The Wrangell sentinel., 1938-09-23
sTKEHE AID CAsslAR ROTsH0Ts
 (Bg Ken NeYlle)

sT1rHR AID CAsslAR HOTsH0Ts
 (Bg Ken NeYnle)
 The year is 1915, and Alaska and northern British Columbia are be- Ing ruthlessiy attacked by an enemy which has crossed the broad pacific. Their guns are beichmg death and | destruction along our Western. shores. Their airpianes are strafing. towns and cities, and we are com l pIetely bloekaded to the south. Just as the stricken territories have abandoned hope comes a sound that is heard around the world. It is the sound of marching armies, and the rumble Of last moving tanks as they | speed to the rescue Of their country men. They come along route which a decade ago was considered | by engineers and military experts asI fantastic dream which could neY-I CT materialize.
 Fantastic ten years ago perhaps. But not so today For at last defin-I ite steps have been taken which guarantee its completion. And I rel fer to the new Alaska British Coll umbia Highway. the life line which will connect two great demoeraeies, Canada and the |. s. 4. But has anyone ever seen the town of Wran-I gell mentioned in connection with this matter? If so only ever so rel motely. and more's the pity. This alone indicates that Up until now the backbone of the entire situation has been practically ignored by the Big Wigs" in charge.
 The question of finance has never been important It has only been a question of the two countries col laborating and deciding just where to send this road so that it will stand the test of time. Geographical engineers at first believed the lOgi- cal route to be up to and inside the Coast Range mountains. But this idea must be dismissed, for God Almighty rules that roost and He's taken care to see that 1t is filled with snow and frozen ice almost theI year around. The solution to the problem, therefore, is found by nov ing farther in, to Hazelton, B. c.
 It is true that the country is wild and unsettled, and road builders would be handicapped by heavy grades, but it is still practical. On and ever on and farther east, until reaching the famous Happen Pass, and here is the crucial point. h. deed, it is here on which the en-
 tire undertaking depends But
 while the wheels of progress have
 been considerably slowed by ob
 stacles in the past they have never stopped, and they never will So it will be with overcoming the mighty Happen Pass to make it safe for vehicular travel.
 What with modern road building facilities, and the brains of the best
 men in two countries it requires only a lot Of time and real effort | It is because of this hump, and not | in spite of it, that will prove to be ! the pecuniary reawakening or Wrangen, Telegraph Creek, and the | stikine River districts. For from the north to the south end of the White Swan District. B. c. every ounce of supplies and materials must be relayed up the Stikine.
 Today it is safe to phophecy with a reasonable amount of certainty, forthcoming events. W gell
 wharves will be ehoked with SUD- plies and road building materials, freight on the stikine river will be enormous, and the little town of 1 Telegraph Greek won't be big enough to turn around in. Why? Because until there are railways or roads to compete, the headwaters of navigation must reign supreme. All this is the real work of the project The roads to Hazelton are now in order, and from Atlin, B. C., the we'll known Yukon conditions prevail, gravel banks and easily constructed road beds. There have been many rumors and wild coniee- lures, editorials have been written and big speeches have been made. Needless to say most of them have been erroneous and misleading. Perhaps this is the reason why theI