The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1916-11-23
ALASKA. RAILWAY
PUSHING AHEAD
THE GOVERNMENT SYSTEM HAS
BEEN BUILT FOR 80 MILES
VAST FARMING REGION
BEING OPENED.

Seward, Alaska .---Wm. C. Edes, chair
man of the Alaskan engineering COM
mission, who decently returned from
Anchorage, reports excellent progress
on the construction of the United
States railroad.
Fifty-nine miles of the track have
been laid from Anchorage. With the
seyenty-one miles of the old Alaska
Northern railway that are now in
operation to Kearn creek, there have
beenIcompleted 1870 miles of the 40
that will connect Seward and Fair
banks. The track so far laid from
Anchorage consists of six miles south
toward Seward, thirty-eight miles of
main line northward to Fairbanks,
and fifteen miles on the Matanuska
branch into the Matanuska coal fields.
The right of way has ben cleared
from Potter creek. on Turnagain Arm
to Kings river. in the Matanuska coal
field, a distance of seventy-seven miles
and on the main line from Matanuska
to the Little Susitna river. Rail will
be laid this fall as far as Kings river
on the Matanuska branch, a distance
of siNty-two miles from Anchorage,
and to Wassilla on the main line, APP
proXimately Is miles from Matanuska
On the main line i'll the Susitna VAL
ley. between Montana Creek and In
dian river, a distance of SO miles, the
right OF way is 20 per cent cleared and
and number of grading contracts
have been let. Grading of the right of
way will proceed in this section from
Talkeetna to Willow Creek, and onrth
to Broad Pass. At Willow Greek it
will connect with the work under the
Matanuska district. and at Broad
Pass With the work from the Nenana
division.
Rail will be laid in the near future
as far as Potter creek. which is fifteen
miles southeast of Anchorage'on Turn
again Arm. and from which point the
rock work on Turnagain Arm will be
attacked during the winter.
For the week ending September 9,
3,56S men We're employed on the
Anchorage division which includes
Commission mpioyees, stationmen
and laborerrs, the August payroll be
ing s25S,33O, 900.
is the main construction base on the
railroad, s between 1000 and 5000
AT Matanuska, the junction Of the
Matanuska branch with the main line
q townsite was recently surveyed by
the Government and tow is now
in course of development There is
also a small town at Moose Creek,
about fifty miles from Anchorage,
where the first mine OH thc railroad
is in operation. At Wassilla, the name
of the town where the railroad crosses
the Knik-Willow Greek wagon road.
several people are gathering. Wassilla
will be the distributing point for
freight and supplies for the Willow
Creek mining district. The Govern
ment is taking immediate steps to
survey small townsites at these places
The railroad north and south from
Anchorage passes through and devel-
ops large agricultural country.
There are now between 500 and 900
homesteaders along the line of the
railroad in this section, and the agri-
cultural land is being rapidly devel-
oped. The homesteaders are supplying
a considerable portrion of the food
stuffs for the railroad employees and
other people in that section of the
country. Recently the Alaskan engin-
eering commission contracted for 400
J tons, or over 1900 bushels of po-
{ tatoes 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 for a large number of
homesteaders in the vicinity of the
railroad, and the Government hopes
to encourage farmers from the States
to come to Alaska and take up home
steads in the territory tributary to
the railroad in order to- develop the