The Alaska daily empire., 1914-09-17
ON LANE
 AND ALASKA POLICY

In apartcle in late issue of the saturday Evening Post the noted writ sr Samuel G. Blythe declares that Sec i retary Lane Is one of the strongest men intellectually and as Q public servant. in the cabinet of Presiednt Wilson And he says that the seere' ltary of the Interior is intensely Inter ested in tue development of Alaska. Recently Mir. Blythe had an interest ing talk on conservation with MT, Lane. and in speaking of Alaska the Secretary walked over to the topo- eraphical map of Alaska that hangs on the wall in his office and said:
 Come here and let me show you md tell you something about Alaska We have taken S5OO,OOOOOo out of the mines and fisheries of this empire and all We have really done for that Territory ic to import 1.2OO reindeer from Siberia. Let me suggest this ouestlon to you: If Alaska has yielded lhalf a billion dollars without care or conseration or development or con alteration. what will Alaska do If we develop that Territory wisely and scientifically? The sum Is too great for comprehension.
 Alaska has been locked up and our first duty has been to open the door. The key to the door of every new country is road. Caesar made wa gon roads. We build railroads. We are planning 8 trunk line now. Thirty five million dollars have been applo- priated. The surveys are being made, Behind that railroad, and because of f. there will be farms, cattle ranges and mines. and all these should bel made to work together for the up- building of the country. The rail road won't pay for years, of course. No railroad that went into a new Territory ever did pay at first, Eng land and France and Germany have not waited in building railroads in South Africa until they knew the freight to pay interest would be forth coming. They drive in their lines on faith. and some of their desert roads now pay as much as per cent
 But that isn't tue point. Alaska will develop Alaska if we support her for time with our credit. hope for the passage of coalleaslng bill for that country. It is now before Con- gress. After that we should give our attention to the management of the tremendous resources of that country. We have been letting Alaska drift. What We need now is some men, with authority and skill, to do the right work up there-men who will give their lives to it's development.
 Of course we might have organized chartered company-an East India Company, say. That is the old'fash- | lloped way, We found sort of sub stitute for this in our land grants for the Western railroads. These roads were in a sense, the trustees for the nation. believe this country can now take another step forward and prove democracy's ability and capacity to manage a great property for demo cracy through at agents. high.grade men. well psid and constructive, who will carry out on the ground the poli- cies that Congress, in a large wav' lays down for them.
 What we need Is a board of admin istratiye control in Alaska, working for Alaska. Under such wise man agement the country eventually would l ,ay back every cent of outlay for her railroads. and build her own wagon reads and telegraph lines. There is no dream concerning this country that may not come true. They laughed at Cecil Rhodes when he told of his dream of a Cape to Cairo railroad but when a few more hundred miles more are built that road will be reality. I may live to see the day when Alaska will be connected by rail with Washington. have talked of such a plan with Premier Borden, of Canada, and Premier Mcbride of British Columbia. The construction of 1900 miles of railroad in Canada would bring the Grand Trunk Pacific to the Alaskan border. And do not forget that Alaska is- our nearest mainland point to the Orient.
 There is another thing about Alas ka that isn't generally understood. believe that Alaska will be one of the greatest summer resorts of the world, for it's scenery is unsurpassed in grandeur and it's summer climate is most salubrious.
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