The Cordova daily times., 1918-06-26
ALASKA ROADS 7. PROVIDED: EOR
 BY AMENDMENT

WASHINGTON-"Congratulate you most sincerely on securing passage of, for Alaska military and post roads and in getting amendment authorizing future estimates. This last is most important thing for Alaska in long time. If present estimate could be in- Fcreased in senate it would be great benefit to work already constructed and now in progress"
 So wired Brigadier General Wilds P. Richardson from his post at Camp Bouregard, Louisiana, to Hon. Chas. A. Sulzer, delegate from Alaska, when he learned that the house of represen- tatives had passed the military appro- priation bill, carrying with it $100,00O for Alaska roads and trails, and in cluding an amendment introduced by Delegate Sulzer, providing that the secretary of war be authorized to make estimates for the work to be carried on by the Alaska road commission. By adoption of this amendment it will be impossible in the future for any member of congress to have the item for road building thrown out on d point of order, as was done several times in former years.
 Obstacle to Road Appropriation
 From the organization of the Alaska road commission up to the present time, the secretaries of war, year after year, at the earnest solicitation of Brigadier General Wilds P Rich ardson, made estimates for road work in Alaska and asked congress to ap- propriate sums varying from $100,000 to $500,000 This was done notwith- standing the fact that there was no congressional authorization for such appropriations. Each year the road commission was in fear of having the item stricken from the military bill | on a point of order, and several times 1 this was done, but, fortunately, always was restored later by the senate. In view of this circumstance and the fear 1 that the appropriations would not be l made, the Alaska road commission at | all times was handicapped to the | extent that it could not plan ahead, even though it had the approval of the war department, and could not con tract for supplies or anticipate any funds until the appropriation was ac- tually made.
 For years the road commission wanted congress to make provision to | authorize these estimates but was un- able to secure this result until Del | egate Sulzer succeeded in getting through the amendment on the floor of the house, and in the face of some op- position, which at times threatened to be serious or positively fatal.
 Department Shuts Down
 | In 1917 the war department asked for an appropriation of s5O0.OOO for building roads and trails and for main taining those already constructed in Alaska. When the matter came before the house, in the military appropria- ton bill, the road appropriation was stricken out on point of order After an uphill campaign among his sena- torial friends, MT. Sulzcr succeeded in having the item restored in the sen- ate and the money ultimately became available. But the point of order had it's serious effect, for the secretary of war served notice on the president of the road commission that he would refuse in the future to make any es- innate for road work in Alaska except to ask for such funds as might be necessary for maintaining the exist ing roads and trails. | The present secretary of war was greatly discouraged by the continued opposition to the road appropriation and had reached a point where he was almost ready to disapprove the con- tinuance of any work along this line by the department
 In making his estimates for the fis- cal year 1919, Secretary Baker asked for only $1O0,OO0 for maintenance, an amount entirely inadequate to carry on the work which the road commiss-