The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-03-23

f This paper is not exceedingly keen for government ownership. Conditions of employment are under government very little better goner- ally, and sometimes very much worse than under private owne ship. But the fact remains that unless the people of this country are going to | solve their transportation problem | or (which is much more correct) have it solved for them, it is to be solved simply by government pro- viding transportation from Alaska to outside ports and this should have been done long before govern ment thought about using good money up on doubtful railroad proposition.
 With a goyernm1nt Ene of Gt2am- CTS to St. Michaels, acting in CO., operation with a government line of river boats, up to the interior points, we would be provided with a much quicker and much moro sa- tisfactory solution of the Alaskan transportation problems than the government railroad from Seward to Fairbanks will immediately pro vide upon it's construction. Nor would the cost be anything so enormous. Immediately the gov ernment would obtain an insight into the traffic demands of the coun- try and control the situation for tbc. country's benefit.
 kureay-it is obvious that any spe- culation as to the traffic which will 1 follow the opening up of the rail But what is not conjectural is that the portion of the territory tribu- tary of such railroad is so restricted and so limited and the development that will follow of necessity is also limited and so restricted, that it Is not impossible it may result in re- tarding the entire territory at the expense of very small section in- deed.
 It is confidently felt in Fairbanks that the construction of the railroad would also result in the reduction of i the rates on the river, whicn no doubt is correct. But it is not prob able that this would benefit the Gi- tuation much for taking away from ] the railroad traffic. during the busy gummcr season, freight which would tand to assist in pay1ng Cpo-at.Cn OK penses throughout the year, would months the railroad to recoup itself would have to insist upon higher rates.
 In this it is pre-supposed that the management of the government rail- road would endeavor to at least come near making the venture a profitable proposition.
 The railroad for very consider able time would face condition that steamer transportation does also face: the fact that it's freight Is carried only one way. This is far more detrimental to the finances of railroad than to the finances of a steamship company for the reason that the operating expenses being directly proportional to the trains run, are also 90 much higher than over Gn ocean route.
 Now it is quite certain that hay ing embarked upon the government railroad there will be no thought for a considerable time at any rate of solving the other and more inn portant end of the Alaska trans portation problem: over the ocean In the absence of any effort in this direction, and it's why we have con sidered the matter at such length. It IS to be pointed out that slowly but surely and steadily with the rise in rates will also the cost of living expand itself. Now no men in AL aska want to spend all their savings ion coal and grub and clothing. No men in Alaska propose to remain here for the immediate benefit the country gets from their presence. But in the fact of the declining pur- chasing power of the wages paid. what else arc they going to do un- less their wages rise in proportion to the cost of living?
 Wages which prevail now are in