Valdez daily prospector., 1912-09-27
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1912.
THE RAILWAY COMMISSION.


 mission to Valdez marks an epoch in our history. Whatever may be their decision as tO the most practical route from the scaboard into the interior, taking into con- Sidcration cost of construction, maintenance and operation, we have at least had an opportunity 10 present our claims on an equal footing with other places, and, what is better still, the gentlemen composing the commission are going over the route under the guidance of a man thoroughly familiar With the proposed road from this port Iu Fairbanks. We refer tO Mr. Henry Dcyo. Having examined the route from Valdez tn the interior. inc commission will br able Io judge fnr ihrnl- selves and will not hr swayrd by designing people whose interests lie elsewhere.
 The people of Valdez, the moth CT community of Prince William sound, have an abiding faith in ihe eternal fitness of things, and that unshakable faith has led them to remain steadfast to this place as the future entry port of the great empire lying in the hinter- land. In the past, railroad pro- jects have come and they have gone; our hopes have been build ed high only to be dashed to the ground again; other places have grown up around us, nurtured on railroad bOOmS, but none have vet equalled our steadfast pros perity, save possibly during brief construction period, when millions were being expended with q prOdigal hand. The expenditure of unlimited money, the exercise of prOdigOus influence at the na- lions capital. to take from us what we had buildrd in the early days. has effected Us only fem pnrarily. Valdez has prOSprrrd and continued to grow and has permitted none of hcr sister cnm- munitirs in oulstrip her in any of those things which go tn make H prosprr0us pioneer community.
 The remarkable tenacify of Val dcZ is wholly due to her unrivallcd position and her natural rcsOur- eos. together. as wc have before stated, in the unabiding faith of her people in her future destiny. Valdez is largely pcoplrd by pio- nocrs of southwestern Alaska men who have iramped the coun- try for many miles round about and know that traffic, like water. will follow ihr lines of least re- sistanro. and hence must find it's outlet in Valdez.
 We feel that the Alaska railway commission have come to our country with their minds open to conviction and with dctermina- lion tO do the best in their power for Alaska as whole, and will uI- timatcly determine upon the best all-Amcrican route to develop it's rcsOurccs--mincral, coal and ag- riculIural. That done, we can ask no more. Our faith continues 10 rest in Valdez as the future great city of the Alaskan coast, and that, without being inc ere alton as well as the creature of a great corporation.
 We wish the commission a pleasant journey into the inter- for, if such thing were possible under inc present climatic condi- lions. However, their discomfort will better teach them tho advan- lagos of the several routes under Inc most adverse conditions. q most important factor in select ing tho linc of a great artery of commerce. in q new country, pre- scnling problems in railroad building and maintenance not found elsewhere. We hope con krcss will he as fair to us as iht Alaska railway commission prom. ;gng In ha