The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-04-16

From the New York Times.
I'm the official announcement that the
government has chosen the Seward
Il Fairbanks route for its S35,000,000 rail-
road in Alaska there is one sentence
which will, or should, attract some atten-
ton Over a part of this route a rail-
road has been built which is not in opera
ton. 1t is called the Alaska Northern
road OF this link in the new line the
government statement says
1.-THE Alaska Northern has been pur-
chased for price less than its physical
valuation as estimated by the Alaskan
engineering commission and by the en-
gineers of the interstate commerce COM
mission
That is, the government gets the road
at price less than that determined to be
its physical value by the governments
own agents. In a private trade that
would be called good bargaining perhaps
sharp bargaining. Persons of saving
turn of mind may be glad to note that
the government is such a good trader. But
do the people in general want their gov
eminent, in their behalf, to acquire private
property at less than it's value, as deter
mined by the government itself? OF course
there is the easy answer that perhaps the
government paid all that the private own
ers asked for the property. 1t is good
answer but not conclusive. There is
history back of the purchase. Seward, the
southern terminus of the road, is a town,
or the beginning of town, on Resurrec-
ton bay, near the coast line. The Alaska
n,,iit \, n
Seward toward the Matanuska coal field.
There was, of course, a promise of profit
able business otherwise the road would
not have been built. But the government
closed the coal mines, fearing that they
might be exploited by private capital
lists. Then Alaska passed through a pc
riod of government neglect. With good
and cheap coal near at hand, the people of
Ala ska We're left to freeze or to get coal
at exorbitant prices from a great dis
lance. And the coal fields remained UNI
developed. In pamphlet issued by the
Alaska bureau of the Seattle Chamber
of Commerce last year we are told that
Seward was selected by the Alaska
Northern railway as its ocean terminus
for the exploitation Of the Matanuska coal
fields, but with the closing of the coal
fields and cessation of work on the rail-
road experienced hard times SO did the
road 1t experienced such hard times that
the government is now able to buy It at
less than its physical value.
Il Wall street had done this thing, there
would have been a howl longer and loud
er than that of the wolf on Unalaska s
shore First the government closes the
coal mines thus converting the Alaska
Northern into two streaks OF rust, and
then buys the road for less than the
value of the property. If the late Mr..
Morgan or Mr.. Hartman had wrung the
heart and life out of railroad and then
bought it at such a bargain, the ex-
pilot would have furnished the writer's for
the undertaking magazines-a race now
happily extinct-with unnumbered pages
of copy; and there would have been a
! congressional investigation.
| We suppose the government knew what
| it was about when it chose the~Seward
route instead of the route from Cordova.
Between Seward and Cordova there is ali,
active rivalry, such as often arises between
| live and competing towns in more settled
parts of the country The partisans of
| Cordova insist that the government should
have chosen that route. To begin with,
Cordova is 225 miles nearer Puget sound
| than Seward. Seward is therefore about
"a hours steaming time further from the
principal markets. From Cordova to Fair
banks is AS miles, while the government
announcement puts the distance from
Seward to Fairbanks at AL miles. Grades.
accessibility to the mining and agricul-
tural sources of Alaska, are also said to
be in favor of the Cordova contention. The
| first Alaska railroad commission reported
that, after study of available harbors,
1.-The commission is of the opinion that
| the one at Cordova is without question
best" The advantages of the route re-
jected by the government over the Seward
route which it has accepted were summed
up in this wise in a statement prepared
not long ago, while the question was pend
ing:
.If the Cordova route is the shortest
has the easiest grades can be built quick
/ er at less cost, can be maintained and