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General Outfitting Headquarters Fur Depot Gateway to Upper Yukon
THE NENANA NEWS
VOLUME IV
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
NENANA, ALASKA, TUESDAY, JULY 17, 1923 *
NUMBER 478
NENANA IS SCENE OF HISTORICAL EVENT
PRESIDENT HARDING DRIVES THE GOLDEN SPIKE
FARMER-LABOR CANDIDATE WINS SEAT IN U. S. SENATE
FIRE WRECKS LEAD MINE;
WATER THREATENS FLOOD
Wallace Idaho., July 17—a?
the rseult of a fire which swept
Burke canyon yesterday, the little
mining town of Mace is in ruins
and a large part of Burke demolish
ed. The fire also destroyed the
buildings at the Heckla mine, one
of the largest producers in the
United States, and it will be sev
eral months before operations can
be resumed.
The machinery at the mine was
pat ont of commission at the mine
* and water is now creeping up from
the lower levels, threatening to
flood the 2,000-foot level, where
large and valuable motors are locat
ed. Desperate efforts are being made
today to start the damaged pumps
and the work of rebuilding will
be started immediately.
Hundreds of families were ren
dered homeless by the fire.
STEAMER ALASKA ARRIVES
WITH MORE ORE FROM MAYO
The steamer Alaska of the White
Pass fleet, arrived from Dawson
shortly before noon today with an
other large cargo of silver ore from
the Mayo district and the largest
number of through pasengers car
ried by the Canadian company this
season. There was also considerable
mail and express aboard the steamer
and a large quantity of gold from
the Yukon district.
Of the following passengers who
arrived, a number made immediate
connections with the train for the
coast, while others will go to Fair
banks this afternoon for a look over
that district before returning to the
coast. Some of them will go out by
way of the Richardson trail. The ar
rivals were:
Mr. and Mrs. E. O. Twist, J. W.
. Picksen, Dr. Otto Walter, John Am
ber, Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Spicer, Mrs.
Martha Campbell, Miss Neva E.
Anderson, Miss Martha Forner, C.
E. Gratz, W. Mazna, J. G. Morrison,
J. M. Morrison. Miss Alice C. Lamy,
Miss Frances R. Ostberg. Miss Thel
ma V. Driggs, N. J. Martin. B. J.
Moya, Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Pence, J.
H. Scott.
. The pasengers expressed themselv
es as bting delighted with the voy
age down the Yukon from Dawson
and with the courteous manner in
which they were treated on board
the steamer by Captain C. W. Adams
and the other officers of the steam
er.
The Alaska will wash boilers here
and leave probably tomorrow on the
return trip to Dawson.
PRESIDENT AND MRS. HARDING
WIN HEARTS OF NORTHERNERS
1
FARMER LABOR CANDIDATE
WINS WISCONSIN ELECTION
SEATTLE, July 17—Magnuj
Johnson, Parmer Labor candidate*
for United States senate to succeed
the late Senator Knute Nelson, was
elected yesterday at the special
Minnesota election, and will sit in
the senate with Henrik Shipstead
who was elected last fall. Both have
announced that they will affiliate
with the "followers of Robert M.
LaPollette” in Congress.
pledge of loyahy to your adminis
tration.
Remark* of President Hardin*
Mr. Secretary. Governor Bone,
Col. Steese, and fellow citizenst
Before performing the last act
in the program which symbolizes
the completion of this railway I
wish to add my word of tribute to
those who “pioneered” it and con
tributed of their genius and courage
to the making of this steel high
way an almost impassable land. We
have been traveling now somewhere
between four and five thousand
miles over marvelous highways,
and one thought has occurred to me
everywhere, namely, that the out
standing genius of it all is the man
who feun^ the way, who had the
conception: the perception, and the
confidence to find an open path
way through the mountains, the
wilderness, and the canyons, and
to surmount the various other phy
sical diff>culties which necessarily
had to be encountered.
. When h -was announced by Presi
dent Harding several months ago
| that he -would pay avisit to Alaska
; during the present summer, provid
j ing the health of Mrs. Harding the
j business of the nation -would per
i mit of such a long journey from
! the White House, there were compar
' atively few persons in Alaska who:
believed the Presidential party would
reach the Territory. There had been i
- . ■ I
previous announcements of that i
character, each followed by disa
pointment
Still fewer believed the President
would be able to extend his outing
to Interior Alaska and it is doubt
ful if there were any who realized
what such a visit would mean to Al
aska and Alaskans if such a visit
really came to pass. .Surely there
were none in Nenana who anticipated
| such an inspiring and pleasurable
’ meeting with the chief executive of.
| the nation and his delightfully
1 charming wife as took place on Sun
• day afternoon when the President1
and Mi's. Harding and the distin-!
! guished members of their party were
I !
i the guests of Nenana during their
brief stay here and at the north ap- j
proach to the great Tanana river
steel bridge, where the spike driv-1
i.
mg ceremony was held.
The President has said all of the
'adjectives at is command, deserip
1 tire of the grandeur of Alaskan
scenery and delightfulness of the
trip generally, were exhausted early
'on the journey; and citizens of Ne
j nana find themselves much in the |
same position—words failing ade-1
j quately to describe the pleasure and j
thrill of this greatest occasions, in
I the history of the Northland. If the :
: President can realize to what extent
| he has gladdened the lives of Alas-;
j leans, particularly those of Interior j
; Alaska, by his expressions of good i
; "will and words of encouragement,
! be will know that his long journey
: was worth all of the effort, worries
land aDcoyaDees experienced by him.
their seats and the initiation cere
mony pro9eeded without delay, the
officers presiding being: President
R. C. Morris, vice-president R. G.
Southworth, Chaplain E. A. Wil
liams, Historian J. H. Day, Acting
Sergeants-at-arms Joe O’Connor and
Norvin E. Simth, Secretary Alfred
H. Ghezzi, and Doorkeepers An
thony Letray. Of tnese officer; R.
G. Southworth is grand president,
of the Pioneers of Alaska, Mr. Mor
ris is first Vice-president, Joe O
Connor is grand treasurer and Mr.
Ghezzi is grand secretary.
After President Harding had taken
the Pioneer obligation and had been
instructed in the secret work by the
presiding officer he was presented
with a gold watch fob emblematic
of the order, the presentation being
made by Grand President R. G
Southworth. President Harding ac
cepted the gift with an appreciative
address to the oldtimers, saying a
mong other things, that he believed
the solution of Alaska’s problems
lay largely with Alaskans themselves
After the meeting had been closed
the President invited all of the Pio
neers to ride to the bridge with him
on the Presidential train and many
of them did so.
men: transportation system to pub
lie service.
The scene was an inspiring one
with the side hill crowded with child
I ren and grownups gathered to wit
ness the ceremony, and the President
i mingling freely among those gather
ed about the track at the end of the
bridge. There were secret service
men and other officers there, but nc
attempt was made to restrict the
movements of the President or Mrs.
j Harding, or with the crowd about
It was a democratic gathering, a typ
ical Alaskan celebration, an exper
ience which seemed to be enjoyed as
j much by the chief executive as by
| the Alaskans themselves. It was a
:momentou occasion for Alaska, a
i great event for Nenara, and the
great Interior.
After some preliminary maneuver
| ing. President Harding took up his
; position in the center of the track.
I facing the bridge and Secretary of
| the Interior Hubert Work, with Mrs.
Harding, other distinguished mem
1 bers of the party and local com
mittees gathered about them, all
facing the west, in full view of the
several camera? which were there to
record the historic event in mov
ing pictures.
When all was in readiness. Colon
el James Gordon Steese, chairman
and chief engineer of the Alaskan
Engineering Commission, Stepped
forward, facing the President and
Secretary Work, and addressed the
following remarks to the latter:
seen; you are now standing at Ne
nana upon the bank of the Tanana,
a navigable tributary of the great
Yukon river, and in a few minutes
you will proceed to the terminal of 1
The Alaska Railroad at Fairbanks, j
the main distributing center for the
great interior of the Territory.
Mr. Secretary: As Chairman of '
the Alaskan Engineering Commis
sion, the construction agency desig
nated by the President to carry
out, under your direction, the will
of Congress, it is my duty to re
port to you and, through you, to
the President, that the will of Con
gress, as expressed in the Act of
March 12, 1914, has now been ac
complished.
Addrest of Secretary Work
After Governor Scott C. Bone had
displayed the Golden Spike so that
all could get a view of it and the
several cameramen had filmed it,
closeup. to their satisfaction, Sec-1
retary of the Interior "Hubert Work j
stepped forward anil addressing
President Harding said:
“Representing the Government de- ;
partment charged with the super- j
vision and construction, financing
of the Alaska Railroad, it is a plea-1
sure to report its completion. No
one would have conjectured when !
the project was entered upon, that ■
the nation’s chief executive would -
himself, drive the last spike. This
simple ceremony and this spike be
come at this moment historical. Tbey
complete and dedicate to public ser-I
vice nearly 500 miles of commercial
highway and mark the passing of
the last frontier.
“Mr. President, these steel bands j
you join will almost connect the:
Pacific ocean with the Arctic ocean ,
through the Yukon. From this great
waterway will come travelers and
traffic to this common carrier and
receive from it the products of this
new principality, destined for the
unsurveyed country beyond it.
“Speaking for the hardy workmen
who suffered cold and defied death.
I present the work their hands have
wrought. It means mere than wot ri
and stone and steel, although fab-1
ricated with consumate ski’i into
bridges and tunnels and towers, and
is a monument to the Pioneers and
a tablet to unconquered American
courage.
I do not suppose any individual
or set of individuals would have
undertaken the construction of such
a railway; that it had to be left
to the Government itself. I am frank
to say that when the enterprise was
first proposed 1 was inclined to op
pose it; but, having seen the empire
of Alaska and the possibilities which
this railway open? up, 1 am glad a
generous government undertook and
carried to completion the construc
tion of the Alaska Railroad. It is
not possible to liken a railway to a
magician’s wand, but the effect to
me is the same, for rbe whole pro
blem of civilization, the development
of resources, and the awakening of
communities lies in transportation.
So the Government has come into
this wonderful land and opened up
it steel highway which makes po=
;ib!e an inestimable development. 1
hope the development which will
tccrue will be all that tne people
jf Alaska are hoping for and more
aut I hardly presume it will come in
iny hurried way; I cannot see how
t may.
I was very much impressed by a
■emark made by the President of
,he Pioneer’s Association, to which
' was admitted to honorary mem
>ership a little while ago. He re
’erred to the sturdiness, the indu?
ry, and the confidence of the
^ioneers in developing this country,
n my humble judgment, the qaul
ties of the pioneers cooperating
vith the transportation line, which
las now'been opened, will do more
o work out the development of
his wonderland than anything which
he great Government of the Uni
ed States can do. I hope that the
rreatest expectations of the people
if Alaska may be completely ful
illed.
(Continued on Page Four.)
Reception for Mr*. Herding
While the President was being
made a member of the Pioneers, the
ladies of Nenana were meeting Mrs.
Harding at an informal pnblie re
ception held in the depot waiting
room, which had been beautifully
decorated for the occasion. The re
ception was held under the direction
of the ladies’ committee appointed
by Mayor Prank Teufel and conisst
ing of Mrs. C. G. Jones chairman,
Mrs. WT. C. Steinmetz, Mrs. R. G.
Southworth, Mrs. William Rodgikeit,
Mrs. G. L. Schooling, Mrs. M. J.
Sweeney and Mrs. Frank Teufel.
While the reception was in pro
gress the ladies presented Mrs. Hard
ing with a large moosehide with
an Alaskan scene artistically done in
burnt work, the artist being Mrs.
Neilson, of Nenana who was later
summoned by Mrs. Harding in order
that she might express personally her
delight over the gif*. The ladies al
so presented Mrs. Harding with a
beautiful boquet, which she carried
with her to Fairbank.
President Drives Golden Spike
Returning to the train fr Un
ion hall, escorted by a committee
of citizens consisting of Mayor Teu
fel, Ex-Mayor R. G. Southworth, Ex
Mayor Joe O’Connor and Council
men William Rodigkeit and Harry
Davis. President Harding and the
members of his party boarded the
Presidential train and moved across
the Tanana river to the north ap
proach to the great steel bridge, one
of the largest structures of the kind
in the United States, where prepara
tions had been previously made to
drive the golden spike, marking the
formal completion of the Alaska
Railroad and dedicating the Govern
Rcnurkf by Col. Jti, G. Steese
Mr. Secretary
The Government Railway project
was originally reported upon by the
Alaska Railroad Commission, ap
pointed by President Taft in 1912,
and headed by Jay J. Morrow, now
Governor of the Panama Canal. On
March 12. 1914, the Government em
powed, and authorized, and directed
by the President of the United
States to locate, construct, maintain
and operate a railroad or railroads
to connect an open Pacific harbor
on the southern coast of Alaska with
the navigable waters of the Interior
and with a coal field. The President
placed supervision of the project un
der the direction of the Secretary
of the Interior and designated the Al
askan Engineering Commission as
the construction agency to be per
manently resident in Alaska to han
dle the work
Mr. Wm. C. Edes, now deceased,
was Chairman and Chief Engineer
of the original Commission. The
other members were. Thomas Riggs,
who later resigned to accept ap
pointment as Governor of Alaska,
and Col. Frederick Hears, who upon
his return from overseas service as
Chairman and Chief Engineer until
succeeded by the present speaker
last winter.
V ou have landed from a gov
ernment transport at an open Pa
cific harbor, you have traveled ov
er The Alaska Railroad upon a spec
ial train driven by coal from an
Alaskan coal field which you have
President Join* Pioneer*
Upon arrival of the Presidential,
| parry at Xenana Sunday afternoon,;
j President and Mrs. Barding found
; several committees -waiting to re-!
ceive them, and the entire popula-1
tion of the city and surrounding
►•district*, headed by the Xenana
Brass band, on band to ■give the
; visitors a welcome.
President R. C. Morris, of Ne-'
nana Igloo, No. 17, Pioneers of,
Alaska, was among the first to be
presented to the President, by Gov- j
emor Scott C. Bone, and announc
ed that preparations had been made
for the immediate initiation of the
executive as an honorary member of
Xenana the igloo whereupon the
President graciously permitted him
self to be escorted to Union hall.'
escorted by Preident Morris, Grand
Treasurer. Joe O’Connor and Nor
, vin E. Smith and preceded by the
band and the entire membership of
the igloo.
By the time the President reach
ed the hall the members were in
GARY READY TO ACT
NEW YORK, July 17—Judge
Gary, head of the United States
■steel corporation, declares that the
abolition of the twelve-hour day in
the steel industry, which was pledged
to President Harding recently, will
probably be begun 7 thin the next
six weeks.
HOT ON COAST
SEATTLE, July 17—7ne temper
ature along the Pacific coast has
been climbing steadily during the
last several days, particularly in
Washington and Oregon. Thermom
eters registered 90 degrees here and
a number of Eastern Washington
and Oregon points report 100 de
grees.
“It has been said that every great
achievement is but the hadow of a
man. This great builder has woven
himself into the fabric of this rail
road and enshrined in the hearts of
Alaskans the name of Frederick '
Mears. Fifty-six millions of dol
lars expended by him in a wild coun
try, with little supervision but with- -
out avoidable errer. In tribute to
your executive cooperation and your
sympathy with the hopes of Alaskans 1
Colonel Mears wishes you to
drive this golden spike presented to
him by the people of Anchorage, and f
rivet the tie that will bind Alaskan ^
commercial relations to the Unit
ed States, and signify an empire’s