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The Alaskan, six mouths,.. $2.50
The Alaskan, per yehr .' $4.eo 1
Published every Friday by the a. N. B. Publishing Co., Petersburg
Entered in the Poet Ofic* in Petersburg as Second Class matter.
Is There A Santa Claus?
“As we grow older, we change
our ideas concerning things about
us. Our ideals also change. These
changes cost us many a pang. Some
of our beliefs may be dearer than
pets, or kinfolk, or friends. Many
men have died for their beliefs.
When we find we have been mis
taken, we must gather new ideas.
It almost always happens that our
new ideas are better, nobler, and
happier than our outgrown fancies
An example of this is our first idea
of Santa Claus. VVe are fortunate
if our early belief iu Santa Claus
brings to us a true vision of the
real spirit of Christmas, as it did
for the author of the following
charming answer to a child’s lette"
of inquiry. Mr. Chas. A. Dana was
for many years one of the foremo3t
journalists of America. He came to
be editor of the New York SUN and
while acting in this capacity receiv
ed the following letter:
Dear Editor:
I am eight years old. Some
of my little friends say that
there is no Santa Claus. Please
tell me the truth. Is there a
Santa Claus?
Virginia O. Hanlon.
The great editor answered in the
following editorial, full of the com
prehension of the Spirit of Christ
mas Giving beyond the ken of most
unhinking persons.
“Virginia: Your little friends are
wrong. They have been affected by
the skepticism of a skeptical age
They think nothing can be which is
not comprehensible by their little
minds. They do not believe except
they see. All minds, Virginia, wheth
er they be men’s or children’s, are
little. In this universe of oura man
is a mere insect, an ant, in his intel
lect, compared with the boundless
worlds about him measured by the
intelligence capable of grasping the
whole truth and knowledge.
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa
Claus. He exists a3 certainly as
love and generosity and devotion ex
ist, and you know that they bound
and give to your life its highest joy.
Alas, how dreary the world would
be if there were no Santa Claus.
It would be as dreary as it there
were no Virginias. There would be
uo chcild-like faith, then, no poetry,
no romance, to make tolerable this
existence. We snould have no enjoy
ment except in sense and light. The
eternal light with which children
iills the world would then be ex
tnguished.
“Not to believe in Santa Claus?
You might as well not believe iu
fairies. You might get your papa
to hire men to watch all the chim
neys on Christmas Eve to catch San
ta Claus;'but even if they did not
see Santa Claus coming down, what
would that prove? Not everybody
sees Santa Claus. The most real
things in the world are those that
neither children nor men see. Did
you ever see fairies dancing on the
lawn? Of course not; but that’s uo
proof that they were not there. No
one can conceive or imagine all the
things that are unseen or unseeable
in the world.
“You moy tear apart a baby’s rat
tle and see what makes the noise in
side, but there is a veil covering the
unseen world that not the strongest
man. nor even the united strength of
all the strongest men that ever lived
could tear apart. Only faith, fancy,
poetry, love, romance, can push
aside that curtain and view and pic
ture the supernal beauty and glory
beyond. It is real. Ah, Virginia,
in all the world there is nothing else
real and abiding.
“No Santa Claus? Thank God,
he lives, and he lives forever. A
thousand years from now, Virginia,
nay, ten thousand years from now,
he will continue to make glad the
hearts of children.
Charles A. Dana.”
The above is printed for two reas
ons. The first and main is that it
is an unanswerable sketch to skep
tics and morbid doubters. The se
cond is that it is a wonderful piece
of literature and so far above the
stuff in the average school reader
of today that it stands out by itself
alone, on that particular point.
The whole article witin the quota
tion marks is from a Spearson and
Martin sixth grade reader.
Tuberculosis
There are 11,000,000 people in the
United States who are dying with
consumption today. This isnt at all
cheerful. On a holiday time one
should, perhaps, think of something
else. But that doesn’t help matters.
However, there is something cheery
in the reports coming from the May
or of Portland, Oregon, George L.
Baker. It appears that Dr. Kirkpat
rTck, a veterinary, who has been
working with tubercular cattle in
Oregon for nearly 20 years, has dis
covered that what will cure cattle of
consumption will also cure human
beings. He has made such a success
in the treatment of cattle suffering
with the dread disease that he ia
elevated to a considerable heighth in
the scientific world. In the treat
ment of human beings, interested
with other physicians, the remedy
applied to the afflicted has had mar
velous results. In truth it has ere
ated quite a stir in medical circles.
Judging from the Mayor’s letter we
conclude that the treatment Is based
on some form of sterilized milk, al
though there are no details given.
Dr. George Kirkpatrick lives at
1179 Sandy Boulevard, Portland,
Oregon and details of what has been
done and doing may be had by cor
respondence direct with him, or the
Portland Board of Health.
Many things may be preserved in :
alcohol, but law and order are not ]
on the list. t
Sued And Suing
Last June, Wayne Rangila was
working for the Alaska Packers As
sociation at Bristol Bay. In an ac
cident of some kind he was (he al
leges) permanently injured and now
he is suing the company for $100,
000. With this in view we wonder
if that isn’t the reason the associa
tion tilted their salvaging claim
against the Princess Charlotte so
high. More than likely the associ
ation will get something out of the
steamship company, but are they
willing to pay Rangila for his injur
ies. Not if they can avoid it.
All Right To Kill 'Em
It is revealed, in the annual re
port of Attorney General Sargent,
Washington, D. C., a few days ago,
that while it was a federal offense to
beat up, maul, jab, upper cut or
svound a United States ofkcer, it was
not a federal offense to kill him.
rhe Department of Justice wants
:his situation corrected.
What Robinson Says
Joseph T. Robinson, Democratic
Senate Leader, speaking of the Pres
ent's message, says: “His (the
President’s) prosperity claim was
Ictitious, his reference to farm re
ief, nebulous and his discussion of
he flood relief a disappointment.”
T
On The Rocks With The Northwestern r*
You can get the facta of the disast
er out of the press dispatches. You
::\n learn when it occurred, how ,in.i
vhere, but in all you may read that
he wires silently carried, you’ll not
ind the human atmosphere, the
leart touch, that goes with the dire
:ul occasion unless you talk with
some one who has been there; some
me who has seen and felt and
veard.
That i's the reason we called oc.
Dr. feusie V. Standard last Sunday.
She had been a passenger on ths
Northwestern. She knew it all first
valid. She could tell us what she
iiad seen that the dispatches over
looked; she could tell us what she
Iveard that is oulfdde of, yet as im
pel taut, as news; she could give us
he personal contact effect that wire
less eanndt carry. So the following
is our impression of Dr. Standard’s
story.
i
Before the steamer struck the:
rocks there was a feeling that she
under slow speed when the shock
came. The morning was intensely
black. Between you and a glimmer
of deck light there traveled a hori
zontal fall of snow and sleet, for al
most a gale of E.S.E. wind prevail
ed. There was a slosh of heavy seas
against the steel hull, there were
big, yellow patches of foam heaving
and idling astern, there was a low
peculiar whistle of wind in the rig -
ging, there was the hiss of froth,
and broken water under the ship’s
counter.
Then that horrible touch of steel
and stone—a grind, a crunch, a
grumbling rasp—once heard, neve;
forgotten. Seemingly, it was pro
longed. There was the impression
that the big vessel kept striking and
moving on, and the plates kept
buckling, tearing, snapping and
bending back. Then she stood still
so far as headway was concerned,
but her stern yawed first this way,
then that, as if she were in agony
and was striving silently to pull her
self free of the goring rock points.
Almost immediately following
that last grating of the ship’s hull
along the reef, there came a sharp,
quick knock on the stateroom doors.
“Get Up and dress at once. The
vessel ns aground. No immediate
danger, but don’t delay."
You wanted to ask questions.
Where were we? What had we
grounded on? One was only half
awakened, anyhow, but there was
something in the command that call
ed for action, and before you hardly
made your first move to arise, you
could hear that alarming rap on the
door beyond and then on the door
beyond that. ;
Dressed, hastily, you pushed the
door open, and stepped out into
inky blackness and cutting blast seem
ingly right-off the Polar ice. Fleet
ing sharp edged particles of sleet
bit at your hands and face. Waves
dancing, lifting, gesticulating came
out of the unseen—just beyond
your, reach—lashed along side and
showered the slanting decks with
sticky, salty spray. And all of the
time the ship heaved to this side,
then to that side like a great fly in
a gigantic spider’s web trying to
break loose.
Even with the. moan of the wind
and the swish of the water there was
an awful stillness. When you laid
down the evening before, things
seemed alive and moving. There
was the assuring, far away pulse
beat of the engines; there was a
charm in bursting into those trucu
lent waves; there was pride in driv- 0
ing into that chilling gale of wind, (
but now there was a feeling that all (
things were dying, that death, cold, 1
wet and clammy stalked in the hoi- t
lows of the seas around the ship, t
that the end was anywhere within 1
your touch. The big boat was a lit
tle thing after all.
You were brought to a realization
of surroundings when some one—a
sailor—flickered and rubber shod,
brushed by you silently, quickly, ,
along the wet deck. You weren’t
alone. You felt a mite easier. From
somewhere you heard someone in
authority speak of life preservers,
of life boats, of getting a line to the
rocks. You made out in disconnect
ed groups, here and there, grotesque,
blanket hooded people. There was
some hysterical laughter, there were
low voices. Once in awhile there
were commands. But there was no
cringing fear. The first shock
over, you just stood around and
waited.
Then came the sullen, gray dawn.
T11 llie half light you-could make out
big yellowish-white blotches climb
ing up the rock walls, then go re
creating back into the sea. As it
| grew lighter you made out that it
I was the foam and froth of broken
I waves against the reef that chased
] up and down along the water’s edge
| Then you could discern tumbling
I masses of drift along the shore,
j You heard an officer say that no life
I boat could live in that caldron of
logs and kelp: that it was impos
sible to land anyone on shore shore.
You just stood and waited.
Out of the gray pall of snow and
sleet a boat showed up. A little boat
it looked, as you glanced around
at the big one you stood on, but it
was alive and came closer. It back
ed and tilled and worked into the
lee side and made fast. You saw
i blanketed folk go overside on a weav
jing swaying ladder of rope to the
smaller vessel’s deck. You moved
to where the embarking was going
on. You looked down in the dining
room as you crossed over and where
you had eaten dinner the eve before
there now heaved sluggishly an oily
cluttered sea that lapped at the j
ichair and table legs, that gurgled
through the do«rs and played in ed
dies around the wide stairs. And
the horrible chill and lonliness of
the big room. Something caught in
your throat. The death of the big
steamer was like the loss of a close
friend.
Somehow you reached the deck
of the pitching vessel alongside. You
were jambed in among others. The
boat cast off and in high jumps and
deep rolls she moved away. You
didn’t know just where you were
going. You just stood and waited
It seemed a long time in the win
tery cold before a landing was made,
but what a relief it was to step on
solid, dry earth again. Almost at
once that tense taut strung feeling
left you, and you became normal.
Things didn’t look distorted and ug
ly. You were glad to be alive.
For Love Of Ship
A
It is reported that Capt. “Jock”
Livingstone took tho los3 of the
Northwestern muchly to heart.
And why not? The loss of a ship
means a whole lot to sailormen. To
those who beat about the sea their
shin is something alive, something
to love. She becomes a part of those
who sail her.
The reported feeling of the skip- !
per was, likely, the 3ame with all
of the vessel’s crew. This call3 to
mind the wreck of the Strathblane.
a British full rigger, that hit the
sand north of the Columbia River
a number of years ago.
She struck at four in the morn
ing, winter time, in a southeast gale
The life crew couldn’t reach her,
with line nor boat.. So along in
the afternoon, on a flooding tide.,
the crew of her, one by one, edged
out to the end of the spanker boom'j
and dropped into the surf. Some
made shore. Some* didn’t.
One of those who1 came in, with
life belt on, was a grizzled tar.
Shaking himself free the salt
water and sand, when he reached
the beach, he turned around to look
at the ship. Just the masts showed
above the breakers and they were
skewed here and there out of line.
Th old. sailor seated himself on a
chunk of drift and bawled like a
baby.
“What's the matter, bo’s’n; can
't do anyhing for you?’* It was a
kindly rancher of the shore lands
who made inquiry.
“Aye, mate,” blubbered the an
cient shell back, “‘give me my ship
back. 'Twas my ’ome, that vessel
for years, and thrice H’ve sailed the
world h’round h’in 'er. She knew
me, and H’i 'er, mate. God '©Ip
»r, but shes h‘all ‘hin now and ‘ere i
[’is quitten of ’er cold like the yel
)w cur H’i h’am.”
And he broke out crying again.
NOT SO MANY CARS
There were 185,706 passenger
utomobile3 manufactured in the !
Jniled States during the month of ;
Jctober. Outside of December,
926, it is the smallest humber
urned out in two years. Evidently
he Coolidge prosperity has touched
teavily on the car business too.
Some More Herring
The Sitka Sun says that neither
salmon nor halibut depend on her
■ing for food. Not absolutely, no.
[f they did they’d go hungry and
luit Alaska waters. But they do j
sat them when they can find ’em,
don’t forget that. The trouble is
that it is coming to that pass when
there are no herring for halibut, or
salmon either. When there are nc
herring the big fish are obliged to
feed on the next best thing, what
ever that may be. Possibly it. is
needle fish, but no one can use
needle fish for bait in trolling nor
on halibut gear.
The Sun speaks farther: “If the
small amount of herring put up by
the oil and meal plants is going to
exterminate our herring then them
are no herring in Alaska.”
What does this bell wether for
the herring killers call a “small
amount?” Glancing at the Govern
or’s report on herring we find that
in 1926 there were enough herring
ground into manure to foot up to
22,708,881 pounds. How many
green herring does it take to make
a pound of fertilizer. We dont know
exactly, but it calls for a big handful
and then some. Nor do we know
how many tons of herring are de
stroyed on the seining grounds as
attested by many resident fishermen
This big poundage has been going
HERE IS A GOOD GOOD POSITION
FOR A REAL WORKER
We are offering Permanent Posi
tions to a few reliable men and wo
men, in which an excellent income
from side-earnings .even to PARI
TIME workers acn be made. Durtng
our 35 years-in business we have ap
pointed over 518,000 agents whe
supply our household necessity tc
our customers in every country ir
the w'orld. Many of our agents
have been with us over thirty yean
and have achieved Financial Inde
pendence. Increasing local de
mands and repeat orders, make il
necessary to appoint more local re
presentatives in many localities ir
the United States. No special ex
perience or capital required. ^
straight forward, dignified business
Why not represent the largest and
best known house of its kind in the
world. Send us your address and
the Manager of our Appointment
Bureau will send you FULL PAR
TICULARS. When we appoint an
! agent we furnish free samples for
Trial Tests in the homes of youi
locality, etc.
Address ALPHEUS BANCROFT
WASHINGTON, D. C., (Attention
Clerk No. 1), 1438 U (You)
Street, N. W.
Want to be Independent? Want
to make easy money? Then write
for free sample and territory for
fastest selling article in America;
every home, drug store, cafe, soda
fountain, garage and bank are pros
pects. Address Fred L. Viel, Sal
mon, Idaho. Adv.
600 Steel Handpower stumppull
ers $30. Horsepower $75 and up.
For Tractor power, $76. Equip
Driveway Patent Gates $80. Water
i wheels numerous size, Woodpipes,
Handpower Wellborers $10, Ducrest
Mfg, Co, lll-3rd, Renton, Washing
ton.— Adr.
DRS. C. M.&R. L. CARLSON
Optometriste and Opticians
218-19 Commercial Building
KETCHIKAN, ALASKA
Petersburg Meat CoJ
Cato Haarberg. Proprietor
Fresh Choice Meats
Canned Fruit; Etc.
Petersburg,
Alaska
$ John Fanning
| SHOE STORE
!t! Dealer in
3
T
X Complete line of Silk Hosiery
,1, *:*
,i, Best grade of Shoes for men, y
X women and children.
Y X
% Best Quality Goods V
♦!. V
at very low price. Y
x
Shoe repairing neatly done. *t*
X
X~X"X"X~XK"X~X"X~X~X~X"X~f.
The ever growing Circulation of
/
The ALASKAN among buyers is an
Inducement to Merchants to Adver
tise in The ALASKAN.
Buy at Star Bakery and Save Money
Fresh Doughnuts, Cup Cakes, oo’-' ,s
and Cinnamon Rolls
Always on Hand Fresh
STAR BAKERY
AMERICA FIRST arrives in Pe
tersburg Friday morning, leaving
for Juneau via Kake and way ports
about noon.
HAHOW TRANSPORTATION
COMPANY
---
JAC0B1TZ TAXI
DAY & NIGHT SERVICE
Stand at Arctic Hotel
Phone 35
When in Town Stop at
; ARCTIC HOTEL
First Class Rooms
Reasonable Rates j
! CARL ROGER, Pro.
Home Service Mending
of Laundered Goods
We give full value for your
money.
H. OYAMA. PRO.
| Sanitary Market |!
; A Roast you’ll like
:: The Very Choicest Beef ■
Mutton and Pork
; Vegetable in Season !|
s' ----—
SITKA HOT SPRING
HEALTH RESORT
Rate $3.00 per
day and up
Dr. Goddard, Pro.
Built ^
Attractively
Von car get
l he latest de
signs in
i'i jff NnitHi
I l! l_J|j ing prices
Sash, E'oors
ii Ik Kill work
~;iect from the
man-ifact rer
ttone> "iav
-~r,—.r ii |. ! i , r— i fvrm "oda
1 || II lUU^iluJ • *>
\ !; J ^ ^ : -j . .’tratii tat
A \ IllWORK ^
j. 3UP. L.'V