The Washington herald., 1920-06-06
BY RAYMOND G. CARROLL
Copyright. 1920, by Public Ledger
Company

Company
Western cities like to be known
as doors" or "gateways" leading
into vast treasure houses beyond.
Thus we find Kansas City portals
the Southwest Omaha wickets
the Mid Continent" FL Paso turn
stiles Marvellous Mexico" Denver
opens the Great Divide" San Fran
cisco gates the Orient" anu
Spokane porticos the Inland En-
pire." Have your town exclusively
unlock something mysterious that
combines the elements of boundless
size and immeasurable uncaught
wealth, and strangers will pop by
tens of thousands. many to perma-
nently check their hats and swell
the census figures.
I Seattle, the entrepot of Alaska
looms In luminous literature as the
crystal globe of Our Frontier Won
derland." Indeed you must see
through Seattle to see Alaska,
and incidentally pass through Seat
tie to get there.
Think of this bustling. fresh air
city being the sole corridor to a ma
ture's storehouse twelve times as
large as the State of New York, and
a fifth the size of the United States;
virgin outdoors rich beyond belief
in agricultural possibilities. hshing.
furs. water power. coal and other
minerals, timber and marvellous
scenery.
Alaska is unfortunate in that it
belongs to us. Man is inclined to
neglect that which he owns and
drop things of substance for the
pursuit of rainbows. Mounts
| Wrangall, Mckinley. st. Elias. Fair
weather and a dozen other peaks
and glaciers OF Alaska far discount
in grandeur anything that can be
offered by Switzerland. the Tyrol or
| Norway. Yet they are unsung and
comparatively unknown to the aver
age hunters for scenic thrills.
have heard II said in London that
we were a nation of cringe- buyers.
and travelled for pleasure only where
there was a bending of knees. AL
aska does not offer "cringes" to its
visitors
! Strawberries In Fairbanks.
Who in this broad land knows
| II
the 100-day growing season straw
| berries attain the size of a National
| League baseball and up there are
two-pound potatoes and turnips
eighteen inches in diameter? A
mighty few of us. have seen the
Strawberries. the potatoes and the
turnips. The extraordinary growth
is due to the days having a sunlight
lasting from twenty to twenty-five
hours.
| In Alaska we have a frontier
which has been going back: the
white population of $4,000 has fallen
| to 10000. Hence Alaska becomes
a At and worthy subject for an
article in a series that deals princi-
pally with what people are thinking
and talking about. Seattle wears
a broad grin when the subject is
mentioned, for Seattle knows that
the American government is build
ing a railroad up there with term
nails costing altogether s52,00o'ooo'
that the public sentiment Of the en-
tire country will eventually demand
that this Alaskan investment De
protected by the establishment OF
new industries and creation or
stable population. The old govern
l IncnI DOllCy OI WOThiHS oeo'h'S -
pioneer. Seattle believes, will give
way to one of aid and encourage
ment for the pioneer.
seattie-seward Boat Line.
The government railroad connect.
ing Seward with Fairbanks. 47u
miles, has several offshooting spurs
and will be finished In 1929. There
is talk of running new fast boats
from Seattle to Seward. The trir
could be made in from three to
three and one-half days. As II rs
now by the inland route 1t takes
seventy-two hours to get from Seat
tie TO Juneau. and another four
days from there on to Seward. In
addition. the government has ex-
pended over s5.000.ooo constructing
$50 miles of wagon roads, 2sl
miles of trails and 62s miles OF win
ter sled roads. In short. Alaska to-
day offers opportunity and room for
population of 100000 people In q
region warmed by the Japanese
current - which thermal stream Is
none the less welcome because OF
its name.
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