Valdez daily prospector., 1914-12-02
CORDOvA ROUTE MAY bE USED
Matter of Selecting Terminals Will Be An Important Question To Be De-
 cided By the President.

Washington who have been following closely the reports of the operations of the Alaska engineering commission during the past summer are pretty well satisfied in their own minds of what the results will be.
 They expect that, on the recom- mendation of the commission, Secre- tary Lane will decide to lOc te the main line up the Susitna valley, and to tap the coal fields by branch lines from the existing Copper River and Northwestern railway. Deductive req soning and guesses form the basis of this opinion.
 In the late summer a survey was run by the commission from Chit ina, on the c. R. & N. w., into the Matanuska coal field. Earlier, line had been carried to the same field from the Susitna valley. Some engi- neers formerly in the employ of the c. R. & N. w. were employed on the work from Chitina, according to re- ports here.
 Taps Berng Coal Field.
 Now another line is being run by the same people, under the general direction of Lieut.. Frederick Mears, of the commission, from Mile 38 on the Copper River road into the Boring coal field.
 Significance is attached to the fact that these surveys from Copper river were undertaken late in the season and that the beginning of the survey on the line to the Boring fields was closely followed by the appearance here of J. P. Morgan, of the Alaska Syndicate, owners of the Copper Riv- CT & Northwestern, for consultation with Secretary Lane.
 It was given out that MT. Morgan's purpose in asking the consultation was to offer to sell his railroad to the government. No particular secret was made of the fact later that Secretary Lane had no intention of buying. But nothing was given out for publication about making a traffic agreement be- tween the government coal roads and the Alaska Syndicate's road to get the coal from the two fields to tide water. There may or may not have been such talk. That there is pos sibility of such an agreement being made is the belief in Washington. Only $1,ooo,ooo Appropriated.
 Commonly the bill authorizing the construction of a government railroad in Alaska is said to have carried an appropriation of 35,000,OO0 for the work. In fact the bill, while auth orizing the construction of a railroad to cost that amount, appropriated on- ly s1,OOO,OOO for surveys and prelim- mary work.
 Possibly congress will be asked to appropriate $34.O00,O00 at the coming session. The chances are that it will not. Economy is to be the watchword at the next session if the president can have his way. Moreover very fast work indeed would have to be done to expend legitimately $34,00O,0OO in one year.
 The requirements of the Alaska rail road act are to open up the agricul- tural country, to connect the interior waterways with the sea and to fur nish transportation to the coal. The Susitna route meets the first two re- quirements; the last named presents problem of considerable expense. For Speedy Results. Arguments, it will thus be seen, can readily be found for asking only money enough at the coming session of congress to construct the short lines from the Copper River road into the Matanuska and Boring fields, and to make a start on the Susitna trunk line. In other words, for employing an existing railroad for part of the coal haul in order to accomplish speedy results and to leave at liberty a larger proportion of the money for the trunk line.
 The danger in this, from a govern
 mental point of view, is that the cry
 will be raised in congress that the
 proposal entails the government go
 ing into partnership with the Gug
 genheims, otherwise the Alaska Syn
 dicate. This is something which must
 be fully considered by Secretary Lane
 before he makes his final recommen
 dations. .... -..
 Terminals Are Problem.
 Of large importance also is the
 matter of selecting the sea terminals
 of the trunk line. Before the com
 missioners went to Alaska, Portage
 Bay was known tp be held in high ia