The Alaska citizen., 1913-12-15


 oo,s;-Inc. and untold future rossi- hili,ics. but without a single railway lire worth speaking of TG5S iana does not belong to Turkey ar rata- Eona. |, is the property of the Uni,ol states of America. and its name .S Alaska According tn an article con trihuted by F.. F. SwcrraL of tar New York Central road. ta The Railway Age Gazette more railway trausporta- finite auI huslnrssltke development program is imperative for the Terri tory. and the first and most Impor.- ant item i'll tLis program iS the con structIon af an adequate system of railways. The lines in present opera ton are. the Whit" Pass and Yukon. built in fsgs-1saa, only = miles Of II in Alaska. the Copper River an1 Northwestern rs7 miles,. and the AL nska Northern t5J miles,. leading in land from points on the southwestern coast. the Panama Valley railroad r,5 milcsb. and one or two short narrow gage lines. Writes MT Swersal
 "Reearding the pointed question IS To who can best develop the transpof- tation for the common good of all. It appears to be the consensus Of opinion of the men who know the country best that the work should be continued by prifat" enterprise, as has been per mitted in the states, and With eIuit- ablr financial assistance anl rerula- state Commerce commission now has jurisdiction in Alaska. and. considering tA" agitation that has been engendcr- "l hy this question. there is little probability. if any. of the corporation abuses h"ins nractised pr even ar- tempted in the future. Many of the railroads built in the States were lfb- "ra'ly assisted by the government therefore. why should not assistance 'stript of political and financial ahns- es> be extended to private railway enterprises in Alaskaa
 As regards actual construction and ownership hy the government. some people raise objections generally to the effect tat the cost would im- pose an indirect and unprofitahlc bur  den uron the taxpayers of the United States proper. inasmueh as tAe dcxcl- opment is wholly within Alaska and osiensibiy for the direct benefit of it's people. This primary objection sounds, substantial at first thought, but when facts and figures are ana1yzed the results do not support it
 It is commonly known that Alas ka WAS purchased from Russia ia 1867 for s7,5Oo.OO0 Since then there has been taken out of the Territory not less than s250, ,oo0. 900 in diversi- fled products, mainly gold. copper. furs. and fish. a profit on the pur- chase of approximately 4.500 per cent This profit has been absorbed in the national wealth of the United States through various avenues of commer- cial interchange. There remains in Al aska great potential wealth in the same products, and in addition there to the anthracite and hituminous coal deposits are untouched. lack of de- velopment alone standing between tn. coal and the warming of homes and production of energy for industrial purposes along the Pacific seaboard of the United States. This coal will tend to lessen the cost of domestic and commercial fuel hy reason or additional competition in the mar ket!"
 As regards agriculture in the dis tricts adjacent to railroads already built and proposed. MT. Swergal ex- presses some doubt as to the success ful production of grains; corn, he says, probably never will be grown 'et'uHt oi tllt dbSFlltt pl lonS not seasans. Wheat. oats. and barley have been expermented with for home consumption. but altho with some success, there is ever present the hazard of destruction by frost Grass grows rapidly and in abundance dur ing the early summer. and with proper attention sufficient hay can be pro duced for domestic purposes. The gov ernment has established experiment. al agricultural stations in the dis tricts susceptible to cultivation, but it remains to be seen whether or not grains can be grown with certain ty. To quote further:
 AS regards the climatic effects up- perience has demonstrated that opera tion can be successfully conducted, and altho intermittent interruption has occurred on the lines already und CT operation during the winter months, the hazard and interruption have not been more serious. if as much so, as in the operation of lines during win ter months through the mountainous sections of our western states.
 Through the coast ranges of AL aska snow rotaries are necessary for operation during portion of the 1,-;,t