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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By the Month, by Carrier or Mail.-.$ 2.00
Six Months, if paid in Advance. 9.00
One Year, if paid in advance. 15.00
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MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for re-publi
cation of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in
this paper and also all the local news published herein.
NIGHT BOMBING
An airplane flare with a brilliancy j
equalling that of 400,000 candles has
been perfected, according to a state
ment recently issued by Maj.-Gen.
C. C. Williams, chief of ordnance, j
When hanging from its parachute
over a German munition plant it
lights up an area so brightly that an
airman, thousands of feet in the air,
can select any building he is directed
to make a target for his aerial bomb,
and, it may be added, American avi
ators are becoming so expert in
bombing that they can usually hit
the target at which they shoot.
In every European city within the
zone or aerial raiding operations, the
rule is rigidly enforced against the
burning of lights in any building
that might possibly be used as a
target. Therefore, the airman must j
be able to supply his own means j
of locating the object of this attack.!
When orders are received to bomb,
say a particular railroad center, the
aviator proceeds very much in the
same manner as does the captain of!
a vessel. The cities and their en-1
virons are charted and the night
flyer proceeds by compass, due al
lowance, of course being made for
atmosphereie conditions. He is also
frequently aided by prominent mark
ings, such as the reflection of moon
light from a river.
Having reached the particular dis
trict sought, he must locate the par
ticular object of his attack from his 1
position, which may be 5,000 or
10,000 feet, or ever higher, above
the earth. Equipped with the air
plane Hare, the aviator pulls a lever
and releases it. As it drops, the re
sistance offered by the air sets the
fuse mechanism in operation. The
result is the emission of a powerful
light of from 300.000 to 400,000
candlepower, which completely illum
inates the terrain below. The amount
of light given is equal to that of
a battery of from 150 to 175 street
lamps, or from 15,000 to 17,500 or
dinary incandescent lamp bulbs such
as are used in the home.
As soon the the flare gets into
operation a huge parachute made of
the best quality of silk opens and
holds the brilliant light in suspension
in the air for a sufficient time to
allow the aviator to select his ob-1
jective target. Having located the
factory, railroad depot, ammunition
dump, hangars, munition plant, or
whatever the target may be, the avi
ator drops the bomb and proceeds on
his way.
The height at which an aviator
flies when attacking depends, of
course, on surrounding conditions.
If the enemy is aware of his pres
ence and is preparing for attack, he
must keep up and out of range of
anti-aircraft guus. An idea of the j
effective light thrown on the ground i
by this flare may be gained from
the fact that, whegi suspended at a
height of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet,!
it will clearly light a circular area
one and a half miles in diameter.
When on a bombing raid an aviator
seldom flies at such a low height,
more generally keeping 5,000 or
more feet above ground, in which
case the effectively lighted area is
of course slightly diminished.
*****
THE WAR RISK
Ir. connection with the casualties
among the American Expeditionary
Forces in the Marne-Aisne offensive,
it should be stated, says a war de
partment bulletin, upon the basis of
the officially attested experience of
our associates during the four years
of this war, that of wounded sol
diers sent to hospitals for treatment
fewer than 1 in 20 die.
Of all the soldiers sent to the
hospitals only 45 in every 1000 die.
These include those who die of dis
ease as well as those who die of j
wounds. Of all soldiers wounded in j
action more than four-fifths return !
to service, many of them in less than j
two months. It is necessary to dis-1
charge for physical disability only
14.5 per cent.
These figures are based on an
average of both British and French
official figures, including both offi-j
cers and men. The two are aver
aged together, since American troops
are fighting with both the French
and the British under conditions
which vary.
FOR POSTERITY
To safeguard the valuable collec
tion of photographic negatives and
the thousands of feet of moving-1
picture films of the present war,
the war department has authorized
the building in Washington of fire
proof storage vaults.
Under the direction of the his
torical division of the General Staff
thousands of still and moving pic
tures have been taken, both in this
country and in Europe, for the pur
pose of historical record. These
have been stored in various places
in Washington, because heretofore
no suitable place had been provided
for their safe-keeping. As thou
sands of dollars have already been
spent in making the negatives and
many more thousands of pictures
are yet to be taken, the need for
fireproof storage became more
manifest. '
The vaults will be located in one
building, but between each vault
.here will be built fireproof walls. I
The doors of the vaults will also
be fireproof. For the proper pre- j
servation of the negatives, the vaults
will be so constructed that venl i-;
lation and a fairly even tempera
ture will be maintained.
It has been the custom in the an
thracite coal fields for many years
for employees of a colliery to re
main away from work on the day
of the funeral of any fellow work
er who had been killed at the col
liery. In order to prevent the loss
of tonnage which follows the ob
servance of this custom, the oper
ators and the leaders of the mine
workers have agreed that the collier
ies shall work on the day of the
funeral.
It is agreed that a committee of
six shall be appointed to attend the
funeral and the company is to pay
the day’s wages of the six men on
the committtee. In addition, the
companies have agreed to pay the
nearest heirs of the worker killed
the sum of $150 over and above
the compensation allowed by law.
This agreement, designed to in
crease production, is another indi
cation, says the Official Bulletin,
of the steadily growing spirit of co
operation between # operators and
mine workers.
FOR SALE—Two tents, 18x30 and |
20x40. Inquire Simsons.
STIRRING DRAMA
MEETS APPROVAL
Rev. Charles H. Pankhurst Offers
His Opinion After Seeing the
Great Play.
It is impossible to witness the film
drama, “The Birth of a Nation” to
be shown at the Coliseum tonight
and not want to say something
about it.
Everyone who has seen it is say
ing something about it. When one
has been crowded upon, pressed down
and run over, it is against Nature
not to make some kind of an out
cry.
The thing is vast. It is over
whelming. Nothing like it has ever
been put before upon the stage.
The tension of the performance is
but a single feature of it—but it
is that which one feels most poign
antly after three straight hours- It
begins in an easy way but com
mences soon to find its muscle and
goes on to the end pounding upon
one’s senses with blows that come
heavier and heavier more and more
rapid.
The intimate fimiliarity which Mr.
David W. Griffith has shown with
the events of the Reconstruction
Period along with the detailed schol
arly study which he has made of the
wider territory of events which the
play covers renders the production
one of surprising educational value
to those who were either young
children still or even unborn in the
stirring years of ’60 to ’70. A boy
can learn more true history and get
more of the atmosphere of the period
by sitting down for three hours be
fore the film which Mr. Griffith has
produced with such artistic skill,
than by weeks and months of study
in the class room.
This darma is a telling illustration
of the possibilities of motion pic
tures as an instrument of instruction
in history.
The criticism that it exhibits the
Negro in an unfortunate light and
that it is calculated to engender
racial animosity is fully met by the
consideration that it represents the
Negro, not as he is is now at all,
but as he was in the days when he
had just had the chains broken from
him, and when he was rioting in the
deliciousness of a liberty, so new
and untried, that he had not yet
learned to understand it and was ig
norant as a baby of the way to
use it. It is in this respect exactly
true to history and if it reflects
upon the Negro as he was then it
is a complement to the black man
of today.
There are also scenes of sur
passing dignity and beauty done by
a master artist’s hand—the signing
by the President of the proclamation
for volunteers which marked the end
of the old regime, the surrender of
Lee to Grant and the assassination
of the President in Ford’s theater.
The tender affection in which Mr.
Lincoln is held was manifested in
the way the great audience received
the scene of a heart-broken South
ern mother pleading with him for
her son sentenced to death as a
guerilla. Every eye was dim with
tears in the strangling hush that
fell on the theater. What might
not our country have been saved had
the problem of Reconstruction been
left to the Great Heart—the one
man who compassed within himself
the resources of the intelligence, ex
perience, breadth and sympathy of
Abraham Lincoln!
“The Birth of a Nation” has my
unqualified approval.
HOOVER HAS BEEN FRANK
When Herbert Hoover, Federal
Food Administrator, says the situa
tion in reference to our wheat sup
ply is critical, the people believe
him; for Hoover has taken them
steadily into his confidence, without
any attempt to create a scare. And
the people are trust-worthy when
their intelligence is respected and
their patriotism put to the test.
ANCHORAGE. — After having
made a trip of inspection extending
over the Fairbanks, Seward and An
chorage divisions of the government
railroad, William C. Edes, chairman
of the Alaskan Engineering Com
mission, which has charge of the
building of the road, declares the
task of construction is progressing
satisfactorily. In every division
there is a scarcity of laborers, he
j says, but despite this fact the build
j ing of the line is going forward al
j most in conformity with the plans
j outlined last spring.
“In the Fairbanks division this
' season,” states Mr. Edes, “rails will
I be laid and trains will be operated
j between Nenana and the coal fields
fifty miles distant from Nenana.
“In the Seward division, as well as
in the southwestern part of the An
| chorage division, all grading work
i will soon be finished and the gap
j of about seventeen miles between
the ends of steel on the Seward
Anchorage line will be closed and
ready for train operation in a month
or so. The tracklaying machine is
| busy putting down rails on the
Seward-Anchorage line.
“In the Anchorage division, grad
ing is practically completed between
; Montana, which is the present end
of steel north of Anchorage, and
j Talkeetna. Montana is about 95
! miles north of Anchorage, and Tal
! keetna is about twenty-two miles
! north of Montana. The work of
j laying track between Montana and
; Talkeetna will begin in the imme
i diate future. Grading operations
! are progressing favorably between
! Talkeetna and Susitna, which is
thirty-four miles north of Talkeetna.”
j Mr. Edes spent last winter, last
spring and part of the summer in
Washington city on business in con
nection with the government rail
; road.
! “While the government railroad
| enterprise, in common with other
; enterprises not directly associated
with the carrying on of the war,
necessarily suffers from a shortage
I of labor and material, there is no
reason at all for discouragment,”
he says. “A very friendly interest
i in the work is evinced by Congress,
, and there is every reason to believe
that with the restoration of peace
. and normal conditions the comple
tion and operation of the entire sys
tem will be effected without trouble
or delay.”
I
FIRST ARMY SCHOOL
OPEN AT CAPE MAY
_
i
CAPE MAY. N. J.—The first army j
medical school for the reconstruction !
; of defects of hearing and speech of
! soldiers has been opened here under '
the Division of Physical Reconstruc- i
. tion of the Surgeon General’s Office.
It is a part of Army Hospital No. 11, j
; located in what was formerly a;
1 luxurious hotel, built by a land syn- j
dicate. Lieutenant Colonel Charles I
IW. Richardson, of the Army Medical;
! Corps, is the director of the school, i
which is said to be the first of its j
kind in the world.
Returned soldiers with hearing de
stroyed or impaired or sufferipg
from partial or total loss of speech
are to be educated physically and
vocational.
! The school opened with a full
corps of teachers and enough pa
tients to occupy their time.
Lieutenant Colonel Richardson,
who came here to establish the
school, is professor of laryngology
; and otology in the George Washing
ton University. He joined the army
when this country entered the war.
WANT ADS
FOR SALE—Enameled double bed,
cotton layer laid mattress, spring
Lang cook stove, wood or coal,
also heater and baker, wheel
barrow, shot-gun, 1G bore, with
shells; axes, wedges, saws, sledge,
peavy, carpenter tools, etc; all
best quality and cheap. Inquire
at yellow tent, opposite Commis-j
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 BARGAIN—Sew
ing machine, phonograph, launch
Bunny, with 2% h. p. Ferro en-!
gine, shot gun, rifle, etc. Inquire '
of J. A. Slippern.
There is work for every person
to do in this war—food is ammuni
tion, are you wasting it?
THURSDAY
QKT- M-EAX.
wheatless
USX MO BREAD. CBAiW m <
»OTf (M RRLAKIAST FOUPt
flwnxiNwo wheat
Cigars POOL Tobaccos
NICELY
HOTEL
EVERYTHING NEW
FURNISHED ROOMS
SPRING BEDS 50c
Mrs. Nicely, Prop.
Highest Cash
Prices Paid for
RAW
PURS
SIMSON’S
Sheltion-Gittson Stage Line
Carrying U. S. Mailt
For CHITINA 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
G'~
CLOSE REGULATED EIGHT-DAY
CALENDAR-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
ENGRAVER
SAFE and RELIABLE SERVICE
LAUNCH PEERLESS
Leaves for Fairbanks Every Two Days, K A M
Make your Reservations at the Portland
/wwwwwwww /
THE BEST
BUSINESS CORNER
IN TOWN
FOR SALE AT A SACRIFICE
Two Lots, 50 x 100
See W. H. GilcHer
BUY AN ELECTRIC FAN
Z7Q/7
Wc Have Them In Six and Twelve Inch Sizes
AND THE PRICE WILL BE RIGHT
- - 25c
3-Foot WIRE FENCING, per yard
TANANA SHEET METAL WORKS