Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-06-04

sageway from Seattle to Seward. where
the new railroad touches the Pacific,
| must play practically as essential
part in the great engineering enterprise
as the bridges which carry 1t across
rivers and chasms. In order to insure
! the efficiency and safety of this great
water link that will cooperate with
| the government railway in the rapid
advancement of Alaska, and on which
! the development of the territory in the
past has depended. the government.
through the coast and geodetic survey.
| is carrying on what is perhaps at once
the most difficult and the most impor-
tant coast survey work in the history
OF the country.
The inland passage. as it is called, be,
tween the United States proper and
Alaska is the most dangerous water
route traversed by large ships adjacent
to the United States. Its dangers, 1t
| might be said, are due to the thing for
which Alaska has worldwide fame
scenery-for the rugged peaks and crags
| that rise sheerly from the shores of the
channels have their counterpart In
peaks that barely fail to emerge from
the apparently safe waters. Ships in
the Alaskan trade are not safe from
these pinnacles in either calm or storm.
and many vessels have been wrecked
by striking them unexpectedly All OF
these waters were surveyed according
to old methods with the lead line soon
after the purchase of Alaska. but 1t
was impossible to locate sharp PIN
nacles by this method. and as result
most of the hidden dangers OF this sort
which had been charted until rev
years ago had been located only by the
Unfortunate wrecks they had caused.
The coast and geodetic survey per
fected the wire-drag method or UNDER
water surveying on the Atlantic coast
and began to apply 1t in Alaska only
following season the new methods
made possible the discovery of forty
FIVE submerged rocks and 3o1 shoals.
representing unknown dangers to
ships. To accomplish this it has been
necessary for the governments hydro
graphic surveyors practically to make
over the wire-drag methods. due to the
high tides, rising In some places thirty
swirls and to the inaccessibility to
ba ses Of operatfon and supplies.
To consider only one of the many
special problems encountered in the
application of the wire drag to the
Alaskan passages. the great tidal
ranges have necessitated dragging
with a wire eiehty-flve feet below the
surface when it was desired to insure
a clearance Of only hftv feet. The ire
mendous pressure at this depth water
wire within n few davs. rendering them
useless. and has. therefore. created
much expense and trouble in regard to
one seemingly unimportant item of
equipment
Already more than third Of the
princiDal passagewav to Alaska has
been dragged and made incomparably
safer for navigation than ever before.
The entire main passaReway will prob
ably have been completely surveyed in
this way by the time the Alaskan rail-
road is completed. There are however
innumerable fiords and arms Of the sea
along which mining and fishing devel-
oDments are in progress and to which
ships are being constantly attracted at
great risk. AS soon as the survey is
completed in the main channel it
should be extended. the federal hydrog-
raphers believe. to the many minor
channels. where II will be of value to
growing industries and perhaps future
ports of importance.
An interesting phase of the wire
drag work in progress in the Alaskan
waters is the serious consideration the
coast and geodetic survey is giving to
the special chart needs Of submarines
With the requirements for vancouver
ing space for Uncle Sans future great
undersea boats in mind. II Is probable
that the survey will before a great
while mark out a passage in which
there is a minimum of seventy-hve feet
In depth al lowest tide. Although this
VIII require still other problems to he
met in the manipulation of the wire
drag. the operators confident that
the work can he carried on success
fully