Ogden Sun | 1905-12-05 | Page 4 | Need of Railroads in Alaska

NEED OF RAILROADS IN ALASKA the geological surveys ot alaska bavo supplied data for a bulletin on the railways in alaska in which it is made plain that as the development of alas kas mineral resources proceeds the difficulties of travel become more conspicuous in the earlier days a prospector might launch bis boat 0 whipsawed lumber on ono of the creeks near his point of debarkation from a steamship and chopo to reach the gold diggings encountering undue his whipsaw furthermore ther more prepared the material for boxes with these and a pick an ax a and a gold pan he was sufficiently equipped and with these simple instruments many millions of dollars have been taken from the auriferous gravels of alaska only the richest deposits could however yield a profit it waa estimated in the old days on the yukon that unless a deposit would yield 20 or SO day to the man it could not be profitably exploited the richest gravels were long ago worked the lower grade material an be profitably handled only with the help of various mechanical contrive inces such as steam hoists hydraulic devices dredges etc this machinery must be brought by sea to alaska and then transported to the points where it Is needed owing to the lack of railways and roads large part of alanskas gold must now be paid for transporting supplies and materials to rino placer camps the chesto culna camp probably offers the best illustration of excessive cost for materials brought in there during the cummer months the cost of transportation is a dollar a pound during the winter months twenty five to thirty cents a pound it is evident that under these conditions no largo development of mineral resources may be expected still more striking are the difficulties encountered in an attempt at lode mining as lode deposits are usually off the main lines of travel methods of placer mining may bo reduced to the utmost simplicity but lode mining is possible only with machinery coal mining is of course entirely out of the question while means of transporting the product to market are lacking of railways in alaska la thus so evident that no argument for their construction is required although there Is as yet no trunk line in alaska small roads have been built jn halt a dozen districts where managed they hao paid large dividends on the investment plans are now in band tor constructing ting a railway from tidewater to the yukon placer fields such a railway will have to the mountain barrier that stretches westward rom the one hundred and forty first meridian to ano wet side of cook inlet these mountains aro broken by a number of waterways and by everal passes all of which have been explored f by members of the geological survey whose reports indicate where the most feasible routes may let found