The Cordova daily times., 1920-03-24

as the goose with the golden egg Let Spitzbergen develop." In Spitzbergen we find the finest coal in the world
 equal to the best Welsh steam coal
 in most accessible places. This is
 very definitely known by many others 1 than myself and those thoroughly ia
 miliar with Spitzbergen It was Cap
 tain Poole in 1904 who discovered coal
 and it was myself who brought it home
 in 1898, and I had it certified as . 1 very high class steam coal in the | laboratory of a Scottish colliery but ii was the Americans who first developed it's mining on an extensive scale, in 1 about 1905, under William Munro. It | is now being more extensively worked | by British. NorWegians, and Swedes. Extensive iron ore deposits are re- ported by the Northern Exploration
 company of London. Oil deposits are
 known and claimed by the Scottish Spitzbergen syndicate, as well as very gypsum in the world, while there are indications of other valuable minerals,
 which will require skilled investiga- ton and handling by expert mining
 geo1ogists and engineers
 Furs and Fisheries.
 Besides minerals there are fur-bear- ing animals which would provide
 sport and fur if properly protected by the British government, and not al- lowed to be massacred and even exten- sively poisoned by northern hunters.
 Let these animals be bred and only legally killed with discretion, and there will be a large permanent revenue from them. Valuable foxes and rein
 deer still exist in considerable num- bers in spite of the indiscriminate slaughter that has taken place. There
 are seals, whales, and pOrpoises. The Walrus can be re-established as well as the polar bear Fisheries, too,
 might also be organized, and all these
 animals could produce large revenue if properly handled and properly pro- tected by an organized and unselfsh government.
 Then there are the beauties and
 wonders of this arctic land of prom ise, besides these wonderful mineral and animal resources mentioned.
 Think of the birds, many in their mill lions, and many of economic value,
 notably the cider duck, and some very edible birds and eggs-geese,
 ducks, and others. One may scan
 acres, even miles, of purple saxifrage, like purple heather. One may wade
 through luxuriant beds of sulphur but tercups, and find brilliant patches of
 arctic poppies and other plants, thriv- ing even at great and exposed alti-
 ems etch out almost every rock, swampy bits luxurate with the richest
 mosses, liverwOrts, and interesting
 algae, and pools teem with crusta-
 cean and other animal and vegetable life; even the remnants of snow are co1ored with red, yellow, green, and other colored algae known over cen turies.
 Spitzbergen, besides mineral, animal
 and plant resources, has large series of beautiful harbors and anchorages, so what with these and the Gulf
 stream there is every possible facility to get there comfortably and safely.
 Let our shell-shock patients and other
 wounded heroes thoroughly recover in Spitzbergen in proper sanatoria in the
 healthiest climate in the world, where you can't get cold or a fever because | there are no germs-a sterile, wonder
 full, and translucent atmosphere suf- fuses this land where the sun never sets all the summer and consequently the plants never cease to grow, and
 where everything is more wonderful
 and beautiful than in any inhabited
 part of the world from pole to pole.