The Alaska daily empire., 1922-04-25

oiCSCH IIlbllOelAiiNi VI ftbC iCidlIOllo with Alaska
 Easterners speak Of Alaska as a land of perpetual ice and snow, and yet my nephew, R. J. Shepard. raises Nt Viking Cove finer strawberries, turnips and cabbages than are raised and sold in the Seattle or Portland markets The explanation, of course, is that thoy have longer days in May, June and July than we have here, and that the fruits and vegeta- bles grow more quickly and ripen more rapidly and are therefore more tender. As a matter of fact, less than 1 per cent of Alaska is covered with perpetual ice and snow, the per cont representing mountain peaks in the interior of Alaska and the glaciers that extend down to the sea.
 *.-* oao,
 Whon Secretary Seward paid $7,200 900 for Alaska it was referred to as Stewards Folly" One Of the reasons he gave for the purchase Of Alaska, aside from our friendship fol Russia, was that we would be able tt secure an abundant supply of ice there for the San Eraacisco market.
 Alaska is a vcritabie treasure house. More than 100000 900 acres of Alaskan surface is in timber The principal varieties are Sitka spruce Alaskan cedar, hemlock, birch and roraar Already the paper pulp mills have begun to grind away on the spruce, and in the days to come will be able to suppiy ar the papers on the Pacific Coast. At Priest Rock three of us in a boat in two hours gigg,ng in 20 fGthoms of water oaught so marry cod that we were afraid to catch more for fear of sinking the boat. Salmon. whales, halibUt and herring all bring, and will continu 10 bring, immense wealth to the fish ormen of Alaska. I visited a gyp sum mine at Chatham Straits, l seemed almost like scene from 'Thf Arabian Nights CT a scene in moviC Of one of the fairy ta1ca of Han Christian Andersen. Vast gallerie' had been cut through the glitterinf gypsum, down which came men witt candles fastened on the Vi3ors Of their caps. Viewed from a distance as they worked with rick and shovel they seemed like elves or gnomcs working in FairylaDd. l watched the cleanup on Anvil Creek at Nome and saw gold-pan full of coarse dust e7d nuggets as a result of a single days miring. l visited the mines at Treadwell and looked across the vast glory hcle where millions of dollars had boon taken from the ore. l have seen the yellow flood waters of the Yukon spread fan-shapc into the jade green sea, and l have seen a3 far as the eye eonld reach the vast ice Hoes grinding and splintering on the restless waters of Boring Sea. We would got our money back a hun Gred times over if Alaska had noth- ing more than her lofty, snow crowned mountains, her glittering glaciers, her wooded islands and rocky headlands, and her wonderful inland sea known as thefInner Pass age. It is the tourists paradise. For generations yet to come big game hunters will go there for moose and caribou, mountain goats. bighorn sheep, bear and deer. Untold wealth in gold and copper tin and platinum, marble and gypsum, is to be found there. Alaska's extensive coal fields and her vast deposits of oil can sup ply the needs of the Pacific Coast for generations to come. From our investment of $7,2OO00o we have al ready received over $500 900 900, and we have hardly scratched the surface of Alaska's resources.
 Alaska is a young mans country It has a lure that is hard to de scuibe. Sheldon Jackson, whom met there g years ago. told me oi a dream he had that has now come true. He said the day wonld come when the vast stretches of moss covered tundra in Alaska would sup port hundreds of thousands of rein deer. John G. Brady, whom I me at Dutch Harbor on the way souti from St. Michaels. told me how ht had haen a street Waif in New Yorl