MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS.
VOLUME XX, NUMBER 235
SEWARD, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1925
PRICE TEN CENTS
SALARIES PAID
FED. EMPLOYES
INSUFFICIENT
LOWER RETIREMENT AGE AND
HIGHER ANNUITIES FOR
i EMPLOYES ASKED
James J. Davis, the Secretary otf
Labor, in recommendations submitted
to Congress at the opening of this ses
sion) calls attention to the necessity of
the passage of a more liberal retire
ment law for civil federal employes.
“The present law,” states the Secre
tary. “which allows a maximum of
only $60 per month to those who reach
the age of 70 years and have served
30 years in the service, it is agreed
by everyone is entirely inadequate.
The amount is not sufficient to pay
for the bare necessities of life for a
man and his wife, even though he
have no other dependents.”
The salaries paid to Government
} workers are seldom sufficient to per
mit them to put anything away for the
proverbial rainy day, and when they
have given the best years of their life
to the Government it is unfair to cast
them out on such a pittance. The gov
ernment has not yet been called upon
to contribute a nickel to the retire
ment fund and the amount subtracted
ly will be sufficient to pay annuities
from the wages of the employes month
to years to come. I believe that the
amended bill for retirement that failed
to pass the last session of Congress
should be reintroduced and enacted
with the provision for voluntary re
tirement after 30 years of service for
those who have reached the age of
- 60 years and should provide for an
annuity of $100 a month.”
Alaska Atmosphere Puts
Pep Into Hawaiian Soldier
A few months ago Geo. E. Stege
man was riding surf boards on the
beach at Wakiki, H. I. Within a few
•weeks he will be riding behind a dog
team. The gentleman mentioned, a
corporal, Arrived in Seward last ^eek
on the steamship Alameda in charge
of five other soldiers who left yester
day for the Anchorage army post.
The change from the balmy clime
of Hawaii to the sun-kissed snows of
Alaska’s banana belt is quite a novelty
for the young soldier, who as yet, has
felt no ill effects from the change, but
on the other hand seems rejuvenated
with energy. This was demonstrated
at the various athletic games he and
the other chaps indulged in while
awaiting the departure of the train
for the Interior.
The other soldiers in the party were
Jack T. Brighton from Washington,
D. C.; Garland Funk from Missouri;
Frank Getson from Illinois; Wm. To
malla from Minnesota. Stegeman is
from Milwaukee, the town made fa
mous by its most important product.
SENATE RECESS
DECEMBER 22-28
OLYMPIA, Wash., Dec. 15 (JP)—The
House caucus voted to concur in the
Senate recess December 22 to 28. The
Senate unanimously passed the gen
eral appropriations bill of $5,000,000
in the Senate yesterday, and by two
votes rejected the Wirter bill to equal
ize apportionments so as to benefit
one room schools.
ik At a Senate caucus last night it was
voted to introduce a joint resolution
supporting Land Commissioner Sav
idge against Governor Hartley.
ACCEPT MODIFIED TAX
WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 16. (ff)
* —The House accepted the modified
Inheritance tax rates in the Revenue
Bill.
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Associated Oil
SEATTLE PIONEER
STREET CAR MAN
CROSSES DIVIDE
SEATTLE, . Dec. 16 (IP)—Luther
Henry Griffith, who was active in land,
financial and transportation develop
ment in Seattle for the past forty
years, died yesterday at the age of
64 years. He organized a company
and built Seattle’s first street horse
drawn railway and later electrified it.
He built the first Tacoma-Seattle in
terurban and built and ran a passen
ger vessel at Dawson during the gold
rush. He later organized the Boston
and Alaska Transportation Co.
BILL TO PERMIT
BETTING IN WN.
OLYMPIA, Wn., Dec. 16 (IP)—A bill
permitting parimutual betting on
horse racing in Washington was in
jtroduced in the House and signed by
| the representatives. The bill makes
it unlawful for any person to wager
on aj horse race except by the parimu
tual system licensed by a commission.
Three members were appointed by
the governor.
BOBBED CHRYSANTHEMUMS
USED TO FOOL JUDGES
LONDON, Dec. 16. (IP)—Bobbed
and shingled and curled chrysanthe
mums made their appearance in the
National Chrysanthemum Society’s
show to the great disgust of lovers
of unassisted nature.
Some of the chrysanthemums were
even kept in curl papers and the big
shaggy blossoms as large as the
head of a football-ployer were given
permanent waves and otherwise
manipulated to fool the judges.
Senate Passes Bingham Bill
Creating Aviation Branch
Under Dep’t of Commerce
WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 16 (ff)—
The Senate without record passed the
the Bingham Bill to create an avi
ation branch in the Department of
Commerce.
Send your friends a Prosperity Edi
tion for Christmas.
AFRICAN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
BARRED BY CUBAN PRESIDENT
HAVANA, Dec. 16. (JP)— Playing of
the tambor, or tom-tom, or other mu
sical instruments fo African charac
ter, with singing and contorted danc
ing, have been prohibited ,by presi
dential decree.
President Machado's decree says
this class of music and the “rumba”
are contrary to the good custom and
public order of Cuba.
FOX FILM MAN
DEPARTS FOR
POINT BARROW
MERL LA VOY BEGINS LONG TRIP
TO WITHIN SHADOW OF
THE NORTH POLE
Merl La Voy, photographing Alaska
for the Fox Film Corporation of New
York City, who has been making Sew
ard his headquarters for several
months past, departed yesterday aft
ernoon for Nenana en route to Point
Barrow. Mr. La Voy plans reaching
Barrow via Tanana, Alatna, the Kobuk,
Kotzebue Sound and Point Hope. In
the vicinity of Point Barrow he will
film numerous scenes for an Alaska
drama of the old whaling days. This
will include scenes of the natives
hunting polar bears and walrus, and
a series of special scenes for the
Alaska feature film which the big
movie company is now engaged upon.
It is stated this trip, including relays
over the worst part of the trails, will
be over 2000 miles long, and will be
made by dog team. It is believed to
be one of the longest and hardest trips
ever undertaken to secure local color
for a feature drama. Mr. La Voy
plans returning to Nome? from Barrow
next August. From Nome he will
head down the coast to Seward, pick
up the remainder of his equipment now
in storage and proceed direct to Los
Angeles.
He has received instructions from
the New York office to take out
his dog team and also costumes from
the natives filmed in the scenes. The
dog team and costumes will be used
► in the California studios in complet
ing the feature drama which, accord
ing to Mr. La Voy, promises to be di
rector John Ford’s masterpiece.
TODAY'S WEATHER
Temperature, 26 above.
Clear, calm.
5 MINERS KILLED
SIXTY INJURED
WILKESON MINE
SEATTLE, Wn., Dec. 15 (JP)— Five
miners were killed and 60 severely
burned in an explosion Monday at the
Wilkeson Coal and Coke Company’s
mine 30 miles southwest of Tacoma.
A special dispatch to the Post-Intel
ligencer revealed that the men were
asphyxiated from an explosion which
followed the dynamiting of a “nigger
head.”
C. E. Ferrell, who is in the Tacoma
General Hospital with severe burns
on the face and arms said: “Thirty
two men were working on the second
level 700 feet below the surface, when
I and another man blew the ‘nigger
head.’ A rush of dust filled the air
and then came the explosion like a
terrific storm, which almost tore the
clothing from me.”
AMERICAN COMMONS PROVE
POPULAR AMONG FRENCHMEN
PARIS, Dec. 16. (/P)—France has
gone in for American commons and
the first will be thrown open here
next spring.
M. F<$restier, on a visit to the Unit
ed States, was greatly impressed
with the system af commons in
vogue in some of the larger cities, es
pecially in Boston.
Returning to France, he entered
negotiations with the National Com
mittee on sports and as a result
Bagatelle, located in the Deautiful
Bois-de-Boulogne and heretofore de
voted to polo, was selected for de
velopment into a common.
RESTORE RIVERS TO OLD BEDS
TO AID CHINA’S EDUCATION
PEKING, Dec. 16. (JP)—Supersti
tion has caused Kuo Chuen-yen, a
Hongkong millionaire, to donate
$200,000 for the restoration of two
rivers to their original channels.
At Ni-Shan, in Shantung province,
birthplace of Confucius, the Chu and
Sze are silting up, thus, according to
superstition, being responsible for a
gradual decline in classical learning
in Chna. ;
Mr. Kuo therefore decided to assist
classical education by - having the
j streams dredged and returned to
their original beds.
14 YEAR OLD BOY
KILLS THREE AND
ROBS A NUMBER
YELLVILLE, Ark., Dec. 16 (JP)—
Arnold Comer, who said he was “about
fourteen,” admitted to the authorities
today that he was responsible for a
number • of robberies and murders
perpetrated in this vicinity within the
past few days. A sheriff’s posse seiz
ed the boy while he was asleep, with
four pistols, a shotgun and a peck of
ammunition beside him.
Discontented with home conditions,
Arnoud left Wednesday and entered
a rural home, where he stole 317.50
and a shotgun. He later plundered a
store that night.
Friday while seeking food, he ap
proached another mountain home. He
became frightened when a man open
ed the door and shot and wounded
the man, his wife and child. He be
came huhgry Sunday and entering
the home of aged Mrs. Tom Boyd, beat
the woman to death, killing the infant
granddaughter. Fleeing from the
scene, he encountered Charles Morse
a quarter of a mile away, and upon
being hailed shot and killed him.
The boy said he planned to become
a bandit.
WEEKS SCORES
COL MITCHELL
TO COOLIDGE
- WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 16 (ff)—
Secretary of War Weeks in a letter to
President Coolidge described Colonel
Mitchell as “lawless and unfit for ad
ministrative position.” The letter said
that Mitchell desired publicity at the
expense of others.
The letters were presented in evi
dence at the court martial.
Rest Mitchell Case
, WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 16. (£>)
—The prosecution and defense rest
ed their case on Col. Mitchell in
Court Martial and deferred the ar
gument until tomorrow'.
Subscribe for the Gatewray.
No Train Tonight from
Interior, Nor Is One
Leaving In Morning
Local railroad headquarters an
nounced this morning there would
foe no train in this evening from the
Interior and that the regular North
bound train out of Seward tomorrow
has been cancelled. It Is presumed
snow conditions in the vicinity of the
snow sheds, the other side of Tun
nel, is responsible for the annulment
of the trains though nothing defin
ite could be learned locally.
High School Girls Play
Boy Scout Team Tonite
The girls high school basketball
team will play a game this evening
at the S. A. C. with the Boy Scout
five, between the hours of 5:30 and
6:30 o’clock. The school team has be4n
practicing steadily for the past month
in anticipation of the coming series
of games with the Anchorage girls,
at Anchorage. The boy scouts de
feated the school boy team last
week in their first game this season.
Tickets for the annual firemen’s
masquerade ball were distributed
among the local business houses yes
terday. Today posters which have
just been completed by The Gate
way printing department, will be
displayed in prominent places about
town.