rot., stmonk msrrssKS
COMMISSION ACTIVITIES AT
MEETING MNI>\\
(Continued from Pago One)
.Turn* and again in August, hu* m
reasonable bids were received Th«
lowest bid received was per yard
f( i pumping about six to eight ttiOUs
and '«irds of sand I cm the entrant-®
to 'he bavin. When one considers
the values recovered from dredged
ground around Nome, the absurdity
of this hid is manifest, even allowing
for the small yardage involved.
However, were the price considered
reasonable, there is insufficient
money available to accomplish at
thalp rice the minimum amount at
yardage necessary to open the en
trance. It is too late in the season
t>> do anything further. The dredg
ing will be readvertised next spring,
or else the Government will transfer
a barge and pump and do the work
on force account Announcement of
plans will he made in due course.
"The Territorial Legislature.” Col.
Steese continued. "appropriated
money to purchase the Seward Pen
insula Railway, providing the Terri
torial Hoard and the Alaska Road
Commission should jointly so recom
mend: and. provided further, that
the Alaska Road Commission would
agree to make an examination and
report upon the property, and would
agree to rehabilitate if if purchased
and to operate it as a public tram or
highway under regulations to 1m»
prescribed bv the Alaska Road Com
mission.* The Commission has
agreed to the conditions imposed by
the legislature and is making the re
port at its own expense. If pur
chased, the road will be fixed up and
continued in ptibiic use as a ptipmo
bile line.”
Colonel Steese stated “that Con
gress has directed that a full report
be submitted upon the transporta
tion situation in the Seward Penin
sula with an estimate of cost of a
system of communications tying in
Havidson's Landing. Taylor. Deering,
and Candle to Nome: and also giving
access to the coal fields in the Kug
ruk river district. These points are
now connected by a winter trail sys
tem. but needs tramways or roads for
summer service. This report is now
being prepared. It will of course,
then be up to Congress to appropri
ate the necessary money if the report
is approved.
"The Alaska Road Commission.”
pin* speaker said, "has been expend
| inn li beral funds for road and trail
j work in Alaska since l!»o5 or for 17
seasons. Thr* work was originally
I started for military purposes but has
j long ago lost most of its military
j significance Much development has
I both preceded and followed this road
land trail construction, which devel
II opment has itself given rise to ad
ditional demands for transportation
relief. The funds provided bv Con
gTess. though liberal upon a per
j capita basis, have been entirely in
adequate to cover the vast Territory
involved. For instance, this year's
appropriation was $425,000.00 or
about $15 for every white man. wo
man and child in the Territory. In
the States the appropriations since j
lPlti. the first year any money was
provided by Congress, have averaged ,
about $40,000,000.00 or about 40c
per head.
"However, a perusal of our reports
for the past two years will show that
we have recommended the immediate
construction of about $10.000.oOtf.oi)
worth of road and trail work in the
Territory at the rate of at least a
million dollars per year. With onh
half a million dollars a year avail
able. it will be many years before we
can make a serious dent in the work
recommended. And the work we
have recommended is only a part of
the work that is desired. In the
l'ayne committee report of last year." |
Col. Steese said, "some $30,000,000 j
worth of work was recommended, .
He is a hopeful man indeed who
counts upon Congress authorizing |
any such amount. If w*e can get a (
million dollars a year, we will be'
mighty lucky, and so will the peopfe )
of Alaska . However, it is no part of:
the duty of this Board to get money
from Congress: that is the function j
of the Governor and the Delegate. !
We are the agents of Congress and it '
is our duty to carry out its wishes j
and see that the money provided is
expended according to law. If no,
money is provided that lets us out. •
However, we would not he wasting!
mu time tip here unless we believed j
in the future of the country and were
anxious to do our little part in direct-1
ing the activities of the federal gov-1
eminent into what we believe to he
desirable channels. We therefore;
give Congress the best technical ad
vice we can. There is a wide gulf
between what the people think they!
ought to have and what there is any !
reasonable expectation of their get-'
ting And we are the goats who
have to explain the deficiencies ol
Congress to the Alaskans and then
go to Washington and explain the de.
liciences or the Alaskans to Congress
"In lhlfi." he continued, "The Post
Aid Road Law was passed, appro
priating money for the first time for
road construction in the States and
its provisions were extended to Alas
ka so far as the national forests are
concerned, but only upon condition
that Alaska should contribute a sup
plementary amount of cooperative
funds Alaska had no cooperative
road law and did not get around to
passing one until the spring of 1919
In the meantime the Federal money
merely piled up in the hands of the
Secretary of Agriculture. During
the next two years Territorial money
was turned over to the Agriculture
Department in the ratio of about $t
from the Territory to $2.f>0 from the
Deportment of Agriculture, and the
accumulated funds have been used
up on Forestry projects, or really up
on former Alaska Road Commission
projects which were turned over to
use up the funds. The work is per
formed by the Bureau of Public
Roads. Alaska Road Commission
funds thus released are diverted to
other parts of the Territory.
"For the current season. $35,000
of Territorial Funds and SS5.000.00
of Forestry Funds were extended
upon eight projects in the Tongass
and Chugach National Forests in the
1st and 3rd divisions. This money
is available only if the Territory
meets the conditions of the Federal
Government. These projects aggre
gate about 100 miles of wagon roads.
"The same law authorized coopera
tion with the Alaska Road Commis
sion and about $100,000.00 of Terri
torial money was turned over to the
Alaska Road Commission to he ex
pended upon cooperative projects
designated by the Territorial Board.
For the current season the Alaska
Road Commission has had to expend
about $55,000.00 of Territorial
"During those same two years, the
remaining Territorial funds were ex
pended under the supervision of Di
visional chairmen elected by the
people, except that in the 2nd divi
sion the divisional chairman was re-j
lieved from duty his second year and.
all the money applied to cooperative
projects. This same Territoiral law
prescribes that after March 1921. thej
divisional chairman should he ap
pointed by the Territorial Board.)
As I he funds appropriated by the leg
islature were so small. $30,000.00
per division, the Alaska Road Com
mission was requested to supervise
the expenditure of all funds not ob
ligated to the Department of Agri
culture, in the interest of economy.
“So far, as the Second Division is
concerned, the $30,000 of Territorial
funds available would have produced
about $10,000 for overhead and $20.
000 worth of hand work if handled
j by a separate organization. Fur
thermore. the Alaska Road Commis
sion did not secure its appropria
tion till June 30th. too late to ship
in supplies, and make preliminary
arrangements for the short season's
work. Without the cooperative
agreement of last spring, therefore,
the Alaska Road Commission would ■
have been forced to close up its Nome
office and would have done little or
no work this year. As it is, about!
$90,000 worth of work has been ac- j
complished during the season, and j
not a penny of the $30,000 of Terri-1
torial money has gone into overhead,
j office or traveling expenses, or plant,
j These services have all been furnish
ed the Territory free of charge
“The Alaska Road Commission,"
I Col. Steese explained, “has no con
j cern with the theoretical political
| rights involved. Its only concern *s
the building of as many and as good
roads and trails as the available
funds will permit. Its organization
is at the service of the Territory only
so long as desired and the results
justify it. The local elected com
missioners have no function under
the law but that of making recom
mendations to the Territorial Board.
This they have been given every op
portunity to do. The Alaska Road
Commission is doing this work at
the request of the Territorial Board,
as authorized by the Legislature, and
is doing only such work as the Ter
ritorial Board prescribes.
“The main difficulty.” he said, “isi
not. about where to build roads and
trails nor how to build them, but is
entirely a question of funds. We
know exactly where to build ten
million dollars worth of roads and
trails and have so reported to Con
gress. and we have the best road and
trail men on our pay roll that there
are in the Territory. Efforts should
therefor be concentarted upon getting
more money. Furthermore. Congress
does not appropriate money for spe
cific projects as they do for rivers
and harbors. Congress has wisely
realized the impossibility of handling
road and trail work from Washing
[ ton and has therefore always given
the Commission a lump sum appro-,
priation and given the Commission
full authority to distribute that
money where in their opinion it will
do the most good. Any represents-1
tions as to the distribution of the
appropriation should be made to the
Commission. Any wrangling in
Washington over individual projects
merely provides ammunition to the
opposition to reduce the appropria
tion without securing any advantage
to the contending parties."
In conclusion Col. Steese explained
the activities of the Commission with
respect to miscellaneous permits by
telling the audience that the Rivers
and Harbors section handles a con
tinuous stream of permits for re
taining walls, dolphins, docks, fish
traps, bridges, shipways, etc.
N'o structure of any kind within
the high water line may be con
structed without a prior permit from
the War Department, which means
the District Engineer for Rivers and
Harbors at Juneau
Major Gotwali Spoke a* Follows
ECONOMIES
The great price reductions outside
with the considerable unemployment,
unfortunate as it was for the outside,
only meant fo rAlaska easier times
and finally prosperity. Many pro
found thinkers have written labori
ous treatises on the economic ills of
the Territory and one feels toward
them much as my frieud Dick
Mitchell of Mosquito Fork who says.
"Its tough being hard up, but it is
fine to be able to read an article ex
plaining it all.” So*l can only extend
to you my conviction that outside
conditions both in providing inde
spensibles shipped in at lower prices
and in creating a surplus of men to
whom a p'.cneer life is attractive ac
crues to the benefit of Alaska.
HOAD WORK
The great amount of travel I have
performed winter and summer has
completed my knowledge of the dif
ficulties of overland transportation
in Alaska, in the execution of our
work we are better off than ever, due
to the substantial addition we have
made to our plant and equipment in
;he last year and have had an excel
lent season’s work. In further re
gard to our work. I desire to speak
intimately with Alaskans and would
especially emphasize the following
The extent of the Territory and i s
needs are such that one might as
well attempt to bale out Bering Sea
with a mukluk as meet every demand
with our present small appropriation.
The getting of larger appropria
lions, so largely depends upon re
sults obtained that the real progress
we are making is worthy of fav
orable advertisement in Washington.
Criticism of our employees will
always be investigated and a contin
ued efforts made to obtain the best
men available for the local execution
That we are as careful with the
expenditure of government funds en
trusted to us is not a fault. My
friend Leonard Seppala remarked one
day on the trail when I stopped the
dogs and invited them to eat all the
snow they wanted "you wouldn't do
that if it were government snow "
I think I would. Anyway our ap
propriations once made are fixed, the
funds are then Alaska's and the mak
ing them go as far as possible to
make transportation easier for you
is the highest duty to you.
The road Commission has no other
reason for being here than to relieve
with its small appropriation the road
and trail situation of Alaska. In
doing this the broad and compre
hensive knowledge bf the Territory
now possessed with the hope of in
creased appropriations should afford
Alaskans substantial future relief.
Surveyor General Theile. personal
representative of Governor Bone,
spoke briefly, outlining his views on
the development needs of the terri
tory generally and said the new gov
ernor is prepared to do everything
possible to assist the territory and
has the full hacking of the admin
istration !'i the furtherence of his
policies and efforts.
Miners & Merchants
Bulk ol Aliska
NOME. ALASKA
Capital - - $100,000
Gold Dust Purchased
and Assayed
IT PAYS TO TRADE AT LEHMANN’S
WHERE YOU RECEIVE THE BIGGEST VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY IN QUALITY AND SERVICE
Our Stock of General Merchandise is now the largest and most complete on Seward Penin
sula; and, as it has always been our policy to handle only the very best obtainable, we can
truthfully state that the goods are considerable above the average stocks carried.
WE TAKE PRIDE IN MENTIONING SOME OF THE HOUSES WE REPRESENT AND BRANDS WE HANDLE
(I If
GROCERIES ANB PROVISIONS
hollyhurst Eggs
Golden State Butter
Emerson’s Alaska Grade Potatoes
Budweiser Beverage
Hills Bros. Coffee
S. & W. canned goods, & dried Fruits
Tea Garden Jellies and Preserves
Swifts Bacon and Hams
ULU Iniflb m UK! UUUUS
Ball Band Sox and Rubber Goods
Hart, Schaffner & Marx Clothing
Hardeman Hats
Marshall, Field & Co. ladies wear
Munsing Wear Underwear
Boss of the Road Overalls
Patrick Co. Shirts, Sweaters, etc*
Florsheim and Nettleton Shoes
Wilson Bros. Gents Furnishings
Priecs on practically all commodities have been reduced considerable this year. About 30
to 40 percent on an average—it will cost just that much less to secure your winter's outfit.
As we intend to lead in LOW PRICES this Fall and Winter, we want you to visit
our store, and let us convince you THAT—
IT PAYS TO TRADE AT LEHMANN’S
THORDLF LEHMANN