The daily Alaskan., 1908-04-20
ELASgAS CALL FOR X GOVERNMENT
 AIDED RAILROAD


 trans Alaskan rail, cad? Fo two ses- siOus oC congress now individuals have been a, Washington asking ;ha, the government guarantee bonds under which a railroad might be built from the coas. 10 the interior. This scheme, applied iu the Philippines, las already resulted 10 opening up the jungle of that far away island acquisition, to what general bene6, we have not yet learned. Why the sp!ri, of aid and ea- couragrmeu, extended to these islands Of sliel aul semi-ba' barOus people should be withheld in the case Alaska, AIaskaus 6ud 1t difficult to understand. These islands have been source Of co0tiouI outlay to the government while Alaska has been a source Of rev. enue. Alaska has shown her ability to make good but she has been iolIled so long and iguored so completely that she is BOW grown inpatient,
 Certain corporations having interests in opposition to any general scheme for the beueG, of the district have opposed the bills for goyenrnmeut aid with spe- ciOHS arguments that have seemed good to the iu5' 'Ge-eut aud distant men who make our laws. The agents Of these corporations have gone before the com. mirtees declaring "we are building railroad without government aid" i've do pot seek oid-we consider Alaska a good enough proposition to put our own moaey into these enterprises and we only ask chat you do DO, place us at a disadvantage by aiding our cOmpeti. tors, "See,we have spent so much good coin already aud have asked nothing"
 This sort ot thing seems convincing to ,ae committees that have so many other demauds upon them and they de- cline Co second the bonding proposition. Ths> interested knockers then retire aud send their men and guns to the pass to the interior and employ them selves iu preventing anyother would-be railroad builders from even gaining foot hold iu the country in the attempt to worry them out Of the game. That is about all the railroad building we have to this time seen.
 There can be no reasonable doub. that the Guggeoheims are about to build road from some one of the termiui they aE.cc to occupy to their copper mines at the Chitina.
 Bu, all Alaska is doubtful of their in- teutioc to build beyond that point. They have not heretofore both cred themselves with the trarsporta- tjoa bus ness beyond the needs Oi their mining and smelting interests. This much railroad will serve DO general purpose, Alaska needs a road from the coss, ,o the interior for tEe purpose of| advancing the development of the vast country. h is a wilderness and the points of production and population are now very distant from each other. These facts or the arguments against building such a road but these srgu- meuts were just as s;rong-and strong CT, much stronger-iu the case Of the Union ald Northern Pacific. The gov ernmeut aided these and they have justified the faith of the men who urged them. AlaSSanS who know this country are equally confident of the safety of similar iuyestmen, here. Men stand ready to furnish the money upon the governments guarantee of a low rate of interest. Suce a railroad built across tbe district, connecting the coast with ,be rivers. at least, would, upon com pletion, advance tbe growth of the dis trict by a huudrd d years. Alaska has splendid offerings to home builders across its length and a railroad would see it's valleys quickly peopIed.
 Were these facts p Opsrly presented at Washington we must soon have results.