.'U'2 UKIMHiT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



succiiiiilt. Al |)i"(*s('iit tlicy live almost wliolly oti salmon, and for- 

 tunately this ycai* the vim of salmon was u-ood, so ihry have laid in 

 H ijood store for winter. 



A WAGON ROAD NECESSARY. 



Confronted hy those facts, it d(K\s not seem likely that evon the 

 Cop])er lii\('i- \ alley, which is. |)erha])s. (he most pi-omisinj( a<iri(id- 

 tural re»;ion in .Maska, can l)e settled very fast. But a j^ood waj^-on 

 road would soKh' the ])rohlem. The settler could then make his move 

 in sunnner. He could then hitch his plow horses to his own waji^on 

 at the wharf in \'aldez, and drive in at hisleisui-e, <^razin<(his livestock 

 on the road as he went. The cost would then he re])resented chieHy 

 hy his own time and labor; and he could then make several trips until 

 all his o-oods were transferred to the homestead of his choice, but 

 until a wayon road is provided this is inip()ssil)le. Now, it is not 

 likely that such a rojid will ))e built l»y private enterprise. To get 

 returns on the investment a private road would l)e compelled to charjje 

 toll, and the l)uildiniL;- of a railroad, which must eventually come, mio;lit 

 depi-ivi; it of nuich traftic. A (rONernment road is necessaiy to settle 

 the country, and in my opinion it will pay the Govermuent richly to 

 build such a road. 



Here is a reg-ion which will give homesteads to 80,000 families. It 

 is analogous to a man owning a valuable piece of real estate which 

 must be made accessi])le before he can dispose of it. Jf the region 

 were owned by capitalists and they desired to have it settled thej'' 

 would not long considei' the (piestion of making it accessible. The 

 returns to the (lovernment would be the l)uilding of a State, enlarg- 

 ing its productive tiMiitory, and providing homes for its citizens, which 

 are the pi'opei" and legitimate causes for expenditure. 



The cost of l)iulding a good wagon road will depend upon the way 

 the work is handled. F)V iitilizino' the work alreadv done on the 

 military trail $100,000 should go ver}- far toward making a good 

 road. In many places there is a hard natural roadliod. which would 

 require but little work; in other places, where the ground is soft, it 

 would be more expensive; but there is an abundance of timber in 

 those i)laces, and rocks are at hand cverywh(M'e. The somewhat rude 

 log In'idgcs, which now span the larger sti'eams, can be made to last 

 for years if they are watched and repaired when they need it. In a 

 few places the route will deviate from the military trail in order to 

 follow easier grades and to select firmer ground, and in a few places 

 it will be necessarj^ to l)last out a roadbed, but on the whole the task 

 is not a formidable one. 



A waji'on road is necessary, even if a railroail is built. The tariff on 

 a railroad, without competition, in a new countr}- will not be light, 

 and if there is no other means of reaching t\w count ly freight rates 



