The Nenana daily news. (Nenana, Alaska) 1918-1921, 1918-04-15
STRONG SHOWS
ROAD INTEREST:
REGRETS DELAY
Retiring Governor Recognizes Need
of Feeders to Government
Railroad.

insure the successful operation of
the government railroad, now under
construction in Alaska, and that more
liberal appropriations are necessary
for road building purposes, with
greater cooperation between terri
torial and federal road builders, are
points given prominence in a Letter
written by Governor Strong, in He-
ply to a letter received from John
C. Murphy, of this city, asking the
support of the governor in the cam
paign which is being made for
road to open up the kantishna coun-
| try.
The governor is heartily in favor
of the construction of roads where
ever they will lessen the difficulties
of development and makes his atti-
tude plain on this point in his letter
to Mr.. Murphy, which is as follows:
Juneau, Alaska, Mar. %, 1918.
Mr. John C. Murphy, Nenana, Alaska
Dear Sir:-The receipt is &C
knowledged of your letter of Feb
ruary II, with enclosures, in which
you urge the necessity which exists
for the construction of wagon road
| to the great Kantishna mining region.
''In reply A have to say that
have read your letter carefully, as
we'll as the documents which accom-
panied it. l believe that no one
conversant with the subject of good
roads can gainsay any statements
you make. In any country good
roads have been found to be a
prime factor in it's development, and
Alaska, with its boundless stretches
and it's diversified natural resources,
cannot and will not be developed eX-
cept in spots until comprehensive
road and trail system has been es-
tablished. l cannot conceive of any
better use to which territorial funds
can be put than in the intelligent
construction of roads and trails so
as to afford means to he intending
farmer, to the prospector and the
miner, by which agricultural and
mineral regions can be easily reached.
Of course, this will entail an expen-
diture of vast sums of money, but
this being a vast country and of vast
natural resources, such expenditure
would be entirely justified. The
government railroad, now under con-
struction, must have roads as feed
ers to furnish tonnage, if it is to
be the success which it is hoped it
will be. And in the matter of secur-
ing more roads and more trails, the
Incorporation of the federal and ter
ritorial governments, in my opinion,
is absolutely necessary. Under the
present territorial system, $4,000
is allowed to each of the four judi
cial divisions each year. The federal
government expends probably about
two and one-half times that amount
but l find that there is little co-or
dination in the work of the Alaska
Road commission and the Territorial
Road commission, although to some
extent an effort is being made to
bring about such coordination. In
the future, no doubt, a system will
be devised by which better work will
be done. But the amounts now spent
=. are but drops in the bucket to what
is needed. Alaska should spend al
i, least one million dollars a year fol-
many years to come in the building
of roads and trails so that those re
moter districts in the country which
are promising agriculturally anG
, mineralogically, can be reached ana
, be made to render service to the
. people. l apprehend that at this
time it will be difficult to secure
large appropriations for this work
| especially from the federal govern
Iment. because of the awful war ir
, (which we are now engaged, and which
calls for the necessary expenditure
of billions of money and the bes
: efforts of all the people. But thi
/ war will pass and, when that happ!
t day has arrived, men will turn theil
l attention to this territory, and it.
t resources will be developed through