Iditarod pioneer., 1914-04-25
HOW ALASKA RAILROAD
 IDEA VAS ORIGINATED

IDEA VAS ORIGINATED
 The credit for originating the idea Of Ju.i&.ns a railroad into Interior Alaska by congressional action h.,s been ascribcI to rurcrous individuals and newspapers, and many controversies have resulted there from. The following letter. written to the. Fairbanks News Miner by D iegate Wicker
 -ham ia gesnonse 10 a request for tLo story of the bill from start b finish, ought to be accepted as authoritative, and set at rest many of he absurd ci~4als being put for w-,G.
 Washington, Feb. 2t.- -E9uor Ne"s- 1Gar. Tour letter of January 2> ha> been received. lo1 ak he ,o give yal .ae history of the railway bill which ha-
 ret nou sa.st1 the ua,. and l. na.T rani-' iu- iu the conference committee for 2Srae- M.uJ over differences between the house
 a5t senate bills You want its carly his- tory and how It came to be before con- -.y~E
 h U.mr.rn's ,.s~:,z;aa for Na-ch and A-rI ia.J, j.! U.u.,gr, L-lc. Ben ll@ug-. t,a cad | fixed vg 8 gr.4. m"ckr.laz story agau. Ma'4. l. Vas the 5a-a4!a- ut the .,n,aIanl stories aJsut ta' r-. sources oI A.a.ka anl he likelihood ct
 Aar mon, ,ponzWi91 5y the Alaska syl.- cate. As a remedy the second ,t tna.e ar, l.. | cl .,~-c ted. Er:t tire auil il@Ig oi gr-- | a.a".-.t r.l.oad in AIa-.a for the develop Il5at of i.. coal ami other rcs3urca~, 4n3 -"c-r,. tha n,.-are hv s.-.&r s- cl ya.l- ie@lno b.L Nou l:no" tL. gan..a. crap
 which El.&cI ,ho,sai.ar
 -t:.c~ l1a hH for ta, creation cf 5ls
 ..a~-a I,-l l.-le hal paced tae house
 au5 ..uo to tln senate. ra0a5or V l.i4m
 <. n.3 4..Ia .t Michigan called me tn one
 ... and a.&ai me wAl. 1 thought of r'.,-
 ting lu g section a. tAe c"J ot sho -is-
 .4ttTa LII providing f." ,ha -,2o,n "an. cf
 an Drs'.. T.. l"l- g".o:..I.s..l.. told hl2.
 ;a- l h2. already prepared hill ot tha- . lind j.r C.@r-e.-n'.a II,ai ot N.cr,"i-. : "h3 Ga. n.., a.eG # For .ua un..r E..
 ..n a...s. lla --i.. '~,. down anl n-rj-e
 "ae sae..a vt.nl sLau contain its s..5- . stance an. -at'iclal& authority for the Prasl- 1 den. to appoint ral"ay commission in | .i2-5:a.' l dd SC, and he put it into the . to.i-.4tivc LII a an amendment Wen the ,>g.-.a.,,e bill pa-.si, nat sgc,l2n 1 past ], and thereafter Mir Tai. aunoiarst
 .ae A.aEa railway commission h accord | -aaa with flat section.
 When thi, congress mt l determine to
 push tna Al4ss-a railway b.H h accord ] aace, substantially, with the report oi the
 h ska l"av commission as l prom ei
 he uaau'- of Fairbanks ! would do at tha
 ..~e We gave the Alaska railway commis- l ..'n it. banquet in la!lnanHs 1 prepared l ;.s Ai4sk2 railway bill and gave q ca.,y f it to Senator Chamberlain and asked him to introduce f il the senate. He agreed
 to ao So and introduced it that day. On ! the same day and at the same hour l in troduced the same bill in the house The senate took up the bill introduced by Sen l atcr Chamberlain and by reason of con
 dtions in the senate, passed it before we l passed the same bill in the house The senate bill came over to the house with l some amendments in it. In the meantime i the house cOmln:;tGe on territories had made some amendments in my original bill
 We struck out the senate bill, all except
 the title and the ena2ting clause, and in ! sertad the house bill in lieu thereof and passed the bill as amended The senate bill and my bill in the house, being thus both passed and there being some minor 1 differences between them, both bills are ncW pending in 9 conference committee On
 the part of the senate, the conference com mittee consists of Chamberlain Pittman and Jones; on the part of the house, Eous- ton, Davenport and Guernsey. This con- ference committee will report an agree ment within the next few days, the report
 will be accepted by the senate and the house. and the bill as thus compromised will be sent to the President for his sig
 nature
 And there you have the whole history of the Alaska railway bill from its begin ming in the undertaking stories in Hamp- 1 tons Magazine for March and April 1910 to its signing by President Wilson in March l914 It is only fair to say, however, that there would have been no Alaska railway bill such as we now have for the building of railroads in Alaska, and its immediate development, except for the cooperation and support of President Wilson. It was hls message to congress and his active and earnest assistance which persuaded the house and senate to pass the bill at this tune. Substantially the whole credit for the passage of this bill and the introduc- ton and passage of other bills which will result in the wide open door of devcIon. | ment m Alask2 is due to President Wilson The people of Alaska must be fair toward