. *
3?he emancipation of tfce
. ijj , . ‘ .....
. . ' • . jclass must bethe class* conscious work
t- * ‘ ■ • •"-* ' '* V: * . -
t> ' of the working class. KAKI* J.*)kRX
__ ’ __ • ___
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA,APRIL 18,1914. ~
VESTED INTERESTS
AT WORK
Democrat Club of Idit
arod Wants Repeal of |
Roden Mining Law.
Editor Alaska Socialist:
To all American Citizens:
Here in the
Iditarod Valley we have what is desig
nated “the Wilson Democratic club,”
composed of some fifty members, out of
about twelve hundred inhabitants of this ^
section of Alaska. I am informed that at
a meeting of this club, held on Feb. 18
th, 1914, there was passed a resolution,
which in substance was: That this club
ia in favor of Congress annuling the
Roden mining law, which is the New
Territorial law, and that it favors revert
ing to the Wickersham or Federal min
ing law. That a copy of said resolutions
be wired to all Democratic clubs in the
Territory asking them to take a like step
and forward same to Washington.
Befor*. we criticise this action we must
try and see if it is possible to fiud a sel
fish motive behind the resolutiou. I am
informed that the leaders of this club
are men who depend for employment
npon the Ynkon Gold Company and
associates. Can it be possible that this
is the influence behind the club. The
Roden mining larw is almost a copy of
the Wickersham law; it simply prescribes
the manner in which a miner shall pro
ceed in locating a claim; iu other words
it declares a forfeiture if a locator does
not proceed in the manner which the
Wickersham law intended that he should
In addition thereto, it requires one hun
dred dollars worth of labor on each
twenty acres of mining ground after
1914, therefore if a miner is willing to
abide by the Wickersham law the only
odjection he can have to the Roden law
is that he has several hundred acres o f
mining ground staked, ami is not will
ing to be taxed on an equality with those
that locate after Aug. 1st, 1913. The
Roden law puts the burden, if it can be
called a burden, on all. It puts all equal
before the law, gives special privilege to
none. Another point which may prompt
Uie resolution is, I am informed, that
there is a law suit pending in this sec
tion iu which the Yukon Gold Co. and
associates are interested. It the Roden
mining law is repealed it might be ad
vantageous to them. Can it be that the
Democratic party in this Territory can
be made the read}- tool and cat's paw of
this corporate ring. When we look over
the past history of the Democratic party
we can not be charged with beiug sus
picions without cause. “liveryman that
tiied to destroy our government, every
man that shot at the holy flag in heaven
every man that starved our soldiers, ev
ery keeper of Libby, Andersonville,
and Salisbury, every man that wanted to
burn negroes, every man that wanted to
scatter yellow fever in the North, every
man that opposed human liberty, tliat
regarded the Auction block as an altar,
and the howling of bloodhounds as mus
ic of the Union* ftrery man who wept
o'et the eor^Hg ef slavery, that thought
lashes «n the hfttsk wa'a legal tender for
labor pihrfbruidi, every one. willing to
rob a thither of her child, every solitary
one was ft IJcmbcrat. ’ ’
These »ctft M our fathers in Democ
racy put a crimson blot on the Grand
(Continued on page 4)
THE TRANSPORTATION ~
COMBINE
It Looks Like the Guggenheims
had Arrived
By D. F.
We are informed through the daily
papers that the “Northern Navigation
company has sold out their steamers and
wharfs to the American-Yukon Navig
ation company, and that the Ameriean
Yukon Navigation company will give
efficient service to Fairbanks, both from
St Michael and Dawson’’ and that “the
Northern Commercial company’s bus
iness will be continued as heretofore.’’
After a brief season of competition be
tween the Northern Navigation co. and
the American-Yukon Navigation or
White Pass company in the carrying
trade between the outside and the in
terior of Alaska, the Northern Navig
ation company has sold out all its right
title and interest in its fleet of steamers
to ‘be opposition and abandoned the
transportation business.
In these days of gigantic combinations
of capital it behooves us to look a little
closer at this so-called going-out-of-tlie
transportation-business deal and exam
ine the methods that the great financier
have in pooling their interests when
occasion warrants it. In the davs of the
small cargo vessel it was the custom to
compete against all individual owners of
vessels for trade either by furnishing
better ships, making quicker passages,
or choosing a safer route. In modern
times, it was discovered, however, that
a large transportation company compet
ing with another would probably end in j
ruination, and that by pooling their in- j
tercsts and co-operating they could get j
all the trade1 along their respective
routes which they travelled without in
curring the waste existing under com
petition.
Their was one thing, however, that
compelled those magnates who wished
to consolidate to he careful, and that
was the Sherman Anti Trust Act. passed
in 1890, which forliabe any consolidation
of competing lines between carriers,
whether ocean, railroad, river, pipe lines
or any other common carrier, which
could be adjudged conspiracy to restrain
commerce. How to pcol their interests
and pretend to compete was the next
problem that the ‘‘transportation kings”
set themselves with the aid of thetr cun
ning couusel, to solve. In 1874 the Min*
nesota Legislature passed an act pro
hibiting, the consolidation of parallel or
competing railroads. In 1901 Jim Hill
set out to get control of tile Chicago,
Burlington and Quincy Railroad. In re
taliation, competing magnates began to
buy Northern Pacific Railroad stock,
which would give them a voice in one of
Hill’s own railroads. A great warfare in
the stock market resulted. Finally, on
March 14th, 1904, the Supreme Court of
the United States declared the corpor
ation an illegal one in restraint of com
merce and ordered its dissolution.
There was no law however that could
be applied where one outfit undertook to
quit a certain business, whether manu
facturing or steamboat, and a deal could
be entered into whereby one outfit could
sell out to the other, reorganize, and the
outfit selling out could take stock in the
new company. What would you do in
tlnse days if you wanted to pool your
LOIS 01 WORKINGMEN ARE
COMING TO ALASKA
Several of the new arrivals from the
outside when interviewed recently state
that the steamship companies in Seattle
and Portland are going the limit in
boosting Alaska since the passage of the
Railroad Bill, and beautiful posters tell
of golden .opportunities awaiting the for
tunate ones who have the price to pur
chase a ticket for the North.
If you area worker you need
THE ALASKA SOCIALIST
subscribe for it $5.00 per year
i * ♦
♦ Suits Sponged & Pressed i $ . ^
♦ ♦
♦ ♦
^ Suit Alterations. ^
♦ ♦
I Mrs. A. L1KC01N. I
% Next to Peoples’. 1
I I
notice armliens
No. 40620. Sam Dichlicli; No. 40621,
Barovic; No. 40619, M. Macaic, claim-,
.a n t.s against P. Battels, A. Missaur, 1/
Virgilio anb Nick Ilicklicli of lister creek'
Piled Peb, 6, 1914.
_I
For Fine Watch Repairing
! SEE | j
SUTER
The Live Jeweler
.
- *■ ■ ■ . ---------L
interests without taking a chance of be
ing adjudged guiltv of criminal conspir
acy ?
The transportation monopoly that app
arently existed prior to the advent of
the White Pas* company in entering the
field was supposed to be broken, and
many hearts were gladdened by the
news. But the miners’ hope of cheaper
transportation was short lived. Many
are satisfied that the White Pass coil
*
panv is none other than the all-powerful
Guggenheim Syndicate. This outfit, it is
said, now controls almost all of Alaska.
Someone will probably remark: “But
you forget the railroad.’’ The transport
ation mojiopoly is a fact and is here now
and the railroad is not here and will not
be here for a few moons jet. There is
something else, though, that is here in
the Tanana and not onlj- here but in
other parts of Alaska as well. We take a
news item from the Alaska Citizen: “Too
many laborers arrive. Valdez, April 12,
Many laborers are arriving here from
the States on each vessel, and it seems
quite certain now that the labor market
will soon be congested.”
the large influx of laborers together,
with, what looks like, a transportation
combine have convinced many that the
dark spots seen on the horizon lately
will grow into clouds at a not very dis
tant date.
Another significant fact is that "the
Northern Commercial company will con
tinue in business as heretofore"
I wonder if the N. C. company will
continue in business independent of the
Transportation company. The methods
and ways of high finance, as disclosed
by many magazine w r i t e r s recently
makes us regard this proposition with
caution, but the small business man will
soon be able to ascertain for himself. In
the meantime, we will watch with inter
est the smashing of this transportation \
trust by the Democrat party.
BANK CASTS TO
STAST MONDAY
The W. A. Bank cases are scheduled
to start on Monbay morning, April 20th,
and it is said that the trial will be one j
of the greatest legal battles that has ever
taken place in an Alaskan court house.
The law books will no doubt be turn- i
ed inside out for citations and authorities
to back up the contentions of the oppos
ing parties. ]
Under Socialism, all this energy, tal
ent, and genius would be saved for a;
better purpose. As long as private prop- •
ertv in the production and distribution.
of wealth exiits there will continue to '
-
be bank cases ‘U:h as are to be tried ip |
Fairbanks during tke course cf the next'
few weeks.
i
--
— - —
i .
! Editor Alaska Socialist;
| To beautify the city hv cleaning up »U
streets.
Fix up the waterfront aud plant grass
wherever it is practical.
'
j Have the hideous looking fence re
j moved that is in front of the N. C,
| machine shop so that the street wont be
! dangerous to pedestrians and so that
! vehicles can get on and of the bridge
| without stopping aud blocking the street
The c r o s s i n g at the Presbyterian
church needs fixing so that we can walk
straight when we attend bib}* class.
Reclaim De Lacy street from Vachon’s
Corner to Wendell avenue and fill up
and connect with Wendell avenue and
make a drive so that people can get
down to the water front to their motor
boats in the summer time.
Last if not least remove that hideous
looking fence from Fourth avenue from
Cushman to Barnette streets. The city
has been deprived long enough of its
use. The property owners and renters
have no more right to that special priv
ilege than owners on Second avenue be
tween Cushman and DeLacy streets. It
is about time that the citizens of Fair
banks were coming into their own right
It is a black eye to an intelligent public
and should be removed to the city limits.
If this were done Fairbanks would need
no police department—-a saving of
$5,000 a year at least. The money could
be expended on something to improve
the city.
OBSERVER
WICKER*
It is Freely Predicted
Wickersham will meet
his Waterloo in Novem
ber.
With the defeat of Dan Driscoll for
the council of Fairbanks, the Wicker,
sham forces received a setback that, it
is predicted, they will be unable to re
cover between now and the November
election.
The defeat of Driscoll came as a sur.
prise to the followers of Wickersham
many of whom expressed themselves us
being confident that they could muster
sufficient strength to elect Driscoll to
the council. This defeat, the politicians
declare, shows that the glass in the pol
itic*! barometer is falling for Wicker,
sham in Fairbanks. Bal y-on was consul,
ered impregnable but finally ft 11 and
why not Wickersham ?
BELLY GORHAM
GOLDSMITH
Watcbes Repaired,
Opp. Gordon's Glass Block
Cushing $tre*L