The Monticellonian., 1916-11-23

4 FTER hearing Stephen Mather
 ~ of the department of the in- A terior and James Wiekersham,
 delegate from Alaska 10 con gresS talk about that country and it's future possibilities you almost think that one of the routine duties of the United States ambassador at Petro- grad ought to be to apologize 10 the Russians every other day or so for buying that peninsula for only S7,- 0O0000 And what Mather and Wick ersham are saying k what the 60,000 people of the territory and all the big game hunters and naturalists of the United States are thinking and what all the travelling, sightseeing world will gladly admit, say those who aI- ready know, as soon as the federal government is ready to invite the world to come and ride on its new railroad to the new Mount Mckinley national park, remarks a writer in the New York Times.
 The railroad, strictly government enterprise, is now under construction. A bill to set aside 2,200 square miles of the Alaska range the highest land on the continent, as q national park has been introduced by Mir. Wicker sham and is pending in congress. But park and road should be considered to- gether in making any forecast of what Alaska is going to mean to the country at large. The railroad, which starts at Seward on the southern coast of the peninsula-the Gulf of AlaSka-fs to run north to Fairbanks, q distance of Hoo miles, or almost half way to the shores of the Arctic. The primary, commercial purpose of the road k to provide an outlet for the products of the rich Panama valley. but, plus that, it will make Mount Mckinley. now not much more than q name except to q handful of explorers and hunters, as accessible as Yellowstone park.
 The new railroad will bring Mount Mckinley within three weeks travel of New York city which k another way of saying that the sledloaas of dead animals will become great deal more numerous unless the government is armed with protective park author ity before the sale of railway tickets begins
 Little Gold in Proposed Park
 There is no fear that the mining and hunting privilege will be menace to the region as park As q matter of fact said Robert Sterling Yard, who is associated with Mir Mather in all national park matters, i've de not expect the mining operations to amount to much, for the evidence of the geological experts indicates that there Is little gold in the region which Is to be set apart. As to the game, we will have in Mount Mckinley park the repetition of the story of the Tel lOWStone. where there has not been 4 gun fired legally since 1872 and where there is more game now than before the coming of the white man, for now there are no Indian hunters. Cavalry patrols and ceaseIeSs watching for pOachers have made the Yellowstone paradise for animals. Mckinley is that now, always has been and with the passage of this bill, always will be"
 But the conservation of wild life, as important as that is. is but one of the objects which the government has in view in the Alaska range
 The railroad, at least to Broad pass, will be ready for operation by the sum mer of 1917, either by the government itself or by private capital under fed eral lease, q detail that has not yet been worked out but the main point is to get Mount Mckinley and the 2.200 square miles of surrounding country under the jurisdiction of the depart ment of the interior as q national park before the stream of tourist travel is turned into the country over the new line. Otherwise there will be serious damage to one of the chief assets of the region, its present abundance of great game. So keen Is the apprecia- tion of this danger that Assistant See retary Mather is being backed fin his efforts to get the required legislation bY ThQ American Game protaoti-., ,,e,