Valdez daily prospector., 1909-01-15
RAILROAD SCHEMES 0F
 THE PAST AND PRESENT
All Recognized Valdez as the Logical Coast Ter1ni nus, but Only One Remains of the Nine ontemp1ated--Va1dez & Yukon
 Still in the Field.

as it's president, and Edmund Smith, secretary. Hes was given the con- tract to build the road. He gave Craw- ford X Raggs contract for 10000 ties, built a trcstle from the dock down to grade along Front street and filed complete surveys of the line in Washington. During the following winter Mir. Hes introduced bill; in both houses of congress, asking forgovern- mcnt assistance, and finally inter- cstcd a New York concern, who or ganizcd the Valdez & Northern, sent out their engineers, who made an ad- verse report on account of the cXccss- i've cost, and another pet scheme went to it's long rest.
 About the time of the organization of the lies company, there appeared the announcement of the NaldeZ-Yu- kon Railroad company, which had inherited the Gillette survey and
 was ambitious to enter the Valdez
 field, but before they "ouId do so the Valdez, Marshall Pass x Northern appeared in the limclight, followed
 by John Roscnc and his Copper River
 X Northwcstern.
 IL really looked now as if there was something doing at last, and Valdez was going to have a railroad sure. , Col. SWanitZ was escorted from the dock by a brass band and John Ro- scnc was rendered the freedom of the Tillicum club. But the enthusiasm was
 %hort-iiVcd. After q dock had been
 built and couple of miles of grade
 thrown up, the Ro&cnc company threw
 up it's hands and started out for other
 fields to conquer; the Valdez x Yu-
 kon acted as if it intended to stay.
 II has built q substantial dock, both
 for the railroad and wagon traffic, d roundhou#c, office building, commis-
 Sary and other structures. It has sev-
 cral mile" of grade completed ready
 Tor the ties; about one mile of track ! laid and some rolling stock. The V. x Y. i" expected to awake from it's
 HomnolcncC in the near future to
 clcctrify us with another railroad boom.
 The Alaska Home railroad was the 1 last of the sky rocket railroads to hit
 the already afflicted town. It has the
 distinction of having built more grade
 ana spent less money than any of 1 them. When it seemed likely that it
 would get through the canyon, the | Copper River & Northwestern, dog
 in-thc-mangcr-lilic, appeared on the i scene, and the resultant trouble ulti- matcly brought about the disruption
 and bankruptcy of the Home com pany.
 some day Valdez will have a rail road; 1t generally believed that steel band" from this town will be the first to appear on the other side of the 1 coast range. Valdez has gcograph- ! lcai advantage that cannot be offset
 by any other consideration. So far the cifortH of her railroad promoters ] have not been 8ucccssful; but their cliort" have borne fruit in the growth 1 of the Sound and the millions of capital l they have attracted to Alaska. l All hail to the men who have given their time, their money and the best years of their lives for the ad-
 vanccmont of the country.
 'Wusscrmuckcr'' is a ncwly-coincd word which is coming in vogue. NJ. |. May, of Dallas, Texas, is the pro- gcnitor of the unique term, which he applies to people who are active in
 the prohibition movement in his state. 'WusScr' is the German for water. while "muckcr" ia an English word for clown.