Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 122, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 May 1915 — RAILROAD FOR ALASKA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

RAILROAD FOR ALASKA

GREAT PROJECT INAUGURATED BY GOVERNMENT. Only Second in Importance to the Building of the Panama Canal — Will Be Known as the Suaitna Route. The second great achievement by this government in a generation is at hand —the construction of a govern-ment-owned railroad in Alaska. This project is a feat second only in importance to the building of the Panama canal. Indeed, it is a rival of the canal, for the extension of railroads into Alaska will open up a new vast region of almost unprecedented resources and productivity. The government road will be built under the direction of the Alaskan engineering commission, consisting of William C. Edes, chairman; Thomas Riggs, Jr., and Lieutenant Frederick Mears, late superintendent of the Panama railroad. The commission is now in Alaska. The entire cost of the railroad, including the purchase of the Alaska Northern railroad, it is estimated will be $26,800,000. Congress has appropriated $36,000,000, and it is believed that $30,000,000 at most will be sufficient This indicates what the administration thinks of Alaska, for which the tJnited States paid Russia only $7,200,000.

From Alaskan territory gold bullion worth more than $200,000,000 already has been produced, and the total of Alaskan resources in furs and fisheries, as well as minerals, probably now exceeds $500,000,000. "The route adopted is known as the Susitna route," says a statement by Secretary Lane, “and extends from Seward on Resurrection bay to Fairbanks on the Tanana river, a distance of 471 miles. This route includes the existing Alaska Northern railroad, which runs from Seward through the Kenal peninsula for a distance of 71 miles to Turnagain arm. This route Is to be bought from its present owners by the government for $1,160,000, $500,000 of which will be paid on July 1, 1915, and the balance July 1, 1916. “From Turnagain arm the route is to be extended through the Susitna valley and across Broad pass to the Tanana river and from there on to Fairbanks. “A side line is to run from Matanuska Junction into the Matanuska coal field, a distance of 38 miles. The road is to be built with its present base at Ship Creek, on Cook’s inlet, and from this point it is expected that

The Route From Seward to Fairbanks Is the One Selected by the Government for the First Railroad to Pierce the Interior of Alaska. From Cordova the Copper River Railroad Already Runs in a Few Miles. The Shaded Lines Show Other Railroad Projects Which Will in Time Open Up That Entire Section of Alaska. the Matanuska coal will be shipped during the greater portion of the year.”