Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1914-01-06

might not De IulHlieu.
AS far as the congress of the Unit
ed States is concerned, the currency
law is an experimental measure. Sen
ators and representatives know what
the banking interests have said In ia
vor of the bill and against 1t. They
realize that the doctors disagree and
If the doctors disagree how can the
layman decide?
President Wilson's currency meas
ure will not come into fnll operation
for some time. In Washington Its re
suits are looked upon much as were
the results of the drawings of the old
Louisiana lottery. 1t may be major
prize legislation, 1t may be minor prize
legislation, or it may be blank legisla-
ton representing the loss of all the
energy which was put into its passage
plus the loss OF business stability
Wilson Seems Confident.
So it is that the currency measure,
over the passage OF which sigh OF
relief went up because it brings with
it cessation of congressional labors
and a surcease of present sorrows.
will become the law OF the land and
go into operation without any definite
knowledge, 80 far as Washington Of
ficials are concerned, as TO whether it
is to do" the country or to do some
thing for tho country.
President Wilson seemingly is sure
that money will be easier. that Wall
street win not get its hogs share" in
times OF stress, that stability under
lies the law In every one of its classes.
and yet Mr. Wilson may be mistaken.
He admitted before the bill was intro
duced that he did not understand the
currency question thoroughly. Has
he been able to master it IA three
months? Other men who have stud
led money and its ramifications
years are ready to confess today that
they are still cropping. The law is to
go into operation. There will be no
more surprise In Washington at its
failure to do what it is intended to do
than at it's success. On currency
BldLtSIS ltIt les W nave OG6A
guessing and now after all the weeks
of debating it can stiIl be said that
perhaps one mans guess is as good
as another's.
Remarkable Work in Alaska.
Lieut.. Col Wilds p. Richardson,
United States army, chairman of
the board of road commissioners
for Alaska, has come tout of the
wilderness" to Washington to report
at headquarters. Colonel Richard
son and his fellow road builders, Lieut..
Glen Edgerton, corps of engineers;
and Lieutenant Louis A. Kunzig, Thir-
tieth United States infantry. have SUI
perintended the construction and have
attended to the details of administra-
ton of government road which runs
from Valdez near the coast to the town
of Fairbanks, and over which in the
summer time automobiles find easy
passage.
Perhaps when one reads this short
statement of road construction the
task appears to be nothing phenome-
nal, but 1t must be remembered that
this road which the army officers
planned, laid out and built runs
through 400 miles OF what is virtually
wilderness. The natural difficult
ties which are overcome seemingly
were enough to dist eagten the hardi.
est and most resourceful of men. but
the road has been nuil. and it has cost
the government $1,000 mile less than
the estimate made by engineers who
went over the proposed read nine
years ago.
This government road, which has
opened up Alaska TO wagon traffic in
summer and to the traffic of mail
sleighs and other shedding vehicles"
in the winter, cost $4,000 a mile TO
build Army engineers fixed the pros
pective amount of expenditure at 49,
500 a mile. The road today is as good
as the ordinary country road and II
the government chooses to expend an
additional $1,000 for each mile of con-
struction, which the engineers recon-
mended, it can be made one of the
model roads of the country.
Hardest Kind Of Job.
There is a plan at present for the
government to build railroads in
Alaska to be owned and possibly to
be operated by Uncle Sam. 1t is said
in Washington that il tie govern
ment's railroad shall be constructed as
well and as economically as the wag-
on road which Colonel Richardson
and his associates have just COM
pleted, the tax payers OF the country
and the travellers who use the rail-
way well may be satisfied with gov
eminent work Road building in
Alaska is hard task. All sorts of
conditions must be met Landslides,
torrents, glacial action and variety
Of assortment of problems. to the lay
man seemingly impossible fsolution,
confront the builders at intervals all
along the line Of construction. For
years Colonel Richardson has been at
his work, and last fall with his col
leagues he made the trip over the new
roadway the whole distance from
Fairbanks to Valdez IN an auto truck.
At Valdez the water which melts
away from an ice mountain made
things wet and uncomfortable for the
people. and actual3J endangered the
stability of the town and road ter
minals. The government, under the
direction OF the road builders, placed
a simple yet absolutely adequate and
strong protection for the town and the
roadways 1t cost little money, and
to the eye of the layman ii appears
to be a crude defense, but it has been
pronounced by engineer officers to be
the best kind of protection which it
is possible to build. Economy and eff
ficieney seem to have gore hand In
hand in the governments Alaska road
work
Lieutenant Colonel Richardson, who
has spent SO many years in the gov
eminent service in Alaska, is sturdy
Texan. He graduated from the United
States military academy in 1884
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