THE NENANA DAILY NEWS
Application made April 1, 1918, at the postoffice at Nenana, Alaska,
for entry as second class mail matter, under the Act of March 3, 1879. '
“WHERE RAIL AND RIVER MEET”
Published every afternoon except Sunday, by the Nenana Printing
Company, at First and B Streets, Nenana, Alaska.
R. G. Southworth.Editor and Manager
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Six Months, if paid in Advance. 9.00
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MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for re-publi
catioi: of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in
this paper and also all the local news published herein.
LET’S GET TOGETHER AND
KEEP TOGETHER
Elbert Hubbard once said: “As
a man thinketh, so is he’’. That
truthful quotation can well be ap
plied to towns. As the people of a
town think, so is the town.
In the last decade scientists and
thinking men have devoted an end
less amount of time and study to
the subject of psychology, which is
the science of the mind, mental
attitudes, and the effects produced
by mental means. Every citizen in
.Nenana should become a practical
exponent of this subject, if not a
student of it. Small ooe-horse con
cerns have applied psychological
laws to their business and have
grown beyond their wildest dreams.
Individuals have applied the same
laws and succeeded when failure
seemed indelibly stamped on their
lives. Towns that seemed dead and
gone forever have got together and
stayed together, and become cities
with a permanency of industries.
This has been accomplished in most
cases by the booster spirit; by al
ways speaking a good word for the
home town, and by never knocking
one another, never telling how bad
conditions are or are going to be
perhaps; in fact, by always seeing
the silver lining to every cloud, and
remembering that “The man that’s
worth while is the man that can
smile when' every thing goes dead
wrong.
Medical men and scientists agree
that the constant thinking of even
imaginary ills, and the steady ac
ceptance of negative suggestion can
produce death in a person otherwise
healthy. The same applies to towns
and cities. A few knockers, grouch
es and pessimists can kill a town so
dead that a volcanic upheaval could
not bury it any more completely, ;f
they constantly talk about how dead
the place is. and how much deader
it is going to be in the near future.
Negative Suggestion is the mid
dle name of plenty of people, and
they are generally of the type who
have no ambition, who always see
only the dark side of everything;
and who never have any business
of their own to attend to because
they spend all their time talking
about the other fellow and his busi
ness. That reminds us of an old
adage that is as true as gospel:
"The reason that people who mind
their own business succeed in life
is, that they have so little competi
tion.”
Nenana is probably the best town
in the Interior of Alaska at the
present time. If it were not it
would behave us to think so for our
own good; but the fact remains
that it is. Let’s keep it that way.
Let’s constantly talk about how good
times are here considering the situ
ations with which the entire world
have to contend. Let’s not only fig
ure for the present, but also for the
future. Too many think and say,
when the railroad is finished the
town will die. Let’s not let it die.
There are endless resources and
possibilities that can and may be de
veloped that will keep Nenana good
for a long time. Let’s try and make
our town the center of things that
are going to be in this district for
some time to come.
Other Interior towns are deplet
ing in population, gradually dying,
and the main reason is that the
citizens of those towns are quietly
sitting down and allowing people to
leave the town under the misappre
hension that they will better their
conditions Outside, when the facts
are that they can probably get high-'
er wages here and live under better
conditions here than they can Out-,
side unless they are skilled in some ■
line of work with a big demand now
for their particular class of labor.1
Not only that, but the main sub
ject of conversation in those dying
towns is as to how bad conditions
are there, and what a black outlook
there is for the future—in fact
crosing the bridges before you come
to them or even know they exist.
As soon as a stranger comes to town '
he is told all of these things and
naturally believes them. If he came :
inclined to invest money, he soon
changes his mind and goes away, and
then he proceeds to tell everyone
how bad things are in that par
ticular place, and as a result, it
soon becomes universally known1
that such and such a city is so dead
that it doesn't even need the ser
vices of an undertaker.
The facts of the case may be that
the town is only laboring under a
temporary depression, but once
known as a dead one it takes it a
long time to ever regain conscious
ness.
A careless remark has been known
to cause a run on a bank that was
unjustifiable and caused it to close
its doors; some gossipy remark can
absolutely ruin the reputation of
some good man or woman; and a
few thoughtless words about a town
may spread and cause loss of busi
ness and population that otherwise
might be enjoying a healthy growth.
Business men should give up the
passing of malicious remarks about
their competitors that are sure to
react as a boomerang to themselves
and cause them loss of patronage
also. The better plan is to get to
gether and keep together and make
this the one town in Alaska that is
known all over the coast and
throughout the Interior as being in
good, prosperous condition. Boost
all the time. If you can’t say a good
word for the town, keep still. Re
member that “as a man thinketh so
is he" applies also to cities.
NOTICE
The management of the Coliseum
theater wishes to call the attention
of the theater going public to the
fact that war tax tickets can be pur
chased at the following business
houses: Tavern Cafe, Arctic Pool
Hall, Thompsan’s Drug Store, Ter-!
minal Cigar Store and the Portland
Cigar Store.
It will save time and delay at
the box office if you purchase your
war tax tickets before going to the
big shows.
Remember, it will take two five
cent war tax tickets for one general
admission, which will be 51; and
three five-cent war tax tickets fori
a reserved seat, which is $1.50.
Reserved seats may be engaged
at any time for either one of the
big shows on any night as advertised.
All seats reserved by phone will re
ceive prompt attention.
Do It Now! And get a good seat'
for the greatest shows that were,
iever shown on the screen “The j
Birth of a Nation” and “Intolerance” j
Each show has twelve reels and will;
be shown complete on each date as ,
advertised. i
LADIES’ AID SOCIETY
HOLDS BIG MEETING
At the residence of Mrs. M. J.
Cooney yesterday afternoon a largely
attended meeting of the Xenana
Ladies’ Aid Society was held and
much business pertaining to the wel
fare of the society was transacted.
To fill the vacancies caused by the
resignations of those who have left
the district, the following were
chosen, viz: Mrs. R. G. Southworth,
president; and Mrs. Oscar Rothen
burg, treasurer. The remaining
officers will continue until next
election.
Rev. R. J. Diven. who had kindly
consented to instruct the ladies in
parliamentary law and procedure,
gave his second lecture on this in
teresting subject at the meeting.
These lectures will be continued at
every meeting of the society.
Mesdames J. R. Bowen, W. H.
Gilcher and M. J. Cooney7 were ap
pointed a committee to make ar
rangemets for giving a public enter
tainment in the near future in aid
of the Presbyterian Church Piano
fund. Mrs. Bowen is the chairman
of this committee.
About thirty-five ladies were pres
ent and many new members were
added to the strength of the society.
A delightful lunch on strictly
Hoover lines was served at the con
clusion of the business meeting.
So long as the boys are at the
front, difficulties are to be subdued,
impossibilities to be trampled down.
Pick up the plow where it stands
in the furrow—patriotism is the prac
tical doing of the next job.
»**•’.****»> m n n •> •> »> a »
•5 *
COMMUNICATION »?
Nenana, Alaska, August 27
Editor News:
Had “Sour Dough” (not even
hyphenated) failed to use that par
ticular pen name one might have
been forgiven for mistaking his
rather verbose attack on the gold
bonus suggestion, appearing in last
night’s News, for one of those ef
fusions of paternal advice that some
newcomers just can’t help unload
ing, usually in anything but homeo
pathic doses, in kindly, patronizing
manner on poor, benighted Alaskans
who for years have been denied the
uplift that can be garnered only
from a residence in the big cities.
Sour Dough embodied in his com
munication a paragraph of sound
reasoning—that one quoted from
the Scientific and Mining Press
The greater part of the balance is
assumption with insufficient basis.
He assumes, for instance: “that
Congress has authorized a bonus of
S12 per ounce on gold produced in
the United States . . . and also that
that bonus is confined to United
States producers”; that “gold pro
duction in the U. S. has increased
by leaps and bounds- Mines long
laid by as exhausted have become
miraculous producers . . . Old gold,
coins and jewelry now go to the
melting pot by way of smelter and
refinery. To prevent this, an army
of policemen and detectives, greater
than the contending forces at the
front, is bootlessly employed. To
meet the bonus bill has put a tax
on the treasury of the U. S. amount
ing to over $50,000,000. But we
can safely estimate that next year
will result in doubling the require
ment, if not quadrupling it.”
A year ago I conjectured that the
government of the United States
might find itself in the position of
being absolutely unable to get along
without its normal accretion of raw
gold. It was on that hypothesis
alone that the suggestion of a bonus
was made, coupled with the intima
tion that if such bonus was to be
come necessary eventually it would
be well to start at that time and so
maintain in operation mines then
struggling for existence, or other
wise they must inevitably be closed.'
As has been very thoroughly demon
strated since that time the vastly j
increased cost of production has
made the profitable mining of gold
impossible in other than bonanza |
properties, and many mines have j
had to close down. Consequently
the government is not getting its ‘
normal accretion of gold
Now, Secretary of the Treasury
McAdoo, a gentleman who commands
quite some attention in the world
of finance, we are informed, asserts
positively that the government must
have the gold. He does not say
the government "would like to have
it", or just plain “wants it”, but
he infers, with emphasis, that it can
not get along without it. There
fore. in spite of “the immutable re
lation as regards a unit quantity
of the metal to the unit of ex
change”, what is the answer?
It would appear to be that gold
will continue to be mined, but that
its profitable mining must be in
sured by some means at the com
mand of the government.
A bonus based on such figure as
would restore the balance between
cost of production and selling price
that existed prior to the upheaval
in costs appears to be the simpler
means. At first glance it seems
that a bonus of $12 per ounce would
be larger than necessary, but it
should not be surprising if even
this figure is agreed upon. At any
rate this was the figure arrived at
when the director of the mint and
the representatives from the various
gold producing states met to dis
cuss the problem. The outstanding
fact, indisputable and immutable as
the relation referred to above, is
that gold will not be mined if the
mining is going to cost more than
can be gotten for the gold, for,
as Alaskans do not have to be told,
it will not be “pay”. And it must
be mined before the government can
get it.
Why should Sour Dough assume
that tlie “bonus is confined to
United States producers”? Is it not
reasonable to suppose that every
other country where gold is mined
is faced with a similar excessive-cost
of-production problem and will have
to solve it in the same manner?
Why should the production in the
U. S. increase “by leaps and bounds”
when the bonus is sufficient only to
restore the conditions existing be
fore the war and so insure the nor
mal output?
The possibility of -old gold, coins
and jewelry being melted down and
coming in for the bonus is, of course,
conceivable, but really it would not
take “an army of policemen and de
tectives, greater than the contend
ing forces at the front” to prevent
it taking place to any but a negligi
ble extent. For wherever there are
mines there is a representative of
the government, and it should be
practicable for such representatives
to take over and certify for ship
ment to the mint, the only place
where the bonus would be paid, the
dust from placers and the bullion
from mills, the latter being checked
with reference to the sponge.
With the bonus at $12 an ounce ;
Sour Dough correctly estimates the
tax on the treasury at $50,000,000,
but unless this bonus would make
mining vastly more profitable than
before the war, and it is not so in
tended, his assumption that “we
can safely estimate that next year
will result in doubling the require-j
ment, if not quadrupling it” is en-;
tirely unwarranted.
As to “our fellows ‘over there’ ” |
coming back to assume “the load
of debt we will have built for them ;
with our bonus” it can only be said :
that the establishing of this par
ticular bonus is but one more of
the war's necessities, its elemental
feature being the making of gold
mining possible, and it is in every,
essential on a par with, but less
avoidable than, the bonus which the ;
government is already paying to'
stimulate and expedite the building
of ships and other armament with
which to prosecute that war.
If the government can get along |
with no more gold than can now be :
profitably mined it will pay no j
bonus to stimulate an increase. But
if it must have at least as much
as it was getting before the war,
then, all arguments as to the im-!
mutability of its value to the con-;
trary notwithstanding, it must pay |
a bonus, for otherwise the mining I
of gold cannot be carried on, in any
but bonanza mines, without the j
operator becoming bankrupt.
r. s. McDonald.
FOR SALE—Two tents, 18x30 and
20x40. Inquire Simsons.
WANT ADS
——
FOR SALE—Enameled double bed,
cotton layer laid mattress, spring
Lanp cook stove, wood or coal,
also heater and baker, wheel
' barrow, shot-pun, 16 bore, with
i shells; axes, wedges, saws, sledge,
peavy, carpenter tools, etc; all
best quality and cheap. Inquire
at yellow tent, opposite Commis
sion sawmill.
FOR SALE. CHEAP—Large tank
heater and pipe drum; flush toilet,
good as new; also sink. Inquire
Simson’s.
FOR SALE.—Mrs. W. F. Lyons is
leaving for the Outsdie soon and
offers shop, fixtures and business
in cleaning and pressing clothes,
for sale. No reasonable offer re
fused Shop is on A street, near
blacksmith shop.
FOR RENT—Upstairs residence,
four rooms furnished. See Slippern
FOR SALE AT A BARGAIX—Sew
ing machine, phonograph, launch
Bunny, with 2»£ h. p. Ferro en
gine, shot gun, rifle, etc. Inquire
of J. A. Slippern.
In England "His Majesty the
King” and the humblest subject have
a duplicate ration card.
WEDNESDAY
ALL MEALS
WEA3XESS
USE ttO BMAXt fluntn| «
TKTOa C» EU>HAST IOQDS
ODWTXIKUHS VHEaT
i
I
Cigars POOL Tobaccos
NICELY
HOTEL
EVERYTHING NEW
FURNISHED ROOMS
SPRING BEDS 50c
Mrs. Nicely, Prop.
Highest Cash
Prices Paid for
RAW
FIJRS
SIMSON’S
ShelJon-Biftson Stage Line
Carrying U. S. Mails
For CHIT1NA and WAY POINTS
Every Tuesday Morning
Special Auto for parties of four
or more any time.
C. Ha*-ry Woodward, agent
Fairbanks
Try One of Our
COCKTAILS
Shrimp, Clam and Oyster
Martin’s Pool Hall
Seth Thomas Wall Clocks
CLOSE REGULATED
CALENDAR
EIGHT-DAY
-STRIKE
GUARANTEED FOR FIVE YEARS
$11
HAMILTON, WALTHAM and ELGIN WATCHES
SOLD AT STANDARD PRICES—(OUR PRICES)
NUGGET JEWELY TO ORDER
WM. TAYLOR
WATCHMAKER
JEWELER
■KMBn
ENGRAVER
SAFE and RELIABLE SERVICE £
LAUNCH PEERLESS l
£ Leaves for Fairbanks Every Two Days, SAM $
/ Make your Reservations at the Portland £
if
THE BEST
BUSINESS CORNER
IN TOWN
FOR SALE AT A SACRIFICE
Two Lots, 50 x 100
•See W. H. GilcHer
/
Ikeep cool I
BUY AN ELECTRIC FAN
mu
Wc Have Them In Six and Twelve Inch Sizes
AND THE PRICE WILL BE RIGHT
3-Foot WIRF FENCING, per yard ... 25c
TANANA SHEETMETAL WORKS
Vwnnun —■————m