The Alaska citizen., 1912-04-08
CORDOYA WORKING
 FUR ROAD
Cordoya. Alaska March 9. 1912 Editor. Citizen, Fairbanks:

CordOya, Alaska March 9. 1912 Editor, Citizen, Fairbanks:
 Dear Sr-We again wish 10 draw your attention 10 the urgent neces- sity of sufficient appropriations to construct and maintain roads in this territory. We heartily indorse the recommendation of the Alaska Road Commission and the Commer, cial club of Fairbanks, and join with every organization and civic body in Alaska in urging an appropriation of sl,0eo.oo0 a year for the next five years. There is no other issue so vital uo the development of Alas ka, and no question which approach es it in importance.
 All Alaska is a unit on the wagon road proposition, as every section is hampered by the want of transporta- tton. Wagon roads will at all times be the property of the people. be a check on freight rates when rail roads are built, and cannot by any stretch of imagination be classed as especially benefit'ng any corpora tion. The few trails We have were either constructed by the war de. partment to facilitate the movement of troops and supplies, or by indi- vidual operators to reduce the ex- pense of hauling their outfits They are woefully inadequate to the needs of the territory and thousands of acres of good mining ground have to be abandoned on account of ex. cessivc cost of transportation Farm ing IS impossible because the farm CT has no roads to bring his produce to market.
 We know of outfits paying 5000 a ton for a hundred-mile haul and ten cents a pound for the same dis tance is an ordinary rate From Chitina to Fairbanks, over the best road in all Alaska, it costs $500 a ton for the haul of 300 miles With good wagon road, these rates would be reduced fully 75 per cent
 It must be remembered that freight at present can only be hauled dur ing the winter months. necessitating additional investment in putting in stock for a whole year at one time. Mails for the 1000 people of the Fair banks district are sent in during the summer by Skagway and Dawson, a distance of 2.547 miles, and under the best conditions, it takes Ii days Last summer letters mailed from Fairbanks took as much as 35 days to reach their destination in the states. With a road from Fairbanks to Chitina, suitable for automobiles this mail could be handled between Fairbanks and Cordova in three days regularly.
 We know you are anxious to help out the development of Alaska along lines which would assist all the peo- pie, and we believe this is our UT gent need at the present time Help us to reduce our transportation price i; you are in position to push along legislation fer us and we confidently appeal for your assistance
 There is no way outside of volun- tary public subscriptions whereby We can help ourselves in this matter but to show you how much n earn est we are, would point cut that We raised s6,00000 last year by passing around the hat among the mem bers of this organization and fur nished the money to the Alaska road commission to help build a road from Chitina to Willow creek, a distance of 39 miles. As result, the haul, ing cost for that distance was re, duced from $60 to s15 ton.
 Yours truly,
 CORDOVA CHAMBER OF COM
 MERGE,
 Per Richard J Barry Secretary