Arizona republican., 1915-04-12
ALASKAN ROAD TO OPEN
tContinued from Page One)

glaciers follows the course of the
 Copper river all the way to Chitna,
 where it turns east again to reach
 the copper mines. It is from the
 Chitna that the proposed route to
 Fairbanks via Cordova contemplated
 the building of BIO miles of new
 railroad.
 Two routes to the Boring river
 fields were suggested. one via Ka-
 tala and the other via Lake Char
 lotte. It has been urged that the
 katalla route would open the coal
 road to attack from open sea in case
 of war, while the Lake Charlotte line, F miles inland, would be protected
 from ships guns by intervening hills. From Seward, on the west shore of Prince William sound. the Alaska Northern railroad. the route chosen. winds through the hills to Kern Creek. on the shore of Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet. The distance is
 T miles and the company now is op- eratinS only light gasoline cars most of the time. heavier equipment pass
 ing over the line only when mining machinery is to be moved inland. It was proposed to continue the line along Turnagain Arm for thirty miles. then swing northward up the east shore of knik Arm crossing that inlet at it's head and folio wthe Stu sitna valley to Chulitna pass. emcr- Sing on the banks of the Chulitna E,.it Broad Pass. the line would make a right angle to find it's way via the canons of the Nenana river to the banks of the Panama along which the final stretch to Fairbanks woulJ lie
 It was suggested that during the summer months Knik harbor on the ] east shore of knik arm would he an available terminal saving 11J miles 'i rali haul to and from Seward. The
 larbor is ice-closed in winter while Seward and Cordova are both ice free roadsteads
 The Seward route is closer to tho coal fields ard to the known mineral reits than the Cordova line and if was argued that the route of tho copper river railroad made it subiect to the moods of the glaciers among winch it threads it's way into inc river mouth
 All reports looked to the eventual extension of the sys.em to Yu;<or rom Fairbanks and also discussed
 additional branch lines tos tan other productive localities.
 ProDab'y the greatest tonnage for lae system eventually will come from ne coal mines of the Natanrsl., or bereinS river regions. Whether tbe oerihg held would supply suitable coai TOT navy use or not has been :, matter Of controversy for years A report on navy tests made in 1o1e was submitted to congress last vear "ilich said the Berng coal was not su'tapie for the navy unless a bipber grade of product was discovered when the deposits were explored for development.
 me coal consumption of the Paci- ne coast has been estimated at 'V''ooo tons annually. exclusive of the 190.0OO tons or more that tho
 navy will need each year. nat the government thinks of
 N'aska Is indicated by the expendi- 'ure of s35,0o0.00o for a railway or almost five times the s7.200 GOO which tinted States paid Russia for Aidsha from Alaskan territory yoId "u"'on worth more than s200. 900 oOO
 a'ieadS has been produced-nearly
 'nirty tunes the purchase price of
 Aiaska-and total of Alaskan re-
 sources III furs and fisheries as wcIl
 as minerals probably now exceed l $500 900 OOO All government experts aerae tho. ne surface of the mineral denos;ts
 mas hardly been scratched as vel
 ooe mining has been confined to l me coastal regions, easy of access
 sfahsportation of machinery and l supplies has been heretofore too diff
 i'o"i' problem in the interior to | permit the working of any but fan l 'astically rich placer deposits only one of the many conner de- 1 posi,s mas been more than pros
 pected and vet copper worth s15.Ooo.-
 V"o has been shipped from the ter ritory
 1 Aiaska has stipulation of about
 '''ooo. half of whom are white i twenty thousand of these white pio- neers are in the central region
 through which the new trunk line
 Will operate and there are indications
 that their number will be quad
 rupled before the whole line is in IOpeTatiOn.