SENATOR TELLS
PLAIN FACTS
ABOUT ALASKA
In discussing the American mer
chant marine bill, before the senate
on May 20. particularly with refer
ence to the provisions affecting
Alaska. Senator Knute Nelson very
aptly said:
Mr. President, it is very easy tc
surround this matter with a glamoui
in favor of maintaining Americar
shipping. I wish I had a large mat
of Alaska here which I have in my
office, for it would give a much bet
ter idea than Senators can have
without a map of the location oi
Skagway, the port to w'hich the Sen
ator refers.
The Canadian government has
given a small subsidy for carrying
the mail from Vancouver to Victoria,
the capital of British Columbia, to
Skagwoy. Skagwmy is in American
territory and is an American port,
but from Skagway it Is only 17 miles
to the summit of White Pass.
Fronm Skagway their runs a narrow'
guage railroad— the first one built
in that section and the one w'hich
gave us our entrance to Alaska—
over the White Pass to White Horse
on the Lewis river, the main trib
utary to the Yukon. That river is
about 150 miles long, but a little
less than 30 miles, constituting that
portion from Skagwmy to the sum
mit of the White Pass, is in our
territory. There would be no traffic
at Skagway if it wore not for the
traffic that comes through there
from the Yukon territory—from
Daw'son and eastern Alaska. As
1 have said, that w'as the original
route of our entrance into Alaska.
■When the first stampede to Alaska
occurred travelers went from Skag
way over the White Pass. A cit
izen of my state built the W'agon
road there, but was almost immed
iately superseded by the White Pass
Railroad, a narrow-guage built by
the Canadians.
Now, I will ask Senators to fol
low me a momment. When a trav
eler goes by the Inner Passage, as
it is called, from Seattle to Skag
way- the first stage of the journey
from Seattle to Vancouver is. 1
should say, between 100 and 200
miles. Then he must traverse Bri
tish Columbian territory for a con
siderable distance up to the Pan
handle of Alaska. He passes that
and goes by water through the nar
row passage between the islands
to Skagway, which is at the foot ol
the White Pass. When he gets tc
Skagway, if he desires to reach the
interior, he has to go over the White
Pass railroad, over 100 miles ol
Vt'hich, as I have said, is in Cana
dian territory. At the end of the
railroad he will strike Whitehorse,
as the place is called, on the Lewis
river, the main tributary, I repeat
of the Yukon river. At that poinl
steamboat navigation begins down to
Dawson, the capital of the Yukon
Territory, a distance of between 400
and 500 miles, all In Canadian terr
itory. Then when the traveler
reaches Dawson there are still be
tween 150 and 200 miles before he
reaches American territory at Eagle,
on the Yukon river.
Going down from Dawson the first
station he reaches of any account
is one called Fortymile. The town
of Fortymile is on the Yukon river
in Canadian territory, and the min
ers and the mines back of it on the
Fortymile creek and its tributaries
all have their outlet at the little
steamboat landing called Fortymile.
That is the only route by which our
people can get into eastern Alaska
in the winter. The Canadians have
a stage route which in the winter
they run in connection with their
narrow-guage railroad from White
Horse to Dwson. It is the only way
by which our people can get into the
interior easily and rapidly. Practi
cally all the traffic and business of
i the Yukon territory, which is part
of Canada, and practically all of
the traffic and business of interior
eastern Alaskan pass through Skag
way, so that the trarfic and com
• merce there is 90 per cent Canadian
' The traffic furnished by Americans
there is that of the people who de
sire to get into eastern Alaska by
i that route, it being the most con
venient.
There is no other direct railroad
i route to navigation on the Yukon.
The Copper River route goes up the
Copper River to the mouth of the
Chitina, and from there branches off
to the copper mines. From the
mouth of the Chitina rfver up to the
head of navigation on the Tanana
river, near Fairbanks, the distance is
probably between 20 Oand 300 miles.
Our government made a great mis
take -when they inaugurated rail
road building in Alaska by not fol
lowing that route. There was a
broad-guage railroad built from the
sea at Cordova up to the mouth of
the Chitina and to the copper mines,
and the government made a great
mistake by not adopting that line
and building from the mouth of the
Chitina river to Fairbanks, a dis
tance of 200 miles. They could have
built that road within the time that
they have been building on the
western side of the country and for
all the money they have spent up
to date.
What have they accomplished witn
the other end of the line? Instead
of adopting that line, they adopted
the line from Seward. They bought
from the Canadians, a dismantled
railroad, half completed, unfit for
real traffic, and they had to rehad
ilitate it from Seward up to the east
end of Turnagain Arm—over 100
miles. They had to practically re
build it. Then they had to build on
the north side of Turnagain Arm.
cut into solid rock for # distance of
nearly 100 miles until they got to
Knick Arm, as it is called, and up
there they have laid out a town.
They have built the railroad up to
that town near the mouth of Knik
Arm or Knik Bay, and they have
built a branch up to the Matanuska
coal fields; but aside from that
branch they are as far from the
ocean to get to the interior as when
they started.
In other words, the whole distance
from Knik Arm, which is the inner
most part of Cook Inlet, is uncom
(Continued on Page 7)
Advertise in the Daily Times
777.7.;..,: —-s
GEORGE
ANDERSON
PIANO EXPERT
And Factory Representative
High-Grade Pianos
At the Windsor Hotel for a
short time only.
HONG KONG
RESTAURANT
, W I I
CHINE8E NOODLES
CHOP 8UEY
All Kinds of Light Lunches
Tray Service Our Specialty
CHARLEY CHONG
Phone 169
FRESH FROM OUTSIDE
Beef, Pork, Veal, Mutton and Poultry
Wholesale and Retail
All Orders Given Prompt Attention
northern meat market
STEAM heat electric light*
Overland: otel
MR8. J. W. KENNEDY
Ghitina, Alaska
POOL TABLE IN CONNECTION
BfcST BRANDS OF CIGARS KEPT
J .... .4
, l : t !
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1 I
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:* •:!;
SAVINGS ACCOUNT fins |
!v v!
the gap between ambition |
I and achievement.
:: ::
X; :x
•.*. .V
V. .V
i| Deposits made on or before July 1 I th, jf
iji: draw interest from the first of the month &
i |
x- >:•
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1 -*- |
| Bank of Alaska |
~ “ALASKA’S BRANCH BANKING SYSTEM” ijij
•X ?!•
Banks at Cordova, Anchorage, Skagway, Wrangell
•X
CORDOVA MACHINE
WORKS
E. R. GARNES, Prop.
Residence Phone 101-3
Shop Phone 182
Machine Work of all Kinds,
Blacksmithing, General Repair
ing, Horse Shoeing, Oxy-Acety
lene Welding and Cutting.
AUTOMOBILES
REPAIRED
Office and Shop: City Dock
CORDOVA, Alaska.
Out of Town Jobs Given Strict
Attention.
/SHAMPOOING
FACIAL AND
For MANICURING
/CALL
1 1-7-3 1
MRS. SWANBERG
j—----——_(►
Alaska
Steamship Company
Regular Sailings Between Seattle,
Ketchikan, Juneau, Cordova, Valdez,
Ellamar, Liscum, Latouche, Seward.
FROM SEATTLE— SAILS SOUTH—
JUNE 3. ALASKA JUNE 11
JUNE 10. ALAMEDA JUNE 20
JUNE I7. NORTHWESTERN.JUNE 26
JUNE 24. ALASKA JULY 3
< :J
Frequent sailings of freighters carrying explosives.
This schedule subject to change without notice.
F. B. TRACY, Agent
Alaska—Washington—California ALASKA ROUTE
Safety Courtesy Service 8peed
OFFICE EMPRESS BUILDING
WEST BOUND SOUTH BOUND
LEAVE CORDOVA LEAVE CORDOVA
WATSON, June 16 EVANS, June 11
Watson calls at Kodiak. ' W '
t jut"'*' i
L. A. COUNTS, AGENT Res. Lathrop Apts.
Phone 132—2
ANOTHER REDUCTION
on New Woolens. Order
your suit from us and get
the benefit of these reduc
tions, which will save you
to on a suit, we have the only real Cleaning Plant in the town f
where your clothes are renovated. Hats cleaned and blocked.
T. N. HUBBERT, IWERCH ANT TAILOR
•» » %\r
ti
Will Have an Old
Fashioned
4th of July
Celebration
Make
Arrangements
to be in Town
at That Time
Program
Will be
Announced
Later