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BT WILLIAM 1 ALTDORFER.
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1VCL.E SAM. railroad builder. U tb
latest title to b uismtd by that
Tcnarable aaixiarltan. He Is coins
to build railroads In Alaska. He baa
tried bis band at practically everjrthlnr
ender the sun with the exception of
railroad bulldlni. but as this Job Is of
such great magnitude that private on
terprlae will not tackle It. there ts
aothlnr left for him to do but to roll
op his sleeves and o to work fclmcalf.
For the past hundred years or mora
Cnclo Sam has undertaken many
thlnca, from the construction of little
two-by-four canals In various sections
f the country up to his latest and Me
rest undertaking; of the bis- ditch at
Panama. In his various foreign pos
teaslons he has aided In the upbuilding
if the Industries from his wards there.
He has' assisted them In every way pos
sible so that ultimately they may be
ible to stand alone, and to this end baa
lullt factories, started them golnr. and
:hen turned them over to the natives
10 be developed further. In the Phtl!p
lne Islands he haa assisted In the
eulldlnc of railroads by guaranteeing a
;e rtain Income on the amount of money
Invested, but this Is the first time In
the history of the United States as a
atlon that the Government will act
ually undertake the building of rail
roads on tta own account.
The latest plan, backed by the Secre
tary of the Interior, President Taft and
many members of Congress. Is that the
Government snail undertake the con
traction of a trunk line railroad In
Alaska. 'With this object In view. Sec
retary Fisher last 8ummer made
tour of Alaska, and It was there the
Idea rargeeted Itself to him that as
the territory was la bad shape, due
principally to lack of railroads. It was
vp to the Government to do something,
and the best something the Govern
ment could do waa to build, own and
operate any railroads that might be
needed for the future development of
the territory.
Arwf Eastaeera Eaa-er.
Then another Idea suggested Itself to
Mr. Fisher, which he promptly acted
upon. He Immediately made a trip to
Panama, and there consulted Colonel
Ooethals, with a view to using the
men and equipment now employed on
the canal to undertake the titanic task
of building railroads In Alaska. Aa
the canal will be completed not later
than ltlS. and probably before that
time, much of the machinery now In
use will not be needed after 111.
Colonel Goethals approved the Idea, and
aid some of the men and machinery
could be released early next year, when
this machinery could be transported
direct to Alaska to begin operations. It
is the intention to use this machinery
and the experienced men who have
been handling it for a number of years,
while the opportunity exists. While
on the Isthmus Mr. Fisher talked with
the civilian and Army engineers, and
be found all of them eager to under
take railroad building In Alaska.
General W. L. Marshall, consulting
ngtneer to the Secretary of the In
terior, has completed the work of out
lining a scheme designed to show Con
gress the feasibility of the transfer of
men and material from Panama to
Alaska. The general plan (Ives an es
timate of the value of the few miles
f railroad already built on the route
from Seward to the Matsnuska coal
fields, which will be taken over by the
Government and completed to
" n&tt L?w" - ;: stir, .Jw ,tf mi-msb. TZ ' . waan
Fair- I
Sh a J
banks. If everything goes through
kr
OjtfTl
expected, the President will be author
ised to proceed with the construction
of the Alaska railroad In the same way
that the Panama Canal has been built.
In an Interview the Secretary outlined
In a general way his plan of solving the
greatest problem now confronting the
people of Alaska. Mr. Fisher has been
a conservationist all hia life, but he
says that either the Government ehould
enter the field and develop Alaska or It
should permit private capital to do It.
Of the two propositions, be believes It
win work out best In the end for the
Government to build, own and operate
not only the railroads, but the coal
mines aa well. . He said:
Oae Bis; Iteea ef Cast Elealalaateel.
I believe the Government should re
peat In Alaska the work it has so suc
cessfully accomplished In Panama, and
I can see no reason why It should not
employ the same methods, the same ma
terial and the same men who have been
employed on the canal In the building
of railroads In Alaska, In the case of
the canal Congress passed a very sim
ple act authorising the President to
acquire the necessary property and to
construct and administer the canal and
the railroad crossing the isthmus. I
think we should take the same action
In Alaska, and the President should be
given broad, general authority to ap
point a commission similar to the Pan
ama CnaJ commission, including such
Army engineers and others as may be
necessary. He should be supplied with
the necessary funds to construct a rail
road from the central portion of Alaska
that Is. from tidewater to the Valley
of the Tanana on the Tukon. This
would connect the great interior water
ways with tidewater and enable the
country to be developed, as can be done
In no other way. In the construction of
any railroad In Alaska the President
could be authorised to use the machin
ery, the tools, and a1so the railroad ma
terial now In use at Panama, and the
Panama Canal commission could turn
over this machinery, and material from
time to time aa It may no longer be re
quired on the canal.
I have bad a complete general In
ventory made of the machinery and ma
terial now on the canal, with nota
tions of the original cost and the ex
pense of adapting It for use In Alaska,
together with a memorandum of the
time when the various parts of this ma
chinery may be released from use on
the canal. This Inventory la now being
checked over by General W. I Mar
shall, formerly of the United 6tate En
gineering Corps, who Is now consulting
sngtneer to the Secretary of the Inte
rior. All of this machinery will be re
leased at Panama aa rapidly as It may
be required In Alaska, while if It Is sold
at Panama It Is doubtful If It would
bring much more than scrap value. One
great Item of cost will be eliminated,
because all of It can be transported by
water direct from Panama to Alaska,
May Opea Agvtemlraral Land.
"We have at Panama a most efficient
organization, composed chiefly of Army
engineers, which haa already had a
valuable and successful experience, not
only In the construction of the. canal
but In the operation of a railroad across
tka I.thmum. The railroad has been
used principally for the transportation
of excavated material, but It haa also
transported great quantities of freight
and performed all other functions' of
an ordinary railroad. I think we should
utilise the valuable experience ana spe
cial ability of this organization la Alas
ka, and we should act promptly before
the Panama organisation Is dissolved.
-The proposed railroad from Seward
to Fairbanks, passing through or con
nected with the Matanuska coal fields,
would cover a territory much of which.
OT-r-r PTivm-r nwrrnvTAV TrTfTT A VT1 A "PT?TT, "I. 1D12.
GOVERNMENT
Panama Canal Forces May Be Transferred t(
Alaska When Canal Is Completed and Federal
Government Will Undertake Building of Rail
roads Throughout Alaska Original Plan of Sec
retary of the Interior Walter L. Fisher.
.
gives every Indication of being good
agricultural land. The Department of
Agriculture has successfully demon
strated that corn, wheat, and other
grains can be raised and ripened, and
that livestock can be supported under
the general conditions obtaining In
Alaska. There is widespread evidence
of mineral wealth throughout the ter
ritory, but It Is Impossible to determine
lie real extent and commercial value
at this time because the cost of trans
porting even the simplest machinery
Is practically prohibitive.
"The incentive for the construction of
railroads in a new country like Alaska
up to the present time has been the
opportunity for exploiting the resources
of the country by the promoters of the
railroads. We have wisely decided to
put an end to this short-sighted policy.
This, however, places the Government
In a position where It must assist In
developing territory from which theoe
Incentives for profitable railroad build
ing have been withdrawn. We are to
day trying to correct the mintage of
permitting the rsilrosds of the United
States to own coal fields, and this pol
icy should be carried out in the rase of
Alaska. My personal belief is that
railroads should be confined to their
legitimate business as sgenries of
transportation and should not be per
mitted to deal in the freight they trans
port. If this mesns we sre not offer
ing to private enterprise In Alaska a
sufficient Inducement to construct rail
roads, then It Is up to the Government
to assume the obliaatlon. We owa it ,
j&0xi4r3A!S&Si Brnf7 'rtipwtv?' .iii 'X'.
gives every Indication of being good -' :
agricultural land. The Department of I J .- . .
Agriculture haa successfully demon-I A
grains can be raised and ripened, and .
that livestock can be supported under I - -Sl n . - 1
the general conditions obtaining in f t - ... . ' -rtT"'Z'."T I
Alaska. There is widespread evidence P . - -- ' I
of mineral wealth throughout the ter- . J,emmtiimfgsZ' '.r' ' ' ". '"
rltory, but It Is impossible to determine -,. : ' '
at this time because the cost of trans- l - , , v - .,..'' M I
porting even the simplest machinery I ' V" ' -jm.i,,; if.- I
Is practically prohibitive. I - " v '-v-v.,..i -;'-',- I
"The incentive for the construction of I V' " -' . f . : ,A .;;: .n ,.df
railroads in a new country like Alaska V ; , : - - f
up to the present time, has been the . - . . , -ys. ,. T . : . - :
opportunity for exploiting the resources t; ... . , ' -s-;
of the country by the promoters of the -v 1 ' - - t " " " ""
railroads. We have wisely decided to X. . - ' ' J,- Vlr
put an end to this short-sighted policy. ' y . . ; tS . -
This, however, places the Government --if"" - J
In a position where It must assist In 'r. -: - f
developing territory rrom wnicn mee i -
I Incentives tor proniaoie ruiroaa ounu- i 11 im i, inmcir- i
linn have been withdrawn. We are to-I eV
day trying to correct the raintake of I
TURNS TO GIGANTIC TASK.
m m mum w 5 mmmm:
1 It J U-fJ-iTrf
-Art? J&gA I , AZtyS?es?A t C7, 2L
to Alaska not only to make develop
ment possible, but also to encourage
and assist its development.
Fine, Stable Population.
"In my tour of Alaska last Summer I
IodniuiI with the remarkably
-
f c --rae-' -- w.4, v r2ja-j- j,, . y rail
large and fine body of people who have
become permanent residents of Alaska.
While there is unquestionably a con
siderable floating population of a char
acter that does not add to the real
strength or stability of the territory,
than 1 a. substantial jmnlRj of
I
i
. '1f"v.
j
1
3r
. vigorous, law-abiding, law-respecting
men and women or the nignest type oi
American citizenship, and I found that
they possessed what Is perhaps the
highest form of moral courage the
ability and the willingness to look at
both sides of the questions which affect
their interests.
"Aside from the White Pass and Tu
kon Railroad, there is only one real
railroad in Alaska, and that Is the Cop
per River & Northwestern Railroad,
which leads from Cordova, on Prince
William Sound, 200 miles up the Copper
River, and Its eastern tributary, the
Chitina, to the Bonanza copper fields,
and ts reported to have cost about
tiO, 000.000. The White r&sa & lunon
Railroad Is an excellent narrow-gauge
road alonir the line of the historic trail
that leads over the mountains and down
the Tukon to the gold fields oi tne
Klondike, but only a small part of this
railroad Is In the territory of the Unit
ed States. The Alaska Northern Kan-
nturts from Seward for the Met-
anuska coal fields and the Tukon, but
stops discouraged 71 miles north oi
Seward. The present cry In Alaska and
among those wno are unanciaiiy in
terested in Alaska is tnat aeveiopmem
has been stopped by the withdrawal of
the coal fields from entry. I am con
vinced that the coal withdrawals have
exerted only an .incidental influence
upon the development of railroads In
Alaska. The critics of the withdrawals
are usually either those who do not
realize the prohibitory effect of the
coal laws In Alaska or those who have
assumed that these laws couia oe vio
lated with Impunity. If the coal iieios
had remained open to unrestricted pri
vate exploitation, railroad development
might have been stimulated, but In
that event the profits from the coal,
and not the legitimate profits of the
railroads from carrying passengers
ind freight, would nave oeen me in
centive to construction.
Alaska's Greatest Need.
T neraonallv visited the Bering field
and examined some of Its coal beds and
coal mines. It Is located along the foot
of the Chugach Mountains, In the re-
rlnn a little south or frince wmiam
Sound and some 1200 miles from Seat
tle. The fields cover , an area of 60
square miles, or 3i.O0O acres, lying ap
proximately 25 miles from the coast
at Controller Bay. with an immense
glacier known as the Bering glacier, on
th east, from which the Bering River
runs and empties Into Controller Bay.
This field was discovered In 1S96, and
practlcauy all of It appears to nave
been covered by claims entered under
the law of 1904.
"Mv visit to Alaska has lea me 10
take a far greater interest In the fu
ture of the Matanuska coal field, which
ts larger In extent, having an area oi
74 stiuare miles, or 47.360 acres, better
in coal, better In physical condition.
and freer from the complications oi
I nrlvata olalixui than la tru at Bering J
V
River. Against these advantages must
be set off its greater distance from the
sea, but this very distance connects it
more Intimately with the real problem
of Alaskan development that of ade
quate transportation from tidewater to
the Tukon. What Alaska needs more
than all else is a trunk-line railroad,
from the ocean to the great interior
valleys of the Tukon and the Tanana,
opening up the country so that its fu
ture development may really be possi
ble. "The Matanuska coal field lies north
of Prince William Sound and from 150
to 200 miles from Seward n Resurrec
tion Bay. It is known to contain ex
tensive beds of coal of the same quality
or slightly superior to that of Bering
River, and In better physical condition
both as to the coal itself and the ob
stacles to profitable mining. The coun
try is not so broken, faults and pinch
ing are less in evidence, and the crush
ing process appears to have gone on to
a much less extent, although compara
tively few openings have been made,
and Intrusions of Igneous rocks occur
in places, so that the cost of recovering
the coal may be greater than now an
ticipated. There is also a larger per
centage of coal here that will make
coke than in the Bering River field.
A far smaller. percentage of the field
has been entered by private claimants,
and most of these claims appear to be
clearly illegal on account of dummy
entries and other violations of the law,
for which indictments are now pending.
Leaning Avoids Two Evils.
"The leasing, to my mind, avoids the
difficulties of both extremes of public
and private ownership. It has been
adopted with conspicuous success in the
great mining communities of Australia
and New Zealand. It is now the estab
lished law of the Tukon territory In
Canada Just across the border line from
Alaska. It is the system under which
much of the privately owned coal land
of the United State Is today being de
veloped. Under it we can insert, as mat
ters of contract and conditions to which
the lessee voluntarily consents, those
regulations and requirements which
promote public interest, the enforce
ment of some of which by mandatory
law might be unconstitutional. By
making the terms of our leases liberal
we can make them even more attractive
to capital than if we adopt the policy
of an outright sale of the fee.
"To demonstrate the imperative need
of additional roads and trails in Alaska,
It is only necessary to call attention
to the fact that in a territory one-fifth
the size of the entire United States
there had been constructed up to last
year a total of only 7000 miles of wagon
roads. 500 miles of sled roads suitable
for two-horse sleds, 600 miles for sin
gle horse or dog sleds, 85 miles of trail
staked permanently, and about 1200
miles of temporary trails. The mainte
nance cost of even this small system
makes serious Inroads into the funds
available for -.the construction of roads
and trails. If Alaska is to be developed
adequate provision must be made for
these primary means of transporta
tion." Coal Almost Doable.
Alfred H. Brooks, geologist in charge
of the Alaskan division of the United
States Geological Survey, has been
studying Alaskan conditions for the
past 14 years, and for nine years has
been In charge of the mineral division
of the geological survey work there.
In a recent report on the cost of build
ing railroads in Alaska, Mr. Brooks
said:
'The chief factor that will enter into
the cost of railway construction in
Alaska is the distance of the coast ter
minals to the centers of population,
for this increases the cost of all labor
and materials. Shortness of the Sum
mer season and bad weather conditions
will also Increase the cost. It has been
estimated by a competent engineer that
the same class of railroad construction
will cost 75 to 100 per cent more In
Alaska than in the Western States.
This same engineer says that in many
parts of the interior, where valleys and
rolling uplands are followed, the cost
of a standard gauge railway will prob
ably not exceed $30,000 per mile, but
through the coast mountain ranges may
be more than twice as great. Where
detailed surveys and estimates are
wanting. It will probably be safe to
count on an average cost of at least
$36,000 per mile for a standard gauge
railway from the Gulf of Alaska to
the Tukon."
A New Tfork-to-Paris Road Suggested.
In his report, Mr. Brooks gives some
Interesting information regarding an
entirely new scheme the building of a
railroad from New Tork to Paris across
Alaska and Siberia. When the new
Canadian transcontinental railway,
known as the Grand Trunk Pacific,
which is to reach the Pacific Coast, is
completed, the plan includes a branch,
northward from the Pacific Coast to
Fairbanks, about 1000 miles long. While
engineering experts claim such a line
would not encounter any serious ob
stacles, yet many watersheds would
have to be crossed, and there would be
heavy expense for bridges. A railway
from 'Fairbanks to Cape Prince of
Wales would require at least 600 miles
of track. From here it is proposed to
tunnel Bering Strait, which Is 54 miles
across, but is broken by the Dlomede
Islands, lying about half-way between.
While tunnels of the length required
are probably not an impossible engi
neering feat, they are far beyond anyr
thing of the kind yet attempted. Fer
riage across the strait, difficult in Sum
mer because of the strong northerly
current. Is Impossible during seven or
eight months in the year' because of
the Ice floes. As the strait seldom
freezes over, communication without a
tunnel would be entirely Interrupted.
Therefore, It Is reasoned that while
the scheme has a certain fascination
about It, as all great projects have, and
would also have a vital bearing on the
development of Alaska, it is yet in the
realms of fancy, and because of the
great tunnel, will probably remain a
dream for many years to come.
(Copyright, 1912, by William L. Alt-dorfer.)