· Heulslrd Däily ?
VOLUME XIX. NUMBER 231.
SEWARD, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1924
PRICE TEX CENTS
PLAYERS WHO WILL
COMPETE IN WORLD
SERIES BALL GAMES
( CHICAGO, Oct. 1—The following
players are eligible to compete in the
world series according to an announce
ment by Commissioner Landis:
On the Giants team are Baldwin,
Barnes, Bentley, Dan Dolan, F risch,
lowdy, Groh, Huntzinger, Jackson,
.innings, Jonnard, Kelly, Lindstrom,
i'JcQuillan, Maun, Meusel, Hehf, O’
j.nnel, Ityan, Snyder, Soutlnvorth,
r ryf Watson, Young, Wilson.
For the Senators: A1 Trock, Bluege,
Goslin, Hargrave, Harris, Walter John
on, Judge, Leibold, Marberry, Mar
i'na, McNeely, Monrgidge, Peckin
iugh, Rice, Ruel, Russell, Tate,
7 ’.chary, Zahnizer, Speece, Shirley,
f gden.
1 AFOLLETTE DENOUNCES
BARRING ELECTORS
FROM BALLOTS OF STATE
WASHINGTON, D. C., Oct. 1—La
follette vigorously denounced tonight
the barring of his electors from the
ballots in several states, referring
specifically to the action of the At
torney General of Louisiana and a
definite report that Michigan might
attempt to do the same thing.
The senator declared these proceed
ir.es would react most disastrously
against those guilty of trying to pre
vent the fullest expression of the peo
ple’s will.
LABOR DEPARTMENT TO
ROUT ALIEN SEAMEN
IN COASTWISE SERVICE
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 29.—The
Department of Labor through its lo
cal immigration department here is
1 banning to round up all alien sea
men working on coastwise vessels and
and arrange for their deportation on
^ tiie ground that they are illegally in
this country.
FOREST FIRE LOSS IN
WESTERN STATES NOW
PLACED AT $4,250,000
WASHINGTON, D. C„ Oct. 1.—
The National Lumbermen’s associa
tion today estimated forest fire loss
liiis season in California, Oregon, Ida
ho, Montana, and Washington at $4,
250,000. Of this amount $3,000,000 re
presented loss to standing timber in
ihe national forests and parks; $500,
00 damage to privately owned stand
ing timber and an equal sum to logs
and logging equipment, while $250,
000 was in losses to settlers and mis
allaneous property.
VGED COUPLE GO HAND
IN HAND TO GRAVE
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 1.—As they
nad lived for more than fifty years,
Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Capolungo slipped
hand in hand into the valley of death,
♦ was revealed here today when plans
ere made for a double funeral. When
apolungo, 74 years old, learned of
; wife’s death, he told his friends,
must join her for she is waiting,”
ten he died.
ENSORSHIP ON BROADWAY
PLAYS STARTED SOON
NEW YORK, Oct. 1.—A censorship
’ the popular Broadway plays will
; started immediately by members
' the New York Police department,
ccording to an announcement by
olice Commissioner Enright, yester
ay.
JNNEL TO SEWER
ESCAPE FRUSTRATED
FOLSOM, Calif., Oct. 1.—An at
npt by prisoners at. the Folsom
ison to escape, by tunneling their
ty to a large sewer pipe, in the
wer yard, was frustrated yesterday
,y Warden J. Smith, when he caught
iwo convicts in the act of digging a
tunnel beneath a large pile of gran
ite.
TWO KILLED IN EXPLOSION
BISBEE, Ariz., Oct. 1.—Two men
are said to have been killed yesterday
in an explosion in the Curtis plant of
the Apache Powder Company’s plant,
near Benson, but all reports are mea
gre and indefinite.
VETERAN COMEDIAN ILL
NEW YORK, Sept. 30—Lew Dock
stadter, veteran black face comedian,
is critically ill.
H
Territorial Government
By J. C. MURPHY.
Continued from Tuesday’s paper.
Let George Do It
And worse than all other things
is the false dependence that the
people place on these appointive ot
ficers. On the outside, in pioneer
days, when something necessary for
the public good had to be done, the
people got together and did it. Up
here we either call mass meetings or
meetings of chambers of commerce
land then, usually, invite some Fed
eral Official who has the spending of
S public money in some related activi
ty and we pittifully ask him if he
will cooperate. This individual, who
in most cases back home, never had
anything to say because his home
folks knew him, may accede to our de
mands and he may turn us down and
then he in all probabilities will re
gale and impress us with his stand
ing with Congress and we go home
and say that he is a fine fellow and
maybe he is and maybe he is not.
He is not to blame, but the system
and custom and the way of doing bus
iness that gave him the say so cer
tainly is to blame.
Overhead.
Oh, that word overhead as Inger
soll said of religion: “What crimes
has been committed in thy name.”
Big office forces w'ith no workers;
investigations without end; antiquat
ed and long since in most places rel
egated to the rear grand jury system
and so on down the line. Waste of
money, waste of effort and in our Al
aska case waste of time and country.
As a concrete instance, we have here
in the Third Division at the head of
District Court a man who is honestly
trying to do the greatest possible
! amount of Court work with the min
! imum of expense. But with the sys
tem in vogue that he is compelled to
work with, he is handicapped on ev
ery hand. If, on the other hand, we
had a full Territorial form of gov
ernment, with his district cut up into
counties, with resident and elected
sheriffs and clerks of court and dis
trict attorneys In each county; with
a law amended so that these elected
district attorneys could bring men be
fore him on information don’t you be
lieve that he could do better, easier
and more effective work? It such
i were the case he could travel from
j county to county with his secretary
and perform work as the same is per
j formed in practically every state of
i the union.
And if litigants were not sausueci
i with his decisions, there should be a
Territorial Supreme court who might
review the same with the minimum
of expense and time. Federal courts
are noted for their austerity and
j State courts are noted for their sim
plicity and it is a notorious fact that
in the states the Federal courts are
year by year and day by day as
suming authority that should remain
in the State courts and up here we
have a system that the courts, the
lawyers and the people can neither
identify nor catalogue.
Would It Be Difficult to Inaugurate
A New System?
I believe that it would not. Given
sufficient authority by a changed en
abling act, a legislature could be el
ected to devise, bound and create a
county system which necessarily must
be done. This same legislature, with
power given to do so, could create a
code cmmissin of Alaskans who could
and would revise our laws better than
the same can be done by any commit
tee of Congres sand at just as small
a expense as Congress could do so
and the same could be and should be
paid by a Federal appropriation.
Dificulties In Our Way.
The greatest of these would be to
take care of the sparse population in
isolated places. But in a smaller wav
all of the other territories had the
same difficulty to encunter and they
got away with it. The writer recalls
counties in North Dakota a hundred
miles square with a handful of peo
ple and there were larger counties
in Montana by far then that not to
mention the whale of them all, Tom
Greene County, Texas, which was at
one time about the size of Europe, or
maybe a little smaller.
In most, if not all of the other
territories, there were organized an
unorganized counties with a provis
ion for the organization of the lat
ter when the inhabitants thereof felt
that it would be to their advantage
to organize. But should this form of
county government be inaugurated
here in Alaska, every acre in the
(Continued on Page Three)
PRINCE OF WALES
Most recent portrait of the Prince of Wales. In this picture the heir
to the British throne portrays the forceful character and determination
which is the foundation of a king.
TO ERECT FOUNTAIN AS
A MEMORIAL TO LATE
FATHER PREFONTAINE
SEATTLE, Wn., Oct. 1—Banker
Dan Kelliher will erect a six thusand
dollar drinking fountain on Third av
enue and Yesler Way, as a memorial
to the late Father Prefontaiue, a Se
attle pioneer priest.
SON WALL ST. FINANCIER
MARRIES MISS EATON
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 1—The wed
ding' of Thomas Fortune Ryan, grand
son of the Wall Street financier, to
Miss Alberta Eaton, a daughter of a
mine owner in Chihuhua, Mexico, took
place at El Paso today.
COOLIDGE SENDS MESSAGE
TO MINING CONGRESS
WASHINGTON, D. C., Oct. 1—Cal
vin Coolidge, in a letter to the Ameri
can Mining Congress, in session at
Sacramento, says the ultimate restor
ation of precious metals as a basis of
monetary circulation, is in sight, par
ticularly in view of the recent great
advances made under the Dawes plan
in the rehabilitation and stabalization
of the European countries.
RECOMMEND PAROLE OF
FIFTEEN NEGRO SOLDIERS
LEAVENWORTH, Sept. 30—The
Federal Pardon Board here today rec
ommended the parole of fifteen negro
soldiers, former members of the 24th
Infantry, serving sentences for par
ticipation in the Houston, Texas riots
in 1917.
FALL OF MECCA IS
EXPECTED HOURLY
CAIRO, Egypt, Oct. 1—An army of
twenty-five thousand Wahibis, bent on
capturing Mecca, were at the gates of
the Holy City today and Mecca’s fall
is expected hourly.
SIGN TREATY WITH SPAIN
CONSTANTINOPLE, Oct. 1—Turk
ey will open negotiations shortly look
ing toward the resumption of diplo
matic relations and the signing of a
treaty of friendship with Spain.
QUIT SAVING TIME
NEW YORK, Sept. 30—Daylight
Saving Time, which has been in ef
fect since the World War days, termi
nated at two o’clock today, when the
hands of all clocks were turned back
an hour, to conform with regular
Eastern Standard time.
WOMAN'S CLUB
The Seward -Woman’s c’.ub will
meet tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 at
the city hall. Election of officers
wiil come before the club. A good at
tendance is desired.
COMPLETE ACCORD IN
LEAGUE MEET AFTER
SOLVING DIFFICULTIES
GENEVA, Oct. 1.—A complete ac
I cord was reached this morning by the
'solution o!' the dfft'iculty brought
about by the presentation by t',*3 .Tap
j anese ot' an amendment to the proto
co’ on an arbitration and in securing
i Lroad basis to the martyr
The solution arrived at was that the
I council of the League of Nations shall
have the right to examine all con
flicts arising between nations, which,
eminent observers point out, mainly
came about in relation to the Pacific
elements which are in constant tur
moil.
LEAGUE NATIONS TO TAKE
PRECEDENCE OVER WORLD
COURT OF ARBITRATION
GENEVA, Sept. 30—The League of
Nations will take precedence over the
World Court of arbitration in the
question of international disputes
growing out of domestic legislation as
the result of compromise reached in
the Japanese crisis. It was an im
portant victory for the Japanese.
HEAVIEST BATTLE OF
CHINESE REVOLUTION
RECORDED TODAY
SHANGHAI, Sept. 30—Four thous
and combatants have been killed and
wounded in the heaviest battle of the
Chinese revolution, but the battle lines
outside Shanghai remained essentially
unchanged.
PEKING, Oct. 1.—General Wu Pei
Fu denied officially that General
Chang Tso Lin had captured Chao
Yang, with a large amount of loot and
ammunition.
PROGRESS BEING MADE IN
GOVERNMENT OIL SUIT
WASHINGTON, D. C., Oct. 1—
Progress in the government’s suit for
the annullment of leases to the Naval
Oil Reserve lands, was outlined to
Coolidge today by Pomerene and Rob
erts, government counsel.
EARTHQUAKE IN MAINE
PORTLAND, Oct. 1—An earth
quake was felt here early today and
reports from Rockkland and other
Maine points indicate that the move
ment was apparent over a large area.
PERSISTENT EXPLORER
LEAVE FOR U. S. SOON
CHRISTIANIA, Norway, Oct. 1.—
Roald Amundsen, famous Norweigian
explorer is sailing for America soon,
to make preparations for pushing his
plans for a flight to the North Pole
next summer.
INTEREST KEEN THROUGHOUT THE
NATION IN ARMY MURDER CASE;
JURY SELECTED TO HEAR EVIDENCE
HEARING STARTED IN COURT IN
TACOMA; POTHIER ACCUSED
OF SLAYING CRONKHITE
Endeavor To Unravel Mystery
The Fall of 1918 the Murder Will
Bring Back Scenes of Nation’s
Greatest Cantonment.
TACOMA, Wn, Oct. 1.—The
trial of Roland R. Pothier on the
charge of slaying Major-General
Adelbert Cronkhite, at Camp Lew
is, six years ago came before
Judge Cushman, in the Federal
Court here yesterday morning.
TACOMA, Sept. 30—The jury in the
Cronkhite murder case was completed
today and the case will be heard soon.
The Case.
TACOMA, Sept. 30.—In trials be
ginning here today in which Robert
Rosenbluth and Roland Pothier are
charged with wilful murder, the fed
eral court is endeavoring to unravel
a death mystery that goes back to the
fall of 1918 and into the great war
cantonment at Camp Lewis, Wash.
On October 25, of that year, while
some 50,000 soldiers were training
in the camp. Major Alexander Cronk
hite, a graduate of West Point and a
son of Major General Adelbert Cronk
hite, was on a practice copse of
timber, followed by Captain Rosen
bluth and Sergeant Major Pothier.
A few minutes later several shots
were heard, and it was reported
that Major Cronkhite was wounded.
An examination revealed that he had
been shot in the breast, and he
expired before medical aid could be
summoned. The body of the officer
was taken to the Camp Lewis Hospi
tal, where it was found that he had
been killed by a bullet ihai entered
his chest on the right side, a few
inches below and in front of the arm
pit.
Five days later the usual investi
gation by an Army Board was con
ducted. This board arrived at the
conclusion that the major had ac
cidentally shot himself while firing
at a target. At the time it was
the general rumor that it was a case
of suicide, according to subsequent
statements of army officers.
Rosenbluth and Pothier both testi
fied at the military investigation and
their testimony was substantially the
same. They said that Major Cronk
! hite had pulled out his pistol to fire
I at a tin can, that two or three shots
were fired, and then the major fell
mortally wounded.
The findings were sent to the war
department and apparently the mat
ter was ended with the burial of the
brilliant young officer, and the de
posit of the official decree of the in
vestigation board in the govern
mental archives.
Major General Cronkhite, however,
came home from France in June,
1919, and reopened the investigation
in the belief that his son did not
commit suicide, that he was too ex
pert with a pistol to have shot him
self accidentally, and that it was
impossible for an accidental shot to
have wounded him in the spot where
the fatal bullet entered.
General Cronkhite consulted all
available records in the case and
declared them faulty. He then took
the matter up with A. Mitchell Pal
mer, attorney general under Presi
dent Wilson, and several government
investigators were set to work. Rosen
bluth and Pothier, the last persons
with Major Cronkhite before his
death, were questioned again. On
March 19, 1921, Pothier signed a con
fession that he was responsible for
the death of Major Cronkhite. Poth
ier said his pistol was discharged ac
cidentally.
The next day Pothier altered his
story and confessed that he had wil
fully shot and killed Major Cronk
hite at the request and command of
Captain Rosenbluth. Pothier said he
had borrowed a pistol and ammuni
tion at the instigation of Rosenbluth,
and had killed Major Cronkhite ac
cording to a plan mapped out by
Rosenbluth. Pothier explained that
Rosenbluth had a strange influence
over him, but denied that he had
received any reward, or promise, for
accomplishing the alleged murder
beyond the pledge that he woul<\ be
protected completely.
Pothier made several statements in
the course of his confessions, and
they varied considerably from each
: other. He was lodged in jail at
j Providence, R. I., near which city
| he was working on a railroad. Rosen
j bluth was taken into custody in New
j York City. He declared the charges
j utterly without foundation.
A few days later Pothier asserted
i in newspaper interviews that he had
| been induced to confess to the
; murder by third degree methods. He
| denied his guilt. Federal officials
have contended that he never official
ly repudiated his signed confessions
though the trend of events may have
precluded such action on his part.
There then arose a question wheth
er the federal government or the
state of Washington has jurisdiction
in the case. This was finalv decid
ed in avor of the federal govern
ment whereupon the department of
justice asigned the case to the
United States district court in Tac
oma and instructed Judge Edward E.
Cushman to summon a grand jury
to determine whether Rosenbluth and
Pothier should be indicted.
In the meantime there was much
discussion of the case both within
and without the army. Rosenbluth,
who is o Jewish parentage, openly
charged that he was the victim of a
second Dreyfus affair, that he was
being persecuted. General Cronkhite
and his supporters answered that
Rosenbluth had escaped trial through
the efforts of powerful friends.
The controversy became so spirited
that accusations were made by both
sides against the department of
justice and the War department, and
two United States senators, Glass Qf
Virginia and Reed of Pennsylvania,
gave notice that they would demand
a congressional investigation of the
entire matter unless the case was
aired in court.
ine grand jury met in Tacoma in
the summer of 1922 and witnesses
were brought from every section of
the nation. All present and former
army officers acquainted with the de
tails of the affair testified. General
Cronkhite was present. The grand
jury took evidence for several weeks
and then it voted indictments charg
ing Rosenbluth and Pothier with first
degree murder.
Rosenbluth was re-arrested in New
York, and Pothier taken into custody
in Providence, R. I. Appeal was
taken to the federal courts on the
long-mooted question of jurisdiction.
United States Commissioner Hitch
cock ot New \ ork decided the gov
ernment did not have jurisdiction.
This decision was made late in 1922,
and once again Rosenbluth and Poth
ier were in a fair way to escape trial.
The government, however, appeal
ed to the Supreme Court of the Unit
ed States, which, in the spring of 1924
ruled that the question of jurisdiction
must be decided first of all in the fed
eral court for Western Washington.
The trial was ordered to proceed.
Last June Judge Cushman set the
trial for Septeber 30 and granted the
request of the government that the
defendants be tried separately. The
department of justice named James
H. Osborne as special prosecutor and
he has been assisted by other federal
attorneys. L. L. Thompson, former
attorney general of the State of Wash
ington, was retained as counsel for
Rosenbluth. Pothier was aided by the
American Legion post here at the
time of his arrest and Maurice Lang
horne and F. D. Metzger were ap
pointed his attorneys.
Rosenbluth has been at liberty on
$20,000 bail. Pothier could not put
up bail and has been in the county
jail here for several months awaiting
his trial.
At the time of the tragedy Major
Cronkhite was 24 yegrs old. Captain
Rosenbluth, a graduate of the Yale
forestry school, was 36, and had been
in business in the Orient before join
ing the army. Pothier was 22 and had
been a laborer before becoming a sol
dier.
BANDITS ENTER BANK
LEAVE WITH $10,000
CHICAGO, Oct. 1.—Three bandits
held up the West City Trust and Sav
ings Bank, shortly before noon Satur
day, and escaped with about $10,000.
Almost simultaneously, in another
section of the city, six men, in two
automobiles, crowded the paymaster
of a North Side glass concern to the
curb and robbed him of the company’s
$10,000 payroll, while they held a
score of pedestrians within the block
at bay with revolvers.