The Alaska daily empire., 1916-01-10
RICHNESS or ALASKA
 IS SHOWN
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BO ObBONViN
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 being thawed by means of wood fires. In due course the wood 6res gave way to the steam thawing plant, thus decreasing the labor Involved and in- creasing the gold output; the shovel ing In" process of the summer also gave way to the hydraulic giant, the giant elevator and the scraper; and these were followed by the power dredge. with greater capacity for handling pay gravel than any other means heretofore employed. The dredges handle at Q profit the lower ggrde gravels and ct much less cost.
 In the interior of Alaska and in the northwestern section there 10 an almost unlimited field for the oper- ation of power dredges. There are also hundreds of thousands of acres
 of low-grade alluvial gold deposits which invite attention. Their de- velopment will follow with better transportation facilities, to be afford ed by means of railroads and wagon roads. and cheaper fuel and power The latter are prime necessities.
 The alluvial gold deposits will not be exhausted in a century or more, and the gold. silver. and other ores with which tho whole Territory Is permeated from Ketchikan to Point Barrow. will not be exhausted for many centuries after they have been developed.
 Alaska IS an oid put really Q new country, paradoxical as this state ment may seem. With the possible exception of it's fisheries, It's indus trial development began little moro than a quarter of Q century ago. Its fisheries output was Insignificant un- tI within comparatively recent times. IT. Is not SO many years since It's furs EsbImos. and polar bears were the chief striking characteristics of the Territory. It's pioneers were subject ed to innumcrable hardships. and It's very remoteness was not the least of these. Transportation facilities were meager. and in popular estimation 1t Its climate was believed to be so for bidding and rigorous that Cnly the was playground for polar bears. !" strongest could survive It's terrors- delusion that has not yet wholly disappeared. even among intelligent people who know not Alaska as 1t is.
 The early pioneers came to the Territory in search of adventure or fortune. not intending to remain long. CT than until their lust for adventure had been satisfied or fortune had smiled upon them. And yet many of these remained. established homes, and raised families. until today there are hundreds of native-born white Alaskans who in turn will marry and be given in marriage. as will their descendants in the years to come.
 It has been charged that the popu. lation of Alaska Is not permanent. that 1t is shifting and unsettled. As has been shown this is true only in a sense. as in all new countries there is always a shifting of population, but largely from one section to an- other. This Is true in placer-mining districts to some extent. for as the cream of gold areas were taken more or less people would move on to new CT fields. but in recent years the population has become more settled.
 It has been demonstrated that AL aska possesses agricultural possibil- ities undreamed of by the earlier set tiers. The Territory is gradually se- curing an agricultural population. who are retaining the wilderness and es- tablishing homes In the past year hundreds of homesteads have been taken up. crops of various kinds have been planted. live stock .s being rais- ed. dairies have been started. and an era of permanent agricultural de- velopmeut ushered in. In the Panama Valley there have been a number of splendid producing farms for some years. These are being added to each year. In the Cook Inlet country, and especially along the line of the railroad. hundreds of farms have been located during the past year and the active work of de- velopment begun. Potatoes and vege- tables of various kinds. and grains such as oats and barley flourish. while stock raising. especially in the coast al regions. should be successful be- cause of the forage that is everywhere abundant. Herds of dairy cows may be seen at various points. both on the coast and in the interior. and fresh milk from the dairies in the vicinity of the more important towns has sup planted the canned article, which for years was the only kind used.
 The agricultural possibilities of AL asla are no longer a matter of doubt. The Territory offers to many people an opportunity of attaching themselves to the sol. It is an ac- cepted fact that there are too many idle men in the cities of this Nation and too many idle acres in the coun- try. Alaska needs population in or der that it's many latent resources may be developed. and to do this nc. cess to the Territory's agricultural lands should be made as free as pos sible The man who Is anxious to till the soil is fairly entitled to every encouragement that the Government can give him. Unnecessary restrict ions should be removed: he should re- ceive aid from the Government if he