Serious complications surround the
legislation pertaining to the construc
tion of the Alaska railroad, and just
at present there are indications that
the completion of the project may be
delayed for some time, says J. J. Un
derwood in the Seattle Times.
According to estimates made by the
Alaska engineering commission, an
additional $14,000,000 is needed to
tinish the work between Seward and
Fairbanks, thus connecting the shore
line of Alaska with the interior water
way system.
When the railroad bill was passed
early in 1914, there was inserted in it
a clause specifically prohibiting the
President from expending more than
$35,000,000 on the job. Of this amount
there is left to bn appropriated a sum
slightly in excess of $4,000,000. It is
apparent that $4,000,000 will not he
sufficient to do the work which en
gineers estimate will cost $14,000,000.
One doesn’t need a technical educa
tion to arrive at that conclusion.
Delegate James Wickersham has
caused to be introduced a joint resolu
tion and a bill removing the restric
tions placed upon the amount that is
to be spent on the project, but hopes
for the passage of the bill at this
session are not rich in promise.
Try It on the Dog.
The enthusiasm of the Southern
senators for the original bill was never
more than skin deep. They voted for
the measure largely because President
Wilson made a personal issue of it
and asked them so to do. Many who
voted for the measure even at that
time held inherent and conscientious
objections to government ownership
and operation of public utilities, but
Alpska is a long way from Washing
ton and they thought that if govern
ment ownership had to be given a trial
they might as well try it on the dog
first—Alaska being selected for the
canine role.
During the four years that the proj
ect has been under construction their
enthusiasm has waned. Congress tires
easily. A million more important
things have come up in the meantime.
Besides that there has been a steady
stream of adverse criticism to con
gressional and senatorial offices, much
of this criticism, strange as it may
seem, coming from Alaskans them
selves.
The railroad, it is charged, has cost
much more than was anticipated;
careless and extravagant methods
have been used; too many houses have
been built; part of the road was flood
ed; the commission should have
bought steel when it was cheap. In
short, the commission has done noth
ing rightly. The terminals are in the
wrong places, the roundhouses should
have been put at Seward or Fairbanks
instead of at Anchorage; the stations
are all where they shouldn't be; the
cars are the wrong kind; the loco
motives are no good. It is all an
awful mess—terrible!
Why some of the engineers on the
job couldn’t tell you offhand whether
a railroad frog jumps sidewise or
backwards. They know nothing what
sver of railroading. The cost of all
Ibis has been terrific. The one charge
that has not been made is that any
body got any graft out of it. But
any schoolboy could have done a bel
ief job of construction.
' Enthusiasm Lacking.
In view of till these unofficial
barges which have been assiduously
whispered into the ears of congress
men and senators for the last four
mars, it. is not amazing that there
should be no rampant enthusiasm for
‘lie continuation of the project. The
iverage senator and congressman is a
»ood listener but a poor investigator.
Pile national legislator must discuss
thousands of problems during a ses
sion. lie has neither the time nor
!lie ability to investigate them, and
naturally much of iiis knowledge is
superficial. One whisper to a con
gressman that all is not as it should
oe in regard to a pfinding proposition,
uid he immediately mentally decides
hat he will be careful how he votes.
\ negative vote is rarely productive
if what has come classically to be
lermed a “roorback.” Therefore he
rotes against it when it is called up,
bus avoiding the probability of future
criticism of himself. Nobody wants
his name associated with a failure,
and congressmen and senators are
only human.
Engineers Have No Chance.
The engineering commission, on the
other hand, does not readily get the
ear of congress. No charges have been
filed. There is nothing to which they
can reply. The commission says the
project is about 25 per cent shy of
completion, and frankly admits it cost
more than was originally figured.
This is the opinion, too, of Secre
tary Lane of the interior department,
who said today that the world would
be a wonderful place if we could all
look into the future. It would be per
fectly lovely—everybody would be
rich.
Replying to the statement that the
road had cost more than expected, he
said steel costs more than it did four
years ago. It was all very well to
talk about buying steel before the rise,
but the fact is the commission did not
know there was going to be an Euro
pean war at that, time, and in any
event they didn't have any money to
buy steel with. The secretary inti
mated that a great many other people
would have bought steel and wheat
and lots of other things had they
known in 1914 the prices that would
prevail in 1918. lie was not at all per
trubed at the information that part of
the railroad had been damaged by
flood. In fact he had a distinct recol
lection of the san^ thing happening
to the Southern Pacific and a good
many other railroads, lie hopes such
a thing will not occur, but it would
not surprise him very greatly if, at
some time or other, part of the gov
ernment’s property in Alaska is de
stroyed by fire. Such things, he says,
have happened before.
The locomotives and the cars may
not be any good, but they are the same
kind of locomotives and cars that are
used by railroads in the United States
and he regards it as peculiar that they
do not work satisfactorily in Alaska.
It is probably due to the climate or
something.
Mr. Lane admits that the cost of
labor has gone up in Alaska. He has
full knowledge of the fact that other
railroads in the territory in former
years paid a scale of 27 cents an hour
for common labor, while the commis
sion has been paying as high as 50
cent's. But there seemed to be an
unanimity of opinion among the work
men that they were entitled to the
higher scale. The laborers complained
somewhat forcefully that the, cost of
food and shoes and other things had
increased. A commission appointed
to investigate the matter decided the
men were entitled to mcy*e money,
and when the government agreed to
pay it, they went back to work.
There are a few people in Washing
ton who go so far as to intimte, in a
mild way, that, under all the circum
stances, the federal railroad in Alaska
has been constructed very cheaply.
Of course this is just a crazy notion—
a form of hallucination—and in view
of the preponderance of evidence to
the contrary they cannot, by the great
est stretch of the most elastic imag
ination. be considered to have any
knowledge on the subject under dis
cussion. But nevertheless they point
insistently to the fact that the com
mission’s figures show a cost of about
$80,000 a mile and that the Copper
River & Northwestern railroad cost
approximately $90,000 a mile from
Cordova to Chitina. They likewise in
vite attention to the fact that the
Copper River road was built in 1907
1911, when par profiteering was an un
discovered science and the man who
! paid a nickel for a cup of coffee in a
! first-class restaurant thought lie was
being robbed.
There probably has been some waste
on the federal railroad in Alaska—just
how much or how little nobody knows.
Waste in construction work is inevit
able. No man has yet bu'lt a house
for himself that didn't see some im
provement he would have made had
he thought of it in time, and he usu
ally can see at least a dozen ways in
which he could have saved money.
The immutable fact that hindsight is
better than foresight is probably the
real basis of many of the unofficial
charges that have been made under
cover against the railroad commis
sion.
But whatever the cause, the fact re
mains that there is serious danger
that the appropriation necessary to
complete the project will not be made
at this session and that the work will
be delayed. It is unthinkable that
the government will leave the project
unfinished, but. the first move toward
its completion is the passage of the
amendment to the original bill. This
will remove the limit of expenditure,
but it inadvertently raises another
barrier, namely, that the amount of
the expenditure is limited to the sums
appropriated tty Congress. There is
no emergency clause. No more money
than is appropriated can be expended,
and as Secretary Lane points out,
floods, fires and things of that kind,
somehow or other, will persist in hap
pening. However, the passage of the
amendment will be a step along the
path of progress, but it is by no means
certain that congress will act favor- =
ably upon it at this session. \
-♦—— i
ANTHRACITE COAL
It is only a little more than one *
hundred years since anthracite coal
has been used as fuel, the first at
tempts to burn it proving unsuccess
ful. Judge Jesse Pell of Pell house,
Wilkesbarre, Penn., was convinced
that "stone coal,” as it was called,
would burn; but his arguments were
laughed at. Finally, convinced that
what was necessary was a strong
draft, Judge Felel built a fireplace of
brick with a bottom and front of iron
grating. Piling the coal in this, he
built a wood fire under it. Soon the
coal was a red-hot mass, and the
neighbors flocked in at marvel at the
sight and revel in the grateful warmth.
That was in February, 1808.
Alaska
Barber
|
Has been removed to Kenny
Holden's pool room, where the
best of service will be given.
Two chairs, with Frank Cun
ningh am and Ben Sherman, I
formerly of Fairbanks, always
on the job. •
i-i
FOR SALE
ilHillUHlili
New Boat, Hulls
Fish and Clam Power Boat
Hulls now ready at shop on Sec
ond street, next to jail building.
E. D. LACY
TOKENS OF RESPECT
A well conducted funeral Is a
token of respect to the deceased.
Our methods of conducting a
funeral have given us an oppor
tunity to serve you in a manner
that will command respect. We
are equipped to serve you sat
isfactorily.
K. E. HOLDEN PARLOR
Second Street, between
A and B Ave.
......
Cordova i
The City Beautiful !
Help to keep it so by using a Z
Garbage Can. Plenty of them at !
CORDOVA Z
SHEET METAL WORKS I
Phone 143 I
......
FOR SALE
FOR SALE:
Choice business and resi
dence property.
FOR RENT
Furnished and unfurnished
apartments and cottages.
INSURANCE
Fire and marine, life and ac
cident.
BONDS
Fidelity and surety.
CORDOVA ABSTRACT and
REALTY COMPANY
ROOM 1. ADAMS BUILDING.
I “THE HOME OF GOOD CLOTHES” |
| Since war is over, merchandise began to drop, and we decided to do the same. Here is your chance to buy the highest 1
grade of Clothing obtainable at a reduction of 25 to 35 per cent. It includes everything in the house except contract ;
| goods, such as Arrow collars, U. S. and Hippress paks.
| HERE ARE A FEW OF OUR ALLURING PRICES:
pn es
| MEN’S SUITS
gj $25.00 Suits now ..$15.00
H 35.00 Suits now. 26.75
40.00 Suits now. 30.00
fj 50.00 Suits now. 37.50
I MACKINAWS
1 $1 3.50 and $1 2.00 Coats now.$8.50
16.00 Coats now.-. 12.00
| LOGGER SHIRTS
jj $10.00 Shirts now.$7.50
■ 8.00 Shirts now .-. 6.00
t 1 1.00 Leather Vests now. 8.75
IK $6.00 Men’s Moccasins now .$4.00
WOOL BLANKETS
$15.00 Blankets now ..$11.25
20.00 Blankets now. 15.00
9.00 Blankets now .- 6.75
Twenty per cent off on all Suit Cases and Bags
sox
Over 5,000 pairs Woollen
Socks at following prices:
75c Sox now.$ .50
$1.00 Sox now.75
1.25 Sox now.00
1.50 Sox now .. 1.15
BATTERIES
2- cell Batteries now . .20c
3- cell Batteries now .. 30c
$2.00 and $1.75 Flash
lights, with batter
ies .$1.25
All Batteries New
50c Bee, Bicycle, Free
Bailee Cards, 35c, or
three for .$1.00
75c Ties now.50c
20 Per Cent Off on All
Down Quilts
$4.00 Medlicott & Stan
field 's Shirts and
Drawers now .... $3.00
MITTS
$2.00 Horsekide Mitts,
now.$1.50
75c Wool Mitss now..55c
$3.00 Best Bib Overalls
now.$2.50
12-oz. Canvas Gloves,
per pair ..20c
50c Leather - faced
Gloves, per pair ... .40c
25 Per Cent Off on all
Felt Shoes
Men’s Rubbers now $1.25
Ladies’ Rubbers now 90c
$4.50 and $5.00 Men’s
Four-buckle Arctics
now.$3.65
$6.00 Parkas now . .$4.00
25 Per Cent Off on all Fur
and Cloth Caps
All Khaki Clothing
Reduced
All Union Suits Reduced,
including Silk and Wool
MEN’S SHIRTS
$3.00 Wool Shirts now .. ..$2.25 ']
5.00 Wool Shirts now . . 3.75
6.00 Wool Shirts now. . 4.50 ;{
5.00 and $6.00 Silk Shirts now. . 3.75 S I
___ i
HATS j
$3.50 Hats now ...$2.50 |
5.00 Hats now _ .4.00 1
6.0 and $7.00 Hats now.*_. 5.00 j
SWEATERS 1
$4.00 Sweaters now . $3.00 1
6.50 Sweaters now _ 4.75 j
8.00 Sweaters now . 6.00 j
-—___ u
PANTS |
$ 3.00 Pants now.$2.25 !
6.00 Pants now. 4.50 [ j
10.00 Wool Riding Pants now. 7.50 H
I NOTICE.—-No charges will be made for longer than thirty days. All or ders by mail filled promptly. |
LAURIE BROTHERS