The Washington times., 1915-01-27
COUNTRY EXPECTS A BOOM
Governments Promise to Build
Railroads Has Given lnspira-
ton Anew to Juggernauts.
By JUDSON c. WELLIVER.

out IN the course or the last rev
billions Of years. They are pretty
certain they have located the vast
reef Of gold bearing rock that geol-
ogists have long said must be there.
locations and the richness Of the
placers. must be one Of the very big
gest gold deposits in the world.
That Alaska would one day be as
great a gold producer as the South
African Rand, has long been main
tained by people who know all about
gold. The Rand has been turning
out around 100000. 900 Of gold a year
lately; ALASKA is now yielding about
$15.o 100000 a year. about two thirds
of it from placers.
May Race With South Africa.
The whole gold production Of the
United States. including Alaska, was
about $s3.000.000 in 1913. The Alaska
prospectors think there Is excellent
chance that within few years this
country will be in race with South
Africa for first place in the output of
gold. notwithstanding that Africa is
now turning out Just about twice as
much as the United States.
The other day gold sharp from
Alaska walked into Secretary OF tho
| Interior Lanes office and produced
| from a pouch some hunks Of rock that
had yellow speckles shining out Of
them. He handled them pretty GIN
gerly, but was amiable enough to let the
| Secretary, who Is a Californian and
knows a lot about gold. handle and
and. though the prospector didn't tell
how much they assayed. the Secretary
| knew enough to be very sure that they
| were good deal richer than most Of
the cyanide process and give the world
the big end Of its 500. .000. 900 annual out
turn Of gold.
Gold Waiting For Machinery.
Tho prospector didn't go into unneces-
sary details. but ne told the Secretary
that this quartz came from a claim he
had found and staked off, around the
lower levels Of Mt. Mckinley He added
that he knew where there was SO
much Of the same sort that it made
| him bit dizzy to think Of IT.: and he
wanted to know when there was likely
to be transportation that would make
1t possible to get machinery into the
region, so that the rock could be re-
duced.
This is just one Of the symptoms from
| decided to build . railroad system In
Alaska and give the country q chance
to develop. there has been big in
! crease In the operations of prospectors.
they want. for a bonanza strike. is not
| placers. but the great headquarters
| reef that has been feeding the placers
Somewhere. they say-and they base
California, Colorado, Australia, Africa,
| and about all the gold fields of the
world-there is in Alaska q reef from
which billion dollars of gold will one
lions. 1t must be there. or else the
placers wouldn't be scattered all over
the face OF nature.
Getting Ready For Big Rush.
Well. they are now sure they have
found It.
The whole Mt. Mckinley range has
been prospected more closely in the
| past year than ever before. The Gov
| ernment's promise to build railroads
gave inspiration anew to the 'argo-
number Of them were working on both
sides of the range. As these have wan
dered back to civilization during the
fall and winter. there have been numer-
| tropOlis Of Alaska. has been excited
over the circumstantial stpSies and the
display OF pieces of rich quartz; Valdez
Cordova. and the other Alaskan towns
are getting ready for q bigger rush of
| explorers the coming year than ever
since the original Klondike excitement;
Seattle the real headquarters Of Alas
ka enterprise. is pretty sure that the
end of the rainbow Ia going to be To-
Gated without any more delay; and
Alaska is looking up tremendously.
Thomas riggs, jr.. member of the
Alaska Engineering Commission. which
has been making surveys for the Low
miles of railroads that the Government
| is going to build in Alaska. Is one of
! the veterans In Alaska experience, hav-
| ing spent a good many years there IN
| charge r surveying the 70O-mile boun-
| dary line between Alaska and Canada
| This line runs due north and south
| from the Gulf of Alaska south to the
Arctic Circle north. and surveying II
| was perhaps the biggest and most DIFF
| ficult task OF far-northern work of the
kind the world has known.
Mount Mckinley Region Rich.
To Mr.. Riggs, the Alaska gold hunt
ers have been bringing their stories
| of the finds for months past; and they
| all agree that the search Is fast mar
rowing down to the region from which
the world will get its next big out
pour Of the coveted yellow stuff.
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