L 



Photo by National Geographic Society Alaska Expedition 



IN THE ALASKAN GLACIER BELT 



"That land has a mysterious charm, a pull which affects all who see it, and those, too, 

 who only know indirectly of its largeness, its grandeur, and its economic possibilities. This 

 could not be better illustrated than by the number of applications for places which were 

 received by the Alaskan Engineering Commission. When that body left for Alaska in the 

 spring the number was over 38,000, and most of those who applied were not out of work" 

 (see page 599). 



the funds which will be needed, they 

 mount into such figures as to be stagger- 

 ing. And I can see no hope that this 

 work will be adequately undertaken with- 

 out the government advancing its credit 

 and investing directly some of its own 

 funds. 



We are conducting this government 

 from day to day out of current revenues. 

 Only the richest of people could pursue 

 such a policy. No private enterprise at- 

 tempts it. No railroad system has been 

 built that way. But few of the States 

 now construct their highway systems out 

 of the year's revenues. The permanent 

 improvements which the whole people 

 undertake are a legitimate charge against 



capital account, not against maintenance. 

 A commission to devise the ways and 

 means by which the States and private 

 land owners and the National govern- 

 ment can cooperate in paying for the 

 work done seems to me a more needed 

 body than one which will report upon 

 engineering methods. 



PLACES OE BEAUTY AS AN ASSET 



In casting up the assets of the United 

 States as a landed proprietor, I have 

 made no mention of one of the most de- 

 lightful of our national enterprises. To 

 build a railroad, reclaim lands, give new 

 impulse to enterprise, and offer new 

 doors to ambitious capital — these are 



