The Alaska daily empire., 1919-02-25
ALASKA CAN PAY OUR VAR DEBT
 SAYS W. \. RYAN
Interior Department Rep reSentatiye Thinks Fair banks Citizens Claim
 Is Reasonable.

pay the Nations war debt, in the opinion of w. A. Ryan, who is a member of the office staff in Wash ington, D. C., of Secretary of the In terior Franklin K. Lane, and who is now in Alaska to investigate her re sources and possibilities with view | to bringing them to the attention of returned soldiers. MT Ryan was city l editor of the News, in Tacoma, Wash, some twenty odd years ago when MT. Lane was editor of the paper, and MT. Ryans opinions and | recommendations in regard to Alaska are expected to have a material in tion's policy towards the Territory. | His visits, in mid winter, not only to coast cities, which are on the regular routes of steamships, but to interior places, which can be reached only over long and difficult trails are indicating that the administra tiop wants quick as well as trust worthy information about the North 1 land
 Optimistic Over Conditions
 MT. Ryan is very optimistic over the natural opportunities in the Ter ritory.
 There is fine flavor of magnifi- cence," he said, "in the slogan, Al aska Can Pay the Nations War Debt which was originated by the Alaska citizens of Fairbanks. In sev- en words MT. Caskey, editor of the Citizen, has summed up the limitless resources and ambitions of Alaska. The phrase conveys to the war-rid- den world the hope that Alaska will create sufficient wealth during the next two or three generations to min imize, if not to neutralize, the burden of debt placed upon the people of the United States through the great war
 A Demonstration
 "At Fairbanks recently a banquet was given by the Agricultural So ciety at which every article of food including the sugar, was of local pro duction Cattle and horses, winter ed in the open in some of the interior valleys, come out in the Spring but ter-fat. The enormous herds of noun tain sheep and caribou are demon strations of the value of the ranges for meat production The grain pro duction of the Fairbanks and Ram part farms prove that cereal crops are not confined to the valleys of the coastal slope.
 But the basic industry, of course is and must be mineral production With the completion of the Govern ment railroad and connecting wagon roads to points of production, with adeuuate water lines on interior riv- CTS and sufficient coastwise shipping facilities, the development of Alas ka's mineral resources must be rapid and remunerative.
 Central power plants rightly To cated for the distribution of electric power to the various mining camps would revolutionize mining methods and production costs.
 | AtaSkdnS MuSI SO-0PSt deS
 "Perhaps the United States Gov, ernment may never construct syS tenn of wagon roads in Alaska; it may never erect immenes electric power plants adjacent to it's coal fields ana distribute that power throughout the mining districts. It may never elec trify the Alaskan railroad; it may never encourage and stimulate the search for gold and other mineral riches of Alaska by directly aiding prospectors, as Canada does; II may never appropriate money to assist In the development of Alaskan resourc es: it may never establish system of farm loans and State aid TOT agri' culture, but if it does not it will De because Alaskans fail to impress up on the Nation the importance ana profitableness of such policies
 Great Results Brought About
 "River and harbor improvements railroad land grants, liberal land laws, liberal forestry laws, generous mineral and homestead rights, prodl' gal expenditures for public works los tered, encouraged and made possible | for single generation of Americans to accomplish more in the develop ment of natural resources In the Western States than was ever accom- plished before in the history or man kind in twenty generations.
 with the example of the pfonl- gious increase of national wealth due to these policies so that the | United States is the richest or all Nations, how can anyone beleVe that Alaska will be left, like Topsy' i to just grow?'"