The Daily Alaska empire., 1949-10-29
kENAIC GETS
 FIRST GOVT. COMMUNITY
t5O-Aue Farms Proposed -Wdrne Criticizes
 Homestead Act
By vERN HAUGLAND


 Interior Department is planning the construction of series of full Flown farm settlements in Alaska.
 And the indications are, says In- terior's Assistant Secretary William E. Warne, that the Kasilof area on the Renal peninsula may obtain one of the first of these installed communities
 Warne, newly y-returned from one of the most intensive tours of Alaska ever taken by Interiors top brass, told reporter he found in tcrest in the development plans keen throughout Alaska. especially among people who are trying to omestead land"
 He said studies of Alaska have progressed far enough to demon- strate that the Kasilof area with out question: would lend itself to development.
 SURVEYS PENDING
 Five areas of about 60,000 acres each-including the Kasilof area have been withdrawn from settle ment pending the surveys to deter mine whether they would serve as development project sites, Warne said
 "The farms we propose would average 150 acres in size. and the trading center of each matured settlement would have population about equal to that of the sur founding farms.
 Estimates are that five initial projects could add 15,000 to 10000 people to Alaska's population
 Warne said that the US. home- stead law did a good job in the settlement of Iowa 100 years ago, out had to be modified-to provide for reclamation-irrigation projects when arid regions of the west were put under the blow.
 HOMESTEAD ACT FAILS
 Tn Alaska the homestead act has been ineffective-has fallen flat on it's face-because conditions are more rigorous there" he said. Up there 1t takes man a year to clear five acres, eight years to clear the 70 acres that are the minimum for subsistence living. That's the reason only 12,0o0 or l4,000 acres of the several million that must te usable for farms. out of 365 100000 acres in Alaska, have been cleared.
 We propose that suitable areas be set up as projects, and that clearing be done in advance by the government on a repayment basis, and that roads be built in, land be set aside for facilities, and credit be made available so that houses and living facilities can be installed n the first year"
 Warne said the project settle- ment proposal has teen introduced in Congress.
 POWER TO GO IN l It is to be supplemented. he said, by an Alaska Development Pro- gram under which hydroelectric and industrial possibilities could be developed through federal financ- ing.
 Warne said he also discussed, at a series of town meetings with Alaskans. the program for state hood and steps to settle native land claims ito remove one of the blocks to progress. especially in Southeast Alaska"
 i He said that at Palmer, in the Matanuska valley, a farmers 'co- operative had worked out market ing system so that this year the valley marketed $350.OOO worth ol fresh vegetables, compared with a high of only $l6,0O0 two years ago
 HELP FEED OURSELVES 1 This Is further demonstration of the fact that agricultural landI in Alaska, if properly developed and if markets are developed. car make major contributions to thu feeding of Alaska and to the re. duction of living costs there." ht said.
 Warne said he was particular, impressed in Alaska by construc. tion of two large airports at Fair banks and Anchorage. the $25 .O00.- oo0-a-year road improvement pro- gram. and the 50 percent compile ton of the Alaska Railroads re- mobilization.
 The housing bottleneck that
 Continued on Page Three)