The Alaska citizen., 1917-04-16
F II ONE 262
A BIG YEAR.

Another turn of the wheel and again prospects are brighter for d bigger year than Fairbanks and the entire Interior have ever experienced The passage oi the two Alas kan appropriatious-ou for tlc government railroad and the other for road work-lndi- cate that there will be plenty ot work for every man here, and possibly will causc the influx of hundreds ot laborcrs.
 The usual number of men and teams will probably be employed on the seasons road work in this division, and practically all of the money thus expended comes directly or indirectly back to Fairbar k merchants for supplies The entire country will also benefit by the Improvement of the trails in being able to maintain the service between Fairbanks and the coast. Other trails than the Fairbanks-\ aldcz will also come in for big share oi the improvement Remote set dement's will get in closer touch with us, making supplies more easily secured and com munication quicker and more satisfactory.
 The largest benefits will undoubtedly ac- cruc from the railroad appropriation, ALI though there has been no definite apportion- ment of the funds by Chairman I.dcs, of the Alaskan Engineering commission, there Is no reason to suppose that thi, division will be cut in its original estimates, as these are a part of the figures oil which the appropria- ton was asked for and made. Commissioner Riggs originally asked for between two and a half and three million dollars, and while a great part of this money will go for matcri- als and supplies bought in the States not inconsiderabe portion will go for wages and other supplies that can be purchased here.
 The condition oi food markets in the States at present should add to our oppor- tunities in fact, they do offer us an advan-I tage that will mean thousands of dollars ii we take the proper steps to seize the oppOr- tunity presented. The visible supply of lots of items on the food supply list is shorter in the States than ever before. The demand this year will be greater than has ever been made on them. Prices on nearly every item have already increased, and prospects for adj ditiOnal advances are great The fact thatI the federal government is preparing to take charge of the food situation shows clearly that the United States Is facing a serious problem in feeding the nation next year.
 These conditions furnish the Alaska farmer his big chance It is up to him to make good. The railroad commission must purchase tons of supplies for its comnssaries There is no valid reason why these supplies should not be purchased here, even in normal times. But with the abnormal conditions that are now prevalent, we believe that COmms- sioner Riggs would welcome the chance to| buy every ton of foodstuff that he can ob- tain from the local farmers or merchants
 It has been demonstrated times without number that Alaska and the Fairbanks dis trict can raise the finest vegetables that are grown anywhere, and the size of the harvest is limited only by the amount of acreage put in. But don't wait until harvesting time toI make arrangements with the commission. ItI must be assured of securing supplies either here or from the States and ii they come from the States it takes time to purchase and ship them in. Therefore get busy today and get contracts or orders for all you can raise and keep some of that $3,OOO,OOO railroad money here for home use This is bound toI be Fairbanks record year up to the present time, but just how big it is will depend large ly on how we take hold of our opportunities
 NO CONIPRONTSE