The Cordova daily times., 1919-05-03
PREPARED FOR ACTION

When the congress of the United
States is convened in extra session
this spring to consider weighty ques-
tons which should have been dis
posed of by the Sixty-fifth congress,
many of the seats will be occupied
by new members, for the most part
unfamiliar with the measures which
will require their immediate atten-
ton. Bills which failed of passage
during the late session because of
the pernicious activity of Senator
LaFollette, of Wisconsin, and his arch
conspirator, Sherman, of Illinois, must
be reviewed again in detail and lot
OF questions will be asked before final
action is taken.
Among the many requests for funds
which will be presented, will be that
of the secretary of the interior for
sufficient money to complete the gov
eminent railroad in Alaska. The Sec
rotary appreciates the Importance of
securing prompt action on this mat
ter, and Alaskans have the assurance
that the request for funds will be ac-
companied by a very complete ex-
PLANTATION, covering work already
done, work contemplated and the
bearing that the completed project
will have upon the development of
interior Alaska's resources This as
surance is contained in the announce
ment, made some time ago, that J. L..
Mcpherson has been assigned to the
task of preparing data for the enlight-
eminent of congressman unfamiliar
with the northland.
Mr.. Mcpherson is an oldtime
Alaskan and, as manager of the
Alaska bureau of the Seattle Chamber
of Commerce, his time, for a number
of years past, has been devoted al
most exclusively to study of Alaskan
conditions and needs and the encour-
agement of development and construc-
tive legislation. He knows Alaska as
few men know the territory, and he
realizes that the interior countrys
greatest need at this time is a better
ment of transportation facilities.
Mr.. Mcpherson spent several
months in Alaska last summer, in
quiring into the special needs OF the
various districts, and he mushed from
one end Of the railroad to the other
for the purpose of gathering first hand
information regarding the progress of
the government enterprise. Having
had considerable experience in rail-
road work, Manager Mcpherson will
be able to present this Information in
manner that will materially assist
Secretary Lane in securing funds for
the completion of the railroad.
With the necessary funds available
Mr. Mcpherson believes the work
could be pushed to completion within
two years, and from an economic
standpoint, he says, the work should
be continued without interruption.
The added cost of the project, he ex-
planned in recent statement pub
Iished in the Seattle Times, is due to
a marked increase in the cost of
labor, materials and supplies. Labor
costs, he says, have advanced fifty per
cent over the estimate of 1914, and
materials and supplies have jumped
from fifty to sevnty-five per cent.
Overhead and operating costs are
increasing yearly and now average
approximately 100000 month,
which, he points out, Is q strong ar.
gument In favor Of rushing the work
to completion.
For q number of years. in the
opinion OF Mr.. Mcpherson, the rail
road must depend almost entirely
upon through TRAFFIC. For the devel-
opnent Of local traffic, he says. It will
be necessary to build wagon roads
and branch lines of the railroad into
districts which connot be developed
under existing conditions.
IL mistakes have been made by the
Alaskan Engineering Commission, Mr..
Mcpherson Is not advertising the fact
His trip overland, along the right OF