Evening star., 1917-04-15

Copyright, 1917, by Frank G. Carpenter.)
~7HE Alaska railway is steadily
progressing. over 100 miles Of
track are now ready for the
& rails. thirty-fve miles of the
line are in operation, and by the sum
mer of 1919 Pullman cars will be run
ming from Seward to Fairbanks. At
least. this is what I am told by Nj W.
commission, who has been here in
Washington making preparations for
an active campaign next summer. Just
now we are at the beginning of spring,
but Alaska is still in the throes of it's
winter. The thermometer all along
the line of the road is bobbing up and
down around zero, and thick coat of
snow covers most of the right -of-way.
The smaller streams are still frozen.
the ice going down to seven or eight
feet from the surface and penetrating
the beds underneath. The rivers have a
coating of ice several feet thick, and
shedding can be done over the snow
and the ice. Enormous quantities of
railway materials are now being car
ried into the places most difficult to
reach, and great deal of hauling is
being done to save the expense of build
ing wagon roads next summer.
During the past year the work of
construction has gone on at both ends
of the line. They have been working
along the Alaska Northern from Seward
to Anchorage. They have been build
ing n new road from Anchorage north
ward, and have been grading and pre-
pairing the route from Fairbanks and
Tanana, working toward the south. In
addition, parties of surveyors have been
preparing the road through the noun
tainS.
Cars have been running on the
Alaska Northern, and the trains can
now take one across the greater part of
the kenai peninsula. This section is
producing u revenue of something like
$500 per month. Further north, about
fifty miles of track have been in op-
GRAFTON from Anchorage, and thirteen
miles of additional track are ready for
the steel rails. The branch to the Ma
tanuska coal fields is within twelve
miles of being completed. 1t already
reaches the coal-5earing area, and the
government has opened a mine at
Moose creek and is now shipping coal
into Anchorage. All of the coal used on
that part of the railroad now comes
from Moose creek, and Anchorage has
plentiful supply. The coal is not as
good as the Chickaloon coal, farther in
land. but it serves the purpose and will
be of great value in future railway con-
struction.
The first depot on the road has been
built at Anchorage. 1t is a one-story
log cabin, and tackled upon it's wallis are
the first railway time tables. These
give the arrivals and departures on
the main line and the Matanuska
branch. On each division there are
trains on three days of the week only
and the time made is fifteen miles or
less per hour.
The commission is now publishing
railroad paper known as the Alaska
weekly and 1t will give all information
concerning the branches of railway
construction iE Alaska. 1t will be much
like the government record published
at Panama. although by no means so
large or pretentious. single copies cost
cents and the subscription price per
year is 81.
The last issue lies before me- 1t
gives the coal tariff and the baggage
regulations. The latter are about the
same as those of the states. One hun
dred and fifty pounds are carried free
on each full fare and all pieces of over
Trainmen are warned that passengers
must not carry their baggage into the
coaches, and charge of so cents is
made for lost baggage checks.
The paper gives facSimileS of the
meal tickets and commissary tickets is
sued by the commission. All employees
can get their meals at the government
restaurant and commissary books. is
sued in coupons, can be used at the
government stores. This makes the liv-
ing Of the employees along the line COM
paratively cheap. 1t is after the same
plan pursued at Panama.
The Alaska Railroad Record shows
that the conditions along the line of
the road are somewhat the same
those along the line of the canal Every
copy has list of missing men" or in
quiries concerning husbands and sons
who have disappeared from the knowl-
edge of their relatives. There are also
records of the new rife clubs and base
ball teams and of the railroad branch
of the Y. NJ. c. A. This branch was
organized last December. and an active
campaign for members has been going
on during the winter. The work was
done by two rival associations among
the employees. one of which was known
as the Hustlers and the other as the
Rustlers. The chief activity was at