Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-02-08
TO OPEN Up ALASKA
Railroad Commissions Re-
port Tells of Resources.
VAST AREA FOR FARMING
Mineral Resources Not Alone as Pro-
viders of Traffic for the
Proposed Lines.

The report of the Alaska railroad COM
mission. which was transmitted by the
President to Congress Wednesday with
special message. and on which the mes
sage was based, is considered very
optimistic document. It recommends that
certain railroad lines be undertaken and
prosecuted with vigo- 70 develop the two
coal fields OF Alaska and reach the two
great inland valleys, the Yukon and the
KuskoGuim
The report takes up and discusses prac-
ticaly all routes. aggregating over 500
miles. which have been suggested for
railroad lines from the southern coast
of Alaska into the interior. Most of these
routes lead to Fairbanks, but two lead
into the valley of the kuskoquim and
into the Iditarod section. and about haf
provide for reaching either one or the
other of the two most valuable coal fields,
namely. Bering river and MatanuSka.
The report presents estimates OF all
these routes and of several branches. and
estimates of costs o. operation on most
of them. 1t also presents mass of in
formation to the resources tributary
to all the routes. together with data in
regard to the commerce of the territory.
Recommendation Not Required.
The act creating the commit ssion direct
ed an examination into the most prac-
ticable railroad routes 20 reach the in
terror naviGable waterways and to de-
velop the c/ll fields. but did not require
any recommendation as to the methods
that should be adopted for construction
The commission calls attention to the
fact that there are not only vast unoe-
ve1oDed mineral resources but also large
areas of farming and grazing lands IN
Alaska. These are south OF the arctic
velopment as Norway and Sweden lands.
and of as great an area as all the states
lying east of the Mississippi and north of
the Ohio and Mason and DiXon's line.
The climate of the Pacific coast region
is comparatively mild and while that Of
the interior is more severe it is not I'M
favorable to colonization and agriculture.
Line to Fairbanks First.
The roads recommended are: First. the
| line from Chitina to Fairbanks 313 miles
second. branch line thirty eight miles
| long into the Boring river coal field
| third. the construction of a line into the
lower SuSitna valley. involving 10 miles
| of new construction; fourth, Il MatanuSka
| branch thirty eight miles long, and fifth,
an extension of the SuSitna line into the
| valley Of the kuskOkquim and the 1dita-
| rod section. 229 miles All this cOnstruc-
| ton is estimated to cost about s3o,eOo,OO0.
|
| recommends tons would be two trunk
lines. one based on Cordova and one on
| Seward, which, with their extensions by
| branch lines, would form two systems
| that would serve the most valuable part
| of the territory.
The commission has made no recon-
| mendatiOn either for or against gov
eminent construction or government
aid. making a definite statement that
| such recommendation was not called
| for by Congress. 1t does however,
recommend that the railroad lines pro-
| posed should be undertaken at once
| and prosecuted with vigor.
Members of Commission.
| The Alaska railroad commission was
appointed by President Taft August 81,
1912. and consists Of Maj. Jay J. Nor
row, Corps of Engineers, L. S. Army,
chairman; Alfred II. Brooks. United
States geological survey, vice chair
| man; Civil Engineer Leonard NJ. Cox,
| u S Navy, and Colin NJ. Ingersoll. con-
| sulting engineer, of New York. Ihree
| of the members are enSln GERS. ana the
| vice chairman is the head of the
| division of Alaskan mineral resources
| of the geological survey.
! The season was late when the commits
sion and appointed. and Congress desired
| a report during the present session. In
| spite of the difficulties of investigations
during the fall months the commission
went to Alaska for personal exanna-
| ton of the harbOrS and routes ana &c
familiarize itself with the resources and
general economic conditions During this
| trip, which occupied some ten weeks, the
southern and central parts OF Alaska
were fairly we'll covered. including visits
! TO the available harborS and practically
all of the railroads BY an overland trip
| involving q journey of some 700 miles
and reaching Fairbanks, a knowledge OF
| the interior was gained