The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1914-02-04
FOR A
new RAILWAY
ROU'TENIALASKIAI
TO WHICH PROF. LAWRENCE
MARTIN SUBSTANTIATES u
HIS CLAIM.
MADE BY THE AI.AsKANsExpEDi
TON OF THE lNAT10NALGE0-s
GRAPHIC SOCIETY.

WASHINGTON. D. q, Feb. =
Prof: Lawrence Martin, Of the uni-
tversity Of Wisconsin. one OF the
! gieatest5living authorities on glaciers
and glacial movements. in commu=
nication Just received by Gilbert II.
Grosyenor, director Of the National
Geographic Society, at; Washington.
D. e. substantiates his claim to the
discovery Of a new railway route in
Alaska, connecting Portage or Pas:
sage Bay, on the west side of Prince
William Sound, to Turnagain Arm.
although the United States Geologic
cal Survey, in q bulletin made public
January I, states that Some excite
linen; has been causedzby the discog-
cry ola feasible railway route" con.
meeting the above two points, Prof
Martin points out that the discovery
was made by the 1910 Alaskan Expes
.dltion Of me NATIONAL geographic
Society under his direction. ;i5SSs
The government bulletin eolncidcs
With the report made by Prof: Mar
laa TO me soctet research commit
tee cliairma % the effect that the
new route, by use of d tunnel about
two miles long, will avoid the glaciers
and yield low grades for both in and
out bound traffic, and that the dis
l,tance from tidewater TO the Matanus-
kn coal field will be reduced by it to
about 1876 miles. with only one adj
verse grade and that low one.
Prof. Martin quotes from his re-
port.as follows: 4
I'VE feel certain that, including
the cost Of the long tunnel, "a railway
enlyselevcn or twelve miles long and
practically at sea level could have
been built from Passage Canal to
Turnagain Arm for much less than
the $4,000, 900 used in the constrdc-
tion Of the sixty-five miles Of the
Alaska Northern Railway from Sc;
ward to Turnagain Arm. This would
lave resulted in a marked saving Of
grades, a saving OF distance, and IN,
elimination Of nearly all of the gla-s
cier complications which still threat
engthe Alaska Northern Railway. Il
the government does purchase and.
extend this railway 1t may still be:
cheaper to adopt the Passage Canal.
terminal, as could possibly be done
with the shortest route and the long
est necessary tunnel for less than
, $4,000, 1000.
The harbor in Passage Canal was;
shown by soundings made by us in
1910 to be quite as good for ocean
steamships as Resurrection Bay, upon
which Seward is located. PracticalE
ly no icebergs float into Passage!
Canal or Prince William Sound from
Port Wells. The possible disadyan-,
tage in this respect could never be as
great as that which will come to se-;
ward II the Bear Glacier, at the
mouth Of! Resurrection Bay; on the
western side. advances a quarter to a!
!Ialf mile and sends7floating icebergs
/ into the path 81 the ocean steamships
there. Tie minimum possible activ!
iiys Of tie glaciers tributary to Pass
age Canal and 70 the head Ut Turna:;;;
gain. Arm could never be such a men.
gee to the building ana maintenance
Sef 4 railway, as is; are the speiicer and
Bartlett Glaciers on the Alaska
Northern Railway, particularly II
the railway were protected by a tun:
mel in the critical area Of snow slides
and glaciers near Passage Canal. The
Bartlett Glacier, though now inacs
tive, could. by very moderate al!
Vance, completely block the northern
pass across the Kanai Mountains. In
- ~ l. q l-sl Ia 3 II