WHERE. RAILS AND RIVERS MEET
THE NENANA DAILY NEWS
•m -
VOL. II.
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATFD PRESS
NENANA, ALASKA, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1919.
1
NO. 134
CURRY RAILROAD BILL IS APPROVED
' PRESIDENT TALKS ABOUT LEAGUE RESERVATIONS
< HUNDREDS DYING DAILY AT PETROGRAD OF CHOLERA
WARSHIP BLAZE
FATAL TO BOVS
AT COAST POUT
*
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 8.—
Three members of the crew of the
super-dreadnaught New Mexico are
dead and forty injured as the result
cf a fire which threatened the de
struction of the great vessel here
today. Two of the killed were
mess attendants and the third vic
tim was an engineman. who was
drowned in the ice machine room,
after that portion of the vessel had
*, been flooded.
A report - of the fire this after
noon places the damage at $100,
000, but fails to state how the fire
started, the officers believing, how
ever, that it was caused by a cig
arette.
The warship will be temporarily
out of commission while repairs are
^ being made.
BODY OF OLDTIMER
IS SENTUP RIVER
The body of Marion B. Carey
■was shipped to Fairbanks on the
Johnson launch Peerless this morn
ing, for burial under the auspices
of the Pioneers and the Eagles, of
which organizations the deceased
was a member.
The arrangements for shpment
were made by Frank Rourke, secre
tary of the local gloo of the Pio
neers, and the body will be met at
Chena this evening by a representa
tive of the Fairbanks igloo.
The deceased died at the Govern
ment hospital late Saturday after
noon, after having been a patient
there for more than a month, dur
ing the greater part of which time
HOUSE APPROVES BILL
TO COMPLETE RAILWAY
WASHINGTON, D. C., Sept. S.-~
The Curry, bill authorizing an in
• crease of the limit of cost of the
'Alaska Government railway from
i *35,000,000 to *52,000,000, other
wise known as the Curry $17,000,
000 Alaska railroad appropriation
bill, was approved by unanimous
vote of the house of representatives
late Saturday afternoon, and now
goes to the senate for final consid
eration.
Inasmuch as the senate already
has gone on record as favoring the
i immediate completion of the rail
I road project, having attempted, ear
lier in the session, to add ten mill
lions to the bill appropriating the
j remainder of the original thirty-five
; million dollars, no opposition is an
ticipated in the upper house. In
I fact, it is understood here that the
senate will not even go to the
trouble of holding hearings on the
measure as was done by the house
i committee. Many members of the
senate attended the house commit
tee hearings and are thoroughly fa
miliar with the legislation.
Predict Early Passage.
Senators Harry S. New, Republi
can, of Indiana; Key Pittman. Dem
ocrat, of Nevada; Wesley L. Jones,
| Republican, of Washington, and
i George Chamberlain, Democrat, of
! Oregon, have expressed the belief
that early action may be expected
in the upper branch of Congress.
In the opinion of Senator Under
wood. however, action on the rail
road bill will depend largely upon
the peace treaty discussion, which
is scheduled to begin in the senate
next Monday.
Waite It Charged.
Representative Frank W. Mondell,
Republican, of Wyoming, made the
charge, during the progress of the
discussion on the bill Saturday aft
ernoon. that miserable mismanage
ment had marked the conduct of the
work on the railroad. He said the
commission had been wasteful and
the work badly managed and lack
ing in intelligent direction, owing
to the attempt to supervise the
work from Washington.
Coal Overestimated.
Mondell also declared that Alas
ka's coal has been greatly over
estimated. The coal of the Bering
River field, he said, is superior to
that of the Matanuska. And Alas
ka’s coal leasing law, he concluded,
has proved a gigantic fizzle.
Representative John T. 'Watkins,
Democrat, of Louisiana, defended
the commission, while Representa
tive Clark and others came to the
defense of Alaska's coal fields. Rep
resentative Miller, Republican, of
Washington, said he did not be
lieve that the coal values had been
exaggerated.
Special Representative J. L. Mc
Pherson was close by throughout
the discussion, having arranged an
elaborate exhibit of maps, charts
and photographs for the enlighten
ment of doubters. Among those
who ably supported the measure
were Delegate Grigsby, who delayed
his departure for Alaska in order
that he might be on hand until
after the vote had been taken;
Chairman Curry, of the house com
mittee on territories; Representa
tives Miller, Mondell, J. C. Strong,
Republican, of Kansas; John E.
Raker, Democrat, of- California; W.
C. Lankford, Democrat, of Georgia,
and Moses P. Kinkaid, Republican,
of N'ebraska.
Representative Mondell, after he
had roasted the commission, admit
ted that the increase in the cost of
construction was due primarily to
the advance in labor an<J material
costs.
G'igsby Sends Wire.
Following the passage of the bill
by the house on Saturday, Delegate
Grigsby sent the following wire to
Fairbanks: "House of representa
tives today passed the $17,000,000
appropriation bill for the Alaska
railroad, the money to be immedi
ately and continuously available.
Passage of bill on floor of house
advocated by Chairman Curry and
others. The house voted unani
mously in favor of the bill.”
he was critically ill.
The body was conveyed to the
; launch this morning by a commit
tee of Pioneers.
LAWYER SEEKS ADVICE
REGARDING MOVE NORTH
The secretary of the Xenana
Commercial club has received a
letter from a lawyer in the East,
requesting information regarding the
: opportunities here for the practice
of his profession. The writer says
he is doing fairly well where he is,
but would move to Alaska should an
: opportunity present itself to better
!his condition.
< PERSHING RETURNS;
GETS BIG WELCOME
NEW YORK, Sept. S.—Convoved'
‘
^ by six destroyers and two airplanes,
the great steamship Leviathan, itself
symbolic of the defeat of Germany,
reached port this morning, bringing
Genera! Pershing bac'-. to his native
i
4
land. Forts boomed a welcome,
thousands cheered the great Ameri
can officer, and distinguished army,
federal and city officials were at
the gangplank to hail the conquer
ing hero.
Pershing appeared sad-faced,
stern, impressive, making a splendid
picture as he stepped briskly from
the steamer, accompanied by his
son and brother, where he was met
by Secretary of War Baker and j
presented with his permanent com
mission as general, recently approv
ed by Congress. The general was
informed that he had sacredly kept j
the great confidence the nation had
put in him, an he was handed a J
message from President Wilson, in
which the executive said: “You have
served your country with fine devo
tion and admirable efficiency. The
nation is proud of you.”
In a conversation later with a
representative of The Associated
Press, General. Pershinp said that
he accepted “this overwhelming wel
come on behalf of our brave boys.”
He expressed pleasure in being home
again.
General Pershing and the mem
.
bers of his suite are occupying the
entire third floor of the Waldorf.
As the Leviathan approached the
dock, the First division band played !
“Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here.” j
And a police airplane circled over
the vessel and dropped the mayor’s
welcome on board.
CHOLERA KILLING MANY
STOCKHOLM, Sept. 8—Accord
ing to advices received in this city, j
the cholera epidemic reported from
Petrograd several days ago is in
I
creasing at an alarming rate. To-1
-—- '-- —
[ day’s dispatches state that between
two and three hundred are dying
daily now, and the situation has
been made worse by the closing of
many hospitals, owing to lack of
food and medicines.
STOCKHOLM. Sept. 8.—Informa
tion has reached this city to the
effect that the British forces are
being- withdrawn from Archangel,
leaving the defense of that section
of Russia to the anti-Bolsheviki
j troops. . i
| Kolchak, the reports state, has
’ started an offensive against the Red
i Guards.
TRANSPORT JACOBS
ON WAYTO GIBBON
The Government transport Jacobs j
! reached Xenana from Fairbanks
yesterday morning, enroute to Fort
Gibbon from a voyage to the upper
waters of the Tanana river. The
steamer took away several members
of the local guard, the casuals who
are to be sent to the States this
fall for discharge, and probably will
return up river within a few days
w-ith men to take the places of
those leaving.
Keaana—The Sat*way to HcXlalay
Vatteaal FuL
PASSAGE OF BILL
DELIGHTS NENANA
Announcement of the passage of
the Curry Alaska railroad bill by
the lower branch of Congress late
Saturday was received with elation
in Nenana and throughout Interior
Alaska generally, where the im
portance of continuing railroad con
struction without interruption is ap
preciated at its full worth. The
news was received by The N’enana
Daily News in a special Associated
Press dispatch, some time after the
regular edition of the paper had
appeared on the streets, and -in
order that the public might be ap
prised of the action of the house
in the shortest possible time, good
use was made of the big Commis
sion whistle.
The passage of the bill was cele
brated later in the evening with a
dance at Union hall.
Additional good news is contained
in today’s dispatches to The News,
indicating that the senate will pass
the bill without even going to the
trouble of subjecting the measure to
the usual hearings, thus saving
much valuable time. The senate
already is committed to the railroad
proposition, having attempted, eariy
t
i in the session, to increase the regu
lar appropriation by ten million dol
lars.
WORK IS RESUMED
IN NITRATE FIELD
—
SANTIAGO, Sept. 8.—Work ha?
j been resumed on the German nitrate
: properties, which were tied up by
| the war, and it is understood there
j is a market for all the yield of the
i mines for a long time to come..
, Two hundred thousand tons of
; nitrates are reported to have been
sold already.
Felix Seppi is a visitor in Xenana.
having arrived from the Tolovana
yesterday on the Iflnpseth launch.
DEMOCRATS ARE
READY TO TALK
! TO OPPOSITION
—
i WASHINGTON, D. C., Sept. 8.—
! Senator F. M. Simmons, Democrat,
;of North Carolina, announced to
-day that, while he favors the rati
Ifieation of the peace treaty and the
'League of Nations covenant without
; amendment, he is convinced that
concessions must be made by the
Democrats to those members of the
i senate who favor ratification with
; reservations.
He said there were others than
himself, among the Democrats, who
thought as he did. and were now
i discussing compromise measures,
jwith a view to hastening action on
■the treaty.
Senator Lodge says the commit
tee, before which the treaty has
been under consideration for some
time, will be ready to report by
^Wednesday, and that the debate on
the floor of the senate may be ex
pected to begin by Monday of next
week.
It is expected that opposition sen
ators will consume a week replying
to statements made by President
Wilson in his cross-country speeches.
iN ISON’S WAKE
SIOUX FALLS, Sept. 8.—Senator
Hiram Johnson, of California, who
is following: the President around
the country, speaking against the
League of Nations, will address the
people of this city on Saturday
night, speaking from the same plat
form upon which President Wilson
will appear tonight.
Corporal "Dooley” Galvin, N'e
nana’s official and popular umpire
during the recent baseball series,
was an outgoing passenger on the
Government transport Jacobs yes
terday, enroute to San Francisco.
WILSON DISCUSSES
RESERVATION PLAN
OMAHA, Neb., Sept. 8.—For the
first time since starting on his cross
country speaking tour, President
Wilson referred, in his address here
today, to the reservations which
have been proposed by opposition
members of the senate.
“Reservation," he said, "mean?
assent with a big ‘but’. We agree,”
he continued, “but the proposed res
ervation pro%'iding unconditional
withdrawal means that its sponsors
want to sit near the door, with hand
on knob, so as to be able to run
if they see something they do not
like.”
The league provides, he explained,
.that international obligations must
Jbe fulfilled before withdrawing, and
I it never would restrain America, be
! cause America would live up to its
| provisions.
Those who want reservations to
[Article 10, he said, simply do not
| wait to come in now. They want
| to be late joiners,
j The peace conference swallowed
; the Monroe Doctrine, hook, line, and
; sinker, he declared, being the first
| time the big powers have authenti
cated the doctrine.
He urged the prompt acceptance
of the treaty so that the uncertain
ties of labor conditions throughout
the world might be settled and the
world restored to a peace basis.