Iditarod pioneer., 1914-02-21

within the territory should be correlated
 win all other na a9y'es @ epen.s 0
 roads, for instance. should De part or one scheme.
 5. Alaska should be developed. SO far as possible out of her own revenues and
 resources. She should have a federal
 budget Of her own. Her resources and
 expenditures should be presented to con, | from her lands and fisheries, her furs. her
 forests and her mines. should be used for | telegraph and telephone lines,v or for any
 sources more quickly available 10 the world
 l believe 1t could be shown that Alaska IS
 self supporting today. or, what Is more to
 the point. that by proper taxes ana charges ar se
 return from their enterprise in the terri tory. such revenue could be derived as
 would support a large policy of expansion
 and improvement. In short. would con. struCt the administrative machinery that
 would most surely lead to a prompt and continuous development of Alaska as part { of the United states upon plane comnen-
 surate with her possibilities industrially. ] agriculturally and socially.
 i The members. of such a board appointed by the President would be selected presum
 ably with reference to their fitness for the f work to be done Each one could be made
 the administrative and residentiary head or
 department or division. so that there might be commissioner of the Alaska land ofIlcc another commissioner of high
 ways. another, perhaps. commissioner Of
 Indian affairs and fisheries. and 30 on; All
 form of municipal government. and would
 work for the common end. the upbuildins of Alaska as an integral and contributing part of the Union.
 Danger of Corruption
 spprehcnd the fear that with such
 commission there would be danger or cor, pr, ruption or indifference creeping into its
 work. This, however Is incident to the the
 would not go unchecked Of course, for It must report to the head Of some depart
 ment at Washington. and through that head to congress, and would be always subject 10 investigation. Moreover. no method has yet been invented by which dishonesty or
 poor judgment can be guarded against m
 public or private life. In the end the char, acter and wisdom Of the men appointed
 is the only insurance that can be given
 against conduct that Is foolish or worse. Alaska should not, fin my Judgment. be regarded as mere storehouSe or resources
 upon which the people of the states may draw. She has the potentialities Of state. And whatever policy may be adopted should look toward an Alaska of homes. of indus, tries and of an extended commerce. Strongly as would urge this melhod Of managencnt-for it offers t'arr opp"r1r-
 nity to exhibit the efficiency of republic,
 l would not have Alaska walt for needed
 things which appeal to me as of immediate necessity upon which Independent atilGn could be passed upon by congress. Those
 may be taken are (i the construction of railroads In the territory and CD the opcn- ing or her coal lands.
 Alaskan RaIiroads
 have already expressed to the congress my belief that 1t was wise Tor the Sofcrn-
 mcnt itself to undertake the construction
 and operation of system Of trunk line raAl- roads in Alaska. And am led 10 this v;tH irrespective of the possibility Of private 'Ii-
 terprise undertaking such work, although
 my belief Is that no railroads would be privately constructed in Alaska for uhany
 years to come, excepting .s adjuncts 10
 some private enterprise. Be that as 1t
 may, it would seem wise for the soV"tn-
 ment to undertake this task upon grounds % railroads should be 11ed with reference to
 Alaskan development-not with regard to
 immediate returns. The charges nIed 1 would justify private Investment. would build and operate these highways in the same spirit that the counties or the states
 build wagon roads-not for revenue, but for the general good. After all. railroad Is little more than an operated wagon road. In many countries they still call railroad
 evolved from our old laws as to carriage by wagons. Our courts speak Of railroads as property charged with public interest and so Justify the regulation of their rates. But no court would justify the imposition Of rates made for the purpose for which | Alaskan rates should be made--the crea- ton of commonwealth. 1T this IS our 1 task. 1t should be done whole -heartcdly and l with consciousness that the dollar spent 1 today on an Alaskan railroad will yield no more immediate return on the investment | than the dollar spent on the Panama canal. These. then. are the persuading reasons ! for the belief that the government should | undertake to drive from the coast inland 1 one or more lines Of railroad: CD The government already regards It IS It's duty 1 to build wagon roads. Such roads when
 well built are almost as costly as the con- 1 struction of a railroad, which is the essen | tial modern means of transportation (el There can be no assurance that without l surrendering our resources in Alaska pri- l vate railroads will be built: (3) The open | highways of travel and commerce should
 be made wholly subservient not to private 1 interest. but to the upbuildins Of this ter ritory, that they may be the real servants l of the national purpose.
 1 ernment for It's original outlay 1t can be
 not not unknown to our people-by giving .
 land subsidy to the owners or the road. I Retain In the government one -hail or me
 land on each side of the railroad until II
 has appreciated in value by the growth or
 the lands given to the public. Thus the | government would subsdize itself and reap some of the benefits accruing to its land
 from the construction Of the road. !udg- l ing by the increase in land values In the
 newly opened sections of Canada. who could
 say but that long before the bonds were l que kIe government HOuiu tli0S udrt oli 1 asset sufficient to meet the original debt! :! l There seems to me no necessity for bar | ring the way to minor privately owned | roads because of the presence of longer 1 systems Of publicly owned roads. The two 1 exist together In other countries. I would not even apply the principle Of the com modities clause Of the act to regulate com merce to such roads. They should be built. l however, under government supervision. l and be at any time subject to purchase by
 the government at their cost. minus de- preciation:
 Aiaska Coal
 l It is not necessary to set forth here the l extent or character of the coal fields Of
 Alaska. Neither could add to your knovl-
 edge or that of. congress as to the need for
 this coal both by the navy and by the in- dusrties and the people of the Paciflc coast 1 generally. There are almost unlimited quantities of high grade Of Ignite In the | interior which may not stand extended stor- age or transportation. This could be con verted into electricity at the mouth Of the mine and widely distributed for lighting, heat and power. Toward the southern coast ] of the peninsula there are two Weii-knoUn | fields of a high grade bituminous coal and
 some anthracite, These are the fields which
 have given rise to the troubles with which l all are familiar. .1
 l These coal fields should be opened. not
 to spectators, but to operators. Those ! should have these lands who will use them.
 None should be opened as a basis for