Änrlxomge D aily Timeg
AND COOK INLET PIONEER
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1916.
YOL. 1. NO. 271.
I'lHCL TEN CENTS.
STRATEGICAL VILLAGE ON UN
FRONT MEN BV ALLIED TROOPS,
AFTER 18-HOUR ENGAGEMENT
LONDON, Seftt. 11.—('01111)108, the key point to the whole
of the German battle line extending from Bapaume to Peronne,
has been captured by the British troops, following a battle that
continued without interruption for eighteen hours. The losses
* on botli sides were appalling, although the German troops were
the heaviest losers in men. The battle was one of the most des
perate engagements of the war. The British troops made charge
after charge against the German positions, and finally forced
the enemy to retire from the coveted village. The fighting con
Guues today in the sector north of Somme. The British troops
V» 6 following up the advantage gained by the capture of Com
bles, which has enthused them to greater efforts. It has been
found that the German troops are weakened by the withdrawal
of whole divisions of soldiers that have been moved to the Do
^ brudja front, to assist in resisting the mighty offensive of the
Russian-Roumanian armies in that sector. The Allies are tak
ing advantage of the removal of the enemy troops to gain po
sitions in the western front.
Preceding the capture of Conihles, the British troops cap
tured the villages of Morval and Clesboeurs, together with sev
eral lines of Teuton trenches on a six-mile front between Com
ities and Martinpuch. A report issued yesterday afternoon says
the-British penetrated the enemy lines for a depth of a mile.
At midnight, a report stated that Confides had been taken.
Many German prisoners, were taken captive.
Roumanians Claim Victories.
BUCHAREST, Sept. 27.—According to a report issued by
the Roumanian war office today, 6,874 Austrian prisoners were
taken by tlie Roumanian troops in fighting at the north and
west fronts in Transylvania yesterday. The Austrian troops
are being pressed backward, but are contesting every foot of
ground. The Roumanian troops have been re-inforced by the
arrival of Russian troops.
Zeppelins Make Another Raid.
LONDON, Sept. 27.—A hostile fleet of airships crossed the
east coast of England between 10:30 and the midnight hour
last night, dropping bombs on the midland and northern coun
ties. An airship was also reported as visiting the south coast
i-^jtEngland late last night. No reports as to the casualties
differed as a result of the visitation have been issued by the
war department. It is not believed that the damage inflicted is
serious or that many deaths resulted. *
Later Report of Aerial Raid.
LONDON, Sept. 27.—Twenty-nine persons fell victims to
the hostile aerial raid in various parts of England last night,
according to official reports. The French commander of the
home forces says that seven Zeppelins participated in the raid.
* Venizelos Goes to Salonika.
ATHENS, Sept. 27.—Former Premier Venizelos, accom
panied by Rear Admiral Condouridtis, commander-in-chief of
the Greek navy, departed from Athens today. It is reported
that the two will go to the island of Crete, from whence they
will go to Salonika. While no official information on the sub
ject is available, it is conjectured that the movement of the for
mer premier and the commander-in-chief of the Ureek navy
lias to do with the entry of Greece into the world war.
T“
COL PERSHING
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27,-Secre
tary of War Baker announces that
President Wilson has decided to nom
inate Col. Pershing for major-general
in the United States army. Col. Per
ching is the commander of the Amer
J’T\n columns operating in Mexico,
'his conduct of the campaign has been
such as to gain the approbation of his
superior of
will follow.
LIQUORS SEIZED
BY AUTHORITIES
SEATTLE, Sept. 27. — Thirteen
thousand pints of whiskey, put up in
bottles, and two barrels of brandy,
consigned to James Brannan of Pe
tersburg, Alaska, was seized and de
stroyed by the police authorities yes
terday. The department has special
officers detailed to watch the water
ront for liquor shipments.
❖
❖ DELEGATE WICKERSHAM, CONGRESSMAN
❖ JOHNSON ARE COMING ON THE ALAMEDA
❖ -
^ Juneau, Sept. 26, 1916.
♦ The Times, Anchorage:
^ Delegate Wickersham, accompanied by Congress
man Johnson, of Washington, departed from here Sun
♦ day, on the steamer Alameda, and will go directly
^ through to Anchorage. The delegate’s campaign in
♦ this division has been very satisfactory. Republicans
^ generally are uniting and will support Wickersham for
^ delegate
♦ DAILY DISPATCH.
♦ -
♦ The foregoing message was received in reply t ■-> a
'f’ query sent by The Times. There appeared to be some
^ doubt as to whether the delej ate would come through
♦ on the Alameda, or whether lie would first speak in
♦ Cordova, Valdez and Seward before coming here. The
♦ message removes all doubt. The delegate and the eon
♦ gressman will arrive here on the steamer Alameda, due
^ the end of the week.
♦
000<>0<>0<^ > > 0 ><><>0<><><>000<^<>000
OBSERVER TELLS OF REASONS WHY
ANCHORAGE IS DESTINED TO BECOME
IMPORTANT COMMERCIAL CENTER
From a primeval forest to a city of
marg than 5,000 progressive, public
spirited people, in one short year, is
the history of Anchorage, Alaska.
When I came from the interior in
October, 1914, to catch an out-bound
steamer at Ship creek, Anchorage,
there were less than a dozen men
and half a dozen tents on the flat.
Returning in the early summer of
19X5, I found a tent city of 1,200
tents and 3,000 people. I would not
believe my eyes, and now in 1916, a
few months later, I find still a great
er change, a tent city removed from
the flats to a sightly townsite carved
out of a primeval forest, with broad,
well graded business and residence
streets lined with business houses
representing every conceivable
branch of trade, while many of the
buildings would do credit to a much
larger and older place. Here I found
banks, picture shows, a daily news
paper, The Times, far surpassing
many metrppolitan dailies in excel
lence, church and school edifices, ho
tels and numerous handsome resi
dences, some of which were surround
ed by beautiful, grassy lawns, and a
perfect water system. To the west
this little city overlooks the broad
expanse of Cook inlet, and on a clear
day one can see Mt. McKinley, near
ly 200 miles away, Mt. Susitna, Re
doubt and Iliamna, across the inlet,
while to the north, east and south
the city is hemmed in by mountain
ranges which affords protection from
the severe winter weather encounter
ed by many other Alaskan towns.
I found on the flat, where but a
year ago, was an army of tents, now
the center of the greatest activity,
engines rushing here and there with
loads of building material and sup
plies; boats of all dimensions tooting
their whistles, while the chug chug
of the gas motive power could be
heard upon every hand. Here also
the engineering commission have er
ected machine shops, warehouses,
wharves, numerous cottages and a
splemdid hospital.
All these evidences of advanced
civilization amid the unbroken for
ests of southern Alaska, where the
average American citizen in the ef
fete east, imagines all is icebergs and
polar bears, I witnessed in my walks
about town, endeavoring to realize
and comprehend what it all meant,
Frank LeNoir, Alex Graham and
Jack Littlepage, Juneau hunters, re
port having wounded a white deer at
Baranoff island, but the animal got
away. They were anxious to secure
the deer, as it is reported' that there is
a standing offer of $500 for a speci
men.
[ and I asked myself the question, what
, was it that justified this enormous
expenditure of money; what induce
ments for the incoming of these thou
sands of intelligent people. Surely
there must be some practical solution
of the problem.
There is, to one who understands^
the conditions surrounding this sec-1
tion of Alaska.
Primarily, the government engin
eering commission selected this point
as the tide water terminus, for hun
dreds of miles of interior, as well as
the most accessible to the great Mat
anuska coal fields some 75 miles dis
tant, and which can be reached on an
average grade of one-half of one per
cent. This of course was the initial
start,.i)ut many wiseacres predicted
the present excitement only transi
tory, and when the railroad went fur
ther and further the slump would
come, but will it? Let us see. Have
these pessimists looked beyond their
own nose in forming their opinions?
I am afraid not. Have they overlook
ed the following indisputable facts,
all of which will create a permanency
for the city that no power can take
away.
First. Anchorage must always be
the natural base of supplies for a ter
ritory reaching 400 or more miles to
Fairbanks on the north, and an equal
number of miles on the west and
northwest. It must be the outlet for
the great Matanuska coal fields which
are larger than the Pennsylvania and
Virginia combined, with a percentage
of carbon surpassing those of the
eastern product.
Second. Anchorage must be the
natural outlet for the vast and fertile
agricultural lands in the Matanuska,
Susitna and Yentna valleys when set
tled and developed with the advent
of the railroad.
Third. Anchorage must be the nat
ural outlet for the vast undeveloped
mineral resources lying practically
untouched for hundreds of miles
around, while waiting for transporta
tion facilities. And are not these
enumerated facts not enough to cause
an optimistic feeling to eliminate all
others ?
I cannot help but feel that the city
of Anchorage is bound to become the
most substantial and rapidly growing
city in Alaska, because of the natural
resources surrounding it.
/ W. W. WOODARD.
The board of trustees of the Alaska
Pioneer’s Home recently granted pen
sions to Chafies Foumierof Fairbanks,
William O’Brien of Bluff and Peter
Boudreau, of Anchorage. The appli
cations of Joseph Irving and Frank
Nash of Nome were not acted upon.
TEN-MILLION-DOLIAR TRANSPORTATION
DEAL INVOLVING PACIFIC COAST CO.
FLEET, WILL BE SETTLED TOMORROW
SAX FRANCISCO. Sept. 27.—A ten-million-dollar deal,
involving the transfer of the entire fleet of the Pacific Coast
Steamship company to the Alaska Pacific Navigation company
will he voted on tomorrow by the directors of the Pacific Coast
company, to be held in New York city. While the terms of the
tieal, which would make H. F. Alexander, president of the Alas
ka Pacific Navigation company, the steamship king of the Pa
cific coast, are carefully guarded, it became known today that
the deal had been practically consummated at a conference be
tween president Barnum, of the Pacific Coast company, and
President Alexander, and that the entire fleet of the latter com
pany, the largest in the coast trade, will be taken over by the
Pacific Alaska company. Col. Jacklin, the mining magnate, is
one of the heavy stockholders of the Pacific Alaska company.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo., Sept, 27.—A ■
sensation is created here by the arrest,
on a state warrant, of Oscar D. Me- I
Daniel, prosecuting attorney of th^s I
county, who is charged with the mur
der of his wife, Harriet Moss McDan
iels. The woman was found dying at
her home by neighbors July 15, and
her death-bed statement is what led
to the arrest of the husband. When i
taken into custody, McDaniels merely
laughed at the idea and declared he |
iMffoauld be able to clear himself. On
the ’<vay«tf police headquarters, he j
asked, and obtained permission to buy
some cigars.
TOLEDO, O., Sept. 27.—Candidate
; Hughes spoke to two audiences in To
ledo yesterday. In the afternoon he
spoke in the open air before a big
crowd of working men. A number of
the laboring men sought to heckle
the speaker and cheered for Wilson,
but Hughes kept right on talking and
soon had the men in good humor and
j on his side. In the evening he spoke
| before a monster audience at the local
theatre. He devoted most of his speech
to a discussion of the Adamson eight
hour law, reiterating his former dec
laration that he would never surren
der to force and repeated the asser
tion that the measure was not an
eight-hour law, but a wage law.
SACOFF KILLED
ACCIDENTALLY
The first accidental death on the
government railroad occurred this
morning at 11:45 o’clock when Nick
Sacoff fell between the cars and was
instantly killed.
The accident occurred on the Turn
again Arm branch about six miles
from Anchorage and was purely acci
dental and no blame is attached to
any of the train crew. He was one of
the large crew of laborers working on
this district and his body-was horribly
mutilated.
Nick Sacoif was a native of Russia,
22 years of age and unmarried and
has several relatives in the city.
The body is being cared for by the
Woods Undertaking company and fu- k
neral services will be announced later. T
MEETS A
Bert Foreman, husba: 1 of the wo: -
an who committed suicide in Anchor
age one day last week, met death by
his own hand, while en route from
Mile 72, on the Alaska Northern rail
way line, over the trail to Port Wells.
Foreman fell into a crevice in Spencer
glacier yesterday, and thinking that
he could not extricate himself, took
his pocket knife and severed an artery
in one wrjst. He was bleeding to death
when found by his companion on the
trail, B. G. Eaton. Deputy Marshal
Ike Evans is enroute to the scene from
Seward and will take the body to that
place, where an inquest will be held.
Foreman departed from Anchorage,
en route to Hope Saturday last. He *
was engaged by Eaton to assist in the
installation of a stamp mill, secured
at Hope, on a property in the Port
Wells district. The two set out on
their way to Port Wells. A snow
storm came on. Eaton, who was in
the lead, observed that Foreman was
not following. He retraced his steps
and found Foreman in the crevice,
bleeding to death, as above related.
Eaton did what he could to revive the
victim, but death came soon after he
was extricated from the crevice. Ea
ton notified the authorities at Seward,
employing the telephone line, and is
remaining with the body pending the
arrival of tne deputy marshal.
Henry Haun, a brother-in-law of the
victim, informs The Times that Fore
man told him before his departure
from Anchorage that he proposed to
commit suicide, and the belief is ex
pressed that he may have employed
this means.
STEAMER ALASKA
SAILS FROM SEATTLE
SEATTLE, Sept. 27.—The steamer
Alaska sailed for Anchorage and way
ports at 9 o’clock this forenoon. There
ire 19 passengers for Anchorage,
imong them being Mrs. J. A. Holstag,
Katie Sadler, Frank Parish, J. Henry
md Geo. Bilger.
Louis Karstens has filed suit in the
district court at Juneau against the
Pacific Coast Steamship company for
the sinking of the fishing boat Xan
thus. by the. Spokane a. short time ago.
Re asks $2,000 damages.