Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-10-08


~ Aaskas rapidly growing reindeer
herds are destined to play an I'M
portant part in supplying the future
American with food is gaining in
ESsn" "a honor noticeably these days, even
IN MN u in his own country. For one thing
Hf-%$EC%7 the statisticians are busily writing
IN III Il of the day not far distant when the
AS--s-S9s.S0j food demand shall run ahead of the
food supply They figure that In
that day the United States will have population
of 2O0O00,000 Of which 16000O,0OO will be town
and city people and 100000 farmers
Moreover, philanthropists are founding institu
lions for agricultural research "that man may not
starve." Stanford university is preparing to take
over Luther Burbanks experimental farms that
his work may go uninterrupted. Chemists are
discussing the probabilities of synthetic food The
Navy department Is planning scientific investiga-
ton of our salt water fish life. congressional
committee is inquiring into the complaints of the
livestock men of the West of dwindling herds and
of the management of the grazing in the national
forests The federal government is displaying
much interest in Alaskan reindeer herds.
r. w. T. Lopp, chief of the Alaska division of the
United States bureau Of education for thirty-one
years, has left his home in Seattle and gone to
lBaf1n land, the big Canadian island between
Greenland and the North American mainland, to
organize the reindeer industry for the Hudson's
Bay company What Of it? Why, this is bit
of news of real Importance. 1t not only proves
that the world does move DuC also points out the
direction in which 1t is moving.
Offhand the news reads more like joke than
a sober fact. Imagine the Hudson's Bay company
doing thing like this-Hudsons Bay company
chartered In 1910 by Charles II of England and
the biggest and most efficient monopoly the world
saw. With power Of life and death and
monopoly of trade, 1t successfully barred all prog
ress H. B. C.-"Here Before Christ" trans
lated by the oppressed-was on its banner. Teach
or missionary cnftlpr Upr qO0fhnna m ire
rulers Pro pele Cutem-"skin for skin'-was the
motto on it's great seal and it took the skin from
the Indian, skinned him in the trade, reduced him
to slavery and kept him there. Not even a post
factor was allowed to make a garden, lest he give
the lie to the "inhosptable wilderness" The Stree
trader" In furs was killed off, 1t ignored the ex-
porlng obligations of it's charter, set up a few
scattered trade posts and made the Indian come to
them. 1t piled up enormous profits in secret and
successfully stood off investigation by parliament
1t was not until 1870 that the British government
forciby released its strange-hod on British North
America.
Fifty years of Canadian progress have made
H. B. 9. richer than ever, owing to the value of
the land it retained-land which for 200 years it
insisted unfit for the habitation of the white
This half century of progress has also
forced a complete face-about in policy. h B. C.
is now selling its fertile" lands and is running
a chain of department stores in the thriving cities
that have developed since it's monopoly was
broken. h B. c., what it's sins against civilization
has always made great profits. SO If 1t is going
In for reindeer promotion in BafTin land-why that
Is proof positive that the reindeer business has
big future.
Nevertheless, the fact that II. B. G. is taking
an expert from "outside" to manage the business
has its humorous aspect; In the 'good old days"
outsiders" who attempted to get inside were In
danger of growing old. Another point to the Joke
is this: Had H. B. c. carried out the terms of it's
charter, Alaska would not now be ours but would
De in all probability British territory.
And here's an amusing situation in connection
with own reindeer in Alaska. According to
The schedule of official duties" of the executive
departments of the federal government the COM
missioner of education, chief of the bureau of edu-
cation of the Department Of the Interior, "has