And State Papers 677 



quisition of the Oregon country, including the pres- 

 ent States of Oregon and Washington, was a fact 

 of immense importance in our history ; first giving 

 us our place on the Pacific seaboard, and making 

 ready the way for our ascendency in the commerce 

 of the greatest of the oceans. The centennial of our 

 establishment upon the western coast by the expedi- 

 tion of Lewis and Clark is to be celebrated at Port- 

 land, Oregon, by an exposition in the summer of 

 1905, and this event should receive recognition and 

 support from the National Government. 



I call your special attention to the Territory of 

 Alaska. The country is developing rapidly, and it 

 has an assured future. The mineral wealth is great 

 and has as yet hardly been tapped. The fisheries, 

 if wisely handled and kept under national control, 

 will be a business as permanent as any other, and of 

 the utmost importance to the people. The forests 

 if properly guarded will form another great source 

 of wealth. Portions of Alaska are fitted for farming 

 and stock raising, although the methods must be 

 adapted to the peculiar conditions of the country. 

 Alaska is situated in the far north ; but so are Nor- 

 way and Sweden and Finland; and Alaska can 

 prosper and play its part in the New World just as 

 those nations have prospered and played their parts 

 in the Old World. Proper land laws should be 

 enacted ; and the survey of the public lands imme- 

 diately begun. Coal-land laws should be provided 

 whereby the coal-land entryman may make his lo- 



