The Engineering News, a tech
nical journal of wide circulation
and influence, contains biogra
phies of the gentlemen who com
pose the Alaskan Engineering
Commission, charged with the
construction of the great Alaskan
railway project, as follows:
William C. Edes.
The chairman of the commis.
sion, William C. Edes, is a rail
way locating engineer of ripe ex
perience. He was born in Bol
ton, Mass., Jan. 14, 1856, and
graduated from the Massachu
setts Institute of Technology in
1875. For four years, he was
with a railway location party of
the Southern Pacific Railway in
Arizona and New Mexico and
Texas. From 1886 to 1896, he
located and had supervision of
many miles of the Southern Pa
cific system in the west coast
region.
Mr. Edes was Chief Assistant
Engineer of the San Francisco &
San Joaquin Valley railroad from
1895 to 1900, under W. B. Story,
then Chief Engineer of that rail
way, now vice-president of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
railway. During the following
five years he had charge of loca
tion work for the reconstruction
of some of the Southern Pacific
system mountain lines, including
the Central Pacific railway from
Rocklin to Truckee, Calif.
After two years as District En
gineer of Maintenance-of-Way of
the Southern Pacific railway, he
returned to difficult mountain lo
cation work, for which his long
experience- peculiarly fitted him.
As Chief Engineer of the North
western Pacific railroad, from
1907 until his present appoint
ment to the Alaskan Engineering
Commission, Mr. Edes has been
engaged in locating and con
structing a railway through diffi
cult mountain canyons between
Willits and Shively along the Eel
River in western California.
Lieut. Frederick Mears, U. S. A.
Frederick Mears was born Mav
25, 1878, at Omaha, Neb. He
was educated at Gonzaga College,
Spokane, Wash., and at the Shat
tuck School in Minnesota.
At nineteen years of age he
entered the service of the Great
Northern railway as arodmanon
the Park Rapids extension in
Minnesota, and later served as a
leveler on the location of the
Coon Creek cut-off. In 1898, he
was promoted to be Assistant
Engineer, and was engaged in
the location of the Kootenai Val
ley tail road and the Bellingham
& Nelson railroad in northern
Idaho and British Columbia.
In 1899,he enlisted in the Unit
ed States army and was sent to
the Philippine Islands, where he
soon saw active war service in
the pacification of the natives.
He received a commission as 2d
lieutenant in 1901. On his re
turn to this country, lie entered
the United Staff College at Fort
Leavenworth, Kan., in 1903, and
graduated two years later, in
1905. During leave of absence
in the summer of 1905, Lieut.
Mears spent four months as resi
dent engineer on construction
work for the Chicago, Rock Is
land & Pacific railway in Arkan
sas.
In May, 1906, he was sent to
the Isthmus of Panama at the
request of John F. Stevens, then
Chief Engineer of the Panama
Canal, with whom Lieut. Mears
had been associated in his work
on the Great Northern railway.
Lieut. Mears’ first detail at Pan
ama was as track foreman. He
was soon promoted to be Assist
ant Engineer and had charge of
the relocation of the Panama
railroad. From 1907 to 1909, he
was Resident Engineer and En
gineer of Construction.
Since Dec.l, 1909, Lieut. Mears
has been Chief Engineer of the
Panama railroad and has had
charge of maintenance and of
the construction of the relocated
high-level line. Since Dec. 1.
1913, he has also been General
Superintendent of the Panama
Railroad and Steamship Line, in
charge of operation, maintenance
and construction on the Isthmus.
The work done under his super
vision at Panama included the re
construction of almost the entire
railway, the design and construc
tion of the Atlantic terminal
docks at Colon, the location sur
vey in 1910 for the Panama gov
ernment of a railway from the
Canal Zone to the Costa Rican
border, and the construction of
numerous structures for the Pan
ama railroad - amounting to over
$11,000,000 in engineering work
on the Isthmus during his eight
years there.
Thomas Riggs, jr.
Thos. Riggs, jr., was born Oct.
17, 1873, in Howard county, Md.
He was educated at the Emerson
Institute, Washington, D. C..and
at the school of Science, Prince
ton University.
His early experience in engi
neering work was in mine and
land surveying. In July, 1906,
he passed the civil service exam
ination for Topographic Aid,
United States Geological Survey,
but he never served under this
appointment. Instead, he was
transferred to the Alaska Boun
dory Survey, under the State De
partment, as Assistant Engineer.
Mr. Riggs has been continu
ously engaged with the Alaska
Boundary Survey until the close
of last season when the work was
completed. During this period
the 141st meridian was surveyed
and marked from Mount St.Elias
to the shores of the Arctic ocean,
a work which involved great
hardships and considerable dan
ger. He was the first man to
use horses for transportation pur
poses north of the Porcupine
river, and their appearance caus
ed great astonishment among the
Indians and Esquimos of the far
north.
In 1911 and 1912, an epidemic
of smallpox broke out among the
Indians on the Porcupine river,
which was so sucessfully handled ;
by Mr. Riggs with the assistance |
of the Canadian and United
States authorities that only one;
death occurred. He is thorough
ly familiar with Alaskan life and ;
conditions as well as with Alas
kan topography and climate.
Mr. Riggs was married in 1913
to Miss Rene Coudert, daughter
of the late Frederick B. Coudert,
a prominent banker of New York
City, who was Commissioner for j
the United States on the Bering
Sea arbitration.
4 Make Our Bank Your Bank
4 Per Cent Paid on
P Savings Deposits -p
s
Seward, Alaska
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Cordova and Anchorage, Alaska
Drugs, Chemicals,
Cigars and Tobaccos,
Confectionery and Stationery,
Talking Machines,
Photo Supplies, Etc.
Rroncl way. A n cho raye
Continue to Dispense
At the Old Stand in Knik
Whatever You Want We Have
Whatever We Have You Want
0. G. Horning, Manager
As mute evidence that Knik Arm is navigable during the win
ter, the above picture shows the popular launch Traveler, Captain
S. S. Cramer, owner and master, on one of its mid-winter trips
The Traveler is cn the Anchorage-Goose Bay-Knik run.