WHERE. RAILS AND RIVERS MEET
THE NENANA DAILY NEWS
} VOL. 111.
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
NENANA, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY JUNE 16, 1920.
NO. 61
FEDERATION CONDEMNS RAILROAD ACT
' PA YNE APPROVES PLANS OF ALASKA COMMITTEE
DULUTH MOB HANGS NEGRO OFFENDERS IN CITY PARK
BRISTOL, Ya., June 16.—A feud
of long standing between the Fee
and Berry families, of Esserville,
found expression here yesterday in
a pistol fight on the town’s streets,
the battle resulting in the death of
Robert Fee and George Polly, the
latter being a member of the Berry
faction.
DeVVitt Fee and a baby were seri
ously wounded, and Tom and George
Berry were slightly wounded.
The outbreak is said to have start
ed last week when the Fee brothers
held up and disarmed a deputy sher
iff who is a member of the Berry
faction. The action was resented
and the Berrys awaited an oppor
tunity to get back at the Fees. The
presence of several members of each
family in town yesterday was the
signal for general hostilities and the
combatants lost no time in getting
into action.
The congressional committee to
which the McFadden gold bonus bill
was referred held two hearings on
the measure and the members had
virtually decided to submit a favora
ble report when the session of Con
gress came to an end, cutting short
further consideration of the question,
according to advices received in
Fairbanks on the last mail from
members of the American Mining
congress who are looking after the
gold bonus campaign.
The bill will be one of the first
matters brought up when Congress
meets again later in the year, and
the outlook for the passage of the
bill is said to be very encouraging.
In the meantime, representatives of
the American Mining congress will
not be idle. They plan to continue
ther campaign among the lawmakers
during the time that Congress is in
recess, and hope to have all opposi
tion eliijinated by the time the Mc
Fadden kill is presented for passage.
FEUfl MADRID
MADRID, Jui^ 16.—The shortage
of newsprint pagr in this country
has compelled Mdrid newspapers "o
advance their selng price to ten
centimos, and atiouncement has
been made that shuld the cost of
paper exceed 160 lostas here per
100 kilograms, the jrice of paper
will soar to 15 centhos.
The maximum prictof advertising
is fixed and the siface size of
newspapers is limited t>l,300 square
centimeters.
—
VamMft. Alaska’s litolt rtkl »s»st
LABOR CONVENTION DEMANDS
REPEAL OF UNPOPULAR LAW
MONTREAL, June 16.—The re
peal of the compulsory feature of
the railroad act, passed during the
late session of Congress, is demand
ed by a resolution which was adopt
ed today by the delegates to the
annual convention of the American
Federation of Labor, now in ses
sion in this city. Resolutions also
were adopted condemning military
training in schools and compulsory
service and calling upon the Presi
dent of the United States to secure
amnesty for political prisoners.
Another resolution adopted by the
convention pledges the support of
the federation to the striking long
shoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf
coasts, in their fight for union rec
ognition and the defeat of the open
shop policy.
The central labor bodies which
aided the unauthorized strike of un
ions during the recent walkout of
railroad workers were condemned in
a resolution presented by R. C.
Cashem of Cleveland, in behalf of
the International Switchmen’s union.
The resolution referred especially to
the San Francisco central body,
Cashem explaining that the strikers
were not affiliated with the American
Federal of Labor and had no call
upon any branch of the federation
for support.
Report of Council.
S Denunciation of Bolshevism, pro
fiteering, the action of the United
States government in invoking the
food control law against the late
miner;'’ strike, and the failure of
the American Congress to take ac
tion to control the cost of living
are among the outstanding features
of the annual report of the execu
tive council of the American Fed
eration of Labor presented to the
convention.
With the council’s review of or
ganized labor’s position and activi
ties for the last year was also pre
sented “a specific program for rem
edy.”
The Cummins railroad law was
denounced, as was the Kansas law
establishing the court of industrial
relations. The high cost of living
wa^ laid largely at the door of “big
profiteers,” while the report de
clared the United States govern
jment, principally through the de
I partment of justice, “has conducted
•a campaign of stupidity.”
j Congress was assailed for cutting
.appropriations designed to carry on
ithe work of the collateral branches
’of the department of labor and for
various proposals, such as the sedi
tion bill, which the report says the
; labor department was instrumental
jin defeating.
In its references to the foreign
field, the report denounced what it
characterized as propaganda for
American intervention in Mexico and
declared that the executive council
sees “no justification for interfer
ence,” which it argues would be in
the interest “of the exploitation of
its workers, and its boundless wealth
of oil and minerals.”
The United States Steel corpora
tion was assailed for its refusal to
deal with labor organizations in the
recent unsuccessful strike, and the
authorities of Boston also were de
nounced for their attitude in the
celebrated strike of policemen in
that city.
The workmen of Canada were
congratulated for defeating the “one
big union” idea and their stand was
characterized as “a magnificent tri
umph for trade unionism, and a vin
dication of the purposes, policies
and achievements of tfte American
Federation of Labor.”
The industrial conferences called
by President Wilson were character
ized as unsuccessful because “the
employers stubbornly resisted ever;/
attempt at conciliation” and would
not accept any resolution on collec
tive bargaining “unless it was so
warded as to be anti-trade union in
spirit and to provide encouragement
and support for company unions.”
The machinery proposed by the sec
ond conference, the report attacks,
as in many respects “actually per
nicious,” and it declares that “the
machinery designed by the Presi
dent’s commission is entirely out of
contact with the life for which it
was designed and entirely unfitted
for the needs of that life.”
Existing machinery, the report de
dares, “is superior in every re
spect.”
As a program of “specific rem
edy” for existing conditions the
council’s report proposes the fol
lowing:
“We demand that the Govern
ment be authorized to buy standard
commodities direct from producers
and that these commodities be dis
tributed through regular retail chan
nels at a retail price to be fixed by
the Government.
“We demand that this power be
made use of as a corrective for
profiteering and we call attention fo
the fact that the Government has
established a precedent for such ac
tion in its sales of surplus war sup
plies.
“We demand that the Federal
Government through the internal
revenue department ascertain the
amount of excessive war profits ex
torted from the American people
during the years 1916, 1917, 1918,
1919 and 1920, and that these ex
cessive war profits be taken through
its taxing power by the Federal
Government and applied to the ex
tinguishing of the floating debt of
the Government and to the partial
retirement of Liberty bonds at par,
in order that the existing inflated
structure of currency and credit
may be reduced and that the Gov
ALASKA COMMITTEE
REPORTS TO PAYNE;
ACTION IS PROMISED
WASHINGTON, D. C., June 16.—
The co-ordination of federal control
i
in Alaska over lands and resources,
and the consolidation of the two
American steamship lines serving
Alaskan ports, are prominent among
the recommendations made today to
Secretary John Barton Payne by the
special committee consisting of Al
fred Brooks, Otto Praeger, and Har
ry Y. Saint, appointed to investi
gate Alaskan conditions and devise
a plan for accelerating Alaskan de
velopment. The committee returned
from the Pacific coast recently and
reported to the secretary immedi
ately upon the completion of their
plans.
Approved by Peyne.
The quick-acting secretary ap
proved the report almost as soon as
he had read it, and gave instruc
tions to the committee to put their
program in operation at the earliest
possible moment.
Plans for Alaska.
In a discussion of the plans for
; giving aid to Alaska, Secretary
I Payne said that conferences would
;be held at an early date and that
| he expected hearty co-operation
| from interested commercial organ
izations invited to participate.
“Alaska’s immense natural re
sources,” the secretary continued,
“have never been developed proper
ly. During the war the white popu
lation of the Territory actually de
creased from 50,000 to 36,000 and
the output of minerals and other in
dustries has never been made prop
erly available.
“Exploitation of the resources of
the Territory will not be turned
over to one interest or to a group
of interests. The improvement of
shipping and railroad facilities is
undertaken with the purpose of ad
mitting fresh capital and opening the
country for settlement by Amercan
citizens.
i “The concentration and co-ordina
tion of federal control of Alaska
lands and resources is contemplated
by obtaining legislative authority
for an Alaska development board,
and, pending this, by appointment
of an inter-departmental Alaska
[committee.
■ “Other plans include the co-or
dination of federal road construc
tion and the development of a plan
for a comprehensive system of roads
dnd trails to serve the entire Terri
tory; also the investigation of the
feasibility of smelting Alaska copper
ores on a commercial basis within
,the Territory will be undertaken.”
ernment may carry out its sacred
obligation to the people to main
tain its Liberty and Vitory bonds
at par.
“Co-operation should be encour
aged as an effective means of curb
ing profiteering. To stimulate rapid
development of co-operatives the
Federal farm loan act should be
extended so as to give credit to all
l properly organized co-operatives,
ijUst as credit is now given to indi
vidual farmers. Co-operation is no
| less vital and worthy of support
! than are the railroads, which were
| given hundreds of million of dollars
and an area of land equal to New
England to facilitate their estab
lishment. There should be legal
enactment to protect co-operatives
against discrimination by manufae
turers and wholesalers.
“Control of credit capital by thosa
whose chief interest is the accumu
lation of profits results inevitably in
the open door for profiteering. We
repeat and emphasize the demand
of organized labor that control of
credit be taken from the hands of
private financiers and placed in the
hands of a public agency to be ad
ministered by voluntary and co-op
erative methods.
“We urge that the United States
department of labor compile and
issue monthly statements of the cost
of manufacture of those staple arti
cles which foim the basis of calcu
lation in fixing the cost of living.
“As 3 means of aiding these and
other anti-profiteering measures the
Federal Government should be au
thorized to establish permanent
boards for the prompt investigation
of profits and prices. All income
and other tax returns should be
available for inspection.
"We do not demand, nor do we
desire, a precipitate collapse in
prices generally, for in such a col
lapse there would be the greatest
danger of national calamity. The
program we have here laid before
the nation is constructive and is
practical. Because it is construc
tive and practical, because it con
tains measures native to American
life and American thought, w-e urge
and demand for it the immediate
and effective consideration of the
people and of the authorities of our
country.
“The cost of living must go no
higher. Wages must be advanced in
every case to a point at which the
American standard of living is se- j
cure. The life and the productive
capacity of the great farming com- j
munity, now stricken sorely, must
be brought back to the richness that
has marked it above the agriculture
of all other nations. This will be |
possible only when the vicious forces (
that load the values of the farm |
with fictitious and fabulous profits j
have been curbed arjd made power
less.
“Finally we call attention to the!
vital fact that the present non-par- i
tisan political campaign of the A. F.
(Continued on Page 3)
ROPES ARE USED;
DULUTH, June 16. — This city
was the scene last n’ght of a triple
lynching, the victims being three
negroes, who were taken from the
city jail by a mob of 5,000 whites
anil hanged in the public square.
The men were charged with an as
sault upon a 17-year-old white girl.
The mob stormed the jail, over
j powered the police and, after bat
itering down the street door to the
jail and the doors to the cells where
.the negroes were confined, took six
i negro inmates in charge and lynched
three of them after they had been
j given a mock trial. The other three
| were turned back to the custody of
,the police.
j The police made a stubborn fight
to prevent the raid upon the jail.
but no shots were fired by them be
i
(cause of the fear that such action
might further infuriate the crowd.
They finally gave up after the mob
• had forced its way into the jail.
1 Immediately following the lynch
ings, two companies of national
'guardsmen were ordered from Fort
^Snelling, but. when they arrived on
| the scene, all was quiet. As an
'additional precaution, the home
!guards also were mustered out, but
jthere was nothing but wreckage to
occupy their attention
j While the lynching was in prog
ress, ten negroes rushed from the
j scene in automobiles, and are now
(in jail at St. Paul, where they
placed themselves under the protec
tion of the police, fearing a general
raid on the colored residents of
Duluth.
An investigation of the lynching
is now in progress.
PRESIDENT SAVES
LIFE OF DEMPSEY
According to coast newspapers ar
riving on the last mail, the life of
Dempsey, coast murderer, has been
saved by President Wilson by com
muting his sentence of death to life
imprisonment. He will be sent to
a federal penitentiary to serve out
his term.
Dempsey, it will be recalled, killed
a woman in Anchorage and buried
her body in an old well, his motive
being robbery. And when he was
about to be taken captive he killed
a deputy marshal near Seward.
Private advices received from the
coast indicate that the action of the
President is very unpopular.
K
TEMPERATURE R
As reported by the government R
observation station, Nenana R
- R
Wednesday, June 16. R
Maximum .74 above R
Minimum .53 above R