The Seward gateway and the Alaska evening post., 1917-02-06
KATALLA ASKS J. s. LINE ID
 COAL FIELDS
Residents Petition for 50 Mile Railroad, Oil is
 Mentioned

KATALLA, (SpeciaD-At a meet ing of the citizens of Katalla and Vii cinity, held Jan. 24th, a petition was unanimously adopted and is being signed by every resident of this sec tion, asking that the government build railroad to the Boring river cial fields.
 The memorial to President Wilson and congress follows:
 We, the undersigned citizens of ka- talla. Alaska, respectfully pray that small portion of the appropriation of S35 100000, made by congress Tor the construction of 1000 miles of government railroad in Alaska, be used in constructing a line of road through the Katalla and Mirror Slough oil fields to the Bering river coal fields, a distance of about fifty miles.
 In support of this prayer we re- Spectfully submit:
 First: That the Alaska engineer ing commission, appointed by the president in conformity with the AL aska railroad act, is now engaged in constructing a line of railroad from Seward, Alaska, to Fairbanks. Alas ka. a distance of about 700 miles.
 Second: That the road now under construction will provide transporta- tion for the MatanuSka and Nenana coal fields and the country tributary thereto, but will in no way provide transportation for the Boring river coal. nor the oil of the Katalla and Mirror Slough fields.
 Third: That an estimate of the cost of construction and equipment of the road now being built from Seward to Fairbanks by the Alaskan engi- neering commission, is $27OOO,OO, leaving S.OOO,OOO of the $&5,OOO,OOO appropriated still to be used.
 Fourth: That the line of road herein prayed for has been surveyed by private parties and careful esti- mates of the cost of construction and equipment made and that said amount does not exceed $3,OOOO0O.
 Fifth: That the geological reports of the government show the coal of the Boring river fields to be equal Tn quality and quantity to that or any other coal in Alaska.
 Sixth: That the Katalla and Mir TOT Slough fields are the only fields producing commercial oil in the ter ritory.
 Seventh: That under the present policy of the government in conStruc- ting all naval vessels for the use ot oil, the oil of these fields is of vital importance to the government.
 Eighth: That the coal of the Der ing river field and the products of the oil are absolutely necessary to the re- duction of the vast deposits of copper and other ores of the Copper river , valley.
 Ninth: That without this coal and oil, development of this section must cease.
 Tenth: That owing to all coal and oil lands in the territory having beer withdrawn from private entry, prl' vate capital cannot be found to fur nish transportation for the coal anc oil. The past ten years are sufficient to emphasize this fact. Different par, ties have undertaken to construct diff ferent roads and all have failed with conseqeunt disaster to this com munity.
 Eleventh: That under the present policy of leasing all coal and oil lands the government alone can successfully engage in transportation. 1 Therefore, we most earnestly pray that S3 1000 ,OO0 of the $35,O00.000 ap. propriated by congress for the con struction of railroads in Alaska, be set aside and that the same be applied to the construction of road from ] the Bering river coal field through the Katalla and Mirror Slough oil fields tc a point on the Copper River X North western railway, where these pro ducts can reach market and harbol already established; and further tha' the president instruct one of the three members of the present engineering commission to at once begin the con struction of said line, and to this enc vour petitioners will ever pray.