The Alaska daily empire., 1923-07-02
b ON CRATULATION IS SENT STEESE
 BY DEPAR TMENT
Acting Secretary Finney Says Hopes Railroad Will Mean
 Much to Alaska.

Official congratulations on the In auguration of through standard guage service from coast to interior over the Alaska Railroad have just been received by Col James c. Steese Chairman, from Judge E. c. Finney First Assistant and Acting Secretary of the Interior.
 Under date of June 29th, Judge Finney wired Col. Steese:
 Congratulations on inauguration of through standard guage service Seward to Fairbanks. Hope rail road and connecting wagon road system will mean much to Alaska.
 Consolidation Means Much
 Consolidation of the Alaska Rail road and the Alaska Road Commis. sion last winter by direction of the President is destined to be an i'm portant factor in Alaska transporta. ton, declared Col. Steese today. This step, he added, has already justified itself in the handling of the recent emergency in transportation service resulting from the damage to the Alaska Railroad and Telegraph line by severe storms and floods. As soon as the first reports of wash outs began coming in. arrangements were made for routing passengers and mails over the Richardson High way and a special fifteen minute service over the ValdezFairbanks Military Telegraph line was provided for railway purposes.
 Passengers on the Alaska. then nearing Cordova. were advised by radio of conditions. Some of them left the Alaska at Cordoya. and pro ceeded to Fairbanks via Chitina and the Richardson Highway Others con. tihued to Seward in the hope that railway service might be restored, only to return to Cordova on the same ship and take the Highway route to the Interior. A few suc- ceeded in getting through on the one train which transferred around the bad slide at Mile 353 after the remainder of the 50 miles of damaged line had been restored to service. As the Alaska Railroad was unable to handle it's mail contract without delay, it arranged for an emergency contract to be let to the Alaska Road Commission. The latter Com mission handled part of the mail on the Alaska as well as important local mail from the Seward-Anchor- age district over the Richardson Highway, via Cordova and Chitina. Meanwhile, the entire town of Val deg turned out and shoveled the last remaining snow out of Thompson Pass. thereby opening the Highway from the Coast at Valdez nearly a month ahead of previous years.
 The Congressional Special came out over Broad Pass on June 7th the regular trains in both directions passed through on the Sth, leaving one train on each side of the break which occurred on June 9th. On June 18th, passengers and mail in both directions were transferred around the last remaining break, a bad slide at Mile 353, which develop ed just as repairs to the rest of the damaged fifty miles were about com pleted. This transfer so interfered with construction work that further service was annulled until June 18th when regular service was restored throughout. @a1G
 Makes Record Trip
 Col. J. c. Gotwals. Chief Engineer of the Alaska Road Commission and vice-C Chairman of the Alaska Rail road, made a record trip between Seward and Fairbanks, leaving Sew ard on the Alaska at ? a. m. Sun. day, June 17th, catching t-Hsa at