The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-11
S|bERT MAY BUILD RAILWAY IN ALASKA
Something About Great Re
 sources of Country
CLIMATE Is PLEASANT
Successful Farming Can Be Done on Large Scale-The Advantages of Government Owned
 Railroad
By 0. E. STEWART

Washington, April 10.-(Special.) Ut may be that Col William l.. Sibert of Ala hama, who won fame as the guiding gen- jus of the Gatun dam and locks on the Panama canal will be named by President Wilson as the chief engineer in control of the construction of the government railroad in Alaska Colonel Sibert's term as one of the commissioners of the canal zone expired March H.
 The Alaskan railway proposition will be the first attempt of the government to construct a railroad of great magnitude It will be the first departure from the policy of the government against govern ment ownership of railroads, but was favored by President Wilson because of the peculiar conditions which obtain in Alaska.
 Alaska is vast empire of mineral wealth. The development of the great resources of this wonderful country has been problem which the government has been trying to solve for some years Various schemes have been authorized for the development of Alaska, but the ten- dency toward monopoly of the great sources of the territory were so obvious and the advantages for such a consum- mation so great if private capital con trolled both the railroads and the coal fields. that President Wilson came out strong for the public ownership of great railroad there.
 The area of Alaska is equal to one-fifth of the United States. In undeveloped water power it exceeds that of the entire Do fia act ct..tA nt,a Inv ASfv, ara4 .af s72o0.o0o, Alaska has given us in return since 1867, as shown in the reports of the United States geological survey:
 Gold, S212, 7657 727; silver, $1,S41, 202; copper, sl3.570, 225; coal $347,3S other minerals, $9s2, 354: fisheries and furs, S240 SEQ, 16S. A total of s470, ,337, ,265
 Alaska had population in 1910 of only 6f 3o6 persons about equally divided be- tween natives and whites. They had a commerce per capital of Sl0l3. No other country in the world can come within a mile of such a showing.
 The area of Alaska is 5S6, 400 square miles, or 20000 square miles greater than Nor way, Sweden, Finland, England, Scotland and Ireland combined. It is only "A, 900 square miles less than the combined areas of the German empire, the republic of France. and the kingdom of Spain.
 Contrary to the general idea, Alaska is by no means frozen country of snow and ice. As matter of fact, the perma- nent snow fields only cluster round ne crest lines of the loftiest ranges, and are found to be less than I per cent of The total area The Japan current does for Alaska what the gulf stream does for Great Britain. Ireland and Norway. Gen eral farming and gardening can be carried on in many sections of. Alaska. where tho temperature frequently reaches % 'le- grees or even higher, and the average in the winter Is g above. There are sec tions in Alaska, of course. where the tenn perature goes many degrees below zero.
 That oats, barley, rye and potatoes and other vegetables can be grown success fully and at a profit has been demon- strated by the government in various sta tions in Alaska. Farmers around Fair banks have cut three tons of barley for hay to the acre.
 Alaska is full of game, which includ ss moose, mountain sheep, mountain goat. deer and caribou, and the brown and black bears. It is aiso the breeding ground for all the water birds that mi- grate south annually.
 In the Alaskan bill recently passed by Congress, s35, OOo,0o0 Is appropriated for the purpose of the governments first experi- ments in railroad building. It will be an epoch making task. The only fear ex- pressed in congressional circles as to te ultimate success of this vast undertake ing is that the opponents of government ownership see In the success of the ven- ture in Alaska a menace to private own ership of roads in the United States itself.
 For this reason there Is some fear that Congress will dole out this money in such ia shion as to cripple the undertaking. All the money Is not made available, but it will be provided from time to time as needed-that is to say, this is the pu'- pose of the bill. But Congress if so dis posed can seriously hamper those in con trol of the construction of the road and thus discotfage future experiments of this nature.
 In all this vast territory there are ouly ASA miles of railroad now. All other means of Transportation are trails and wagon roads. of which there are 3511 milns opened Alaska is vast storehouse- President Wilson says regarding the rail- way: "But the construction of railways is only the first step; is only thrustins in the key to the storehouse and throw ing back the lock and opening the door" It is the entering wedge of the develop ment of truly wonderful country.