Iditarod pioneer., 1916-12-16
SOURHUEsfsS OF .aLASKA
 DISAPPOINTED IN RAILROAD
 ACCORDING TO TKE sSfGR2

A story appearing IN Phe Great lSliu'as published in Denver from the pen of Jack Jungmever, and sent ont from Seward, has enough Of truth relative tn the attitude ot the Alaska sourdough toward the govern ment railroad to remove it from the 6;asS of fiction, but at that II would seem to do an injustice to .thc o'd-timers on the coast who viewed with concern the era of scdn omy in expenditures introduced by the raI- way commission. IL is as fellows;
 The Seward tairbank government rail road IS hated by most of the people II IS being built to bencht Practically every old time Alaskan in this section sReors at 1t. It's builders are being reviled, and the curl- ous thing is that the grubstaker, small miner and ordinary huslnrss fnan Is even Tore 4ituprr2tive than the agents of the big interests that see Alaska slipping from their hands
 '"rhe reason IS that the United States railroad is being economically built There is no lavish expenditure; no waste; no back piclIings
 Many of the oid-timers hefeahouts eX pectpd to waow in comparative wealth, easily drained from the government acot1ers, Merchants find they cannot dump any old thing into the commlssary at top prlceS. Merit is demanded of the employees hard work and efficiency of the station contrac- tors, and square dealing Of she pprveyors furnishing supplies,
 "The appropriations given the engineering commission, these seekers of a soft thing have }earned is not a pork barrel,
 "The line out of Seward snd Anchorage, so far as l can learn, is being built oh strictly business program. The reconstruc- ton of the Alaska Northern now the Sew ard division of the road is being pushed through by R. J. Weir, engineer ln charge under the estimate The same lS true, so far as ] can learn, of the Anchorage dlvl-. sion. in charge of Lieutenant Meals, The general contractor the midG.ieman Ct rah- road building been GEmilated n this project, the government engineers letting, out the station wori, Girect to 1n@ SmII contractors
 In the dcciinmg days of the oil Alaska Northern lax system Of dlsnosing ot Its corlm:ssary supplies and surplus equipment trevailed at Seward. SeverI merchants here got their sta1t m business ln Purcha3 ing wagon loads of platerial for a few dol lars. They expected the same thing from us' sad R. J. We,r englneer n charge and thoy have become S5ufed ca lis hF- cauSt wa ll-i~i on doing husDle>, in hu>l- nessltke &-Iy.
 'Many of the Gl 'saurjou2hs' expected easy iobs with big pay from the commls- sion. Thev felt the government virtually owed them a pension for having opened uD' the country. Some of them have take: station contracts, but practically none ot them will work by the day ,Gt any wage Thcyd rather wait for 9 gi1!h>TaEe and or2sgecc the hiNs. And while they vat ,hpv fcer tie ,cheechako who itas coTn2 in from l1e Outside to work OF JnGe Sams 0G0-nrla ral line,
 "ff Seward pAe commission Is h2!Fg CT!A- ci2cd IucauSc # has aOt erected ~ho"y freight and passenger depot, even thou%" she exact terJni1n.s oi the ro"i has not yet been drtetnIinad nor traffic bneun
 The private transrorta'i>H m2amcS charging Uncle sam }hr fu! t.eiEh. rates they exact from other i. corry!nG steel and supplies, hate the tn: states railroad builders because they are n0F n~ing government vessels to bring Tn m&terII.
 'ALl this hatred is going to be powartGliy reflected at Washington in an cndPavor to retard and muddle the comI,leUon of the Seward Fairbanks road.
 "Every visitor of consequence to Alaska thi: summer has been filed up with it ln the expectation that he wifi disseminate 1t back in tL> States. And behind it ali IS very active propaganda on the part of the few big interests, who fore@ca in the coming cf the government railroad the end ot thelr greedy activities. They gre organizing the l!ttle 'sourdougl' dissatisfaction into ter midable volume for their own purposes,
 '1If the Alaska engineering commission aad been extravagant; if they had muddled the building of the railroad so as to dis courage further government projects ot thlS character, those who now hate 1t so cor dially would have fallen on the comms- sion's neck with gratitude.