El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-03-31

TUNEAU. Alaska. April Alaska
is preparing 10 celebrate its semi
centennial II Is row just fifty
years since the United States made the
treaty with Russia by which this vast
territory was ceded to Us for s7.2OO.Ooo
in gold. The treaty was executed at
Washington in March. 1867. by William
II. Seward, our secretary OF state. and
Daron Stoeckl the Russian ambassa-
dor: and it was at Sitka in October Of
that year that We took formal posses
sion OF the country Since then Alaska
has been United States territory and il
has grown in wealth as rapidly as any
part OF Uncle Sans domain
There is no better real estate specu-
lator than the American government
Since its organization. when IL had
bought its independence by the war OF
the revolution. il has made haif dozen
land purchases. and on each IL has net
ted many thousands per cent
Grows In Prosperity.
Since We took possession Alaska mas
been steadily growing in prosperity
and wealth. II cost US only ? cents
an acre. but a. the time OF the transfer
Seward was denounced for making a
bad bargain. The country was re-
ferred to as "P0laria" and "lceherEia-
and was nicknamed Stewards IceboS'
and the Nations Folly The purchase
was looked upon uuch as IL would be
ii Admiral Peary should offer to sell
the government a section OF ice Of
equal dimensions about the north pole
Already Has Paid 5000. O00,o0O-
rs to the actual amount we have al
readv received from Alaska. II IS TO-DAY
considerably over $500. 0GO.10o. and
there is scarcely an industry in the
country that has not produced many
times its original cost The minerals
alone have netted something like $500
0o0. 600. the fish over S2000eOoOO and
the furs and skins more than ten times
the amount we paid for the territory
We have received more than $4,000
200 out OF the seal islands and some
thing like 100000 from the furs OF
the sea otter. We have received an
equal amount from the furs of animals
caught on the land. and the beavers
ana muskrats have altogether yielded
about $4,000 900.
As TO the present income from the
territory, its annually amounts to over
eight times its original cost; or. IN
other words, the Investment IS now
paying annual dividends Of something
like 500 per cent In 1915 the output
OF copper was just twice as much as
the whole sum we paid for Alaska
and the gold mined that year was
worth 81 coo. 900 more than the copper
Last year we received from the fish
cries three times as much as the pur-
chase price ana Lne lfstnt OF Altt t-I r
ritory amounted to over $4,000, 600. or
to more than ten times what the whole
country cost.
To Celebrate 50sh Anniversary.
The AIaskans are proud of what has
been accomplished. and they are going
to celebrate their fiftieth anniyersary
Ky a worlds fair. This fair will be dif-
ferent from any ever held by any ma
ton or in any country Il viii be COM
memorative of Alaska's fiftieth birth
CAV. and viii take its place among the
great celebrations OF that kind. We
held thief irst at Philadelphia in 1876,
when we celebrated the Tooth anniver-
sary Of the Declaration OF Indepen-
dence. We held the next at Chicago
I in 1898. 10 commemorate the 400th an
niversary Of the landing OF Columbus
and the third a St Louis. in honor OF
the Louisiana Purchase. Each Of these
expeditions was confined to a few hun
dreds acres. The show grounds OF
the Alaska exposition will be one-fifth
as large as the whole United States
: and a stroll through il viii comprise
travels covering a distance longer than
from Los Angeles TO Manila The eX-
position is to be known as the All
Alaska" and il will cover all of the
: larger towns and give general view
Of the territory.
The All Alaska is to be in the form
Of excursions, arranged by the Alaska