Food—The Weapon that will Win the War—Help to Save It
The Nenana News
VOLUME NO. 2 NENANA, ALASKA SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1918. WHOLE NUMER 75"
YANKEE TRENCHES
RAIDED BY ENEMY
AMSTERDAM, Feb. 9.— (via Ket
chikan)—The German war office
issued a statement this afternoon
in which it was announced that the
American trenches on the Lorraine
front were raided last night and a
number of the Americans captured.
Details of the encounter are lacking.
NEW REGOIAIIONS
FI FOOD IN FORCE
The food saving rules recently j
adopted by the local council of de- j
fense were reconsidered at a meet- j
ing of the council held on Thursday I
evening, and a new schedule of sav- j
ing days decided upon.
The observance of sugarless and !
butterless days was ordered discon- j
tinued, but strict economy was urged
in the use of these two foods. Par-1
ticular attention was called to the
importance of stirring thoroughly j
such sugar as is used in tea and
coffee.
It was decided ti ask the ladies j
to again circulate pledge cards among
the people of Nenana. Mrs. F. S.
Ryus was named chairman of the
pledge committee, with power to ap
* point such assistants as she may
deem necessary. The cards are to
be placed in every home, the signers |
to mail them to Food Administrator
Cramer at the end of each week. j
* Persons refusing to sign the cards ;
are to be reported to the authori
ties at Washington.
The dog nuisance also was dis- j
cussed at considerable length during j
the meeting and it was the opinion j
of those | resent that all homeless
dogs should be killed, the argument
being that the animals not only
menace the lives of children but also
are a needless drain upon 1 * e com
munity’s food supplies. It was voted
to appoint a committee to take this
matter in hand.
The m< rchants of the town are |
to e incited to co-'er with Genersl j
Storekecj »r H. P Curtis, of tlie ’
Alaskan Engineering commiss->?. j
with relation to the amount of food
supplies now on hand in town.
Following the meeting, Food Ad
ministrator G. F. Cramer and the
council of defense issued the follow
ing regulations governing the use
of food in this district, the instruc
tions being addressed to “every resi
dent of Nenana and vicinity:
“The United States Food Admini
strator, upon the president’s pro- j
clamation, has made the following
* regulations regarding the conser
vation of food, which are effective
immediately.
‘‘Licensed bakeries and all who
sell bread, are required to use 20
per cent substitutes for wheat flour
in all bread and rolls. This bread
is to be called Victory Bread.
Wheatless Days—Mondays and
Wednesdays.
“On these days Victory Bread may
be used, but wheat flour in no other
form can be used on ‘Wheatless
Days.’ Cake, crackers, pastry, Cream
of Wheat, Farina, Macaroni and
Noodles are prohibited.
“Use rice, oatmeal, corn meal,
corn starch, barley as substitutes.
“Tuesday—Meatless and Porkless
Day.
“On this day beef, pork, mutton,
lamb, lard, ham and bacon are pro
hibited. Fish, Turkey, Chicken and
fowl of all kinds are allowed.
“Saturday—Porkless Day.
“On this day, pork and all pork
products, including lard, are pro
hibited.
“Use lard substitutes, such as
crisco, cottolene, cotton seed oil,
and similar products.
“In addition to the above, you are
urged to save every pound of flour
possible. Conserve Sugar. Use no
more than two teaspoonfuls to each
cup of coffee or tea and Stir Well,
so that none is left in the bottom
of the cup. Save Fats of all kinds,
using butter sparingly. Throw no
grease in the swill barrel, save it
and make soap, you may not be
able to buy soap next year.
“Every loyal citizen should observe
these regulations cheerfully, and you
are requested to keep this letter be
fore you.
‘‘Don't forget to turn in your food
card every Saturday.
“Respectfully,
“G. F. CRAMER,
“Local Food Administrator.”
Help Win the War
“The Nena.ta branch of the Alaska
Territorial Council of Defense, re
quest all residents of this district
to willingly observe the foregoing
rules of the food administrator.
“You can co-operate and help the
administration in numerous ways—
obey the regulations cheerfully, smile
and say you like them. Report to
the executive committee anyone who
refuses to comply with the regula
tions of the food administrator, and
above all, see that your weekly food
report is promptly made.
"Sincerely yours,
“GEO. W. PENNINGTON,
“Chairman.”
STEEL IS MOW
STEADILY TOWARD
THE COAL FIELDS
The big 1600 foot trestle across
Lost slough has been completed and !
the piledriver has been sent on to 1
bridge 21, about a mile farther up
the grade. Stringers and caps are
being rapidly added to the big j
trestle and it is expected that steel j
will soon be laid over the structure.
When Lost slough has been crossed,
it is expected that the laying of
steel towards Nenana Crossing (43
Mile) will progress very rapidly, as
everything is in readiness to receive
the rails.
At Nenana Crossing <43 Mile)
preparations are under way for the
driving of piles for the big bridge
that will span the river at this
point. According to the present
plans of the commission, this bridge,
with the trestle approaches, is to be
768 feet in length. The trestle ap
proach at the south end will be com
posed of 31 twelve-foot spans and
that at the north end of 17 twelve
foot spans, with 8 twenty-four-foot
spans in the center. The big pile
driver, with all the necessary parts
and gear, is now on the spot ready
for assembling. A portion of the
piling necessary for this work is be
ing hauled from the neighborhood
of Camp 9 (20 Mile) while the rest
of it has been arranged for by con
tract with Charles Wagner & Co.,
and they have already made delivery
of some of it.
Flood waters have again inter
fered considerably with tracklaying 1
operations, and the cold snap of the
last two days has been quite a set
back in the progress of the work.
A large quantity of ice had to be
cut away and removed from the j
right of way to allow of the crib
bing to be put in and the rails laid
in place. The floods have regla
ciered all this region and the work
of stripping ice off the grade has
to be done over again. A ditch has
been cut through the ice in an at
creek, and if this project succeeds
creek, adn if this project succeeds
it will be of the greatest assistance
to the tracklaying and surfacing
crews. A great quantiy of bridge
timbers, ties, caps and piling which
is needed for the continuance of
railroad building, has been glaciered
in, and the work of salvaging this
material is proceeding very satis
factorily.
When the track has been com
pleted to the Crossing and train ser
vice established Nenana will then be
in a position to make use of the
coal from the Lignite fields. These
coal fields are about ten miles up
Btream from the Crossing, and the
building of a wagon road to connect
with the railroad until the Lignite
branch has been built, will not be a
very difficult or expensive matter.
Attorney Cecil H. Clegg is in town
from Fairbanks, having been re
tained as counsel for Lawrence Cole.
He made the trip down with Billy
Butler, well known Fairbanks poli
tician.
DRIVE ON VERDUN
PARIS, Feb. 9.— (via Ketchikan)
—The German crown prince has
launched seven heavy attacks againsl
the Verdun front since last Sunday
according to announcement made bj
the French war office this after
noon. The seventh attack was made
this morning, and the first six, were
beaten down by the French forces
after several hours hard fighting
The action against Verdun, it is be
lieved, marks the commc/cement ol
the long expected drive along the
Western front. The casualties or
both sides have been unusually
heavy.
FA1RBANKSANS REGRET
ACTION OF GOVERNMENT
FAIRBANKS, Feb. 9.—There is
considerable dissatisfaction here ovei
the ruling of Provost Marshal Gen
eral Crowder .refusing to authorize
the payment of transportation from
Interior Alaska to the States, of
draft eligibles anxious to volunteer
their services. Five Fairbanks boys
are now enroute to the coast, hav
ing decided to pay their own fare?
to the coast, and a ball is to be
given tonight for the benefit of
several others who have expressed
a desire to fight for Uncle Sam,
The dance is being given by the
Fairbanks Council of defense and
other affairs of a similar nature will
be undertaken should additional
funds be needed. By way of pre
caution, the boys desiring to enlist
are required to undergo their phy
sical examination before they leave
town and checks for the payment of
fares and roadhouse expenses are
made out only after vouchers have
been presented.
BOATS MUST REGISTER
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. !).—Col
lector of Customs Davis has an
nounced that all vessels engaged iri
Pacific coastwise trade hereaftei
must obtain special permits before
clearing. The order is designed to
enable the government to obtain ac
curate information relative to the
number of vessels and their capacity
engaged in the coastwise service.
CABLE IB BROKEN;
NEWS IS HELD UP
The Alaska military cable parted
during the night at some point south
of Sitka and Alaska, today, is com
pletely cut off from the Outside
world. Efforts to establish commer
cial communication via the radio
stations had not succeeded up to a
late hour this afternoon, and the
Canadian land lines were reported
down as soon as the Canadian tele
graphers learned that the American
cable had parted.
If the cable repair ship can be
sent north immediately to mend the
broken cable, the service should be
restored before the end of next
week. Otherwise, Alaskans will be
compelled to depend upon an over
worked radio and the unreliable
Canadian line for their news for an
indefinite time.
TEDDY IS IMPROVING
NEW YORK, Feb. 9.—Doctors in
attendance upon Colonel Roosevelt
announce this morning that their
patient is now making satisfactory
progress, the signs of inflamatory
trouble in the inner ear having sub
sided greatly during the night.
OLDTIMER MUST SERVE
FOR BUSTING NEW LAW
FAIRBANKS, Feb. 9—Jerry Quin
lan has arrived here from Brooks
to serve a sentence of six months
for violation of the territorial pro
hibition law. Quinlan was arrested
at Brooks several days ago after
he had escaped from a burning cabin
in which Frank McHugh lost his
life. Both men are reported to
have been intoxicated at the time
the fire started.
Mrs. Ghezzi, who has been in the
Government hospital for several
weeks has now completely recovered
and has left the institution.
FIRST COAL HERE
FROM UP LIGNITE;
BIG VEIN TAPPED
The first shipment of native coal
ever received in Nenana, arrived
in town on Thursday night’s train,
direct from the Nenana coal fields,
where G. A. O'Connor and J. G. K.
Toussaint have tapped one of the
most promising of the many ledges
in that district. The shipment con
sisted of several sacks, probably a
quarter of a ton in all, and it is
now being burned in numerous
stoves and ranges about town for
the purpose of demonstrating the
good burning qualities of the coal,
which will become available in un
limited quantities as soon as the rail
road has been completed to the mouth
of Lignite creek, a distance of
thirty-five miles beyond the present
end of the line, or about fifty-five
miles from Nenana.
Mr. O’Connor, who is in town on
a hurried business trip, says that the
coal which they have filed upon is
a blanket ledge, about seven feet
thick, close to the creek and not
more than a quarter of a mile from
the Nenana river. The ledge is of
the sort easily and cheaply worked
and can be developed quickly into
a producing mine. The only ob
THE FOR ALIENS
WASHINGTON, L). C., Feb. 9.—
(via Ketchikan)—Attorney General
Gregory has announced that an ex
tension of four days will be granted
Germany enemy aliens to comply
with the registration order recently
issued. The order explains that
owing to the storms throughout the
country, many of the German farm
ers have been unable to reach town.
All must be listed, however, by the
13th, regardless of weather condi
tions, the attorney general having
made it plain that no further ex
tensions will be granted.
COASTWISE PLOTS
BROKEN BY PROBE
WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 9.—
(via Ketchikan)—Officials of the
department of justice are authority
for tfie statement that the indict
ment of 56 Industrial Worker con
spirators at Sacramento this week
is the result of an investigation that
has been in progress for a number
• of weeks. The probe, which was
! started immediately following the
! explosion of a bomb in the residence
of Governor Stephens, has disclosed
j the fact that the Industrials were
: planning the wholesale destruction
i of Pacific coast industries, shipping
; and otherwise interfering with war
i preparations. Federal agents are
| said to have discovered the nest of
j the plotters, obtaining evidence
which threatens the extermination
of all the conspirators. Among the
| plans of the plotters was the de
struction of the vessels now under
construction at Seattle and other
Pacific coast cities.
RED GUARDS LOSE
i _
STOCKHOLM, Feb. 9—Dispatches
from Helsinfors state that General
Mannerhaim, commanding the forces
supporting the Finnish provisional
government, has defeated the re
volutionary Red Guard in a battle
which cost the rebels three thous
and men.
ITALIAN AIRMEN POT
MANY ENEMY PLANES
ROME, Feb. 9.—A most encour
aging report of aerial activities was
received today at the Italian war
office from General Diaz. He states
that Italian and Allied airmen have
kept after the Teutons constantly
and during the period from January
stacle in the way of going ahead
with the work is the lack of trans
portation facilities. The hauling is
too costly under present conditions.
It is the intention of Mr. O’Connor
however, to send several more small
shipments to town before warm
weather renders freighting unsafe,
for the purpose of making the people
of Nenana acquainted with the coal
and creating a market for the larger
shipments which will follow as soon
as the steel reaches Lignite creek,
which should be during the latter
part of the summer.
Mr. O’Connor and his partner have
secured a lease on a portion of the
Nenana waterfront, to be used for
storage purposes later on. The lease
covers a strip 50 x 100 at the foot
of Market street, downstream from
the N. C. warehouse.
In describing the coal, Mr. O’
Conor says that it is a good grade
of lignite. It burns freely, does not
clinker, the sulphur content is low
and the ash about five per cent.
That the coal is not the sort that
slacks is indicated by the presence
of great blocks of the fuel along i
Lignite creek, with no trace of |
26 to last night had brought down j
a total of fifty-six hostile machines. I
In addition, the Allied airmen have !
j caused a lot of damage behind the |
I enemy lines, many tons of explos-1
I ives having been dropped on enemy j
munition and supply depots.
SENATE COMMITTEEMEN
APPROVE DRAFT CHANGE
WASHINGTON, D. C„ Feb. <).—
The senate military committee has
unanimouscly ordered a favorable
report on the bill providing for the
amendment of the selective draft
law, to require the registration of
men as they reach the age of 21,
and basing quotos on the number of
men in Class One instead of on
state populations.
ARABS DEFEAT TURKS
IN DEAD SEA REGION
WASHINGTON, I). C., Feb. 'J.—
Official dispatches received by the
state department today state that
Arab troops under the command of
Sheik Mecca have overwhelmingly
defeated the Turkish army which
has been operating southeast of the
Dead Sea. The defeat was accom
plished in a series of battles which
cost the Turks heavily in men and
left the forces disoragnized.
MISSOURI LIEUTENANT
SCORES HIT ON FRONT
American Army in France, Feb. 9.
—A Missouri lieutenant had the
honor, on Tuesday night, of shoot
ing down this first German airplane,
while accompanying a French es
cadrille on a bombing expedition.
The incident is worthy of more than
passing notice because the lieutenant
had never operated a machine gun
before while in flight and he had
never been over the enemy lines
before. He got his man while at a
height of 12,000 feet.
UKRAINIANS MAKE
PEACE AGREEMENT
COPENHAGEN, Feb. 9.—(via
Ketchian)—The Central powers and
the Ukrainians are reported to have
signed a peace agreement. The in
formation comes from Berlin and
cannot be confirmed, neither is it
known to what extent the peace
agreement will influence the atti
tude of the Bolsheviki government.
The immediate result will be the re
lease of large quantities of supplies
to the Teutons.
Bob Benner, the well known young
Nenanaite, underwent an operation
for goitre this week and is now
convalescing rapidly.
slacking, although long exposed to
the weather. And the outcroppings
of the ledge are as hafd as bone.
The unexposed coal contains consid
erable moisture but this will become
less, Mr. O’Connor believes, after
the vein has been opened up.
Coal has been in general use at
the Jack Singleton roadhouse, at the
mouth of Lignite creek, during the
past year. The fire in the range
has been burning steadily since last
September and the stove apparently
is none the worse for the unusual
heat test. In another part of the
road house, coal is burned in an or
dinary heater, without grates. Sin
gleton hauls the coal from Lignite
creek to his roadhouse in a hand
sleigh, one load lasting as long as
three loads of wood, hauled on the
same* sleigh.
White & Van Houten, who have
a contract to supply the Alaskan
Engineering commision with 200
tons of coal, delivered at 43-Mile,
are working steadily in their ledge
and several loads of coal have been
delivered. They are mining about
a mile up Lignite, their tuunel be
ing in nearly twenty feet.
MADRID, Feb. !).— (via Ketchi
kan)—The torpedoing of the Span
ish steamer Sebastian, while that
vessel was enroute to New York, is
expected to - ause serious complica
tions between the Spanish and Ger
man governments. Spanish news
papers consider the case more serious
than any previous offenses committed
agai/t Spain. It is expected that
a vigorous protest will be forwarded
to Berlin without delay.
659 ON COMMISSION PAYROLL
The total force report of the Alas
kan Engineering commission at the
present time numbers 65D men, 222
of which are contractors and con
tractors’ laborers, the remainder be
ing employees of the commission.
BROOKS IS BUSY PLACE;
NINE OUTFITS AT WORK
BROOKS, Feb. 9.-—There is con
siderable mining activity in this
district this winter and the uncover
ing of new pay gives encouragement
to the belief that the coming season
will be unusually busy, if labor and
water conditions are favorable. Nine
outfits are at present engaged in
taking out pay and it is confidently
expected that several more will be
added to the list before spring.
Many men are out in the hills pros
pecting, but no new discoveries have
been renorted.
TRAIN WILL BE HELD
BACK FOR THE DANCE
Announcement has been made by
Superintendent of Construction W.
L. Packer that the departure of
Tuesday night’s train from the end
of the line, south of Nenana. will
be delayed half an hour for the ac
commodation of those desiring to
come to town to attend the Pioneer
ball. It is understood that quite
a crowd of the railroad builders will
take advantage of the oportunity
to ride in after the day’s work is
done.
Assistant United States Attorney
Harry E. Pratt come down from
Fairbanks to prosecute the Cole case.
James H. Russell is a Fairbanks
visitor in town, having autoed down
yesterday. He is here on business
matters and will return home early
next week.