Douglas Island news., 1917-05-18
IS EMPIRE OF
 NEAR FUTURE
Alaska Greatest and Most Resource iul Portion of Entire
 Earths Surface

policy I'm Alaska. and in state mont just issued under the caption ."tlaska. thc Empire of Che Future .rycs tbIs cnlightcuug and lucid de- sarpuou of tho westward ho. move. mcul chat finally led lo the gold rush Co che north
 "n 1867 William n. Seward n-
 eod taaJ tac United States gov .umcut buy Aaska. The price paid was s7.g00.OOO. People scotted and rallied and iccrcd at Stewards fec box.
 "Last year Che territory exported twice her purchase price iu gold alone six times her purchase price .r copper and three times her pur- chase price iu fish. Her total com mer.c for the year approached Sl2o- 00O00O.
 And sW Alaska is land of thrills She has scarcely stepped across the thrcshhold ot Che vast prosperity that win bc hers. The ba'f billion Of dollars she has given tboar United States durIuE che course of tlr m. huf century win be doubled many times before the cou- furry a closed
 .fu u,ur.hIe frontier spirit ford- ,I tho mighty NississippL ovcrcamc uhsuu.rr mountain barriers and penetrate. n tac broad Pacific. That HurH. frontier spirit wus Che .r....o n. pioneer American, and it Is with n. sull
 .The plains .f Kansas and the n.1crrs af California played their part iu tHr steady westward move mcut ot American civilization. Then came tHc flush Co Che Kloudikc. That brought Che first great throng uI Alaska pioneers Many oC them suu.. pay and returned Co thc states. More O. .lam ulre struck something hotter and richer than pay they have struck homes. The lar-tamod u. ol f.e north has caught them. and tHoy m wish for no better
 Montana was famous mining country and a great cattle region ' 'ao uas Arizona Now they are farm ua both states with rich results
 .Tbo rush to California in lS39 vos for .old snoc then California has become one of Che great agri- cultural iatas of tho Union
 And now they toll us that thc armiug area alone of Alaska Is os Iarrc as che combined area Of Penn r.yauia Maryland, Delaware. New Ierey. C0uuocucut Massachusetts. Vermont and New Hampshire We
 . told that Maouuska potatoes weigh a pound and a half We are shown rutabagas that weigh from twelve to fourteen pounds apiece. We are fed lettuce and strawberries that might foec bycu grown iD Virginia.
 "s tHs Stewards ice box. Sew ards uIy Stewards Arctic polar bear pr.soryc2
 "NIgska Is no longer a formidable .rId.-n. Thoughtful men and women realize that though it Is cold jim winter 10 is warm iu summer. Reports ol actual weather conditions show chat it was mildcr at Seward H.s winter than it was iu New York or Boston
 "Wc cannot speak of Alaska as a whole any more than we can speak of fhe Pacific slope as a whole. 10 is just as misleading to speak of the Iaraau.'a valley and Point Barrow iu the same breath as it is to infer that pomcgranates will mature in Vancouver just because that island happens Go be circled by thc same sea that laps che beach at Coronado
 "A map of Alaska superimposed upon char. ol che United State. shows a spread of territory extending from the Atlantic ocean at Charles. tou fo the Pacific ocean at Los An. rcIcs. from Canada on Lake Superior ro tbr Mexican state of Sonora. Her 5SG.o0o square miles comprise a do main ouc-nfth as large as the United States and quite as varied, both ir climate and resources.
 Why then. did Alaska lie SO long undiscovcred2 Lack of concret, Knowledge. prejudice born Of iguor aucc, have retarded the development , ot tho territory mp Co a very reccn late. The effect on tho country hai . been psychological rather than in tcduonal but the results have beer the same.
 Government surveyors have dis closed vast riches and the govern meut railroad is fast opening mp th country Her coal is declared to b equal Co the worlds best. her soil i fertile and her people industrious. What better foundation could , candidate for statehood have in it race for future prosperity"