THE NENANA NEWS [
Application made October 30, 1916, at the Postoffice at Nenana, Alaska, for
entry as second-class mail matter under the act of March 2, 1879, by The Ne
nana Printing Company.
Published Weekly by The Nenana Printing Company
Day ok Publication Saturday Edited by R. G. Southworth.
SUBSCRIPTION* RATES:
Per month; by carrier.$ 1.00 Single copies. Two bits
Six months, in advance .... 5.00 One year, in advance. 10.00
THE WAR AND OUR FLAG
War is a terrible thing! War
is indeed hell! And if such a
thing were possible, the present
struggle in which most of the na
tions of the w'orld are engaged is
more hellish than any which has
ever preceeded it. Yet we are in
it—forced to fight, as Secretary of
the Interior Lane puts it. “to save
America, to preserve our self re
spect and to justify our right ot
live as we have lived, not as some
one else wishes us to live." We
are fighting because conti nued peace
would mean the loss of all that
our forefathers have bequeathed
to us—our democracy, and all that
democracy means. We are fight
ing not only to retain our own lib
erty. but to insure as wfell the sta
bility of those smaller nations ol
the world who have not strength
to protect themselves. We have
been challenged by a nation which
does not believe as we do: one
which does not recognize our rights
m me rignis oi any nation but it
self. We have seen our ships
pulled down by the ruthlessness
of that nation s lust for world pow
er in contradictiontoall established
rules of civilized warfare. We have
seen the efforts which were made
to involve us in a war with Mexico
and Japan. We have seen the
paid agents of an unfriendly power
striving to foment unrest and se
dition within our borders. We
saw all these things and stood for
them as long as we could—much
longer, perhaps, than we should.
And we have entered the war,
not for material gain, but because,
as Secretary Lane again remarks,
it is more precious that America
shall live than that Americans shall
live."
And now that we are in the war
we must devote ourselves, our
lives if need be. to the serious task
of winning. We must give our
government that support which a
democratic government has a right
to expect from its citizens. There
must not be any dissension or un
willingness to render such assist
ance as may be needed. We must
stand united, with but a single
purpose and loyal to but one flag
—the flag of our country, the em
blem of liberty and equality.
In a struggle of such magnitude
a lack of loyalty to the Stars and
Stripes amounts to a very serious
offense. It betokens a lack of ap
; predation of the sacrifices which
were made by our forefathers in
order that we might enjoy liberty;
: it is unpatriotic, an insult to Amer
: ican ideals and American institu
tions—AN ACT OF TREASON
AGAINST OUR GOVERMMENT!
THE RAILROAD WORK
Everyone in Interior Alaska
will welcome an opportunity
to assist tin* employees of tin*
Alaskan Engineering commis
sion to secure an increase in
tin* wage scale. We all realize
that the etist of living in this
country, as the result of the
recent frequent advances in
the price of food and clothing,
has become a serious problem,
and that a worker in tin* em
ploy of the commission does
not have a very large stake at
the end of the working season.
I‘.ut it is a question if tin* men
have gone about it in the right
way to secure results, it is a
question if an organization,
such as is contemplated, will
V aide to get action as speed
ily as an ordinary committee,
in view of the fact that there
does not appear to he any press
ing need for organization at
this time. If those in authority
at Anchorage ami Washington
can he moved by an appeal
for more money the increase
lean he obtained hy a commit
tee of unorganized workers as
quickly as hy a committee of
organized labor. If those in
authority can not he persuaded
to add further to the cost of
constructing the Interior end
of the railroad, no amount of
organizing or striking will get
the desired raise. The work
will simply he abandoned in
this division until such time
as the rails can he laid fiom
the other end.
It should he remembered by
all employees of the commis
sion in this division that the
work of building the railroad
was started, not because the
government wanted it or need
led it, hut because the people of
Interior Alaska asked for it
as an aid to the development
of their mineral deposits ml
agricultural lands. It required
a lot of persuasion to get the
i work started, and more per
suasion .to induce the chair
man of the commission to au
thorize the expenditure of suf
ficient funds to build the road
from this end, whew* tin* cost
i of construction is about forty
per cent greater than it is on
the coast end.
This Interior work may not
1m* £oo<1 business on tin* part
of tlu* commission, lmt it lias
helped tlu* people of Interior
Alaska a lot by putting a
considerable amount of money
in circulation. The money
that has been spent here has,
in fact, been very much in the
nature of a gift to Northern
ers. It has helped all of us
over a period of coma of most
uninviting aspect. Without
it we would have been in a
sorry plight by now.
The wage scale was some
what of a disappointment from
the start, but it was accepted
because the. government, at
that time, could not be induc
t'd to pay more; because tin*
money was sure, much surer
than the wages in the mines;
and because the work was not
of the killing variety, common
to other parts of tlu* territory.
It was accepted also, because
Alaskans were willing to make
sacrifices in order that the
construction of the railroad
might lu* hastened. The same
conditions still exist, in a de
gree, and should the present
appeal* for more money fail to
get results it may be tlu* bet
ter part of wisdom to take
what is offered rather than
force a suspension of opera
tions altogether. We are not
dealing with a corporation
which is making a profit on
our labor and which must
have that labor to exist. We
are dealing with tlu* govern
ment, engaged in an enter
prise which many Eastern
and at least some Western
congressmen view with disfav
or because of the unusual cost
of construction and the un
certainty, as they view it, of
results to Ik* obtained after tlu*
railroad is completed. They
would not hesitate to vote to
ahaueion tin* unemrtaking, ai
least until the end of the war,
and it should lie remembered
in this eonneetion, that it is
still within the power of the
lawmakers to stop the work,
inasmuch as final action on
the hill carrying our appro
priation has not yet been tak
en. In any case, the real in
terest .of the government and
the other members of the Al
askan Engineering commission
does not extend beyond the
Matanuska coal fields; beyond
that point it is largely, if not
entirely a matter of local in
fluence to keep the work go
ing. It will be a simple mat
ten* to stop the* work, but it is
another thing to start it again.
These are* the* things that
should re*ce*ive* serious consid
eratiem before* the matter of
wages and organization have*
be*e*n carried too far. In any
case, there is nothing te> be*
gained by (putting before an
swers have* be*e*n received from
Washngtem , ad Anchorage
through which channels the
workers have electeel to seek
relief. doles are not overly
plentiful in Alaska right now,
there is ue> unusual elemanel
for common labor on the Out
side—anel there is a long wint
er ahead.
a
The Distinguished Dramatic Actress
GAIL KANE
Late Star of “Seven Keys to Baldpate”
IN
Her Great Match”
FIVE ACTS OF TOUCHING SENTIMENT
Sunday and Monday July 8 and 9
r
i
Alarmingly deficient in mil
itary aviation at tin* begin
ning of the present war, tin*
I'nited States is now striving
to take first place in this vei \
important branch of modern
warfare. ruder the direc
tion of the Aircraft Produc
tion hoard, the latent air re
sources of tin* country are be
ing developed rapidly and in
a very short time hundreds
of our aviators and aircraft
should be making history a
bove the battlefields of Eu
rope. A number of American
airmen are already operating
in France and many more
are receiving instruction.
Three of the aviation fields
which were planned by the
war department are already
under construction and it is
believed that five hundred avi
ators will be stationed on the
several fields before flu* end
of this month. The course of
instruction will cover a period
of four months, after which
the graduates will be sent to
France, where they will re
ceive additional training und
er tin* direction of French in
structors, using French ma
chines.
The United States has so
cured a site in France for an
aviation field which is to be a
[duplicate of the American
standard two-s<|uadron field
This American field on the
other side of the Atlantic is
to be entirely a product of
American brains and Ameri
can energy. The material is
to be shipped from the Foiled
States and the buildings will
be constructed by an Ameri
can contracting firm.
In speaking recently of tin*
plans of 'the department, II.
E. Foffin, chairman of the
Aircraft Production board,
said, “America is responsible
for the invention of both the
submarine and the airplane.
Fn the development of both
she has allowed Kurope to
outstrip her. It is for tis to
show that we can yet surpass
I both our enemies and our al
1 lies in t he development ol
tin* two great moehanieal in
ventions for which we our
selves are responsible. \Yi
believe we are making prog
ress in our air program, am
we intend to increase rathe!
than decrease speed as we go
forward."
Thousands of men are now *
engaged in the preparation of
the aviation fields al Davlou,
Itetroit and ('hampagne, III.,
and nothing is being permit
ted to delay their construe
t ion.
If reports of Itussian act
ivities in (ialieia are to be
relied upon, the sending of
that American commission to
Kussia was a nmster stroke
of diplomacy on the part of
the I'nited Stales.
THE SKOF HOUSE
Market Street at Second
Comfortable Roome Spring Beds
Clean Bunks
EVERYTHING NEW and CLEAN
TAVERN CAFE
Thoroughly Modern in Every Respect
New Building, New Furnishings
The Same Old Service
PRIVA TE BOXES
Curley Dutch
■ . « M11II.1II—III Bill 9