Clean Up and Paint Up. It Will Promote Health and Prosperity
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IMz} The Cordova Daily Times RIF1
Vol.l Ml-; i, NUMBER 124. CORDOVA, ALASKA, FRIDAY, APRIL 30,1915. pRICE TKN (-KVrs
' "" *"' ■ - 1 111 . ix " ’
ALASKA NORTHERN TITLE CLODDED
Bondholders Telegraph Complaint Against Former Company Officials
To Valdez Court to Acquire Railroad Townsite at Seward, Which
Has Been Sold to Government but Cannot be Delivered
Legal Kinks Must be Straightened Out Before
Road Can be Transferred to Uncle Sam
SAN FRANCISCO, April 30—Startling devel
opments have occurred in the matter of transfer
ring the property of the Alaska Northern Railroad
to the government. T. C. West, a prominent at
torney of this city, representing the present owners
of the road has brought suit against the former of
ficials to set aside certain transfers of land and other
property of the road adjacent to Seward. The ur
gency of the matter is shown by the fact that West
did not send his complaint to be filed through the
medium of the mails, but telegraphed it verbatim to
Arthur Lang, clerk of the dis ct court at Valdez.
The expense of cabling the coulblaint totalled elev
en hundred dollars.
Mr. West was uncommunicative about the suit
when questioned, but from the meagre information
secured it is believed that certain former officials
of the road transferred the land known as the rail
road townsite, contiguous to Seward, and other prop
erty, to parties just before quitting the company’s
employ. In fact the transfers were the last official
acts of these employees. It is estimated here that
the purcahse of the road by the government has
normously increased the value of the property, and
that it is now worth in the neighborhood of eight
hundred thousand dollars. Part of the land in
question is the propose dterminal for the government
railroad.
It is evident that the bondholders, who have
controlled the road for the past few years, knew
nothing of this transfer by their former employees,
or else there would have been no need for such haste
as was shown in telegraphing the complaint. It
is also known that under the terms of the contract
of sale with the government the bond holders were1
not to receive the first installment of the purchase
price until July 1, next, as the money appropriated
by the last congress will not become available before
that. It is clear from what is known that the title
must be cleared up before any payment will be made
on the purchase price. Details of the complaint
will have to be learned from the clerk of the court
at Valdez, so that nothing definite is known here
outside of Mr. West’s office, as to the exact property
in controversy, or the grounds depended upon for
the setting aside of the transfers. It is entirely
possible that the government may yet find that it
is unable to complete its contract with the bond
holders of the Alaska Northern, and the course of
the commission i nthat contingency is open to con
jecture.
VALDEZ, April 30—Suit was filed in the dis
trict court here late today by the Alaska Northern
Railroad against John E Ballaine and his brother
Frank to obtain from them posession of the Seward
townsite and other lands contiguous thereto. The
complaint was telegraphed from San Francisco, as
the statute of limitations on the case would have
expired tomorrow, and consequently the plaintiff
would have been out of court if the matter had been
filed by mail.
The complaint charges that Ballaine and his
brother, while acting as director, officers and trustee
of the Alaska Central railroad, the predecessor of
the Alaska Northern, diverted three thousand dol
lars from the funds of the company for the purpose
of purchasing the land where the town of Seward
is now located.
The complaint goes on to state that later they
diverted four thousand dollars to purchase addition
al land now owned by Mary Lowell. The Alaska
Northern, as the successor of the Alaska Central,
demands that the lands purchased with these divert
ed funds, be turned back to it, and asks for an ac
counting in an endeavor to get back the profits that
Balliane has made out of the sale of town lots in
Seward.
$10,000,000 PAID
IN WAR CLAIMS
LONDON, April 30—British life In
surance companies have paid war
claims of almost $10,000,000 to rela
tives of soldiers and officers killed
during the first sveen months of the
war. One company alone has had to
meet eight thousand claims.
CORDOVA VOTES
3T01
The census of the residents of Cor
dova on the liquor question, as re
quired in the order Issued by Judge
Brown, before any renewals or new
applications for saloon licenses would
he acted upon, was today filed in the
district court. As was expected the
town voted overwhelmingly in favor
of the sale of liquor, the figures be
ing as follows: 319 wet; 113 dry;
52 no opinion and 10 refused to vote,
making a total of 490 persons who
gave expression to their views.
Under the law the enumeration In
cluded the names of all residents
within two miles of where the license
was desired. It was the duty of the
United States commissioner to ap
point two census takers and he named
Duard Mosser and J. F. A. Appleby,
who made a thorough and impartial
canvass. Their report was sent to
the district court on last night’s boat,
and the result shows that the people
here are in favor of the renewal of
the liquor licenses when the present
ones expire on June 30. According
to the ruling of Judge Brown no fur
ther expression on the subject is neces
sary for another year.
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MR. AND MRS. ESTERLY
RETURN TO CORDOVA
George Max Esterley and wife were
among the arrivals from Seattle on
the Alameda. Mr. Esterly Is return
ing to resume hia placer operations
in the Nizina country, and will leave
for there next week. Mrs. Esterly ac
companied him as far as Cordova, and
will return to Seattle on one of the
next boats sailing south.
Under the caption of "And George
Quit,” K. C. Beaton, in his Town Gos
sip column of the Post-Intelligencer,
recently “pulled off” the following
one on our old-time friend:
George M. Esterly, the mining en
gineer who laughs all the time, went
Into a barber shop the other day to
get shaved, and the barber told him
he’d have to quit laughing or he
couldn’t shave him. And the barber
had a razor in his hand and George
did.
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Firemen Given Experlencte
Early last evening the fire gong
sounded and the department respond
ed promptly, only to learn that Chief
Byers had called them out for a drill.
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Read the Times, Dally and weekly.
mm
SEATTLE, Arpil .'!()—Reginald Thompson, foi
mer city engineer, was today awarded $15,000 in hi
libel suit against the Seattle Times, on account of a
article published, charging the official with coituj
tion in awarding the Denny Hill regrade contract.
('id. A. J. Blethen, owner of the Times, will ar
s rive from the East tonight. He is seriously ill,
ii and his son Clarence, accompanying the family phy
i- sician, met the Blethens at Spokane. The Colonel'
has been failing rapidly during the past year and
- --— — -•—
last month lie was induced' to quit work and rest up.
lie took u trip to California, Cuba, Florida, Wash
ington and Now York, but the change has not im
proved his condition, and he is returning home
considerably weaker and a very sick man.
TWO MORE BRITISH STEAMERS ARE
SUNK BY GERMAN SUBMARINES
LONDON, April 30—Another British trawler, the Lily
Dale, has been sunk in the North sea by a German submarine.
The trawler was torpedoed seventy-five miles off the mouth
of the river Tyne. The ere wof tin* fishing vessel were saved
by a patrol boat, which gave unsuccessful chase h> the subma
rine.
LONDON, April 30—The British steamer Mobile, carrying
coal, was sunk yesterday by a German submarine off the island
of Lewis near the north coast of Scotland. No advices have
been received as to the safety of the crew.
— . -—— -— .
CAUSE MUCH DAMACE BY HUE
LONDON, April 30—A Zeppelin flew over die towns of
Ipswich and Bury, Nngland, last night throwing several bombs
into both places. There was nobody hurt by the explosives,
and in Ipswich no property damage resulted. Tin* bombs
dropped in Bury were incendiary bombs which started four
distinct fires, resulting in considerable damage.
WATSON AND MARIPOSA
DUE HERE TOMORROW
The Admiral Watson, which left
Seattle April 25, should reach Cor
lova early tomorrow, although netti
ng has been heard form her Bince
die left Juneau.
The steamer Mariposa is due from
lie westward tomorrow afternoon at
i o’clock, and will sail an hour later
or Juneau and Seattle.
EXPOSEflTTEMPTl
TO THROTTLE
WASHINGTON, April 30—Some of
he practices of nation wide assocla
ions of manufacturers and dealers
>f farm machinery are characterized
is being of doubtful legality, tending
o limit competition and increase <
irices, while a large part of them are
leld to be proper for protection of le
titimate interests, in a report by the
>ld Bureau of Corporations submit
ed today to President Wilson. The
•eport was drawn before the bureau
vas merged with the new Federal
I'rade C’oinmission
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Will Make Trip East
The Territorial Legislature adjourns
oday and before returning home Rep
■esentative Thomas Holland, of Chlt
na, will make a trip East and to Oal
fornia, accompanied by Representa
:ive T H. Tansey, of Kennecott.
-to:
Hard Times Uacon—Mighty Good,
15 cents per pound at S. Blum & Co.
BRITISH CAPAURE CITY GALLIPOLI
I
ATHENS, April 30—It is reported here that the BriMsh
troops operating on the Gallipoli peninsula have captured the
city of Gallipoli, on the European side of the straits. Galli
poli is at the further end of the slrait of Dardanellsc, near the
entrance of the Sea of Marmora. The Turkish forts at Niaga
ra, on the Asiatic side of tin* straits, are being subjected to t
heavy bombardment from the allied fleet.
GERiN BATTLESHIPS BOMBARD
DUNKIRK-MANY HER, INJURED
PARIS, April 30—Tt is officially reported that German war
ships have been siglded off tin* coast of Belgium. Dunkirk,
France, has been bombarded by warships, and the size of the
shells indicate that they were battleships. Nineteen shells
of large calibre were thrown into the town causing the death
of twenty persons and the wounding of forty-five oMiers. A
few houses were destroyed by the fire from the ships.
THREE NEW ORDERS
OF HONOR EGYPT
CAIRO, April 30—Three new orders
of honor have been decided upon by
Sultan Hassein to supercede the ti
tles in vogue In the time of Abbas.
They are the order of the Nile, the
Order of Agriculture and the Order
of Kamel, the latter for women.
CAPT. RUDE 10
('apt. Gilbert T. Rude, commander
of the lT. S. Coast and Geodetic Sur
vey boat Taku, returned to Cordova
last night, accompanied by his wife
and son. First Officer Joachins al
so brought his wife with him. The
second officer missed the steamer and
will arrive next week.
The Taku has been in winter quar
ters here, and will be thoroughly
renovated before going into commis
sion again. The engines were sent
to the Bremerton navy yards, where
they have been overhauled, and ar
rived here yesterday. A new water
tube boiler is coming north on the
freighter Edith, which will be In
stalled immediately upon its arrival.
It is estimated that it will require
three weeks in which to put the Ta
ku in shape for service.
Capt. Rude states that he will then
to Port Graham and Port Fidalgo
and do general surveying, and if he
gets through with this work before
the end of the season he will go to
Point Freemantle and work down to
Columbia glacier.
The crew of the Taku, which Capt
Rude brought up with him, cousistt
of the following men:
Arthur Joachins. first officer; Geo.
Geo. Kantzler. clerk; Carl Carlson,
boatswain; \V. A. Holcomb, engineer;
Hugo W. Bergland, fireman; S. U.
Hmetani, cook; K. Hanaya, mess boy;
C. W. Connors, A. M. Clark. Thomas
Strimple, Maurice Jewitt, W. S. Watt,
C. N. Marten, Ivan M. Phelps, seamen.
CONFER WITH VIEW
EXPEDITING SERVICE
Supt. Vaille, of the railway mail
service, yesterday, before leaving for
an inspection trip in Montana, con
ferred with Chief Clerks Alvah Eames
and William A, Phillips, of Cordova
and Eagle, respectively, anil also with
Chief Clerk Homer A Elwell, of Spo
kane, for the purpose of agreeing up
on plans to expedite this season's
heavy volume of mail to Alaska, lar
ger than over before, Mr. Vaille said,
because of the recently reawakened
interest in that territory.—Seattle
Post-Intelligencer.
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Cableshlp is Coming
The cableship Burnside will leave
Seattle on Monday to repair the break
in the cable which occurred yester
day between Sitka and Valdes.
—.—
PETROGRAI), April 30—The Ger- information of local spies, that the
mans have been particularly active! staff of the Russian nrmy was locat
lately with their aeroplanes to the ed. In the course of the afternoon
north of the lower Vistula. during their repeated trips back and
With a heavy wind, fifteen German forth across the property, no fewer
aeroplanes made a serious attack up- than a hundred bombs were dropped,
on an Isolated country bouse, where No serious damage was done, how
they suppos.J, apparently, from the] ever.
_.__..._.... ... ... .auLiSi . - ..
Motor Truck For Seward
Fred O'Neill and Ferry Jaxson, for
mer Cordovans, were passengers on
the Alameda for Seward. They have
a motor truck aboard the boat and In
tend to go into the trucking business
to the westward.
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Want Local Option Election.
A dry petition is in circulation at
Nome asking Judge J. Randolph Tuck
er, Jr., to call a special election to
determine the issuance of liquor licen
ses at Nome. The movement has
gathered considerable headway.
-:o:
Pay Reported at Nelchina
A rumor which lacks confirmation
s to the effect that an old channel
las been uncovered on No. 8 below
ipper discovery on t'rooked creek. In
the Nelchina, and that pans yielding
'rom ten to fifty vents have been
aken from the paystreak.
. -:o:
Seeks Pasture for Cattle.
A representative of Frye-Brhun
Company of Seattle is at Knik seek
ng pasturage in these parts for E8
read of cattle, which are In transport
Fhe company has the contract to sup
ply meat for the engineering com
mission.
HAVRE, April 30—The plder son of
King Albert, of Belgium, the young
Prince Leopold, after three months
spent In training with the Belgian ar
my, has been given a commission !
wit lithe infantry regiment, which J
was most prominent in the defense
of Dixmude, receiving for its conduct
there the order of Leopold decoration
for Its (tag.
The Prince's first appearance at
the head of his regiment was wit
nessed by the King and Queen, who
reviewed the soldiers. The King
made a brief speech, expressing the
joy he felt to have his son enter the
“heroic regiment, whose glory won In
the battle of the Yser will never be
exceeded.” The Prince is thirteen
and one-half years old.