THE ANCHORAGE WEEKLY TIMES!
ANCHORAGE PUBLISHING CO., PUBLISHERS.
CHAS. E. HERRON.
President
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CALLING FOR AIRPLANES.
The dispatch of the Associated Press correspondent with
the American troops on the first line in France, telling the na
tion that the Huns have a complete and undisputed mastery of
the air over the American sector, is nothing less than a call
'for help from the boys in the trenches, a call that must stir
the country to immediate response. The fact that this plain
statement, so at variance with the optimistic reports, has been
permitted to pass through the various barriers of censorship,
means hut one thing: it lias the approval of Gen. Pershing. Gen.
Pershing needs airplanes, and he must need them urgently!
when his need is voiced to the public through press dispatches.
Coincident with this cry for help from the trenches comes
the statement from Secretary Baker that America’s first ship
ment of airplanes is under way, a statement mildly reassuring
were it not for the additional statement that the shipment is
“nearly five months ahead of the original schedule.” While
deeply grateful for the speed that produced the airplanes five
months ahead of schedule, there is a natural apprehension over
the general scheme which, but for this happy energy, would
have left our boys five months longer at the mercy of the Hun
airmen. There seems to be some thing radically wrong about
such an arrangement. .
France, we know, is manufacturing our artillery; England
our rifles, uniforms and hospital trains; but apparently we have
been left in the lurch as far as the most necessary article ot
war. the airplane, is concerned.
In all fairness it must be admitted that the airplane situa
tion is difficult, a fact that the too optimistic agenting of the
liberty motor lias blurred, if not entirely extinguished. Riga,
the source of flax for lridi linen, is no longer ail exporter, and
the Iririi flax crops have hardly been hold to their normal pro
duction; and wo all know in a general way of the difficulties
incident to spruce construction.
But. after all this is admitted, we are still barred from ad
justing difficulties. We have to win this war in the spirit ot'
Gen. (dapper, of the Iron divsion, who. shot through the lungs
at Loos, with tin* pink froth of death on his lips, gave this un
dying instruction to hi- men: “We are here to do the impos
sible.”
We, too, here at home must do the impossible, and without
any five-month limitation. Wo must get the airplanes to the
front and the Hun out of tin* air, no matter whose heart breaks
or whose reputation goes glimmering.
WAR AND PLAGUE.
The world lias had war for more than three years, a war
that has brought quite enough misery without other concom
itants. dust now there are signs that its frequent companion,
plague, may also beset suffering humanity. The plague of a
decade ago began in Mongolia and northern China, bearing all
the evidences, in the preliminary stages, of incipient pneu
monia. Recent dispatches from the orient indicate that anoth
er outbreak of pneumonia has appeared in Mongolia and north
ern China. Kfforts of American and Japanese doctors to deal
with the disease in Shansi province are said to have been pre
vented by mobs. Diplomatic representatives of foreign na
tions resident in China have asked the Chinese government to
take measures to control the situation.
The world, beset by war, is just now off guard and unable
to deal with tin1 disease with its former thoroughness. Should
the situation in northern China get beyond the control of lo
cal authority it might have some influence in bringing war to
a close long before the belligerents are ready for it. Russia
and Siberia are practically in a state of anarchy; there is no
machinery of government sufficient to deal with the spread
of contagious disease. If the plague made its way into the
Slav republic the Maximilists would be reinforced unexpected
ly with a strong argument for peace.
The reappearance of plague in the orient, if indeed it he
plague, will bring renewed precaution against the spread of
the disease by ocean carriers. The war upon the rat would re
quire to be renewed, and tin* old nit guard rules would be
strictly enforced . Many precautions are still taken at Amer
ican Pacific and Atlantic ports.
In the midst of the world hubbub of war, the threat of the
plague has gone unnoticed. Marly in this month the first inti
mation of it came over the cables. Doctors in Shansi feared at
that time that the disease was plague in its pneumonic form.
The world will hope, and with reason, that their fears are un
founded.
Fraud or no fraud, it is a little difficult to contemplate a!
place suggestively known as Hog island without some little1
suspicion.
***********************
* FIGHTING SLOWS DOWN
* BRITISH HEADQUARTERS, March 26.—Fight
* ing has slowed down on the British front. The British
* are holding the enemy half way between Combles and
* Albert.
* Germans Use British Tanks.
* BERLIN, March 26.—A semi-official statement to
* day assert# that German tanks, reinforced by captured
* British tanks, took a leading part in breaking the brave
* vocUtnnc£ of the English to the German offensive.
* j
* :
* j
* I
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
F. LE KOI THURMOND, OF THIS
CITY, REVIEWS CONDITIONS
IN ALASKA.
ADDRESS AT NIGHT SCHOOL.
Development of Resources of Cook
Inlet Country and Facilities Afford
ed by Government Railroad Assure
Prosperous Metropolis.
Development in the not distant fu
ture of the rich mineral resources of
the Cook inlet country and the advan
tages resulting from the operation of
the government railroad will assure
employment to thousands of people in
this section of the northland, in the
opinion of F. LeRoi Thurmond, min
ing engineer of this city. Mr. Thur
mond reviewed mining conditions in
Alaska and outlined their future prob
abilities in an address before the An
chorage night school.
“Alaska,” he said, “was a little
known country previous to 189G when
a few hardy miners were engaged in
placer mining at widely separated
points, and the annual gold production
was somewhere in the neighborhood
of $2,500,000; a large part of which
came from the Treadwell mines at
Douglas island, near Juneau.
“One of these few prospectors dis
covered gold in quantity in the Klon
dike region, and carried the news of
his discovery to Forty Mile, which
camp stampeded to the new diggings,
and when the news reached the out
side world the following year began
one of the greatest argonautic expedi
tions the world has ever seen.
Credit Given Canada.
“The history of the Klondike rush
is probably better known to many of
you than to myself, * so 1 will not
spend more time on that subject ex
cept to call attention to the fact that
the statistics of gold production in
Alaska do not show any noticeable
increase after the discovery of the
Klondike, due to the fact that this
gold came from Canadian territory.
“In 1899, however, the increase in
gold production of Alaska became no
ticeable after the discovery of Nome.
Thu production in 1898 was $2,500,000
and in 1899 it had more than doubled,
being $5,000,000 and from that year
the production increased by leaps and
bounds until it had reached the apex
in 1900. The production that year
reached $22,000,000.
“The gold production of Alaska to
date has been $280,000,000. Forty
times what the United States paid to
Russia for the territory. The yearly
gold production of Alaska is now
about $17,000,000, having fallen off
from $22,000,000, due to decline of the
large placer mining districts.
Total Mineral Production.
“The total mineral production to
date has been $351,000,000 and of this
amount $280,000,000 is gold; $68,000,
000* copper; $2,000,000, silver; $500,
000, tin; $100,000 lead.
These iigures are for 1916, and
when the returns for 1917 are pub
lished the total of copper will reach
nearly $100,000,000. This production
of copper has been from a very few
mines. The Kennecott mines in the
Copper river district, the Ellamar and
Latouche in Prince William sound,
and one or two producers in the Ket
chikan district.
“The Bonanza mine at Kennecott,
is remarkable for the great quantity
of high grade ore produced at a time
when the attention of the mining
world is strongly directed toward the
exploitation of large, low-grade ore
bodies of a copper tenor which would
have received no attention previous
to the success of the well-known Utah
Copper company operating on one
and one-fourth per cent copper ores.
“In the Prince William sound dis
trict a new producer has been made
of the Midas mine in Solomon gulch,
just across the bay from Valdez. In
addition to copper, the Valdez dis
trict has a number of gold mines, at
one of which, “The Cliff,” I was em
ployed as assayer in 1913. This mine
ed by waters from the bay and lost.
“Port Wells, at the extreme north
west arm of Trince William sound,
has many promising prospects and
one mine which has produced nearly
half a million in gold, the Granite,
which is now idle, due to inefficiency
n management.
Famous Low-Grade Mines.
“In southeastern Alaska, we have
the Treadwell mine,* which is the
world’s most remarkable instance of
successfQl exploitation of low-grade
gold mines.
“The Treadwell group has mined
25,000,000 tons of ore, averaging in
gold content $2.42 per ton. These
mines are 2,400 feet deep, and had
ore blocked out for a number of years’
operations, and the management was
planning on extensive developments
based on the results obtained by ex
haustive experiment at the newer
mines at Juneau, when the disastrous
cave-in and flood occurred last sum
mer, causing the loss of a large part
of the workings and curtailing opera
tions very materially.
“On the main land, at Juneau, the
enormous expenditure of money in
preliminary work and mill construc
tion, and the low grade of the ore,
have been the most talked-of mining
developments of recent years. About
$1(XOO(),000 was invested before any
return was made on the money.
Predictions Are Impossible.
“The investments were made on a
basis of $1.50 per ton ore, but the
ores as mined and milled have aver
iged but $1.20, with the result that
n-ofits have not come up to expecta
tions and consequently the stocks of
the operating companies are at a dis
count. It is impossible for an outsid
er to predict the future of these mines
but mining men in general are opti
mistic concerning them. I will give
some figures from the report of the
Alaska Gold Mining company, which
is the holding company for the Alas
| ’ca-Gastineau. These figures are for
: - 916:
Tons of ore milled
Gross value per ton
field per ton .
j failings, per ton
1,800,000
.$1.19
.97
.22
..73
.24
Operating expense, per ton .. .
| Profit, per ton .
“This profit of 24 cents a ton is
about the narrowest margin ever at
tempted in the mining game. •
“Kenai peninsula is known to be
I extensively mineralized and has made
i a considerable production of placer
i gold to date. The value and perma
; nence of the lode mines remains to
j be proved. During the past year a
l new mining industry was developed,
i Chromite ore is being mined and
shipped from near Seldovia.
“Coming nearer home we have Wil
i low creek, which has produced with
only superficial development and in
adequate machinery, something over
a million dollars. The operators there
are very optimistic and much activity
is promised for the coming season.
(.ache and 1 entna Districts.
“Then we have the placer camps
of the Cache creek and Yentna river
districts, where one dredge operated
in l'JIT and one is under construction
at the presnt time. Investigations
were made with a view to exploitation
on a large scale by Prof. Herschel
Parker on the Ivahlitna river, who re
ported finding platinum in sufficient
quantity, which with the gold tenor
of the gravel will make profitable
large areas of dredging grounds.
“The Broad Pass district is known
to contain large bodies of valuable
minerals, and I have during the past
season assayed many samples from
this district showing splendid values
in gold, silver, copper and lead.
“I have not time to cover all the
districts known to contain valuable
minerals or the minerals known to
exist, except that in addition to gold
and copper there are deposits of lead,
antimony, silver, zinc, iron, tungsten,
molybdenum, platinum and tin.
Chickaloon Coal Beds.
“I need not go into details of the
great coal beds at Chickaloon, but I
wish to correlate the significant facts
in regard to the coal and the ores of
the Broad pass and adjacent territory,
their extent and contiguity. A local
smelter will probably be built here or
at Talkeetna. The abundance of
smelting ores and suitable fuel for
metallurgical coke and lime and iron
for fluxing, make it a certainty at no
WELCOME
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BANK OF ALASKA
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the enormous economic value to the
nation of the exploitation of these re
sources. In order to get fuel to smelt
copper, lead, gold and silver, coke
will have to be made from coal, and
the by-products of distillation of coal
will form the bases for the manufac
ture of dyes, drugs and explosives,
which, in connection with the metals
produced will be of tremendous im
portance in the event of the prolonga
tion of the present war.
“1 want to say to you tonight that
I have faith in the future of Alaska
—a faith that is not fathered by the
wish, but which is based upon ascer
tained facts. I believe the region
tributary to Cook inlet to be especial
ly favored in natural resources. A
great start has been made toward the
development of these resources, and
looking down the vista of time I can
see these mountains pouring forth
their glittering treasures, and indus
trial enterprises springing to life
along the great iron road which will
eventually bisect this great land.
These industries will give employment
to many thousands of people and a
market will be made for the produce
of the farms.
“I can see a great commonwealth,
which will be the pride of its people,
who, industrious, prosperous and
happy, will add another glittering
star to that flag for the principles of
which the nation is now engaged in
the mightiest struggle the world has
ever seen.”
MADE BY DESCHAMPS
I) E F E X I) A N T DECLARES HE
STRUCK JOHN KLONOS IN
DEFENSE OF HIMSELF.
The trial of Samuel Deschamps con
tinues today before a jury in the
United States commissioner’s court
before Judge Leopold David. A ver
dict is expected this evening. Des
champs wes arrested Saturday after
noon charged with assaulting John
Klonos.
He was released from jail Saturday
night under a cash bond of $1,000.
The trial was begun yesterday
afternoon before Judge David. It was
resumed at 10 o’clock this morning.
Deschamps testified today that he
did not begin the assault and that he
1 acted in self defense.
The jury hearing the facts is com
posed of H. Levy, of telegraph and
telephone department; N. Wana
| maker, clerk; William Engberg; A.
; Albritton, accountant; Ray C. Larson,
merchant; Fred Tracy, steamship
I agent; Lee S. Fox, miner; W. M. Mar
J sters,'miner; E. Edward Cone, town
i site employe; Joseph Manion, miner;
1J. A. Miller, clerk for engineering
j commission; and Winfield Erwin.
HEAVY ARTILLERY USED IN
BOMBARDING PARIS ARE PRO
DUCT OF SKODA FACTORY.
NO NEW PRINCIPLE INVOLVED.
Shell Is of Novel Type and Explosive
Gases Project Missile—Only Two
or Three Big Weapons Have Been
Turned Out.
*************
* One of Great Surprises. *
* LONDON. March 26.—It is *
* conceded that the Germans •*
* have sprung one of the great- *
*■ est surprises of the war in *
* bringing into action, the long *
* distance guns that are bom- *
* barding Paris. *
*************
GENEVA, Switzeralnd, March 26.—
The long range guns used by the Teu
tons in bombarding Paris are of Aus
trian manufacture. They were built
in a factory at Skoda.
The scientific principle governing
the construction of the gun is not new.
The shell is of novel type. Explosive
gases are used in the gun.
Only two or three of the guns have
been turned out by the Skoda factory.
HEBERT A. MEYER
IN AVIATION CORPS
ASSISTANT TO SECRETARY OF
INTERIOR JOINS AERIAL DI
VISION OF ARMY.
Herbert A. Meyer, assistant to Sec
retary of the Interior Franklin K.
Lane and in charge of Alaskan rail
way affairs, has been appointed a
captain in the aviation branch of the
United States signal corps, according
to word received here today.
E. C. Bardley has been appointed
assistant to Secretary Lane to suc
ceed Captain Meyer.
Captain Meyer was in Anchorage
last summer and while here mane a
thorough invetigation of the condi
tions prevailing along the government
railroad.
THE WISE FOOL.
“You should not expect to get some
thing for nothing,” observed the Sage.
“No,” agreed the Fool, “if a man
gives you a black eye you should give
him one in return.”
To prevent gas escaping when a jet
is turned off a rubber thimble that
covers it tinhtlv has been invented.