THE NENANA NEWS
Application made October 30, 1916, at the Postoffice at Nenana, Alaska, tor
;ntry as second-class mail matter under the act ot March 2, 1879. by The Ne
nana Printing Company.
Published Weekly by The Nenana Printing Company
Day of Publication Saturday Edited by R. G. Southworth.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Per month: bv carrier.i t-OJ Single copies. Two b
Six months, in advance .... ; One year, in advance. 1"""
NENANA, ALASKA SATURDAY, DEC. 15. 1917
ENCOURAGING.
Good news comes from San Fran
cisco in the announcement that t
substantially capitalized company
has been granted a license to mine
coal in the Matanuska district and
is already engaged in development
on a large scale. The new company
should receive every encouragement
and efforts should be made to in
duce' other concerns to engage in
mining in the coal fields, with a
view to relieving the fuel shortage
in the Pacific coast states, hastening
the development of the Matanuska
district and providing tonnage for
the government’s new railroad.
The leasing of coal units, as orig-1
inally intended by the government j
seems to us to be a better course to
pursue than to dispose of the land
outright, to the highest bidder, as
urged by the Seattle Chamber cf
Commerce. If -he government
owned all the coal land in the
United States the public would not
now be at the mercy of the coal
larons, a number of whom have
openly declared that they will not
reduce their prices in conformity to
the scale recently fixed by the gov- ,
ernmcnt They probably can be
forced tc do so, but not without
considerable trouble and expense.
The government could late over the
mines, as a war emergency measure, j
but the government is not prepared !
to mine coal on a large scale and
there is no time now for experiment-!
ing. We do not want similar condi- j
tions to exist in Alaska. Our coal ,
lands belong to all the people and a
liberal leasing system appears to
offer greatest security to the public j
.—a system that will result in large-;
scale development and at the same
time enable consumers to buy fuel i
at a reasonable price. We should at :
least give the leasing system a fair !
trial. The coal lands can be sold
at any time in the future, if it <s j
found that the coal fields cannot be
developed in any other w’ay. In
fact, there is reason to believe chat
ihi land will bring a muei higher
j ra few years hence, which is,
ii. itself, ar. argument in *’:uor of
retaining title to the land mu! it;
has been definitely determin'd that
ii. is bet.er to sell than to lease.
HELP THE CAUSE.
j
I
The people of Nenana should view j
with all seriousness the steps which •
are being taken by the Commerclial
club and by the merchants and res
taurant owners of the town to con
serve our food supply. There should
be thorough co-operation in the
movement, which has as its object
not only the lessening of the burden :
of those in the States upon whom '
we depend largely for our food sup
plies, but also the conserving of the 1
supplies which we now have on hand
and which must last us until we can
replenish our larders in the Outside
markets. '
We do not know of the existence ;
of a shortage in any important items ,
of food in the Interior; but it is by
no means certain that we can re
plenish our stocks in the spring, i
Shortages may exist in the States
when buying time comes around
again, in which event we will fare
badly unless we have anticipated
such a condition by practicing econ
omy during the closed season.
A meatle-'S day a week between
now and the opening of navigation
will enable Interior Alaska to eat
a month longer in the spring than i
might otherv. .se be possible. Other
foods can V made to last similarly,
such as butter, milk, sugar and a
SC' ,e of or.her articles vshi 'a we ar
not y i:; a position to produce in
this un -y. The practice of such
economies will not hurt us phyA^ly
ar 1 it will help our country
siderably in its st. .ggl, for univer
sal freedom. It h: s b. n said that
food will play as important a part
in vanning the war as bullids, and,
it is up to Alaskans to do'their bit
in food conservation as in other sac
rifices made nece. »ry by the war.!
Let Ngjiar.a take the lead in this
movement in Interior Alaska.
ALASKA SEAL CENSUS.
A federal census has been taken
of Alaska’s seal herd. V«"e note that
eight rookeries on the St. Paul is
land one of the Prihylofi group of
islands, gave 37,420 live pups and
1,028 dead pups. Three rookeries
on St. George island, also of the
Pribyloff group, gave 2.810 live pups
and 41 dead pups. In these rook
eries the average '‘harem” was 25.93
cows, which average applied to all
rookeries shows 125,712 breeding
cows and the same number of pups.
The rookery bulls numbered 7,555
yearlings, 70,936; females two years
old 16,916; bachelors, two to six
years old, 92,736; idle bulls 8,707;
an approximate total of 453,374.
Great difficulty was experienced in
making the pup count, owing to the
cortinued presence of the “harem
masters,” and the pup census couhj
not be completed for this reason.
Alaska, in her eight-hour law, has
gone beyond the limitations of the
hours of labor of any state or terri
tory in the Union.
If there is nothing in a name, we
need feel no uneasiness regarding
the behavior of M. Colicia, the new
president of Switzerland.
EIGHT-HOUR LABOR ACT.
To regulate ana limit the hours of
jmployment for all wage and salary
“Hirers in the tev'torv of Alaska,
to declare the violation thereof a
misdemeanor and to prescribe the
punishment therefor.
Be it enacted by the legislature
if the territory of Alaska:—
Section 1.—That a period of em
?mployment for all wage earners and
salary earners in the territory of
Alaska shall not exceed eight (8)
tours within any one calendar day,
?xcept in cases when life or prop
erty is in imminent danger. Em
ployment as herein used shall be
:onstrued as the performance of
abor or services for any individual,
pari nership, asso infer, or corpora
:ion, whether the person performing
=uch labor or service be a member
;.f such partnership or association
>r stockholder or officer of such cor
poration or not.
Section 2.—Any person, persons,
issociation or corporation who shall
.’iolate or cause to be violated any
if the provisions of this act shall be
ieemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
ind upon conviction thereof shall
ie punished by a fine of not less
;han one hundred dollars, $100),
lor more than five hundred dollars,
(3500), ob by imprisonment in the
’ederal jail not less than sixty, (60),
lor more than six months, or both
uch fine and imprisonment. Every
lay’s violation of the provisions of
his act shall constitute a separate
iffense.
Section 3.-—The governor of the
;erritory is hereby given the power
to suspend or modify restrictions
•ontained in this law when such
ihall be requested by the council
>f national defense, or the secretary
>f the interior, and such modifica
;ion or suspension when made shall
:ontinue for a specified period and
lot longer than the duration of the
iresent war or during the continua
;ion of any future war with a for
eign power.
Section 4.—This act shall take i.
:ect and be in force from and after
January 1, 1918,
Approved, May 3, 1917.
The Nenana Athletic association
leld two meetings during the week
for the purpose of making plans
for a basketball series, to start just
is soon as the hall in the new Union
building can be used for play.
There is a movement on foot to
irganize a camp of the Arctic
brotherhood in Nenara. There are
many former members of the organ
ization here who have signified a
[P-'ire to affiliate in case a camp is
formed. •’
Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Gagnon are
now occupying the Gilcher home on
upper First street.
ELSEWHERE IN ALASKA
Hershel Island, one of the most
northemly posts on the continent,
and for many years winter quarters
for the Arctic whaling fleet, is prac
tically deserted this winter, accord
ing to reports reaching Nome. The
steady decline in the value of the
fur catch is responsible for the
abandonment of the station by the
leaders. Alexander Allen, a trader,
known all over the Arctic country,
left recently, and is believed to have
been the last white man remaining
there.
The residents of the town of
Wrangell subscribed for $25,000
worth of the Liberty Loan bonds.
Of this amount $10,000 was raised
in one evening at a public meet
ing.
A report from Nome states that
the stampede to the Walker Lake
country, in the Kotzebue sound dis
trict was caused by the story that
an Eskimo had found gold there
The only reason for believing that
there may be something to the story
is the fact that those who went in
to the new country have been gone
some time and have not returned.
As the city exchequer at Nome is
in straightened conditions, the city
fathers notified all the “ladies” of
the restricted district of that town
that they were under arrest for run
ning disorderly houses, and they
compelled to put up cash bail of $25
each to appear before the municipal
magistrate. They did not appear
and the bail was forfeited to the
city, justice was done and there is
cash in the treasury. The police
protested, but were given preempt
ory orders to carry out instructions.
Alex G. Bruce, operating placer
ground on Livingstone creek, in the
Kluane country arrived in White
horse recently with a poke of dust
as the result of his season's work
weighing $150. Some time ago
Bruce took a nugget from the same
ground weighing over $300.
W. T. Young, of Nashville, Tenn.
John Browder, of Fulton, Ky., Ar
thur J. Dyer, of Tennessee and Lee
Mighell, of Aurora, 111., composed a
hunting party which arrived from
the White river country recently
with the pelts of 18 mountain sheep,
8 moose, 8 caribou, 6 wolves, 1
lynx and 1 bear. The party was
out 38 days.
Natives at Nome are bringing in
ptarmigan and such enormous quan
tities as to fairly glut the market.
One native recently came irto that
city with so many birds that he
aroused the indignation of the citi
zens, who are advocating putting a
stop to the slaughter.
Attorney Royal A. Gunnison, of
Juneau, actng on behalf of the Col
umbia River Packers’ Association,
recently subscribed for $100,000
worth of the second Liberty Loan
bonds. He received a telegram from
the association authorizing him to
buy the bonds in Juneau that the
territory might receive the credit
for the purchase.
A discovery of a valuable deposit
of malybdenite is reported to have
been made in the Little Delta coun
try about 60 miles from Richardson.
An investigation of the find is being
made by mining men and if found
to be as represented it will be taken
over by a company and worked on
a large scale.
President Kuetter, of the Alaska
Fish Salting and By-Products Com
pany, operating at Killisnoo, is au
thority for the statement that the
company will make extensive im
provements in its plant during the
winter. New machinery will be in
stalled, which will materially reduce
the cost of operation.
The Norwegian capitalists and as
sociates who own and operate the
herring and salmon canneries at
Port Walter, Port Conclusion, Wat
erfall and other points in South
eastern Alaska, are planning to ex
tensively increase their holdings in
that section, and will establish
another herring ind salmon can cr;
in the northern part of that section.
Holdups are reported to have been
of frequent occurrence lately in tne
city of Anchorage. The last case
reported to the police was that of
a man who had been relieved of $8
by two men, who used r>. gun to give
weight to their demand for money.
i Nome has settled down to the
amusement of trying adultery cases
of white men living with native wo
men.
The Women’s club of Anchorage,
is giving a series of dances for the
purpose of raising funds for the
maintenance of the Anchorage pub
lic library.
George Rulapaugh. an oldtime
Alaskan, died recently at Anchorage
A Wrangell agriculturist is brag
ging of the fertility of the soil of
that vicinity and the climatic advan
tages of that section, and to prove
the statement is displaying potatoes
grown by himself which weigh over
two pounds each.
Harry Ober, a former basketball
star of Valdez, is playing on the An
chorage team this season.
Anchorage residents subscribed for
?238,650 worth of the second Lib
erty Loan bonds.
Martin Strand, who has been work
ing the Hed-Stratid antimony mine
on Dahl creek, near the head of
Nome river, is reported to have en
countered a lead lower down the
hill on the claims which is rich in
free guia.
A government train service for
the winter was recently fixed at
Anchorage and went into effect on
November 11. There will be no
Sunday trains. The train will leave
Anchorage for Chickaloon in the
morning on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays, and for Houston on
other days.
Z. L. Loussac, a well known drug
gist of Alaska, recently made a
brief business trip to the States and
on his return stated that the people
of the territory did not as yet real
ize the war conditions in the United
States.
The Juneau Elks recently held a
banquet after initiation and a busi
ness session. The banquet was out
of the ordinary in that the com
mittee conformed to Hoover’s food
conservation rules as nearly as pos
sible.
The Gastineau cafe has provided
a register for their patrons to sign
after they have observed one of the
wheatless or meatless days which
Juneau is observing. After the reg
ister has been signed the names will
be transcribed and sent to the head
quarters of the food conservation
movement in Washington.
What is claimed to be a record
price for salt herring was paid by
K. L. Sterberg, at Petersburg, re
cently, when he bought 105 barrels
of the fish at $13 per barrel. He
also bought 137 barrels of salt
“humpies” at $12 per barrel.
Ed. Berblund, a well-known Nome
miner, was killed recently at the
Lost River tin mine, according to
advices received at Nome. The un
fo.-tunr.te man was the victim of an
explosion, but the details were not
given.
Juneau had one clear day during
the month of October, according to
Summers’ meteorological report.
There were 18.84 inches of rainfall.
Orders were issued from the mar
shal’s office at Juneau to arrest the
crew of the Manhattan, owned by
the Canadian Cold Storage company
at Prince Rupert, for looting the
wrecked steamer Al-Ki.
The Chitina-Alaska Exploration
company which is supposed to be a
subsidiary corporation of the Lady
smith corporation, purchased the
Westover group of claims on Dan
creek for $516,000. This will do
much to awaken activity in copper
mining in the Cordova region.
The food pledge drive at Juneau
was successfully carried out fully
eighty per cent of the Juneau side
of the channel being signed up. At
2:30 on the afternoon designated
the whistles of the Gastineau chan
nel broke loose and the well coached
canvassers started out.
Deputy United States Marshal M.
J. Healey of Talkeetna left Anchor
age for his home, after making the
remark that there was very little
likelihood of seeing that city again
before the ice goes out of the Su
sitna in the spring.
The new highway from Matanuska
to a point half v ay between Palmer
and Mile 26% or the Knik Willow
creek road has at last been com
pleted. It is a trifle more than
eight miles long and will serve the
miners in the Wi’low creek district
and the farmers in the Wasilla creek
territory.
I
HOSPITAL NOTES
j
Martin Munson, who was operated
on last week for fracture of the 1
; skull, caused by a premature explo-j
; sion, is improving rapidly, consid- ■
I ering the seriousness of the opera
tion.
Harry Lowe, tmekeeper at Resi
dency Four, who underwent an oper
ation for goitre several days ago.;
is now able to sit up and expects
to be out in about a week.
Mrs. Lamont is now completely
convalesced and will leave the hospi
tal today.
Mrs. Rogers was operated on by
Dr. M. E. Smith yesterday morning
and is reported to be doing nicely.
i The Grace church holiday exer- ;
cise will be held at 7:30 on the eve
ning of December 26. There will be i
an interesting program of music and
recitations. The entertainment is!
free and everybody is invited to
I come. There will be no tree anu |
no gifts. The children of the Sun
day school voted to send their
December offerings to the needy ;
children of Europe. Come and share
in an evening's pleasure with the j
children.
SURFACING CREW LAID OFF
With the exception of a section
gang, comprising six men and a
foreman, the entire surfacing crew
at Camp sixteen were laid off last
evening, and most of the men ar
rived in Nenana on this morning’s -
train.
It was hoped to keep this camp in
operation until the first of the year, 1
but during the last ten days they'
were only able to operate two days.
The big crew of men at Camp
fifteen, the steel gang, will be kept
on until such time as the steel is
in operation clear through to twenty j
mile regardless of weather condi
tions.
Two automobiles made the trip
from the upper town ye at r«ay.
J. E. Barrack arrived from Fair
banks last night on a brier business i
visit.
Native reindeer men at Nome re
cently killed 140 reindeer and pre
pared the meat for shipment Out
side.
FOR SALE CHEAP—Half inter
lest in pool room and cigar store,
i Inquire at News office.
FOR SALE OR RENT—Partly fur
nished cabin. Inquire Arctic Pool
rooms. 12-9
FOR.
BARGAINS
IN
Sweaters
Shoes
Shirts
Pants
GO TO
Paul Lescure’s
ELECTRIC PUMPS
DECK PUMPS
FORCE PUMPS
PITCHER PUMPS
WELL POINTS
Lang and Toledo
RANGES
JVST ARRIVED
Tanana Sheet Meta! Works
When in I
Drink BART
I
!
The Best
Koland’s Stage
U. S. MAIL ”
Leave* Southern Hotel, Nenene
Sunday* and Wednesday*
At 9 A . M.
Leave* Nordale Hotel, Fairbanks
Wednesdays and Saturday*
PASSENGERS, FREIGHT AND
EXPRESS
Make Reservations at Southern
Hotel
Electric Lights Steam Heat ^
THE
SOUTHERN,
HOTEL
Newest and Best Appointed
Hotel in Interior Alaska
TOM SMITH, Prop.
John C. Murphy
ATTORNEY AT LAW
NOTARY PUBLIC
Specialty in
Corporation and Mining Law
Appear in Federal and United
States Supreme Courts
NENANA, ALASKA
NENANA BEANERY
Cold Lunches. Hot Tamales
Chile Beans
SERVED 10 A. M. TO 2 A. M
Tom Monagon
CHOP SUEY
and NOODLES
Served at the
Northern Cafe
THREE PRIZES
1st. Prize $75 CASH
_ x
2nd. Prize $50 Mdse.
3rd. Prize $25 Mdse.
WITH EACH CASH PURCHASE
of One Dollar's Worth of Merch- ^
andise in Our Lsrgi and Varied
Stock entitles You to One Ticket.
Drawing to take place on Xmas
Day, Dec. 25, at 7:30 P. M.
Buy your Christmas Presents at
Our Stortr and get in on the Big
Potlach.
SIMSON’S .
DEPARTMENT STORE
rairbanks
HEL’S Beer
Made