THE ALASKA ROAD COMMISSION:
Some of Its Work and an Outcropping of Its Inevitable Criticism
DEMOCRATIC CENSURE
Attributed to Sectionalism
By the Head of the -
Commission.
NOME, Aug. 3, 1906.
J. W. Young, Rampart:
I think the people of your sec
tion ought to know that the Juneau
democrats* platform condemned
the Alaska Road Commission for
being “expensive, dilatory and
wholly inefficient” because the
commission is trying to give
needed aid to the interior instead
of wasting money in southeast
Alaska, where but few roads are
needed. RICHARDSON.
The above statement from the head of
the Alaska Road Commission is in refer
ence to a plank in the Juneau demo
cratic platform which reads as follows:
“We favor the building of roads and
trails throughout the district, so that
the miner and prospector may be ena
bled to develop our mineral wealth.
And we condemn the present road com
mission as costly, dilatory and wholly
inefficient.”
Whether or not Major Richardson’s
conclusion is correct as to the motives
of the Juneau convention, its action is
flagrantly unjust to him and the other
memltt-rs of the commission. Precious
time was lost by the commission, not
through any fault of its own, but for
want of means for carrying on the work
ably planned for the l)est interests of
the territory as a whole.
It may l>e ex[>ecteil that the commis
sion's work will lie found fault with, not
alone in other |>arts of the territory,
but in the communities most directly
lienefiteil an well. It seems inevitable
that whoever doe* anythin); worth doing
is foredisuned to |>nr|«>*eh-e* o|i|Hisition.
Meantime Alaska will get roads. In
the summer of HUM the project of con
necting the Yukon river with salt water
bv wagon road first receive*! notable
mentioii. The coming winter stages
• Iruwn by horses and carrying |«isscn
gers ami mail will make regular tri|>«
In-tween VaMea ami Kairlwtnks, a •lie
tame of :*<> miles, ami within another
year tlie route will le made |Mssable to
Kant) sir I on the Yukon.
Progress, in roads ami everything else
that trials to (lie advancement o| Alaska,
is gaining such im|» lus that those who
umlertake to art I tie jsirt o| ol«|ritct»on
i»ts will sen I* bs.keil ii|s,n as m>lhmg
more potent than a |smf joke.
A Sample Criticism.
I’hder the caption, 1 “Scientific’ Con
struction of Highways,” the Tanana
Teller (Cleary City) published the fol
lowing July 25:
“John Zug, with a big gang of men, is
constructing another wagon road. It is j
the same road he built last fall, and over
which he could not get hack to town I
with his outfit when completed. In a
few places the road has been changed
“When Major Richardson sjK»ke some j
time ago about the construction of mili
tary roads in Alaska, he probably had i
in his mind’s eye the Cleary wagon ;
road. If that road was constructed for
the purpose of misleading ami fooling !
the enemy, as a ruse of war, we congrat
ulate the Alaska Hoad Commission.
Nobody will dispute the success of the j
undertaking.
“That scientifically constructed road j
leads to everywhere before it comes to j
Cleary. It is used by nobody except |
the Alaska ltoad Commission and its j
emuloves.
“From the Summit the road goes to
Little Eldorado, and half way to Dome.
Then, realizing that it is getting farther
and farther away from its destination,
the lost wanderer returns as circuitous
as it left until finally it reaches Cleary.
“The road is a farce, Major Richard-;
son and Mr. Zug. If you were to as
phalt it from beginning to end nobody
besides yourselves and your employes
would use it. You can not make a road
out of it without the exj>enditure of
much money, and why the waste? Why
not take the advice of a few old mule
skinners and help improve the road
they are using now, or construct a mile j
and a half of new road across the tail
ings along the upj>er end of the creek?
“The old road down the hill is good
enough. It is steep, to he sure, but no
freighter has ever been unable to get
down the incline. You complained last
fall about the foolishness exhibited by
teamsters in establishing a trail that
shoots straight down the hill.
Common Benue ami a {air of eyes that
are not altogether blind prove that they
are right, and that you are wrong,
Major and Mr. Zug, and the sooner you
realize it the better you and the people
will lie off. It’s all nonsense to go to
Little Eldorado when you want to go to
Cleary, and if you would decide to put
in your time ami your crew’s for one
week along the mile and a half the
freighters want fixed, we’ll agree never
to u[en our bazoo again alsiut the tom
foolery you are engaged in in the moun
tains between Cleary, Bedrock and El
dorado creeks.
A Sensible Answer.
In the Teller of Aug. 1 Martin tiately,
experienced in road work in the Klon
dike, made a most sensible reply to the
foregoing criticism. Mr. tiately is tie
tally unaci|uaililed with tin- memtiera
of tlie road commission, but is familiar
with tlie conditions prevailing in this
country. Among oilier things In- said:
“Now, it is the object of a roudhuilder
t<> have a sulsUanttal main road leading
to a certain important center, ami if it
touches, or lea.Is towards oilier points
of consequence, so lunch tlie better
Where, may I link, could this main road
for Cleary be builded except on its pres
ent site? Experience in the Yukon
taught that roadbuilding on the creeks
was too expensive and never satisfacto
ry. The Bonanza road, 12 miles long,
was builded on the creekside, and not
on the hillside, at a cost of over $60,000,
and it took over twice that amount for
years after it was constructed to put it
in working order. When extending the
Sulphur creek road, two years ago, the
extension was builded on the hillside, as
the creek road was found to be practica
bly useless and almost impassable.
“What applies to the upper country
applies here, and I have heard a num
ber of intelligent men say that the
Cleary road is the most sensible piece
of road work they have seen in the
north during the past eight years and
that when under its present efficient
management it will l>e a serviceable and
lasting roadway, and convenient for
other districts besides Cleary; not ‘a
farce,’ as you proclaim.
“As to your suggestion to take the
advice of the muleskinners, I know from
exjierience what their advice or advices
would be. In a way the muleskinners
are good fellows; but ask thirty of them
for advice on this matter and they will
be almost certain to give thirty differ
ent advices.
“It is silly to talk of using the old
steep road into Cleary City. It is diffi
cult and almost impossible for horses to
pull a heavy load up the hill, and even
harder on the animals to have a drag on
them going down. Even a round-about
course which is safe is far letter and
more secure than tolsigganing down the
hill in question, which is highly dan
gerous at all seasons of the year;
and it is announced that the govern
ment is also giving assistance to im
prove the roadway from the steep hill
to Cleary City.
“Fair play is bonnie play for the gov
ernment and its officials as well as for
private individuals.”
Work of Mr. Brown.
Webster Brown, commissioned by the
Alaska road commission to make a re
connoisance of the country between
Fairbanks ami Kampart, comi>leted tlie
work August 1. He started out from
the mouth of Cleary creek July 12, and
was a week later in reaching itampart
than be bad expected. The nature of
the country made the work necessarily
F. M. A. L.
SMITH & COLLINS,
Proprietors
FIRST-CLASS
Wines, Liquors and
Cigars.
CASE GOODS
A Specialty
JOSEPH TWAN,
Near
Smith &
McHugh’s
Barn
Cobbler
slow. Part of the distance is swampy
and travel over it laborious.
Mr. Brown believes the length of the
proposed Rampart - Fairbanks road,
when finally established, will be less
than 100 miles.
On his arrival in Rampart Mr. Brown
received a message from Captain Pills
! bury directing him to proceed to work
| on the survey between The Rapids and
j Fairbanks. This latter work is on a
I section of the route authorized by con
gress to be investigated with a view to
ascertain the practicability of building a
railway or wagon road between a j>oint
; on the upper Tanana and Council or.
Nome. If such a road is built the cross
ing will bo at The Rapids, which is the
most advantageous point on the entire
Yukon at which to build a bridge. Four
parties are at work on this line between
The Rapids ami Council. Engineer
McPherson with a large outfit, who re
Cnlioliidfsl on fourth imge.
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* S. K. IIKKTKR. HAKKV BURRU88.
HEETER & BURRUSS,
FREIGHTERS and PACKERS
Freighting and Parking t«> and from all t’re^kx.
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