Douglas Island news., 1914-03-04
Alaska Railway Act

Alaska Railway fACl
 his just about four years since the first proposal of a government railroad system for Alaska was seriously put forward. It was urged by a few eX- tremely radical people Such moder- ates as Roosevelt, Pinchot, Fisher, Lane and their like were not yet ready to consider it, while William H. Taft was mortified, aud the vast majority of democrats, especially Southern demo orats, in congress could not coutem- plate such startling project without shuddering for our institutions.
 Today the House is due to pass the bill, already passed by the Senate, and highly approved by president aud cab inet, appropriatiug S4OOOOOOO to build the beginnings of a government rail road system in Alaska. The beginnings, be it said once more. The beginnings will mean, inevitably, that iu time the system must be greatly extended end improved.
 Almost nobody opposes this legisla Eon. Almost everybody favors it. There will be a vastly bigger proportion of opposition in congress than there is outside. The Seuate's vote was three to one for the measure, and only four votes against it were those of demo- cFats.
 Itis interesting to observe how our view of Alaska has changed. In 1867 Mir. Seward paid Russia 57,2OO,O0O for it, and everybody realized that he had beeu frightfully buukoedl Yet Dele gate Wickersbam declares, and gives good statistics to support it, that since then we have taken s525,0O0OOO of wealth out of Alaska, without doing much ot anything for it, and without scratching the surface of that huge domain. Alaska is about twice as big in area as the thirteen colonies when they became the Union. It's vast agri- cultural areas are in the latitude of Sweden, Norway and Finland, but en joy rather a milder climatel
 It has taken quite a while to awaken to the value of Alaska, but we need not be discouraged over that. Thomas H. Benton, when he was a senator from Che most westerly state then admitted to the Union, declared that our West- sru boundary must be at the summit of the Rockies; we couldn't think of reaching out Co the Pacific Daniel Webster delivered a philippic in oppo- sitiou to taking Oregon-that is, Che great Pacific and mountain Northwest as whole-iuto the Union on any terms. He said it was worse than worthless, and we could not possibly develop or benefit by itl
 In fact, if there had been just a modicum of appreciation of the value of the Northwest in the right tune, our northern boundary would have been ahfty-four forty" instead of the forty ninth parallel, and British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba would now be mostly American. But in those days there was too little appreciation either of the value of the territory or of the pledge of "ffty-four forty or fight" under which the democrats carried one presidential election Nobody cared much whether we got the territory OF not. The Southern leadership was at the moment vastly more concerned, in fact to get land in the other directionS Southwestern expansion, which meant expansion of slave territory, was chiefly in favor. So we forfeited the chance to control the great Northwest, and left Britain, untouched, her Canadian empire.
 But Alaska has been saved to Che nation, and with the enlightened and businesslike policy now tardily applied to it's management, 1t may yet prove the one bright spot in the story of our national management of the public domain.-Washington ID. O. Times.