Cordova Daily Times
En toted at the l’ostoffice at Cor
dova, Alaska, as second-class matter.
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H. G. STEEL
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Associated Press is exclusivelv
entitled to the use for republication 01
all news credited to it or not other
wise credited in this paper and alsc
the local news published herein.
All rights of republication of specia
despatches herein are also reserved.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1918.
PEACE PLANS’ CALLED OFF
According to our Associated Press
dispatches of today a separate peace
between Germany and Russia seems
now to be improbable, not to say im
possible. Germany insists on its or
iginal demands, and Russia, if the
statements of Trotzky may be relied
on, insists on its rejection of them
But it the prospect of a separate peace
between Germany and Russia has re
ceded to the vanishing point, two
other prospects have become visible.
One is that a peace may be made be
tween Germany and the Ukraine, and
the other is that Austria, acting in
dependently of Germany, may make a
peace with both the Ukraine and Rus
sia. Of these two prospects, the last
named one would seem to be the more
likely of realization. Obviously both
are making particular and extraordin
ary efforts to come to an agreement
with the Ukraine, their reason being,
of course, the desire to get access to
the grain that the Ukraine is supposed
to possess. For Austria at least, this
prospect is the sole ray of hope. Count
A'zernin admitted that Austria is starv
ing. and he admitted, too, that it was
;to the Ukraine that Austria was look
ing as the only source from which re
tu ue unearned within the
short time made necessary by the
hunger of the Austrian people. If
Austria should succeed in making
peace with the Ukraine and in getting
the relief which it hopes for, it would
probably continue to stand by the side1
of Germany as against its western
enemies. If it should fail in that diplo
matic effort, its desertion of Germany
is to be regarded as an early possibil-!
ity, to say the least. Thus the nego-1
action between Austria and the!
''Ukraine r8’ for the moment, one of;
the momentous details of the situa-J
‘ thin.
SOUTH CAROLINA NULLIFIES, j
First it was Mississippi, then Vir-J
ginia, next Kentucky, and now it is
South Carolina that ratifies the pro-(
hibition amendment. The circum
stances are piquant in their sugges- j
tion, and one may rank them accord-;
ing to his relish. To some it may
seem more noteworthy that the state
which was the home of Jefferson
Davis should be the first to ratify this
amendment than it is that the state
which was the home of Thomas Jeffer
son should be the second. To some
others, it may seem more noteworthy;
still that the bourbon state of Ken-j
tueky should achieve the alacrity of,
being third. Again, the action of
South Carolina seems not to be de-^
prived of transcending significance by
reason of the circumstance that its
jdace in the procession is fourth, j
South Carolina is the home of nullifi
cation, and its action supplies what
ever may have been lacking to perfect
the nullification of the state right doc
trine as an axiom of our politics.
This, of course, is not to say that the
validity of that axiom is affected by
the action of all these states. It is
merely to say that, having been so
sedulously set aside in these four
states, the doctrine of state rights, as
a pertinent consideration in the prob
lems of government, has been rele
gated to the museum of philosophical
antiquities. It still remains available
as a subject of academic disquisition
and sophomoric debate. Men will long
discuss, inevitably, whether its reign
has been promotive or obstructive to
<our political and social progress. But
all other interests than this it has
lost. It can no longer be offered as an
argument for or against governmental
measures, for the reason that the peo
pie among whom it was reverencec
have repudiated it as a touchstone o:
wisdom and expedience.
-*
Alaska newspapers have often callei
attention to the persistence of th
belief throughout the United State
that Dawson is in Alaska, but in spit
©f the wide dissemination of know
edge concerning these Northern terr
lories the error is still much in ev
dence. But it cannot be wondered a
when such newspapers as the Junea
Empire refer to “the Dawson New
and other Alaska papers."
MOVING AUSTRO-GERMANS
There is and has long been an inter
national democracy In the world. It b
largely the creation of organized labor
That facts casts a shadow pretty fa
into tlie future, not a shadow in tie
portentous sense, necessarily, but ii
| the sense that it is prophetic. Thus in
! ternational democracy, long existent
is only now coming into full self-con
setousness. The ferment in Vienna b
tlie answer of Austrian democracy ti
that of Russia, and the little noisi
that comes to us, despite the silencin;
of the censor, is the inarticulate re
sponse of German democracy to Aus
tria. It is the awakening sense of ;
I community of interest, one that is no
'' broken by nationalistic severances
that has made the mind of Austria sus
ceptible to the example of Russia, ant
which is making the mind of Germany
(juicken to the impulses that conn
from Austria. The predicament o
Austria and of Germany marks, mori
than has been probably imagined
i the failure of the censorship. The sup
pression of military information tha
i would be of value to the enemy was
the primary, but the least, of the rea
sons for a censorship in Germany ant
and Austria, which outdid all prevlotu
l performances in points of severity
l and efficiency. The chief reason was
i a recognition of the fact that there was
danger in letting the German and Aus
, trian people know what the people al
war with him thought and said, end
: did. General Hoffman complained to
jTrotzky, with true Prussian perempto
riness, that Bolshevik propaganda was
continued, despite the armistice. Trotz
ky answered that when he signed the
armistice he engaged himself to sil
ence the guns, not the wireless. It w'as
not a technical controversy, but one
recognized by both as of the greatest
practical moment. This newly awak
ened self-consciohsness in internation
al democracy is one of the fundament
al facts of the present situation, and
a fact which illuminates the im
mediate future in both Germany und
Austria.
A n /-vf la ox rw.b Inn,. C_9__ .. j 1 . .. .1
---- luuuauicnuu, auu
perhaps even more unmistakable in
its prophecy, is that it is suffering,
chiefly that of hunger, which has
awakened the democracies of Austria
and Russia to a consciousness of their
relation of mutuality in the present
situation. Hunger is the most dyna
mic of all social forces. Its constrain
ing and restraining power is greater
than that of any social force known.
Politically, it is the most revolutions!
of forces. Under its goading masses
.Will boldly undertake what, normally,
they would lack the courage even to
contemplate. All this, of course, is
trite. But it has a present application
to the state of Austria and Germany.
The problem pressing on both is to
relieve this hunger, which has goaded
the people of one nation to the verge
of revolt, and those of the other to a
boldness of speech that must excite
both the anxiety and amazement of
authority. The cause will become
more powerful and dangerous the
longer it persists, and in Austria, at
least, it can not much longer persist
without decisive consequences. These
facts suggest that Germany and Aus
tria must, without loss of time, break
the blockade which is starving their
people into revolt. It is possible to
break it by accepting peace on the
terms offered. The last-named method
is the quicker one, and the only cer
tain one.
-«
Anyhow, the German chancellor ap
pears to have abandoned the project
for annexing Texas to Mexico.
-«- '
Another piece of hard luck for Rus
sian women is that they have got the
vote in a country where there are no
elections.
-«
The old-fashioned mercenary who
married for money now has a son who
j is looking for a girl who knows how to
• raise chickens
--♦
It might as well be said now as lat
ter: The farmer who refuses to raise
any food crops is not doing his dutj
by his country.
-«
Whether or not peace has drawu
1 nearer, it may as well be admitted tha
no one country is going to consent t(
pay all the freight.
-•
M. Trotzky’s position seems to b
1 that if he can do the talking for hi
nation he cares not whether there ar
any laws or not.
I -4
> It may get so after a while that lad
bootleggers will be arrested ever
3 time they appear with knitting bag
L that don’t show through.
i- -4
i- Probably the Austrians do not cai
t very much about the self-determin
a tion of peoples, but they are gettin
almighty tired of beet juice thr<
times a day.
WORKINGMEN ADVISED
NOT TO QUIT POSITIONS
'i _
i Ralph E. Robertson, territorial
. chairman for the Alaska division of i
, Four-Minute Men. has received an of-'
. ficinl bulletin from Washington show ,
, ing the need of mechanics and other1
, 'workmen for assisting the war pro
. gram and the need of sending in ap
; plications. In a letter to the press Mr.
. Robertson says:
. | “This bulletin is the authorized pub
plication of the government. In giving
t this matter publicity, kindly impress
'upon your readers that workers should
■ {not quit their present jobs, even
I though they have the necessary quali
j (ications for a job in the shipbuilding
> yards. They should communicate with
l William E. Hall, director United States
.j public service reserve, 1712 I street,
, Washington, 1). (’., stating their quali
fications. They should then wait until
they hear from the government as to
i whether or not their application has
■ j been accepted before quitting their job
1 and going to the shipbuilding yards.
| An application for a job is not binding
• either on the government or the ftp
i pMcant, but it gives the government a
large list from whom it may select
I competent workmen. Three hundred
| and eighty-six thousand skilled work
1 ers are needed for this purpose during
[the next seven months. Everything is
dependent on our ships. Drive that
fact home.”
j Among other things the bulletin
' says:
“And in order to find every last man
in the country and appeal to him to
answer freedom's most urgent call, our
national department of labor is estab
lishing employment exchanges in all
great centers and organizing a great i
reserve called the United States pub
lic service reserve, with a director in j
every state, so that all who hear this
voice can have a definite place to an
swer and be immediately enrolled.
"Honor, fair wages and comfortable
living are among the Inducements pro
vided.
iwo other things the govemmentig
has instructed me to emphasize:
“Shipbuilding requires so many dif
ferent kinds of work that almost all
trades are represented.
“Hardly a town in America’ is with
out a man who has at some time been
connected with shipbuilding or ha*
had experience in an allied trade. We'
need him now for America's welfare.
Surely he will not fail us In civiliza
tion's hour of need1. This is liis chance
to pay back what American institu
tions have done for him. If you know
him. urge him to enroll with the state i
director (announcing name), so that ;
we can tell him when and where there
is a place for him.
“Also get it clearly in mind that two
thirds of the occupations used in ship^
building are common to other indus
tries, like boiler-making, car-buiuding;
bridge-building, carpentering and ma
chine shop work.”
PROMISING FIELD FOR
DISCHARGED SDLOIERS
WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 9.—The
last American frontier, that land
where man goes seeking his fortune,
is to be found now in Alaska in the
vast new areas which will soon be
tapped by the government railroad'
now under construction.
The returning soldier looking for
a job, or seeking his fortune, wilT
set his face toward this new country,
which includes 65,000,000 acres of po
tential agricultural land now covered
by a meager growth of timber.
This land, says Secretary of Labor
Wilson, must be considered as an Im
portant factor in employment for the
returning soldier. Wilson has assigned
experts to survey conditions and pro
pose plans.
Benton Mackaye of the department
of the forest service sets forth the op
portunities in Alaska.
“In view of the combination of min
1 eral, forests and agricultural re
sources,” says the report, “Alaska
' should present one of the most prom
ising areas now left on the globe for
those seeking a new start in life. The
3 government railroad is the first big
3 step in this development. But if this
3 new country is to be an opportunity
for the soldier and the worker, and not
for the speculator, a colonization pol
y icy must be the next step in its
y development.”
8 Mackaye calls attention to the
method employed after the Civil War
to facilitate settlement on public lands
e when each honorably discharged sol
i- dier was given a "land scrip,” which
g entitled him to choose 160 acres of
i6 any public lands not occupied. Instead
of inducing settlement and coloniza
VJI
| Don’t Be Deluded
I THE TIN CAN OR THE STOCKING WILL NOT PROTECT
YOUR SAVINGS IF YOU ALLOW OUR GOVERNMENT
TO LOSE.
«™^?SITY F0R PUTTING YOUR SHOULDER TO »
i2!.™?nEEL IS REAL- IF YOU ARE A FRIEND DON’T
IF Y0U ARE AN ENEMY be friendly
AND HELP SAVE WHAT YOU HAVE. BUY GOVERN
MENT WAR ISSUES AND PUT THE BALANCE IN CIR
CULATION BY DEPOSITING WITH
Bank of Alaska
ALASKA’S BRANCH BANKING SYSTEM
CAPITAL AND SURPLUS $105,500.00
“AN INSTITUTION OF STRENGTH AND CHARACTER” |
~If""You
ARE LAID UP IN THE HOSPITAL
! YOUR EARNING POWER
Stops
Does your Insurance cover you? If not
Get a ^ T\ 1 POLICY IN THE J. D. Hollenbeck
A X NORTHERN LIFE District Agent, Cordova
! I! At the Throttle
tion, the scrip was purchased at dis
counts, and was used by big corpora
tions to obtain possession of public re
sources. This method, or anything
similar to it, which would play into
the hands of speculation, says the
secretary of labor, must be avoided.
""’The “secretary of labor favors a
colonization policy. Plans to reclaim
cut-over forest lands, swamp lands,
and other public areas, have been
worked out in considerable detail. One
plan is for a colony to work 100,000
acres of productive forest land. By
properly timbering this land, 50 year^
would be required to take off the
mature timber, by the end of which
time new timber would take its place.
The yield from such a farm would pro
vide continuous employment for more
than 150 men, who, with their fam
ilies, would make the population about
800. Half would be employed in a
sawmill and half in the chopping
operations.
The Matanuska coal fields and the
rich valleys which lie on all sides of
them will open a new industrial em
pire to the workers.
The department of labor mentions
the Grosser colonization bill as a bill
which embodied the principles which
must characterize legislation which is
to care for the back-to-the-lander. This
——---1 l—1
legislation recognizes the settler is too
weak in an economic sense to go on
the land alone and unaided, and work
out his own salvation. The land must
be prepared for him and the govern
ment must help him and his fellow
colonists to get necessary buildings,
tools and stock with which to begin
life in a new country.—Gilson Gardner
in Juneau Dispatch.
-♦
If a soldier were built like a profit
eer, he would lay down, say, ten per
cent of his life for his country. A re
quest for more thant that would come
under the head of "confiscation."