THE ALASKAN ElllERlNG COMMISSION SERVICE MONOGRAPHS OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT N2 4 INSTITUTE FOR GOVEI^MENT RESEARCH OAK ST. HDSF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY 353^3 345< cope ■ The minimum fee tor a losi. bound journals. „.p,,ininq of books are reasons Theft, mutilation, and ^"^^^'^'"^ 3 ^.^^.,33^, ^om ITdisciplinarv -t^^n an -^^^^^^^^^ ,,,, ,ay res.lt . the University. P'eabe nu^ ,„rn pages anrf/i/t soma. nte 2,7.333-8400, Renev- via the Telephone Cen,| ^:e.262.,510 (.*- ° ':f ^: Account op.,cn a.: THE ALASKAN ENGI- NEERING COMMISSION ITS HISTORY, ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION THE INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNMENT RESEARCH Washington, D. C. The Institute for Government Research is an association of citizens for cooperating with pubUc officials in the scientific study of government with a view to promoting efficiency and economy in its operations and advancing the science of ad- ministration. It aims to bring into existence such informa- tion and materials as will aid in the formation of public opin- ion and will assist officials, particularly those of the national government, in their efforts to put the public administration upon a more efficient basis. To this end, it seeks by the thoroughgoing study and exam- ination of the best administrative practice, public and private, American and foreign, to formulate those principles \yhich lie at the basis of all sound administration, and to determine their proper adaptation to the specific needs of our public adminis- tration. The accomplishment of specific reforms the Institute recog- nizes to be the task of those who are charged with the respon- sibility of legislation and administration; but it seeks to assist, by scientific study and research, in laying a solid foundation of information and experience upon which such reforms may be successfully built. While some of the Institute's studies find application only in the form of practical cooperation with the administrative of- ficers directlv concerned, many are of interest to other admin- istrators and of general educational value. The results of such studies the Institute purposes to publish in such form as will insure for them the widest possible utilization. Officers Robert S. Brookings, Frank J. Goodnow. Chaii^n Vice-chairman James F. Curtis, Frederick Strauss, Secretary Treasurer Trustees Edwin A. Alderman Edwin F. Gay Charles D. Norton Robert S. Brookings Frank J. Goodnow Martin A. Ryerson James F. Curtis Jerome D. Greene Frederick Strauss R. Fulton Cutting Arthur T. Hadley Silas H. Strawn Frederic A. Delano Herbert C. Hoover William H. Taft George Eastman A. Lawrence Lowell Ray Lyman Wilbur Raymond B. Fosdick Samuel Mather Robert S. Woodward Felix Frankfurter Richard B. Mellon Director W. F. Willoughby Editor F. W. Powell INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNMENT RESEARCH SERVICE MONOGRAPHS OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT No. 4 THE ALASKAN ENGI- NEERING COMMISSION ITS HISTORY, ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION BY JOSHUA BERNHARDT D. APPLETON AND COMPANY NEW YORK LONDON 1922 Copyright, 1922, by THE INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNMENT RESEARCH FEINTED IN THE UNITBD STATDS Or AMEBIOA 3 53. i PUBLICATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNMENT RESEARCH STUDIES IN ADMINISTRATION The System of Financial Administration of Great Britain By W. F. Willoughby, W. W. Willoughby, and S. M. Lindsay The Budget By Rene Stourm T. Plazinski. Translator; W. F. McCaleb, Editor The Canadian Budgetary System By H. G. Villard and W. W. Willoughby The Problem of a National Budget By W. F. Willoughby The Movement for Budgetary Reform in the States By W. F. Willoughby Teacher's Pension Systems in the United States By Paul Studensky Organized Efforts for the Improvement of Methods of Ad- ministration in the United States By Gustavus A. Weber The Federal Service: A Study of the System of Personal Administration of the United States Government By Lewis Mayers The System of Financial Administration of the United States (In Preparation) PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION Principles Governing the Retirement of Public Employees By Lewis Aleriam Principles of Government Piu-chasing By Arthur G. Thomas Principles of Government Accounting and Reporting By Francis Oakey, C. P. A. Principles of Personnel Administration By Arthur W. Procter SERVICE MONOGRAPHS OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT The Geological Survey The Reclamation Service The Bureau of Mines The Alaskan Engineering Commission The Tariff Commission The Federal Board for Vocational Education The Federal Trade Commission The Steamboat-Inspection Service The National Parks Service The Public Health Service The Weather Bureau The Employee's Compensation Commission ;^.>v.5 4^i FOREWORD The first essential to efficient administration of any enter- prise is full knowledge of its present make-up and operation. Without full and complete information before them, as to existing organization, personnel, plant, and methods of oper- ation and control, neither legislators nor administrators can properly perform their functions. The greater the work, the more varied the activities en- gaged in, and the more complex the organization employed, and more imperative becomes the necessity that this informa- tion shall be available — and available in such a form that it can readily be utilized. Of all undertakings, none in the United States, and few, if any, in the world, approach in magnitude, complexity, and importance that of the national government of the United States. As President Taft expressed it in his message to Con- gress of January 17, 1912, in referring to the inquiry being made under his direction into the efficiency and economy of the methods of prosecuting public business, the activities of the national government "are almost as varied as those of the en- tire business world. The operations of the government affect the interest of every person living within the jurisdiction of the United States. Its organization embraces stations and centers of work located in every city and in many local sub- divisions of the country. Its gross expenditures amount to billions annually. Including the personnel of the military and naval establishments, more than half a million persons are re- quired to do the work imposed by law upon the executive branch of the government. "This vast organization has never been studied in detail as one piece of administrative mechanism. Never have the foundations been laid for a thorough consideration of the re- lations of all its parts. No comprehensive effort has been made to list its multifarious activities or to group them in such a way as to present a clear picture of what the government is doing. Never has a complete description been given of the agencies through which these activities are performed. At vii viii FOREWORD no time has the attempt been made to study all of these activ- ities and agencies with a view to the assignment of each activ- ity to the agency best fitted for its performance, to the avoid- ance of duplication of plant and work, to the integration of all administrative agencies of the government, so far as may be practicable, into a unified organization for the most effective and economical dispatch of public business." To lay the basis for such a comprehensive study of the or- ganization and operations of the national government as Pres- ident Taft outlined, the Institute for Government Research has undertaken the preparation of a series of monographs, of which the present study is one, giving a detailed description of each of the fifty or more distinct services of the government. These studies are being vigorously prosecuted, and it is hoped that all services of the government will be covered in a com- paratively brief space of time. Thereafter, revisions of the monographs will be made from time to time as need arises, to the end that they may, as far as practicable, represent current conditions. These monographs are all prepared according to a uniform plan. They give: first, the history of the establishment and development of the service; second, its functions, described not in general terms, but by detailing its specific activities; third, its organization for the handling of these activities; fourth, the character of its plant; fifth, a compilation of, or reference to, the laws and regulations governing its operations; sixth, financial statements showing its appropriations, expen- ditures and other data for a period of years ; and finally, a full bibliography of the sources of information, official and private, bearing on the service and its operations. In the preparation of these monographs the Institute has kept steadily in mind the aim to produce documents that will be of direct value and assistance in the administration of public affairs. To executive officials they offer valuable tools of ad- ministration. Through them, such officers can, with a min- imum of effort, inform themselves regarding the details, not onlv of their own services, but of others with whose facilities, activities, and methods it is desirable that they should be fa- miliar. Under present conditions services frequently engage in activities in ignorance of the fact that the work projected has already been done, or is in process of execution by other services. Many cases exist where one service could make ef- fective use of the organization, plant or results of other serv- FOREWORD , ix ices had they knowledge that such facihties were in existence. With the constant shifting of directing personnel that takes place in the administrative branch of the national government, the existence of means by which incoming officials may thus readily secure information regarding their own and other serv- ices is a matter of great importance. To members of Congress the monographs should prove of no less value. At present these officials are called upon to legislate and appropriate money for services concerning whose needs and real problems they can secure but imperfect infor- mation. That the possession by each member of a set of monographs, such as is here projected, prepared according to a uniform plan, will be a great aid to intelligent legislation and appropriation of funds can hardly be questioned. To the public, finally, these monographs will give that knowledge of the organization and operations of their gov- ernjTient which must be had if an enlightened public opinion is to be brought to bear upon the conduct of governmental affairs. These studies are wholly descriptive in character. No at- tempt is made in them to subject the conditions described to criticism, nor to indicate features in respect to which changes might with advantage be made. Upon administrators them- selves falls responsibility for making or proposing changes which will result in the improvement of methods of adminis- tration. The primary aim of outside agencies should be to emphasize this responsibility and facilitate its fulfillment. \\'hile the monographs thus make no direct recommenda- tions for improvement, they cannot fail greatly to stimulate efforts in that direction. Prepared as they are according to a uniform plan, and setting forth as they do the activities, plant, organization, personnel and laws governing the several serv- ices of the government, they will automatically, as it were, reveal, for example, the extent to which work in the same field is being performed by different services, and thus furnish the information that is essential to a consideration of the great question of the better distribution and coordination of activi- ties among the several departments, establishments, and bu- reaus, and the elimination of duplications of plant, organiza- tion and work. Through them it will also be possil)le to sub- ject any particular feature of the administrative work of the government to exhaustive study, to determine, for example, what facilities, in the way of laboratories and other plant and X FOREWORD equipment, exist for the prosecution of any line of work and where those facilities are located; or what work is being done in any field of administration or research, such as the promo- tion, protection and regulation of the maritime interests of the country, the planning and execution of works of an engineer- ing character, or the collection, compilation and publication of statistical data, or what differences of practice prevail in re- spect to organization, classification, appointment, and promo- tion of personnel. To recapitulate, the monographs will serve the double pur- pose of furnishing an essential tool for efficient legislation, ad- ministration and popular control, and of laying the basis for critical and constructive work on the part of those upon whom responsibility for such work primarily rests. Whenever possible the language of official statements or re- ports has been employed, and it has not been practicable in all cases to make specific indication of the language so quoted. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGK Foreword I, History i The Railroad Situation in Alaska Prior to the Creation of the Commission i Period Prior to the Passage of the Act of 1898 ... 2 Period of Private Construction, 1898-1908 .... 5 Movement for Construction of a Government Railroad 9 The Commission 13 Period of the Survey 13 Initial Construction Period 18 Acquisition of Supplies and Equipment 18 Transportation of Supplies and Equipment .... 21 Distribution of Supplies and Equipment 22 Construction -23 Purchase of Alaska Northern Railroad 26 Development of Trafific 'Z'j Period of War-Time Retardation of Construction . . 32 Post-War Period of Reorganization 34 Conclusion 37 Difficulties Due to Physical Causes 38 Difficulties Arising from Economic Consequences of the War 38 Fiscal Difficulties 39 Earning Possibilities of the Railroad 43 II. Activities 45 Construction Activities 46 Terminal Facilities 47 Telephone and Telegraph Lines 47 Wagon Roads 48 Rehabilitation of Purchased Railroads 48 Operation 49 Operation of Railroad 49 Operation of Coal Mines 51 Operation of Docks 53 Operation of Power Plants 53 Operation of Other Services 54 Maintenance 54 Development of Traffic 55 xi xii CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE III. Organization 59 Administration 62 Divisions 63 Southern 63 Northern 64 Supply _ 65 Accounting 65 Purchasing 66 Personnel 66 APPENDIX 1. Outline of Organization 67 2. Classification of Activities 76 3. Publications 79 4. Laws 81 (A) Index to Laws and Important Executive Orders and Letters 8r (B) Compilation of Laws 84 (C) Important Executive Orders and Letters .... 90 5. Financial Statements 97 Appropriations 98 Expenditures 98 6. Bibliography 99 Index 121 THE ALASKAN ENGINEERING COM- MISSION: ITS HISTORY, ACTIVITY, AND ORGANIZATION CHAPTER I HISTORY The Alaskan Engineering Commission, an agency under ihe executive direction of the Secretary of the Interior, has been entrusted with the work of survey, location, construction, and operation of the government railroad in the territory of Alaska. It also has the direction of all the collateral and supplementary activities necessarily involved in an operation of such magni- tude. The Railroad Situation in Alaska Prior to the Creation of the Commission. The creation of the Alaskan En- gineering Commission was the culmination of several years' discussion and agitation on the problem of the development of Alaskan resources through an adequate railroad system. In view of the almost limitless mineral weaJlth of this territory, its valuable jfisheries and fur trade, and the uncharted possi- bilities in its arable and grazing lands and in lumbering, the failure of private initiative and capital to supply sufficient rail- road facilities for exploitation of this region and the ultimate assumption of responsibility by the federal government re- quires exposition. The explanation lies in the peculiar rail- road history of Alaska, which is therefore briefly outlined in the next few sections. Such a history naturally falls into three periods. The first period, extending in point of time from the beginning of civil government in 1885 to the act of 2 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION May 14, 1898, which first made provision for rights of way for railroads, was characterized by a transition from dependence upon water transportation tO' recognition of the necessity for railroads as an aid in the development of the territory. The second period, beginning with the enactment of the act of 1898, was the period of active construction and promotion of railroads through private initiative and capital. The third period, beginning with the failure of several of the roads in 1908, was characterized by cumulative evidence that under the established government policy of taxation of the pioneer rail- roads and of withholding coal lands from private exploitation, private capital would not be able to provide the railroad facil- ities required for the development of Alaska. In this period a growing demand for federal intervention culminated in the creation of the Alaskan Engineering Commission. Each of the above periods will be discussed briefly in the pages which follow. Period Prior to Passage of the Act of i8q8. In the first few years following the creation of a civil government for Alaska there is little evidence of a realization of the need of railroads either for general purposes of commerce or as an aid to the rapid development of the territory. Consideration of a railroad project for Alaska is indicated in the Congres- sional Record of March 17, 1886,^ when a bill ^ was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations "to facilitate the settle- ment and develop the resources of the Territory of Alaska, and open an overland and commercial route between the United States, Asiatic Russia and Japan." This bill was referred by the committee to the Department of the Interior for a report on the feasibility of the project. A report thereon was submitted by the Director of the Geological Survey under date of May 21, 1886, in which it was stated that "the in- formation on record bearing on the question does not indicate any greater obstacles to the construction of such a line than ^Vol. 27, p. 2427, 49 cong. 2 sess., (1886). 2S. Bill 1907. HISTORY 3 those already overcome in transcontinental railroad building and this being true the construction of the proposed line must be pronounced feasible. . . . The Director does not feel called upon to express any opinion as to the wisdom of constructing the railroad under consideration." ^ Nothing further appears in the records of Congress concerning this bill, and it may be inferred that it was permitted to die in committee. But though the introduction of this bill indicates realization in some quarters, even at this early date of the need of a railroad for Alaska, one so qualified to speak of the needs of the district as its Governor wrote in 1884 that "all travel and transporta- tion in Alaska is and for years must continue to be by water." ^ This view was natural in contemplation of the physical fea- tures of Alaska whose — southerly seaboard, presenting a front of over 2400 miles to the Pacific, abounds in good natural harbors, and all these, except the head of Cook Inlet, are ice free throughout the year. A series of high ranges skirting the Pacific, indeed, forms a serious barrier to inland travel, but these mountains are broken by several transverse valleys and passes, giving access to the interior. Beyond this mountain system is an area of lesser relief, a rolling upland with many broad valleys, offering no physical obstacles to lines of communication. This inland province is drained to the Bering Sea by the Great Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers which with their tributaries afford some 5000 miles of water navigable to river steamers.^ It can be readily understood that with nature thus favoring water transportation, there could be but slow development of railroad transportation, particularly when the small population is considered. The total population in 1890 was but 31,795, of which only 4303 were whites, and this small number was scattered over an area one-fifth of the total area of the United States. Consequently, it is not surprising that "a steamship '49 cong. 2 sess., S. Misc. doc. 22, p. 2. * Governor of Alaska, Annual report, 1884, p. 7. ° Brooks, "The development of Alaska by government railroads," Quarterly Journal of Economics, XXVIII, 586-96. 4 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION is to Alaska what the railroad train is to the people of the United States." ® Even when the difficulties involved in the administration of so large an area brought the problem of more adequate transportation to the attention of the Governor, his perplexities in seeking to curb smuggling and "boot-leg- ging" led only to a modest request, as late as in 1889, for a light draught vessel for the use of the civil government.^ Even three years later it was reported that not only had no railroads been built but that none were even contemplated seriously.® The first real impetus to railroad construction came in the period following the discovery of gold in the Klondike in 1886. "The horde of gold seekers that swarmed through the passes of the coast range in 1897 and 1898 transported their supplies by sleds and on their backs. It is estimated that by this primitive means upward of 30,000 tons of freight were (Carried inland at a cost, allowing fair wages for the labor, of probably $15,000,000 to $16,000,000. About an equal amount of freight was sent to the interior by steamers up the Yukon.'' ^ In consequence of this gold rush, the census of 1900 reported a population of 63,592, of which 30.507 were whites. The population of Alaska was thus practically doubled in the decade of 1890- 1900, while the white popula- tion in this decade increased seven fold. Another factor was the growth of knowledge of Alaska's resources and industrial possibilities, mainly as a result of governmental investigations, but also as an indirect result of the general public interest at- tending the discovery of gold in the Klondike. It was rapidly becoming clear at this time that aside from the long recognized wealth in the fur and mineral trade, there were remarkable potentialities in agriculture, herding, lumbering, etc. As a consequence of these influences, requests were made of •^ Governor of Alaska, Annual report, 1885, p. 14. ''Ibid., 1889, p. 26. ^ fbtd., 1891, p. 34. ^ Brooks, supra. HISTORY 5 Congress in 1897 ^^^ 1898 by various promoting groups to grant franchises and rights of way for railroad projects.^*^ These special requests Congress refused, but it passed a gen- eral law aiming to provide for railroad building.^ ^ The en- actment of this law marks the beginning of the period of railroad construction.^ - Period of Priz^atc Construction, iSp8-ipo8. The act of May 14, 1898, provided for the granting of a right of way and made due provision also for sufficient land for stations and terminals, as well as timber and stone for construction, to any railroad company "duly organized under the laws of any state or territory or by the Congress of the United States." Several companies, immediately after the passage of the act or in anticipation of its passage, made preliminary filings under the provisions of the law. In the brief period between Sep- tember, 1897, and March, 1899, no less than eleven companies made filings for railroad routes totalling about 673 miles. ^^ Actual construction on the first railroad was begun in the summer of 1898 to furnish access to the Klondike gold fields, from tidewater at Skagway in Alaska to the navigable waters of the Yukon Basin at White Horse in Canada. By 1901, no miles of this narrow-gauge railroad had been constructed, of which however, only twenty miles were in Alaska. The cost of carriage over the passes was reduced by the building of this railroad from the rate of thirty cents to $1 per pound, ^" House Committee on Territories, 60 cong, i sess., Railroads in Alaska, Hearings, p. 62. "Act of May 14, 1898; 30 Stat. L., 409. ^- Not only does the year 1898 mark the beginning of the period of railroad construction, but also the period of federal action in the wider sphere of Alaskan transportation development. The construc- tion of a trail was begun in that year by the War Department from Fort Liscum at Valdez on the south coast northeastwardly through the Copper River Valley to Fort Egbert at Eagle on the Yukon River near the International boundary line. (See p. loi House Hearings on the Construction of Alaska R.R. July, 1919). ^•'' As calculated from House Document 1201, 60 cong. 2 sess. Of this projected mileage only 233.4 miles was being operated or under construction on Dec. 5, 1908. 6 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION which had been the cost of carriage on men's backs, to 4>4 cents by rail. Yet in the face of this demonstration of re- duced costs, there was no further significant construction for several years. ^^ The Governor of Alaska attributed this situation to the un- favorable land laws which provided no clear title to the oc- cupier of land without an exessive expenditure. This factor, he alleged, prevented the immigration into the territory of any large permanent population, and consequently capital was slow to take the risks of pioneer railroad construction. "Their greatest obstacle," wrote the Governor in 1901, speaking of the difficulties facing railroad capitalists, "is their inability to encourage the people to move in and fill up the country as they build their road. . . . The people will not come until they can own the land and they cannot own it until Congress makes up its mind to allow them." ^^ This difficulty was removed in 1903 by the passage of a generous homestead law under the terms of which a home- steader could select a claim of 320 acres and by compliance with certain simple regulations as to lines, recording, etc., be assured of a patent for the land. Whether as a consequence of this liberalization of the homestead laws or of other factors, the precise determination of which is not pertinent here, there was renewed activity in railroad construction in the following years. The optimism at this time is well illustrated by the following quotation from an address by the President of the Alaska Central Railway Company to the stockholders in Sep- tember, 1903: I am free to say that in all my railroad experience, cover- ing a period of thirty years. I have never known a railroad of corresponding length to tap a country supplied with such a diversity and abundance of natural resources as that to be opened by that Alaska Central Railway. ... I am convinced that the extraordinary earning powers of the road will enable ^* Governor of Alaska, Annual Report 1901, p. 34. ^^ Ibid., 1902, p. 16. HISTORY 7 it to bear all fixed charges and pay large dividends on both the preferred and common stock. ^^ So noticeable was the progress of railroad construction at this time that the Governor of Alaska turned from his former desire to encourage new enterprise to anxiety over the problem of regulation of existing enterprises, and asked in his annual report to the Secretary of the Interior : "Will it be a wise public policy in view of the serious questions that are now connected with raihvay carrying, to allow these corporations to construct these lines of road across the public domain with- out any restriction whatever?" ^^ While there was this activity in railroad construction from 1903 to 1907, hearings were being held at intervals in Wash- ington at the request of various promoting companies for governmental aid in their railroad projects for Alaska, either in the form of relief from federal taxation, governmental subsidies, exclusive grants and rights, or a guarantee of interest on the bonds of the companies. In these proposals may be detected the germ of the later proposals for federal construction. Although nothing was done at this time by Congress, the hearings ^^ served to bring to public attention the various factors which were making successful private building and operation of railroads difficult in Alaska. There were the usual general charges of bad management, excessive promotion, unsound policies, and waste of funds. More specific allegations w^ere to the effect that there had been many costly errors due to engineers' differences of opinion as to the most feasible routes, and that much delay in construction had followed controversies between rival railroad companies over their respective rights of way. 1^ President of the Alaska Central Railway Co., Annual report, Seattle, Sept. 29, 1903, p. 2. ^^ Governor, Annual report, 1905, p. 26. ^* House Committee on Territories, Railroads in Alaska, Hearings, 59 Cong., I sess., 1906; Senate Committee on Territories, Railroad and Telegraph and Telephone Lines in Alaska, Hearings 1907 ; also House Committee on Territories, Railroad Transportation in Alaska, Hearing of the Western Alaska Construction Co., March 11, 1904. 8 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION It was pointed out, however, that the greatest handicap to railroad development in Alaska lay in the general misunder- standing in the states of conditions in the territory, so that the successful negotiation of securities was difficult if not, at times, impossible. Often it was necessary to sell the securities on a basis of a considerable discount, thus imposing an exces- sive initial indebtedness on the enterprises. One company spent a considerable sum in advertising and publicity ; its representative stating before the House Committee on Ter- ritories in 1905 : When the Valdez, Copper River and Yukon Railroad Com- pany attempted to negotiate its securities it found that nobody knew anything about Alaska. They all supposed it was a place almost of solid snow and ice, and therefore, in the East especially, nobody would take notice of au}^ proposition. The Valdez, Copper River and Yukon Railroad Company went on and spent nearly $40,000 in photographing that countrv. . . . We found no interest in this subject anywhere in the United States and the result was that we paid agents and solicitors to go before Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trades throughout the United States, and I believe we succeeded in getting passed in the various centers of trade throughout the United States something like two hundred petitions and resolu- tions addressed to Congress imploring Congress to do some- thing for the people of Alaska. All that cost a great deal of money. ^^ It has been pointed out also -^ that the federal annual rail- road tax of $100 a mile, though much less than the lowest tax in the states, was still a serious problem for pioneer lines with heavy expenses and light traffic. Moreover, most of the railroads which were in operation were but stubs that did not reach the possible sources of traffic. As a consequence of all these difficulties, several of the railroad companies were in a vulnerable position when the panic of 1907 came. The Alaska Central Railroad went into '"House Committee on Territories, Hearings, 1905, p. 29. ^ Brooks, supra. HISTORY 9 the hands of a receiver in 1908 "^ and the Alaska Home Rail- way suspended work. A few years later it was reported^^ that none of the existing lines were earning interest charges, while some were not even paying operating charges. Yet it must be remembered that rates were already almost prohib- itively high. In 1909 the per capita transportation charge for every inhabitant in the placer districts of Alaska was estimated at $350 and the total charge was equal to approximately half the value of the entire gold output of the year.^^ Any further construction by private enterprise and capital to develop the interior resources of Alaska without some subsidy or guarantee by the government was therefore beyond the range of pos- sibility. Movement for Construction of a Government Railroad. The year 1908 may be taken as marking the first year of this period, since it was then that the Governor of Alaska urged the appointment of a government commission to study avail- able routes for a railroad from the coast to the interior, part of the cost of operation of which was to be assumed by the government.^* After this date the movement for federal assistance gathered momentum until the mere probability of its success was in itself sufficient to discourage new construction by private com- panies.^^ The lack of definite federal policy concerning the -^ The Alaska Central resumed construction under a receivership in 1909 only to be sold by order of the district court in 1910. -- Governor of Alaska, Annual report, 1912, p. 22. 2^ Brooks, The mining industry (Alaska) 1909. U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 442, pp. 26-7 (1910). -* Federal action on the general transportation development of Alaska began much earlier. The construction of a trail was begun by the War Department in 1898 from Fort Liscum at Valdez to Fort Egbert at Eagle (see footnote 12). In 1902 a wagon route was surveyed over this route and in 1904, following the recom- mendation of a Congressional delegation which visited Alaska in 1903, the appointment of the Alaska Road Commission was author- ized. In 1906 survey of a land route was authorized from Fair- banks to Council City. These surveys made by the Alaska Road Commission were anticipatorv of later trans-Alaska railroads. ^^ House Committee on Territories, Hearings on Alaska Short Line R. R. in Alaska, April i, 1910. lo ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION disposition of the public domain and coal lands of Alaska also began to have an unfortunate effect upon such new construc- tion as might have been contemplated and was, moreover, a tremendous handicap upon the railroads which were then in operation because of the difficulty of obtaining coal from local sources. The railroad problem became thus entangled with the gen- eral conserv'^ation controversy. The outcome was the realiza- tion that private capital would not build adequate transporta- tion facilities to the interior of Alaska unless the coal mines and mineral deposits were opened for private exploitation and that, consequently, if conservation for the nation of this coal and mineral wealth were desired, the government itself would be obliged to construct the necessary means of transportation. Several bills were introduced in the sixty-second Congress to solve these problems; also a bill to provide a territorial legislature for Alaska. The final result was the passage of "an act to create a legislative assembly in the Territory of Alaska, to confer legislative powers thereon and for other purposes," ^^ the eighth section of which provided for the appointment of a commission by the President to conduct an examination into the transportation question in the Territory of Alaska as recommended in 1908 and 1909 by the Governor of Alaska. In accordance with this act. President Taft appointed the following commission: Maj. Jay J. Morrow, Corps of Engin- eers, United States Army, Chairman ; Alfred H. Brooks, Geologist in charge of Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources, Geological Survey, vice chairman; Leonard M. Cox, Civil Engineer, U. S. Navy; and Colvin M. Ingersoll, consulting railroad engineer. New York. The report of this commission, which was submitted to the President on January 20, 191 3, may be summarized as fol- lows : ^ 28 Act of August, 24, igi2 (37 Stat. L., 517). ^'^ 62 cong. 3 sess., H. Doc. 1346. p. 8 et seq. HISTORY II 1. That railway connections with open ports on the Pacific were necessary for utilization of the fertile regions of the Alaskan interior and the mineral resources and to open up a large region to the homesteader, the prospector, and the miner. 2. That construction of two independent railroad systems was advisable to be ultimately connected and supplemented as future conditions made necessary, one to run from Cordova by way of Chitina to Fairbanks and the other from Seward around Cook Inlet to the Iditarod River, with a total cost of $35,000,000 for the 733 miles of new construction involved. 3. That "assuming the necessity of earning 6 per cent, on the capital invested the road could be operated without loss on the estimated available traffic, at a passenger rate of seven cents per mile and an average freight rate of eight cents per ton-mile." 4. That "an average freight rate exceeding 5 cents per ton-mile and passenger rate in excess of 6 cents per mile would defeat the immediate object of the railroad, namely, the expeditious development of the interior of Alaska and, furthermore, would introduce the c|uestion as to whether or not the Seattle-Cordova-Fairbanks freight route would be able to compete with the present all-water route via the Yukon River system, except on shipments in which the time element is of such importance as to warrant the payment of a higher freight rate." 5. That the annual expenditures of the road could be re- duced materially if capital could be secured at the lower rates of interest obtainable under a government guaranty of prin- cipal and interest on bonded indebtedness or if the road were constructed by the government itself. 6. That although this railroad development "should be undertaken at once and prosecuted with vigor," the project was not feasible without some plan wdiich would provide for low transportation rates and the "consequent rapid settlement of this new land and the utilization of its great resources." This report was sent to Congress on February 6, 19 13, by President Taft with his opinion that "the necessary inference from the entire report is that in the judgment of the com- mission its recommendations can certainly be carried out only if the Government builds or guarantees the construction cost of the railroads recommended. If the government is to giiarantee 12 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION the principal and interest of the construction bonds, it seems clear that it should own the roads, the cost of which it really pays. This is true whether the government itself should operate the roads or should provide for their operation by lease or operating agreement. I am very much opposed to government operation, but I believe that government owner- ship with private operation under lease is the proper solution of the difficulties here presented. I urge the prompt and earnest consideration of this report and its recommenda- tions." ^^ Subsequently several bills were introduced in Congress to carry out the recommendation of the commission, and a bill was passed entitled "An Act to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct, and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska and for other purposes'' which was approved March 12, 1914.-^ (38 Stat. L., 305). The Presi- dent was given full authority to designate, locate, and con- struct the routes of the proposed lines of railroad and the nec- essary telephone and telegraph lines ; to purchase or otherwise acquire all real and personal property, terminal grounds, right of way, equipment, etc., which were essential to carry out the purpose of the act; to fix or modify rates; to establish all necessary rules and regulations; and in general to perform all things incidental to the success of the tmdertaking. The only important limitations upon the President were that the road was not to exceed one thousand miles in the aggregate, that it was to be so located as to connect one or more of the open Pacific Ocean harbors on the southern coast of Alaska with the interior navigable waters and with the coal fields, and that the total expenditure was not to exceed $35,000,000. The sum of $1,000,000 was appropriated to be immediately available for carrying out the provisions of the act. On May 2, 1914, the President directed the Secretary of the Interior to proceed with the surveying of the routes for the ^' Ibid., p. II. *^ See Appendix 4 for text of this bill. HISTORY 13 railroad, and conferred upon him "the power and authority to do any and all acts necessary thereto." For the immediate direction of the work, a commission, designated the Alaskan Engineering Commission was created by Presidential appoint- ment composed of Lieutenant Frederick Mears, "because of his experience as an engineer on the Great Northern under Mr. J. F. Stevens, and later in the construction of the Panama Railroad under Col. Goethals," Thomas Riggs, Jr., "because he had spent many years in Alaska and surveyed the Alaskan- Canadian boundary from the sea to the Arctic Ocean and was familiar with the Alaskan people and conditions under which work can be done in Alaska," and W. C. Edes, "because of over 35 years' experience in locating and constructing rail- roads in the far West for the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, and other railroad companies." ^'^ Formal authorization to begin work was received by this commission from the Secretary of the Interior on May 8, 1914.^^ The Commission. The history of the commission falls into four periods: the period of the survey; the initial period of construction: the period of war time retardation of con- struction ; and the post war period of reorganization and full resumption of activities. Period of the Sun'ey. As indicated above, the Secretary of the Interior formally authorized the commission to proceed with its work on i\Iay 8, 19 14. In general terms, the first problem then facing the commission was "to make such sur- veys ^^ and compile such data as would enable the President to decide on the most available route over which to build the railroad." The commission found at the beginning of its work that In order to accomplish the objects set forth in the act of Congress it was necessary to investigate two general routes ^^ House Committee on Territories, Bills, Reports, Hearings and Acts Alaska, 192 1, p. 205. ^^ See Appendix 5 for letter of authorization. ^- The surveys which had been made by the Railway Commission were not in sufficient detail for the purposes of construction. 14 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION from the coast to the interior of Alaska, namely, the eastern route starting from Cordova or Valdez and extending north- ward via the Copper River, Tonsina River, Delta River, and Tanana Valley to the vicinity of Fairbanks, and the western route, starting from Portage Bay or Seward and following along the shores of Turnagain and Knik Arms, thence north- ward through the Susitna Valley and over Broad Pass and down the Nenana River to its junction with the Tanana, and thence by one of several routes to the vicinity of Fair- banks.^^ Since considerable information was already available on the eastern route there was planned a careful preliminary sun^ey and estimate of the western route, including a branch therefrom to the Matanuska coal fields ; a survey from Chitina on the eastern route to these coal fields; and a reconnaissance from the western route into the Kuskowim and Iditarod dis- tricts which had never been gone over in anticipation of rail- road construction. Supplementing the work of the locating and surveying parties whose investigations were first hand, an analysis was made of previous surveys of the routes or portions of them and modifications were made in accordance with the best knowledge then obtainable. At times there was conflicting testimony on important matters, and the commission then made arrangements for observation and verification by its own representatives. Consequently through surveys of its own men and through judicious use of former investigations, the commission was enabled to compile in a relatively short time the facts as to the advantages and disadvantages of alternative routes. The act of March 12, 19 14, authorized the President To purchase, condemn, or otherwise acquire upon such terms as he may deem proper any other line or lines of railroad in Alaska which may be necessary to complete the construction of the line or lines of railroad designated or located by him: Provided, That the price to be paid in case of purchase shall ^^ Alaskan Engineering Commission, Reports for period March 12, 1914 to Dec. 31, 1915, p. II. HISTORY 15 in no case exceed the actual physical value of the railroad. To supply the President with the data necessary to carry out the provisions of this clause, the commission examined the following three railroads : Miles Copper River and Northwestern Railroad : Cordova to Kennicott (standard gange) . , . 195.0 Alaska Northern Railroad : Seward to Kern Creek, a point near the head of Turnagain Arm (standard gauge) 70.8 Tanana Valley Railroad: Fairbanks and Chena to Chatanika (narrow gauge) 46.0 In the case of the Copper River and Northwestern Rail- road, Avhich was the most active standard-gauge railroad in Alaska, an examination was made of its entire length. In- vestigation was made of the grades, curvature, bridges, cost of operation, etc. It was found that while, in general, a work- able railroad existed, bettemients were essential, not only in anticipation of any increased future traffic but also to reduce the cost of operation and maintenance even under existing traffic. It w^as noted that if economies in operation and main- tenance were thus introduced, the handicap on earning power could be removed of the abnormally high rates of 12^ cents per passenger mile and from 35^ to 14^2 cents per ton mile as against prevailing rates in the United States of two to four cents per passenger mile and one cent per ton mile. The commission found the condition of the Alaska North- ern Railroad much worse than that of the Copper River and ^Northwestern. It w^as estimated that to make possible the safe operation of only light trains from Seward to Kem Creek, an immediate expenditure of $500,000 would be re- quired, excluding the necessary outlay for snowsheds, deter- mination of which awaited further study of snow conditions. In regard to the Tanana Valley Railroad, which was a narrow-gauge single track steam railroad, the commission found that it had suffered a reduction in carninc-s as the mining industry had decreased, but increased traffic could be anticipated if coal were to be delivered to it from the Nenana i6 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION fields. Even, however, with the existing traffic, the net earn- ings were more than $22,000 annually. As to the physical condition of the road, it was found that the equipment was in poor condition and that no heavy grading had been under- taken in the original construction. It was also necessary to obtain some estimate of the traffic possibilities on the proposed routes for the government rail- road. An independent investigation into the resources of the tributary country was not only obviously beyond the range of possibility with the limited time and means at hand, but also undesirable if considerable duplication of effort was to be avoided. Personal observation of the members of the com- mission was, therefore, supplemented "by examination of re- ports of the various government bureaus, data compiled by chambers of commerce, and statistics furnished by existing transportation companies." ^"* It was found that not only was there considerable traffic by water, much of which could be more cheaply handled by such railroads as were then contem- plated but that the creation of cheaper transportation facil- ities would itself, in all probability, call a large volume of tonnage into existence. Since there had been considerable difiference of opinion as to the relative merits of various harbors, the members of the commission visited all the harbors under consideration and supplemented their own observations with the information available from the investigations of the Railroad Commission of 191 3, the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Alaskan com- mercial bodies, and other services. Master mariners were also consulted. It was concluded from the investigation thus made that "at any of the harbors considered suitable ter- minal facilities can be created without excessive cost, and that the question of the most available route for the railroad system to iDest develop the resoures of Alaska is not dependable on the selection of any particular harbor." ^^ " Ibid., p. 62. 85 Ibid., p. 76. HISTORY 17 After these examinations and inves'tigations had been com- pleted, estimates of cost were prepared based on the informa- tion obtained from the field surveys, and an evaluation of the Alaska Northern Railroad was made in anticipation of its possible purchase by the government. On February 1 1 , 19 1 5, the report of the commission's findings was transmitted to the President. No recommendation was made as to the best route to follow, because this commission is essentially an engineering one, organized to handle the subject along technical lines. In selecting a route other questions besides strictly engineering ones are to be considered. The commission has understood that their especial mission was to collect the evidence and present it in as impartial a form as possible, knowing it would be weighed carefully and acted upon wisely. ^*^ On April 10, 191 5, about two months after the report had been submitted, the President issued an Executive Order ^^ outlining the route which he had selected and directing the Secretary of the Interior to purchase the Alaska Northern Railroad. The order was accompanied by a letter ^^ directing the Alaskan Engineering Commission to proceed with the work of construction of the railroad as located in the Execu- tive Order under the supervision of the Secretary of the In- terior, upon whom was conferred "full power and authority to do any and all acts necessary thereto." One mem1>er of the commission was to be designated by the Secretary as its chair- man to have "power of approval or disapproval of all adminis- trative matters connected with the work in Alaska." There was apparently some doubt as to the exact division of authority and responsibility as between the Secretary of the Interior and the commission, for on April 30, 19 15, a letter from the President provided that all work of the Alaskan Engineering Commission under all ^^Ibid., p. S3. ^''Executive Order of April 10, 1915. (See Appendix 5). ^^ See Appendix 5. i8 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION orders made by me and the carrying out of all contracts entered into l)y my direction under authority of said act, 1>e performed under the supervision and control of the Depart- ment of the Interior, as directed by the head thereof, in all respects and to all intents and purposes the same as if said work had been placed by law under the jurisdiction and con- trol of the Department of the Interior. Initial Construction Period. Following the above author- ization and directions of the President, the commission pre- pared itself for the actual work of construction. William C. Edes was made Chairman, with headquarters at Seward where it was decided to locate the administrative offices; Frederick Mears was placed in charge of construction of new line, to begin at a point where Ship Creek enters Knik Arm of Cook Inlet, a locality later known as Anchorage; and the third commissioner, Mr. Riggs, took charge of the final de- tailed location of the line, since the general surveys made in 1914 had been aimed merely to supply a basis for the Presi- dent's decision as to the best general route and were not suit- able for actual construction. The railroad was to be constructed in a wilderness, so that it was necessary to develop and carry various agencies along with the actual road construction. It was found essential to the project to build ocean docks, towns and camps, machine shops, supply terminals, etc. Railroad rolling stock, construc- tion equipment, and supplies of all sorts had to be transported 1500 to 2500 miles from Seattle, which was the nearest Pacific coast port. Acquisition of Supplies and Equipment. Under the terms of the act of March 12, 19 14, and President Wilson's letter of authorization of April 10, 191 5, the commission was to derive its supplies and equipment for its undertaking in three ways; by transfer from the Panama Canal, by utilization of such materials as were available along the right of way and in the reservation lands, and by ordinary purchase. In order to make arrangements for assembling and shipping available equipment from Panama, a representative of the HISTORY 19 commission was sent to the Isthmus in March, 19 15. By mid- summer such material and machinery had been overhauled and shipped in chartered vessels from the Canal Zone to Alaska. The commission was not charged for this equip- ment, but it bore the expense of repairing and freight, which arrangement resulted in a saving of from 50 tO' 60 per cent over the cost of new equipment. To provide for purchase of supplies, in accordance with the law, a purchasing office was established at Seattle. In 191 7 branch offices were established at Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco aiming at an extension of the sphere of com- petition for supplying the requisite supplies and a consequent reduction in costs. In addition to purchasing the equipment and materials, the purchasing office arranged for transportation by rail and water except for a single year when a separate agency was created for this and other purposes, described in the next paragraph. Inspection of materials purchased was done under contract with the commission by a commercial con- cern. The cost of inspection was .91 of one per cent of the invoice price of the materials purchased in 19 16 and 1.12 per cent in '917. To lower the cost of inspection, to meet the difficulties of transportation, and also to relieve the purchasing office, the office of Engineering Representative was established in Seattle in 19 1 7 to attend to the following matters: To examine equipment and material to be applied on the railroad. To attend to various technical matters, such as the preparation of standard specifications for track fittings, frogs, switches, etc. To employ technical men and labor for Alaskan ser\^ice. To charter vessels and barges for transportation of supplies to Alaska and to supervise the transportation itself. 20 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION ,With the diminution of activity in 191 8, the office of Engineering Representative was abolished on June i, and all its activities transferred back to the General Purchasing Agent. The work accomplished by this office for the brief period of its existence is described in the section on trans- portation. There was no other change made in the pur- chasing office thereafter, even in the reorganization of November, 191 9. From the third source of supply, material along the right of way and in reservation lands, coal, and wood were ob- tained. Various timber reservations were made in order to retain control of timber suitable for railroad construction. The field service of the General Land Office worked in co- operation with the commission in handling this reservation timber. At first, wood was obtained only for piling and culvert timbers and for ties, while lumber for general build- ing purposes and for bridge construction was imported from Puget Sound. Gradually, however, as saw mills were erected along the route, lumber for snowsheds and other structures became available. Coal was first obtained for the commis- sion's use in the summer of 19 16, when a small mine, located at a point one-half mile from the Matanuska branch of the railroad at Moose Creek, was opened. A contract was entered into for 2000 tons of coal at $6 per ton. Before this mine was opened, the commission was paying about $16 per ton for coal from Puget Sound. Sufficient coal was produced at this time to meet the needs of the commission and the town of Anchorage for the summer and fall of that year. In April 1917 a mine operator who had been granted a coal leasing unit at Eska Creek ^^ ran into serious faults in the mine and the production became less than thirty tons per day. The annual requirement of the commission was then al)out 40,000 tons and, since neither the operator nor his associates had sufficient funds to develop the mine with the obstacles being encountered, the commis- ^^ Under the Alaskan Coal Land Law (33 Stat. L., 525). HISTORY 21 sion paid $15,650 for the improvements that had been made and began operation of the mine on June 18, 19 17. A total of 18,198 tons were produced during the year, 6000 tons of which were mined prior to June 18 under private operation. Transportation of Supplies and Equipment. Because of the long haul involved, the transportation to Alaska of sup- plies and equipment, most of which Avas purchased in the states, became an important problem even at the beginning of the construction project, but the demoralization of the world's shipping facilities which followed the outbreak of the ^^'orld War caused special difficulties. The importance of this factor in the cost of construction is shown by the fact that of all expenditures made by the commission up to April I, 1920, one-eighth was for transportation costs from Seattle to Alaska. As already indicated, all matters relating to transportation were handled by the Seattle Purchasing Office except for the brief period when the office of ''Engineering Representative" was in existence. For handling all freight and passengers arriving by steamers, a receiving and forwarding department was established in the Anchorage Division. In anticipation of a congestion of freight on the ordinary commercial ships which would follow the demand for tonnage by the railroad construction project, arrangements were made with the War Department in 19 16 to repair and operate the transport Crook from Seattle to Anchorage at the expense of the commission. Since commercial rates for water carriage were advancing rapidly owing to war demands for tonnage, the saving which resulted from the utilization of this army trans- port was reported "more than sufficient to meet the cost of operating the vessel, plus the cost of extensive repairs which it was necessary for the Commission to incur to place the Crook in commission." The transportation facilities thus made available were supplemented by a seagoing tug and barge, operated between Seattle and Anchorage via the inside passage; a collier placed at the disposal of the commission by 22 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION the Navy Department to carry a cargo of rails, and several chartered commercial vessels. It was found that dependence upon commercial steamers placed the commission practically at the mercy of the steam- ship companies in matters of delivery and cost. Accordingly, in iQij, the office of Engineering Representative at Seattle, to which was assigned the duties previously under the juris- diction of the Purchasing Office of chartering of vessels and barges and the general supervision of transportation itself, attempted both to lower costs and to expedite delivery. Arrangements were made for specially chartered barges at less than commercial rates, and a special tariff agreement was made with the White Pass and Yukon Railroad providing for transportation at 60 per cent of the regular rates. Con- sequently, out of a total of 70,000 tons of supplies shipped during the year, only about 11,000 tons went by commercial steamers at commercial rates. Distribution of Supplies and Equipment. The method in which supplies and equipment were distributed to the zones of operation under the peculiar conditions obtaining in Alaska merits some attention. Before leaving Seattle in April, 19 15, the commission spent about $40,000 in the purchase and shipment of equip- ment, material, and supplies essential for initiating construc- tion. To provide for transferring this cargo to the shore at Anchorage a 1000-ton barge and three lighters were pur- chased at Seattle for delivery at Anchorage as well as material for a 200-ton barge which was to be put together there. No wharf could be constructed at which deep draft steamers could dock until the channel was dredged. To meet this difficulty *° A very serviceable dock was constructed on the north bank of Ship Creek near the mouth. In front of the dock was con- structed a "grid-iron," over which the barges were floated at ^ Alaskan Engineering Commission, Report for the period from March 12, 1914, to December 31, 1915, p. 185 (Printed as H. Doc. 610, 64 cong. I sess.). HISTORY 23 high tide and on which they safely rested at low tide, thus avoiding any difficulty in unloading. A 15-ton derrick, operated by hoisting engine, was equipped for unloading the barges. Several towboats which had been employed in the engi- neering sun'ey of the previous year were also utilized as well as some gasoline boats belonging to private individuals in order that the heavy demurrage charges of the ocean steamers might be avoided. After the first shipload of supplies and material had been unloaded a large warehouse was con- structed at the dock for storage of commissary supplies and a track was laid from the dock to a storage yard, a half mile distant, to which point lumber and construction material were taken. Some flat cars were taken from the stock of the Alaska Northern Railroad at Seward and brought by steamer to Anchorage for the handling of construction material. As soon as work began on the line from Anchorage, supply camps were established at various points along the line, sup- plied by barges working on Knik Arm and by freight teams. Bridges were not erected till they were reached by the newly constructed railroad track to avoid the expense of hauling the necessary material by teams, but the bridge timbers were hauled by construction trains to the various sites. In 19 16 large quantities of material, equipment, and supplies were distributed ahead, over the uncompleted Avork. Transporta- tion facilities provided by the ice of rivers and snow roads over frozen swamp lands made this distribution comparatively easy and cheap in some regions. In others distribution was a greater problem and required special lalxDr and cost. For example, for use on the Susitna River above Croto, a special type of boat called a 'Viver tunnel boat" was designed to meet the difficulties due to many gravel bars and low water. Construction. In the construction of the railroad, there were two general classes of work : the first, including the clearing of right of way, grubbing, grading, excavation, etc., comprising a kind of labor that could be standardized 24 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION and for which unit prices could be established; and the second, covering the building of bridges, laying of tracks, building of snowsheds, etc., where no such standardization was possible. The greatest portion of the first type of work was let out to "station men" under a system described by the commission in the following language: A number of men associate themselves together as partners, taking short pieces of work at a certain price per cubic yard for grading, or per acre for clearing or grubbing. Iiach man signs the contract for doing the work and becomes equally interested in it as a copartner or small contractor. Each man receives his separate check for doing his portion of the work. The amount received depending upon the amount of work done, the men are spurred to exert their best efforts. Scarcely any capital is necessary to take a station contract, as the com- mission furnishes the necessary equipment at a moderate rental. The advantage of this method as compared with the letting of the work to large contractors was two-fold. First, there was the saving in the profit of the large contractor, who would have taken, as it turned out later, a percentage on the rapidly increasing costs of labor and material during the period of inflation ; second, there was an incentive to the men to exert their best efforts, since wages were in proportion to per- formances. The contract with the station men stipulated that the work undertaken be executed "in the most substantial and work- manlike manner . . . under and in strict accordance with the adopted standard specifications and directions of the en- gineer for the Alaskan Engineering Commission." It was also provided that additional partners might be taken in if it was to the interest of the project to do so. Whenever the commission deemed it necessar}^, station men were authorized to hire laborers at a rate of pay "in accordance with the standard schedule of wages adopted by the commission." A three-fold classification of the material removed in the grad- HISTORY 25 ing — solid rock, loose rock, and common excavation — was made, and a unit price was established for each class. Stan- dards and unit prices were established also for clearing of the right of way. Clearing Right of way began at Anchorage in May, 191 5, and by the end of the year track had been laid for 13^ miles, grading completed for thirty-five miles, and the right of way cleared for forty miles, 712 acres. Certain projects ancillary to so large a construction enter- prise in pioneer country were of necessity undertaken, such as the construction of a freight yard at Anchorage, the erec- tion of a temporary telephone line, establishment of adequate lighterage facilities, a self-supporting commissary for em- ployees, adequate housing facilities, medical service, etc. In 1 91 6 the commission began to feel some of the indirect effects of the European War, in advancing ocean freight rates, scarcity of shipping tonnage, rising prices for materials and labor, and labor disturbances. In spite of these obstacles, considerable progress was reported. Sixty miles of main line track were laid, one hundred were graded, and the right of way was cleared for 230 miles. The work in the Anchor- age Division was subdivided into three construction districts, the Matanuska. Turnagain Arm, and Talkeetna districts, each under a district engineer. A terminal district was or- ganized in the Anchorage Division to attend to the operation "^^ and maintenance of newly completed line out from Anchorage and the construction of terminal facilities. Work was also begun in June at the northerly end of the line from Fairbanks south.^2' In 1 91 7 the Seward Division was created, to carry out the work of rehabilitation and operation of the Alaska Northern *^ Details as to operation of newly constructed road and the re- ]ial>ililation and operation of the Tanana Valley and Alaska North- ern Railroad are given in Chapter II. *2 Although the initiation of work at this date necessitated con- siderable additional cost because supplies had to be brought over the long route from Seattle to St. Michaels, it was deemed advisable to begin then to relieve the fuel situation in Fairbanks. Development of this town and the region surrounding it was being restricted by scarcity of fuel. 26 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Railroad as well as the construction of 8J/2 miles of new track. By the end of the year 174.88 miles of standard-gauge track and 26.5 miles of sidings, spurs, and yard tracks had been laid. In addition there were 76.8 miles of the line graded and 70.8 miles cleared but not graded. Purchase of Alaska Northern Railroad. A problem some- what distinct from the general construction program was the purchase, rehabilitation, and operation of the Alaska North- ern railroad. The act of March 12, 1914, required that the government railroad terminate on an ice- free harbor on the south coast of Alaska. It was necessary, therefore, to start at the town of Seward, located at the head of Resurrection Bay. Since the Alaska Northern in general followed the most feasible route toward the interior, only two courses were open; the purchase of this railroad or the construction of a new line paralleling the old. A careful field physical evalua- tion by the commission, described above, verified by the ex- perts of the Interstate Commerce Commission, demonstrated that the price requested by the private owners of the Alaska Northern was not in excess of its value. It was, therefore, considered the wiser policy to purchase. Once having made this decision, the commission deemed it better to negotiate with the owners and agree on a reasonable price than to enter into condemnation proceedings. The investigation of the commission demonstrated that the Alaska Northern Railway had cost the original owners and builders $5,250,000. The Interstate Commerce Commission reported a total investment in road and equipment of $3,616,800.81 to June 30, 1912. The purchase price of $1,157,339.49 was slighly below the actual physical value of the property as estimated by the engineers of the commission and as certified to by the valuation experts of the Interstate Commerce Commission. The commission acquired not only the terminals and physical properties of the railroad, but also — a verv considerable value in the work which had been done by tlie former Alaska Northern Railway Co. at various points HISTORY 27 along Turnagain Arm and by having the benefit of the studies, maps, and profiles which they had prepared as a result of their field surveys from Seward to Fairbanks over the entire present adopted route of the Government railroad and of the Matanuska Branch line.*^ An inicial installment of $500,000 and interest was paid on August 25, 1915, when litigation over the title had ceased, and the final payment of $650,000 was made on June 30, 1916; on which date the government came into full posses- sion. Dez'elopmcnt of Traific. Not only in anticipation of the final completion of the railroad but also to provide a pro- gressively increasing revenue for the various sections of the road as they were successively put into operation during the period of construction, it was deemed necessary to adopt measures which would create and foster trafific. This was attempted at first through three general lines of activity : first, through establishment of towns at intervals along the line;'*^ second, through dissemination to the general public and espec- ially to prospective settlers of information on the natural re- sources and land and mineral laws of the country tributary to the railroad and the progress of railroad construction, and third, through effecting cooperation between the merchants, miners, and farmers of the territory. To attend to these matters the Land and Industrial Department of the commis- sion was created in April, 1916.'*^ On April 12, 19 17, the manager of this department was designated "the authorized representative of the lessor [the *3 House Committee on Territories, Hearings on H. R. 7417, 1919, P- 193- ■** These towns were established not only to encourage traffic but also to provide proper sanitary and moral protection for the em- ployees during the period of construction. This activity may be considered both an institutional and a functional one. *5 In the reorganization of Nov., 1919, jurisdiction over the country tributary to the Northern Division was placed directly under the Engineer in Charge of that division, the activities of the Land and Industrial Department being thereafter confined to the Southern Division. 28 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Federal Government] in general administration of the coal land leases," to supervise mining operations and perform other functions imposed by law, regulations, or leases, upon the local representative of the Department of Interior in Alaska. The commission was interested primarily in the administra- tion of these coal land leases only in so far as a promise of coal tonnage for the railroad was involved. Other matters connected with the operation of the mines were assigned to other services. Thus the Bureau of Mines was directed to cooperate with the Land and Industrial Department of the Alaskan Engineering Commission in the working of the mines so that the mining operations would be conducted with due regard to the preservation of property, prevention of undue waste, and safety and welfare of miners, while the General Land Office was to have jurisdiction over surveys, the notation, assignment, cancellation, or modification of leases, and all matters pertaining to the status of lands. All rents and royalties were payable to the local land office. As a consequence of the above major lines of activity of the Land and Industrial Department, several secondary activ- ities either developed automatically or were superimposed upon it by the commission. First, to make possible the dissemina- tion of information on the general development and resources of the territory, the department gathered the available data through both primary and secondary investigations, the net product of v^hich was a section in the annual report of the commission dealing with the agricultural and economic prog- ress of the country tapped by the railroad. Second, in consequence of its familiarity with economic conditions in this territory, the Land and Industrial Department was enabled to make recommendation to the commission as to the desir- ability of proposed legislation and as to necessary federal legislation or federal assistance in various directions. Third, since the establishment of townsites necessarily in- cluded "inter alia" control of matters relating to withdrawal of lands for railroad and public purposes and the leasing of HISTORY 29 lands under commission control for industrial and other pur- poses, the transition was easy to a general assignment to the department by the commission of all matters relating to land and real estate owned or controlled by the commission."*^ It would be valueless to describe in detail all these phases of the commission's work, most of which are self-explanatory. Attention is only directed, therefore, to the appraisal and sale of lots and town management, matters which require some degree of clarification. By the Alaskan Railroad Act of March 12, 1914, the Pres- ident was authorized to withdraw, locate, and dispose of, under such rules and regulations as he might prescribe, such area or areas of the public domain along the line or lines of the proposed railroad or railroads for townsite purposes as he might from time to time designate. In accordance with this provision the President at different times withdrew tracts of public domain which, because of natural advantages of location, appeared to be proper town sites. One June 19, 191 5, the President issued an Executive Order containing regulations for the reservation of lands, the survey of the townsites, and the sale of lots providing, in so far as the work of the commission was involved, as follows : — ( 1 ) The Alaskan Engineering Commission could take the initiative in reserving land for townsite purposes by making recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior, who was then obligated to transmit, with his own con- currence or objections, the commission's recommenda- tion to the President, and the President could thereupon, if he approved, make the reservation by Executive Order. (2) The commission was empowered to select a por- tion of the reservation for railroad purposes to be set aside by the Secretary of the Interior. The rest of the land was to be surveyed for lots, parks, schools, high- ^'^ Including creation of timber reservations and elimination of lands from such reservations, 30 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION ways, clocks and wharves, etc., the plats of surveys pre- pared by the General Land Office to be approved by the Chairman of the Commission and the Commissioner of the General Land Office. The regulations provided further for the appointment of a superintendent to direct the auction of unreserved lots. He was authorized "to make all appraisements of lots and at any time to reappraise any lot which in his judgment is not ap- praised at the proper amount, or to fix a minimum price for any lot below which it may not be sold, and he may reject any and all bids for any lot and at any time suspend, adjourn, or postpone the sale of any lot or lots to such time and place as he may deem proper." "^^ The manager of the commission's Land and Industrial De- partment was subsequently named the Superintendent. The regulations prescribed that one-third of the purchase price of any lot was to be paid at the time of sale and the balance in annual installments extending over a period of five years, with no taxes or interest on deferred payments; all payments to be made to the General Land Office."*^ There were certain restrictions placed on the lots, prohibiting their use for the sale of liquor, ganibling, or immoral purposes. Penalty for non-compliance with these restrictions was the forfeiture of the lot. In order to exercise proper control over the towns in such matters as sale of liquor, sanitation, and fire protection, so as to prevent interference with the expeditious execution of the railroad project, the General Land Office decided to sell the lots in a way which would keep the title to the property in the United States Government until the necessity was over. Payments were, therefore, extended over a period of five years. Consequently, inasmuch as the title to the ■'" House Committee on Territories, Hearings, supra, p. 88. ^* On Oct. 25, 1918, the President promulgated Executive Order No. 2982 providing for an extension of one year for deferred pay- ments due August, 1918, and thereafter, in order to meet unusual conditions due to the war. HISTORY 31 land in some of the townsites was thus vested in the United States Goverment and since the power to tax property, title to which is vested in the Government, does not reside in a municipal organization, it was not practicable to turn the man- agement of the townsites over to the citizens of the respective communities. Accordingly when the first railroad townsite was established at Anchorage in 191 5, a townsite manager was appointed by the commission, and under authority of the Pres- ident's regulations of June 19, 191 5, land was cleared, streets improved, and arrangements made for water supply and fire protection, the cost of which was to be assessed by special levy on the property in the town. As it developed later water and electricity were sold at reasonable rates, and a certain amount of the cost of installation of the water plant was assessed against the property in the town. The electricity was sup- plied by a plant located in the railroad yards. The various street and sidewalk improvements made in the town were assessed against the property; also the sewers. An efficient fire protection was provided, the maintenance of which was charged against the property owners. '*''' In order to retain married employees, facilities for educating their children had to be provided. On December 28, 19 16, the Secretary of the Interior issued an order, upon recommendation of the Alaskan Engineering Commission, authorizing the commission to ex- pend "from appropriations made for the construction and operation of railroads in Alaska, such sums as may be neces- sary in the judgment of the commission for the maintenance of school facilities for children of its officers and employees, in unincorporated towns on the line of the Government rail- road, until sufficient funds are available for school purposes in those towns through contributions from Territorial funds or other sources." ^" In order to meet inquiries and to be able to disseminate *^ House Committee on Territories, Hearings, supra, p. 174. ^'^ Ibid., p. 89. By act of March 3, 1917, and April 23, 1917, Con- gress legislated for Alaskan schools, providing for incorporation of school districts. Z2 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION general information, the Land and Industrial Department gathered descriptive and statistical data on the population, agricultural output, the mineral development, and economic progress of the territory tributary to the railroad. Weather stations were established in cooperation with the Weather Bureau to obtain meteorological records. This information, together with news of construction progress, was distributed' in the form of press bulletins to all newspapers in the Alaskan and Yukon Territory and to the Associated Press in Seattle. On November 14, 1916, publication of the Alaskan Rail- road Record was begun, to give to employees and the general public current information as to the progress and operation of the railroad and other items of interest. In 19 19 the subscription list had 1125 names, including 935 official, 160 free public, and thirty paid. The editor was the manager of the Land and Industrial Department, and half of his time ($1200) was chargeable to the editing of the paper. The total cost of the paper per year, including editing, printing, and stenographic work, was $2950. Publication was discon- tinued by order of the Secretary of the Interior on July i, 1920. The Land and Industrial Department also prepared a general summary of the development of the territory for the annual report of the commission. Period of War-Tiine Retardation of Construction. Shortly after the entrance of the United States into the World War many obstacles naturally presented themselves. First of all there were two resignations from the commission itself. Col. Mears leaving on Jan. 31, 19 18, and Mr. Riggs leaving in I\Iay, 191S, upon his appointment to the governorship of Alaska. No reorganization of the commission was effected, however, at this time because of the general uncertainty of war conditions, but engineers-in-charge were placed at Nenana and Anchorage, respectively. A second difficulty was the loss of a large portion of the working force, which amounted to fifty per cent, some of the men leaving for military service and some emigrating to the states to profit from high wages. The third problem was HISTORY 33 the constant increase in the general price level. Freight charges, for example, mounted to 40 per cent above the 19 17 cost although arrangements had been made with the Shipping Board to handle all freight consigned to the commission on commercial steamers.^^ In spite of all these difficulties considerable progress was made. By the end of 1918 there had been constructed 229.8 miles of standard-gauge railroad, thirty miles of sidings, spurs, and yard tracks and 9.5 miles of main line narrow-gauge tracks, while fifty-three miles of line had been graded and thirty miles more cleared. In the fall of 19 17, the Tanana Valley Railroad was pur- chased for $300,000, an average of $6818 per mile. The condition of this road at the time of purchase has been de- scribed. It was a narrow-gauge line, 44.4 miles in length, including 5.13 miles of branch line from Happy Station, y.-^ miles from Fairbanks to the town of Chena, which at certain stages of the river was the head of navigation for the larger steamers. The main line extended northeasterly from Happy Station for a distance of 31.91 miles to Chatanika, thus tap- ping the several small towns in the gold mining district. ^^ The original cost to the owners was $867,000, and their in- vestment had originally been a profitable one; but as against $115,902.77 in 1919, the net earnings in 1914 were only $22,319.69, and three years later, at the time of purchase, the operating revenue was barely sufficient to meet operating ex- pense. This decline in earnings was due to the cessation of gold mining in the district following the high costs of labor and materials, scarcity of fuel, and a relatively low purchas- ing power of gold during the war period. There were three objects in the purchase of this road. First of all, without this purchase it would have been imperative ^^ The transport Crook had to be returned to the War Depart- ment which was in need of all available tonnage. ^2 The branch line from Happy Station to Chena has since been abandoned and the rails torn up. 34 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION to provide a right of way into Fairbanks for the government Hne by arranging a joint right of way occupancy over a dis- tance of seven miles of the Tanana Valley Railroad. By this purchase, it was only necessary to convert y.'x, miles of the road from its intersection with the government railroad to Fairbanks into standard gauge by laying a third rail. The remainder of the road could be operated as a narrow-gauge line. Secondly, since the purchase price included the shops, station buildings, yards, etc., at Fairbanks, adequate terminal facilities were there provided until such a time as a signifi- cant growth of Fairbanks as a distributing center material- ized; finally it was thought that this road would become a valuable feeder to the main line, for although the bonanzas had undoubtedly been worked out and a fruitful source of tonnage thus eliminated, there were great areas of low grade ground remaining that would yield a good profit under con- ditions of adequate transportation facilities and lower fuel cost due to the possibility of utilization of the products of The Nenana coal fields. Post-War Period of Reorgam.7.ation. With the end of the war and the gradual return of much of the working force, full resumption of operations would have been possible but for lack of funds. The commission reported 2200 men on the pay roll at the close of the fiscal year 1919, and it was stated that the force could not be increased until additional appropriations were forthcoming. For the original author- ization of $35,000,000 provided for in the act of March 12, 1914, was almost exhausted by the middle of 1919 mainly because the work had been done on a raising market for labor and materials. Congress was asked for an additional authorization of $17,000,000, which sum the commission believed would be required to complete the work by December 31, 1922. The House Committee on Territories, to which the bill authorizing the appropriation was referred, held hearings at which a careful inquiry was made into the work that had HISTORY 35 been done and into the requirements of the future. The committee in recommending passage of the bill declared : That the construction of the Alaska Railroad by the Alaskan Engineering Commission has been prosecuted under most ad- verse conditions, due in large part to the war, and the work has been done at the lowest cost consistent with the permanent character of the work performed. The railroad will cost on completion approximately 31 per cent, more than the amount originally estimated and the entire project, including terminals, rolling stock, and physical property, and maintenance and operation charges in excess of revenue during the entire period of construction less than 50 per cent, more than the amount originally authorized to be expended. Since the commence- ment of the construction of the road, wages of employees increased 59 per cent. ; the prices of materials and supplies, as much as 161 per cent., and transportation costs 147 per cent. The result of accomplishing this construction at an increase of no more than 50 per cent, under such circumstances is due in large part to the system of station contracts by which the original estimates of excavation costs were very closely approximated. . . . That in order to complete the railroad from Seward to Fairbanks by December 31, 1922, the sum of $17,000,000 additional to the $35,000,000 originally authorized will be required and this sum should be appropriated at the earliest possible date to be immediately and continuously available until expended.^^ The bill recommended by the committee became a law on Octol^er 7, 1 919. Under authority of this law Congress appropriated $6,000,000 on Nov. 4, 19 19, $7,000,000 on June 5, 1920, and the balance of $4,000,000 on March 4, 1921. Meanwhile Col. Mears was placed in charge of the entire work as Chairman and Chief Engineer.^^ On November 22, 1919, by order of the Chairman, a re- organization w^as effected. The Seward and Anchorage ^^66 cong. I sess., H. Rep. 231. '* Though the work has thus been for several years under a single commissioner the name "Commission" has been retained. 36 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Divisions were combined into the Southern Division, while the Fairbanks Division became the Northern Division. In addition to these two functional divisions, three coordinate institutional divisions were created, — the Supply, Purchasing, and Accounting divisions. One of the important results of this reorganization was the consolidation of the supply services of the various di- visions under the direction of an engineer in charge of the Sup- ply Division to prevent the ordering of such supplies from Seattle by one division as were already on hand at other divi- sions, to discover and dispose of surplus stock, and to devise a system for a permanent stores department suitable for the railroad as an operating system. It was found that the var- ious storekeepers in their desire to anticipate various con- tingencies had overstocked, in many cases. ,With the near completion of the entire line the inventory could well be reduced in order to release more of the available funds for construction and operation. A careful investigation was also made into the transporta- tion situation which had always been a difficult problem, and after investigation of several alternatives the commission entered into an agreement with the Alaska Steamship Com- pany and the Pacific Steamship Company for the calendar year 1920^^ providing as follows: ( 1 ) The steamship companies agreed to transport all com- mission freight from Seattle to Seward or Anchorage at $13 per ton with no penalties or classifiation. (2) Commission employees and members of their fami- lies were to be transported at 75 per cent of the regular rates. (3) It was agreed that there was to be no increase in rates except as a result of some extraordinary change in operating expense. For transportation to Nenana, an agreement was reached °^ The arrangement proved to be satisfactory and was renewed for the year 1921. HISTORY 37 with the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, providing special rates on rail and rolling stock and regular rates on other commodities. An arrangement was made with the Coastwise Steamship and Barge Company to transport 150 flat cars and four locomotives from the Isthmus to Anchorage at $21 per ton without penalties. With reorganization effected and ample funds provided by- Congress, good progress was made in construction and operation during 1920. By the end of the year 456 miles of track had been laid, of which 275 miles was one continuous stretch of main line, on which a regular schedule of pas- senger and freight trains was in operation twice a week in both directions. A schedule of three trains a week w^as also in operation on the branch line to the coal fields, while in the northern division a schedule was maintained of twice a week from Fairbanks to the River and from Xenana to Healy. There remained a gap of but eighty-three miles betw^een the ends of steel, on which section grading had been from 60 to 80 per cent completed for thirty-three miles and the right of way cleared for the remaining fifty miles. ^"^ Conclusion. A brief summary of the work by years from the beginning to date is shown in the statement on the following page, compiled from the various reports. It may be noted from that table that the progress of the work was not uniform. The explanation is to be found in three sets of obstacles which faced the commission in the course of its work; those due to natural or physical causes, those due to the economic consequences of the war, and those due to lack of sufficient appropriations by Congress or the manner in which the appropriations were made. ^° Since the above was written, liearings were held before the House Committee on Territories (67 cong-. i sess., Oct. 7, 1921) on a bill to authorize the expenditure of an additional $4,000,000 for completion of the work. At these hearings it was reported that sixty- one miles of track, grading on which was practically completed, and permanent bridges over the Nenana and Tanana rivers re- mained to be constructed while fifty-six miles of narrow-gauge road was yet to be standardized. 38 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Class of work Newly constructed standard gauge railroad (right of way cleared, graded, and track laid)" Sidings, spurs, and yard tracks Main line graded on which narrow gauge track has been temporarily laid" Line graded but no track laid or openings con- structed Line cleared but not graded M ileage of completed Work at End of \ 1 1 1 ear 191S 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 13^ 73% 175-88 229.8 297-6 382 26.5 30.0 42.6 47-2 •• ■■ •• 9-5 4S.5 48.65 35 10 76.8 530 20.0 16.4 40 70.8 30.0 •• •• Mileage to be constructed 84 50 6 » Not including 70.7 miles of Alaska Northern Railroad, rehabilitation of which was completed in 1920. ''Not including 31.9 miles of the Xanana Valley Railroad, rehabilitation of which was completed in 1920. Factors Which Retarded Construction. To treat ex- haustively of the difficuhies due to physical causes would neces- sitate the preparation of a separate chapter. It will suffice to give one illustration. In 19 17 the Nenana River "a glacial stream which, when the snows melt, comes down at times with irresistable force . . . abandoned its long accustomed way, and cut into a new bed and through trees that had been stand- ing for several generations," ^^ washing out twelve miles of track. The damage was repaired, but the road had to be re- laid in what was deemed a safer locality. Difficulties Arising from Economic Consequences of the War. Reference has already been made to some of the effects of the war upon construction. The most important factor was the rising price level, which was responsible ultimately for a cost of construction about one-third over the original estimate. An increase in wages of from 20 to 25 per cent was granted to various classes of labor in 19 16, following some labor disturbances which were settled by a board of conciliation of the Department of Labor. In April, 1917, ^'' House Committee on Territories, Construction of Alaska Rail- road, Hearings on H. R. 7417, July, 1919, p. 8. HISTORY 39 wages for common labor were increased to fifty cents per hour and skilled labor received corresponding increases. In 191 8 wages were again increased, this time 10 per cent over the 1 91 7 rate. Such advances in wages, together with sim- ultaneous increases in prices of materials, were of necessity reflected in the unit prices paid to station men. Yet, despite these wage increases there was a scarcity of labor which, however, the commission did not attempt to meliorate through recruting from outside sources, since it was deemed unde- sirable to compete with the war industries. As to increases in the cost of materials and transporta- tion, the following table from the 19 19 report of the com- mission, showing the increased cost of construction of one mile of track from 191 5 to 1919, is presented: Estimated 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 Rail Angle Bars Track Bolts & $5,248 357 $6,072 352 $6,585 426 $7,550 457 $8,025 460 $8,398.61 523-84 Nuts Tie Plates Track Spikes Nut Locks 39 186 222 18 45 282 423 18 65 287 423 15 65 325 492 25 65 360 512 25 106.48 415-40 514.60 27.50 Ties Ballast 1,440 750 1,440 750 1,742 780 1,742 800 1,742 762 1,872.00 1 ,000.00 Tracklaying 600 700 700 1.935 1,013 1.300.00 Surfacing 1,000 $9,860 1,000 1,200 1,300 1,300 1,400.00 Total $11,082 $12,223 $14,691 $14,264 $15-558.43 In addition to the above difficulties, there were long delays in deliveries of lumber and rail owing to shortage of shipping. Fiscal Difficulties. The act of March 12, 19 14, which authorized the construction of the railroad in Alaska, con- tained the following provision as to funds : ! That the cost pf the work authorized by this act shall not 40 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION exceed $35,ocx),ooo, and in executing the authority granted by this act the President shall not expend nor obligate the United States to expend more than the said sum. Under the above act appropriations were made as follows : March 12, 1914 $1,000,000 March 4, 1915 2,000,000 Feb. 29, 19 1 6 2,000,000 July I, 1916 6,247,620 March 4, 1917 3,000.000 June 12, 1917 7,500,000 Oct. 6, 1917 4,000,000 July I, 1918 5.250,000 July II, 1919 1,964,351 July 19, 1919 2,038,029 $35,000,000 From the above statement it would appear that appropria- tions were made steadily as the work progressed, and that the commission should have had no difficulty on this account. But it was not the actual lack of money which created dilfi- culties; it was the "utter lack of definite knowledge that the money asked for would be appropriated." ^^ There were four such occasions. In the fall of 191 5 the commission was practically without funds, and there was no certainty that further appropriations would be made until July i, 1916. Congress finally appropriated $2,000,000 on February 29, 19 1 6, to continue the work until the regular appropriation should become available. The commission then requested $8,247,620 to prosecute the work between July i, 1916, and June 30, 181 7. but only $6,247,620 was made available, and even this reduced amount did not become available on July i as customary, so that "large items that the commission had planned to pay out of it had to be met by payment from the small deficiency ap- propriation, and this at a time when we had continuous day- light in Alaska for prosecuting the work." ^^ The third instance occurred in 191 7. While $3,000,000 s8/tn/.. p. 184. ''^Ibid., p. 185. HISTORY 41 was included in the sundry civil bill for the fiscal year 19 18, a deadlock prevented its passage, and "most energetic measures had to be taken to get a joint resolution put through, to make this $3,000,000 available." Until March 3, when this appropriation was secured, the commission was unable to proceed with its plans. The same difficulty handicapped the project in 191 9. The estimate to carry on work during 1919 was $4,002,380, being the balance of the original authorization of $35,000,000. This amount was incorporated in the sundry civil bill, but no appropriation was made till July, 19 19. During the period from March to July, the forces engaged in the work in Alaska were paid only about 25 per cent of their monthly earnings, and new work was out of the range of possibility. The Ijest part of the season was thus lost, and when the appropriation became available, it was too late to recruit a force or carry on any significant activity. Such uncertainty as to available funds would have been unfortunate for any ordinary governmental or private activity but for the Alaskan railroad project, the evil was magnified through the peculiar local conditions. Supplies for construc- tion, such as powder, dynamite, and tools, as well as food and clothing could be cheaply and advantageously distributed over winter sled roads to points along the contemplated line of work for the spring. To obtain such supplies it was impera- tive to notify the commission's purchasing agent in Seattle in Januar)' in order that he might advertise for supplies as required by government procedure. It was essential, there- fore, that the engineer in charge have a plan of work the season before in order to calculate the number of men to be employed and the supplies required. Without definite knowl- edge of the funds which would be available, no such plans could be made. As Colonel Mears expressed it, ."The flow of a con- tinuing appropriation is like the oil to a smoothly working engine. If the oil comes by fits and starts and sometimes stops altogether, the machine does not work as smoothly or 42 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION as advantageously." ^^ Moreover, because of shortage of funds, the station men might receive but one contract a season and then be obhged to wait at their own expense for another contract to be given out. Not only was the uncertainty as to funds a hindrance to efficient work, but the system of appropriation by fiscal years was unsuited to Alaskan conditions. Commissioner Mears said on this point : Nothing could be more unfortunate for the Alaska project than the appropriating of moneys by fiscal 3'ears — beginning and ending on July i . On June 21 we have the longest day in the year in Alaska, practically continuous daylight, where two or three shifts can be employed to equal advantage. Now, if annual appropria- tions could have been made available as [of] January i, so as to plan ahead and make the preparations I have referred to, greater efficiency would have resulted. Under the enforced July I appropriation system there was bound to be a pause in plans and preparations to wait to see what Congress was going to do. The seasons were reversed in Panama, for on July I we have heavy rains. On January' i we were at the beginning of the ''dry" seasons, when most of our work was done.^^ The evidence presented as to these problems at the Hear- ings of the House Committee on Territories in 1919 resulted in the enactment of the bill, already described, providing that the sum of $17,000,000 required to complete the project should be continuously available till expended. Of this sum $13,000,000 was made available for the fiscal year 1919-20. This was the first time since construction was undertaken that ample funds were available in advance of the working season. In December 1920 the commission reported that $3,500,000 would be required in addition to the fifty-two million already authorized, to complete the entire project and to provide for maintenance and operation up to the probable date of com- ««/6i"J., p. 183. «i Ibid., p. 186. HISTORY 43 pletion, which has been set at December, 1922. This in- crease over the estimate was the result of both the rise in wages and prices during 1920 and expenditures authorized by Congress to be made for a coal-cleaning plant. ^" Earning Possibilities of the Railroad. One of the effects of the war has been a general setback in the economic development of Alaska. The production of gold dropped nearly 45 per cent between 1916 and 1919. while the labor force employed in all forms of mining has been cut in half. There were no war activities to compensate for these losses, except for an increased copper production. Consequently, many localities in Alaska are in the status of abandoned mining camps. The question has been often raised, there- fore, as to whether the earning power of the railroad upon completion will ever justify the expenditure made. The testimony of Chairman ]\Iears before the subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations on this point is illuminating:. He said: '&• My judgment is that this railroad is not going to pay until the country is developed, but as soon as it is connected through it will get the business that is now going in by the other rail- road,^^ a business which will amount to about half a million dollars a year. It will get what little business is developing . . . near Anchorage and the Willow Creek gold mines, and it will develop the Kantishna mining district, which looks very promising.'"'^ It may be concluded, therefore, that a long period may elapse before the earnings of the railroad will justify the expenditure made. However, the history of railroad trans- portation in Alaska, as outlined in the preceding pages, dem- ^2 House Hearings, Dec, 1920, Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill for 1922, p. 1906 et seq. In October, 1921, this estimate was raised to $4,000,000. See footnote 56 supra. ®^ Referring to the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. ^* House Hearings on Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill for 1922, 1920, p. 191 1. 44 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION onstrates that the Federal Government assumed the responsi- bility of railroad building only after it had been clearly proven that private initiative and capital could never meet the requirements of the territory under existing conditions, and the whole project was undertaken primarily in the hope of developing Alaska, not with the thought of immediate finan- cial return.^ ^ ®^ See annual report of the Secretary of the Interior for 1921. Appendix D. for estimate of commercial traffic and a forecast of the effect of the railroad on the development of Alaska. CHAPTER II ACTIVITIES In the previous chapter the work of the Alaskan Engineer- ing Commission was described in a general manner only to the limited degree that such description was requisite for an understanding of its history. But from what has been written the inference is clear that the commission had but one function, the construction of the proposed government rail- road in Alaska. As a consequence, of this single function, however, there devolved upon the commission, a long list of distinct activities, some of which appear totally unrelated, at first sight, to the central project. These activities may, be classified as follows : (i) Activities preceding construction (2) Construction activities (3) Activities supplementary to construction (4) Operating and maintenance activities (5) Activities relating to traffic development In order to point out the relative significance of each of the above classes of activities and the principal items included in terms of the only available common unit — financial out- lays — the following table is given showing approximate ex- penditures to December 31, 1920, in so far as information is available : Activities Preceding Construction Preliminary Investigation and Survey . . $431,000 Placing Final Location 305,000 Activities of Construction Construction of Railroad ''32,206,000 ^ Including about $3,500,000 for construction equipment, supplies, and machinery which can be disposed of ultimately for cash, tliough probably at considerable loss, and about $2,678,000 of equipment ul- timately available for operation. 45 46 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Construction of Telephone and Telegraph 591,000 Construction of Wharves and Docks . . . 585,000 Construction of Shops, etc 368,000 Activities Supplementary to Construction Purchase and Rehabilitation of Tanana Valley Railroad 445,000 Purchase and Rehabilitation of Alaska Northern Railroad 4,843,000 Operation and Maintenance Railroad Operation 2,650.000 Coal Mining 376,000 Activities Relating to Traffic Development and Town Site Improvements 305,000 All Other Expenditures 125,000 Total Expenditures $43,230,000 Of the above activities, those which preceded construction and are now only of historic interest have already been de- scribed. In this chapter only those activities will be described which are being carried on at the present time. Construction Activities. The work of railroad construction proper has been practically completed. On October i, 192 1, only sixty-one miles of track remained to be constructed out of the total mileage of the railroad of 539.93 miles, and grading on this gap was almost completed on that date. There were also two large rivers to be bridged, the Nenana and Tanana. The estimated cost of the bridge over the Tanana River, which will be 1340 feet long, constructed of steel resting on concrete piers, is $1,867,232 while the cost of the Nenana bridge, approximately 600 feet long and of heavy timbers on concrete piers, is estimated at $160,000. It will be necessar)^, furthermore, to complete the standardization be- tween Nenana and Fairbanks of the narrow gauge track, of which there remained fifty-six miles on October i, 1921, and to ballast and put into condition for freight and passenger traffic the newly laid track. When completed the railroad will be 539.93 miles in length, including 467.62 miles of main line between Seward and Fairbanks, 37.7 miles of branch line from Matanuska Junction to Chickaloon, a spur of 2.7 miles ACTIVITIES 47 leading from the branch Hne to the Eska coal mines, and a branch of 31.91 miles leading from Happy Station to Cha- tanika. As the work of construction nears completion, the commission's force is being adapted to the work of mainten- ance and operation. Terniinal Facilities. The specific provisions of the act authorizing the construction of the road, as well as its general purpose, contemplated a permanent system aimed to develop the interior of Alaska and to encourage the settlement of the public lands. To attain this end complete and well sup- plied termini were established with shops, warehouses, depots, oil and power houses, docks, wharves, etc. Considerable revenues were derived from some of the above sources. Thus from the commercial disposition of electrical power, the sum of $93,034.19 was derived in the period from March 12, 1914, to March 31, 19 19. Little remains to be done in the way of initial construction of terminal facilities. An estimate submitted by the commission in October 1921 of additional required work shows that increased roundhouse and car repair facilities at Anchorage are all that is planned for the present, the cost of which will be about $60,000.^ Telephone and Telegraph Lines. The act of March 12, 19 14, granted authority "to construct, maintain, and oper- ate telegraph and telephone lines so far as they may be neces- sary or convenient in the construction and operation of the railroad or railroads as herein authorized and they shall per- form generally all the usual duties of telegraph and telephone lines for hire." When the commission began its work, there was no tele- phonic communication from Seward to Anchorage. Com- munication between these two points was by steamer onh% which took twenty- four hours. In 191 5 a temporary tele- phone line of 120 miles was erected connecting the two centers, equipped either for telegraph or telephone operation, and in 1916 a standard 8-foot 6-pin cross-arm line was built from ^ Hearings 1921 before House Committee on Territories, p. 10. 48 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Seward to mile 51. A telephone system was also installed at Anchorage, a monthly charge being made for the service, while a tripod line, carrying four wires was extended from mile 248 to mile 284. A pioneer line was built from that point to mile 335 and connection was established with the pioneer line of the northern division, thus giving, for the first time, direct telegraph and telephone circuits for both divisions. Construction of only ^.2 miles of temporary telephone line and 7.2 miles of permanent telegraph line are provided for in the estimate submitted for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1923. By the end of 1920 the permanent line had reached mile 248. Wagon Roads. Roads have been built to connect the var- ious zones of operation in order to make possible the hauling of supplies for construction, maintenance, and operation. In addition roads have been built on the to\\nisites which are adjacent to the railroad and extensions have been made to connect with the roads built by the Board of Road Com- missioners "just the same as a county will build roads con- necting with State highways and build them as feeders." ^ Rehabilitation of Purchased Railroads. Reference has al- ready been made to the evaluation and purchase of the Alaska Northern and Tanana Valley railroads, and their general con- dition at the time of purchase has been described. The com- mission estimated in 1914 the approximate cost of placing the Alaska Northern in condition for light traffic to be $955,601. A much greater expenditure was required for reconstruction of the railroad for standard traffic to make through connection possible with the remainder of the system from Anchorage to the Matanuska coal fields. Up to October 31, 1920, about $3,798,000 had been spent, and it was estimated that about $40,000 in addition would be required to complete this phase of the undertaking. Expenditures up to March 31, 1919, for rehabilitation of the Tanana Valley railroad, including also changes in the line, 2 Hearings before the House Committee on Territories on H. R. 5694, May, 1921, p. 403. ACTIVITIES 49 rebuilding of unsafe bridges, reconstruction of culverts and trestles, and ballasting, were $44,858.23. To complete the work it was estimated that $84,300 would be required; which would make the total cost upon completion, including the pur- chase price and an arbitrarily allocated portion of the general expenditures, $445,609.48.^ Operation. The commission not only operates the newly constructed railroad with which the two rehabilitated, pur- chased roads, the Tanana Valley and the Alaska Northern, have recently been merged but it also operates coal mines, telegraph and telephone lines, docks, a transfer service, power plants, etc. Operation of Railroad. In 191 5 sufficient repairs were made on the railroad and its terminal to enable the operation of a gasoline motor combination freight and a passenger car, or a light engine and caboose, from Seward to a point at a distance of thirty-four miles. A tri-weekly service was main- tained on this run during the winter of 1914-15. There were various extensions and contractions in the service in the next four years, in conformity with the requirements for rehabili- tation of the road and the available traffic. By July, 1919, work on the Alaska Northern had progressed sufficiently to make a connection possible with the main line so that an inter- mittent through service was begun from Seward to Anchor- age). The earnings of the road were, of course, far from sufficient to meet expenses. Thus, earnings for the 19 19 season averaged but $1378 per month, while expenses were about $11,078 per month. The Tanana Valley Railroad was operated by the commis- sion in the 19 17 season under an agreement with the owners. Whereas in 1909, the road showed a surplus of $115,902.77 with gross earnings of $298,250.54, in 1919 a deficit of $29,831.44 was reported on gross earnings of $48,110.77. The engineer in charge, in commenting on the above deficit in ^ The annual report of the vSecretary of the Interior for 1921, (p. 2'i4) shows that the work of rehabilitating both roads had been practically completed by the end of 1920. 50 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION 1919, called attention to the fact that the district on which this road was dependent for revenue was being rapidly de- populated. Unless the country was rehabilitated, there was poor prospect for the road earning its expenses as an operat- ing" unit although as a feeder to the main line in the future its status might become more favorable. For operating the newly completed line a terminal district was organized in the Anchorage Division in 19 16. There- after, as rapidly as track was completed on this division, the Terminal District assumed control, trains being operated primarily for purposes of construction. Fares were col- lected on the basis of six cents per passenger mile, begin- ning with January i, 19 16, and reports were made in accord- ance with the requirements of the Interstate Commerce Com- mission. By July, 19 19, it was possible to inaugurate an intermittent through service from Seward to Anchorage. North of Anchorage a service of one train a week was main- tained to Talkeetna and two trains each way each week to Eska and Chickaloon. In 1920, except for the months of February, March, and April, when train operations were interrupted by snow-slides, trains were run twice a week between Anchorage and the northern end of steel, and between Anchorage and Seward; and three times a week between Anchorage and the Eska and Chickaloon coal mines on the Matanuska branch. After Oc- tober I, 1920 the United States mail for points in interior Alaska was transported over this route to the end of steel and by horse-drawn sleds over the unfinished part of the roadbed. On December 4, 1921 the commission advertised acceptance of through traffic both ways from Seward to Fairbanks, al- though transfer at certain gaps was still necessary by tem- porary tracks laid on ice, tramway, or footbridge. It is ex- pected that through carriage of freight on the road will be possible by the latter part of 1923 or the early part of 1924.'* * House Hcarino^s on the Interior Department Appropriation Bill for 1923, pp. 868-869. ACTIVITIES SI The following table shows the mileage operated each month from January, 1916, to date, including yard track and sidings.'' From October, 1918, on, the figures include the mileage operated on the Alaska Northern Railroad and the Tanana Valley .Railroad as well as the newly constructed line. Month January .. February March . . April .... May June , July August . . . September October .. . November December 1916 12.58 23.87 28.55 42.99 43-53 44.07 5«-4 5«-4 584 79-5 797 1917 71 71 71 71 71 71 83 83 86 100 121 121 1918 121 121 121 121 121 160 160 160 168 294 294 294 1919 360 366 370 370 370 372 374 385 386 409 414 414 1920 414 414 414 414 414 414 414 414 445 445 445 456 The receipts from the operation of the road in 1920 amounted to about $25,000 per month, which was not, of course, sufficient to meet expenses. The estimated cost of operating the line for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1923 has been placed at $1,428,030, and rev- enues have been estimated at $660,000; leaving a net operat- ing deficit of $768,030.^ Operation of Coal Mines. Reference has already been made in the first chapter to the operation of a coal mine by the commission following the failure of a private operator to supply the coal required for construction and operation of the railroad. In the coal mining operations which were con- ducted at the Eska Creek and Chickaloon mines the commis- sion has had a three-fold purpose : the supplying of fuel at low cost for the railroad and the communities nearby, the ex- tensive prospecting and development work to ascertain the 5 Not including $893,980 for maintenance of line. In the fiscal year 1921 the revenue from passenger traffic was $91,935.65, from freight traffic $109,389.69, from mail, baggage, express, etc., $238,330.45, a total of $439-655-79- ^ For miscellaneous traffic statistics, by months, see annual report of the Secretary of the Interior for 1921, p. 217. 52 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION quantities availal)le and the ascertainment of the cost of pro- duction. The output of coal up to the present time has been more than sufficient to meet the needs of the commission J The following table gives the output and costs of production for the period from June, 19 17, to Feljruary, 19 19, as re- ported by the commission : Average per ton Coal shipped to Alaska Engineering Com- mission at Anchorage From Eska Mine . . . short tons From Chickaloon . . . do. 80,768.80 5.33743 Total 86,106.23 Cost of mining, including development work : Eska Mine Chicaloon $377,683.44 103,111.47 $4.67 19.32 Total $480,794.91 $5-58 Cost of development work included in above : Eska Mine Chickaloon $76,294.61 103,111.47 $ .94 19.32 Total $179,406.08 $2.08 Net cost of mining coal, exclusive of de- velopment work Charges for Coal Shipped to Alaskan Engineering Commission 18,159.68 short tons, at $5 . . $90,798.10 77,964.61 short tons, at $6 . . 467,679.66 $301,388.83 $480,794.91 $77,682.85 $558,477.76 $3-50 $5-58 Total $558,477.76 Profit over cost of mining and development .... Up to June 30, 1 92 1 there was expended at Eska $1,130,242.49, of which $225,111.79 represents permanent ^ In tlie period from June, 1917, to June 30, 1921, the saving was estimated at $1,702,860. ACTIVITIES 53 investment. The remainder of $905,130.70 was spent in maintenance and operation, for every $5.32 of which there was produced a ton of coal. At Chickaloon, the expenditure for mine development was $202,413.27. This mine was turned over to the Navy in 1920 with a view to developing a fuel supply for the Pacific Fleet. Reimbursement has not been made to the commission by the Navy for the expendi- ture made in development work. Operation of Docks. The commission operates three docks : the Seward dock which is operated the full twelve months in the year; the Anchorage dock which, on account of the closing of the harbor by ice for five months, is only open seven months, and the Nenana dock which is operated only about five months because of the freezing of the Tanana River. A large portion of the traffic over all these docks consists of freight for the use of the commission itself. No detailed figures are available for dock operations at Nenana, but for Anchorage and Seward the data for 1920 are as follows: Anchorage Seward 24,695-47 $32,443-95 327,368.45 2.1 22,034.17 $23,234.06 92,445.62 1-3 2.03 1-55 Total freight (tons) Operating expense ^ Capital account Total expense per ton handled Total credit per ton handled '•* The total operating cost in 1920 of operating the three docks was about $65,000. Operation of Power Plants. The power plant at Nenana furnishes electrical energy, steam heat, and water to the build- ings and shops of the commission, and lights on the Commis- sion Reserve and the Nenana Townsite. It also furnishes light and power to consumers within the Nenana Townsite. In 1920, 173,460 K. W. hours were distributed, of which 98,100 K. W. hours were consumed by the commission, 8,837 K. \V. hours by the Nenana Townsite, and 66,523 K. W. (^) Not including light and heat for the docks estimated at about 10 cents per ton of freight handled. (^) Including 6 per cent interest on capital account. 54 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION hours by commercial customers. From power sold, motor rentals, and meter deposits, $11,617.75 was collected during the year. At Anchorage, the commission furnishes the town with light and power over one meter. Distribution of the cost is made by the town itself among the consumers of the power. Operation of Other Services. A receiving and forwarding department at Anchorage handles all freight and passengers arriving by steamer. In 1920 the volume of traffic handled was as follows : Commercial freight Tons Inbound 5,089.49 Outbound 506.31 Commission freight Inbound 18,602.85 Outbound 450.18 Express and mail handled 46.64 Grand Total 24,695.47 Passengers handled 1,302,00 Several sawmills are being operated to supply timber for the work of construction and maintenance of the railroad, ter- minals, docks, warehouses, etc. A telegraph and telephone system is operated primarily in connection with the work of railroad construction, maintenance, and operation, but service is also extended to the various towns along the line of the railroad. Base hospitals are maintained at Anchorage and Nenana and field hospitals at various construction points. Maintenance. As the work of construction nears comple- tion, the most important function of the commission, next to operation of the railroad, becomes that of maintenance, not only of the track and transportation equipment, but of all the facilities established during the eight years of construction. Repairs are being made constantly to the terminal buildings, docks, warehouses, bridges, sawmills, snowsheds, locomotives, cars, marine equipment, etc. Many of the commission's staff are now being utilized for this work. It is estimated tliat ACTIVITIES 55 for the fiscal year 1923, the maintenance cost will be $722,240 for the line from Seward to mile 264, including the Matanuska branch, and $171,740 for the line from mile 264 to Fairbanks, including the Chatanika branch. Development of Traffic. Through the Land and Industrial Department, the commission until 1920 gathered descriptive and statistical data on the population, agricultural output, and general economic progress of the territory tributary to the railroad; furnished information to prospective home-steaders ; and carried on such other activities as would ordinarily In a privately constructed railroad be under a traffic department. Following the reorganization of November, 1919, the Land and Industrial Department was placed directly under the Southern Division Office, and jurisdiction in these matters for the Northern Division was assigned to the Engineer in Charge. Doubt as to the commission's statutory authority to engage vigorously in traffic promotion activities and lack of appro- priations for these purposes prevent the development and ex- ecution by the commission of a constructive plan to populate the country through which the railroad passes and to promote the establishment of local industries. ^^ The most important activities relating to traffic development are those connected with the establishment and management of townsites, details of which have been given in Chapter I. The policy of expenditures for townsite purposes has been recently abandoned by the commission, and it is gradually withdrawing from its townsite activities. Thus the town of Anchorage has been incorporated and the commission no longer supervises its management. The public utilities, how- ever, have not been taken over by the town, and the com- mission furnishes light and power, ^° This matter awaits the general reorganization of the admin- istration of national property and interests in Alaska, which is now under consideration by Congress. See House Hearings before the Committee on Territories on H. R. 5694, 67 cong. i, sess. (May 1921). 56 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION The first sale of lots under the regulations took place from July lo to 17, 191 5, at Anchorage, and others followed from time to time as the railroad advanced through the country. On May 31, 19 19, the number of lots sold in each locality and the amounts paid were as follows : Anchor- age Nenana Matanu- ska a Seward Wasilla Total Lots sold Average price per lot Total amount of such sales 1,075 $193 $208,065 145,211 62,854 430 $320 $137,790 74,665 63,125 59 $158 $9,355 3-961 5,394 150 $182 $27,345 27,505 140 53 $105 $5,565 4,125 1,440 1,767 $388,120 255,167 Payments received tc date Deferred payments . 132,953 As to the disposition of these revenues, the act of March 12, 19 1 4, provided that any revenue from the lease, sale, or disposal of public land should be covered into the Treasury of the United States as a miscellaneous receipt. But to re- imburse the commission for expenditures made by it for public purposes in the towns and to provide for whatever additional expenditures would be required in this direction, by an act of April 17, 1917,^^ fifty per cent of the proceeds from a At Seward there were two tracts of land owned by the) Government which were within the incorporated limits of the town. During the summer of 191 5 these tracts, known as the Federal and Cliff Additions, were subdivided into lots. Sales of lots within these additions were held on September 11 and September 21, igi6. The regulations for the sale of these lots were different from those in the towns where the Government owned all the property. To avoid complications in the matter of taxes, street assessments, etc., these lots were sold outright, half the purchase price to be paid at time of sale, the balance being due in one year. There are no restric- tions or conditions in the sale. The payments are required within one year in order that patents can issue and the town be thereby enabled to ta.x the lots as soon as practicable. ^^ That until June 30, 1918, not to exceed 50 per centum of the moneys received from the sale of lots or tracks within any town- site or townsites heretofore or hereafter sold pursuant to the pro- visions of the act of March 12, 1914. entitled "An act to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct, and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes," may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, be set apart and expended within the respective townsites in which such lots or tracts are sold, for the purpose of preparincf the land for occupancy, the construction, installation, and maintenance of public utilities and improvements, and the construction of public-school buildings, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe, and the moneys so set apart and designated are appro- priated for the purpo.se of carrying these provisions into effect; Provided, That such moneys as may have been heretofore or may ACTIVITIES 57 the sale of tovvnlots, until June 30, 19 18, was granted to the commission. On July 31, 19 17, the Secretary of the Treasury issued a warrant for transfer and appropriation of $82,184.32 from "proceeds of townsites" to the "cost of construction and operation account.'' This lot fund was utilized for the building of school houses ; to meet expenses of local govern- ment; to pay for the improvement of streets and sidewalks abutting on municipal and federal property, and for general public welfare. The following statements of expenditures to Dec. 31, 1919, in the various townsites, showing the method of reimburse- ment, indicate the magnitude of the work in the administra- tion of the townsites : Expenditures by the Alaskan Engineering Commission in Townsites to December 31, igig Anchorage Matanuska Wasilla Seward Water System Sewer System Clearing Lots and Streets and/or grading Sidewalks $38,472.91 16,834.56 27,254.09 25,519.64 46,848.95 2,497.01 8,161.79 33,069.05 a76,4i4-54 $4,621.08 3,073-05 968.94 2,122.09 $ 135-85 ? 1,730-54 44-48 $4,969.21 675.iS Drainage and Sanitation School House Municipal Building .... Salaries: Townsite Man- ager and Health Offi- cer Street and sidewalk im- provements abutting muncipal and federal blocks, trunk sewer, cemetery improve- ments, etc Maintenance Total all expendi- tures $275,072.54 b$ 1 0,993.89 $1,910.87 C$5,907.58 hereafter be expended for such purposes under ,and b> authority of the Alaskan Engineering Commission from the funds at its disposal shall be reimbursed from the amount designated for the purposes herein provided: Provided, further, That a report of the expenditures hereunder shall be made to Congress at the beginning of each regular session. ^^ ^ The commission attempted, without success, to have this pro- vision in the acts of appropriation for the two succeeding years. a Including fire protection, sanitation, streets and sidewalks from beginning of town to June 30, 1919. b Including $208.73 for engineering and supervision, c Including $263.09 for bridge construction. 58 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Method or Reimbursement to Alaskan Engineering Commission for Expenditures Made on Townsites to December 31, igig Assessments levied .... " paid .... Balance due from as- sessments General expenses under lot fund Receipts from lot fund Balance due Alaskan Engineering Commis- sion Lots sold Total sale price Total paid Anchorage Matanuska fi8i,772.88 14S.798.86 335,974.02 93,299-66 64,760.40 28,539.26 1,285 233,930.00 158,029.68 1,541-55 1,081. 75 459.80 9,912.14 1,932-69 7,979-45 61 9,880.00 4,010.81 Wasilla ;i,9io.87 1,090.31 b 820.56 53 5,765-00 4,213.00 Seward $5,907-58 7,723.50 c 144 27.330.00 27,315-00 a Including deferred payments amounting to $11,928.63 in 1920. b Of which only $555.94 is available from the lot fund, leaving a $264.62. c $7,749.92 available for future expenditure. deficit of CHAPTER III ORGANIZATION The Alaskan Railroad Construction Act imposed no re- strictions upon the President in the choice of means of execut- ing the purpose of the act. It was thus made possible to prosecute the work of construction free from most of those restrictions normally associated with a government enterprise of this nature. It was fortunate that there was this freedom of action and <^hat no specific organization had been prescribed by Congress ; for the project involved four different stages, for each of which changes in organization were necessary to effect the best adaptation to the requirements of the work in hand. In the first stage, from the date of appointment of the commis- sion to the beginning of construction, the work was to make the investigations and surveys, and an organization was set up which was deemed best for this purpose. Three districts were created, each under administrative direction of one of the Commissioners, the first covering the region south of Knik Arm, the second extending northward to Broad Pass, and the third covering the section north of Broad Pass. Eleven fully equipped parties were organized for reconnais- sance and survey in these districts. The second stage from April to December, 191 5, covers the period when the commission organized for the work of construction. By Executive Orders of April 10 and April 30, 191 5, the supervision and control of the entire project was vested in the Secretary of the Interior, as completely as if "said work had been placed by law under the jurisdiction and control of the Department of the Interior." The Sec- retary, however, allowed the commission general freedom of action in location and construction, and was guided almpst 59 6o ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION entirely by the advice of the commission even in questions of policy.^ He stated in February, 19 19, that "the work of locating and constructing the road has been left in their hands entirely. The only instruction which they (the Commis- sioners) received from me was that they should build the road as if they were working for a private concern, selecting the best men for the work irrespective of politics or pressure of any kind. I have not asked them to appoint one man." - By the Executive Orders referred to, the Chairman of the commission, who was to be designated by the Secretary of the Interior, was given immediate charge of the work in Alaska, his important powers and duties being enumerated as follows : 1. Power of approval or disapproval of all adminis- trative matters connected with the work in Alaska. 2. Power to organize and subdivide departments, among which there was to be a department of construc- tion and engineering, of which the Chairman was to be chief engineer. 3. Power to assign duties to each department. 4. Power to appoint heads of departments and fix their salaries subject to disapproval of the commission as a whole; the heads to be allowed to fix primarily the salaries of employees in their respective departments after consultation with the Chairman and subject to disap- proval of the commission. 5. Power to designate the district in which supplies should be advertised for publicly. 6. Power to grant the other two members of the com- mission leave of absence. 7. Permission to assume presidency of Alaska North- ern Railroad after its purchase. The conmiission as a whole was charged with the follow- ing duties: ^ See statements of Commissioners at 1919 Hearings relative to purchase of the Alaska Northern, etc. 2 Hous€ Committee on Territories, Hearings, 1919, p. 8.. ORGANIZATION 6i 1. The general duty of preparing and adopting plans for construction. 2. The employment of such force as might be from time to time necessary. 3. The making of all contracts for the purchase of the necessary supplies and plant for this work. 4. Immediate conduct of affairs of the Alaska North- ern Railroad. 5. Cooperation with the duly constituted authorities in Alaska to preserve law and order. 6. Preparation and maintenance of such arrange- ments as required for health of employees and a system of compensation for accidents. Under the above division of powers and functions the com- mission began the work of construction proper. Administra- tive headquarters were established at Seward, Alaska, where the office of the Chairman and Chief Engineer was to be located. Commissioner Mears was placed in charge of new construction, while Commissioner Riggs was to make the final location north from Broad Pass to Fairbanks. The third stage, from the beginning of 1916 to the end of 191 7, may be termed the stage of expansion of organization, when new divisions and departments were organized to meet the rapidly enlarging field of activity. Three construction divisions were created, the Anchorage Division, the Seward Division, and the Fairbanks Division, while the Land and Industrial Department was organized and the office of Engi- neering Representative in Seattle established. The construc- tion work on the Anchorage Division was in turn subdivided into three sections, the Matanuska District, the Turnagain Arm District, and the Talkeetna District, while operation and maintenance was assigned to the terminal district. A General Storekeeper's Department, to attend to all matters pertaining to material, supplies, and shipping was also established in the Anchorage Division. Jhe fourth stage, from January, i^iSj to January^ 1919^ 62 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION covers the period of contraction of organization in direct consequence of the active participation of the United States in the World War. Two of the Commissioners resigned and only the Chairman remained to carry on the work which, meanwhile, rapidly converged to the point where operation and maintenance rather than new construction became the center of activity. The last stage, which is the present one, is marked by the reorganization and integration of the var- ious divisions and departments in an effort to meet the need for unification, compactness, and centralization of organiza- tion, the entire work being placed under a single Commis- sioner. Thus the organization history reveals an interesting transi- tion from a somewhat chaotic but flexible organization, such as was best suited to the ascertainment and solution of the many undefined problems to be encountered in the preliminary stage of a large construction project in a relatively unknown country, to a systematic, integrated, and centralized organiza- tion best suited to the requirements of a nearly completed railroad construction project in a country now relatively well known. It would not be feasible to describe in detail beyond the general outline already given, the character of the or- ganization at each stage, or the mechanism of the transition. In this chapter the organization is, therefore, described in detail only as it exists at the present date. Administration. The President of the United States, under the act of March 12, 1914, has full authority and is generally responsible not only for the work of construction proper but also for all preliminary, supplementary, and ancillary matters involved therein. The Secretary of the Interior has been designated by the President as the executive officer of the Government to direct the work. The Secretary of the Inter- ior grants almost complete autonomy to the organization in the field under the direction of the Chairman and Chief Engi- neer liaison between the Department of the Interior and the ORGANIZATION 63 field work being maintained through an office in the Interior Building, the personnel of which includes one senior clerk and a stenographer. The general administrative offices are at Anchorage, with an administrative staff as follows : Chairman and Chief Engineer Assistant Chief Engineer Chief Clerk Bridge Engineer Special Disbursing Agent Manager Land and Industrial Department Superintendent Telegraph and Telephone Lines Divisions. There are five general divisions under the administrative staff created by the Chairman by order of November 22, 1919, as follows: Functional Divisions 1. Southern Division 2. Northern Division Institutional Divisions 1. Supply Division 2. Purchasing Division 3. Accounting Division Southern: This division, under direction of the Assistant Chief Engineer comprises the district from Seward (mile o) to Broad Pass (mile 315), including also all spurs and branches as well as the operation of the coal mines in the Matanuska fields. The headquarters of this division are at Anchorage, and its administrative staff is merged with the office force of the general administrative staff. The subdivisions are as follows : I. The Railroad Maintenance and Construction Division, which has the responsibility for the mainten- ance and construction of the railroad in the Southern Division. This railroad division is under the direction 64 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION of an "Engineer of Maintenance and Construction" whose assistants are: An Assistant Engineer of Maintenance and Con- struction. A Superintendent of Construction, with local juris- diction over maintenance from Seward (mile o) to Anchorage (mile 114). An Assistant Superintendent of Track, with local jurisdiction over maintenance and construction of track from Anchorage northward to end of track and the Matanuska Branch Line and coal spur. An Assistant Superintendent of Construction, with local supervision over transportation and camps in the construction district, extending northward from the end of steel, 2. Railroad Operating Division, including the follow- ing departments reporting to the Engineer of Mainten- ance and Construction. Transportation Department, under the Trainmaster. Mechanical Department, under the Master Mechanic. Telegraph and Telephone Department, under a Superintendent. Drafting Department, under the Chief Draftsman. Anchorage Dock, under the Receiving and Forward- ing Agent. Townsite and Railroad Record, under the Manager and Editor. Disbursing Office, under the Special Disbursing Agent. Hospital, under the Chief Surgeon. 3. A Mining Department, under direction of a Resi- dent Mining Engineer, assisted by a Superintendent of Mines, charged with operation and development of the Matanuska coal fields at Eska Creek and Chickaloon. Northern. This division, the headquarters of which is at Nenana includes : ORGANIZATION 65 1. The operation and maintenance of the Tanana Valley Railroad between Fairbanks and Chatanika and Fairbanks and Chena; covering also the new trackage on the Coldstream line north of Tanana River to mile 414 under a Superintendent and Disbursing Agent whose office is at Fairbanks. 2. The operation and maintenance of completed track (standard gauge) southward from Nenana (mile 414) as well as all new construction south toward Broad Pass, under the local direction of the Superintendent of Con- struction. 3. A Disbursing Department, under a Special Disburs- ing Agent. 4. Nenana Townsite, under a Townsite Manager. 5. hospital Department, under a Chief Surgeon. Supply. This division, under an Engineer in Charge with headquarters at Seward, has four general duties : 1. Supervision over all supplies required for construc- tion and all supply offices. All orders and requisitions for supplies are routed to the Supply Division and are disposed of according to directions of the Engineer in Charge. 2. Control of all shipments of ocean freight, in and out bound. 3. The operation of the Seward Dock. 4. Management of the Employment Office. Accounting. The Accounting Division, the head of which is an Examiner of Accounts, is located at Anchorage and has charge of all accounting matters for all departments and divisions. It includes the following offices : 1. Disbursements 2. Appropriation Accounts and General Statements 3. Auditor of Station Agents 4. A Southern Division Accounts 5. A Northern Division Accounts 6. A Supply Division Accounts (^ ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Purchasing. The Purchasing Division, under the General Purchasing Agent, is located at Seattle. In addition to hand- ling all details relating to the purchase of supplies and equip- ment for the work in the field, it has supervision of all Seattle activities of the commission, including the hiring of employees, the receipt and shipment of ocean freight, and the inspection of material and supplies purchased.^ Personnel. The number of employees in each division as of April 15, 192 1 is summarized in the following table: Purchasing 15 Supply 133 Accounting 34 Southern Maintenance and Operation 772 Construction 1,136 Administration 9 Northern Maintenance and Operation 154 Construction 637 Administration 4 Total, all divisions 2,894 Pay roll 2,047 Contractors 847 ^ This inspection is usually done by contract with a commercial company specializing in that field. APPENDIX I OUTLINE OF ORGANIZATION Explanatory Note The Outlines of Organization have for their purpose to make known in detail the organization and personnel pos- sessed by the several services of the national government to which they relate. They have beeen prepared in accordance with the plan followed by the President's Commission on Economy and Efficiency in the preparation of its outlines of the organization of the United States government. ^ They differ from those outlines, however, in that whereas the Com- mission's report showed only organization units, the presenta- tion herein has been carried far enough to show the personnel embraced in each organization unit. These outlines are of value not merely as an effective means of making known the organization of the several services. If kept revised to date by the services, they constitute exceed- ingly important tools of administration. They permit the directing personnel to see at a glance the organization and personnel at their disposition. They establish definitely the line of administrative authority and enable each employee to know his place in the system. They furnish the essential basis for making plans for determining costs by organiza- tion division and sul)division. They afford the data for a consideration of the problem of classifying and standardizing personnel and compensation. Collectively, they make it pos- sible to determine the number and location of organization divisions of any particular kind, as, for example, laboratories, libraries, blue-print rooms, or any other kind of plant pos- sessed by the national government, to what services they are ^ House Doc. 458, 62d. Congress, 2nd Session, 1912 — 2 vols. 67 68 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION attached and where they are located, or to determine what ser- vices are maintaining stations at any city or point in the United States. The Institute hopes that upon the completion of the present series, it will be able to prepare a complete classified statement of the technical and other facilities at the disposal of the government. The present monographs will then furnish the details regarding the organization, equipment, and work of the institutions so listed and classified. OUTLINE OF ORGANIZATION ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Organization Units: Classes of Employes April I, 1921 Annual Number Salary 1. President of the United States 2. Secretary of the Interior Office of Washington Representative Senior Clerk Clerk Clerk 2 3. Alaskan Engineering Commission Proper I. General Administrative Offices ^ Chairman and Chief Engineer Assistant Chief Engineer I. Office of Chief Clerk Chief Clerk Special Inspector Estimator Clerk Stenographer Assistant Engineer and Inspector of Construction Janitor and Mail Clerk 2. Photographer's Office Official Photographer 3. Telegraph and Telephone Department Superintendent Assistant Superintendent Accountant Rate 2,340 1,500 1,320 15.000 7.500 3,600 2,700 2,400 2,400 2,400 1,800 1,320 3,000 1,620 2,400 3,600 2,700 2,280 2 Detailed to Chief Clerk's office of the department, Miscellaneous divi- sion. 2 The administrative stafif of the southern division is merged with the General Administrative StafiF. OUTLINE OF ORGANIZATION 69 Clerk Chief Electrician Radio Electrician Foreman Chief Telegraph Operator Operator in Charge Telephone and Telegraph Operator Telegraph Operator 2. Southern Division I. Transportation Department Trainmaster Dispatcher Station Agent Clerk Warehouseman Checker Cold Storage Operator Mail Clerk Mail Carrier 2. Mechanical Department Master Mechanic Traveling Engineer Accountant Clerk Draftsman General Foreman Foreman Machine Shops Foreman Foreman Car Repair Car Inspector Hostler 3. Dock Department Receiving and Forwarding Agent Commercial Freight Agent Clerk Timekeeper Foreman Checker Wharfinger 4. Townsite Department 2,100 1,980 3,000 2,220 2,700 2,460 2,400 2,280 2,280 1,980 1,920 3,600 3,000 2,160 1,980 1,800 2,100 1,860 1,680 1,860 1,680 2,160 2,700 2,400 1,650 3,600 3,000 3,060 2,700 1,680 1,500 2,280 2,700 2,860 2,400 2,700 2,220 1,920 2,700 2,340 2,160 1,920 2,160 2,340 2,160 2,160 1,980 2,220 70 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION 7- 8. 10. Acting Manager I 2,i6o Stenographer I 2,040 Clerk I 1,800 Fire Chief i 2,280 Foreman i 2,160 Drafting Department Chief Draftsman I 3,000 Draftsman i 2,700 Hospital Department Chief Surgeon i 4,200 Surgeon I 2,400 Assistant Surgeon I 3,000 " " 4 2,160 Surgeon Assistant i 1,980 Field Surgeon i 3,000 Steward i 2,700 Matron I 2,160 Nurse 3 1,860 a J 1,440 Accountant i 2,400 Clerk I 1,800 Disbursing Office Special Disbursing Agent I 3,600 Timekeeper I 3,000 a J 2,160 Clerk I 1,740 " T 1,500 « J 1,380 Labor Department Employment Clerk I 2,700 Clerk I 2,400 2 1,800 Mail Carrier i 1,800 Mining Department Supervisor of Coal Mining I 9,000 Accountant I 2,580 Storekeeper i 2,220 Clerk 3 2,040 Stenographer I 1,800 Assistant Engineer I 3,000 Mine Surveyor 2 2,700 Instrumentman I 2,100 Mine Foreman I 3.240 1( i< y 3,000 Foreman I 2,340 " T 2,100 Shift Boss 3 3,000 Carpenter Foreman 2 2,700 Warehouseman I 1,800 Maintenance and Construction Engineer Maintenance and Construction and Maintenance of Way i 5,000 OUTLINE OF ORGANIZATION 71 Assistant Bridge Engineer I 3,600 Bridge Draftsman I 3,000 Superintendents of Construction 2 4,200 Assistant Superintendent of Con - struction I 2,700 Assistant Engineer 2 3,300 Resident Engineer 5 2,700 a ti I 2,520 « « 2 2,460 « « I 2,280 Estimator I 2,580 Instrumentman 10 2,100 iC I 1,860 << I 1,800 Rodman I 1,740 Chainman I 1,620 (( I 1,440 Chief Clerk I 2,700 Camp Auditor I 2,400 Clerk 2 2,400 it I 2,280 ederick Alears to service in connection with proposed Alaskan railroad. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to detail and require Lieutenant Frederick Mears, United States Army, to perform service in connection with the location and construction of the railroad or railroads in the Territory of Alaska, provided for in Act of Congress approved March twelfth, nineteen hundred and fourteen. 1914 — Act of October 20, 1914 (38 Stat. L., 744) — An Act To provide for the leasing of coal lands in the Ter- ritory of Alaska, and for other purposes. All net profits from operation of Government mines, and all royalties and rentals under leases as herein provided, shall be de- posited in the Treasury of the United States in a separate and distinct fund to be applied to the reimbursement of the Government of the United States on account of any expenditures made in the construction of railroads in Alaska, and the excess shall be de- posited in the fund known as The Alaska Fund, established by the A.ct of Congress of January twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred and five, to be expended as provided in said last-mentioned Act. 1915 — Act of March 4, 1915 (38 Stat. L., 1148) — An Act Making appropriations to supply deficiencies in ap- propriations for the fiscal year nineteen hundred and fifteen and for prior years, and for other purposes. 88 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Alaska Engineering Commission : In the execution of the work called for under the Act of March twelfth, nineteen hundred and fourteen, entitled "An Act to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct, and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes," authority is hereby granted to pur- chase, until the end of the fiscal year nineteen hundred and sixteen, from the appropriations made therefor articles and supplies for sale to employees, the appropriation to be reimbursed by the proceeds of such sales. ^ 1916 — Act of July I, 1916 (39 Stat. L., 306) — An Act Mak- ing appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thir- tieth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and for other purposes : During the fiscal year nineteen hundred and seventeen there shall be covered into the appropriation established from time to time under the Act approved March twelfth, nineteen hundred and four- teen, entitled, "An Act to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct, and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes," the proceeds of the sale of material utilized for temporary work and structures in connection with the operations under said Act, as well as the sales of all other condemned property which has been purchased or constructed under the provisions thereof, also any moneys refunded in connection with the construction and operations under said Act, and a report hereunder shall be made to Congress at the beginning of its next session.^ Authority is granted to pay to Old Bettis, a native of Nenana, Alaska, the sum of $343.50, out of the appropriation for the Alaska Engineering Commission in compensation for a cabin with its con- tents consisting of traps, guns, clothing, and other articles, which were burned as a result of a fire running from a smudge set by parties of the Alaskan Engineering Commission during the summer of nineteen hundred and fourteen. 1916 — Act of September 7, ,1916 (39 Stat. L., 750) — An Act To provide compensation for employees of the United States suffering injuries while in the per- formance of their duties, and for other purposes. { 1 This clause has been included in all subsequent appropriation acts. LAWS 89 Sec. 42. That the President may, from time to time, transfer the administration of this Act ... so far as employees of the Alas- kan Engineering Commission are concerned to the Chairman of that commission, in which cases the words "commission" and "its" wherever they appear in this Act shall, so far as necessary to give ciTect to such transfer, he read . . . "chairman of the Alaskan Engineering Commission," . . . and "his"; and the expenses of med- ical examinations under sections twenty-one and twenty-two, and the reasonable traveling and other expenses and loss of wages payable to employees under section twenty-one, shall be paid out of appro- priations . . . for the Alaskan Engineering Commission instead of out of the appropriation for the work of the commission. . . . The President may authorize the chairman of the Alaskan Engi- neering Commission to pay the compensation provided by this Act, including the medical, surgical, and hospital services and supplies provided by section nine and the transportation and burial expenses provided by sections nine and eleven, out of the appropriations for . . . the Alaskan Engineering Commission, such appropriations to be reimbursed for such payments by transfer of funds from the employees' compensation fund. 1917 — Act of April 17, 1917 (40 Stat. L., 19) — An Act Making appropriations to supply deficiencies in ap- priations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 19 17, and prior fiscal years, and for other purposes. '\- ^ ^ That until June 30, 1918. not to exceed 50 per centum of the moneys received from the sale of lots or tracts within any town site or townsites heretofore or hereafter sold pursuant to the pro- visions of the act of March 12, 1914, entitled "An Act to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct, and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes," may, in the discretion of the Secreary of the Interior, be set apart and expended within the respective townsites in which such lots or tracts are sold, for the purpose of preparing the land for occupancy, the construction, installation, and maintenance of public utilities and improvements, and the construction of public-school buildings, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe, and the moneys so set apart and designated are appropriated for the purpose of carrying these provisions into effect; Provided, That such moneys as may have been heretofore or may hereafter be expended for such purposes under and by autliority of the Alaskan Engineering Commission from the funds at its disposal shall be reimbursed from the amount designated for the purposes herein provided : Provided, further, That a report of the expendi- tures hereunder shall be made to Congress at tlie beginning of each regular session. 1920 — Act of May 29, 1920 (41 Stat. L., 689) — An Act 90 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921, and for other purposes. That all civilian employees of the Governments of the United States and the District of Columbia who receive a total of compensa- tion at the rate of $2500 per annum or less . . . shall receive during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921, additional compensation at the rate of $240 per annum. The provisions of this section shall not apply to ... emploj'ees of the Alaskan Engineering Commission.- (C) Important Executive Orders and Letters 1914 — Letter of May 2, 1914 — President to Secretary of the Interior. Pursuant to the provisions of the act approved March 12. 1914, providing for the construction and operation of railroads in the Territory of Alaska. I hereby direct you to proceed with the survey- ing of routes for said railroads and confer upon you the power and authority to do any and all acts necessary thereto. 19 14 — Letter of May 8, 19 14 — Secretary of the Interior to Alaskan Engineering Commission. Agreeable to the wishes of the President, and by his direction, I take this occasion to formally authorize the Alaskan Engineering Commission to select and appoint its assistants for the work in hand, to purchase the necessary supplies and equipment, to order travel and subsistence for all employees of the commission, and to proceed to the field at the earliest practicable date. I desire that a record of appointments or employments made by the com- mission be furnished this office, in order that a complete service record may be maintained here. 1915 — Executive Order of April 10, 1915. By authority of an act entitled "An act to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct, and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes" (38 Stat., 305), I do now designate and cause to be located the following routes for lines of railroad in the Territory of Alaska: For a main line of railroad: 2 This clause, excluding employees of the Commission from benefit of the "additional compensation," appears in two previous appro- priation acts also (40 Stat. L., 814, 1267). LAWS 91 Commencing at the town of Seward, on the westerly shore of Resurrection Bay, Alaska ; thence following along said westerly shore in a northerly direction to the head of said bay ; thence following up the drainage of Salmon Creek to a summit between said drain- age and the drainage of Snow River; thence following the drainage of Snow River to Kcnai Lake ; thence continuing northerly along the easterly shore of Kenai Lake, along Falls Creek, along the shores of Lower and Upper Trail Lake, and up Trail Creek to a summit in the Kenai Mountains near mile 45 from Seward ; thence descending along the drainage of Placer River to the head of Turn- again Arm of Cook Inlet ; thence following the northeasterly shore of said Turnagain Arm and crossing Portage Creek and Twenty- Mile River to the mouth of Kern Creek near mile 71 from Seward; thence in a northwesterly direction along the shore of Turnagain Arm to near the mouth of Big Rabbit Creek; thence leaving Turn- again Arm and running northerly to a summit in section 26, town- ship 14, north range 3 west, Seward meridian ; thence running north- easterly to near the head of Knik Arm of Cook Inlet ; thence run- ning northerl)- across the flats at the head of said arm and crossing Knik and Matanuska Rivers to a point ;'i>out 2 miles north of the Matanuska River ; thence running in a westerly and northwesterly direction, crossing the Little Susitna River and following along the southwesterly slopes of Bald Mountain to Willow Creek, a tributary of the Susitna River ; thence in a northerly direction following the drainage of the Susitna and Chulitna Rivers to Broad Pass, situated in the main Alaska Range of mountains; thence crossing Broad Pass and entering the drainage of the Nenana River; thence continuing northward following the drainage of the Nenana River to the Tanana River, the total distance from Seward being 416 miles, more or less. Also starting from a point on the above-described line, situated 2 miles, more or less, northerly from where said line crosses the Matanuska River, and thence running in an easterly direction fol- lowing the drainage of said Matanuska River and its tributaries, a distance of 38 miles, more or less, to the IMatanuska coal fields. And in order to complete the construction of the lines so designated and located, I direct the Secretary of the Interior to purchase and acquire the line of railroad known as the Alaska Northern Railway, and for that purpose to execute and enter into an agreement sub- stantially in the form hereto annexed, which calls for the payment of a purchase price not in excess of the physical value of said railway. Effective this date. April 10, 1915. 19 1 5 — Letter of April 10, 191 5 — President to Secretary of the Interior. Pursuant to the provisions of the act of March 12, 1914, providing for the construction of railroads in the Territory of Alaska, I direct you to proceed with the construction of the routes now located, and I confer upon you the power and authority to do any and all acts necessary thereto. 92 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION This work will, under your supervision, be carried on by the Alaskan Engineering Commission. The commission is henceforth charged with (the general duty of preparing and adopting plans for construction), with (the employ- ment of such force as may be from time to time necessary), and with (the making of all contracts for the purchase of the necessary supplies and plant for this work). For the proper prosecution of the work you will designate one of the members of the commission its chairman, who shall be in imme- diate charge of the work in Alaska and have power of approval or disapproval of all administrative matters connected with the work in Alaska. He shall organize the work into such departments as seem advisable. Each department shall perform such duties as may from time to time be assigned to it by the chairman. Among such departments shall be a department of construction and engineering, which may be subdivided into divisions in the discretion of the chair- man, who will also be the chief engineer. The heads of the several departments shall be appointed by and report to the chairman, and their salaries, except where such heads of departments are members of the commission, shall be fixed by him, subject to the disapproval of the commission as a whole. Officers and employees in the several departments shall be appointed and their salaries primarily fixed by the head of the department by which they are engaged, after consul- tation with the chairman and subject to the disapproval of the com- mission. Contracts for the purchase of supplies shall be made only after public advertisement in one or more newspapers of general circula- tion in the district where such supplies may, in the judgment of the chairman, best be purchasd, and shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, excepting in cases of emergency, when, with the consent or approval of the Secretary of the Interior, advertising may be dispensed with. In rnaking contracts for construction work, so far as may be, competitive bids shall be secured by invitation or advertisement when practicable. So far as the work may be carried on by the letting of contracts to station men, competitive bids shall be secured by invitation on the ground where the work is to be carried on, but in such manner that the work of construction as a whole may be expedited. The head of each department shall make a report of the work and operation of his department to the chairman of the commission as often as may be required. The Secretary of the Interior shall make to the President a report, at least annually, and as often as he may deem advisable or the President may require. The chaiman of the commission shall make a report to the Sec- retary of the Interior, setting forth the results accomplished by each department of the work, as often as he may deem advisable or the Secretary may require. The members of the commission shall proceed to the Territory of Alaska and remain there at least until October i, except when on leave of absence, which will be granted to the members of the com- mission by the chairman, and to the chairman by the Secretary of LAWS 93 the Interior. In case of absence from the Territory, the chairman will designate a member of the commission to act in his stead. If there shall be any machinery, equipment, instruments, material or other property of any sort required in connection witli the con- struction of the Isthmian Canal which is desired by the Alaskan Engineering Commission for use in the construction of the routes designated in Alaska, tlie Alaskan Engineering Commission will, by its chairman or any members, request the same from the governor of the Isthmian Canal, and he will, so far as and as rapidly as the same is no longer needed at Panama, deliver said property to such officers or persons as the Alaskan Engineering Commission by its chairman or a member may designate. Under the contract which I have authorized for the purchase of the Alaska Northern Railway you will, on being advised by counsel to the commission as to the title to be acquired, give the notices therein required, make the initial payment, and take over control of the railway and, so far as may be advisable, use the same in the construction work. So far as it may be become necessary to spend moneys upon tlie Alaska Northern Railway for construction, you will advance such moneys to the railway from the funds appropriated under the act of March 12, 1914. The immediate conduct of the affairs of the railway will be in the hands of the commission, and the chairman of the commission may become president of the rail- way. The commission will cooperate with the duly constituted author- ities of Alaska in the preservation of law and order during the work of construction. I charge the commission particularly with the preparation and maintenance of such arrangements as may be required for the health of the men engaged in the work of construction and I instruct you to prepare and adopt a proper system of compensation for accidents which may occur on the work, in general on the lines of the system fww in force in the construction of the Isthmian Canal, but such system shall be so framed that its benefits will be applicable not only to those who are directly in the service of the commission upon salary, but also to those who may, by contract with the com- mission, be actually engaged in the work of construction in Alaska. Effective this date, April 10, 19 15. 1915 — Letter of April 30, 1915 — President to Secretary of the Interior. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the act of Congress approved March 12, 1914, entitled "An act to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct, and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes," I hereby direct that (all work of the Alaskan Engineering Commission under all orders made by me and the carrying out of all contracts entered into by my direction under authority of said act, be performed under the supervision and control of the Department of the Interior, as directed by the head thereof, in all respects and to all intents and purposes the same as if said work had been placed by law under 94 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION tlie jurisdiction and control of the Department of the Interior.) I also direct that contracts for the purchase of supplies by the Alaskan Engineering Commission shall be made after advertisement in such manner as shall best serve the interests of the Government, in the district of Alaska, or otherwise, where such supplies may, in the judgment of the chairman of the commission, best be purchased and shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. Except so far as they are inconsistent with and changed by this order, I direct that the Executive orders of April lo, 191 5, continue in force. April 30, 1915. 1915 — Executive Order of June 19, 1915. Under and pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 12, 1914 (38 Stat., 305), entitled "An act to author- ize the President of the United States to locate, construct, and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes," it is hereby ordered that the administration of that portion of said act relating to the withdrawal, location, and disposition of town sites shall be in accordance with the following regulations and pro- visions, to wit : REGULATIONS, Reservations. — The Alaskan Engineering Commission will file with the Secretary of the Interior, when deemed necessary, its recom- mendations for the reservation of such areas as in its opinion may be needed for townsite purposes. The Secretary of the Interior will thereupon transmit such recommendations to the President with his objections thereto or concurrence therewith. If approved by the President, the reservation will be made by Executive order. Survey. — When in the opinion of the President the public interests require a survey of any such reservation, the Secretary of the In- terior shall cause to be set aside such portions for railroad purposes as may be selected by the Alaskan Engineering Commission, and cause the remainder, or a part thereof, to be surveyed into urban or suburban blocks and lots of suitable size, and into reservations for parks, schools, and other public purposes and for Government use. Highways should be laid out, where practicable, all along shore lines, and sufficient land for dock and wharf purposes along such shore lines should be reserved in such places as there is any apparent necessity therefor. The plats of such survey will be prepared in triplicate, one for the General Land Office to be on tracing linen, one for the local land office, and one for the recorder of the proper recording district. The survey will be made under the supervision of the Commissioner of the General Land Office and the plats will be approved by him and by the chairman of the Alaskan Engineer- ing Commission. Public sale. — The unreserved lots will be offered at public outcry to the highest bidder at such time and place and after such publica- tion of notice, if any, as the Secretary of the Interior may direct, and he may appoint or detail some suitable person as superintendent LAWS 95 of the sale to supervise the same and may fix his compensation and require him to give sufficient bond. Superintendent's authority. — Under tlie supervision of the Sec- retary of the Interior, the superintendent of tlie sale will be, and he is hereby authorized to make all appraisements of lots and at any time to reappraise any lot which in his judgment is not ap- praised at the proper amount or to fix a minimum price for any lot below which it may not be sold, and he may reject any and all bids for any lot and at any time suspend, adjourn, or postpone the sale of any lot or lots to such time and place as he may deem proper. Manner. — Bids may be made either in person or by agent, but not by mail nor at any time or place other than the time and place when the lots are offered for sale hereunder, and any person may purchase any number of lots for which he is the highest bidder. Bidders will not be required to show any qualifications as to age, citizenship, or otherwise. If any successful Ijiddcr fails to make the payment and file the application and other papers at the time and in the manner hereinafter required, the lot awarded to him may be reoffered for sale, and his right thereto will be forfeited. Noth- ing herein will prevent the transfer by deed of the interests secured by the purchase and the partial payment for the lot, but the assignee will acquire no greater right than that of the original purchaser, and the final entry and patent will issue to the original purchaser when all payments are made. No lot will be sold for less than $25, and no bid exceeding that amount will be accepted unless made in multiples of $5; the minimum of $25 on each lot sold for less than $75 must be paid in cash within the time hereinafter specified, and if the price bid is $75 or more one-third of the bid price must be paid in cash within said specified time; the remainder of the purchase price will be divided into five equal annual installments, payable in one, two, three, four, and five years, respectively, from the date of the register's certificate of sale, and no final certificate of entry will be issued until the expi- ration of said five years and until payment has been made in full for the lot, and no patent will be issued thereon during said period. The successful bidder will be given by the superintendent of sale a memorandum certificate for identification purposes, showing name and address of bidder, lot, and the amount of bid, and the bidder must file it with the superintendent of sale before the close of the next succeeding sale day, or the next business day if bid is accepted on last sale day, together with his application to purchase the lot properly filled, signed, and acknowedged before any officer author- ized to administer oaths and using an official seal, and accompanied by the cash payment required by these regulations, all on the forms attached hereto respectively, and hereby approved and made a part of these regulations. The superintendent of sale will issue a memorandum receipt to the bidder for the money paid, describing the lot purchased, and he will as soon thereafter as possible deposit with the receiver of the proper local land office the money received, and file with its officers the papers deposited with him by said bidder, together with his 96 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION certificate as to successful bidder. Thereupon, if no objection appears, the register will issue his certilicate of sale in duplicate and transmit the duplicate copy to said bidder. If it be deemed advisable, the Commissioner of the General Land Office may direct the receiver of public moneys of the proper district to attend sales herein provided for, in which event the cash payment required shall be paid to said receiver who will issue his official receipt therefor in lieu of the memorandum receipt of the superintendent of sale. Conditions and forfeitures. — If any lot or lots sold or any part thereof shall be used for the purpose of manufacturing, selling, or otherwise disposing of intoxicating liquors as a beverage or for gambling, prostitution, or any unlawful purpose before final pay- ment is made and during a period of five years from the date of register's certificate of sale, or if the purchaser shall fail during said period to comply with any and all regulations and requirements which the Secretary of the Interior, in his discretion, may make or authorize to be made for the improvement of streets, sidewalks, and alleys, promotion of sanitation and fire protection in the town site, all rights of the applicant under his purchase of said lot or lots shall terminate and a forfeiture thereof and of the payments theretofore made thereon may be declared by the Secretary of the Interior, and his finding of fact thereon shall be final. If any person who has made partial payment on the lot purchased by him fails to make any succeeding payment required under these regula- tions at the date such payments become due, the money deposited by such person for such lot will be forfeited and the lot, after forfeiture is declared, will be subject to disposition as provided herein. Lots remaining unsold at the close of sale, or thereafter declared forfeited for nonpayment of any part of the purchase price under the terms of the sale, will be subject to future disposition at public sale at such time and place as may thereafter be provided. Warning. — All persons are warned against forming any combina- tion or agreement which will prevent any lot from selling advan- tageousy, or which will in any way hinder or embarrass the sale, and all persons so offending will be prosecuted under section 2373 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, which reads as follows : Every person who, before or at the time of the public sale of any of the lands of the United States, bargains, contracts, or agrees, or attempts to bargain, contract, or agree, with any other person, that the last-named person shall not bid upon or purchase the land so offered for sale, or any parcel thereof, or who by in- timidation or unfair management hinders or prevents, or attempts to hinder or prevent, any person from bidding upon or purchasing any tract of and so offered for sale, shall be fined not more than $1000 or imprisonment not more than two years, or both.^ ^ In addition to the above, a number of Executive Orders have been issued from time to time relating to medical treatment of employees, administration of a system of workmens' compensation, withdrawal of land for townsite purposes, etc. APPENDIX 5 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Explanatory Note Statements showing appropriations, receipts, expenditures and other financial data for a series of years constitute the most effective single means of exhibiting the growth and development of a service. Due to the fact that Congress has adopted no uniform plan of appropriations for the several ser- vices and that the latter employ no uniform plan in respect to the recording and reporting of their receipts and expendi- tures, it is impossible to represent data of this character ac- cording to any standard scheme of presentation. In the case of some services the administrative reports contain tables showing financial conditions and operations of the service in considerable detail; in others financial data are almost wholly lacking. Careful study has in all cases been made of such data as are available, and the effort has been made to present the results in such a form as will exhibit the financial opera- tions of the service in the most effective way that circum- stances permit. Appropriations to the Alaskan Engineering Commission are made under the Act of March 12, 19 14 (38 Stat. L., 305), authorizing the construction of the Alaskan Railroad and under the provisions of the subsequent amendments (41 Stat. L., 293). In the following table they are listed as of the year they are made. In all cases appropriations are available until expended. The figures showing costs apply equally to the disbursements of the Commission, with the exception of $329,426.68, the cost of equipment transferred from Panama, and $422,879.18, depreciation costs, a total of $772,305.86, which amounts arise from book charges only not requiring dis- bursements of funds, 97 98 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Alaskan Engineering Commission * Appropriations to March 4, 1921 Year Made Construction and Operation of Railroads in Alaska 1914 $1,000,000.00 1915 2,000,000.00 1916 8,247,620.00 1 1917 14,500,000.00 1918 5,250,000.00 1919 10,002,380.00 1920 7,000,000.00 * 1921 4,000,000.00 $52,000,000.00 * Data from Digest of Appropriations. a Sundry Civil Appropriation Act, March 4, 1921. Expenditures * United SUtes Government Alaska Railroad; Showing Total Cost to October 31, 1920, and Estimated Total Cost on Completion Object Total Cost to October 31, 1920 Estimated Cost to Complete Estimated Total Cost a$29,s89.io7.69 2,327.926.99 t>3. 1 13.134.58 573.610.55 2,538,456.93 425,576.29 5,961.00 $10,337,530.82 $39,926,638.51 2,327,926.99 201,021.00 208,576.44 3,777,910.68 3,314.155-58 Headquarters and General Maintenance and Operation Preliminary Surveys 1914-15.... Examinations Controller Bay . . . Coal Mine Improvements Saw Mills and Gravel Pits Materials and Supplies on Hand. Miscellaneous Physical Property.. Accounts Receivable and Sundries 782,186.99 6,316,367.61 425,576.29 5,961.00 472,000.00 472,000.00 112,704.43 3,352,434.16 769,962.73 69,728.5s I 12,704.43 C2,3S2, 434.16 1,000,000.00 769,962.73 069,728.55 $12,574,876.23 Totals $42,878,603.90 $55,453,480.13 * Data from House Hearings 1920, and Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill for 1922, t)3Grc 1026. a Includes $1,157,839.49, cost of purchase of Alaska Northern Railroad, and $457,532.12, cost of purchase and rehabilitation of the Tanana Valley Railroad. b Includes cost of equipment transferred from Panama amounting to $329,426.68. c Decrease. APPENDIX 6 BIBLIOGRAHY ^ Explanatory Note The bibliographies appended to the several monographs aim to list only those works which deal directly with the services to which they relate, their history, activities, organ- ization, methods of business, problems, etc. They are in- tended primarily to meet the needs of those persons who desire to make a further study of the services from an admin- istrative standpoint. They thus do not include the titles of publications of the services themselves, except in so far as they treat of the services, their work and problems. Nor do they include books or articles dealing merely with technical fea- tures other than administrative of the work of the services. In a few cases explanatory notes have been appended where it was thought they would aid in making known the character or value of the publication to which they relate. After the completion of the series the bibliographies may be assembled and separately published as a bibliography of the Administrative Branch of the National Government. ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Bibliographies U. S. Alaska raihroad commission. Publications relating to transportation and railway routes in Alaska. (In its Rail- way routes in Alaska. Washington, 1913. p. 167-72.) ["The Commission . . . made use of a large number of reports, articles, and maps relating to the resources, commerce, climate and population of Alaska, as well as those dealing more specifically with the different railway routes. The above list presents the most important of these."] 1 Compiled by M. Alice Matthews. 99 lOo ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Superintendent of documents. Alaska; list of public documents for sale by the superintendent of documents, Washington, D. C. [Washington, Govt, print, off.] 1916. 32 p. (Price list 60-26. ed.) Alaska ; list of publications relating to above sub- ject for sale by superintendent of documents, Washington, D. C. [Washington, Govt, print, off.] 1917. 28 p. (Price list 6o-3d ed.) United States public documents relating to non- contiguous territory and to Cuba. For sale by the super- intendent of documents, Washington, D. C. Washington, Govt, print, off. [1910] io2p. (Price list 32) Official Publications Alaska (Ter.) Governor. Reports of the Governor . . . 1885 — Washington, Govt, print, off., 1885 — [Nearly all of these reports have paragraphs or chapters dealing with transportation problems in Alaska] Brooks, Alfred H. Railway routes from the Pacific seaboard to Fairbanks. (In U. S. Geological survey. Bulletin 520. Washington, 1912. p. 45-88) [Includes description of government publications and records re- lating to railway routes] Transportation [in Alaska] {In U. S. Geological survey- Bulletin no. 284, p. 10-17; "O- 379' P- 23-6; no. 442, p. 23-31 ; no. 480, p 23-4) The first article is entitled "Railway Routes." Data relating to Alaska. Information relating to the com- mercial and productive importance of . , . Alaska . . . from the time of its purchase from Russia in 1867. Wash- ington, Govt, print, off., 19 12. 19 p. 62d Cong., 2d sess. Senate. Doc. no. 882) Serial 6178. Edes, William C. Construction of railroads in Alaska. Statement of Mr. William C. Edes, chairman Alaskan engi- neering commission, accompanied by Mr. Lee R. Wilson. BIBLIOGRAPHY loi (In U. S. Congress. House. Committee on appropriations. Further urgent deficiency bill, 1916. Hearing . . . Wash- ington, 19 16. p. 131-62) [Asking an emergency appropriation of $2,000,000 for railroad construction work in Alaska] Fisher, Walter L- Alaskan coal problems, by Walter L. Fisher, Secretary of the interior. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1912. 32 p. (U. S. Bureau of mines. Bulletin 36) ["The accompanying address, in slightly different form, was de- livered before the American Mining Congress at Chicago. 111. on Oct. 27, 191 1. It embodies, in addition to the results of the Sec- retary's personal examinations in Alaska, results of investiga- tions conducted by the director and certain engineers of the Bureau of Mines during the summer of 191 1, and of more extensive investigations, covering several years, made by geologists of the Alaska Division of the United States Geological Survey."] Lane, Franklin K. Alaskan railroad. Statement of Hon. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the interior. (In U. S. Congress. House. Coiiiniittee on appropriations. Further urgent deficiency bill, 19 16. Hearing . . . Washington, 1916. p. 162-7) Richardson, W. P. Railroad construction in Alaska. Letter from the Secretary of war transmitting a memorandum prepared by Maj. W. P. Richardson . . . president of the Board of road commissioners of Alaska, containing data and recommendation relative to railroad construction in the district of Alaska. [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1906] 8 p. (59th Cong., 1st sess. Senate. Doc. no. 167) Serial 4912. U. S. Alaska railroad commission. Railway routes in Alaska. Message from the President of the United States transmit- ting report of Alaska railroad commission . . . Washing- ton [Govt, print, off.] 1913. 172 p. fold. maps. (62d Cong., 3d sess. House. Doc. 1346) Serial 6484-5. "Message" is pub. also separately (with same document number) as "Transportation in Alaska." Alaskan engineering commission, Alaska railroad 102 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION record, v.l- Nov. 14, 19 16- Anchorage, 19 16- [Official publication of the Alaskan engineering commission. "The purpose of the Alaska railroad record is to furnish each week in a concise form current information concerning the operation and construction of the Government railway system in Alaska."] Alaskan engineering commission . . . Reports 1914-15 — Washington, Gov. print, off., 1916- [The Alaskan Engineering Commission, appointed to investigate the available routes for the government railroads of Alaska, was directed by President Wilson to work under the Department of the Interior. The first report, issued as House Doc. 610, pt. 2, 64th Cong., I St sess., includes general information on climate and mineral resources of the routes surveyed from the coast to interior, text of Railroad Act, etc.] Congress. House of representatives. Alaskan rail- road bill. Debate on H. R. 1739 to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct and operate rail- roads in the Territory of Alaska. Dec. 17, 19 13, Jan. 21, 28, and Feb. 5 and 18, 19 14. {In Congressional record for dates mentioned) Speeches of Representatives Brum- baugh, Scott, Curry, Switzer, Anderson, Lenroot, Ansberry, La Follette, Reilly, Saunders and others. [At the close of the debate of Feb. 18, 1914, the bill authorizing the government railroad for Alaska was passed by a vote of 231 to 107] U. S. Congress. Conference committees, ipi^-14. Rail- roads in Alaska. Mar. 4 [and 5] 1914. Conference re- port. To accompany S. 48. [Washington, Govt, print- off., 19 14] 6 p. (63d Cong. 2d sess. House. Rept. no. 337) Serial 6558. Issued also as House report no. 341. Committee on public lands- Government rail- road in Alaska. Hearing ... on S. 4844, bill to provide for the construction and operation of a railroad in Alaska and for other purposes . . . [May 22, 191 2] Washing- ton, Govt, print, off., 1912. 39 p. Hearings . . . Jan. 27 and 30, 191 1, on H. R. 32080. To provide for the leasing of coal lands in BIBLIOGRAPHY 103 the district of Alaska and for other purposes. Washing- ton, Govt, print, off., 191 1. 99 p. Committee on the tcr^ritories. The Alaska cen- tral railway. [Hearing, Jan. 26, 1909. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1909] 3 p. Statement of Charles J. Kappler. Alaska coal lands. Hearinsfs ... on 'b- Alaska coal lands, no. 1-7. Feb. 3-19, 1913. Washing- ton, Govt, print, off., 1913. 7 pam. The Alaska northern railway. Hearing . . . on H. R. 27017, a bill to extend the time for the com- pletion of the Alaska northern railway, and for other pur- poses. Statements of George H. Patrick and W. J. Boland, Jan. 20, 1913. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1913. 29 p. Alaska northern railroad. Hearing . . . on the extension of time for completion of the Alaska north- ern railroad. Statement ... by Mr. George H. Patrick, Feb. 5, 1913. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1913. 27 p. Alaska northern railroad. Hearings . . . on H. R. 27017 and H. R. 28731, extension of time for completion of the Alaska northern railroad. Statements of Hon. Walter L. Fisher, Hon. James Wickersham, Mr. W. J. Boland, and Mr. George H. Patrick, Feb. 4 and 13, 1913. Washington, Govt, print, off., 191 3. p. 29-44. The Alaska Pacific railway and terminal company. [Hearing] H. R. 12905 and S. 4351. March 2 and 3, 1908. Sixtieth Congress. First session. Wash- ington, Govt, print, off., 1908. 23 p. The Alaska Pacific railway and terminal company [Hearing on] H. R. 25553. January 12, 14, and 26, 1909 . . . Washington, Govt, print, off., 1909. 81 p. U. S. Congress. House. Committee on the territories. Alaska short line railroad in Alaska. Statements of ]\lr. R. S. Ryan, Mr. Arnold Scheuer, and Hon. James Wicker- sham, April I, 1910. Washington, Go\i:. print, off., 1910. 12 p. I04 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION The building of railroads in Alaska. Hearings ... on bills H. R. 1739, H. R. 1806 and H. R. 2145 . . . July 9 — [Sept. 20, 191 3] Washington, Govt, print, off., 19 1 3. 9 pts. Statements of James Wickersham, Falcon Joslin, John E. Ballaine, Richard S. Ryan, D. A. M'Kenzie and George H. Patrick. The building; of railroads in Alaska. Hearings ... on bills H. R. 1739, H. R. 1806, and H. R. 2145. Report of Clement Brumbaugh, Sept. 25, 1913 . . . Washington, Govt, print, off., 19 13. 7 p. Relates to the coal fields of Alaska. The building: of railroads in Alaska. "t> Hearings ... on bills H. R. 1739, H. R. 1806 and H. R. 2145. Report of C. F. Curry, Sept. 24, 1913. Washing- ton, Govt, print, off., 1913. 24 p. The building of railroads in Alaska. Hearings ... on bills H. R. 1739, H. R. 1806 and H. R. 2145. Report of Frank E. Guernsey. Nov. i, 1913 . . . Washington, Govt, print, off., 1913. 10 p. Construction of Alaska railroad. Hear- ings . . . on H. R. 7417, authorizing the appropriation of the sum of $17,000,000 in addition to the sum of $35,000,000 heretofore authorized . . . for the construc- tion of a railroad in Alaska between Seward and Fairbanks . . . July 23, 24, 25, and 31, 1919. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1919. 201 p. Construction of Alaskan railroad . . . Report to accompany H. R. 7417. [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1919] 6 p. (66th Cong., ist sess. House. Rept. 231.) Serial 7593. — Construction of railroads in Alaska . . . Report and minority views. To accompany H. R. 1739. [Washington, Govt, print, off.,. 1913] 19, 6 p. fold, charts. (63d Cong., ist sess. House, Rept. 92) Serial 6513- BIBLIOGRAPHY 105 Pt. 2, "Minority views" (6 p.) submitted by Messrs. Ferris and Davenport, ordered printed December 9, 19 13. Construction of railroads in Alaska. Jan. 31, 1914. Report to accompany S. 48. [Washing- ton, Govt, print, off., 1914] 3 p. (63d Cong., 2d sess. House. Rept. no. 204) Serial 6558. The Copper River and northwestern rail- way in Alaska. Statements of Mr. Frank A. Law, attor- ney at law, Washington, D. C, Mr. John N. Steele, attor- ney at law. New York City. February 10, 15, 16, and 21, 191 1. Washington, Govt, print, oft"., 1911. 68 p. Hearings on Senate bill 6136, an act to relieve the Copper River and Northwestern Railway Co. in Alaska from taxa- tion. U. S. Congress. House. Committee on the territories. Government railroads in Alaska. Hearings, May 22, 19 12. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1912. 39 p. Hearinofs before a sub-committee of the 'fe'^ Committee on the territories ... on transportation in Alaska. Statement of Hon. W. L. Fisher, Secretary of the interior, June 17, 19 12. Washington, Govt, print, off. 1912. 27 p. Hearings ... on H. 9770. "To levy and collect an income tax on railroads in Alaska and for other purposes." Parts i and 2. March 13 and 17, 1914. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1914. 31, 10 p. Hearings ... on S. 2534, an act to ex- tend the time for the completion of the Alaska northern railway, and for other purposes. Statements of George H. Patrick, esq., of Washington, D. C, and W. J. Boland, esq., of Toronto, Canada [Dec. 9, 1911] Washington, Govt, print, oft'., 19 12. 13 p. Hearing's ... on conditions in Alaska *b" . . . Jan. 16 [Feb. 27] 1912. Washington, Govt, print. off., 1912. 169 p. Statements of Bishop Peter T. Rowe, Hon. Walter E. io6 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Clark, Col. D. M. Stewart, W. M. Bunker, Dr. M. H. Foster, Hon. James Wickersham, and A. L. Moxey. Hearings ... on conditions in Alaska. Commercial value of Alaska. Statement of Hon. James Wickersham, delegate from Alaska, March 29, 191 2. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1912. 30 p. Hearings ... on the bill H. R. 18526, to construct a railroad and telegraph line in the district of Alaska, and the bill H. R. 18533, to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph and telephone line in the terri- tory of Alaska. February 2, 6, and 9, 1905. Washing- ton, Govt, print, ofif., 1905. 69 p. Railroad and telegraph and telephone lines in Alaska. Report to accompany H. R. 18891. [Wash- ington, Govt, print, off., 1906] 18 p. (59th Cong., ist sess. House. Rept. 3874) Serial 4907. Railroad transportation in Alaska. Hear- ing of the Western Alaska construction company before the Committee on the territories. Friday, March 11, 1904. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1904. 13 p. Railroads in Alaska. Hearings [Jan. 9- March i, 1906] . . . 59th Congress, ist session. (With index and map) Washington, Govt, print, off., 1902. 179 p. Statements of experts. Railroads in Alaska. Hearings . . . 60th Congress, ist session. [April 3-14, 1908] Washington, Govt, print. ofT., 1908. 80 p. Railroads in Alaska. Statements of Hon, James Wickersham . . . Oliver P. Hubbard . . . Falcon Joslin . . . O. G. Laberee . . . March 28-May 10, 1910. [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1910] 143 p. U. S. Congress. House. Committee on the territories. Transportation in Alaska. Hearings . . . Feb. 27, Mar. 5, April 5, 6, 16 and 19, 1912. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1922. 5 pam. Statements of O. P. Hubbard, of Valdez, William Sulzer, BIBLIOGRAPHY 107 of Snlzer, Falcon Joslin, of Fairbanks, and O. L. Dickin- son, of Skagway, Alaska. Senate. Railroads in Alaska. Debate on the bill (S. 48) to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska. ^June 23, 26, Dec. 8, 1913; Jan. 12, 13, 21, 2^, March 10, May 22, 1914. {In Congressional record for dates mentioned) Speeches of Senators Chamberlain, Jones and others. Debate in Senate, June 29, 19 16. Congres- sional record, v. 53, no. 164, p. 1 1752-7. [Includes speeches by Senators Pittman, Martin of Vir- ginia, Smoot and Hughes, and text of contract between W. E. Stavert et al., syndicate committee, and Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the interior, on sale of Alaska Northern railway] Committee on public lands. Government rail- road and coal lands in Alaska. Hearing . . . on S. 4S44, a bill to provade for the construction and operation of a railroad in Alaska . . . and S. 7030, a bill to provide for a permanent supply of coal for the use of the United States Navy and other governmental purposes . . . Part i. . . . Washington, Govt, print, off., 1911. 10 p. — Committee on finance. Income tax on railroads in Alaska. Report to accompany H. R. 9770 ... to levy and collect an income tax on railroads in Alaska . . . July 8, 1914. [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1914] 2 p. 63d Cong., 2d sess. Senate Rept. 648) Serial 6553. [Committee recommended passage of bill] — Committee on territories. Alaska northern rail- way. Hearing . . . Sixty-second Congress, on S. 2534, A bill to extend the time for the completion of the Alaska northern railway, and for other purposes. July 28, 191 1. . . . \\'ashington. Govt, print, off., 191 1. 10 p. — • Construction of railroads in Alaska. Hearings . . . Sixty-third Congress, first session, on $, io8 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION 48, a bill to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct, and operate railroads in the territory of Alaska, and for other purposes, and S. 133, a bill to pro- vide for the construction of railroads in Alaska, and for other purposes [May 2-2^, 191 3] (with addenda and index). Washington, Govt, print, off., 1913. 718 p. U. S. Congress. Senate. Committee on territories. Con- struction of railroads in Alaska. June 17, 1913. Report [to accompany S. 48 Washington, Govt, print, off., 191 3] 3 p. (63d Cong., 1st sess. Senate. Rept. no. 65) Serial 6510. Public health along the line of the Alaska railroad. Hearings before the Committee ... on S. 5790, a bill to confer additional authority upon the President of the United States in the construction and operation of the Alaskan railroad and for other purposes. May 12, 19 16. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1916. 28 p. Railroad and telegraph and telephone lines in Alaska. Hearings on bills S. 6937 and S. 6980, Feb- ruary 10, 1905; bill S. 191, January 27, 1906; bill H. R. 1 889 1, January 25, 1907, and Senate document no. 167, Fifty-ninth Congress, first session. Comp. by Thomas R. Shipp, clerk to the Senate committee on territories. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1907. 144 p. fold. map. Railroad, telegraph, and telephone lines in Alaska. Report. To accompany H. R. 1889 1. [Wash- ington, Govt, print, off., 1907] 14, 9 p. (59th Cong., 2d sess. Senate Rept. 6625) Serial 5060. Pt. 2 : Views of Mr. Newlands together with amendment in the nature of a substitute intended to be proposed by Mr. Newlands to the bill (H. R. 18891), ordered printed Feb- ruary 21, 1907. Railroads for Alaska. Hearing ... on railroads for Alaska. April 12, 19 12 . . . Washington, Govt, print, off., 1912. 32 p. [Statement of Mr. Falcon Joslin, representing the Alaskan Com-. ^nittee pf the American mining Qongress] BIBLIOGRAPHY 109 • Report ... to accompany S. 5526, a bill to amend an act entitled "An act extending the homestead laws and providing for right of way for railroads in the district of Alaska," May 15, 19 14. i p. (63d Cong., 2d sess. Senate. Rept. 520) Serial 6553. Report ... to accompany S. 5790, to confer additional authority upon the President of the United States in the construction of Alaskan railroads. May 15, 1916. I p. (f)-hh Cong., 1st sess. Senate. Rept. 441) Serial 6899. U. S. Dcpt. of the interior. General information regarding the territory of Alaska. [1912- Washington, Govt, print, off., 1912-] Railroads in Alaska. Letter from the Secretary of the interior, transmitting data in relation to railroads in Alaska under the act of May 14, 1898 . . . [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1908] 16 p. fold. map. (60th Cong., 2d sess. Plouse Doc. 1201) Serial 5557. [Data from 1898 to 1908, including' a list of railroad companies in Alaska, where incorporated, line of proposed route, maps, etc.] Railroads in Alaska. Letter from the Secretary of the interior submitting a supplemental report as to the operations of certain railroad companies in Alaska. Jan. 4, 1909. [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1909] 2 p. (60th Cong., 2d sess. House. Doc. 1263) Serial 5557. Railroads in Alaska. Letter from the acting secretary of the Treasury transmitting . , . estimate of ap- propriation in the sum of $2,000,000 toward the construc- tion and operation of railroads in Alaska, Feb. i, 1915. [Washington, Govt, print, off., 191 5] 2 p. (63d Cong., 3d sess. House. Doc. 1538) Serial 6892. Regulations governing coal-land leases in the territory of Alaska. Approved May 18, 19 16, with infor- mation regarding coal lands. Washington, Govt, print, off., 19 1 6, 86 p. fold. map. no ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION [Paragraphs on transportation from the various coal fields, with reference to the new government railroad] Geological survey. Letter from the Secretary of the interior, transmitting report of [J. W. Powell] director of the U. S. Geological survey on the merits of the bill S. 1907 "to facilitate the settlement and develop the resources of the territory of Alaska, and open an overland and commercial route between the United States, Asiatic Russia, and Japan," and the feasibility of the construction of the railroad pro- posed. [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1886] 10 p. 2 fold. maps. (49th Cong., 2nd sess. Senate Misc. doc. 22) Serial 2450. — Isthmian canal commission. Letter from the chief of office of the Isthmian canal commission, transmitting in re- sponse to a Senate resolution of Aug. 23, 19 13, certain letters containing information as to the amount, character, and value of construction machinery, and so forth, which it would be possible to transfer to the territory of Alaska upon completion of the Panama canal. Dec. 5, 191 3 [Wash- ington, 19 1 3.] 8 p. (63d Cong., 2d sess. Senate. Doc. 258) Serial 6593. — Laws, statutes, etc. Act to authorize the President to locate, construct, and operate railroads in Alaska, approved Mar. 12, 19 14. (63d Congress. Public no. 69) An act to levy and collect income tax on railroads in Alaska, and for other purposes. Approved July 18, 1914. (63d Congress. Public no. 144) President (Taft) Transportation in Alaska. Message from the President of the United States transmitting report of commission appointed to conduct an examination into the transportation question in the territory of Alaska, etc. [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1913] 5 p. (62d Cong., 3d sess. House. Doc. 1346) Serial 6484-5. The "Message," only. Pub. also (with same document number) together with the report of the Alaska railroad commission as "Railway routes in Alaska," BIBLIOGRAPHY in ■= ■ — (Wilson) Executive order directing that the work of the Alaskan engineering commission be performed under the supervision and control of the Department of the interior. Jan. 26, 1915. [No. 2129] i p. Alaska. Executive order [authorizing free transportation of employees of government and their equipment, etc., when their official duties require them to travel over government railway in Alaska] June 5, 1916. [no. 2394] I p. Executive order. Alaska railroad no. 6 [estab- lishing regulations for hospital service] June 30, 19 16. [No. 2414] 4 p. Executive order, Alaska railroad no. 7 [extend- ing provisions of act to provide compensation for employees of United States suffering injuries in performance of duties, etc., so as to include employees of Alaskan engineer- ing commission] Sept. 29, 1916. [No. 2463] i p. Message transmitting report of the Alaskan engineering commission, together with maps, charts, and profiles. Jan. 19, 19 16. [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1916] I p. (64th Cong., 1st sess. House. Doc. 610. pt. I ) Serial 6993-4. Note : For report and maps, see Part 2. IVar department. Opinion of War department on S. 48 and S. 133, with amendments proposed by department . . . Washington, Govt, print, off., 1913. 8 p. Railroad construction in the district or Alaska. Letter from the Secretary of war . . . relative to railroad construction in . . . Alaska. [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1906] 8 p. (59th Cong., 1st sess. Senate. Doc. no. 167) Serial 4912. [Includes memorandum by Maj. W. P. Richardson, president of the Board of road commissioners of Alaska] Unofficial Publications: Books and Pamphlets American mining congress. 14th, Chicago, ipii. Alaskan 112 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION problems. Reprint from Proceedings at the fourteenth annual session of the American mining congress, held at Chicago, 111., October 24 to 28, 191 1, . . . Washington, Govt, print, off., 1912. 43 p. ( [U. S.] 62d Cong., 2d sess. Senate, Doc. 573) Serial 6176. [Transportation problem considered] Alaska short line railway and navigation company. The Alaska short line railway. Seattle, Wash., The Common- wealth [1903?] 36 p. Boyce, William Dickson. Alaska, present and future ; its railroads, mines, fisheries, agriculture, people and laws. What Alaska wants and needs . . . [n. p., 1913?] 48 p. Alaska's railroads, present and future policies, p. 16-9. Emerson, Harrington. The Alaskan railway problem. New York, The Emerson company, n. d. 3 p. Printed also in Congressional record, Dec. 17, 1913, and Jan. 23, 1914. Humphrey, William E. The Alaska short line railroad in Alaska. (Statement of Hon. W. E. Humphrey, M. C.) [Washington, Govt, print, off., 1909] 4 p. Johnson, Albert. The defense of Alaska — the union of the white race and the problem of universal peace. Speech of Hon. Albert Johnson, of Washington, in the House of representatives, August 30, 191-3 . . . Washington, Govt, print, off., 1913. 14 p. [Treats of railroads and defenses of Alaska] Jones, Wesley L. Alaska railroad to Bering coal fields. Reasons and argument in favor of the construction of fifty miles of railroad in Alaska to the Bering coal fields. In the Senate of the United States, April 19, 19 16. Wash- ington, 19 16. 8 p. Joslin, Falcon. Alaska; proposed legislation for government construction of railroads and leasing of coal lands. An address before the 15th session of the American mining congress, Spokane, Washington, Nov. 27th, 19 12. 20 p. BIBLIOGRAPHY 113 Laberee, O. G. . . . Railroads in Alaska Letter . . . April 26, 1910 . . . Washington, Govt, print, off., 1916. 9 p. [Letter to Hon. E. L. Hamilton, chairman of the Committee on territories, House of representatives, with regard to the Alaska northern railway company, and its need of coal from Mr. Laberee, president of the Alaska northern railway company] Lenroot, I. L. — Government ownership of railroads in Alaska. Speech in the House of representatives, Dec. 17, 1913. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1914. 16 p. Resolution requesting government aid in railroad construction on Seward peninsula (passed at a mass meeting of busi- ness men, miners and operators, on Mar. 14, 19 14, at Nome, Alaska) Nome, 19 14. 4 p. Seattle. Chamber of commerce. Alaska bureau. Alaska, "Our frontier wonderland" . . . [5th ed., rev.] [Seattle] Alaska bureau, Seattle chamber of commerce, 1916. 112 p. illus., fold. map. Railroads, p. 98-102. Tuttle, Charles Richard. Alaska; its meaning to the world, its resources, its opportunities . . . Seattle, Wash., F. Shuey & Co., 1914. 318 p. plates, ports., maps. [An interesting treatise on Alaska with some reference to its railway problems] Wickersham, James. The Alaska railway bill. Speech in the House of representatives. Wednesday, Jan. 14 and 28, 1914. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1914. 136 p. At head of title: Congressional record, 63 Congress, 2d session. ■ Good roads, rail, and water transportation in Alaska. Speech ... in the House of representatives, June 26, 1916. Washington, 1916. 15 p. Periodical Articles Alaskan railway problem. Outlook, Jan. 20, 19 12, v. 100; 1 14-5. 114 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Alaskan railroads. Railway and engineering review, I\Iay 24, 1913. V. 53: 484. Alaska's new railway. National geographic magazine, Dec. 1915, V. 28: 567-89. illus. [History of the Alaskan railroad project, and progress in con- struction] Alaska's new railway. Spirit of missions, June, 1915, v. 80: 393- [Missionary work to be simplified and stimulated by the new rail- way] Anderson, Sydney. Governmental construction and operation of Alaskan railway. Case and comment, Nov. 1913, v. 20: 398-401. [States that Congress has a constitutional right to construct and operate a railroad in Alaska. Arguments in favor of such action] Bache, R. Moving a railroad six thousand miles. Technical world, Jidy, 1912, v. 17: 558-61. [Suggestion of Secretary Fisher that much of the contemplated Alaskan railroad and its equipment shall be transferred from the Isthmus of Panama by water to Resurrection Bay. Material and equipment — rails, locomotives, cars, etc. — no longer needed by Canal Commission] Ballaine, J. E. Alaska's government railroad. Review of reviews, May, 1915, v. 51: 573-7. illus. The transportation interests of Alaska. Pacific monthly, June, 1906, v.15: 754-61. Brooks, A. H. The Alaska of to-day. Review of reviews, July, 1909, V. 40 : 49-62. Development of Alaska by government railroads. Quarterly journal of economics. May, 1914, v. 28: 586-96. [Reviews history of private enterprises, the need of further de- velopment and summarizes provisions of the Act of Mar. 12, 1914. Published also in Report of Governor of Alaska, 1914] Railway routes in Alaska. National geographic mag- azine, March, 1907, v. 18: 165-90. Brown, A. A. By rail from Alaska to the Argentine. Alaska- Yukon magazine, June, 1907, v. 3: 301-8. BIBLIOGRAPHY 115 Brown, Ashmun. Uncle Sam's state-planning task. Tech- nical world, Aug. 1915, V. 23: 719-25. [Task of constructing- a railway line from the Pacific seacoast to the interior waterways of Alaska invol\'es plans for location of towns, water-power resources, farms, etc.] Chase, F. H, Alaska's railroad development. Review of re- views, Dec. 1908, V. 38: 693-9. [Describes roads under construction and difficulties to be met] • Coal crisis in Alaska; government-owned railroads and government-leased coal lands the only solution. Collier's. Oct. 7, 191 1, v. 48: 19-20. Crane, W. R. Transportation in Alaska. Engineering and mining journal, Feb. 19, 1916, v. loi : 347-8. Croffut, W. A. A railroad to the Yukon. Frank Leslie's popular monthly, April, 1900, v. 49: 645-57. Dillard, C, H. Alaska; its railroads, mines, and the pictur- esque and natural scenery. Railway conductor, July, 191 1, V. 28: 479-86. Ellis, C. It had to be done [Copper River and Northwestern railway]. Technical world. Mar. 1912, v. 17:2-13. [Difficulties of construction graphically described] Federal railroads for Alaska. Literary digest. May 31, 1913, v. 46: 1212. [Refers to Secretary Lane's recommendations for a government railroad] Fisher, Walter L. Alaska's needs. Independent, May 2^, 1912, V. y2 : 1094-6. [Urges construction by Federal government of a tnmk line rail- road from the ocean to the Yukon and Tanana valleys, through the great Matanuska coal fields] A government owned railway for Alaska. Out west, Sept. 1912, V. 3: 186-7. Harrison, E. S. What is the Alaska syndicate doing? Facts about the Morgan-Guggenheim interests in Alaska taken ri6 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION I from the testimony of Stephen Birch, managing director. Alaskan-Yukon magazine, May, 1910, v. 9: 374-82. Heilig, Frederick. Most urgent needs of Alaska. Alaska- Yukon magazine May, 1910, v. 9: 403-5. Hulbert, W. D. What is really going on in Alaska. Out- look, Dec. 23, 191 1, Jan. 20, Mar. 23 and April 20, 1912, V. 99: 949-62; V. 100: 133-8, 675-83, 866-72. Articles entitled : ( i ) Wanted : a new deal in the coal fields (2) Bringing the coal to the sea (3) Fish, fur and forest — and a few other things (4) In the haunts of the syndi- cate. Hurja, E. E. Farthest north in railroading. Technical world, Oct. 1913, V. 20: 244-5. [Tanana Valley railroad one of the most daring transportation projects ever attempted in Alaska] Joslin, Falcon. Possibilities of the Tanana, Alaska- Yukon magazine, Dec. 1907, v. 4: 289-93. Railroad building in Alaska. Alaska-Yukon magazine, Jan. 1909, V. 7: 245-50. Lane, Franklin K. Governmental ownership of railroads in Alaska. Case and comment, Nov. 1913, v. 20: 397. [Copy of a letter sent to Senator Key Pitman, Chairman of the Senate Committee on territories, with respect to government ownership of railways in Alaska] Lumpkin, H. H. Uncle Sam's newest town. [Nenana, Alaska] Outlook, Oct. 25, 1916, v. 114: 455-8. [Constructed under government supervision, on line of Alaskan railway] McFarlin, Kirk. Difficulties of railroad maintenance in Alaska. Scientific American, May 20, 1916, v. 114: 523, 537. Mitchell, G. E. Government railroads for Alaska. Review of reviews. May, 1913, v. 47: 579-84. [Summary of report and recommendation of the Alaska railroad commission] Nation's pot of gold: need for railroads to harvest BIBLIOGRAPHY 117 Alaska's riches. Bankers magazine, Dec. 1910, v. 81 : 866. Nelson, F. L. Solving Alaska's transportation problem. World to-day. May, 191 1, v. 20: 586-94. [History of the various railroad enterprises in Alaska] Pogue, J. E. Into the heart of Alaska : searching for a rail- road route to the Xanana Valley. Travel, May, 1915, v. 25 : 30-3- President Taft recommends government railroad buikling in Alaska. Railway and engineering review, Feb. 15, 19 13, V. 53: 1 39-40. Proposed government ownership in Alaska. Railway age, May, 22,, 1913, V. 54:1119-20. Public coal and public rails and private farms and private gold in Alaska. Everybody's, June, 1915, v.32 781-2. [Short article referring to coal lands to be leased from govern- ment] Railroad on a glacier. Literary digest, June 28, 1913, v. 46: 1422. [The Copper River and Northwestern railroads runs for nearly seven miles over the lower end of the Allen glacier] Railroad routes in Alaska. American geographic society, Bulletin, June, 1913, v.45:43i-5. Railway work in Alaska. Outlook, June 13, 1914, v. 107 1330 [Summary of] report of the Alaska railroad commission. Engineering news. Mar. 20, 1913, v. 69: 564-7. Riggs, Thomas. Government railroad in Alaska — what two years and limited funds have accomplished. Engineering record. May 6, 19 16, v.y^i :6oo-3. Seward route for the Alaskan railway. Outlook, April 28. 1915, v.i09:954-5. Smith, K. L. The most wonderful railroad of the North [The White Pass and Yukon railroad] Scientific Ameri- can, Jan. II, 1908, v.98:29-30. Springer, J. F. Alaskan railways. Scientific American, Jan. 17, 1920, v.I22;62. ii8 ALASKAN ENGINEERING COMMISSION Swergal, E. E. Alaska's need of railway development. Rail- way age gazette, Sept. 5, 1913, v.55:42i-3. [Inadequacy of the existing lines and proposed improvements to open up the great national wealth of the region] Talbot, F. A. A railway through Alaskan glaciers. World's work (London) Nov. 19 12, v. 20:642-50. [Discusses the Copper river line] To develop Alaska's resources. Independent, May 15, 1913, v. 74: 1099-1101. Uncle Sam's Alaskan railroads. Literary digest, Jan. 3, 1920, v.64 :95-96. Underwood, J. J. Uncle Sam's own railroad. Sunset, Nov. 1916, V.37 :23. Wade, H. T. Progress of the Alaskan government railway. Review of reviews, Nov. 1916, v.54:543-4. Wanted: a railway system. Literary digest, Sept. 27, 1913, V. 47: 519-20. [Quotes from an article by E. E. Swergal in Railway Age Gazette Sept. 5, 1913. "More railway transportation is Alaska's cry- ing need"] Weems, Carrington. Alaska's transportation problem. World to-day. Mar. 191 2, v. 21 : 1893- 1903. [An unprejudiced discussion of the question as to whether the needed railroads should be built by the government or by private enterprise.] Government railroads in Alaska. North American re- view, April, 1914, V. 199: 573-84. [Discusses history of the act which authorizes the building of a government railroad in Alaska. Outlines his reasons for opposing the project] W^hat a railroad will do. [Editorial] Alaska- Yukon mag- azine, Aug. 1909, V. 8: 372-3. Willey, D. A. Railroad building in Alaska, a remarkable BIBLIOGRAPHY 119 railway engineering feat. Scientific American supplement, July 13, 1912, V. 74: 24-6. [Copper River railroad] Wilson, Owen. To railroad prosperity into Alaska. World's work. Mar. 1914, v. 27: 512-32. [Points out logical railroad routes and need of government aid] Woolley, Monroe. Rails to revolutionize Alaska. Technical world, Feb. 1914, v. 20: 898-903. [The Panama Canal needs the Alaska railroads, present and pro- spective. Likewise, Alaska's railroads need the canal] Manuscripts Joslin, Falcon. Statement of conditions affecting government railroad to be constructed in Alaska, n. p., 1914. 30 1 Mann, Seth. Report of Seth Mann, personal representative of the President on tour through Alaska under auspices of the Alaska Bureau of Seattle Chamber of commerce. June 21 to July 29, 191 3. 19 1. INDEX Accounting, division of, 36, 65. Activities, of Railroad Commis- sion, lo-ii; of Alaskan En- gineering Commission, 45-58; classification of, 76-78. Alaska Central Railway Co., 6, 8. Alaska Home Railroad, 9. Alaska Northern Railroad, con- dition of, 15; evaluation and purchase of, 17, 26-27; reha- bilitation of, 48; operation of, 49. Alaska Steamship Co., 36. Alaskan Railroad Record, 32, 79. Anchorage, construction begun from, 18, 25 ; receiving and forwarding department at, 21, 54; distribution of supplies to and from, 22-23 ! divisions es- tablished, 25 ; first townsite es- tablished at. 31 ; divisions com- bined with Seward division, 36 ; telephone system at, 48; ter- minal district organized in 1916, 50; dock operations at, 53; sale of lots at, 56; expendi- tures in, by Commission, 57- 58. Annual reports, 79-80. Appropriations, 34, 39-43, 56-58, 97-98. Assistant Engineer of Mainte- nance and Construction, 64. Assistant Superintendent of Con- struction, 64. Assistant Superintendent of Track, 64. Auditor of Station Agents, 65. Bibliography, 99-118. Board of Road Commissioners, 48. Brooks, Alfred H., 10. Chairman of Commission, powers of, 60. Coal, contract for supply of, 20 ; operations in mining of, 20-21, 28, 51-53- Coastwise Steamship and Barge Co., 37. Commission, see Railroad Com- mission. Committee, on appropriations, 43 ; on foreign relations, 2 ; on territories, hearings of, on rail- road construction, in Alaska, 8; on appropriations for Commis- sion, 34-35, 42. Congress, bill introduced in. for railroad project, 2; refuses to grant franchises, 5 ; enacts gen- eral law for railroad construc- tion, 5; hearings in. on govern- mental aid to railroads, 7; bills introduced on Alaska in 62nd session of, 10; authorizes con- struction, 12; action of, on ap- propriations, 34-35 ; efifect of delay in appropriations by, 39- 43 ; authorizes expenditures for coal cleaning plant, 43. Conservation movement, 10. Construction, of private rail- roads, 5-13; of government railroad, 18-44; activities of, 46-48. 121 122 INDEX Copper River and Northwestern R. R., IS. Cost, estimates of, obtained by Commission, 17 ; of publication of Railroad Record, 132; of Alaska Northern, 48; of Tan- ana Valley Railroad, 48-49; of construction, 35, 38-39, 42; of coal production, 52 ; of main- tenance estimated, 54. Costs, of transportation, effect of early railroad construction, upon, 5-6; per capita in placer districts, 1909, 9; importance of, in construction costs, 21 ; saving effected in, 21-22. Cox, Leonard M., 10. "Crook," arrangements made with War Dept. for operation of, 21. Department of Labor, 38. Disbursing Office, 68. Drafting Department, 64. Edes, W. C, 13, 18. Engineer, in charge, 65 ; of main- tenance and construction, 63- 64. Engineering representative, office of, established, 19; abolished, 20. Examiner of Accounts, 65. Executive orders, 90-96. Expenditures, summary of, 45- 46 ; on rehabilitation of pur- chased roads, 48-49; on coal mining operations, 52 ; on town- sites, 57-58; total of, 98. Geological Survey, report of director of, 2-3. Gold, effect of discovery of, on railroad construction, 4; re- duced production of, 43. Governor of Alaska, early views of, on transportation, 3-4; opinion of, on slow progress of railroad construction, 6; sug- gestion of, on regulation of railways, 7; appointment of in- vestigating commission urged by, 9- Hearings, see Congress and Com- mittee. Homestead Act, effect of, on railroad construction, 6. Hospitals, 54, 64. Ingersoll, Calvin M., 10. Interior, Department of, bill re- ferred to, 2 ; work of construc- tion placed under supervision of, 18 ; represented by manager of Land and Industrial Dept., 27-28. Interstate Commerce Commis- sion, evaluation of Alaskan Northern R. R. verified by, 26; reports to, 50. Klondike, effect of discovery of gold in, 4-5. Land and Industrial Department, creation of, 27; duties of, 27- 32, 55- Land Office, 20, 28, 30. Laws relating to Alaskan Engi- neering Commission, 84-90; in- dex to, 81-84. Letters, of President to Secretary and of Secretary to Commis- sion, 90-96. Lots, appraisal and sale of, 29-30, 56-58. Maintenance, 54-55; division of, 63-64-. Matanuska, 56-58. Mears, Lieut. Frederick F., 13, 18, Z2, 35. 41-42, 43, 61. INDEX 123 Mechanical department, 64. Mines, Bureau of, 28. Mining Department, 64. Morrow, Maj. Jay J., 10. Northern Division, establishment of, 36; organization of, 64-65. Operation, of railroad, 37, 49-51; of coal mines, 51-53; of docks, 53; of power plants, 53; of miscellaneous ser^aces, 54-55. Organization, 59-75. Pacific Steamship Co., 36. Panama, supplies for govern- ment railroad obtained from. 18-19. Personnel, 66-75. Population, effect of, on railroad development. 2, 4. President of the United States, authority under Act of 1914, 12, 29. 40. 59, 62; selection of route for railroad by, 17; di- rects Commission to begin work, 17; withdraws tracts of public domain, 29 ; issues regulations for sale of lots. etc.. 29-30; letters of, to Secretary of Interior, 90-96. Publications, 79-80. Purchase, of Alaska Northern Railroad, 26-27; office for, es- tablished, 19, 37; duties of en- gineering representative trans- ferred to division of, 20; du- ties of division of, 66. Railroad Commission, appoint- ment of, urged by Governor of Alaska. 9; appointment of, for investigation, 10 ; report of, 11 ; investigations of, utilized by Alaskan Engineering Commis- sion, 16. Railroad Operating Division, 64. Railroads, causes for construc- tion of, 4; commission to in- vestigate questions of, 10; con- struction of, under act of 1898, 5-9; earning possibilities of, 43-44; construction of, by gov- ernment, 18-44; effect of con- servation movement upon, 10; eft'cct of war upon, 32-33 ; fail- ure of private construction of. 7, 9-10; history of, 1-13; first period, 2-5 ; period of private construction, 5-9 ; period of agitation for government rail- road, 9-13; necessity for gov- ernment construction of. i, 11- 12; obstacles to construction ol 3. 6, 7-9, 18. 32-33. 38-43; progress of, after Homestead Act. 6-y: report of railroad commission on, 11; Report of Alaskan Engineering Commis- sion upon routes for, 17; situa- tion of. prior to creation of commission, 1-13; survey of routes for, by commission, 13- 17- Rates, 9, II, 15, 50. Receiving and Forwarding De- partment, establishment of, 21. Reorganization, 35-36, 55. Resident Mining Engineer, 64. Riggs, Thomas Jr., 13, 18, 32, 61. Saw mills, 20, 54. Secretary of the Interior, di- rected to proceed with survey, 13 ; to purchase Alaska North- ern and supervise construction, 17-18, 59, 62; to make land res- ervations, 29; order of, relat- ing to schools. 31 ; to designate Chainnan of Commission, 60; letters of and to, 90-96. Secretary of the Treasury, 57. Southern Division, establishment of, ^6; organization of, 63-64. 124 INDEX Station men, system of, 24. Supplies and equipment, acquisi- tion of, for government rail- road, 18-21 ; transportation of, 21-22; distribution of, 22-23; consolidation of divisions of, 36; organization and function of divisions of, 65. Superintendent of Construction and of Mines, 64. Taft, Wm. H., 10, 11 -12. Tanana Valley R. R., condition of, 15; purchase of, 33-34; re- habilitation of, 48-49; opera- tion of, 49-50. Telegraph and Telephone, 47-48 ; Department of, 64. Terminal facilities, 47. Townsite and Railroad Record, Department of, 64. Townsites, 27-31, 55-57. Traffic, estimates of, 16, 43, 44n; development of. 27-32, 55-58. Transportation, Department of, 64; development of, by Federal government, 5n, 9n; handling of matters relating to, 21-22, 36-37- Valdez, Copper River and Yukon Railroad Co., 8. Wagon roads, 48. Wasilla, 56, 57, 58. Water transportation, effect of, on railroad construction, 3; effect of war upon rates for, 21. White Pass and Yukon R. R., 5, 22, 37. Wilson, Woodrow, 18. See also President.