lurid letter, with his mind’s eye upon
the Mountville Banner. A barber shop
is a good place for gossip. Clarence
heard all the good old stock myths of
the North with which the old-timer de
lights to initiate the chechaeo, and
with these he made himself the hero of
a thrilling, if garbled, romance of mix
ed water and summer experiences that
the Banner played up under its black
est type. It was worth it—if true.
“I couldn’t bear to disappoint the
boys,” said Clarence, as he slipped in
the stock property of a romancing new
comer, a picture post-card of “his
cabin”—the entrance to a tunnel in
the snow—Everybody’s Magazine.
THE BONE OF CONTENTION
Unfortunate Alaska is still the play
thing of eastern politicians who wish
to make personal careers out of the
craze for conservation, according to
an interview which Congressman Hum
phrey gave to the Post Intelligencer.
Nor did the Democratic majority in
the house do anything to justify the
hope some Alaskans have that in that
party are to be found the political
“ Moseses” who are to lead the North
land out of the wilderness.
Congressman Humphrey said:
‘ ‘ The session has elosed without one
single thing being done to help Alas
ka. The Democratic majority could
not be persuaded that conditions in
the north were of sufficient importance
and urgency to call for legislation. The
ultra-conservationists do not want Al
aska opened because they want some
thing to talk about. With Alaska well
on the w’ay to development there would
be nothing left for them to conserve.
Like Othello, their occupation would
be gone.
“Every seeker of the limelight, ev
ery freak in congress, and they are
by no means scarce in that body at
present, had some crazy, half baked
legislative idea for Alaska. The fact
that the authors of these bills know
nothing about the Alaska situation
does not in the least deter them from
proposing laws. In fact the less they
know the more certain they are that
they have solved the problem.
‘ ‘ The Alaska situation is not an
easy one, between the two extremes
who want the government to do every
thing and those who want the govern
ment to do nothing. All legislation
has so far failed. I know that the
president is extremely anxious to help
Alaska and J. am certain that at the
next session he will use all his great
influence to give the district immed
iate relief.”
HOUSE FLIES RESPONSIBLE
FOR EPIDEMIC
During the last few weeks an epi
demic of colitus, or dysentery, has pre
vailed in Douglas. Very few have es
caped the disease, at least in its mild
er form. One child died with it and
a number of others went down very
close to the door of death.
Common report has assigned several
causes for the malady, but the phys
icians lay the responsibility for the
plague upon the shoulders of the house
fly. This little poisoner has carried the
seed* of death from one house to an
other, and from the sick child to the
well one.
It is now an acknowledged fact that
the common housefly kills, annually, a
far greater number of human beings
than all of the dreaded beasts of prey,
poisonous serpents and insects of ev
ery description altogether.
Many diseases, especially those of
the intestines, attack us only when they
are brought in direct contact with us.
For instance, one cannot contract ty
phoid fever unless the specific germ
that causes the disease is swallowed,
and these germs are not swallowed un
less they get on our food or in the li
quids we drink, or on the vessels from
which we eat or drink.
It has been positively demonstrated
by the aid of the microscope that one
foot and leg of a common housefly can,
and often does, comfortably carry
something over 800 germs of typhoid.
How any rational human being can
calmly tolerate this most dangerous
and destructive pest, knowing the om
inous portent of his presence, is beyond
understanding.
He is capable of bringing, and does
bring, the most virulent germs into
our homes and wipes them off his feet
on our food, on the unprotected lips
of our sleeping children. The ‘ ‘ harm
less ’ that we often see greedily pick
ing the particles of nutriment from the
nipple of the baby’s nursing bottle,
may, but a moment before, have been
wading in the most dangerous and ob
jectionable filth in our neighbor’s yard.
Manure, empty cans, refuse food
and garbage of all kinds afford them
an ideal breeding place. Born in pol
lution, nurtured in offal, they cannot
but defile all with which they come in
contact, and their presence is direct
evidence of careless housekeeping and
of the existence of filth somewhere
about th premises.
TREATING CASE APPEALED
Is the right to “set 'em up" natur
al, or constitutional, or inalienable, or
merely incidental?
Christian Webber, a Petersburg sa
loon-keeper, was behind the bar in his
place at Petersburg, when a man walk
ed in, ordered drinks for the crowd,
laid down a dollar, received twenty
cents in change and if the man was
a stranger in the place, he probably
thought the incident was closed after
the crowd drank the beer. But it
wasn't.
In Petersburg, a man is not expect
ed to buy—more than that the town
council has passed an ordinance
against it. It put the penalty on the
saloon-keeper, and Christian Webber
was arrested and taken before the po
lice judge.
All the witnesses were willing wit
nesses, and there was no failure of
proof, and no question of guilt. That
the police judge himself is a believer
in the ordinance is shown by the fact
that he placed the fine at $75.
Christian Webber believes that the
city council has no right to pass an or
dinance to break up a custom which
has existed ever since Julius Ceasar
came home from the Gallic wars and
bought the drinks in every grog shop
in the inperial city of Rome. So he
appealed the case, and Judge Lyons
will have to determine whether treat
ing exists where it does exist, on the
sufferance of the city councils, or
whether it is a part of the right of
life, liberty and the pursuit of happi
ness, guaranteed by the federal con
stitution.
Medicinal Springs Withdrawn.
President Taft has withdrawn from
entry 160 acres surrounding every
medicinal spring in Alaska, has taken
the control from the forestry service,
and ordered the claims of the occupants
to be investigated.
Affected by the order are Tenakee,
the Sitka Hot Springs, Baranoff Hot
Springs, Zarembo Hot Springs, 24
miles north of Wrangell, Soda Bay
springs, on Prince of Wales Island,
Bailey Bay sprTngs, at the head of
Beam Canal, Belle Isle Hot Springs,
near Ketchikan, the Stickeen River
springs, and the hot springs on the Sew
ard river. These are enumerated in
the executive roder, but the order is
made to cover every hot spring in Al
aska, whether enumerated or not.
Within the 160 acres around the
springs at all the places mentioned,
there are squatters, some of them with
more or less pretentious claims. George
Roe, for instance, has filed on the Belle
Isle property tract as a homestead, and
Doctor Goddard claims the land around
the Sitka Hot Springs, under a title
acquired by a Russian from the St.
Petersburg government before Alaska
became part of the damain of the Un
ited States.
Special Agent Lewis, of the depart
ment o fthe interior, has mad£ some ex
amination of George Roe’s Belle Isle
claim. He regards it as “ doubtful. ’ ’
It is probable that Doctor Goddard’s
claim to the Sitka hot springs will be
protected by the treaty.
The action was taken on the recom
mendation of the bureau of forestry,
and means that the government will
make some special study of the condi
tions at these springs, and will deter
mine the best way of giving the pub
lic the benefit.
flmer 6 Smith
CARRIES NYAL’S FAMILY REMEDIES
AND THE A. D. S. PREPARATIONS
PRESCRIPTIONS CAREFULLY
COMPOUNDED. YOUR
MONEY BACK IF
NOT SATISFIED
Ok Trent St
Drag Store
LARGEST
AND MOST
COMPLETE PHON
OGRAPH DEPARTMENT
IN S. E. ALASKA. EDISON,
VICTOR AND COLUMBIA MA
CHINES AND RECORDS, BESIDES
ALL THE STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
Douglasfllaska
H Word
to the wise is sufficient—save money
while the sun shines
To leave a building unpainted, to
neglect a building when it needs paint,
is not essentially different from thorw
ing good money away. And this is
truer in this climate than any other.
This has been a splendid season for
PAINTING
and there is still plenty of time left to
paint that house of yours.
By the way, there is a whole lot of
difference in the quality of Paint—come
here for the best.
]UliK
Jenson
HARDWARE,HOUSE FURNISHINGS
TOOLS, TIN WORK, PAINTS, ETC.
Comer of Second and D Streets