The Alaska daily empire., 1922-06-09
HERETICAL ECONOMICS.

Commenting upon the plan of Delegate Sutherland
to have the Federal Government expend $5.OOOOOO
on the development of COAL oil and other resources
of Alaska that the same may be brought to a pro-
ducng stage the Valdez Miner says under such plan
the poor man would benefit all except to the
extent employment he may secure, because the
properties when developed must go to rich operators
1t instead such encouragement would in
duce private capital to into the Territory and
thus make it object for prospecors to search for
mineral wealth with the chance to acquire valuable
properties reward for their endeavors.
The Empire agrees with the Valdez paper that
the best most endurable and profitable development
of any country is that which through private
enterprise 1t offers more to the people engaged in
the development and to those in the country
whose interest in it is indirect. Further, it Is most
profitable in actual returns to the Government itself
However, the suggestion that the poor would
benefit not at all except to the extent of the employ
ment he may secure is with reference to
any sort of development. That is the heresy that
behind the withdrawal of Alaskas resources from
private entry fifteen years by President Rooseve
and behind the that later waged against the
Administration of President Taft when Secretary Bal
finger tried undo the wrong that had been done
by the former Administration. 1t assumed that
the only thing involved was the ownership of the coal
and oil claims that withdrawn from entry, when,
of fact the direct profits that would have
been derived from the resources involved had the
capital that then ready investment been
,mitted to go work had the results proved sat
isfactory would have been very small part of the
benefits. The poor man sprofs would have come from
the general development that would have followed
A may be made by the development of some
great natural resource copper gold coal mine,
a power site something ese-and within ten
years the town lots the buildings the stocks of goods
the bank deposits the nearby FARMS the miscellaneous
little manufacturing plants and other property all
owned by who poor when the development
started would be worth in the aggregate many times
than the property the development of which
caused the foundation and growth of the community
Rarely does group of capitalists develop natural
resource without making more money for men who
poor in the beginning than they make for them
selves and their stockholders and bondhoders.
Had Clifford Pnchot, President Roosevelt. Walter
their hands off Alaska would have had lot of
railroad mileage a decade ago, would have known
dozen years ago whether had oil and coal
in Alaska for commercial purposes and if there Is
onehundredth part of the in Alaska that
the Pinchots and others pretend they saved to the
American people by locking them up Alaska would
have had much larger population than she now has
she would be the home thousands of prosperous and
happy people who here They would
dollars worth products factories that
searching the earth to find buyers to start idle
spndles and wheels turning and they would have
been contributing millions in taxes to the depleted
treasury of the Government