WHERE. RAILS AND RIVERS MEET
THE NENANA DAILY NEWS
VOL. II,
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
NENANA, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1920.
NO. 241
ON ALASKAN 31
Canadian currency, which has
been declining in value steadily on
the American side of the boundary
since the close of the war, is now
accepted on the Alaska coast, re
luctantly. at a discount of 11 per
cent, according to late copies of
Ketchikan and other coast newspa
pers.
Lowering values and the suspen
sion of travel between Yukon and
Interior Alaska points, incident to
the close of navigation, have had
the effect of practically eliminating
Canadian money from local circu
lation, but on the coast, especially
near the boundary, the high rate
of discount is driving considerable
trade away from American ports.
Many American halibut boats are
reported to clearing direct for the
sea fisheries from Prince Rupert,
says a recent copy of the Ketchikan
Chronicle, instead of coming to
Ketchikan for supplies before pro
ceeding outside. The high rate of
exchange against Canada is given
as the cause of this situation.
When the boats take their catches
to Prince Rupert they are paid in
Canadian currency, which at preser.:
is at a discount of about 11 percent.
That means that when they return
to Ketchikan for supplies they can
get only 89 cents' wrorth of goods
for every dollar in Canadian cur
rency they bring with them. On
the other hand, their dollars are
worth one hundred cents in Prince
Rupert, with the consequence that
necessary supplies are being pur
chased there.
The slump in Canadian currency
values also is called to the atten
tion of the public by the Miners <£
Merchants bank of Ketchikan, which
recently carried the following ad
vertisement. addressed "To Our Cus
tomers" :
"The rate of discount on Canadi
an exchange having advanced so
rapidly during the past month, we
will be obliged to handle Canadian
currency, checks and drafts as col
lections only. We believe this to
be the best method of handling such
business under the present circum
stances, as in that way the customer
will receive credit for the exact
amount received. The changes are
so great that we cannot establish
a rate. The last telegraphic quota
tion we received was 11 percent.”
RAILWAYS OF MEXICO
ARE BEING IMPROVED
MEXICO CITY.—Railroad service
in Mexico, both passenger and
freight, will be nearer to normal
this month than for nine years, the
directors of the National railways
for the past few months having
made strenuous efforts to acquire
rolling' stock and to put roadbeds in
good condition.
Director Genera! Pauline Fontes,
since his accession to the head of
the national lines a few months ago,
has made numerous recommenda
tions for necessary projects, most
of which have been granted b? the
government. Large sums have re
cently been expended in the United
States, it is said, for locomotives,
passenger coaches and freight ears,
and negotiations are now in prog
ress with an assurance of success
that Pullman service on all worka
ble lines will be resumed early
this year.'
Railway lines now operated by the
government will not be returned to |
J private owners until the service ha?
ibeen brought to normal, according
;to a statement.
iLOYAL RUSSIANS
I LOST CHANCE 10 1
| GET FINNISH AID
NEW YORK.—Finland need not!
be counted upon for aggressive ac
tion against Bolshevism, according;
. ' . !
to H. Montagu Donner, an Ameri
can, who has just returned from a
two months’ visit to the new repub
lic in the North.
Mr. Donner. who is president of.
the Finland Constitutional League:
of America, said that the chance to J
. enlist the active co-operation of the
Finnish army in the campaign {
'against Petrograd was lost last sum.
mer, when Admiral Kolchak, Gen- j
eral Yudenitch and the other anti-!
Bolshevist Russian leaders neglect-,
i ed to give timely recognition to the :
: independence of Finland, and the
!Allied governments refused to give!
I
assurances of financial support.!
I without which Finland could not ■
venture to enter upon war with the!
I Soviet government.
At that time, he said, the morale i
of the Bolshevist army was low and
the capture of Petrograd by the
combined Russian, Esthonian and i
i
Finnish armies would have been
easy. Now, with the collapse of the
Yudenitch campaign, Finland must
confine herself to holding her fron
tiers and protecting Eastern Karelia, ■
I which she had been invited by the !
: inhabitants to occupy.
1 rear of Bolshevism in Finland
itself, he said, had entirely disap
peared, even moderate Socialists:
having assured the existing coalition j
government of their support in case j
of a revival of the "Rer” insurrec- \
tionary movement which was sup- j
pressed with so much difficulty a|
year ago. Fear has disappeared too j
of a repetition of the famines un-'
der which Finland suffered so se
verely during the war. because the
harvest last fall was exceptionally
good. Food is abundant in Helsing
fors and throughout the country,
and supplies promise to last through
until the next harvest without re
sort to "bark bread’’ and other fam
ine substitutes of which the Fin
nish population has such unhappy
recollections.
Business conditions are good ex
cept for the extreme depreciation of
the Finnish mark and the lack of
shipping to carry Finnish exports.
Large quantities of timber, wood
pulp and paper are awaiting export i
in exchange for required imports, of
which the most pressing are ma
chinery, agricultural implements,
etc. A good market is offered for j
American goods of this character. j
Another handicap under which
Finnish industry suffers is the high
cost of labor. Mr. Donner declared.
The workmen now work only about
seven hours daily, the five o’clock
closing hour having been made prac-,
tically universal in all lines of in
dustry and business, while wages :
had greatly increased as against j
pre-war times.
GERMAN MILLIONAIRE
SENTENCED TO PRISON j
DUREN, Germany.—Herr Schol
ar, a German millionaire of this
city, which is in the occupied area,
has been sentenced to six months
imprisonment by the British sum- :
marv court for insolence to a Brit
ish officer, and for failing to supply I
adequate heating in the room of his i
house in which British officers were I
billeted.
A special meeting of the Nenana
Commercial club will be held at
the quarters of the organization in
the Union building tonight at nine
o’clock, for the consideration of
business of particular importance
to the town and district. The call
for the meeting was prompted by
the receipt of a telegram from
Manager .1. L. McPherson, of the
Alaska bureau of the Seattle Cham
ber of Comerce and Commercial
club, stating that a meeting of the
bureau would be held in Seattle to
morrow night for the consideration
of Alaskan affairs, and that Mr.
McPherson would leave for Wash
ington, D. C.. the following day to
represent the bureau at the national
capital.
The Nenana organization is in
vited to communicate by wire with
the bureau, suggesting the manner
in which the bureau and its man
ager can assist Nenana, and it is
the hope of the officers of the club
that the meeting tonight will be
largely attended and productive of
suggestions. The matter is one that
cannot wait until the next regular
meeting.
It is probable also that the pro
posed curtailment of the Nenana
telephone service, rumors of which
are in general circulation in town
■today, will receive the considera
tion of the club, and that forma!
protest will be made against such a
step on the part of the Alaskan
Engineering commission. The plan
outlined by Mr. Browne proposes
the elimination of the night service
between the hours of 11 and T. and
the substitution of some sort of an
alarm system to keep the public in
touch with the powerhouse and the !
fireball, ir. case of fire during those
hours. <
The meeting will start promptly
at nine.
'
WIRES STILL DOWN;
BREAMS BAD ONE
The break in the Government tel
egraph line south of Gulkana, which
was caused by a storm in that lo
cality night before last, is of great
er proportions than was at first
supposed, according to information
received in Xenana today. A long
stretch of wire is said to have been
blown down by the storm, and the
condition of the weather is such
that it is not known just when re
pairs can be expected.
Little hope is held out for a re
sumption of the service today, and '
efforts to secure news by way of
the Canadian line and the Eagle ’
wireless also have failed, because
of a break that is reported in the I
Dominion line. The experience of
Interior Alaska newspapers has been i
that the Canadian line always fails i
when anything is wrong with the
American line.
----
Scnm*—The Gateway to McKinley
Kational Park.
* ■>** It
* *e
* TEMPERATURE «
* As reported by the government **
* observation station, Xenana *
K K
* Wednesday, January 14. H !
< Maximum .46 below *
? Minifnum .50 below
* «t
*«*««•>»« «*•>**•>** *il
SAYS NOT GUILTY
IS CASE
At the conclusion of a hearing
which lasted two days and a con-1
siderable part of one night, the jury
in the case of Alfonse Dubois, last
night. shortly before midnight,
brought in a verdict of not guilty,
the verdict having been reached on
the second ballot. Dubois was ar
rested and tried before Commission
er Reed Heilig, at Fairbanks, on
the charge of making hootch in vio
lation of the Alaska bone dry law
The complaint charged that the
alleged offense was committed las?
May, and he arrest is said to have
been made on information received
from a bootlegger whom the au
thorities rounded up some time ago,
and who is said to have been at
outs with Dubois.
Dubois was defended by Attorney
Thomas A. Marquam.
The trial, which started Monday
morning, was very largely attended
by Fairbanksans. the commissioner’s’
courtroom being crowded to capacity
throughout the hearing.
SOUTH AMERICAN CHURCH
CELEBRATES CENTENARY
RIO DE JANEIRO. — Christ
church of this city, which soon will
celebrate its centenary, is said to
have been the first Protestant
church to be built in South Ameri
ca. It was erected to provide a
place of worship for the English
community here. Two restrictions
were placed on the church: the ex
terior w-as to resemble a dwelling
house and not a temple, and no
bells were allowed. Out of this con
cession grew the religious liberty
which exists now in Brazil.
Today there are two Anglican
dioceses and -10 churches in South
America. One diocese includes Ar
gentina and Brazil, with a bishopric
in Buenos Aires: the other includes
the Falkland islands and the We«t
coast countries. In addition to the
Anglican churches, there are many
other Protestant churches scattered
throughout South America.
CHINKS GLAD IO SEE
AMERICAN INTEREST
TOKIO.— Referring to the recent
arrangement of an Americo-Chines •
banking corporation with a capital
of $10,000,000, the Kokusai News
agency says that this enterprise
may be regarded as foreshadowing
the opening of economic activity by
the United States in a post-war
commercial and industrial campaign
in China.
It adds: "It is obvious that with
the aid of the American financier'
the Northern military group of Chi
na will be enabled to carry out a
policy favorable to their interests in
the future, which will eventually af
fect the interests of the Southern
group. There is no doubt that the
hand-shaking of the American and
i
Chinese bankers in the establish
ment of an Americo-Chinese bank
lays the foundation for joint oper
ations of American and Chinese
capitalists in the economic develop
ment of China in the future, a mat
ter which calls for the keen atten
tion of Japanese business men who
are closely interested in the eco- (
aomie development of China.”
AMERICAN MACHINERY
ON DISPLAY IN SOUTH
MEXICO CITY. — Two trains j
tearing American-made farm raa- :
ehinery are now touring the repub
lic, demonstrating modern methods
of agriculture. The tour is being
conducted under the supervision of
the government.
NEW YORK.—The 300th anni
versary of the Pilgrim Fathers, ten
tative plans for which have just
been announced here, will include
celebrations in England, Holland,
and the United States, and will con
tinue from May to December, 1920
A four-day program in Leyden,
Amsterdam, and Rotterdam, whence
the Pilgrims sailed three centuries
ago to the American wilderness,
where they might find "freedom to
worship God,” will start on August
30, when committees from the Unit
ed States and England will be re
ceived at the University of Leyden.
Addresses commemorative of the oc
casion will be delivered by scholars
from the three countries, including
the rector of the university, Dr.
Rendel Harris of Manchester, Eng.,
Viscount Bryce, and a famous Am
erican who had not yet been desig
nated.
The next day, August 31, the
birthday of the Queen of the Neth
erlands, will include, besides a con
gress in the town hall, a religious
memorial service in the Pieterskirk,
in which the Rev. John Robinson,
who led the separaiionists from the
Church of England (the Pilgrims)
to Holland in 1609, was buried.
One of the features of the holi
day at Amsterdam on September 1
will be a meeting of the Rijksmu
seum, the unveiling of a memorial
window in the Bagijnekerk, and a
reception. The next day there will
be a aquatic pageant in Rotterdam,
the visitors traveling in the morn
ing from Leyden to Delftshaven. if
possible, by boat along the way
the Pilgrim- went. Then there will
be trips to the reiigioU' havens o*'
Rotterdam, a memorial service in
the church at Delftshaven. and at
7 p. m. the Elnglish and American
contingents will depart for Soutn
ampton.
The celebration in England will
start in May. 1920, with meetings
in Scrooby, the home of Robinson.
Austerfield, Boston, and Sheffield.
From August 4 to September 2o
there will be ceremonies in Cam
bridge, London, Southampton and
other places, culminating in tri
sailing of the new Mayflower, which
will carry the returning- American
committee, the British and Dutch
delegations who are to participate
in the program on this side of the
Atlantic.
Main events of the American cel-;
ebration will be in Plymouth, Mass ,
and Boston, where historical page
ants will be held, followed by a big
reception in New York. Vice-Pres
ident Marshall is honorary chairman
of the committee having the local
program in charge. The foreign
visitors will then be taken on a
tour of the United States. On No
vember 24, 1920, there will be a
universal observance of Thanksgiv
ing day in England, Holland, and
the United States.
QUEENSLAND PREMIER IS
YOUNGEST ONE IN WORLD
—
QUEENSLAND, Australia. — Ed
ward Granville Theodore, Queens
and’s new- premier, is one of the
youngest if not the youngest prime
ninister in the world. He is 34 j
•ears old. ; i
HELSINGFORS, Finland. The
only broad the majority of the resi
dents of Petrograd have been able
to obtain for months has been the
so-called “duranda,” made from
flaxseed skins from which the oil
has been pressed. M. Saponen, a
Petrograd art dealer, who recently
succeeded in escaping from Bol
shevist Russia to Finland, and who
discloses this situation, says the
bread is highly irritating and causes
stomach trouble.
M. Saponen expressed the opin
ion that, if the Allied blockade con
tinued, the worst months for Bol
shevist Russia would be March and
April. He stated that, though un
employment was general in Petro
grad, it was difficult to hire work
men, owing to their weakened con
dition and apathy. The propertied
class, who are not allowed food
rations, get nothing except what
they manage to buy surreptitiously
by selling their furniture and other
possessions.
I “Bartering is extensively prac
ticed in Petrograd and Moscow as
w’ell as in the country," continued
M. Saponen. “No one may legally
possess more than 5,000 ruble-.
When people have nothing more
with which they may trade, they
must join the Communist party in
order to get work. That is diffi
cult, however, for the bourgeoisie.
All the educated people try to move
into the country, where conditions
are better.”
Last March, foreigners, who up
to that time had enjoyed special
privileges, became the objects of
persecution, declared M. Saponen.
This gradually increased until June,
when foreigners, especially the Eng
lish, were attacked wholesale.
"The Germans, after the Brest -
Litovsk conference, could do as they
liked, but a change came with the
German revolution. The German
diplomats were badly treated, and
after June 1 all Germans shared th •
fate of other foreigners."
There has been little home llte
in Petrograd sinte July 1, M. Sa
ponen stated, when parents were
ordered to take all meals in the
communal eating houses. This or
der has not yet been extended to
Moscow.
Owing to the closing "t' millinery
shojis and other places employing
large numbers of women, those wh >
were physically able went into the
munition works and other factories.
The remainder were shut off from
a livelihood and were forced to shilt
for themselves as best they could.
What police protection Petrograd
enjoys is given by women, said M.
Saponen, and continued:
“A year ago every person was a
law unto himseif, the authorities
doing little to suppress lawlessness,
but since last spring the police ami
militia, made up of women from
the Baltic provinces, have been try
ing to keep order. In Moscow
there is a regular militia, the mem
bers of which are often, themselves,
arrested by soldiers.”
Although burglars caught in Pe
trograd are promptly executed by
the Bolshevists, robberies are still
fi equent.
Wines and vodka are still obtain
able at exorbitant prices.
Asked if the Bolshevists were
showing any signs of factional divi
sion, M. Saponen said that none
vould admit publicly that there was
lot unanimity.