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THE NENANA DAILY NEWS
VOLUME ONE NENANA, ALASKA, TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1918. NUMBER 14
TEUTON FORCES TAKE CITY OF BAILLEUL
MILITARY OBSERVERS BELIEVE COAST IS SAFE
BAKER RETURNS HOME CONFIDENT ALLIES WILL WIN
‘ DEVASTATED AREAS
MEAN GREAT LOSS
LONDON, April 16.—The French
town of Bailleul, in the department
of Nord, near the Belgian frontier,
about 19 miles west of Lille, was
taken by the Germans early this
morning, following an all-night strug
gle with the British forces. The at
tack began early last night, after
darkness had fallen, and continued
without interruption until the British
forces withdrew. The attack was
preceded by a heavy trench mortar
bombardment, hundreds of the pow
erful guns being used to drive the
defending troops from their positions
The attacking forces included the
German Alpine corps and eleven divi
sions of veteran troops. Three divi
sions followed up the German bar
rage, which was spread across the
attacking front between Bailleul and
Neuve Eglise. The attack which
forced the retirement of the British
from Bailleul, bent the British line
backward considerably, but did not
break it.
EVACUATION EXPECTED
LONDON, April 16.—The retire
ment of the British from Bailleul was
not unexpected. British military ob
servers figured that the town was
not of sufficient value from a strat
egical point of view, to warrant the
loss of troops necessary to hold it
against the heavy German attack.
The British resistance was sufficient,
however, to cause the Germans to
make heavy sacrifices to capture the
position, and for that reason, the loss
of the town is regarded as strength
ening the British positions in that
sector.
WANT HAZEBROUCK NOW
With the British Armies in France
April 16.—It is apparent now that
the Germans are endeavoring to
extend their lines to Hazebrouck, an
important railroad center about ten
miles due west from Bailleul. The
British have fallen back to positions
to the north and west of Bailleul
and are stubbornly contesting every
foot of ground.
BELIEVE COAST SAFE
LONDON, April 16.—Despite the
gravity of the situation on the Fland
ers front, military critics express the
belief that the channel ports are not
in immediate danger of capture. It
is admitted that the Germans are
continuing their attacks west of Ar
mentieres with violence, but it is ap
parent that the deeper they cut into
the British line, the slower is their
advance. It will take several days,
they assert, to.determie whether or
not the battle of Armentieres is an
other Verdun of Marne.
DEVASTATION GREAT
One critic declares that if the de
vastation continues another week at
the present rate, the problem may
not be, to get men into France, but
how to get them out. He points
out that the withdrawal of the Brit
ish from the Somme and Armentieres
has been accompanied by the aband
onment or destruction of materials,
the loss of which would have been
disasterous to any other army. Thous
and of acres of grain and other
crops have been destroyed and many
thousands of French farmers and
other residents are fleeing to the
southward, to escape the advancing
Teutons.
There appears to be no doubt now
of the intentions of the contending
forces to fight the present battle to
a finish. Fresh German attacks are
now developing near Wytschaete.
AMERICANS NEEDED
LONDON, April 16.—In a state
ment issued today, Lord Balfour de
clared that what is most pressingly
needed now is that the fighting forc
es of the United States be brought
into the field as speedily as possible.
The plan of Germany, he says, is
to shatter the British army before
the American weight can be brought
to bear on the attacking forces. It
is apparant that the Germans are
sacrificing men with reckless extrava
gance in order that American assist
ance may not arrive until after the
Hun blow has been delivered against
the British army .
THE GERMAN PLAN
LONDON, April 16.—It is the
opinion of the war office, expressed
in a statement issued this after
noon, that the Germans concentrated
their attacks along the Hazebrouck
railway, to the south of Bailleul, in
tending by their thrusts to create
a twin salient and pocket Bailleul, as
was done in the attack on Armen
tieres. Bailleul lies sixty miles north
west of Armentieres and nine miles
from the great highway and railway
center of Hazebrouck.
TAKEN BY STORM
BERLIN, April 16.—The British
lines northeast of Wulverghem have
been taken by storm by *le German
■ forces.
i _
STILL FIGHTING
i -
j With the British Armies, April 16.
! —The severest fighting continues
I this afternoon, with the Germans
putting forth their best efforts to
extend their lines toward Haze
brouck.
AMERICANS SUFFER
AMSTERDAM, April 16—Accord
! ing to dispatches received from Ber
I line, the American positions north of
St. Mihiel were subjected to a sev
ere attack on Sunday night. The
main part of the American position
to the east and southeast of Maizey,
on the right bank of the Meuse, was
taken by the Germans by storm, “the
Americans being rolled up despite
their brave resistance. The defend
ers suffered casualties in addition
to the loss of prisoners.”
ARTILLERY ACTIVE
LONDON, April 16.—Reports re
ceived this afternoon from the Som
me battlefront state that th German
artillery is speeding up, indicating
that the enemy is well supplied with
guns in that quarter. There is con
sderable shelling behind the British
lines and an infantry attack is ex
pected momentarily.
DEPEND UPON YANKEES
LONDON, April 16.—In an ad
dress delivered before the American
labor delegation, Lord Balfour said
today: “It is men we need now and
the thought uppermost in all British
minds today is confidence that Amer
ica will upset the German plans; that
America will be able to send over her
indominatible forces in a way which
no German staff office has ever cal
culated.
CZERNIN TO FIGHT
LONDON, April 16—Former Aus
trian Premier Count Czernin is to
enter the Austrian army, in command
of a brigade on the Italian front.
INCREASE SECTOR
With the American Forces, April
16.—The Ameriacn troops have in
creased their sector near the Swiss
border, where they have been under
steady fire during the past three
days and nights. The morale of the
Yankees, under the severe test, is
excellent.
CITED FOR REWARD
—
With the American Army, April
16.—The American troops have in
cited yesterday in the day’s order j
for distinguished service under fire. '
The Signal corps is now rivaling
the artillery for French war order
citation for efficiency.
LONDON, April 16.—Some indi
cations of the loss being sustained
by the Germans in their rush toward
the channel, is contained in the re- j
port that twenty trainloads or the
wounded soldiers are being dispatch- j
ed from the front nightly, enroute I
to German hospitals.
PACKER INDORSED
BY NENANA UNION
The members of the Nenana Labor
union, who were called together In
special meeting for the purpose of
considering the indorsement of Sup
erintendent of Construction W. L.
Packer as head of the Interior divi
sion of the Alaskan Engineering com
mission, voted unanimously to sup
port Mr. Packer for the place for
which he was recommended on Sun
day by the Nenana Commercial club.
The indorsement was unsolicited by
Mr. Packer, the employees of the
commission acting on their own in
itiative, in the belief that Mr. Packer
is best fitted to carry on the work.
The union also went on record as
being opposed to the return of Divi
sion Engineer F. H. Bailey, who
went Outside several weeks ago, on
mateers of private business and who
is reported to have sought the sup
port of Interiorites for the place
which the union and the Commercial
club are desirous of securing for
Mr. Packer.
Telegrams have been sent to Chair
man Edes by both oragnizations and
they are prepared to take the matter
up with Secretary of the Interior
Franklin K. Lane, should such action
be deemed necessary to bring about
the desired result.
A telegram was also sent to the
Fairbanks Commercial club by the
local Commercial club, suggesting
that Mr. Packer be indorsed, in pre
ference to Division Engineer Bailey.
The three messages follow', the tel
egram of the union appearing first
on the list:
Nenana Alaska, April 16, 1918
Wm. S. Edes, Chairman Alaskan En
gineering Commission, care In
terior Department, Washington,
D. C.
The Nenana Labor union unani
mously endorse Packer for superin
tendent of all work of Alaskan En
gineering commission at Nenana.
We believe that he possesses the
ability and reliability to carry this
work to a rapid completion. We
would regard the return of Bailey
as a calamity to the enterprise and
the community. We will heartily
sustain any choice you make other
than Bailey.
Nenana Alaska, April 16, 1918
Wm. S. Edes, Chairman Alaskan En
gineering Commission, care In
terior Department, Washington,
D. C.
“We would like to support Mr. W.
L. Packer to take charge of the work
of the Fairbanks Division. He will
command the absolute loyalty of his
| men and the support and pood wishes
of the community and all believe him
well qualified for position and will
push work to an energetic com-!
pletion.
“NENANA COMMERCIAL CLUB”
Xenana Alaska, April 16, 1918
Fairbanks Commercial Club, Care G.
B. Erwin, Fairabnks, Alaska.
“Xenana Commercial club wires!
Edes today endorsing VV. 'L. Packer
to take charge of work here. The
Labor union also wires him same
effect and states they will consider;
it calamity if Bailey returned in
charge. Suggest you endorse Packer.
“XEXAXA COMMERCIAL CLUB”
In terms of a contract recently
entered into by the Alaskan Engin
eering commission and F. H. Stewart
& Co., 65 tons of construction ma
terial and supplies are to be hauled
from Nenana to a point on the right
of way approximately one mile above
Dunbar’s roadhouse; and 7 tons of
perishables and 65 tons of general
supplies to Standard creek, situated
along the right of way and approxi
mately three miles- from the Ohio
roadhouse in a northerly direction,
suitable warehousing accommodation
having been previously arranged for,
for the storage of these supplies The
contract also stipulates that the work
of hauling shall be completed by the
| first day of May.
The partners of the contract are
F. H. Stewart, Norman Campbell, G.
A. Burrell and James D. McMahon.
They have employed many teams to
do the necessary hauling, also util
izing Thelin’s and Roland’s teams
on their return journey to Fairbanks,
in an effort to fulfill their contract
with the Commission in the quickest
possible time.
About fifty tons of the allotment
for Standard creek has already been
hauled and it is confidently expected
that the entire quantiy for both
places will be hauled well within
the time limit set for the completion
of the contract, and before the trail
litterally goes to pieces. With this
end in view ,the plan of traveling at
night is adopted by the contractors
and thus full advantage is taken of
trail conditions as at present existing.
RAILROAD WORKERS
READY FOR SEASON
Preparations for the resumptior
of aggressive construction work or
the railroad south of Nenana are it
progress daily, and when the oppor
tune moment arrives there will be nc
delay in commencing operations or
a large scale.
Camp cars ,now lying idle in thi
Commission yards, have been thor
oughly overhauled, repairetl anc
cleaned, the mattresses in the bun!
cars aired a,nd the interior of all cart
scrubbed out and made ready fot
immediate occupancy.
Camp 15 (steel gang) and Camf
16 (surfacing gang) will soon be re
established in full force, and a sep
•irate camp composed of the trair
crews and the crew of the Bucyrus
dragline excavator will also be form
ed. These camps, as heretofore, wil
be of a portable nature, and will be
moved to different locations front
time to time in accord with the ex
igencies of the service.
Gangs of men are now busily en
gaged in clearing away the thicl
layer of snow from the rails, frogs
switches, points and other classes oi
railroad material that will soon bt
needed for work along the line, sc
that there will be no possible chance
of delay in getting at the necessar;,
material that will be needed as sooi
as the gangs are ready to resume
the work of building the railroad.
The warm weather now experi
enced is aiding largely in the wort
of getting rid of the surplus snow
and Superintendent of Constructior
Packer, who is very anxious to com
mence operations at the earliesl
j possible moment, is of the opinion
! that, when the time comes to start
i work there will not be a single idle
man in Xenana, as there will be work
aplenty for all who wish to work.
| The end of steel, at the present
time, lies within a thousand yards
of the big 1300 foot trestle across
Lost Slough; but, about a mile and
a half of the track is imbedded in
ice to the thickness if several feet.
Just as soon as drainage under the
ice can be calculated on, the mass
| of ice overlaying the rails will be
| removed and the work of track
| laying resumed.
To complete the second dam across
the head of Lost Sliugh, situated
about a quarter of a mile up-stream
from the site if old Camp It, there
remain approximately 150 more piles
: to be driven and the southern end
if the dam will then be safely and
j securely landed. It is expected that
; this work will be finished by the
| 1st of May and the piledriver will be
i released for work on the bank ero
! son project on Residency 3 (35-mile)
The commission officials in charge
j of the works do not anticipate any
further trouble from floods, as, the
; channel prepared for the purpose of
diverting the volume of water that
ordinarily goes to form Lost Slough
will prove amply sufficient to meet
| all requirements in this direction.
It is confidently expected that the
series of dams and other flood pro
tection works undertaken in this
connection, will preclude the possi
bility of further loss and damage by
i floods in this section of the roadbed.
FAIRBANKS LOSES
FAIRBANKS, April 1G.—Frank
Hopkins, well know oldtime resident
of this city, died at St. Joseph’s
hospital early this morning, death
being ascribed to a perforation of
the bowel.
Hopkins was taken ill late yester
day and at first it was thought that
he was suffering from an attack of
appendicitis. After further examin
ation. however, the doctors arrived
at the conclusion that a perforation
of the bowel was responsible for the
fatal illness.
The deceased was 56 years old
and leaves a wife and daughter in
San Francisco.
Mr. Ed. J. Stier, who has for some
time past acted as clerk and Time
keeper at headquarters store, resign
ed his position yesterday. He has
made no definite plans for the future
and will probably go to Fairbanks
on one of the first boats after the
opening of navigation. He has been
succeeded by Mr. Frank Cleary.
Dr. M.E. Hall, of Fairbanks, has
received his official appointment as
government surgeon, in charge of the
Fairbanks division. He was appoint
ed by Dr. M. E. Smith several months
ago and has been in charge of the
work since that time.
Fairbanks subscriptions to the
Third Liberty Loan have passed the
$165,000 mark.
ENLISTED m 10
BE UNION GUESTS
All enlisted men in the service of
the United States stationed in N'e
nana, are to be the quests of the
Nenana Labor union at all future
gatherings at the home of the popu
| lar organization, and are to have in
! addition,the free use of the Union
club rooms.
This announcement was made, fol
! lowing action taken at the la^t regu
lar-meeting of the union, and it is
needless to state that the boys in
uniform greatly appreciate the court
esy. The union has decided to in
set in a flag and will arrange to
display it above the hall hereafter.
The sum of $72.75 has been turned
over to the local Red Cross society
by those in charge of the dance
which was given at Union hall on
Saturday night, under the auspices of
the Nenana Labor union.
After the expenses of the dance
had been paid, there remained from
admissions, the sum of $11, to which
was added $20.50 from a picture
frame raffle, $31.25 from the sale
of punch and $10 from the sale of
a boudoir cap.
The picture frame was won by
Mrs. W. E. Lawrence.