ANCHORAGE LOTS CANCELLED
CAPITAL CONSIDERS MANY ALASKA MEASURES
Special by Vssocinted Press. j
WASHINGTON. Feb. 15. — Alaskan
matters received considerable atten
tion in this city today, as they were
being considered in both tiie House
and the Senate, and by the department
of the interior. The rivers and har
bors hill, now under debate in the
House, contains an appropriation for
the survey of the Tolovana river, the
scene of tin- new placer strike in the
Fairbanks district. As this is new
matter, there is a possibility that it
may he stricken out, but as it has the
approval of Chairman Fitzgerald, of
tlic appropriations committee, it may
slick through its passage in both
Houses. The delegate is working
hard for this appropriation, and is
confident that it will pass.
Advices were received at the land
office from the Juneau general land
office recommending that the govern
ment refund to the owners of the so
called Munday-Stacey coal claims in
(lie Bering river field, the payments
made thereon, when the applications
for patent were made. If allowed this
will mean that the concern, known!
in the coal region as the English
Company, will receive about fifty
thousand dollars.
Secretary Lane was busy today con
sidering the kicks which have arrived
from Anchorage in protest to the con-[
template,1 action of Agent Christensen
to cancel the land contracts issued to
owners of lots in that city, where-the
ow ners or tenants had been convicted:
of selling liquor. Lane went Into the
matter thoroughly, hearing both sides,
and in the end approved the action of
the land office in cancelling the con
tracts. In tiie Senate the urgent de
ficiency hill was up once more, as the
House had made some slight amend
ments. The bill still carries in its
original form the appropriation of two
million dollars for emergency work
on the government railroad in Alaska,
and it is hoped that the sum will be
soon available, as Chairman Edes pro
mises to resume work on the road as
soon as the President signs the mea
sure.
Under a recent Washington date
line the Seward Gateway publishes
he following information as to the Jo
thins of Her ret ary Lane ami Chairman jf
Kilos in reference to construction work I
>n tlie government railroad:
Aetna! development of the fabulous |S
Iv rich Matanuska coal fields In Alas t
ka will begin this year. The small, r
independent miner w 111 have a chance, »
under the lease system Secretary of t
the Interior Lane Is expected to an i
nounce within the next few weeks, to t
work this coal field Cnole Sam has so t
carefully guarded from being gobbled t
up by the coal barons. This is thej;
prediction from Secretary of the In- i
terior Lane. By fall he plans to have i
the government railroad built to the I
coal fields. An army of railroad build-1 i
ers will begin about March 1 to com
plete the line to the Matanuska fields. ‘ 1
"Our immediate objective is the 1
Matanuska fields,” said Secretary 1
Lane today. "We want to push the ;
railroad through so that we will be
in the coal fields by the end of this1
year. We have drawn a lease on these
coal lands. We hope within thirty
days to be able to announce those
parts of the coal fields flint are re
served to the government. At the end i
f this year we hope to have a line
•oni Anchorage up to the Matanuska
elds, and we ought to press on from
le Matanuska river through the Su
it na valley.” The immediate work
Ills spring and summer on the Alaska
ailroad, according to Secretary Lane
nd Chairman Kdes. of the Alaska
allroad commission, will be to com
pete tiie road from the deep water
erminal tit Seward through to Mata
inska. "We plan to build this sum
ner from Kern creek to Anchorage."
laid Chairman Kdes. The final pay
nent for the Alaska Northern rail
oad, bought by the government, will
>e made July 5. according to Chair
nan Kdes. The whole purchase price
vas $1,150,000. and the government
las already paid a half million dol
ars. That the Alaska Northern can
ie put into shape for $400,000 is as
erted by Secretary Lane. He insists
he government got a bargain in ao
piirliia it, as it cost $2,750,000. Sev
inty pound rails are being laid on the
lew government road, and new track
>f 15 miles from the end of the Alaska
Northern has already been laid, and
wenty miles graded.
- 21 LIVES LOST
* EIRE COPPER
MINE
BUTTE, Feb. 15. — Ten miners
were kilted last night by a fire on the
twelve hundred foot level of the Penn
sylvania copper mine, owned by the
Anaconda company. The fire is still
raging and the tunnels may have to
be flooded before the blaze can be
extinguished.
BUTTE, Feb. 15. It is now be
lieved that the first estimate of tin
dead in the Pennsylvania mine was
far too small. The miners have been
checked off. and including the bodies
already recovered, it is now thought
that at least twenty-one men lost
their lives in the mine. Twelve min
ers are still to be accounted for.
i
WASHINGTON. Fell. 15. The ju
Y dietary committee of the House today
r* voted on an amendment to the consti
tution providing for national prohibi
tion, and the matter was defeated
The prohibition advocates will now
take ilieir fight to the House itself
and try to force consideration of the
measure. There is little chance of it
being considered at the present ses
sion. and the preparedness program
the Philippine independence measure
and other administration bills will
4 take up practically the whole time o!
the members, ami the appropriatloi
measures are still to be passed.
PARIS, Feb. 15. — A second com
inunique issued by the rrar department
today discusses the frequent attacks
■ made by the Germans in the Cham
pagne anil Artois regions the past
week or two. The French general
staff believes that while these attacks
ft are intended to lool tin* b rencf] lute
believing that the Germans are ex
ceedingly active and preparing foi *
big offensive, that the fighting xvas
only of a local nature, and far froir
indicating a general movement. Nr
gains of any consequence has resulted
to the Germans, while their men have
suffered heavily in the lighting, he
ing forced to face the French machine
guns in their many assaults. The com
munique said that it was against th(
policy of the French commander ti
engage in such attacks, because they
reduce the value of ( the attacking
troops materially wfiMout any result
ant advantage. . (
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There will be two steamers herr
from Seattle today, and one of then
has a record list of passengers foi
Cordova.
I
j
W ASHINGTON. Feb. 15. — It was
learned today through officials of Hie
state department that George T.
Mayre, the ambassador of the railed
States at Petrograd, was about to re
tire, and that the President was con
sidering his successor. The reason
for the ambassador’s giving up his
post is announced as poor health. The
legation at Petrograd lias made ex
treme drafts on the time and atten
tion of tlie Failed States representa
tive. and tile overwork consequent
therein lias broken down Mayre. It is
likely that the retirement will be of
ficially announced, and ills successor
appointed within a few days.
ALLIED POWERS
Lit
l
j LONDON, Feb. 15. — Premier Her
j bert Asquith announced today that a
general conference would be held be
tween all of tlte allies in a short time,
for the purpose of discussing the
strategic disposition of tlie troops and
questions of joint and simultaneous
actions, so as to greater itarrass t!i<
J enemy. Political questions will also
I be considered, and plans laid for a
I close union between all the enemies
i
of the Teutonic powers.
Fuiler’s burlier shop Is located at
j Alaskan Hotel. Drop in.
r1
k
JLa
Special l>\ Associated Press.
1,0X1 i()N, pel). 13. Premier -As
quith told the commoners today that
anotlier large appropriation '‘<mitl he
asked i»y ihe government from parlia
ment next week. He said that the
vote oil the measure would tie really
a vote of confidence in the govern*
iii ‘tit, and urged the members to sup
port the present cabinet unrestrained
ly. He discussed the war and the
hopes of tile allies for the spring cam
paign- He saiil that England was ne
cessarily forced to bide her time, as
she had to move slowly owing to Iter
unpreparedness for Hie conflict. On
all tile battle fields, be now was of
the opinion that the allies were strong
enough to more than hold their own.
In Mesopotamia, where the outlook
was dark a few weeks ago. lie assert
ed that the position of the British
forces had been materially improved,
as General Townshend, whose army
had been surrounded by the Turks at
Kut-el Amaru, was holding his own.
and there was every ground for hop
ing. in the lack of definite advices,
that ('tenoral Ay liners' relief expedt
lion had succeeded in effecting a
conjunction with Townshend. As to
the men and munitions. Asquith de
clared positively that the allies were
never in so good a condition as they
were at present, while the supplies of
the Teutonic allies were getting low
er. He said that the British were
now taking an inventory of all their
men, munitions, finances and indus
trial resources, so its to he in a posi
tion to put forth their maximum
strength when the time should arrive
for the allies to put forth their great
effort.
FISHERMAN IS!
*!
KETCHIKAN, Feb. 15. — Adrian
Speared, a fisherman employed on Hie
gasoline schooner Tyee, was lost over
board in a heavy storm through which
the boat passed while on her way from
the halibut grounds to this city. Two
Mexicans, residents here, were frozen
to death while going in a small boat
from Ketchikan to Loring.
INJURED WRIST ON RAILROAD.
K. G. Robinson, Who is employed on
the north branch of the Copper River
& Northwestern railroad, met with «
painful accident yesterday. While
engaged in switching he hurt his
wrist, but just how badly is not known.
He is receiving treatment at the ho*
pita! at Kennecott.
GERMANS TAKE ENGLISH
POSITIONS
_
BGHUN, Feb. 15. — The war office
issued an official bulletin today, an
nouncing that the Germans in Flan
ders, and near the French border, had
captured British positions along an
eight hundred yard front, near Ypres.
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ALAMEDA DUE THIS MORNING;
FARRAGUT HERE TONIGHT.
The steamer Alameda is due in Cor
dova at 11 o'clock this morning. She
has over a hundred passengers and
500 tons of freight for here, and will
not sail for the westward until Thurs
day morning.
The Admiral Farragut left Juneau
*t 1 o'clock Monday afternoon. She!
has a lot of cannery supplies for Yaku
tat, and w111 also stop at Katalla, i
which will delay her arrival in Cor
dova until some time this evening.
: o:
Benefit dance. Kagle Hall, Thursday J
night. j
I ■ ■' '--“I
t'AIUS. Keb. lf>. The "ar office
issued an official communique, assert
ing that the French had taken the. of
fensive in the Champagne district for
the purpose of recovering some of the
trenches lost to the Germans the last
two days, and after severe fighting
had regained most of their former po
sitions. They also recaptured the
trenches occupied by the Germans on
the twelfth, when a front along four
hundred yards had been stormed by
the Teutons, forcing the French to
retire, before an avalanche of artil
lery.
t
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limit INTO
I
_. I
WASHINGTON. Feb. 15. The j
Senate today voted in favor of a eon-i
gressional inquiry into the advisabil
ity of government ownership of public
utilities as against government regu
lation and control, which has been
the policy of the United States so far.
The vote in favor of the inquiry was
39 to 23. The opponents of govern
ment ownership fought the measure,
and the big vote against them came
as a surprise, as the conservatism of
the senators was figured on defeating
ttie proposition.
The Daily Times is the only office
in town equipped to do job printing.
I
IT CAPITAL
WASHINGTON, Keb. lr> — The
House judiciary committee today
postponed a consideration by the Con
gress of a proposed amendment to the
constitution, providing for the grant
ing of the suffrage to women, A large
delegation of votes for women advo
cates have been in the capital for
days attending the hearings before
the committee, and the leaders ex
pressed themselves as much disap
pointed with the action of the com
mittee. An attempt "ill be made to
reject the report of the committee
when it comes before the House, and
if this is done it means that suffrage
will he debated during the present
session. The committee put it over
until the December session.
PKTROGRAl). Feb. 15. — The war
office reports considerable fighting
along tile northern battle line between
the Germans and Russians between
Riga and lJvinsk. The Russians are
holding fast and yielding no ground,
where the Germans have attacked,
and in many places the Russians
themselves are on the offensive, their
movement gradually developing, and
taking in larger portions of the Hue.
The Russians have succeeded in oc
cupying some of the German tren< lies,
although their gains were won at an
enormous cost, as the Germans deci
mated the attackers with a deadly
machine gun fire, and the Russian
tosses were excessive.
FEAR MERCHANT
SUPS ARE IN
WASHINGTON. Feb. 15. — The
state department lias decided to di
rect an inquiry to the foreign offices
at Berlin and Vienna, asking how they
intend to determine whether a mer
chant vessel is armed, before sinking
her without warning. The new orders
which the Teutonic countries issued
to their submarine commanders go
into effect on the first of next month,
ami in accordance with these instruc
tions, American statesmen believe that
many ships will be torpedoed before
it is learned whether they carry arms
or not.
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SLIGHT EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS
YESTERDAY MORNING.
Two very distinct earthquake shocks
were felt in Cordova early yesterday
morning. The first occurred at 1:40
o’clock, and lasted several seconds,
shaking many buildings. At 6:15
o'clock there were two more slight
disturbances, hut no damage resulted
in either case.