The Seward Gateway
PUBLISHED DAILY
at Seward, Alaska_
— ^ g selby
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
Entereo as Second Class Matter Sep
tember 2nd, 1915, at the Post Office at
Seward, Alaska, under the Act of
March Third, 1879.
Published by
BATEWAY PUBLISHING COMPANY
Seward, Alaska.
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
Daily Gateway, delivered by car
rier, per month ...$ 1-26
Daily Gateway by mail, per mo. 1.00
Daily Gateway, by mail, per year 12.00
Saturday Gateway, per year. 3.00
A MERRY CHRISTMAS
As this is our Christmas edition, it
is fitting that we should wish our ad
vertisers and subscribers a Merry
Christmas, and extend our thanks and
appreciation to those who have so gen
erously contributed extra space to
the first Christmas edition issued iu
Seward for many, many years.
Seward will probably enjoy one of
the best Christmas Tides in its his
tory, from a standpoint of prosperity.
At no time since the start of railroad
building has the town’s prospects
been so bright and its citizens so op
timistic. The past year has been a
good one, business in all lines increas
ing over that of last year, and many
new faces and new enterprises are to
be seen. There have been no fail
ures in Seward the past year, and no
poverty or sickness. The Grim Reap
er has touched us lightly, and nearly
all those who gathered around the
festal board last Christmas are with
us today.
To the Sewardites m the States the
Gateway extends a Christmas Greet
ing in behalf of the town, and hopes
that her wandering sons and daugh
ters will return to the land of their
choice, replenished in health and with
new vigor to take up the burdens ol
the coming year.
To those who are unable to get out;
and enjoy the Christmas Cheer the
Gateway extends Christmas Greet
ings and sincerely hopes for a sur
cease of suffering and sorrow, that
ibe day may be enjoyed to the fullest
extent.
Seward is entering upon the Christ
mas era with a confidence and unity
of spirit never before witnessed in
the town, “Peace on Earth, Good
Will to All Men” is exemplified on ev
ery hand, and confidence and optim
ism radiates from every face.
Once again we wish you a Merry,
Merry Christmas.
CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES
Considerable activity is maniiested
in Seward this Christmas Tide, our
citizens entering into the spirit of the
occasion with more vim than usual.
Yesterday the students ol the Sew- i
ard schools enjoted a Christmas pro- ;
gram, after which presents were lav- ■
ishly distributed to the attending pu- •
pils and teachers. Tonight the Odd <
Fellows give a big dance at their hall. *
Sunday night at the Methodist church <
a fine Christmas program, Oratorio, (
and Canata will be given by the Sun- i
day School which will be of unusual -v
Interest. Monday night the Commu- 8
nity Christmas Tree will be given t
at A. B. Hall, under the auspices of, c
the Pioneers of Alaska, at which time o
a short program by the children will! t
be given and presents distributed to t
every child in Seward under the age ^
of 17 years. On Tuesday, Christmas; r
Day, a dance will be given at Odd Fel- L,
lows’ hall, thus terminating the day’s j,
pleasures. s
WINTER TRAVEL GOOD
Beginning next week the many t
Alaskans who have gone outside this b
fa i v, ill begin to trek hack to prepare h
lor the season’s activities. Up to the't
presem time the -winter has been too, e
warm for real comfort, the mercury n
not \ et touching zero, and while we n
have had a two-ioot snow fall, an unu- b
huei currence for Seward, there has
been no rain to convert it into slush, a
the . uangsters taking advantage of j
the opportunity to ski and coast toj n
their heart’s content Travel to the t
States this year was not as heavy as /
that of former years, although many g
old-timers went out for the first time t
in a decade. The boats to the north \
have carried more passengers than or- d
dinarily and freight cargoes have been; *]
better. | r
By the middle of March the stam-1 r
pede for Alaska will again be on. It r
will be greater than that of past years a
on account of tourist travel swelling
the lists. Many new properties in this i
section are b. mg developed and ma- i
chinery and applies are arriving on £
e\ery boat. 'ihe oldtimer who has (
H ... • Oui.-.Im . lii return satisfied with i
h . . .es and more in love with ^
Alaska than before. s
-t
John Smonkeski, formerly an opera- t
tor in the Signal Corps, stationed at j t
Fairbanks, is a returning passenger j t
on the Victoria. £
I i!
& c h f |
.t.itthy 11
By Mrs. Willardie B. Ketchum
In the Anchorage Daily Times for
November 1 there appeared an article
setting forth impressions gleaned from
their visit to Alaska by the Brooklyn
Eagle party.
The conclusions arrived at express
ed by the various members of the
party appear rather superficial to the
Alaskan reader, and savor more of an
attempt to wax poetical and eloquent
over a country lavished with such a
wealth ot scenery and resources as is
Alaska, than a desire to look at the
practical and advantageous facts re
iu'ing to the country.
Alaska is tired of the romantic, sen
timental visitor, who desires to star
tle an unenlightened outside world
with the mysterious and obscure lock
ed up fastnesses of Alaska, and wants,
instead, the open minded practical
and honest visitor in her midst.
Alaska is beautiful and charming in*
every particular and in her silent and
dignified way seems to clasp her child
ren close to a heart overladen with
good things for those within her bor
ders. Alaska knows no want, no pov
erty, no acute lack. When various
lodges or like institutions (for we
have no charity organizations in Alas
ka—w'e don’t need them) attempt at
the Christmas season to give cheer to
the needy they know not where to
look,—we have no needy. Can this b^
said of the over-crowded, congested
States, where no amount of charity
can keep want and starvation from
the doors of countless thousands of
the inhabitants. And this, too, not
alone among the so-called poor, out
often the middle classes are finding it
hard to keep the wolf from th ?
door. We have real wolves in Alaska
but we do not have them at our
doors, either figuratively or literally
speaking.
All that was said of Alaska’s seen- j
ery, resources and wealth by these
late visitors is quite true, but the.
sympathetic element could have been
omitted. Alaska needs no one’s sym
pathy. What she needs is good,!
sound, common sense and honesty to
make her the greatest country in the!
world. When Alaska takes such good
care of her own, besides making the
wealth of various concerns in the}
I'nited States a real factor there, shel
needs no sentimental sympatny. She!
has her own farming lands (all argu
ments to the contrary notwithstaud-j
ing), her vast mineral resources, he:!
fisheries her wonderful climate and
nor unparalleled record for health No
aody dies of illness in \iaska. t mly j
jld age or accident takes one awayj
tere. (All ambitious morticians takej
rotice.)
Alaska is not a land for future gen-j
■rations. It is a land of opportunity
or real energetic, ambitious men and!
vornen who can wrest from her!
‘locked mountains” the untold wealth
iecreted there quite as efficiently asj
ome future generation. Never leave |
>ff till tomorrow what you can do to-1
lay. Those who question the “future
iiosperity of Alaska should know
>That its people have alreadv done,
nd there would be no misgivings as
0 the future. To the dreamer who
omes here and gives her the “once
ver” it may look impossible but not
1 those who know what has already
een accomplisned through good hard '
tuscle and desire to attain. No Sce
nes could fly through Alaska on a
>ur and be in a position to do her
istice in his conclusions and no les
pr lights need attempt to do so.
As to the rnuio and the “movies,”
.laska has both, and hex’ motion pic
ire theatres are far in advance of
lose of many oi the more prominent
iwns in the States. These theatres
ave pipe organs, opera chairs and all
le other desiraole features represent
d in any well-equipped theatre. It is
^representation to mate the state
lent that these advantages a>e not to
I
e found in Alaska.
Agriculture in Alaska is as feasible
nd practical an industry as in the
candinavian countries, where the cli
latic conditions are very similar to
lose of Alaska with the advantage to
.laska of a less rigoious climate, to-j
ether with its level surface, permit-j
mg of vast smooth areas easily con-!
erfed into farmiug land, with the ad
itional advantage of easy clearing,
'lie forests of Alaska are not deep
ooted, thereby permitting of easy re
loval from the soil. An instance
light be cited here of the success
chieved by one energetic young man,
rho at the age of twenty-four years
ented some acreage at Palmer, Alas
a, on the Government railroad, and
Iter a period of four yeare has under
ulLivatlon eighty acres on which he
aises all sorts of vegetables and
rains and finds an easy market fori
ame, not only for his own product,]
ut also for those of his less ambi-l
ious neighbors, ft is not necessary
o go outside of Alaska for a market—
hat is to be found at home. All grains
Town in the States can be grown1
here, according to Mr. Waller Peter
son, owner of the above mentioned
Uirm. Siberian wneat will ripen sue
cesslully t and in this particular in
t'arice threshed foity Hvo bushels tc
the acre. Oats run aboit si My 10
sivcnty bushels to the acr-^ on this
iand but one place in Anohoi.ige rais
ed 75 bushels to the acre.. Potatoes,
according to Mr. Peterson, averaged
ten tons to the acre. He plants with
a planter and digs with a digger. The
rate for shipping these commodities
is $20 per ton with a ready market at
points on the railroad. Everybody at
all familiar with true conditions
knows that no finer strawberries grow
anywhere.
it is also interesting to note that a
young man from Pennsylvania, who
visited on this farm where bears roam
at will in the woods surrounding it,
remarked that in Pennsylvania he
chased one poor rabbit all day and
thought he was having a big game
iiunt, but upon discovering the oppor
tunity along this line in Alaska, said
as soon as he was through school he
intended to return to this most won
derful of countries. Wasilla Lake, lo
cated in this vicinity, nas a supply of
the finest fish to be found in Alaska.
And this is saying much, for Alaska
abounds in the greatest of sports for
fishermen and hunters.
Transportation facilities in Alaska
must be adjusted just as they have]
been and are being adjusted in the;
States; by commissions composed ofj
local people who are interested in the
welfare of their own country and will
put forth every ecort for her good.
But before this can be successfully|
achieved Alaska must come into her
awn as a state and these other ad
vantages will follow.
The wild berries, greens and food
available in Alaska in the nature ot
game, which abounds in all parts of
the territory, is too long a story to set1
■ forth at this time, but no other countii
i can equal it in this particular.
“CHEECHAKO” CHINOOK WORD
Editor Gateway: I picked up one of
your sheets awhile back and saw
where a Juneau paper said that the
word originated in Juneau. Cheecliako
is Hudson Bay Chinook, “Chee” meau-j
ing “new’’ and “Chako” to “come.”
The writer evidently was a cheecha-j
ko himself, or a palouser.
A SOURDOUGH.
WM. C. GAGNON WILL LEAVE
ON ALASKA FOR CALIFORNIA
! Wm. C. Gagnon, who has been en
1 gaged in the hotel business in Seward
for the past two years, formerly of
1 Fairbanks where tor many years he
! was engaged in the drug business,
will leave on the steamship Alaska to
morrow night, having disposed of his
interest in the Hotel Seward to Mr.
Ed Dahl. This is Mr. Gagnon’s first
trip outside in nineteen years, and he
will go direct to Los Angeles, to visit
relatives, returning in the spring to
Seward, where he will again engage in
business.
Mr. Gagnon has been one of Sew-'
ard’s live wire business men, and has
built up a large acquaintancesnip in
Alaska during his long residence here.
ttnuuuuuununnunnntt
b »
8 DANCE AT I. O. O. F. HALL
8 SATURDAY tVENING,
8 EVERYBODY INVITED
8 GENTS, ADMISSION, $1.00
8 LADIES FREE
B888»88»8»»tt»»8 8 8
H. V. Hoben SEWARD A. F. Davis
THE ALASKA TRANSFER
Want YOU
to try tine
Baxter
C O A L<
The coal showing a greater content of heat units
per ton than any coal being mined in Alaska
Delivered to You at $11 per ton
ALSO HEALY LUMP, NUT, OR MINE RUN,
NANAIMO COAL IN SACKS OR BULK
Auto Service
OUR AUTOS MEET All BOATS and TRAINS
Telephone Orders to Main 81
After 5 p. m. until 8 a. m. Telephone Madison 24
LIBERTY THEATRE
tonight
A SIDE-SPLITTING COMEDY-DRAMA
'Red Hot Romance'
A FINE FEATURE IN SIX REELS
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
AND AGAIN A LEATHER-PUSHER,
'The Chickasha Bone-Crasher'
BETTER THAN EVER
South fm
Seward
Dec. 31st
Jan. 27
Making all regular Southeastern and South
western ports including Seldovia and Kodiak.
CALIFORNIA SERVICE
Sailings front Seattle every Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturday for San Francisco, Los Angeles,
and San Diego.
WAYNE BLUE, Agent
Telephone, Main 81
Residence, Madison 40
Pacific Coastwise Service
^ADMIRAL LINE
!H.F.ALEXANDES. PRES'OE^
STEAMSHIP STARR
THE FREIGHTER LATOUCHE WILL SAIL FROM SEWARD VIA
KODIAK WITH FREIGHT AND PASSENGERS, DATE TO BE AN
NOUNCED MONDAY. THE STARR WILL RESUME SCHEDULE
ABOUT JANUARY 10, CONNECTING WITH NORTHWESTERN
San Juan Fishing and Packing Co.
G. C. HENDERSON, Agent
phone madison ,3* seward, Alaska
THE PALACE
John Mattich, Prop.
Pool Soft Drinks Cigars
FURNISHED ROOMS
Phone Mum 55
BARBER SHOP
BATHS
F. C. Miller, Prop.
DR. O. A. BRAAFLADT
Dentist
Office Hours 9 A. M. 5 to P. M.
Office open Evenings by Appointment
TELEPHONES
Office, Adams 111 Res., Adams 21
RAY & DAVID
Attorneys at Law
SEWARD & ANCHORAGE
Seward Office:
Harrlman Bank Building
DR. J. A. BAUGHMAN
Physician and Surgeon
Chronic Diseases a Specialty
Phone Madison 90, Seward, Alaska.
AARON E. RUCKER
Attorney at Law
Office in Arcade Building
'PHONE ADAMS 121
SEWARD, ALASKA
HUGH DOUGHERTY
REAL ESTATE AND INSURANCE
Furnished Houses for Rent
Residence Phone, Madison 58
Office Phone, Madison 136
D. H. WILLIAMS
UNDERTAKER
LICENSED EMBALMER
AND FUNERAL DIRECTOR
When In need of my services call
Brown & Hawkins
WM. D. COPPERNOLL
LAWYER
Seward, Alaska
Seward Grill
PRIVATE DINING ROOMS
PLEASANT SURROUNDINGS
COURTEOUS TREATMENT
OPEN DAY AND NIGHT
CITY EXPRESS
Billy Patterson
Meets All Boats and Trains
Seward Chapter No. 10.
ORDER EASTERN
STAR
Meets 2nd and 4th Mon
days at 8 p. m. Visiting
_ Members Welcome
CLARA PERRY. W. M.
ESTHER DOUGHERTY, Sec.
Seward Rebekah
Lodge No. 6-A,
I. O. O. F.
Meets 1st and Ird
Monday’s of Each
Month, 8 p. m. Visit
lng members welcome
RHODA COOPER N. G.
VIDA RICH, Sec.
Seward Lodge No. 219.
F. A A. M.
Stated communications
1st and 3rd Wednes
days of each month
visiting Brethern wel
come. W. O. PERRY, W. M.
Chas. E. Smith, Sec.
Seward Lodge
No. 1425.
L. O. O. M.
Will meet every
Tuesday night at
8 o’clock. Visiting
Brothers welcome
CHAS KREFTING, Dictator.
M. A. HORNER, Secretary.
I. o. O. F.
Resurrection Lodge
No. A.7.
Meets Thursdays at 8 p. m. Visiting
Brothers welcome. ANDY novak
N. G.; Chas. Lechner. Sec.
IGLOO NO. NINE.
PIONEER8 OF ALASKA
Meets every 2nd and 4th Friday at
Odd Fellow’s HalL
CAL M. BROSIUS, Pres.
EARL DURGIN. Sec.
8ewaro fust, no. five
AMERICAN LEGION
Meets Second and Fourth Tuesdays.
ELWYN S WET MANN, Com.
J. P. HANNON, Adjutant.