The daily Alaska citizen., 1919-11-29
FROM A BUSINESS STANDPOINT

From statement made by Engineer m-Chage Browne during his recent visit here, ii is evident that he would like to put steel across the Panama river at Nenana thus linking up the two ends of steel on the interior end. but he k still regarding it from a purely business standpoint of whether or not the tonnage offered will justify it. While it is understood that he has not definitely determined as to the outcome he is known to favor having as swcd at least 2OOO tons of fuel or other supplies. aud there is nothing to be ship ped to Fairbanks from the Ncnana region except coal, before putting the connection in.
 From the attitude thus displayed one might well assume that the government is building the Alaska railroad solely for fi- nancial enrichment; that it expects every foot of track to pay its way from the very start Anyone familiar with the history of the project will realize at once that such is not the case The primary object of the road is to develop Alaska and not until its material resources are well along in the process of development will the railroad begin to pay even its running expenses much less an equitable return on the money invested. If we may be allowed to sug- gcst to Nr. Browne, two of the resources to be developed are coal and dormant fields of mineral dcsposits. And in the case of the interior the development of the latter can either be hastencd or retarded by that of the former. A visitor to the creeks to- day will find that only a fractional part of the workable ground thereon is being pre- pared for next seasons operations. High operative costs keeps unWorked in this dis trict alone a larger area of dirt than that which is being used. But one notices that on the claims to be worked next season, the operators are putting in fuel and that fuel is wood and not coal.
 Why?
 It is not because they, or the most of them, have any doubt as to the efficiency of the coal for stcaming purposes; nor that it will not prove to be more easily used and cheaper than wood, but because they are blocked off from the coal mines by a gap of about one and one-half miles of un- tracked right-of-way. It is not a ques- ton of getting fuel supplies for next sea son, at least for the greater part of the operators In order to get wood they have had to make their contracts early and their wants are supplied for the coming mining season. But if, when the end of the next working year comes around, there is no track in. if coal has not been landed in the district and given a thOro test, it is going to be the same thing over again. The operators will have no choice but to con- tract fo. more wood in order to be insured of fuel. And until the men who have the courage and sufficiently rich ground to mine under present adverse conditions give the fuel tryOut, owners of ground not be- ing worked assuredly will not And that means that the ground will remain idle, it's resources untouched for an indefinite time We say indefinite advisedly, since it will be a few years at least before there is a permanent bridge across the Panama mv- CT and if the builders propose to wait until they get assurance from Fairbanks of suf- ficient coal tonnage before they will put a temporary line over the ice to establish thru connection during the winter season it will be some time before it is done.
 If there is any other portion of the line which is paying it's way, or any sec tion that has as yet paid for itself, The Citizen has yet to hear of it. Why then should there be made an exception in the DrpSpnt caSp2 Is if the purpose of the