The Daily Alaska empire., 1938-08-30
COPPER RIVER RAILROAD MAY
 BE KEPT OPEN
Dr. Gruening Sees Oppor- tunity for Development in
 Chitina-Kennecott Area
U. s. MAY ACQUIRE
 65 MILES OF ROAD
Lodge Now Planned in Me- Kinley Park, Territor-
 les Director Says

Advisability of keeping 65-mile portion of the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad open from Chitina to Kennecott, after opera tions of the Kennecott Copper Cor poration are concluded this fall, is being given consideration by the Interior Department, according to Dr. Ernest Gruening, Director of Territories and Island Possessions, who arrived in Juneau this morning aboard the Columbia with his son, Peter, after an extend d trip through Interior Alaska.
 While it wifi DC necessary to wait and see what the Kennecott company will do with the railroad they may take up the rails-it would seem to be important to keep at least that section of the road in operation for mining activities which are carried on in the region and as a scenic attraction for tour E4sts;; sDF G4VeniAg saidy4s
 The official said that he knew of no more attractive tourist and re- creation region in the world than that found in the Chitina- -Kenne- colt area and with proper facilities i it could be made a great induce ment for bringing people into the north.
 The Copper River line is 196 miles long but it is the section from Chit ina, where there is highway con- nection with the Richardson High way, to Kennecott with which he is most concerned, the Director said.
 Tourist Development
 Stressing the need for developing the tourist business in Alaska, Dr.. Gruening said that following com- pletion of the hotel in Mckinley National Park, probably next year a lodge will be built in the park to afford further facilities or travellers.
 Accommodations are one of the major steps in promoting tourist travel" he said. "If the tourists can be brought into the Territory and hotels and like accommodations are available where they can stay week or more real revenue can be obtained from the tourist busi- ness. Of course, these are develop ments which must come gradually You can't go out and build large number of hotels all at once and hope to fill them up with tourists, and you can't expect the steamship companies to put on lot of boats to carry them unless they are as- sured of having the business. The two-transportation and hotel &C., commodations go hand in hand and both are essential in bringing the tourist business up to what it should be-" xe
 Alaska Not Scratched
 Actually, the Director said, Alaska hasn't scratched the surface in de- veloping it's travel and recreational attractions, and he cited what had been done in Bermuda, Switzerland and other places in this connection.
 While on his field trip, Dr. Gruening spent considerable time at the Matanuska colony and reported substantial progress being made there. The colonists, he said, are now actually getting into produc- ton and finding out where they are going in farming way. Each of the 165 farms in the colony now has 30 acres cleared and ready for cultivation. Marketing of produce is being done in the rail belt but there is still a question about the size of the market; whether there is sufficient market to take all the produce which can be raised by the farmers in the valley, he said.
 Farm Development
 Asked about the proposed farm development of Kenai, particularly in the Homer region, the Director said there was plenty of good land for several hundred more farmers in the Matanuska Valley where facilities have been provided by the government to serve them and