One minor cause of retarded growth Is the attraction of high wages in the industrial sections of the United States which hold men who might otherwise adopt an independent existence upon the land in Alaska by farming. stock raising. or mining. The prosperous condition in the industrial centers of the United States attract men from the farming sections of the State. so that the farmer population of some States is decreasing. and under such general conditions it is not strange that people are not going to the land in distant Alaska. Our restrictive immigration laws may be given as another reason for our small population in Alaska. but this is a very minor reason. as the class of Europeans who would naturally be attracted to Alaska and who are adapted to its climate are not materially restricted under the immigration quota system. Another reason is the exhaustion of our bonanza placers. Although large areas. of virgin placer ground await the installation of improved machinery. the rich spots where Independent miners find employment are "worked out." and the modern dredges require but comparatively few men to operate them.
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quota system immigration