The Alaska daily empire., 1921-12-06

nee building Ill Juneau.
 Excerpts from Report.
 Alaska needs capital. Alaska needs people. Its natural advantages are obvious. Its resources are apparent and real. Its opportunities are h. viting and manifold.
 But chaotic system of govern ment has repelled capital and re- tarded growth and population.
 Liberalized laws fer Alaska and more flexible rules and regulations under such laws. with a concentra tion of authority and responsibility and an administration coordlnated and brought closer home, are clearly needed to speed the progress and de- velopment of the Territory.
 Not Fairly Treated.
 Far removed from the seat of Fed eral Government, aloof, comparative ly unknown, save for it's scenery and it's gold, Alaska has bidden in vain for fair recognition and just treat ment for the fifty-odd years since its DuICHdSc lIOHl IhhociA AOA 1H~ sum of $7,200,000.
 Every Governor Of Alaska has pre- sented it's needs, always in forcefnl and often in picturesque terms. and some of these needs have been met through piecemeal legislation. But the paramount need of coherent, constructive, upbuilding Federal pol icy for Alaska has gone unheeded, Thus, after more than half cen tury-the victim of inattention at Washington and the prey of vision aries and heorists-Alaska' destln- ies have come to be entrusted largely to multitudinous, overlapping bu- reaus, admirable and efficient in their personnel, but confusing and complicating in their operation.
 Individual initiative, which is es- sential to substantial development in any country or community, new or old, has been halted and the pioneer spirit maimed. Alaska has made progress slowly under these heavy handicaps.
 Change Is Needed.
 A change of system is imperative.
 The construction of the Govern ment Railroad from the coast to the interior, from Seward to Fairbanks, a project now approaching comple- tion, should mark an epoch in All askas history. It should mean the actual opening up of the Territory to settlement and civilization. It should mean the bringing of Alaska into easier reach and closer touch with the world, It should mean that obstacles which have hitherto baf- fled the ingenuity of man and seem, ed impossible to surmount will be overcome. It should mean to Alaska what the transcontinental lines in the nineteenth century meant to the country west of the Rocky Mountains. It should mean and mark the first step in the building of an empire. And it will mean all this and more, to the greatness and glory of America, if the Government at Washington will now proceed to supplement this great project by kindred interest, enterprise and ac- tivity in other directions.
 Effects of War.
 Unfortunately, owing to the in tervention of the World War, gov ernmental attention was distracted from Alaska and there was a failure to evolve and put into effect con currently with the building of the railroad comprehensive policies of general expansion and development. The completion of the enterprise, therefore, finds Alaska unprepGred to turn the railroad at once to it's maximum degree of usefulness. If the purpose intended by it's builder is to be attained, if the generous in- vestment authorized by Congress is to be justified in full measure, the inauguration of practical, business like policies for the Territory that will appeal to capital and people cannot now be delayed.
 Railroad Will Pay.
 This governmental railroad will pay - not in immediate or early financial returns or even interest upon the investment, but surely and substantially in the ultimate benefits which will be derived both to the Territory and the Nation. How soon it will pay and demonstrate the wis dom of it's cost of fifty millions and more. will depend upon how wisely and far-sightedly the Government henceforth deals with this vast dO- main in the northland.
 Manifes1y. a consolidation of bureaus under one department head st Washington. as contemplated in