Cleveland High School - Beacon Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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Z8 Q7l!8l lfLl'VL8IfLf 0!.!4!6L:5L6L In 1912 an old, very weak government of Alaska was terminated and a new, stronger government was established under that Organic Act of 1912. This changed Alaska from a district to a territory. This territory is controlled by the Federal government and its powers over Alaska are unlimited. Some of these powers are: the control of the public health, the care of the insane, the educational programs, the ad- ministration of order, and the control of natural resources. The President, with the consent of the Senate, appoints the Governor for a four-year term. The present governor is Ernest Gruening. Other ofiicers appointed by the President are: the secretary of Alaska, four dis- trict judges, four U. S. Marshals, and four district attorneys, each term lasting four years. The four courts of Alaska are at Juneau, Nome, Vil- dem, and at Fairbanks. The officers are divided up to ofliciate in these courts. Some of the duties of the Governor are to appoint a Board of Edu- cation and a Commissioner of Health. Besides the above-mentioned offi- cers there are twenty-four members of the Legislature. All laws passed by the Legislature must be approved by the United States Congress. One delegate is sent to the House of Representatives for a two-year term, but he is not permitted to participate in the voting of the House. In Alaska some of the qualifications of the voters are: to be able to write English and to be able to read the Constitution of the United States in English. RUTH BECKMEIER. S H 1 ,f '- gg 1- gf' : 55? -,f

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S , x 4 4 4 +11 41, 41- ' 2 - Ji! JK 7X Af' Shirley Coqzrelin ALASliA'S FLAG

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Q-olcedlfd mmf jj-Awem 0!.!g!6L:5A6L The most surprising thing in Alaska to a person who is just visiting it for the first time is the growth of its vegetation, for many of us would expect to see nothing but glaciers, mountains, and snow. But to find the land blossoming with vivid wild flowers, and to see luscious berries hang- ing in a profusion never before known is to come upon the unexpected. The abundance of snow-capped mountains and glaciers and icebergs cause people to believe the region to have little vegetation. But flowers and grasses and bushes grow on the glacier almost at the edge of snow peaks, and some flowers have been found on glittering blue icebergs floating on the saphire waters. Almost all of the wild flowers of the temperate zone are found in Alaska. The forget-me-not is a brilliant blue with a yellow center, and the plant grows a foot high. When the fire weed is in season a sheet of flame is thrown almost over the whole of Alaska. Wild roses grow larger and more fragrant in Alaska than elsewhere. Wild berries of every kind are found in variety and profusion. Straw- berries grow so thick that in early days the miners picked them by the gallon, put them in water-tight casks of alternate layers of berries and sugar, placed these casks in the icy waters of mountain streams and preserved the berries for months. The wild flowers are beautiful and the berries delicious, but the for- ests are the real assets. The total area of the forests and woodland is estimated at about one hundred million acres. The timber of Alaska includes Sitka spruce, western hemlock, red and yellow cedar and a scattering of other kinds. The Sitka spruce is in great demand for airplanes. The timber is also used for boxes, espe- cially for the canneries, for furniture, piano backs, and oars for racing boats. Its greatest use, however, is for paper pulp of which the world is at present suffering from a shortage. In the interior, the timber is small and is used for building the log houses of traders and settlers. These forests, however, are being rapidly used up, as they are the chief source of fuel. HELEN WILHELM. J O f 'N 54 Of, 'ifi f D ,gif 0: f-X h Ji. x.Y W 3 Q -f.q 4lL'E.Xe J F X -rg ' Q ' JqlO!