PORTLAND OREGONIAN DIS
CI ,'SSES PROBLEMS AFFECT
ING ALASKA’S DEPOSITS.
STATES SHOULD GET FUEL.
Leasing Law Should Be Amended So
as to Attract More Operators or
Government Should Work Fields
and Market Their Output.
Problems calling1 for immediate sol
ution in connection with the develop
ment of the nearby coal fields and the
marketing of their ouput are discussed
in an able and disinterested manner
by the Portland Oregoniin. The Ore
gon newspaper says:
“Portland, no matter how badly it
needs fuel, is not going to see Alaska
coal unloaded on its docks until some
master mind, or some practical mind
with force behind it, rises to solve
what to the government has thus far
been an unsolvable problem. Portland
needs coal; Portland and the north
west afford a market for vast quanti
ties of coal. Alaska has the coal that
Portland and the northwest needs
The problem is to bring that coal tc
a known market or markets.
Opposed Private Acquisiton.
“Had not conservation, or rathei
conservationists, interfered, Alaska
coal would long ago have been on the
Portland market, but the consei-va
tinn J ^f w- i imne in nri.
vate acquisition of coal lands in Alas
ka, and private capital was driver
out. The Alaska coal has been care
fully ‘conserved’ ever since, and no one
has had any benefit. These same con
servationists, unless the war shall
work a change of sentiment in con
gress, will be strong enough to longer
prevent Alaska coal lands from pass
ing into private control. Which means
that Alaska coal, if it is to be devel
oped, must be developed under fed
eral leases.
“Officials of the interior depart
ment, whose main energies now are
directed to completing the govern
ment railroad connecting the Mata
nuska coal fields with tidewater, point
out that two difficulties seem tc
stand in the way of the devlopment
of coal lands in Alaska. Capital is
holding back, they say, because there
is no adequate transportation to get
coal from Anchorage to the Pacific
coast, hence they do not feel justified
in making investments merely for the
sake of getting coal out of the ground
w le on the other hand, shipping men
seeing no coal in sight, do not feel
justified in building barges to bring
down coal when they have no assur
ance that there will be coal to haul.
None for Pacific Coast.
Alaska on which work is now being
done, and those lessees are not con
templating supplying coal to Pacific
coast markets. The government, it is
true, is going to mine some of its
own coal in Alaska for its own use
but it is not going to mine coal foi
sale—that is, it has no present in
tention of going into the commercial
coal business. And thereby arises the
deadlock.
“It is perfectly evident, the Pacific
northwest being the most interested
section, someone in the northwest
must bring together the capital that
may be ready and willing to mine coal
under leases and the capital that may
be ready and willing to build coal
barges, and with the two interests
work out the problem that has thus
far been too much for the federal
government to solve.
“If the northwest has a Henry Ford
now is the time when he should rise
tackle a perfectly feasible problem
and give this section the benefit of Im
practical common sense. Henry Fore
recently went to Washington to con
fer with government officials on ship
building and other war industries. He
found an atmosphere of despondency;
he found officials worried because in
dustries were closing down owing tc
their inability to get coal; he found a
fuel administration worrying over a
threatened 50,000,000-ton shortage of
coal. He advised the greater us<
of machinery in coal production,
and, if necessary, government opera
tion of large coal properties. Port
land has just such a situation, and
it will grow more acute if the prom
ised development of shipping in
creases the importance of the Colum
bia river. Hut coaling facilities are
necessary at any important water
terminal.
“if legislation is necessary to solve
the coal problem in the northwest, the
lead in securing that legislation must
be taken by the senators and represen
tatives from Oregon and Washington
If the leasing law is to be amended
northwestern legislators must make
the light for its amendment. If that
law is not to be amended and the de
velopment is to proceed under leases
| then suggestions for modifying the
terms of coal leases in Alaska must
come from the northwest; the east has
no interest at this time in Alaska coal
Legislation Is Needed.
“And if private capital is not to de
velop Alaska coal, and the govern
ment alone remains, then the north
: western delegations in congress must
! put through the necessary legislator
and get the necessary appropriations
to enable the government to mine coa
in Alaska and sell it on the market.
“So far as can be learned, there is
no present intention on the part ol
the interior department to recomment
government mining of coal in Alaska
Rather, the department hopes thal
capital will come forward, lease tin
Alaska coal lands and use the new
government railroad in getting thal
coal to tidewater. If this does nol
work out—well, the department a1
this time has no remedy to suggest
Secretary of the Interior Franklin K
Senator Charles 1.. Me Nary, of Ore
gon, offered to make any modification
in the Alaska coal easing regulations
which would make the terms more at
tractive to capital—provided they stil
safeguard the interests of the publii
and the government.
Opportunity Afforded Capital.
' "If there is capital in the northwesl
l
which can be invested in Alaska coa
lands under the leasing system, am
if that capital is holding off because
the present leasing terms are objec
tionable, the secretary has afforde<
an opportunity at least to suggest
modifications of the terms. Hut ii
capital will not invest in coal lease?
and if the Matanuska coal fields arc
to lie practically idle because the
leasing system is the only system un
der which they can be developed, the
alternative is government develop
ment, and this calls for legislation.
“Whatever is done to promote the
development of Alaska’s coal resour
ces must be done at the instigation of
senators and representatives fron
Oregon and Washington. The east
having theoretically conserved the
Alaska coal, is content. Yet a proper
!y directed campaign in congress
might even interest the east, for even
ton of Alaska coal going into north
western markets will release just se
much coal from Wyoming and LTtal
to move eastward instead of west
ward, and every ton of Alaska coal sob
in northwest would mean a ton adde<
to the supply available for the big in
dustrial and manufacturing states o
the east.
“The Alaska coal problem, like oth
; er big problems that have arisen ir
| the past six months, is one that cai
be worked out when the right mei
take hold. But the Alaska coal prob
lem is not going to work itself out
and so long as the interior depart
ment concentrates on the completioi
of the railroad, without bothering
| much about furnishing tonnage foi
that road when it is completed, thai
agency is not going to contribute
much which will be useful.”
CAN YOU BEAT THESE.
There is a man in the Finance De
partment in Madrid Spain, whose
! name is Don Juan Nepomuceno de
i Burionagonattotorecagogeazecha. Am
there is a village in the Isle of Mull
Scotland, named Drimtaidhvrikhill
chatanllanvairpweigwyugyll.
YOU KNOW HIM!
He is a pessimistic mut,
I speak of Henry Hubbles;
He never counts his blessings, but
He always counts his troubles.
MARSHAL’S OFFICE DECLARED
INCAPABLE OR UNWILLING
TO DO ITS WORK.
MURDERER DEFIES THE LAW.
Woman’s Slayer Is Still at Liberty
and No Arrests Have Been Made
Although Blood-Stained Money Is
in Circulation.
Excitement runs high at McCarthy,
according to mail advices from there,
over the apparent neglect or indiffer
ence on the part of the federal offici
als to bring to justice the murderer
of Rose Silberg, a woman of the re
stricted district, who was recently kil
led for her money in her house, as
well as to solve the mystery of the
death a few days later of Joseph Pe
trey, who was found dead in a room
in the Golden hotel. In fact the resi
dents of McCarthy are so incensed
over the turn of affairs that a peti
. tion is being prepared and will be cir
culated for signatures praying the at
torney general at Washington to send
Ian officer to the Copper river valley:
| to protect the life and property of the
| people there.
At the inquest over the remains of
the Silberg woman, there was not suf
ficient evidence to hold S. Simusu, the
,! j
I Japanese who was arrested on suspi
!
I cion of being implicated in the mur
der, and he was released, and at pres- J
v’ni ifitfit! i> nuumi^ uwiu^
in the way of clearing1 up the mystery.
Mood-St ant'd Money.
The fact remains, however, that
, the’"<> are sufficient clues which should
i result in the guilty party being ap
1 prehended. Finger prints of the as
sassin were left at the scene of the
murder and blood-stained money was 1
1 in circulation in McCarthy immedi- ’
lately after the tragedy.
It is stated that six murders have
been committed in the McCarthy sec- j
tion and not a single conviction se
cured. Patience is ceasing to be a
virtue among the law-abiding citizens |
of the community and they now insist
that unless the marshal of the third
I division is willing and able to cope
.with the situation that relief must,
come direct from the government,
through the department of justice. I
Direct Appeal to lie Made.
Believing that the latter course is'
the only solution of the deplorable
'conditions, an appeal is to be made
! direct to the department of justice for
relief.
F. R. Brenneman, marshal for the
third division, whose headquarters are
at Valdez, when informed of the in
I tended action of the residents of Mc
: Carthy, said that the petition to the
'department of justice by them would
u
l
be totally unnecessary, as the matter :
of securing an experienced detective
to run down the murderer of the Sil
berg woman and to solve the mystery
surrounding the death of Petry had
been taken up by him, that the neces
sary authority to employ such an of
ficer had been obtained and that the
officer was now on his way to inves
tigate the crime.
WILL SELL COTTON.
Five Hundred Bales Will Be Offered
for Sale at Yuma, Ariz.
1 YUMA, Ariz., March 30. — A new
factor in the production of Egyptian
long staple cotton will be brought be
' fore the cotton buyers this month
when the Winterhaven Exchange, an
organization of growers near here,
will offer 500 bales of this variety for
sale. At the prices which prevailed
last year, this amount of cotton is
worth approximately $175,000.
Arizona and the southern portion of
I California have recently developed a
considerable cotton acreage, and it is
said by cotton growers that the long
fibre coton, such as that which is to be
sold is especially valuable at this time,
because it is the kind most sought
after for the fabric in automobile tires
and for wing fabric for aeroplanes.
Job printing at the Times office.
CANDIDACY OF WILLIAM MALO
NEY WORRIES MACHINE LEAD
ERS WHO WANT SULZER.
CALLING EACH OTHER NAMES.
Juneau Empire Characterizes Mining
Inspector As Boob, Saying As La
boring Man He Has No Legislative
Experience.
Democrats are beginning to mani
fest considerable heat over the con
test between William Maloney, at
present territorial mining inspector,
and Charles A. Sulzer, for the demo
cratic nomination for delegate to
congress.
The candidacy of Mr. Maloney wor
ries the machine democrats, who led
by Thomas Donohoe, of Valdez, demo
cratic national committeeman for
Alaska, and John Wr. Troy, editor of
the Juneau Empire, are supporting
Mr. Sulzer.
The machine democrats recently
said that Mr. Maloney’s candidacy oc
casioned a laugh in Juneau. They
characterized him as a man who had
spent practically all of his life as a
worker, and who, therfore, was with
out the legislative experienced posses
sed by Mr. Sulzer.
The Juneau Empire dubbed Mr. Ma
loney a boob. He retorted by sating
that his chance of defeating Mr. Sul
zer was regarded so favorably by Mr.
Donohoe that the territorial national
committeeman tried to get the min
ing inspector out of the race by prom
ising him, if he would withdraw, polit
ical preferment of a lucrative charac
ter in the near future.
Trifling With Truth.
Mr. Ponohoe answered this by de
claring that Mr. Maloney was tri
fling with the truth, and the latter
then relieved himself of the following
expression, which was printed in the
Alaska Dispatch:
“Apropos of the laugh which is
said to have been occasioned by my
candidacy, has it ever occurred to you
tiiat there is one kind of human laugh
which so nearly resembles the savage
snarl of the hyena that it is impossi
ble to distinguish them apart? There
are many types of the genus homo
who indulge in such laughter. The
murderous fiend who stands above the
quivering form and chuckles at the
last expiring gasp of his innocent vic
tim sometimes gives vent to it; the
highwayman who finds himself in the
item grip of justice frequently shrugs
his shoulders and signifies his resig
nation in this way; and the crooked,
scheming politician, caught red-hand
ed in the attempt to rob the people of
their rights, is apt to give such an ex
hibition when he feels the avenging
grip of his deluded followers tight
ening about his goozle—they all be
long to this class, and that funny
gentleman from Valdez, Thomas J.
Donohoe, stands high in the ranks of
the latter subdivision of it.
Threat of Third Candidate.
“Does any man or woman in Alas
ka who knows both Tom Donohoe and
me believe that I lied when I said that
he admitted in my office that he be
lieved I would defeat Sulzer in the
primary, and threatened to put up an
independent candidate against me if I
should do so? Well, hardly. It is too
much in keeping with his methods,
and with the methods of his political
associates—rule or ruin is his slogan,
and it is the watchword of the little
coterie of self-styled party leaders
with whom he herds; and the people
of the territory know it.
“And so he thinks I made the state
ment because I thought he was leav
ing town ? Not on your sweet life. In
fact, I am glad he was here to read
it. There could not have been a more
fortunate occurrence, as he and his
henchmen had been telling about town
that I would withdraw, feeling secure
in his ability to buy me with a prom
ise.
Will Not Sell Out.
“I do not belong to that class of
politicians; I do not sell so easily;
neither do I betray my friends. I am
m this race to stay until I shall have
seen an avalanche of ballots cover the
political corps of Mr. Sulzer and his
creeping, crawling little ring of ver
min.
“So the brilliant editor of the Em
pire thinks I am a boob, eh ? Yes, in
deed, I am such a boob that I sup
ported Mr. Sulzer in the last cam
paign. I am just the same kind of a
boob that any honest man is to a pick
pocket. I am that kind of a boob whe
always has the courage—physical am
moral—to rise up out of the ranks ol
the common people and challenge the
dishonest political methods of sued
men as Mr. Donohoe. I came froir
the ranks of the workers; indeed I an
still one of them, and I am proud o!
it. I have always worked for theii
interests and I always shall.
Sneers at Workingmen.
“When Mr. Donohoe sneers at me
for being a plain, common citizen, he
sneers at every workingman in Alas
ka, for that is the spirit whch prompts
the sneer. We are a fine bunch of fel
lows as long as we can be used tc
further the nefarious ends of surf
men as these funny gentlemen; bul
we are boobs the moment we dare tc
assert our rights, or the rights of oui
fellow men. 1 am glad I am such z
boob. But I have never been so crook
ed as to be driven out of a politica
convention; nor such a boob as to gc
whining back and lick the boot thai
kicked me out. This is what happen
ed to Mr. Donohoe:
Mighty Poor Standing.
“His standing in the community ii
which he lived was so poor that he
could not be elected delegate to the
democratic convention at Valdez ir
1912; but he wheedled some poor boot
like me into giving him a proxy. Ther
f tin nnlitionl r\ f cv\iif Viooetnvr
j Alaska, Robert W. Jennings, kicke(
j him out of the convention. Jennings
was nominated for delegate at tha
convention, and he ran so well tha
even Kazis Ivrauczunic defeated him
After all this, Donohoe crawled bad
to the foot of the throne, was forgiv
en and again elevated to fellowshij
in the ancient order of politcal manip
ulators.
“I have never held any politica
faith other than that of a democrat
and I never shall; not even the pres
ence of such cattle as Donohoe in it;
ranks can drive me out of the party
but I intend to make it my life worl
to purge it of his ilk.
“The editor of the Empire is, him
self, in a splendid positon to throv
bouquets. He was an ardent admire
of James Wickersham as late as 1012
when he wrote several letters, slop
ping over in his usual mushy style
greatly commending Mr. Wickershan
on his ‘well merited victory.’
“I have made no alliances with an;
man or set of men. 1 stand for thi
principles enunciated in my platform
! and I solicit the votes of all elasse;
! and conditions of men and women wh<
believe in those principles, and ar
I willing to vote for me in the demo
| cratic primary.”
i
DOG GUARDS BARRACKS.
; Soldiers of One Company at Cam
Lewis Cannot Stay Out Late.
CAMP LEWIS, Tacoma, Wash
j March 30.—No member of H. Com
I pany, Three Hunched and Twenty-sec
ond field signal battalion can corn
sneaking into the barracks after tap
if he hapens to be late after beinj
away on leave .“Happy,” the Airedal
pup of Private Edward Bartlett, whicl
adopted the company when its inaste
joined the signal ocrps, doesn’t ap
prove of any relaxation in military
duty and whenever there is a lapsi
“Happy” finds it out and tells ever:
meber of the company in unmistakabh
fashion.
The shaggy dog gets into the bar
racks before tans and when an:
soldier comes in late, trying to sneal
past the sergeant, “Happy” lets out ;
howl which lets the whole compan;
know there is a wayward soldier ii
their midst.
“Happy” doesn’t take well to visit
ors and the officer of the day occasion
ally has trouble entering B Compan;
barracks for the daily inspection
“Happy” is always the first to answe
reveille and the man nearest the doo
must let the ambitious little masco
out or there is trouble.
Read the Anchorage Tmes.
COPPER ORE FORMS LARGEST
SINGLE ITEM IN LIST OF
COM MODIFY S HI PM E NTS.
FALLING OFF FROM JANUARY.
I _
Decrease in Trade Is Due to Fewer
Vessels in Northern Waters, to Had
Weather and to Curtailment of Gold
Output.
Figures issued by the Juneau cus
toms house show that the exports
i
| from Alaska during the month of
I February were valued at a total of
I $2,314,644. The largest single item
| consisted of copper ore which was
valued at $1,464,206. The exports for
February show a considerable falling
off but this is directly traceable to the
1 small number of vessels on the north
! ern run and to the exceptionally bad
i weather, and also to the curtailment
of the output of the gold mines on
Gastineau channel.
'; The itemized statement of exports
; follows:
' Animals .$ 450
Bones, horns, etc. 173
Curios . 200
i, Fresh fish . 87,342
■ Dried fish . 83!)
1 Kippeerd herring . 27.851
1 Canned salmon . 123,078
1 Fresh and prepared salmon.. 24,260
1 Clams .-. 325
1 Furs . 17,391
I Gypsum . 5,250
i
> Jewelry. 92
• Copper . 1,464.200
- Lead . 2,642
• Stone and marble - 4,055
: All other products . 3,936
’ Total Alaska products .$1,762,090
' U. S. goods returned . 79,494
Foi'eign merchandise . 1,996
I __
•! Total ..$1,843,586
; Gold Bullion .$ 309,073
: Gold ore . 111,481
• Silver ore .— 48,508
Furs, foreign . . 1,996
Grand total -..$2,314,644
FAMOUS WOMAN IS DEAD.
’ Dowager Empress of Abyssinia Pass
1 es Away at Addis Abeba.
LONDON, April L—Tai-Tou, Dow
ager Empress of Abyssinia, died re
’ cently at Addis Abeba, according to
’ advices received here.
’ The empress who was a widow for
} the fourth time when in 1883, at the
J age of 30, she married Menelik, then
simply king of Shoa, was a woman of
great force of character. A princess of
Tigre, she was of very fair complexion
and had remarkably small hands and
feet. In her youth she was celebrated
for her beauty. From the first, as she
became a daughter of the King of
Gondar, she took an active part in the
troublous politics of Abyssinia, and
was concerned in all the civil wars and
intrigues which ended in the raising of
Menelik—to whom she bore no chil
dren—to the position of Negus-Ne- ^
5! gusti (emperor) in 1889. At Adowa,
j where the Italians suffered a crushing
i reverse she accompanied Menelik to
, the battle headquarters and put her
^ j own hereditary troops in the field.
t j During Menelik’s long illness she
t j practically governed the country and
! kept it from internal disorders. ^
On Menelik’s death at Christmas, '
!1913, his grandson Lidj Jeassu, a
| youth of 18, became emperor, but the
(j young ruler failed to maintain order,
| and largely on Tai-tou’s initiative he
^ was deposed in September, 191G, and
his aunt Zeodita, Menelik’s oldest
daughter, was proclaimed empress.
T
r
t
“You are on the road so much that
you seldom see your wife,” said the
Friend. “Don’t you ever get home
sick?”
“No, indeed,” replied the Drummer.
“I’m luckier than most married men.
I’m never home long enough to get
sick of it.”
i
f