Seward daily gateway., 1923-08-04
BALLA|NE TELLS OF ALASKA CENTRAL A|VD
 GOVT. RAILROAD
(Continued from Page One)

and was in Canadian territory.
 Valdez then claimed 5000 popula- tion. Those 5000, carried on a current of excitement, were fever2shly boost ing for a railroad from Valdez through the Copper river valley to Eagle, on the Yukon, forty miles below the Klondike. It seemed to me that the country between Valdez and Eagle was a blank in any kind of resources. But the War Department had recom- mended it, which gave 1t prestige.
 AS a result of my investigations in 1900 and 1901, I selected the route from Resurrection Bay, at the pres ent site of Seward, through the Su- sitna valley and Broad pass to the Ia mana river, where Tanana has since been built. There was then no popu- lation along the entire 412 miles of this route, except the Lowell family on Resurrection Bay, a few scattered natives in the Susitna valley, and a native village at Nenana. Fairbanks was not started until 1903.
 The 5000 at Valdez, since shrunk to 200, and the thousands in other parts of Alaska greeted my selection with peals of derision. But time has changed their opinions. This route was centralley located, started from a magnificent harbor, had easy grades, and held a large variety of tributary resources to support a permanent population and provide a heavy traf- fc. Moreover, it opened all American territory. So l felt sure of my ground.
 Tn April, 1902, I organized the Alaska Central Ky. Go. to build over this route. I enlisted the cooperation of several prominent men, such as George w. Dickinson, former general manager of the Northern Pacific, who served as the first president of the Alaska Central; United States Sena- tor George Turner of Spokane; F. Aug HeinZe, the Butte mining opera tor; former Governor John H, Me- Graw, of Seattle, who had spent two years at Rampant; J. W. Goodwin, a wholesale merchant of Seattle; E. E.. Caine, president of the Pacific Clipper Line; James A. Haight, a Seattle at torrey, and my brother, Frank l.. Ballaine, who with me were the first board of directors. I was elected chairman of the finance committee, with MT. Dickinson and MT. Heinze as the other members, and was made general manager of the railroad ill charge of all details.
 We employed C. M. Anderson of Seattle as chief engineer, and sent out seven crews of engineers, who in 1902 Irveyed every mile of the route between Resurrection bay and the Panama river, the identical route now occupied by the Government Alaska railroad. In addition they collected valuable data as 10 resources. That survey cost us $S3,000. MT. Heinze was the largest contributor. We def nitely adopted that route in the fall 3f 1902, after our engineers had com pleted their work.
 The Northern Pacific panic of 1908 made it impossible to sell the Alaska written, as we had planned, so in July, 1903, with the consent of my associates, I organized the Tanana Construction company, owning all the stock in it myself, except four quail flying shares for other directors. I was elected it's president and manager.
 The Panama Construction Com pany then took a contract from the Alaska Central Railway Company to build the railroad from Resurrection Bay to the Panama river, 412 miles receiving $35,000 a mile in Alaska Central Bonds and a majority of the Alaska Central stock.
 With that contract as a basis Oi security, I raised S200,000 from E. A and c. B. Shield and four of their as sociates in Chicago to build the first twenty miles, with tentative agree ment by them to finance additional sections. They required me to put uI $50,000 more, which I raised in Seat tie, and I later contributed another $75,000, which I raised in Chicago, tC go with their s200,00O. I personally endorsed all the notes, which were given by the Panama Construction Company.
 T brought the first construction crew to Resurrection Bay in August 1903, landing here the 2Sth, and es- tablished Seward at that time. I haC sent my brother, Frank L. Ballaine on a previous boat a month before tc make the survey and the filings or the townsite. I paid Mrs. Lowell $400( and 32 lots for her relinquishment. | (This interesting story of the building of Railway will be continued il | N2c,, 1c1- \