RAILROAD IS
ESSENTIAL TO
DEVELOPMENT
“The greatest ultimate gain from
the construction of the government
railroad of Alaska will be the recru
descence of the mining industry by
the accomplishment of economical
transportation from the open waters
of the Pacific to the navigable water
ways of the Interior,” according to
J. Li. McPherson, manager of the
Alaska bureau of the Seattle Cham
ber of Commerce, in a report submit
ted to the committee on territories,
when the subject of the appropriation
for the completion erf the railway
project in Alaska was before that
body for consideration.
“The present avenues of communi
cation are long, circuitous and costly
water routes, open for only five
months of the year,” continued Mr.
McPherson, “the expense of which is
deterrent of development throughout
the vast interior of Alaska, except
only of the richer placer deposits, and
this condition gave rise to the waste
ful methods which have resulted in
creaming the gold fields.
“The discovery of rich placers at
tracted to the Alaska interior a sturdy
type of men and women and resulted
in the discovery of large areas of low
grade placer ground, which, with the
economies made possible by rail
transportation, may be made com
mercially profitable; of the extensive
quartz deposits, a number of which
have been profitably worked despite
a fuel cost of from $12 to $18 per
cord for wood; deposits of antimony,
tungsten, placer tin and other valu
able. metals, and of large areas of
arable land suitable for grazing and
the raising of the hardier grains and
vegetables. The development of these
resources is, however, almost wholly
dependent upon economic transporta
tion facilities, which can best be sup
plied by the Alaskan railroad, now un
der construction by the government.
These people, looking forward to the
early completion of the railroad, have
been courageously hanging on and
working at a loss in many instances,
in the belief that with cheaper trans
portation it would be possible for them
successfully to develop these resources
and build for themselves comfortable
homes and permanent industries. The
limit of ability to contend with pres
ont uneconomic conditions has been
reached. They must stop unless re
lief is soon furnished. War condi
tions have added to their burdens.
The gold-mining industry was the first
to be adversely affected by the rapid
increase in costs, and as these ad
vanced costs could not be passed on
to the consumer, operations were
largely curtailed. As the present
principal industry of the Alaskan in
terior is gold mining, that section was
most seriously affected.
“The present conditions in the re
gion to be served by this project are
no criterion on which to base the ul
timate traffic possibilities, but they
do tend to show the region is poten
tially rich in mineral and other re
sources, which, if rationally devel
oped on a broad, constructive plan,
will result in the building of perma
nent industries, the establishment of
a permanent population, and ulti
mately in a large and profitable traf
fic. If the building of railroads
through a new country awaited the
growth of a sufficient traffic to war
rant their construction, none of our
pioneer transcontinental railroads
would have been built, and our pres
ent frontier, instead of being in
Alaska, would probably be east of the
Rocky mountains. Traffic for the
Alaskan railroad will come from the
facilities and economics afforded by
the improved transportation. It has
been only during the last few years
that even those best able to judge,
would concede that Alaska will be a
land of a permanent and prosperous
people. No one grasped the full ex
tent of her vast undeveloped wealth
of natural resources.
“The climate will not prove any bar
rier to the development of Alaska,
and will be no deterrent to those ac
customed to similar climatic condi
tions. Success will he attained
through settlement by men and
women from northern climates, and
these will find that the climatic con
ditions prevailing through the south
ern and central portions of Alaska
are little, if any, different from those
of northern Minnesota, North Dakota,
Canada and the Scandinavian penin
sula.
“Norway, Sweden and Finland, in
the same latitude as Alaska, with
similar climatic conditions, have a
combined area about two-thirds as
great as that of Alaska. These coun
tries support a population of about
11,000,000, as against approximately
50,000 for Alaska. The Scandinavian
countries have little mineral wealth
other than iron, no gold, not nearly
the area of arable lands or the wealth
of fisheries with which Alaska has
been so lavishly endowed. Finland,
with an area less than one-fourth the
size of Alaska, had a population in
1900 of 3,059,324. The total value of
her products for 1909 is shown to be
$79,468,200, while that of Alaska for
1918, with a population of only ap
proximately 30,000 whites, is $81,161,
561. Finland has 2,444 miles of rail
road, of which 2,214 miles were built
and are being operated by the state.
‘‘In Alaska during the last few
years there has been a development
that, although small, has been far
reaching in its importance, and has
demonstrated to our people that the
broad valleys of Alaska will furnish
in great part the food for her people,
and that agriculture will prove profit
able where a local market is assured.
Cultivation of the soil must, however,
be secondary to the development of
the mines and other natural resources,
which later must be relied upon to
furnish a local market and foster ag
(Continued on Page Seven)
LAUNCHES
PIONEER AND SWAN
Wm. J. Crooker, Owner and Master
REGULAR TRIPS TO KATALLA
FREIGHTING AND TOWING
To All Parts of the Sound
-•- —
Phone 57—2 Rings
Glycerine Mixture
For Appendicitis
Cordova people can prevent appen
dicitis with simple buckthorn bark,
glycerine, etc., as mixed in Adler-i-ka.
One SPOONFUL flushes the ENTIRE
bowel tract so completely it relieves
ANY CASE sour stomach, gas or
constipation and prevents appendi
citis. The INSTANT, pleasant ac
tion of Adler-i-ka surprises both doc
tors and patients. Leaves stomach
clean and strong. Northern Drug
Company.
Todays
Games
; in the Handicap Bil
liard Tournament at
the Horseshoe are:
Bronsky vs. Harris,
at 4 p. m.
Game vs. Walker, at
7 p. m.
Downing vs. Bloed
horn, at 9:30 p. m. j
Thursday’s games
will be:
j Kelly vs. Bronsky, at j
4p. m.
Murphy vs. Clayson,
at 7 p. m.
Derrv vs. Gaffney, at
9:30 p. m.
THE HORSESHOE
BILLIARD HALL
I E. L. HARWOOD, Prop.
I
_
YOUR FURS MADE TO ORDER
Best work guaranteed. Low
est prices. Over 2,000 Alaska
customers.
R. W. Drew
Tacoma's Expert Furrelr
11th and B’dw’y, Tacoma, Wash.
I
ARE YOU GOING OUT THIS FALL?
Visit San Francisco and Stop with
Mark C. Thompson
at his new hotel in the heart of the city between
Powell and Mason Streets.
The Dale-Tallac Hotel
140 ELLIS STREET
Special Rates and Headquarters for Alaskans.
$•: -
:£
I Do you need
| J >b
I Printing
O |
of any kind r
1 ■ 1
| If so, the Daily Times
is prepared to do your
| work promptly and in a |
| manner that will be
| satisfactory.
1 1
I 1
$ &
Phone us your
wants and we’ll
do the rest
!v !v
.V.%V.%V.V/«VAV.V/AVAV*V*V.%VA%VAV#VA%V.%%V.V^<A%>%V<<<*K^<4CflCC»J&SfcS&»flCC»:*?
Xv/X’X’X’X'XvIvX'I'X'X'X’XvX'XvX’X’Xv.v.'.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.w.v.*.
r~ • . ■ =a
Yl%\ Alaska
A Steamship Company
—j Regular Sahinga Between 8eattle,
V. Ketchikan, Juneau, Cordova, Valdez,
W Ellamar, Liacum, Latouche, Seward
FROM SEATTLE- 8A|L8 80UTH
Nov’ 1 --ALASKA .. .Nov. g
N°v. 9 ...ALAMEDA... . Nov. 17
Nov. 20 ..NORTHWESTERN .Nov. 29
Frequent sailings of freighters carrying explosives.
This schedule subject to change without notice.
_ F. B. TRACY, Agent
___ e #•
*
■—=^PACIFIC STEAMSHIP COMPANY^ II
Alaska—Washington—California ALASKA ROUTE I
Safety Courtesy 8erv<ee Speed §
OFFICE EMPRE88 BUILDING |
WE8T BOUND SOUTH BOUND
LEAVE CORDOVA LEAVE CORDOVA
Dec. 10.WATSON.Nov. 23
Three Sailings per Week from Seattle for San Francisco, Los An
geles and 8an Diego. For further Information call
Office phone 223. L. A. COUNTS, AGENT Res. Lathrop Apts.
Copper River and
NorthwesternRy,
1 rains leave Cordova for Ckitina Monday and Thursday.
Trains leave Ckitina for Kennecott Tuesday and Friday.
Trains leave Kennecott for Ckitina Sunday and Thursday.
Trains leave Chitina for Cordova Tuesday and Friday.
I
Dining Car in Connection with all Regular
Passenger Trains between Cordova and Chitina.
Freight received and delivered at Cordova
Wharf from 9 a. m. to 5 p m., except Sundays.
Tickets on sale at Second Street Depot office
on" hour before departure of trains.
CALEB CORSER Superintendent
D. L. LEATON, Ticket Agent
THE NORTHERN CLUB
FRED HAEF, PROP.
.
—
POOL, CARDS, TOBACCO
Soft Drinks of All Kinds
The Popular Corner
PHONE 47 CORDOVA. ALASKA
. r
The Club
= Ipj
[ Pool and j
j Billiard Hall I
A Clean, Cozy Place Where Good Fellows 1
Congregate
TOBACCOS, CIGARS, CIGAR- 1
ETTES AND SOFT DRINKS
Meet Your Friends at The Club 1
TOM CLON1NGER, H |
manager. 11
I
Send the Saturday Times to a Friend Outside
4