The Nenana daily news. (Nenana, Alaska) 1918-1921, 1919-10-04

Nsiopeu- WIN tillS cheap power
these mines should be Immediately
opened. Wagon roads will have to
be built to accommodate the con-
struction of power-transmission
lines. These wagon roads will then
be available for the transportation
of machinery and materials to the
mines. Later on, branch lines of
railroad operated by the trolley sys-
tenn may be installed to haul out
the ores to the main line of the
railroad. Within a circle of 200
miles of the site of such a treat
ment plant and power station on
Ignite creek lies the greatest min
eral belt Of the world. Within this
area are copper deposits greater
than any that have ever been
opened to the world, gold, tin, sill
ver-galena. antimony, tungsten, and
many other metalliferous ores. Two
hundred miles would embrace every
known producing gold-feld in Alas
ka Two hundred miles is easily
within the limit of profitable power
TRANSMISSION. Today there is no
market for such power, but were
the plant an accomplished fact, the
demand would be created, the mar
ket would come. As the electric
power developed in connection with
the Arizona and the Idaho reclama-
ton projects is prohtably consumed
by a market wholly the result of
the installation of such plants, so
would our power generated at Lig
mite be consumed. Dredges, drag
line scrapers and other mechanical
aids to mining the alluvial gold
could be operated at less than half
the present cost for power This
would cause much of the low-grade
placer ground now lying undevel-
oped to be profitably worked.
Quartz mines of known richness
now shut down and unproductive
because of the prohibitive cost of
fuel would become Immediately ac-
tive.
The by-products Of the treat
ment of Ignite include many OF
the most valuable industrial in
gradients, dye-stuffs, chemicals, coal
tar derivatives hitherto a monopoly
of Germany would be included, as
we'll as the higher grades of fuel
oils and bases for explosives. The
surplus of electrical power might
even be proftably employed in the
manufacture Of fertilizer, which
would furnish tonnage for our rail
road line on the back-haul to the
coast and for our steamship lines
back TO the States.
Gas it is now our ships in the
Alaska trade must assess against
the inbound traffic all the round
trip expenses. because the return
voyage is empty. So in prospect
at present our railroad cars must
be hauled back to the coast empty,
unless we develop this return traf-
fc. We plan to invest s50.000.000
or more in our railroad-we must
make that investment active and
profitable. To do so we must do as
the railroads have always done: aid
the industrial development OF the
contiguous territory. We should
with wise provision not wait until
our railroad is completed to CON
slider these problems; we should
begin now to solve them.
Mineral discoveries made to the
present time are a sufficient guar
anty of the future, but we should
not rest content with these. We
should encourage the prospector to
renewed efforts. to greater energy.
"What has discouraged the pros
pector in Alaska is the inability 20
secure capital to develop his dis
coveries. Unless he is willing TO
give up practically the whole of his
property. he finds no one willing to
risk money in development work.
We must correct this. We should
provide for the thorough scientific
examination of all new mineral dis
coveries, and when found to be of
such character as to justify devel-
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