The Holbrook news., 1912-06-07

I - ! ly used in winter as the starting point
 for Dawson, which is in Canada, and
 not in Alaska. as many Americans
 seem to think These three seaports
 are the natural termini for railroads
 to the interioF, and the only places
 where the commerce of the country
 could be handled cheaply and success
 fully. CordoYa Is easily the railroad
 center of all Alaska, having more than 200 miles of track connected
 with the terminals on the coast The
 Morgan-G -Guggenheim syndicate op-
 crates the road and gives pretty de-
 cent service A man can take his
 camp equipment in 24 hours to inter.
 for points that before the advent of
 the road required months of unremit'
 ting toll to reach
 While railroad transportation is the
 great problem in Alaska, the building
 of roads and trails, especially wagon roads, Is of great importance. In Q country of such magnificent distances as Alaska claims, where much of the road-building must of necessity be in mountainous districts, the expense of constructing highways is enormous And the system of construction so far employed has been piecemeal. Up to date the Alaska road commis- sion has been handicapped for means to do the work necessary to meet the demands of settlements let alone to build feeders out into the country where the demand for roads is strong and continuous.
 Good Roads Draw People.
 In the building of roads and trailA in Alaska Americans have much to learn from the Canadians, whose work in the Dawson country has put the average American road to shame. There is but little if any difference between the country on the American side of an imaginary line and that on the side of the Canadians. yet in the roads alone there is difference enough to designate the flag under which the work was done. On the Cahadian side there are more people, drawn largely by the fact that they can trav- el, than there are on the side of the United States, and on one side is a well drained, smooth road with mini mum grades, fit for automobile traffic, while on the American side strips of mud and rocks and roots are ruinous to mans body and soul. The Cana dians have realized the need of per manent development, while the Amer ican has merely reached out for ex- ploitation and profit
 When Americans and the United States congress get in as close touch with Alaska and her needs as have Canadians and the Canadian parlia- ment with the needs of Canadian Alas ka, then will come the end of Alaska's troubles. For at the bottom of 1t all Is ignorance. Ignorance of its i'm mense area; ignorance of its climate, varied and peculiar though 1t may be; ignorance of its resources aside from gold and coal; ignorance of Its i'm portance in the commerce of the world, and, worst of all, ignorance of It's people. The most widespread and luxurious misconceptions are probably those regarding the climate and the people. The generally accepted no- tipn is that Alaska is land of per oetual snow and ice, inhabited mainly by Eskimo, while the facts are that not one-third of the area of American Alaska is within the arctic circle, and hat the majority of the population Is white, sturdy mixture of the best clements of the Caucasian race. In other words, the people of Alaska are ,f the same stock as those who built Oregon, Washington and California, nat sturdy class which has ever been n the forefront of pioneering since he days of Plymouth Rock
 These people have troubles. but the reatest obstacle to progress is lack # transportation And the solution s easy-money and brains
 m {. ..id 4-. he .,tlar, t,,t Aid -.,