THE NATION'S UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES 



191 



upon a plane commensurate with her pos- 

 sibilities industrially, agriculturally, and 

 socially. 



The members of such a board ap- 

 pointed by the President would be se- 

 lected presumably with reference to their 

 fitness for the work to be done. Each 

 one could be made the administrative and 

 residentiary head of a department or 

 division, so that there might be a com- 

 missioner of the Alaskan land office, an- 

 other commissioner of highways, another, 

 perhaps, commissioner of Indian affairs 

 and fisheries, and so on. All would sit 

 together, as in the commission form of 

 municipal government, and would work 

 for a common end, the upbuilding of 

 Alaska as an integral and contributing 

 part of the Union. 



I apprehend the fear that with such a 

 commission there would be danger of 

 corruption or indifference creeping into 

 its work. This, however, is incident to 

 the bestowal of all authority. The com- 

 mission would not go unchecked, of 

 course, for it must report to the head of 

 some department at Washington, and 

 through that head to Congress, and 

 would be always subject to investigation. 

 Moreover, no method has yet been in- 

 vented by which dishonesty or poor judg- 

 ment can be guarded against in public or 

 in private life. In the end the character 

 and wisdom of the men appointed is the 

 only insurance that can be given against 

 conduct that is foolish or worse. 



Alaska should not, in my judgment, be 

 regarded as a mere storehouse of re- 

 sources upon which the people of the 

 States may draw. She has the poten- 

 tialities of a State. And whatever policy 

 may be adopted should look toward an 

 Alaska of homes, of industries, and of 

 an extended commerce. 



WHAT SHOULD BE DONE AT ONCE 



Strongly as I would urge this method 

 of management — for it offers a rare op- 

 portunity to exhibit the efficiency of a 

 republic — I would not have Alaska wait 

 for needed legislation until the merits of 

 such a plan could be passed upon by Con- 

 gress. Those things which appeal to me 

 as of immediate necessity upon which in- 

 dependent action may be taken are (i) 



the construction of railroads in the Ter- 

 ritory and (2) the opening of her coal 

 lands. 



I have already expressed to Congress 

 my belief that it was wise for the govern- 

 ment itself to undertake the construction 

 and operation of a system of trunk-line 

 railroads in Alaska. And I am led to 

 this view irrespective of the possibility 

 of private enterprise undertaking such 

 work, although my belief is that no rail- 

 roads would be privately constructed in 

 Alaska for many years to come except- 

 ing as adjuncts to some private enter- 

 prise. Be that as it may, it would seem 

 wise for the government to undertake 

 this task upon grounds of state. 



The rates and the service of such rail- 

 roads should be fixed with reference to 

 Alaskan development — not with regard 

 to immediate returns. The charges fixed 

 should be lower for years to come than 

 would justify private investment. 



I would build and operate these high- 

 ways in the same spirit that the counties 

 or the States build wagon roads — not for 

 revenue, but for the general good. After 

 all, a railroad is little more than an oper- 

 ated wagon road. In many countries 

 they still call railroad cars "wagons.'" 

 Our laws as to railroads are evolved 

 from our old laws as to carriage by 

 wagon. Our courts speak of railroads 

 as property charged with a public interest 

 and so justify the regulation of their 

 rates. But no court would justify the 

 imposition of rates made for the pur- 

 pose for which Alaskan rates should be 

 made — the creation of a Commonwealth. 

 If this is our task, it should be done 

 whole-heartedly and with a consciousness 

 that the dollar spent today on an Alaskan 

 railroad will yield no more immediate re- 

 turn on the investment than the dollar 

 spent on the Panama Canal. 



WHY THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BUILD 

 THE A L, ASK AN RAILROADS 



These, then, are the persuading rea- 

 sons for the belief that the government 

 should undertake to drive from the coast 

 inland one or more lines of railroad: (1) 

 The government already regards it as its 

 duty to build wagon roads. Such roads 

 when well built are almost as costly as 



