, 1922-03-30

Land of the Midnight Sun.
According to the original plans, the presidential
party will go by special train to the Pacific coast.
probably %alighting at San Francisco. Seattle will
be a port of call. Thence the route will be through
the Inner Passage and on to Alaska. Presumably
Juneau. the territorial capital, will be visited. Ac-
cess to the government railroad. now practically
completed, can be had either at Seward, its south
ern terminus, or at Anchorage, on Cook Inlet. The
road runs from Seward straight north to Fair
banks, about AGO miles. Mayflower. the preslden-
sial yacht. is likely to be sent through the Panama
canal to be of service somewhere along the coast.
A wonderful vacation trip, worth the while even
of the President Of the United States of America
And the President is Known to be a lover of the
beautiful and majestic in nature and a loyal friend
of our national parks and of such scenic enter
prises as the National Park to-P highway. In
cldentaliy an effort is being made to get the Presi-
ueht TO visit ON this trip one or more of the nation
al parks and the proposed Presidents Forest"
on the North Rim of the Grand canyon.
In Alaska-"The Frozen North" we used to
call 1.-THE President will have a chance to see
various things that are far out of the ordinary.
There isn't space here to catalogue them. but here
are a few that any man would be glad to see:
At Ketchikan a stream plunges through the CEN
Ter of the town. And in the stream is a salmon-run
where millions of salmon nre to be seen making
Incredible leaps to ascend the rapids.
Juneau Is the Alaskan capital. There the Presl-
dent can take an automobile and drive IL miles
right TO the edge of Mendenhall glacier. Itn be
summer weather. He can pick flowers by the
way. He'll see vegetable gardens, strawberry beds
and wheat fields surrounded by giant forests and
overtopped by peaks white with everlasting snow.
OF course the President will strike somewhere
the Yukon-one of the great rivers of the world
and erandly scenic for the greater part Of its 1890
miles.
The President is likely to run across a big herd
OF reindeer anywhere from Point Barrow to the
Alaskan peninsula. There are now about 225 1000
OF these "Camels OF the Frozen North" One OF
these days we are likely to be eating reindeer meat
Instead of beef; several thousand carcasses are
to be shipped In from Nome this year.
The seal rookeries on the Pribilof Islands should
be worth seeing; there were 552. us OF these curl
GUS animals according to the seal census Of 1920,
and they are increasing, although Uncle Sam takes
more than 25.000 skins n year.
1t Is to be hoped that the President visits the
new Katmai National monument-"The Valley of
Ten Thousand Smokes" Katmnl volcano on the
Alaskan peninsula blew Its head OF during three
days In June OF 1912. covering all Ainska with a
thick coating of dust. The explosion left II crater
$500 feet deep and eight miles around. with a lake
nj the bottom. Close by is a valley several miles
long. from which are shooting up thousands OF
steam jets, some OF them n thousand feet high.
II Is a sample of earth In the making. Some day
these steam Jets may cool of enough 10 become
geysers, like those OF the Yellowstone. In the
meantime. cooking Is easy In Kntmai.
[ III the President travels on the government rail
road TO the gnp In the steel he will have n glorious
view OF Mount Mckinley, one of the great noun
talns Of the world and the central feature OF the
2,200 square miles Of Mount Mckinley National
park. II rises 20.30O feet above sea level and Is
most Impressive. 1t Is n wonderful preserve OF
Alaskan wild game-caribou. bighorn moose. deer
md benr-which live and breed there in immense
numbers. At present this park Is Inaccessible, but
the government railroad win touch the new east
boundary line established by n recent net Of con
eress. Then there viii be a rush Of tourlsts-very
Few Of whom will reach Mount McKinley's glacier
covered summit.
SO Aiaska has the markings Of n mighty interest.
Ia. Naf. e. a.. Ill - -
But don't get the idea that the Presidents trlp
Is wholly and solely n vacation pleasure trip. For
che truth Is that It Is n combination OF pleasure
and business II II brenks nfty-nfty. the pleasure
angie ls In luck. For Alaska is one OF the admin
Astrntlon's problems" And the President Is re-
portcd to think the Alaskan problem Important
enough to warrant nrst-hand Information.