MEWS SHOES
Reliable Makes—Lowest Prices
Mayer Shoes, Dress Calf, pair $6.50
Freeman Shoes, Russet, pair $8.50
Walkover, Custom grade,
latest styles . . $9.50
SI M SON’S
Men’s Felt Slippers, pair $1.00
l i —.- —J
Dr. J. R. 80WEN
DENTIST
Prices Most Reasonable
THE BOWEN BUILDING
The sun on longer days will mal
you feel like throwing away yoi
old hat and suit. Certainly tboi
old spots do not improve your a]
pearance, but for a trifling sum yc
can have them pressed, mended ar
cleaned at Mrs. D'Orsay's Tail<
Shop, Third and A streets.
jreaana. Alaska's Interior Tnel Pep<
Be Prepared for Cold Weather
We Have a Large and Varied Assortment of the Leading Brands of
MACKINAW COATS MACKINAW PANTS
Army and Navy Sweaters SPORT SHIRTS, Heavy Wool
SWEATER COATS WOOL SOCKS, All Weights
UNION SUITS and TWO PIECE GARMENTS
GENUINE DANIEL GREEN FELT SHOES
BALL BAND ARCTICS
WOOL BLANKETS BLANKET SHEETS COMFORTERS j
SEE OUR BRUSSELS and WILTON RUGS, ALL SIZES
Bisse.l’s Vacuum Sweepers Electric Vacuum Sweepers
We Carry a Full Line of
MINERS’and TRAPPERS’ SUPPLIES
and Can Furnish Your Outfit Complete at Special Prices ;
8
1
NORTHERN COMMERCIAL CO.
Burgess-Karstens
AUTO STAGE
Fairbanks-Nenana
Fast Comfortable Trip • - Fare $15
Reservations at The Terminal
Fairbanks Office at Pioneer Hotel
A Thoroughly Modern Hotel
Tom Smith, Prop.
IF YOU EAT ICE CREAM
CANDY-FRUIT-OR CHEWING GUM
IF YOU SMOKE CIGARS
CIGARETTES OR TOBACCO OF ANY KIND
IF YOU DRINK CIDER
OR ANY KIND OF CARBONATED DRINKS
OR IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A MOMENT’S
RECREATION OR AMUSEMENT, TRY
THE ARCTIC
DAVIS * TAYLOR, Prop*.
ALSO NICELY FURNISHED, WARM AND COZY ROOMS
FOR RENT AT REASONABLE RATES
11^
PACKER SAYS
L
u
With reference to the letter from
Chairman Edes, of the Alaskan En
gineering: commission to the secre
tary of the interior, purporting to
give Secretary Lane an explanation
of conditions existing on this divi
sion of the railroad and to furnish
I him with correct data, in the ab
sence of F. D. Browne, engineer in
f charge of the Fairbanks division,
. a representative of the News called
e on W. L. Packer, superintendent
^ of construction, for the purpose of
verifying if possible the statements
made by Mr. Edes in regard to the
work on the railroad done by the
, sourdoughs.
i Mr. Packer is in closer touch with
and has greater insight into the
actual construction work, in all
branches on the government rail
^ road than any other official or
jj employe of the Alaskan Engineer
;( ing commission in this division. He
is also widely known and commands
the respect of everyone in this dis
trict, both employees and non-em
ployees of the A. E. C , and his
version of the story will be ac
cepted in its entirety as the only
correct one. Chairman Edes to the
contrary notwithstanding.
Mr. Packer stated without any
hesitation that Chairman Edes has
not stated the facts, and that ac
tual conditions are widely different
to the impression to be gained by
a perusal of his letter. The chair
man possibly did not have all the
'! facts before him regarding the work
jj ar‘J conditions on the Fairbanks
■ division at the time he undertook
to advise Secretary Lane regarding
the needs of the Xenana district.
Commencement of Work
Mr. Packer says that shortly
after the subsiding of the high
water, sometime last May, when it
was {• tided to abandon the old
line E:.j .pen up work on the new
D line, the A. E. C. hired all the
available men; no one was turned
away, ana all summer long there
was always a call for more men
for railroad work. The work was
continued, with full gangs, up until
about the last of November when,
owing to frost conditions, the drag
line excavator had to be closed
down and consequently, as surfac
ing operations were no longer
possible on a large scale, the ere1
of about forty men forming tb
surfacing gang were also laid of
It was, however, possible to wor
the steel gang, the salvaging crev
quite as efficiently and economii
ally as in the summer. In add
fion to this, the very necessary wor
of protecting the waterfront migl
have also been taken in hand, wit
the hauling of supplies across t
• the Nenana-Fairbanks branch lir
as a possible means of emplovmei
to those who could not have bee
otherwise placed. This last woi
I coaid be done effeciently an
economically only during the winti
and, in fact was taken in hand th
winter and has now been near!
, completed.
The work of laying steel ar
of salvaging material continued u
interuptedlv, and Mr. Packer stat
that the steel was advanced almo
as fast during the winter as durii
the summer. The salvage oper
tions on the abandoned line,
course could not be done efficient
and economically during the sui
mer months, owing to the fact th
the country- through which most
the line to be salved runs is mo
! or less under water.
i
In speaking of actual worki
•conditions in the building of t
railroad on this division during t
J winter and the summer seasoi
Mr. Packer said that during t
J greater part of the summer mont
i the men are handicapped seven
and the work hampered considi
i *bly by the mosquitos and gna
and he thought that it was hare
for the men to work during t
prevalence of this pest than
the winter; and said that he woi
put the frost as the lesser of t
two evils in working conditio
along the road.
On being asked for a defin
statement regarding the efficiency
of the men under his direction,
who are Alaskans, and many of
them old prospectors and miners,
Mr. Packer stated that never in
all his railroad experience had he
come in contact with a better or
harder working lot of men than
those who served n the several gangs
employed in the construction work,
on any other road in any country
he had railroaded in. He further
stated that all of the foremen under
his direction had had considerable
railroad experience in various parts
of the States, both in construction
of roads and in their maintenance
after construction, and these fore
men said the same thing about the
men. Even by the most careful
system of elimination it was im
possible to have any one gang of
men perfect in every possible way,
and there would be, perhaps, one
or two a trifle slower than the
average. This condition, he said,
obtained, but taken as a whole, no
better body of railroad workers
than the Alaskan existed anywhere
in the United States. The average
Alaskan prospector and miner. Mr.
Packer said, was more self reliant
and self confident than any other
prospector or miner met with else
where; this characteristic these men
carried to a fault. Mr. Packer ex
plains this by saying that at fre
quent intervals he needed skilled
workmen of experience, such as
carpenters, machinists and black
smiths, and the sourdoughs who had
a little experience and no training
unhesitatinly tackled such jobs, some
of them making good, while others
failed. The inefficiency charged
by Chairman Edes, perhaps may be
traced to these isolated cases.
Several people who had made
trips to the end of steel and
watched the men at work, among
them being W. A. Ryan, G. W.
Gamble, James Wiekersham and
R. F. Roth, had seen work on rail
roads in other lands, and Mr.
Packer said that every one of them
was unstinted in his praise of the
way the work was being done and
the rapid progress made by the
Alaskan railroad builders.
Interference Bad
Mr. Packer stated, that, in his
opinion, if the plans for the work
on this division of the ro3d had not
been interfered with, the work now
being done would have been com
pleted long ago, and the men now
employed would be engaged in
other important work; the road
south of town would have reached
the end of the completed grade and
shipments of coal from the Burns
mine would have been landed at
the yards some time ago. He says
that much valuable time has been
frittered away, betw-een the lay-off
following the receipt of the wire
from the Chairman requesting a
reduction in forces, and the re
sumption of w-ork about ten days
ago.
Mr. Packer stated, in concluding
the interview, that everything was
ready on this division of the A E.
C. for taking in hand and continu
ing the work w-ithout a hitch, ex
peditiously, economically and effi
ciently throughout the winter. The
preliminary work, such as putting
up the necessary buildings to house
the crews had all been completed
and there would have been no loss
of time in this way, as in previous
winters when much time was taken
up with preparatory w-ork.
The fact that the A. E. C. had
ample supplies was a big considera
te and made possible the pushing
forward of active construction work
undeterred by a lack of supplies.
Material also was on hand in suffi
cient quantity to permit of the
work being continued.
He feels sure that when the facts
of the case are presented to Sec
retary Lane he will use every en
deavor to get the necessary money
to continue the work until the
regular appropriation is obtained.
G. Victor Allen, of the engineering
party stationed at camp 367, is in
town on business. He expects to
leave for theend of steel tomorrow
mornging and will make a trip
over the Broad Pass trail, returning
North after a brief visit with his
folks.
Territorial Road Commissioner
Robert Sheldon arrived in Nenana
last evening on the Gibson auto,
fie '"ft again this morning for Fair
banks.
iiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiimimiiiiiiiiiimmiiiiiiiimiiiiinimmimniiimiimnmimtiiiii
CIGARS
CANDIES
POOL
THE PORTLAND
JACKSON & EKELAND, Prop,.
A Satisfied Customer
IS OUR BEST ADVERTISEMENT
QUALITY
PRICE
Go WitH Our
CLOCKS
SERVICE
WATCHES CLOCKS JEWELRY
Tells the Time in the DarK
$3 Alarm ClocKs—Small and Large
We Have a Line of Safety Razors, Blades, Sharpeners and
Strops. Best Flashlight at $2* . Refills and Repairs.
Wm. TAYLOR
JEWELER
Visiting Cards
Typewriter
Ribbons
Carbon
Paper
Legal
Blanks
Tablets
Blotters
Envelopes
Scratch Pads
NEWS OFFICE
NENANA TO TALKEETNA
DISTANCE TABLE
Talkeetna is the end of stee! on
the coast division.
From Xenana to No. Miles
Xenana Crossing (by rail) 43
Lignite .
Riley Creek
Jack River
Broad Pass
' Sullivan’s
i Indian River
Dead Horse
; Talkeetna
Summit
.52
70
.90
.110
.128
.162
182
..202
The distances given are approxi
mate.
NOTICE
A meeting of the Xenana ».ub
will be held at the club room in
the Union Hall on Tuesday, March
,11th, commencing promptly at 8
'o’clock in the evening.
All members are urged to be in i
attendance.
I
Interior TueI Depot
Wood Sawed
On Short Notice By
JOHNSON
Leave Orders at The Portland
PHONE RESIDENCE
«
>
m n mm * * *. «r* *. *. * «, 9 9 9 » r *
•t 9
*. STAGE MOVEMENTS »•
*■ 9
r * 9.9 9.9*99 *
An automobile driven by Tom
Gibson left at noon today for
Fairbanks, taking away Mrs. Gib
son, Robert Sheldon for Fairbanks
and Mrs. Oscar Rothenburg for the ']■
Ohio roadhouse.
Harry Karstens left Fairbanks
this morning with some second
class mail and Dr. de la Vergne as
passenger for Nenana.
r.s. McDonald
Public Stenography Typewriting
Bookkeeping Conveyancing
REAL ESTATE RENTALS
LOANS
LIFE INSURANCE
(New York Life)
FIRE INSURANCE
Only the most reliable companies
SAFETY DEPOSIT BOXES
FOR RENT
COMING
‘‘Has the bill been endorsed by
the prohibition party?”
“Yes.”
“And met with the approval of
the 1. W. W. and the Bolsheviki?”
“Yes.”
“And O. K.’d by Mr. Hearst?”
“Certainly.”
“Then instruct congress to pass
it as another great measure re
storing the rights of the people.”
We Carry the Best Grade of
MACKINAW SHIRTS, COATS and PANTS
Finest assortment of Men’s Socks, Daniel
Green Felt Shoes and Slippers, Moccasins,
Wool Blankets and Comforters
A Full Line of Miner’s and Trapper’s Supples
FOWLER & MORRIS i
GROCERS fi
kVVMtj.\\Nv