The Alaska citizen. (Fairbanks, Alaska) 1910-1917, 1914-06-22

United States railroad engineers,
headed by Thomas Riggs, Jr., mem
Der of the Alaska Engineering COM
mission, arrived in Fairbanks Mon
day on the steamer Yukon, and
were fittingly welcomed by repre-
sentative people Of Fairbanks
Two launch loads of the leading
men Of Fairbanks met the Yukon
at Cinema to welcome the men who
will survey the new railroad, and
on the following evening the visi-
tors were entertained at a dinner Civ
en- by the Commercial club at the
Auditorium, which many of the city's
active business and professional
men attended.
That the visitors appreciated the
courtesies extended to them, was
made evident by their hearty re-
Spouse to the words Of welcome
showered upon them, both on their
arrival and at the dinner party Civ
en- in their honor.
But the engineers did not let the
entertainment and the genial vel
come that was given them interfere
with their work, for no sooner were
they landed than they began to
prepare for the surveys.
at 1yhn
to meet the surveyors at Cinema
We're the following: Councilmen F..
S. Gordon, R. r. Myers and Peter
Lorentzen; President J. H. Groves
and Secretary H. E. st. George Of
the Commercial club; R. F. Roth
Dan Driscoll, Dave Petree, A. ].
Nordale, George Coleman. w. A
Lovejoy, O. A. Waechter, Frank
Hall, F. B. Boarman, H. R. Walters,
Robert Lavery, j. H. Caskey, Mar
shall L. T. Erwin, Roy Rutherford,
Samuel Sea, Dr. J. A. Sutherland
and Edward G. Morrissey.
There were more than 200 men
present at the banquet Tuesday
evening F. S. Gordon was formally
presented as postmaster by J. II.
Groves, president of the Fairbanks
Commercial club, and the first speak
er called upon by Mr.. Gordon was
Murray c. Smith, mayor.
Mayor Smith, in a few words, ex-
tended to the engineers a welcome
on behalf of the city. Next, John A.
Clark welcomed them on behalf of
the Commercial club, after which the
meal which was prepared at the Nor
dale hotel, was served.
At the close of the feast, Toast
master Gordon called upon Com
missioner Riggs for a speech, and
the latter responded with an enter
tanning talk along the line OF his
experiences, and the matter Of the
surveying Of the railroad
Mr.. Riggs said that he was not a
stranger to the North. as he had
come to Dawson in 1897. and had
mined and worked there for some
| time Later he said, he came to
Alaska to work on the international
boundary survey between Alaska and
Canada -
In the course Of his speech, Mr..
Riggs intimated that the government
is not going to stop by building only
one railroad. but that probably more
than one would be built as result
of the surveys now being run. He
explained, however, that the en-
gineers are here only to survey
routes. and not to chose them, and
| that they will not be responsible for
the selection that will later be made
by officials in Washington.
Attorney R. F. Roth was the next
speaker He explained how the new
railroad will aid in developing the
resources of Alaska, and how much
the people Of this Territory appre-
ciated the work of the administration
in getting the railroad bill passed
After Mr.. Moth. w. L. Raeburn,
who will have charge of the trans
portation facilities for the surveyors
In this division, was introduced. He
explained in his short talk that he
had been in the North almost con-
tinuously for IA years. and that he
was glad to get back here again.
He said he considered Alaska his
home.
Marshal L. T. Erwin was intrOduc-
ed by the POSTMASTER, and in an