platted to accommodate settlers in this new mining district. These surveys are made without charge to residents, who are permitted to occupy the land they select within the surveyed limits at a very nominal annual rental. As the needs of these communities within the forest boundaries warrant, streets are laid out and improved through the expenditure of funds derived from the sale of national forest timber.

NATIONAL PARKS AND NATIONAL MONUMENTS.

Alaska has one national park (the Mount McKinley National Park) and one national monument (the Katmai National Monument).

The Mount McKinley National Park, of approximately 2,200 square miles, has as the central attraction Mount McKinley, 20,300 feet in elevation, the highest known mountain in North America. Its northern slopes embrace some of the greatest breeding grounds of game in Alaska, where it is no unusual sight to see herds of woodland caribou of from 200 to 1,000 animals, and sheep in bands of several hundred, while moose and bear are found in more limited numbers.

The park will serve a most useful purpose in the protection of game animals and, when the Government railroad is completed into the Broad Pass district, will be readily accessible to tourist travel. Unfortunately, to date there has been no appropriation made available for marking the park boundaries, building trails, and for the protection of game. I have kept one warden as near the park as possible, but there should be rangers constantly on duty, and they should be active more particularly during the open season. Game, if afforded absolute protection in the park, will multiply rapidly, and the overflow will be a permanent food supply for the mining population between the Tanana River and the Alaska Range. I trust that the estimates submitted by the National Park Service may receive favorable consideration.

The Katmai National Monument, a reservation of approximately 1,700 square miles, surrounds the volcano, Mount Katmai, which "blew its head off" in 1912 and deluged the surrounding country with ashes. For a time the heavy fall of ashes put a stop to agriculture on Kodiak and the surrounding islands, while the very fine ash remained in the air for weeks and was noted hundreds of miles away. The monument has been well brought to the attention of the public by expeditions sent in by the National Geographic Society, which has featured" the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes." The valley is evidently a wonderful freak of nature, being covered for miles with spouting fumaroles and a myriad of steam jets. I doubt, however, if the withdrawal serves any purpose, as it is hardly probable that tourists can ever be drawn there in any number, due to difficulties of travel and transportation, and already miners having prospects within the reservation are becoming apprehensive regarding the possibility of not being able to perfect title to their claims, particularly in view of the almost insurmountable difficulties encountered in other withdrawals. Mount Katmai and the " Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes " themselves can not get away and will never be of any commercial use, except, perhaps, that the sulphur deposits may at some time be in demand. Hence it seems rather premature to withhold 1,700 square miles from exploration and possible development.

GOVERNMENT RAILROAD.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1919, the Alaskan Engineering Commission reports the following progress on the Government railroad:

The uncompleted gap along Turnagain Arm, between Seward and Anchorage, was closed by the connecting of steel on the afternoon of September 10, 1918. On the main line north of Anchorage the track has been extended to Talkeetna, which is mile 227 from Seward. As stated in last year's report, the branch line, 37.7 miles in length, extending from Matanuska Junction to Chickaloon in the heart of the Matanuska coal fields, has been completed and is in operation. It is, therefore, possible now to travel or ship freight via the Government railroad from Seward, on Resurrection Bay, to Talkeetna, a distance of 227 miles, and to Chickaloon, in the coal field.

True, the complete rehabilitation of that portion of the line from Seward to mile 71, Kern Creek, known as the Alaska Northern Railway, has not yet been accomplished, but great progress has been made in that direction. While it is not yet ready for heavy traffic, much has been done toward making it safe by the elimination of decaying trestles, bridges, etc.

Between Talkeetna (mile 227) and the crossing of the Susitna River (mile 265) 27 miles have been graded and are ready for track. The remainder of the distance between these two points has been cleared and is ready for grading.

The dock at Seward has been extended some 60 feet to take care of additional business. Material has been gathered for the erection of snowsheds in the vicinity of mile 54, which work will be pushed during the present season. It is hoped this will obviate the closing of the line by snowslides, which occurred very early the past winter, due to the unusually heavy fall of snow.

The work on the wharf facilities at Anchorage to permit ships of considerable draft to dock was continued during the year, some 200,000 cubic yards of material being dredged, and 2,600 feet of dock approach being constructed.

Good progress has been made on the Fairbanks division of the system. The line change partly necessitated by the rampage of Lost Slough, mentioned in last year's report, has been accomplished, and the track has been extended southward from Nenana a distance of 48 miles, to a point on the west side of the Nenana River, where coal is being mined in appreciable quantities.

Between Nenana and Fairbanks, the narrow-gauge line to be used temporarily in connection with the Tanana Valley Railroad and then converted into standard gauge, has been extended to a point 9 miles south of Happy Station, making available an increased supply of wood for use as fuel in Fairbanks and vicinity. Before the "break-up" in the Tanana River, equipment and supplies were moved across the river from Nenana, and the task of completing the line between Nenana and Fairbanks is being vigorously attacked. At the end of the fiscal year 24 miles of track had been laid in this vicinity, and at the present writing this amounts to more than 3 miles. The clearing on the remaining distance between Nenana and Fairbanks is done, most of the crossings are driven, and the grading is now under way. Necessary reconstruction work was done during the year on the Tanana Valley Railroad. A resurvey of this entire line was undertaken to determine upon improvements looking toward safety and economy in operation.

While the railroad project was greatly handicapped for labor during the latter part of the 1918 season, the end of the war, with the return of the soldiers and others from industries in the States, has changed this condition very materially. The end of the fiscal year 1919 found the commission with about 2,200 men on the pay roll, and no men in the vicinity unemployed. Until additional appropriations are made for the work this force can not be increased.

To the very end of the war the commission employees remained enthusiastically loyal to the Government, contributing liberally to the Red Cross and kindred organizations and making large subscriptions to the Liberty loans. Even in the Victory loan, without the incentive of actual hostilities to spur them on, 1.452 employees subscribed a total of $196,700.

I earnestly recommend that Congress give this great constructive work the fullest possible support. Owing to delays in making the always inadequate appropriations available and to the uncertainty of congressional action until the best part of the working season has passed, the cost of the railroad has been increased by several millions of dollars. A great deal of hardship, both among the laborers and merchants in the railroad towns, has resulted, due to long periods of inaction, which could have been avoided had sufficient funds at all times been available. I believe I am perfectly safe in stating that, could construction have been carried forward so as to take best advantage of the seasons, the railroad would now be completed, within the estimate, from Seward to Fairbanks, and that the industries of the country tributary to the railroad would now be well on the way to permanent establishment.

The completed portions of the road are well up to the best standards of engineering practice, and attacks made upon the management can safely be ignored and the unbiased favorable reports of visiting engineers accepted.

It is very probable that even after completion the railroad will not immediately operate at a profit, but the deficiency will be more than offset by the new and taxable industries established along the route. Alaska has proved immensely profitable to the Government along the lines of established transportation. The country along the railroad will prove no exception.

THE ALASKA INSANE.

Under a contract with the Secretary of the Interior the legally adjudged insane of Alaska are cared for at the Morningside Hospital, near Portland, Oreg., the contractors being the sanitarium company. The present contract expires on January 20, 1920. A new five-year contract with the same company has been executed, at a price of $41.25 a month per patient, which, in view of the rapid rise in the price of supplies, equipment, wages, etc., will be entirely inadequate. Twice since the signing of the armistice it has been necessary to raise salaries. In addition to the hardships encountered by the contractors due to high costs, beginning January 1, 1920, under a ruling of the labor commissioner for Oregon, three shifts will be required in the nursing and attending staffs. Although such changes are proper and approved by all, rates must be increased to meet the added expense. Steps should be taken to afford relief to the con tractors so that the inmates of the sanitarium may not suffer in any

manner.

The sanitarium company has a very considerable investment a Morningside and shows every evidence of being more than willing to comply with all suggestions for the betterment of the surround ings of the patients. At my request, recreation annexes to the ward have been built in and other betterments effected.

An inspection was recently made by officers of the Public Healt Service, who, I believe, have made a favorable report. The docto in charge reports that in the 15 years in which they have cared fo 794 patients from Alaska there has never been a case of suicid homicide, or serious casualty. During the recent epidemic of influ

enza the establishment escaped without a single case, alt were over 2,000 deaths in Portland.

While the insane of Alaska are receiving the best under the circumstances, still it seems to me that the of the Territory should be cared for in a Federally-co lum within the Territory. There are a number of h Alaska where, if the Government could build a mode might be possible to give such treatment as would speedy return to normal condition.

On June 30, 1919, there were 203 patients in the h crease of 8 over the fiscal year 1918. There were 51 rece the year, 36 discharges, and 23 deaths. During the 1 the sanitarium company has received the Alaska insa been 794 receptions, 392 discharges, and 199 deaths.

WASHINGTON-ALASKA MILITARY TELEGRAPH No more constructive work in Alaska has ever be than the installation of the military cable and teleg connection with the Naval radio service Alaska is sl the benefits of telegraphic service. The present able chief of the system is fully imbued with the necess bility of extending the system, but is handicapped by with which to perform new installations. There are st parts of Alaska which are out of communication ex tortuous boat or sled travel which, if for no other judicial needs, should be served. If Government b into account as an asset to the lines the operation is supporting, and there is little reason to believe th could not soon be placed in the same category. The ment to private enterprise to enter the field in co cooperation, so it logically devolves upon the Gove the growing needs of the population. The volunt constantly increasing. I have not complete oper from reports of the receipts of two years, namely it is shown that in 1915 the total business hand $293,744.68, while in 1918 it had increased to $57 to slow mail service a very free use is made of the ca transacting Alaska business.

The officer in charge submits the following infor Number of cables operated by the system in Alaska__ Total mileage, including Seattle-Sitka cable (statute miles Total land-line mileage (statute miles) --

Number of Signal Corps telegraph, cable, and radio Alaska

Number of Signal Corps officers and men in Alaska (appr

NAVAL COMMUNICATION SERVICE.

There are at present nine radio stations in Alaska, namely St. Paul, St. George, Dutch Harbor, Kodiak, Seward, Cordova, Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchikan. The number of men on duty at all the stations is approximately 100. The number of men attached to the individual stations ranges from 1 attached to St. George to 30 men attached to Cordova.

These stations are to be maintained by the Puget Sound yard on and after July 1 of this year. For this maintenance work a special radio tender, the U. S. S. Saturn, is employed. A number of workmen are taken to the several stations to repair existing apparatus and do such new construction work as may be necessary.

The naval communication service handles commercial traffic to any and all points that are served by the radio stations. In many inThis stances the radio service is in competition with the Army cable. The rates have been made the same for both the cable and radio. uniformity of rates makes it very easy to route the traffic via radio in case of a cable break or by cable in case of a radio breakdown.

In general the Alaskan stations handle mainly commercial traffic and Government traffic of class B. All commercial traffic is domestic count, 10-word minimum. The rates for southeastern Alaska, such as Juneau, Ketchikan, and Sitka are 10 cents a word, 10-word minimum. For Cordova and Seward the rate is 15 cents a word, 10-word as Kodiak, Dutch minimum. For southwestern Alaska, such Harbor and the Pribilofs, the rate is 19 cents a word, 10-word mini

mum.

All the Alaska stations are spark stations, except that Cordova and St. Paul have both arc and spark installations. It is contemplated establishing in the near future a radio circuit across the North Pacific. This will comprise the four arc stations at Keyport, Cordova, St. Paul, and Vladivostok. When this service is instituted, the Álaskan traffic routes will be greatly increased in importance.

At present all traffic for points east of the one hundred and thirtyeighth meridian are routed through the Astoria-Ketchikan circuit. This is the old Marconi spark circuit. All traffic to points west of this meridian are routed via the Keyport-Cordova are circuit.