The Seward polaris & Kenai Peninsula-Aleutian chain news., 1948-04-24


 been superintendent of a busy di- vision of the Great Northern and put him in charge of this road, IS a mistake, sure to be unpro- ductive results The longer and more intense his railroad experi- ence, the more foolish. This is no discredit to the man; he is just a HIGH CLASS PEG IN THE WRONG HOLE. A railroad man of that type sees everything and judges everything, from sched- ule standpoint. His one guiding thought for years has been, Keep the trains moving on time", and the more rapid the movement of freight and passengers, the great CT efficiency, These principals are so ingrained that everything he does is influenced by them. TO GUIDE THE OPERATION OF THIS RAILWAY BY THOSE PRINCIPALS IS NOW AND WILL BE FOR MANY YEARS AD- VERSE TO ITS ECONOMICAL OPERATION, AND WILL RE- YARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALASKA'S RESOURCES.
 The qualities most desirable in General Manager are: strong aversion to waste, (even of Gov- crnment funds); a deafness to the many hoggish demands io. un- necessary service; a keen eye to detect the mult;tude of small leaks: originality, balance with good business judgement. In short man who sees the need and value of reducing the service and i upkeep epense, to the point Of absolute necessity, giving service only on the showing that it would directly help develop the country and encourage land set tlement. A man who would not let the steamship companies be- guile him into tourist chasing. i man level headed enough to req ilze that the New York Centrals schedule ideals arc wlcllv out Of place on the Alaska Railroad. | Place a man with these uuoI!- ties in control of the railroad and the whole situation would change tor he better in a very shCrt time. Inside of q year the roaJ would be self-supporting; there would be renewed interest in farming and mining; in meat il- dustries and wood products: T restored confidence of the people in Alaska.
 To assist the Manager in deter mining, policies, and to make it difficult for one town to exert more influence than another. I suggest that a Railroad Advisory Board be created; to meet with the General Manager to consider and pass on policies he may wish to inaugurate. If a majority of the Board was opposed to the Manager the subject would be submitted to the Seczeary of the 1nerior for decision. The member ship could be composed of the Mayor of each of the three large | towns. and the Territorial Repre- Sentatives of the Third and Fourth Division
 COMMUTERS
 Ninetenths of the people of AL aSka do not regard themselves as permanent residents. CThis is sad state of affairs, but true.A They contantly hope to make a cleanup and go back to the States. All have a strong desire to spend each winter below. Yes. they own homes here, and busi- ness property; but careful inquiry will prove the correctness of the statement. Therefore, ANY IN- FLUENCE MAKING IT QUICK FER. OR EASIER OR CHEAPER. FOR ALASKANS TO GET TO THE STATES IS ADVERSE TO BUILDING UP A PERMANENT POPULATION The heavy travel south in the winter, and the ex- pressed wish of those remaining North shows the strong tendency of Alaska to be commuters. The rigors of Alaska winters stimulate the desire. Frequent train service, luxurious cars. cheap mileage, quick connection between train and boat, fine quick boat service all coax Alaskans to go outside for the winter, and if they do it once. they want to do it again, fON'|7fH- the habit.