The Nenana news., 1923-06-02
FORMER ALASKAN WRITES
 FROM SIBERIAN COUNTRY

friend Tn CordoNa says SloeTla Is far different from Alaska in many ways. "The climate is the same" he explains only here it is fifty below zero and two days afterward it is ten below zero. The weather was very changeable this winter. The people who have lived here all their lives said, or rather say, that this was the most peculiar winter they ever experienced. I do hope the cold weather is over It thawed a little during midday today, but l suppose the old rule holds good, when March comes in like a lamb it will go out like lion. We had very late fall and I think the Spring will be the same.
 Siberia is a great place in many ways. It has many undeveloped op- portunities, but it will be rather slow in getting many of the great enterprises in operation. What it mostly needs is modern machinery and skilled labor is useless because they have the world beaten when it comes to hand methods. They have the patience, and time is no object to them. They have lots of that At times I really cannot understand their psychology. They sure are free and easy going: great lovers of music, dancing and social life. They can sit and talk longer than any nationality that l know of, and are great diplomats. At present they have peculiar way of doing bus mess. The cooperative stores are o. K. but the small merchant, better known as the speculator, practically does all his business in small booths in the public market No matter how cold it is they carry on their place of business in the street sometimes I would think they would freeze, but somehow they do not.
 Some day in the near future Russia and Siberia will develop into an nnexplainable nation because they have the resources and all that is needed is development. Right here in Kemerovo there are the gresi-est coal deposits that I ever saw, and the farming industry is wonderful. All that the farmers need is modern machinery; there is more fertile land lying idle than l ever imagined there was in the world. The wheat that could be raised in Siberia would feed the world. The famers here cultivate only small patches and with the crude methods they use there is no mystery why there is such a short age of food. If they continue to improve for several more years as they have for the past two years Russia and Siberia will have more food than they will know what to do with. At the present there is a shortage of many thing.
 This district is a little too cold for me and most of the Americans The winters are entirely too long just about the same as the Interior l of Alaska, and the summers are short and very hot The crops that require five months in the States grow in three months here. Kemero- vo is mostly noted for it's min ing, farming, both grains and live stock, little timber and hunting the rivers have small fish, and for sweets we have to go to the farmers for honey. The live stock consists of cattle, horses, pigs, sheep; also plenty of geese, turkey, ducks and chickens. There are quite number of foxes and wolves, some bear, rabbits and lots of quail. The farm CTS do not have a great deal of live stock, only enough for their own uca ,,v,,alIxr ahn,,+ +brao oox,r- A.