Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-01-19

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16.-That
the resources of Alaska are not being
properly developed, and that the
methods end conditions of Federal
administration in that territory are
in part responsible, is a statement
which has been ernphatically MADE
in connection with the proposal 10
take the Bureau OF Forestry out OIL
the Department of Agriculture n
place it in the Department of h In
terror.
This. OF course. would give the
Interior Department control of the
great n~atjolal forests in Alaska, and
would maize the department the
| chief Federal arbiter of Alaska's
| dustrial destiny. as the Interior De-
| partment already has the admins
| traticn of ether public lands in AL
aska.
Curiously enough, conservation
! lists in and out of the forest service,
| who are all opposed to the transfer
| of the foreS' service agree with tIleil
that Alaska is In. a bad
way industrially and that Federal
administration is i'll part the reason
for. this. These conservationists
| claim that the move to place the
| Alaskan forests under the sdmlnls-
| trat.on of the Department of the IN
terror is part of u general plan lor
| the Abandonment, of the Roosevelt
| conservation policy in Alaska, ana
| for a freer use of her natural resour-
ces. Such a policy is demanded by
many perst IL. financially interested
in Alaska, and a vigorous lobby In
favor of such a policy has long been
maintained in Washington by such
interests.
These interests say that Alaska is
not developing ami hat the Federal
policy of careful conservation is re-
sponsible for the lack of develop
mem. The co~nserVationistS agree
that Alaska is not developing as IL
should, but claim that every n OIL
it's aatura, resources Is open to de-
veiopment. This is hindered. they
claim, to some extent by the long
range methods of Federal admins
tration. which should be abandoned
in favor OF administration on the
spot, u mainly by the fact that
Alaska is far from markets and has
poor transportation facilities.
Our Last Frontier
The greater American public is
indiffel ent to and ignorant OF the
whole matter. That is, in a sense,
lllS IlOtL iiOt9 eAo
part of the situation Alaska is the
last American frontier. Ninety-nine
per cent of the area is public land
1t Is almost the Only part of the ter
ritory of the United States where
rue pionea, conditions still obtain
that is, where the individual may
obtain lana and other natural re
sources free or at nominal cost.
Such a frontier country should be
a valuable Lverhow-land for our ex'
cess population, as the frontier wes'
long was. Alaska should be tn
haven of tie hardy and adventurous
man who mas no capital put wants
a cnance TO win a place of his owr
on the face of tho earth. To some
extent Alaska has been that, and t
some slight extent perhaps 1t still
is, But tint. last frontier OF our
is certainly not functioning as
! should.
No doubt q harsh climate in man,
: parts of il las something to 10 witt
it. Also, there is not a great dea
of farm land in Alaska and the es
adjustment of a profitable farm
=. there Is a difficult business. TIT
one-man placer mining is largely
thing of the past. All observers seen
, agreed that the development of Al
aSka Is ldT5eiy a toSh ~
capital. IL never will be the lam
of individual opportunity that tn
3 old West was. Brt it is far more
l land O. individual opportunity thai
4 the create part OF the States. am
. should be even more so than 1t Il
, There is rich land TO be AIKEN ur
Fur-farmiag Is a profitable bushes
a there, and one where little capital
= needed. Small capital has man
. chances in Alaska.
Needless to say conservation Ia
vors the development of Alaska as
place where the "little fellow" ha
/, a good chance, ann the demand 10
a less street conservation polio
a springs chiefly from men of lare
= capital. TIE timber on h nations
forests of Alaska can be cut, but onl
under forest service supervision, 8
q that they are not destroyed. the
are being cut. ami az the same tim
o conserved to furnish the paper SUI
ply of the future for the Unite
o States. Without any Federal restrit
tons they could undoubtedly be q
plotted move rapidly and more pro,
itably for the men doing the e.
n plotting, but it is claimed by II
conservationists hat such exploit;
ton the people of the United State
Las d whole cannot afford.