The weekly Alaska citizen., 1918-12-30
PREAMBLE AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS AS
 SUBMITTED BY THE COMMITTEE

be given not only scientific advice
 and assistance. by competent tech
 nical men, but he must also recelVe material and financial aid.
 Since tine prospector IS the very foundation of the mining industry congress should recognize fully It's responsibility for the furtherance ol such an important industry by reno ering him such assistance as may be necessary. Government aid has been extended to the farmer, both educa tionally and financially, and there are many provisions for the assistance oi other industries. Tine United States is building a railroad into the interior of Alaska and, in fact, there has been a marked disposition on the part ol congress during the past few years to do anything necessary for the up building and development of this vast empire.
 | The railroad, however, in order to be successful, requires tonnage, ana since mining is beyond any question the most important industry of the interior of Alaska, it must be the mining industry that the railroad Will have to look to for this tonnage, not only in hauling ore from the lnterlol 10 the coast, but also in transporting supplies and provisions from the coast to the interior. Therefore, so that to protect the investment or thls railroad, which already amounts to some $3O.000,000. the mining industry must not be allowed to perish thru sheer inanition and since, aS we have seen, prospecting of the new, thoro going, painstaking kind is absolutely essential to the mining industry, the prospector must receive such assist ance as will enable him to meet the changed conditions of mining.
 Under the plans outlined in the re- port, it is not expected that the gov ernment will furnish anything but a temporary loan to the mining indus try of Alaska, and it is expected that within a short period of time this work of assisting the prospector will become self supporting. Under this plan there will be a responsible tech. nical man, with such assistance as he may require, in each division of Alaska. This would have incidentally secondary result that in short time these engineers would have ac. curate and reliable data of the min. eral resources and possible mineral production of the section; informa tion which would be of priceless value to our government in times of stress.
 In the great crisis just passed Alaska did her share in furnishing men, money and material required by the government, nor is what she did a fraction of what she can do if ne- cessary after her entire resources are developed. and she feels, and justly so, that in asking for this temporary loan to assist her prospectors she is asking for nothing but what should be freely and gladly given. We furthermore recommend that copy of our report should be sent to the Honorable, the Secretary of the Interior, Franklin K. Lane; to MT. w. A. Ryan. his representative; to Alaska's Delegate to Congress; to MT. Wm. c. Edes, chairman of the Alas kan Engineering Comm ission; to MT. Frederick D. Browne, engineer in charge of the interior division, Alas. kan Engineering commission; to MT. Thomas F. Riggs, Jr., governor of Alaska; to each member of our terri torial legislature; and to each com. mercial organization and newspaper in the territory; and that the Nation. al organization of the American Min ing Congress be requested to take all possible steps to secure favorable ac- ton upon this plan by the congress of the United States.
 Fairbanks, Alaska, Dec. 9, 1918. To the Alaska Chapter, American
 Mining Congress:
 We, your committee on government aid to the prospectors, find that there is one thing that has driven the pros. pector from Alaska. Without the necessity of referring to statistics it is a patent fact that within the past few years an entire change in condi- tions has come about which has all but driven the prospectol out of business. Mining has been reduced to a scientific calculation of values, tonnage, etc.-cold dollars and cents and return to the old and some. what reckless way of doing business is neither desirable nor possible. Since prospecting of an extensive na. ture is one of the essential require ments for the future development of mining in Alaska, and in order that the efforts of the future prospector may not be wasted, he must be given not only scientific advice and as.