THE KUSKO TIMES
A. X. Grant, Publisher, Sole
Owner and Editor.
Twice a Week:
Wednesday and Saturday
Two Dollars Per Month.
A OVERT IS IXG R ATES.
Heading Notices, per line, per
issue. ,25
Legal Advertising, per line, per
issue . 20
Transient Display, per inch, per
issue {minimum charge $1). .50
Entered as second-class matter Febru
ary 1, 1922, at the Post Office at
McGrath, Alaska, under the
Act of March 0, 1879.
MoGRATH,
ALASKA. FEB.' 17. 1922
T. P. Aitken Talks
of Kobi Route and
Alaska’s‘Old Boys’
Fairbanks News-Miner.
Tom Aitken. tlie veteran mine de
veloper. who is now in Fairbanks,
sneaking of Alaskan matters, says:
“Speaking generally, 1 am personal
ly of the opinion that the Interior is
sick- very sick. There is too much
talk and too httie work; too much poli
tics, and too many men holding and
seeking political jobs. Unless this Ter
ritory is to revert to the moose and the
Indians, the men of Alaska must work
and the Government must build roads
to connect with the railroads—not
necessarily railroad spurs, but wagon
roads and trails into promising and un
developed districts.
“The prospects being found today
are in remote sections, and if they are
to be developed the Government must
assist .in blazing the way The Kobi
trail—or, rather, the Kobi route—is
undoubtedly the best in Alaska, and
will tend to develop the Territory be
tween tlie railroad and the Kuskokwlm
river. This section has great possi
bilities, but has not been much pros
ipected.
“There is no comparison between
the Kobi and the JlaiDy Pass trails, ex
cept that the distances are approxi
mately equal at present. The Kobi
trail can. be made 50 miles shorter. It
is through a level and well-timbered
'country. Its highest elevation is "50
feet, and the snowfall for the entire
'winter does not exceed three feet.
With the exception of two rivers that
'cannot be crossed, all water, including
lakes.and small streams, can be avoid
ed, rendering the trail available both
■early and late.
“The Rainy Pass route is mostly
•through poorly timbered country.
Therejue.tuany lakes and rivers that
■must be crossed, and the Dalzell canyon
is a nightmare to the traveler. From
the Interior to the summit (elevation
4,000ifeet)one encounters long stretches
of bare ground, and after crossing the
summit one enters the great snow belt,
which is always uncertain and difficult
for traveling. The snowfall, wet snow,
for the winter, varies from 6 to 10 feet.
“It is only necessary to compare the
elevation and character of the country
to decide which is the better trail. The
Rainy Pass trail has been in existence
for many years, but has not led to any
development, mining or otherwise. The
one and only regrettable feature is that
there are ,old established roadhouses,
owners of which have in most cases
served the public faithfully for many
years, making a bare living, but always
expecting better days, such as are not
likely to dawn on the Rainy Pass trail.
This regrettable feature could and
should be overcome by the Govern
ment. which might erect buildings for
he purposes of roadhouses on the Kobi
I (rail, giving the old- timers on the
1 Rainy Pass route the preference of said
! buildings. Tt is advisable aud neces
sary that, the Government definitely
| establish a mail trail and that the eon
I tract be awarded early enough to en
1 able the contractors to distribute sup
plies daring the summer and so that
: roadhouse keepers can be reasonably
sure of a certain amount of business,
, Unless the authorities will award the
»
I contract not later than June 1 we must
| expect a repetition of this winter’s
j service; lack of accommodations for the
I public, the Rainy Pass roadhouses out
| of business, and none established on
| the Kobi trail. The postal department
alone is responsible for this winter’s
i unsatisfactory mail service.
1 •‘Concerning the old-timers? Yes,
many fail to answer the roll call and
many are sick and weary by the way
side. Therefore let me suggest that
you stop bragging about ‘Our Town,’
j ‘Our District,’ ‘The Hospitality of
i Alaska,' etc., etc., just, iong enough to
' remember that the ‘old-timers’ blazed
the trails that led to the paved streets
and the steel rails of this anti other
, Alaska towns and largely to the devel
opment of Seattle. The new geoera
j tion will never know the price the ‘old
boys' paid for all this, nor will the old
bovs ever know the treasure that this
i same steel will some tlay take to the
! counting house.
“What is the record of the old boys?
Are they well cared for? .Is it not a
: fact that there is no provision dor men
who are ill. that the court must decide
that they are vagrants before any relief
: can be exeended? This matter should
| not be left to the public—to charitv—
i but should receive immediate attention
and correction at the hands of these
men whom we all know and who are
i supposed to represent us at Juneau—
CallahaD, Dunn, Johnston, Keys, Ross,
and Snodgrass, who muft bear in mind
that sugar-coated promises will not
soothe the feelings nor the weary bones!
of the old boys, and that a substantial '
appropriation should be made each '
year and directly applied foruthe relief
of the old boys who may have spent or
perhaps never received their portion.
In case these mentioned and other gen- j
tlemen find difficulty in raising money
for the relief of the old boys, I would
suggest that all bootleggers, politi-1
cians, political hangers-on and cat
stranglers be^put to work, and as the
public offices of this and other Alaska
towns appear to be overcrowded with
j officials whosejprincipal occupation ap
pears to be that of keeping the chairs
warm, or, perhaps, as there ara so
j many claims lied tip and so little ;reni
| assessment work being done, we could
! tax the claim holders $o0 per claim in
lieu of assessment work or permit
! claim holders to perform to the extent
of $50 on the Government roads, under
I Government supervision. On the other
hand, make it compulsory that a claim
| holder perform legitimate work con
sisting of a number of feet of ^shaft or
tunneling. In my opinion the claim
holder would readily pay the tax, espe
cially’as the assessment work is of no
value to the claim nor the Terri tor;.*
This tax might be applied for the relief
of the old bovs, or used to build roads
in the district in which it is to be co
lected.l
“The railroad may well be considered
a new lease of life for Alaska, and it
behooves us to put our shoulders to the
wheel and develop something to feed
it, and permit me to take this oppor
tunity of expressing my appreciation of
the courtesies extended by the mem
bers of the staff from the chief to the
porter, for they have certainly imbibed
what many of us appear to have for
gotten, ‘The Spirit of the Alaskan.’ M
“What is the present condition of
the ultimate consumer?” asks a great
economist. That’s easy. He’s just
about two jumps ahoad of the sheriff.—
New York American.
PRESS SQUIBS.
If luck doesn’t, break soon, Europe
will.—Atlantic Citv Press-Union.
•
The weakness of public opinion is
! that, so many people express it only
privately.—Washington Post.
There will be a national election in
1924 Perhaps in 2024 there may be a
rational one.— iirooklyn Eagle.
Other industries may have suffered,
but the war gave great impetus to cab
inet making.—Associated Editors.
General Wood wants Filipinos taught
higher respect for the law. After they
graduate they might be brought over
here as teachers.—Toledo Blade.
Borah saysClemeoeeau is responsible
for conditions in Europe. Mr. Borah,
meet Mi-. Uuhen/.olleru. — Winnipeg
Free Press. *
An economist is a man who tells you
what to do with your money after you
have done something else v.ith it.—
New York American.
*
A third party, as we understand it,
is any group of two or more individuals
who are indignant about something.—
New York Evening-Post.
LOUIS GORMAN
Big River
General Supplies Fresh From the
Outside
Furs Bought and Sold
Larson Roadhouse
# (Formerly The McLean, Tacotna.) ,
Best, of Home Cooked Meals. Prompt Attention
New Dog Houses
Mrs. Frank Larson - Proprietor
Geo. W. Hoffman
Pioneer Trader of the Kuskokwim Valley
Napamute, Alaska
Will receive by first boat a larger and more varied
stock of goods than.ever before.
Good Prices for Your Fur
ALASKA RIVERS NAVIGATION
SGWANY
Operating Light Draught Steamers
On the Kuskokwim.
Capt. Wallace Langley, Manager.
. Arrange to Spend the Night at the
Big River Roadhouse
Best possible meals. Private rooms.
New dog kennels, and the best of lower river fish
for dog feed.
Diamond Dick .
Proprietor .