The Cordova daily times., 1916-11-27
EQUIPMENT TO BE.
 DROUGHT TO
 ALASKA

Another big shipment of equipment used in the construction of the Pana- ma canal will he sent from Balboa to Anchorage, Cook Inlet. and placed at the disposal of the army of men build ing the government railroad in the north, according to w. C. Edes, chair man of the Alaska engineering com mission, who recently arrived in Sc attle
 As soon as vessels are available four locomotives, two steam shoyels, about fifty flat cars and other equipment which was used in digging the big waterway will be shipped to Anchor age. Panama canal equipment valued at $250,OO0 and consisting of two steam shoyels, four locomotives and miscellaneous variety of cars, is now being used in the building of the gov ernment railroad in Alaska.
 Edes said that an effort will be made to charter steamships carrying supplies from San Francisco to the canal zone and which have no cargo booked for the return voyage. He explained that the army transports are not suitable for handling this class of cargo.
 We are planning to make some al terations to the United States army transport Crook, which will make her a more desirable vessel for the com mission" said Edes We expect to enlarge her matches and equip her with new winches so that she will be better able to handle shipments of supplies for the railroad. The vessel will be laid up as soon as she reaches Seattle from Anchorage and the work will then be done
 "A great deal of money has been spent for building equipment, supplies, and homes for employees" said Edes, "and now more of the money will go directly into the building of the rail road. We did not even have a shovel when we started to build the road. and all of the equipment had to be pur- chased
 We now have a large amount of equipment in the north, vessels for transporting supplies, about eighty miles of seventy-pound rail not used, ties, bridge lumber and supplies, and next year the work of building the railroad will be carried on rapidly The line will probably be connected up from Seward to Fairbanks by the fall of 1919"
 The population of Anchorage, which is the main construction base on the railroad, is between 4,0O0 and 5000. At Matanuska, the junction of the Matanuska branch with the main line a townsite was recently surveyed by the government, and a town is now in course of development There is also a small town at Moose Creek, about fifty miles from Anchorage, where the first mine on the railroad is in operation. At Wassilla, the name of the town where the railroad crosses the Knik-Willow creek wagon road persons are gathering. Wassilla will be the distributing point for freight and supplies for the Willow creek min ing district. The government is talk ing immediate steps to survey small toWnsites at these places.
 The railroad north and south from Anchorage passes through and deyel- ops a large agricultural country. There are between 800 and 1000 homestead CTS along the line of the railroad in this section, and the agricultural land is being rapidly developed. The home steaders are supplying a consider ahle portion of the fodstuffs for the railroad employees and others in that section of the country. Recently the Alaskan engineering commission con tracted for 400 tons, or more than 13,OOO bushels. of potatoes with the Matanuska farmers.
 Products are being hauled by the farmers to Matanuska and shipped over the railroad to Anchorage and other points along the line There is still room in the vicinity of -he rail road and the government hopes to en courage farmers from the states tC come to Alaska and take up home steads in the territory tributary to the railroad, in order to develop the agri cultural lands so that the country may some day in the near future be self supporting.
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