The weekly Alaska citizen., 1919-12-01

| Deserted" our former townsman, Rev. s. Hall Young, contributes lengthy article to the New Era magazine, the official medium of tine Fresby terian church, in which he joins with some others of the clergy in painting Ala ska in its darkest colors but admits that the depression is only tempor- ary and the unlimited resources of the territory are eventually to be develop ed with the return of an era of pros perity. He writes in part as follows:
 It has been my misfortune-good fortune, I esteem tito have been in- timately acquainted with the young giantess, Alaska-for she has the spirit of perpetual youth-for more than forty-one years. She is generally depicted, in the imagination of her ad- mirers, as a young woman of large but symmetrical proportions, seated upon the snowy peak of sky-piercing mountain, arrayed rather lightly for the Arctic climate that is Supposed to environ her, attended on one hand by polar bear and on the other by a giant moose; and her head crowned with diadem composed of gold and icicles There is look of benignity and happiness upon her beautiful ccuntenance, and she is altogether adorable.
 Were I to depict Miss Alaska this year I would present forlorn and forsaken figure, with pick and sickle cast away, gold crown fallen off her head, weeping copious tears which congeal into ice as they fall.
 For Alaska is at present decidedly 'in the dumps" When I went to her shore is 1878 she was despised and forsaken. There were 35,000 heather natives on her shores and less than zoo whites I had the great and unde- served good fortune of being able to persuade the only American young woman in the territory at that time to marr! me. There were only two postoffces-Sitka Fort Wrangell. And little steamer came once a month from Portland, Ore.,-there was then no Seattle-to supply us with our mail. Alaska had been taken by the United States government, garrisoned by sol diers and visited often by war vessels for ten years: then given up as bad investment. There was not a gold mine. coal mine, marble quarry or lumber mill in the territory, and only one salmon cannery started that year.
 need not recount here the steps of surprising progress made by this northwestern possession of ours, Ala ska has amazed the world, and Is re- cOgnized as one of the richest prov. inces in natural resources to be found anywhere on the globe. Its progress, tho it seemed very slow to us who were toiling and moiling there, ap. peared surprisingly swift to those who knew Alaska as Stewards Folly" and now know it as Uncle Sam's Trea. sure House." The $7.OOoO0O paid for the territory was money thrown into the Pacific ocean," now we know that the territory has produced, principally in the last twenty-two years, over 'HAO 100000 in different kinds of trea- sure.
 But this year the wave of progress seems to have receded. It is decidedly w tide on the Alaska shore. Two years ago it's white population was es- timated at from 50,O00 to 55.000. The coming winter it is probable that not more than 25,0OO of the Caucasian race will be found in the territory The value of exports will be dropped to one-half the amount reported for the fiscal year ending June 30. 1918 The production of gold copper. tin lumber, farm products, and even can. ned salmon, all show depressing de crease. Towns that were booming two years ago are now almost deserted nd the activity of the gold prospec tor and the settler is slowed up te what would have appeared to those of us who know this immense wealth and inevitable greatness of Alaska 1T some of its heydays, an unbelievable degree.
 I shall briefly enumerate few o the reasons for this slump in Alaskan values.
 First-The war, while 1t stimulated production along certain lines, ulti mately retarded the development O territory. A larger percentage of Ala ska's young men went to the wa than those of any other state or teri tory. From mining camp, from lumber
 lill and fishery. these typical yount Americans rushed to take an eagel part in the war for world freedom Most of them have not returned, ant . many of them will not return, having found other fields of activity.
 Second-The decline in the value o gold. Prices paid for machinery, fo