Valdez daily prospector., 1915-10-19
.UEsDAY, OCTOBER 19. 1915
WHY DON'T WE ADVANCE?

h, WHICH TeludlAS opSAA ~
 to navigation all the year round
 nv city in the territory. Her har-
 in more ways than one is the
 in the territory. AS a strategle
 it. from a military view, it Is one
 he hest on the coast, as it could
 ortified more cheaply and be more
 regnable than any other fortln-
 on in the territory. Her haroor
 bsolutely landlocked, so much so
 it is a large saltwater lake, ca
 Ia of floating all the navies of the
 Id. and with water deep enough
 .fford anchorage for any craft that
 ts. from the tiny motor boat to
 largest battleship. During the
 cest storms of winter, so sheltered
 ts waters, the bay is scarcely ever
 ned into whitecaps. but remains
 n and placid, in great contrast to
 'er harbors along the coast. At
 head of the bay is a vast mud
 silt from the glacier stream,
 ich extends some half-mile out at
 r-tide, and is steep-to at it's outer
 e, giving about thirty-five feet of
 ter at the end of our docks, suffi-
 nt for any vessel. The mud flats
 ke excellent anchorage for small
 fit. as no storms ever blow hard
 ,ugh to injure the cedar planking
 a skiff. With such a harbor, and
 h the excellent road connecting
 city with the vast resources of
 interior, it is only a very short
 ne until some con;pany or the gov lment itself, will build a branch
 e, connecting Valdez with the gov lment road at Fairbanks. This is r city's ultimate hope, and we have
 less an authority than Col. Swan 5, and another military gentleman $yh in the counsels of the admins .ation, to verify our prognostica- .s.n. Both these gentlemen have in- .rmed the Prospector, that if for no her reason than it's strategic impcr- nee to the interior the government .,uld never let go its hold upon Val 2 Bay. For many years it has been .cognized among military powers as e one place in Alaska where the .et of the nation could lie in safety a second Kiel canal. The road meeting Valdez with the interior is lst the experimental stage; :t has zen demonstrated that tourists can ake better time from Valdez to airbanks and other interior points 7 days and days, than by any other ute and in greater comfort and .curity. The past summer dozen ltos have carried passengers over lis route, making the trip in from lree and q half to five days, and at- ,rding the tourist and traveller the reatest scenic route in Alaska.
 That all these natural advantages ave been overlooked so long by cap al and by our government, comes artly through the fault of our citi- ms and partly through unforeseen Our citizens lack the in asking for appro- riations displayed by certain other laska cities, preferring to let things ,ck along, knowing that we have a pod thing, and trusting to time to ring them to the attention of capi- Il, while other places located more isadvantageously, and with not half le resources, both natural and local, ave secured the plums. On the other and, just when the cards seemed on le point of turning for Valdez, and hen things have been breaking pod, along comes financial panic, nd you couldn't pry off any money 'ith a crow-bar. We have talked ailroad, dreamed railroad, and even lrveyed and started to build rail- pads, but we either tied up with the 'rong crowd, or the crowd lacked the apital and pull to make it success. is an undoubted fact that the cop CT from the Kennecitt mines and he Upper River country could be auled to tidewater by the Valdez oute much cheaper than by any oth- r route. The haul is shorter. the nows are not 50 deep, there would be o million dollar bridges nor expen- i've slides, and our port is much bet er protected and easier navigated han any other. The wealth of the 'anana valley lies at our doors, but lacks transportation; Fairbanks fig carer to us than any other city, but he lack transportation. The route , more level to Fairbanks than any ther route that could have been hosen, yet other routes were chosen Why? Because their people went fter them, and labored unceasingly