically every prominent
British East African official. which
would have been a fine scoop.
They prepared for war down there
just as they did everywhere else As
much as year before the fighting
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

the country is one of the tasks of the
experiment station. With that in view
We have made a number OF crosses and
have succeeded in producing many
promising hybrids. We are raising ear
Ter and more productive barleys than
the best we have been able to mature
in more southern ATTITUDES, and we
have a dwarf sprinS-w that is very
early. 1t came from an experiment
of time when we shall get one or more
varieties of wheat that will mature in
Alaska and be productive enough to
make it worth cultivatinG. We are now
making many experiments as to winter
rye and are succeeding. We are also eN
perimenting with winter wheat and
think we shall eventually produce all
the grains for both flour and feed that
will be needed by the people who
inha bit the territory. and that as
freight rates fall il may even pay to
export grain to the states. Today all
grain is high in the interior of the
country. Feed grain brings $40 a ton
at Fairbanks and s104 at Rampant.
Where will he the farming center of
Alaska?''
There will he many such.'' said Prof.
Georgeson Farms will spring mp
about every important mining settle
ment. Fairbanks is the largest Of the
gold camps today. and that region has
the most and best farmers. Since the
government has decided to build the
railroad two or three hundred families
have located homesteads in the Mata-
nuska valley with view to supplying
the demands of the coal mines of that
region. There number of sue
cessful farms in the neighborhood OF
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05
PROF. GEoRGEsoN CARPENTER


perior quality. Indeed, such shipments
are even now being made
do you think that Alaska will ever
raise dairy products for the United
States market"
There is no reason why it should
not The climate of the Aleutian Is
lands is mild, and hardy cattle and
sheep can in many seasons run out all
winter or he kept over with small
amount of hay and fodder. We are
now wintering our cattle on the Island
of Kodiak on the equivalent Of two
tons of hay per head. We do not use
hay, but put green grass into the silos
The cattle are kept up at night. but
that is to protect them from the bears
rather than on account of the cold. We
can raise cattle almost anywhere in
the Yukon valley, but the trouble
there is the long winters. when they
have to be fed for something like
eight months. of the wear
"The grass of the interior grows al
most everywhere to the height of ones
head" continued Prof. Georgeson. Il
have seen many patches as tall as
man upon horseback. A few years ago
7 visited the Holy Cross mission on the
Lower Yukon. The mission station
owned a small herd of cattle, which it
had in a pasture. Adjoining this was
about ninety acres of wild grass that
had been reserved for hay ! asked
permission to turn the cattle into this
tract that ] might photograph them
The cattle were driven in. but ] could
not make the picture. The animals
were lost in the grass, which lowered
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05
y Million Acres of Farm Land i'm Alaska

dinavians. and especially Norwegfans
and Swedes and Finlanders. have been
brought up under conditions such as
we have here. They expect long win
tiers and short summers. they under-
stand the methods of culture neces-
sary. and they are, l believe, best SUIT
ed to the country
How much money. should young
man have who wishes to take up a
homestead" Give me some idea OF the
cost of clearing the land.
The right young man might CONS
to Alaska and make n success with
out any money" said Prof. George
son. But in that ease he would
have to work for wages for other farm
in the mining camps I" get sur
fcient to live until his farm paid
He would have to endure hardships
and his path would not be an easy one.
ON the other hand. if he had thou
of horses or yoke of oxen and Soma
farm tools. He could put up modest
house and furnish it.
He might still have to work out oc-
ca sionally but he could soon clear
enough land and get sufficient start
i'm cattle sheep and poultry to make
life the farm practicable SUCH a
man should locate on land that - AL
ready surveyed by the government, and
he should investigate the cost of I'M
PIGMENTS. furniture and freight before
starting. He will find the freight rates
high. The average price of carrying
goods from Puget sound to Fairbanks
is about $50 ton. IL the man could
have four five thousand dollars It
would be still better, but with that
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

Seward and many small farms about
Juneau, which is another mining CEN
ter of great Importance. There are
little farms scattered throughout this
part of the territory and indeed
wherever there is a local market you
will find a farm center. These centers
will enlarge and as new settlements
are established other farms will be
opened up, and Alaska will become a
great and populous state
Would you advise Americans to come
to Alaska to engage in farming?
Eyes, if they understand the condi-
tions and know what they are going to
find when they reach here and are
ready to stay and grow up with the
country. I would not advise people to
rush in pell-mell and take up home
steads wherever they can be found
simply because Uncle Sam will give
them a farm for nothing. The would
be spectators will stand a slim chance
of making money by a rise in land
values. There is no land for sale. and
Uncle Sam is the sole owner. He will
not sell his lands. but will give them
away only to bona fide settlers and
to those who will keep on the job and
aid in the development of the country.
The farmers most likely to succeed are
the men who know the climate AID
what crops can be grown. Scan
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

two or three feet above their heads
Such grass is found i'll southwestern
Alaska. and everywhere on the moist
grounds throughout the interior. 1t
makes valuab BILE hay if it is cut early.
but if left to ripen it becomes tough
and woody
eat Fairbanks such hay now brings
$50 and upward a ton, while imported
alfalfa sells for S125 a ton. I remem-
Der that I got as much as S240 a ton for
grain hay when we had an experiment
station on the Copper river near Cordo-
va. and that we often sold hay there
for as high as cents a pound. This
was before the people had start
ed farming. After that they sent
in objections to the Agricultural De-
partment at Washington, saying that
the experiment station ought not
to compete in the markets. The matter
was brought before Secretary Wilson.
He replied that s24o ton was too
high for hay, and ordered us to keep
on raising it and selling it until the
price went down to $75 ton. He said
that he thought $I5 a ton was enough
for hay anyw here"
"How about your experiments with
alfalfa
The Alaska stations have been
working for several years on that
problem, the most of our experiments
having been made at Rampant, far
north on the Yukon. We have brought
in seed from many parts of the earth,
but so far have found only one species
that Is absolutely hardy. This is a
yellow -f1owered alfalfa: indigenous to
Siberia. from where the seed came
through our Department of Agriculture.
II has smaller leaves than the common
alfalfa, and the stems are more slender.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

some parts of the country are excellent
for farming. The silt loan OF the
Tanana valley will compare in produc-
tiveness with some of the best soil to
be found elsewhere. and We have at the
Fairbanks station land that is excelled
only by the rich prairie soils of the
middle west. That land is light loan
of a grayish color. 1t is sandy,
but free from gravel and it holds
the moisture. 1t can be easily
worked We have been growing wheat
upon it at the rate of fifty bushels to
the acre, and we have had average
Yields of sixty bushels of oats. There
are good lands in the Matanuska and
Susitna valleys, and, in fact, there are
tens of millions of acres that can be
made into farms
The conversation here turned to the
grains of Alaska. and ] asked Prof.
Georgeson what grains could be sue
cessfully raised during the short sum-
mer season. He replied:
1--WE are now ripeninS all OF the lead
ing grains at our interior experiment
stations During 1915 vs matured and
harvested on our farm at Fairbanks
twelve hundred bushels of grain. COM
prising wheat. rye. barley and oats 1t
is true that these were made up of the
earliest and hardest varieties, but the
of varieties suitable to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05
the Last and Richest His Colonial Posses
Aca-Gen Sir Smith Doen One Of the British Heroes
With Big Interests the Country How Ast
German Planned for at O the Great Conflict

things were going on nearer home. SO
the writer asked this American what
really happened.
THE failure of the attack on Tanga,"
he said was due almost wholly to
cement. and to underestimate
ing the Germans. Tanga is on the sea
coast northwest of Zanzibar, and II
was planned to make a strong attack
from the sea with native troops
brought from India and who were
strengthened. l believe. by one British
regiment. The Indians. to the number
of many thousands, were packed into
transports like sardines and suffered
so greatly that when they landed, some
of them We're hardly able TO stand.
when the fleet of transports arrived
off the harbor, the mistake was made
of giving the town twenty-four hours
TO surrender. Thus the advantage of
a virtual surprise was thrown away
and the Germans given time. of which
they took full advantage, to prepare.
In the interval they mustered every
available man and perched machine
guns in trees and tops of roofs, and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

amount of money he could make a fair
start almost anywhere in the states.
There is one thing that should be
we'll understood, continued Prof.
Georgeson, and that is that the set
tier must have enough muscle and
skill to work his own farm. and should
expect to do the most of the work him.
self. If he starts out paying wages
for clearing land he will soon be bank
rupt. The wage rates of Alaska are
governed by those in the mines, and
until recently the mineowners have
been paying as high as $3.50 day
without board. l remember that when
l started the station at Fairbanks I
wanted labor. I went into a saloon
where score of loafers were standing
about the bar. / asked all who want
ed to work to come outside. A half
dozen responded. coming out wiping
the froth from their lips They asked
me what I would pay. I replied IS
daya-and board. They laughed at me-
and said they could not work for such
wages as that. I had to pay $50
day at the station there until the pres
emit. year. when the wages fell to -
cents an hour or Sc for an eight-hour
day. At the former rate of wages 1t
cost US on the average about $125 an
acre to clear the land"
FRANK q. CARPENTER.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

leaving Japan he was sent by our gov
ernment to investigate the dairy in
duStry of Denmark. and later-in 1898
was ordered to go to Sitka and es-
tabIish experiment stations in various
parts of Alaska, with view to the
development of the territory.
For the eighteen years since then Prof.
GeorgcSou has been in charge of I'm
Gle Sans farming interests in Alaska.
From year to year he has Travelled all
over the territory, studying its soil.
climate, plant life and farming posi-
bilitieS. lie has been the chief manager
of a half dozen different experiment
stations and has raked the world for
grasses and plants suited to this part
of the United States.
We We're looking at some alfalfa
grown from seed imported last year
from Siberia. when j asked Prof
Georgeson to give me some idea of the
future of Alaskan farming. He re-
piled:
There is no. doubt but that Alaska
will some day support large farming
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

began. for just one example. Ger
man started to build santa rum on
top of a hill at Kijabe, not far from
Nairobi, the capital of British East
Africa. We were rather glad to have
the place, and several times wanted to
send some Of our fellows there, but
ii always seemed to be full. Finally
the suspicious of the authorities were
aroused and the 'santarium' was
searched. 1t was full of rifles, over
5000 of them. with corresponding
amount of ammunition. The rifles
We're contiScated and the German de
ported In German East Africa a
Britisher would have been shot, under
similar circumstances, and rightly"
In THIS country, exactly what hap
pened when the only big British move
ment against German East Africa, the
attack on Tanga, was undertaken, has
always been wrapped in mystery. The
thing was described in parliament as a
disaster" in SO many words, but the
man III the street has never been sure
about the details, nor cared greatly.
considering what infinitely greater
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05
VALLEY. he OPENED Up BY THE RAILROAD

population. ] see no reason why the
territory should not eventually have
stable population of three millions or
more. We are discovering new plants
and grains every season. This alfalfa
will grow all along the Yukon. and We
have made successful experiments with
it north of that river. / estimate that
Alaska has about 100000 square miles
that can be used for agricultural pur-
poses. That means that it has $4,000
600 acres, or an area two and a half
times that of Ohio or Virginia, that can
be turned into farms and ranches
'Of this territory about fifty-seven
million acres lie in the interior beyond
the coast range of mountains. The
other six or seven million acres are in
the coast region and on the islands
nearby. Each section will have it's own
crop based on its soil and climate
Some of the islands will be devoted to
grazing and dairying, while south
eastern Alaska, where we are now,
will have gardens from where veEeta-
bles will be shipped to Seattle, COM
handing higher price than the Puget
sound products on account of their SUI
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

He took leading part in the rounding
up of Cronje, and afterward helped large
ly in forcing the surrender of the Boer
leader at Modder river. In this cam
paign he was several times mentioned
in dispatches, was promoted to the rank
of major general. and was awarded the
queens medal with five clasps. Then
followed several years of service in India,
during which he held various high COM
mands. and at the opening of the present
war the general had for five years oc-
cupied the post of comma nder-in-chief
at Aldershot, the chief center of troops in
England and one of the most distinguished
bllets in the British army
In this latter post he succeeded Sir
John French. Then came the opening
of the present mighty struggle, and
when the late Lieut.. Gen. J. NJ. Grier-
son died in a train in France. a few
days after the opening of the cam
pain, ith-Dorrien succeeded him in
command of one of the army corps of
the expeditionary force. He was one
of the big figures in the retreat from
Mons. where his far-seeing tactics and
unique knowledge of the country are
held by many to have saved the day,
and he won new laurels at the Aisne. Sir
John French, in one of his most mem
orable dispatches to Kitchener. paid
tribute to him in the following words:
Il cannot close the brief account of
this glorious stand of the British troops
without putting on record my deep APP
probation of the valuable services rem
dered by Gen. Sir Horace Smith-Dor-
rien.
Smith Dorrien was born hfty-eight
years ago at Haresfoot. near Berkham-
Sted. He belongs TO a wealthy family
one of his brothers is known the
"uncrowned king of the Scilly Isles" of
which he owns the greater part-and
he might easily. had he chosen. have
led the pleasant existence of an English
country gentleman of Independent
means But. instead, he elected to serve
his country, and studied military law
with a thoroughness that probably has
been surpassed by few if any, among
British military leaders.
While other men took their holidays
in relaxation. young Smith Dorrien
spent his in the crammer's class room.
He worked through seven solid hours a
day of fatisuing tuition on strategy,
history. topography. military
law and the rest. and when he had fin
ished at the lecture theater he spent
his leisure in hard technical reading.
Even in his play, it might be said, he
was still at work. for his free time was
spent working over the great battle
grounds of Europe, examining them.
studying them. visualizing them for flu
ture use. And he worked to good pur.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

probably be made across Lake Tangan-
yika To the south lie Rhodesia, which is
also British. and Portuguese East Africa.
which, as the Portuguese have virtually
thrown in their lot with the allies, can
probably be counted upon for assistance.
And in the Indian ocean is the British
squadron 1t will prove, however, a diff
cult country to fight in. There will be the
absence of water to contend with as in
German West Africa. Most of the country
is of the jungle type, covered thickly with
the 'wait-a- bit thorn BUSH which will
probably render attacks by column i,npos-
sibe and result in desultory fighting or
in other words. guerrilla fighting. But |
guess there isn't any doubt about the
final result"
Probably the conduct of the British
campaign in German East Africa is in
good hands, for Gen. Sir Horace Lock-
wood mithDorrien. who is responsible
for it is one of the brainiest and ex-
perienced as well as bravest of British
commanders. He is a soldiers son, and
ever since. when not yet twenty lone. he
fought in the Zulu war of 1879, as a
young officer in the Sherwood Foresters,
and greatly distinguished himself, he has
been to the fore whenever Their has been
hard fighting in any part of the British
Empire.
From his first campaign he emerged
with medal and clasp and ( a. mention
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

tea plate. These peoples come from
Asia, and they are perennial They
are among the new wonders of Alaska.
I went over the experiment farm
with Prof. C.. c. Georgeson, who,- I'M
der Secretary Houston, has the man
agement and direction of Uncle Sans
agricultural work in Alaska. There
is no man better fitted by ability and
experience for the position. 1 met
him in Japan twenty-eight years ago,
when I was making my first newspaper
trip around the world. Mr.. George
son was then professor in the I'm
Derial College of Agriculture at Toxic,
and was Introducing modern farming
into the land of Japan. Born in Den
mark, he had been trained in farming
on some of the large estates of that
country and had then gone to the
United States. where he was professor
in the Texas State College Of Agricul-
ture. He had also been one of the
editors of the Rural New Yorker. After
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

GEORGESON Uncle Sans Outlines
AaskaFan Ranches
$125 Ton-Danyng and Stock
Hour for Hands,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05
Special Correspondence of The Star


LONDON, February "a, 1916.
-7ERSE communques which are
beginning to come from the war
Office indicate that the big job
4 of depriving Germany of the
last, and incomparably the richest, of
her colonial possessions is at last be-
ing taken in hand in earnest. This
possession is German East Africa, the
territory of over 100000 square miles
bounded by the great African lakes on
the north and west and by the Indian
ocean on the east. which was German
lied by DIR. Karl Peters and developed
by DeEFnburg, and whose existence as a
German possession was an insurmount-
able obstacle to the realization of Ce-
Gil Rhodes dream of a linking up of
territory under the British flag from
the Cape to Cairo. and likewise of a
direct ALFRED" railway between those
points.
The kaiser's other great colony in the
dark continent, German West Africa,
IS already, thanks to Botha, under the
union jack Now the serious campaign
for the conquest of German East AZ
RIGA appears to have opened definitely,
and few persons doubt that the out
come will be Identical though no one
questions that the campaign will be a
put up a desperate fight before they
are obliged to yield to the weight of
the numbers which unquestionably will
be launched against them-probably
from many sides at once.
-
DesuItory lighting has been going on
for yeaf or more, or since an Ill
planned attack BY the British on tho
German town of Tanga, made with
native troops from India, resulted in a
practical rout Of the attackers From
all accounts, virtual walk-over had
been expected. but II was far from
coming or. 1t was originally announced
West Africa. would also command the
South African ana other forces which
Great Britain is preparing to throw
against the defenders of German East
Africa. but a couple of months ago this
command was given to Gen. Sir Horace
Smith-Dorrien, who is admittedly one
OF Britain's greatest soldiers. The lat
ter is now on the ground. and the one
or two reports which have come to
hand from him indicate that operations
nave started on the frontier between
British and German East Africa, the
Germans having been driven out of
SerenSeti camp, four miles east of
Mouyuni. which they have held for
some time. This camp is in British ter
r!tory, some 1875 miles inland from
Mon basa. and in the shadow of the
great mountain. kilimanjaro.
The white forces in German East
Africa are estimated AZ between 1000
and v,GOe. and now include, 1t is be-
lieyed, the survivors OF the German
cruiser konigsberE. who. together
with some of the vessels heaviest guns,
are believed TO have made their way
inland after the final destruction Of
their ship, which the British chased up
the Rufigi river. and eventually bat
tered to pieces by means Of monitors.
Under The kaiser's flag will fight, too
strong forces of native troops. trained
with Teuton ihoroughness and armed
with Maxim guns ami every other mod
ern implement of slaughter. The story
OF how these were brought into the
country m vast Quantities before the
outbreak OF the war was told the