The Coriova
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VOLUME III, NUMBER 177” CORDOVA, ALASKA, TUESDAY, PRICE TEN CENTS
GUNNISON CONTROLS
ALASKA FISH INDUSTRY
PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 5.—Com
plete control of the fishing and fish
canning industries of the Pacific coast
has been vested by the federal food
administration in the state food ad
ministrators of Washington, Oregon
and California and the territorial food
administrator of Alaska.
This announcement was made to
day at the conference of the food ad
ministrators of the northwest, in ses
sion here.
UPON BASE |
■ „ i
UNDATED.—There la no change in
the daily routine on the different war
fronts. The artillery duels continue
both in France and Italy.
Entente aviators have bombed the
German submarine base at Zeebrugge.
ELEMENTS AND RAILROADS
AGAINST REVOKING ORDER
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5.—Most dis
couraging reports on the movement of i
coal, and the continued extremely cold i
weather, threaten to defeat the plan
of abandoning the "heatless Mon
day" closing order.
-»
KETCHIKAN FISH.
KETCHIKAN, Feb. 5.—Today’s fish
prices are as follows: Halibut, 16c;
sable, 4c; red rock, 2c.
NEW YORK'S SENATOR
TAKES HAND IN DE8ATE
i
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5.—Senator]
Wadsworth, Republican member of the(
military affairs committee, addressing |
the senate today, pictured America’s
war-making machinery as a conglomer-,
ation of ambitious and scattered
agencies, incapable of team work.
The speech renewed the debate over
war efficiency.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
♦ TOLL OF FRIGHTFULNESS. 4
4 4
♦ LONDON, Feb. 5.—Chancellor d
♦ Law today told the house of 4
♦ commons that German subma 4
♦ rines had killed 14,120 British 4
♦ non-combatant men, women and 4
♦ children during the three years 4
♦ and a half of war. 4
*♦♦♦♦♦♦♦*♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
-«
PUT IN EFFECT
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5.—A ration o
two ounces of bread for each patroi
of hotels, restaurants and railroad uir.
ing cars was ordered put into effec
by the food administration today. This
is in pursuance of the policy adoptee
of conserving to the utmost the when
supply.
STEAMSHIP Ml
MAKES FAST B
The steamer Victoria arrived in Cor
dova at V o’clock this morning, com
ing direct from Seattle in four days
She will sail for the westward at
o’clock tomorrow morning. Passer
gers for here were H. N. Wilson ane
wife. Miss Kathryn Munn. Mrs. H
Higgin, Verne Elliott, Jack Logan, D
W. Metzdorf. J. A. Sumner. Joe Mlsh
L. N. Marick, P. Ross, 1. Anderson
J. E. Garner, M. Yoshitana and three
steerage.
-♦
He who wastes a crust of bread nro
longs the war.
TROOPS GIVEN
DATELESS.—The American troops
are holding a sector of the western
front northwest of Toul. The length
of the sector and the number of men
in the front lines cannot be disclosed
for military reasons.
Northwest of Toul the battle line
i runs almost due east and west from
St. Mihiel toward the German border
Official announcement of the where
abouts of the American troops was
I not made until the authorities were
j certain the Germans already pad the
i information.
May Train in British Trenches.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5.—American
troops may soon appear in the British
trenches in Flanders as a result of
the suggestion being made that Amer
' ican troops be put in the British front
trenches in order to finish their train
ing. Later they are to be incorporated
in Pershing’s army.
■ ■■ ' _ LiI
-------
p- [
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 —W. G. Lee,
head of the Order of Railway Train
men, at the railway wage hearing to
day. asserted that the managements
of the various railways were attempt- 1
ing to discredit the government opera- 1
tion of the railroads.
He said that he had facts to prove
that experienced railroad men were
not permitted to operate their depart
ments as their training and experience
dictated.
Lee said the old management did
not want government operation to be
made a success, and that he did not
think the public would let the rail
roads go back to the old system if
government management proves ef
ficient.
-«
Miss Kathryn Munn, of Seattle, is
stopping over here between boats on
her way to Anchorage.
GERMAN RAID IS FRUSTRATED
BY ALERT AMERICAN TROOPS
'! WITH THE AMERICAN EXPERT-!
[TIONARY ARMY, Feb. 5.—German
. plans to raid the American trenches
were frustrated when our artillery put |
down a heavy barrage on a trench be
lieved to have been filled with Ger
mans awaiting the signal to attack.
Fifteen minutes before the attack |
was expected all the American guns j
concentrated their fire where the ene
my was massed.
American patrols worked their way
to the German lines and endeavored to
inspect the damaged trenches, the Ger
mans meanwhile using gas shells free,
ly, without results.
Two men were reported wounded.
The visibility remains bad.
)
- HONOLULU, T. H., Feb. 5—“Prin
11 cess" Theresa Wilcox Belliveau, who
failed to obtain possession of the es
| tate of the late Queen Liliuokalani by
! means of the “will” of August 29,
1917, which Circuit Judge Ashford
'threw out of his court and declared
to be a forgery, asserts she is going to
i push her claim for the crown lands in
i the territory.
' The “Princess” declares that she
is the lineal descendant and heir of
Kamehameha V., who, she asserts,
died intestate. She and her mother.
Mi*. JafizaHUth K. Pratt, she asserts
are now the only heirs of the crown
and of the crown lairds.
“Princess" Theresa’s claims are not
taken seriously in Hawaii.
■-♦
LIQUOR LAW VIOLATOR.
!n the commissioner's court, yester
day afternoon, a jury found Bob Ora
v~n guilty of violating the bone dry
law, by having liquor in his possession.
Judge Medley sentenced him to three
months in the federal jail.
HINDENBURG PROMISES
TO BE IN PARIS IN APRIL
TUB HAGUE,—Travelers from Ger
nany bring an account of a recent con
'erence between General Von Hinden
berg and a newspaper editor. The
editor remarked that by next May
there would be no food In Germany.
Von Hindenberg replied that by April
he would be in Paris.
►♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
► COST OF WAR. +
► - ♦
► WASHINGTON. Feb. 5.—Ten ♦
* months of war have cost the ♦
► United States about seven billion ♦
► one hundred million dollars. It ♦
► is expected that the first year of ♦
► the war will cost ten billion dol- ♦
► lars, of which five billions con- ♦
► stitute loans to the allies. ♦
►♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
__A_
At last night's meeting of the city
council preliminary steps were taken
for the annexation of the ocean (lock
to the municipality. This action was
taken upon receiving a report from
President R. AV. Baxter, of the Alaska
Steamship company, that his company
was in favor of the city extending it?
limits so as to take in the wharf, and
all property in that vicinity. A special
committee, composed of Mesers. Ho
ward, O'Neill, Council and Chase was
appointed and Attorney E. F. Medley
retained as legal advisor. It will be
necessary to have surveys made, and
a petition filed with the district court
In case Judge Brown approves of tin
plan he will order a special electioi
held, at which the property owners
will have a voice as to the extensior
of the corporate limits.
The council adopted an ordinanc(
granting the Cordova Power company
i franchise for a steam heating plant
for domestic and commercial purposes
subject to confirmation by the voters
at the municipal election.
Dr. A\rl AV. Council was named as
chairman of the street committee, sue
ceeding Jos. Stanton, who recently
went to the states. Sixty cents an houi
will be paid for street labor hereafter
UNDATED.—The feeling in German
political circles is that the return to>
Berlin of Von Kuehlmann and Count
Czernin forecasts the breaking off of
the Brest-Litovsk peace conference
NO GENSlii
TO BE NAMED FOR ALLIES
LONDON, Feb. 5.—Chancellor Law,
in his address to the house of com
mons today, said that no generalissi
mo of the allied forces would be named
as the result of the recent Versailles
conference of premiers and generals
DIMM KEPT IN 9B
is T« mm STRIKE
UNDATED.—Meager information
concerning the strike situation in Ger
many fails to state whether the strik
ing workmen have returned to work.
1
PREPARING FOR EAGLEST *
“TTFKEKA,- Feb. 5.—With Mayor
1 George W. Cousins as chairman of
the general committee, local members
of the Eagles are preparing for an un
usual entertainment for 1,000 members
of the order expected here next June
in attendance upon the annual State
Grand Aerie. An agreement has been
reached with hotels and restaurants
that no advanced prices are to he
charged. The convention will be i'nt
session four days.
FIRST AUTHENTIC REPORT FROM EXPLORER STEFANSSON
Captain Alexander Allen arrived in
Cordova on this 'afternoon’s train,
bringing to the outside world the first
authentic news of the explorations of
Captain Viljalmar Stefansson that has
been received from the Arctic in tw’o
years. He told a wonderfully interest
ing story, but related it in a manner
that would lead the listener to believe
that he had just made a little pleasure
jaunt instead of having made the long
journgy froip„ Herschel island, via the
Porcupine river and Fort Yukon, up
to Fairbanks, and from the latter place
over the government trail to Chitina.
The chief information given out by
Captain Allen is regarding the further
intended explorations of Stefansson
and a mutiny among his officers. He
also brought out Stefansson’s official
report to the Canadian government,
but this was dispatched by mail and
telegraph from Fort Yukon, which was
the first settlement reached by Allen
in his long journey from the North.
Allen plans to rest here for several
days and then continue his journey on
to the Outside.
The official report of Stefansson,
Captain Allen says, has to do with the
activities of the exploring party dur
ing the two years just passed. Stef
ansson had intended to go to Ottawa
in person last fall to make the report,
but his ship became frozen in on Bar
ter island, and he therefore decided
to remain another winter in the north
ern barrens. Captain Allen left Her
schel island before Stefansson arrived
there, but the report and other papers
were dispatched to him by a courier,
who caught up with him after he had
been on the trail for eight days. The
report tells chiefly of the movements
of the exploring party and of the in
tentions of Stefansson with regard to,
future work, it also gives the details
of some trouble experienced by Stef
ansson with a couple of his officers
with regard to the disobeying of or
ders. This trouble caused consider
able delay in the work which had been!
lined out for the past summer, accord-1
ing to Captain Allen.
The officers in question are Captain;
Gonzales and Mate William Seymour j
of the steamer Polar Bear, the whaling
ship purchased by Stefansson from'
Captain Louis Lane, who has passed
through here on two occasions. Stef
ansson had intended that these offi
cers should bring their ship to a cer
tain point at a certain time, according
to Captain Allen, and they deliberately
refused to do so. They were arrested
for disobeying orders when Stefansson
met the boat again, by the Northwest
mounted police, and are no^ being
held until Stefansson receives advices
from the Canadian government as to
how he shall proceed. The explorer
has asked for instructions on this
point in his report to Ottawa. The
remaining members of the crew of the
Polar Bear are kept on the pay roll of
the expedition, but the two officers
were discharged at Bailey island dur
ing the summer.
It is the intention of Stefansson to
make further explorations during the
coming summer, according to Captain
Allen. The trip will commence dur
ing the latter part of March and will
continue until July or August. From
Barter island, where the Polar Bear
was frozen in, Stefansson will proceed
directly north for approximately 100
miles, or to what is known as the
continental shelf, and will then pro
ceed westward across the ice pack.
During this trip he expects to find
some heretofore unexplored land. But
four men will be taken by Stefansson
in the main dash, but the remaining
members of his party of thirty men
will be distributed in relay and relief
camps along the route taken by the
exploring party. If he gets back from
the trip in time, Stefansson will come
south on one of his boats and so make
his trip to Seattle, but if it is late in
the. season when the journey of ex
ploration is concluded it is altogether
probable that the recognized greatest
explorer of modern times will come
through Cordova on his way to the
Outside. Stefansson, i^ is stated, has
arranged for the copyright of the story
of his explorations, and it will be
printed in the Toronto Globe.
Captain Allen describes Stefansson
as an indefatigable worker, and says
that there are but few men who can
follow where he leads. His chief lieu
tenant is a native, and it is always
these two who penetrate further on a
journey of exploration than any other
members of the party. And the ex
plorer expects all of his employes to
work just as hard as he does himself,
being willing to pay as high as $2C'
per day to white men who ait able
and willing to undergo the hardship
incidental to one of his trips of ex
ploration. He does not pay the na
tives so well, and his parties are there
fore made up largely of native helpers.
Captain Allen, whose Alaska resi
dence is Nome, to which point he will
return in the spring, was with Stef
ansson as a mechanic on board the
steamship Alaska. He can rejoin th^
explorer has not been heard from ia a
has not yet decided exactly what his
future moves may be in that regard.
The captain’s story of Stefansson's
work in the two years in which the
explorer has not bee* heard from is a
most interesting one. Nothing at all
j had been heard from Stefansson until
Captain Allen brought his reports and
telegrams to the Canadian government
and to the Toronto Globe down to
Fort Yukon the latter part of Decem
ber.
In .the spring of 1916 Stefansson
made a trip from Southwest Banks
Land to Northwest Banks Land, mak
ing the trip on the ice entirely. On
this trip he found several new islands,
never before recorded, and claimed
these in the name of the Canadian gov
ernment, for which he is working at
the present time. None of the islands
was as large as the one found on his
last exploration trip, several years ago,
but will nevertheless make sizeable ad
ditions of land to Canadian territory.
During this trip two men of the Stef
ansson party were lost through being
frozen to death. The men were Pete
Bernard and Charles Thompson, both
residents of Nome, Bernard in particu
lar being well known all over that
district, and a resident there for many
years. These men started out from
Southwest Banks Land to go to Stef
ansson with mail, and became lost en
route, perishing after many days of
wandering around on the open ice
in the intense cold.
Stefansson returned from this trip to
Northwest Banks Land in safety and
is now making all preparations for his
next dash this coming spring. His
trip this year is to be into land that
has never been explored before. It is
an undertaking of extreme daring, but
is thoroughly in keeping with the for
mer explorations of Stefansson. He
nad originally intended to come out
j last fall, expecting first to go north
vone hundred miles and then away off
to the west with his ship. Later he
changed these plans, and is now going
to make the trip on the ice with dogs
into this unexplored country. This will
take him three or four hundred miles
north of the coast, where land is
known to be, but which has never been
investigated by white men up to this
time.
Stefansson is now at Barter island.
I one hundred and twenty miles west of
Hersohel island, making everything
ready for his supreme dash into the
unknown North. The Stefansson party
is now engaged in building sleds, as
they have not nearly enough for the
big trip, and could not buy any at Her.
schel island. They are also short of
dogs, and will have to obtain more
before they can leave on the long
journey. They should be able to get
plenty of dogs from the natives later
on in the winter. The northern dash
will start along toward the last of I
March or in the early part of April,
according to the lateness of the season,
and will last until July or August. The
return trip wilt bring him far out be
yond the continental shelf, and as far
west along the Siberian coast as Wran
gel island. If he is successful in his
explorations, and finds what he is look
ing for. Stefansson will return to Nome
the next spring with his boats.
Captain Allen is loud in his praise
of Stefansson as an explorer. Starting
in a few years ago, the captain says,
as an ethnologist, Stefansson has de
veloped into the greatest explorer of
recent times. The journeys which he
makes would simplj* overwhelm men
like Peary or Dr Cook, according to
Captain Allen. Stefansson fives crr
tirely off the country through which
he travels, and in this way is able to
go distances that before were unheard
of. The reason for Stefansson's start
ing out so late in the spring is because
there is no game on the ice until that
time. He carries what food he can
with him, but. depends for the most
part on the meat killed along the way.
He can find seals, bear and even sea
gulls for food, says Captain Allen,
where an ordinary person would see
nothing but a bleak expanse of ice.
The trip is made entirely over the
ice, which is nearly all one solid mass,
in case an open float is struck the
sleds are covered with waterproof can
vas, and can be used as boats to crossv
the open water to the floes on the far
ther side.
There is a large party with Stef
ansson, but he only uses four men
on the final dash. The rest of the
party, with many dog teams, are alt
along the route as relays, bringing up
supplies and caching them, find being
ready to relieve Stefansson on his re
turn trip. The pick of the men and
the finest dogs are taken by Stefansson
himself to make the final dash into
the unknown territory.
Stefansson had not been sighted for
two seasons until this winter, and
nothing was known of how he and hfs
ships were getting along. He has had
great success with the boats this year,
according to the captain, and has not
lost any. as on former occasions. He
has two parties, the southern party,
with the ship Alaska, and the northern
party, with the Polar Bear.
Captain Allen was with the South
Bin party.