The Cordova Daily Times
VOLUME ()^E. Xl'MBER 250. CORDOVA, ALASKA, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1915. PRICE TEN CENTS.
1
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29—Within the next three weeks
Secretary Lane expects to promulgate regulations by which the
government will make leases of coal land in Alaska, is the an
nouncement made by him today.
Secretary Lane stated that he had believed a plan had
been devised by which the leasing of Alaska coal land is made
practical and under which the coal may be mined at a fair pro
fit.
Scouting the view held by many Alaskans and others
outside of the Territory that the new land’ is unworkable be
cause of peculiar conditions, the secretary declared that mining
on a large scale will be made possible.
The income provision of tl\e coal leasing bill provides that
lessees pay a royalty of not less than two cents a ton for coal
mined, twenty-five cents per acre for the first year of the lease,
fifty cents per acre for the second, third, fourth and fifth years
of the lease, and one dollar thereafter.
Coal land may be leased under the new bill for a period of
fifty years, subject to renewal at such terms and conditions as
are authorized by law at the time of such renewal.
Reservations of acreage for government mines have been
made in both fields. In the Bering fields this amounts to 5,120
acres in the Matanuska 7,680 acres. Other general reservat
ions are made under a section providing for the withholding
from lease of “not more than one-half of other Alaska coal
fields.”
The Alaskan engineering commission will be allowed such
acreage as will be necessary to produce fuel for its own use.
People interested in one coal lease will be forbidden to
have interests in any other lease. This clause will apply tc
stockholders in all incorporations which may be forced to lease
lands for fuel.
Special to The Times By Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Sept. 29—The syndicate floating the half
billion loan to France and England have arranged to offer the
bonds to the bankers of twenty cities simultaneously, and
agents have been appointed' in all these cities where the gen
eral public can subscribe, in any amount desired. The bonds
will be on the market before the next two weeks are over.
NEW YORK, Sept. 29—The definite formation of the big
banking syndicate which is to handle the half billion dollar
loan to England and France has commenced. The bankers i
have arranged to give two percent commission to all the sub
scribing investors, so that the bonds will be sold at $98.00 on
the hundred. An effort is being made to induce investors as
well as banks to participate and the bonds, will be drawn in
different denominations, some of them being issued for $100.00
so that the man with only that much to invest can participate
in the loan if he wishes to. That the half billion will ho
raised in this country seems assured', and the foreign financial
commission now feel that their work is almost completed, the
remaining details being left to the syndicate which is under
taking to float the loan.
DEADLOCK OVER
CLAIMS
Negotiations between owners and
prospective buyers of claims on the
large lode of low grade ore at Broad
Pass have ended in a deadlock. Fu
ture dealings will depend upon the
owners, unless some capitalist with
sufficient funds to handle the propo
sition arrives to consider the present
offer.
Representatives of the two largest
mining interests in Alaska and from
several lesser interests have been at
Broad Pass and looked over the
claims.
One of these men is now in Seward.
He is not seeking publicity at this
time and only agreed to an interview
on the understanding that his name
be withheld. With this understanding
he made he following statement:
“There is a vast body of low grade
ore at Broad Pass, which on surface
indications is promising.
"The claims on the ‘inside,’ that is
the claims on the ore body or on
ground where it outcrops, are held by
about 20 men.
“Assays of surface rock show an
average value of $4.00 per ton. This
showing ig sufficient to warrant thor
ough prospecting.
“The claim owners want about $50,
000 a claim for t'nelr ground, some
asking as high $75,000.
“The owners want on the average
five per cent down and more each
year. My people are willing to put all
that is necessary into prospecting, but
they will not- pay for the right to
prospect. The amount asked for the
claims is not out of reason if the val
ues are there. We are willing to buy
an option giving us the right to pros
pect and with the first payment fall
ing due in two or three years.
“To handle a group of these claims
at a profit will call for the Investment
of not less than $3,000,000. after the
completion of the government rail
road to that point. Without a rail
road it would mean an additional in
vestment of enough more to transport
overland the vast amount of machin
ery necessary.
“ It Is obvious therefore, that noth
ing can be done toward installation
of a mill until the road is completed,
say about three years from now.
This is not a handicap, however, for
no responsible corporation nor corpor
ation which has that amount of money
at its disposal would invest it until the
ground was thoroughly prospected.
To do this would take from $25,000 to
$50,000 per claim.
"It must be determined that the
; values existing on the surface extend
, below and tunnels and drifts must be
driven to show a sufficient tonnage
of ore in sight to warrant so great
an investment. Mining is a science,;
not a gamble. The gamble would be
the spending of $25,000 on the pros
pect holes.
“Ijone of the men owing the ground
have sufficient funds to prospect their
i own claims, and all of them put to
gether would have difficulty gettiig
; enough to thoroughly prospect one
j group of claims.
"The owners refused our offers, so
unless some new man comes in who is
willing to pay for the right to pros
pect, the prospecting of the district
will be delayed.”—Seward Gateway.
-:o:
SMOKER AND ENTERTAINMENT
TAKES PLACE TONIGHT
Eagle hall will be the scene of much
merriment tonight, the occasion being
a smoker and entertainment by the
crew of the Prometheus. A number
of good stunts will be pulled off and
everything will be in readiness to start
the fun at 8:30 o’clock sharp. An
attractive souvenir program, in colors,
will be distributed to the guests.
-:o
EVANS BRINGS PASSENGERS
FROM THE WESTWARD
The steamer Admiral Evans arrived
from the westward at 7:30 o’clock with
the following passengers for Cordova
F. C. Geide. T. J. Walsh. Wm. Patter
son, C. Millet, L. D. Brown, Geo. Bitt
ner, Don L. Green, Mrs. G. R. Hurd,
K. \\. Wiley, Chas. Oudenbarigh, .las.
M. Milsap and four stee-Hgo.
Those going from t'oroov i to .June
au and Seattle were Geo. >'ingar, F.
Short, F. A. JouMan.R. F. McClellan,
B. M. McClellan, H. D. Foster, J. C.
Petre, M. R. Morris and H. Davis.
-:o:—
Nifty job printing at the Times.
Austrians Retake the Fortress of Lutsk.
LONDON, Sept. 29—Tin* Austrians in the south of Poland
have stemmed the Russian advance and by means of heavy re
enforcements have retaken the fortress of Lutzk, northwest of
Dubno. In the north the Teutons under Hindenberg are re
newing their great movement against the fortified city of
Dvin.sk, and the battle is continous here. The Russian forces
are fighting valorouslv, and so far the German assaults have
made no appreciable dents in the Russian defenses. The crux
•of the situation depends on the fighting along the Dvina, and
if the Teutons can win in this last grand effort they are making,
Hindenberg’s victory will lie one of the greatest of the war
from a strategic standpoint.
_ T
The drawing for petit jurors to
serve at the term of the district court
to convene at Seward on November
I, was made when Clerk of the Court
Arthur Lang and Jury Commissioner
J. C. Martin drew the names of twenty
four citizens from the box. Following
is the list in the order in which the
names were drawn.
Dan Ross, Valdez; Charles Kop-:
pus, Valdez; R. N. McFadden Copper:
Creek; J. J. McGrath, Seward; John!
Ferguson, Cooper Creek; Allan A. ,
Johnson, Cordova: Geo. Merrifield.!
Valdez; J. A. Johnson, Cooper Creek; I
G. B. Poindexter; H. G. Ward, La-;
touche; H. H. Hildreth, Seward; F. |
H. Sheldon, Cordova; H. J. Haarsch. i
Seward; Alex Little, Seward; Marvin
Burford, Valdez; Geo. E. Scott, Cordo- j
va; Percy Pullen, Seward; F. A. j
Handcock, Seward; Martin Ellingston,
Valdez; Jos. A. Olson, Valdez; C. E.
Duffleld, Valdez: Robt. Atkinson, El
lamar; John Erickson, Valdez.
:o:
Three Trains a Week
On account of the heavy shipments;
of ore from the Bonanza and Jumbo
mines the C. R. & N. W. railway is
running three round trip trains a
week which schedule will likely be
maintained throughout the winter.
-;0;
All the Real News in the Times.
I
GOVERNMENT CABLE BREAKS
AND SERVICE INTERRUPTED
The government cable is again out
of commission, the break having oc
curred some distance below Sitka. As
a result the Daily Times did not re
ceive its Associated Press telegraphic
service today, and is not likely to un
til the cableship Rurnslde comes from
the states and repairs the break.
-:o:
TO BRING NEW FREIGHTERS
TO PACIFIC VIA THE CANAL
The freighters Bennington and Bur
lington, which the Alaska Steamship
Company purchased from the Rutland
Transit Company, where they are used
as ore carriers on the great lakes, will
be brought to the Pacific coast, via
the Panama Canal and placed on the
run from Seattle to Cordova. Capt.
Fred Warner, of the Alameda, and
Capt. C. B. McMullen, of the ill-fated
freighter Edith, have left for the east
to bring the Bennington and Burling
ton to Seattle. They were accom
panied by First Officers Gus Bloom- 1
berg and Edward Schraker and Chief
Engineers Sam Coddling and R. B.
Bruce.
-:o:
THREE VALDEZ OPERATOS ARE
ON WAY TO CORDOVA
The local cable office will of neces
sity handle all of the telegraphic
messages for the westward and inter
ior Alaska during the time that the
cable is not working and three opera
tors, Messrs Gill, Whalen and Scearce,
left Valdez on the launch Donaldson ,
for Cordova to assist the local office in
taking care of this increased business.
The messages will be received over
the wireless and relald from here to i
their destination.
M TU BILL
> -
r nip grand Jury, after an exhaust
ing Investigation Into the death of
Bcboentmrg, who was murder
U p| WiI««m hurt December return
M fc e^tny of not a true bill and
James Kingston who has been held
under suspicion since last January,
was cleared of the cloud under which
he has existed since being bound over
by the U. S. commissioner at Chisana.
More than thirty witnesses were
W rought from the Chisana district and
TWered testimony before the grand
jury. Among the witnesses were a
number of Indians who gave their evi
dence thru an interprter.
Louis Schoenberg was a merchant
in the now nearly defunct placer
camp, and was believed to be in the
habit of carrying a considerable
quantity of gold dust about with him.
He was last seen alive late on the af
ternoon of December 26th, and when
he failed to appear at his store next
morning search was instigated and his
dead body found in a deserted cabin
about one mile distant from his place
of business. A search of Schoen
burg’s premises failed to reveal the
poke of gold dust which he was be
lieved to have.
The arrest of Kingston took place
in January, and he swa taken to Valde?
to await trial. The evidence against
him was circumstantial and 'n the
case of a number of witnesses the tes*i
mony w’as mere suspicion. Kingston
was not lacking in friends who stoutly
maintained that he was innocent of
the grave charges againkt him and he
is now being congratulated in having
been cleared from the charge.
BADLY INJURED
I
EXPLOSION
Joe Moser is in the local hospital
suffering from severe injuries re
ceived while working on the North
Star quartz claims at Port Wells,
which are being operated by Gus.
Ihm. Moser had six shots planted, with
five of them lit, and when about to
light the sixth one the dynamite ex
ploded and the unfortunate man was
v jracticallv riddled with pieces of flying
•T'quartz. He was brought to Cordova
last uiyht on the lanuch Alice and Dr.
W. H. Chase dressed his wounds. As
his spine is effected paralysis is threat
ened. The patient, who is 41 years old,
is resting easy today, but the final re
sult of his injuries cannot be deter
mined at this time, although his con
dition is considered critical.
-*
f RETURN FROM PLEASANT TRIP
OF SEVERAL MONTHS
Mr. and Mrs. R. M. Bllx have re
turned form an extended trip through
California and Mexico. They are ac
companied by Miss E. Arnholt, of
San Francisco, who will spend a year
with them at their home at Copper
Center, for which place they will leave
on the next train. Mr. Blix also
brought an automobile back with him.
»
-:o:
Nifty Job printing at the Times.
BIG PASSENGER
The steamer Alameda arrived from
Seattle at 10 o'clock this morning and
on account of the large quantity of
freight aboard for here will not sail
for the westward until 8 o'clock to
night. Her passengers are:
Tor Cordova—F. Davies, Mrs. W.
McFadden, Max Weber and wife, C.
Welch, J. E. McFarland, J. L. Har
per, G. Bartlett, J. E. Robinson, Mrs.
M. Lien, C. E. Quinton, D. McDon
ald,B. Lucas, Mrs. D. Martin, Miss L.
G. Stevenson, Dr. and one steerage.
For Valdez—Dudley Wooten and
wife, H. Ballinger, N. Y. Saint, R.
Blix and wife, Enraund E. Smith, Louis
Levy and wife.
For Latouche—Miss M. Anderson.
For Seward— A. Layman, J. Koslo
skj and family, C. C. Howard, Mrs.
F. Whitmore, J. Gustan, W. Gustan,
A. W. Ellis, J. Ronan and family, M.
O. Cameron, S. M. Brewster and wife.
H. G. Hayes, J. B. Oliver, F. Craw
ford, L. Rosenthal, Miss Thelma Yo
well, C. W. Spear, and a steerage.
For Anchorage—H. T. Fowler. A.
Greenbaum, Mrs. M. Haniscli. C. Han
isch. Miss Eva Lockhart, Mrs E. Pen
ney, Mrs. L. P. Byrne, Gilman Byrne,
Mrs. G. Paxton. Spencer Paxton. Otto
E. Strizek and wife, Mrs. E. Turner,
E. D. Higgley, Maud Ellis, L. Siefker.
J. A. Kissel, R. Wakelin. J. A. Car
modv, H. D. Wilson and two steerage.
-:o:
RED DRAGON ENTERTAINS
IN PLEASING IIAANNER
A pleasant social was held last
night in the Red Dragon, which was
attended by many of the young folks
of the town. Cards were enjoyed, and
light refreshments served, and dancing
was indulged in. Rev. Mr. Ziegler
was In charge of the affair and will
conduct similar socials througout the
coming winter at the Dragon, to
which all the people of the town are
Invited. All who attended last night
expressed their pleasure at the gather
ing, and thanked Mr. Ziegler for the
spportunity given to mingle with each
ather under such agrreable surround
ings. Mr. Ziegler plans to make the
Red Dragon more of a factor in the
iffairs of the town this year than it
ias been heretofore, and is receiving
he hearty support of the people in
lis efforts.
-:o
BELIEVES IBACH PARTY
REACHED ITS DESTINATION
The schooner Northland has re
urned to the local port, but did not
nake the trip to Middleton Island to
iearch for the Joseph Ibaeh party as
'art of its machinery broke down,
’apt. Brown, however, does not be
ieve that any misfortune has been
net with by the Cordovans, as th
og on his craft shows that no bad
veather was prevalent at the time
hey left here.
-O’ —
-IRST INTERIOR MAIL FROM
STATES ARRIVES ON ALAMEDA
The steamer Alameda brought an
inusally heavy mail today, including
he first shipment of winter mail for
•’airbanks and interior points, which
vill be routed via Cordova. The first
lispatch of 800 pouuds leaves here
text Monday.
-:o:-—
If you enjoy good butter buy the
lold medal or Jersey brands at the
31um, O’Neill Co., at 37^ c. pound.