Seward Daily Gateway
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOLUME] XV. NUMBER 254.
SEWARD, ALASX
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1930.
PRICE TEN CENTS
TWO GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS
OPERATED MANY MILES APART
IN BOTH DISTANCE AND MONEY
ALASKA RAILROAD NEAR ARCTIC HAS AN
NUAL DEFICIT BUT BUSINESS IS BETTER
IN THE TROPICS WHERE THE PANAMA
RAILROAD OPERATES AT NICE PROFIT AND
MAKES OWN ICE.
It may not be generally known but the United
States government operates two railroads, one which
penetrates the Interior to within approximately 120 |
miles of the Arctic Circle, while the other crosses the;
Panama Canal Zone only a few hundred miles from
the equator. These two railroads are separated by:
more than 50 degrees of lattitude or about 3,500 miles
the one frequently tied up in winter by heavy snow
falls and equipped with snow sheds; the other plowing
thru the green tunnels of the jungle. Furthermore, the
one in Alaska has never been a mor-‘ -maker while the
one in the tropics has always been able to show profit.
P-ROSPERITY OF FARMERS DE
PENDS ON PEACE AT HOME
AND ABROAD
PARIS, Oct. 9. (IP)—In a signifi- j
i^nt. survey of the French foreign I
policy notable for the complete ab- !
sence of mention of the Federa
tion of Europe. Premier Andre Tar
dleau emphatically asserted France
will continue to work for political
and economic peace in Europe up
oai the basis of security, arbitration,
and disarmament
He declared however, that France j
■will resist all attempts to reverse i
the order of these terms. France
must safeguard its position in this
respect he said.
Speaking to the farmers at Alen
on, the Premier said their prosper
ity depends upon peace abroad as
-well as peace at home. France
■wishes peace and will continue to
•work for it, M. Tardieau stated, but
its basis must lie in her formula
and organizations.
FEOERALS AND REBEtS
DAMN ON URUGUAY
BONDED FOB BATTLE
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Oct.,
9, {#»)—Brazilian revolutionary
•troops rushed to border of the
states of Parana and Sao Paulo
•where a battle with the Federals |
is imminent.
Two regiments of cavalry and \
artillery accompanied the re
serves and 800 volunteers have
ieft Santa Ana do Livramento
for Castro, 70 miles from the i
teorder of Sao Paulo and Parana.
Revolutionist dispatches said!
a “very bloody battle” will pro- j
bably be fought there. Insurgent
* Droops are already in the bat
tle area and probably will bear
the brunt of the early fighting.
The Alaska Railroad was built ;
largely as a means of opening
up the Territory, and the main j
line covering the 470 miles from
Seward to Fairbanks was put in
operation in 1923, Congress auth
orizing from time to time a total
of nearly $60,000,000 to complete j
the road which has been un
der operation, including branch
es a total of 555.8 miles of
track. Financially the road has i
never been a success, for small;
freight shipments and light pas- [
senger traffic have not brought I
in sufficient revenue to meet
!
expenses.
On the other hand the Pana
ma Railroad has always been i
able to show a profit. This road |
was built by a corporation char- :
tered by an act of the New York
legislature April 7, 1849, at the
time of the California gold rush.
The 47 miles from Colon to Pa
nama, completed in 1855 cost
$8,000,000 and the first gold
rushers paid $5 to cross the
Isthmus. During the first .10
years the road carried $700,000,
000 in specie and 300,000 bags
of mail without losing a dollar
in gold or a bag of mail.
The railroad is still operated
as a comon carrier by a cor
poration but the Federal gov
ernment owns all of the capital
stock which is issued in the
name of the Secretary of War.
This came about by the fact
that the French government had
bought the stock of the original
company when it made its two
attempts to build the canal, and
it became necessary for the
United States to take over the
property when it finally as
sumed the task of the great
waterway. There was some pri
vate stock outstanding but the
Federal government finally ob
tained complete control in 1904.
The road was an essential
factor in building the canal
which it follows as far as poss
ible. As on the canal the Atlan
tic terminal is more than 25
miles west of the Pacific termi
nus. The road is now an impor
tant adjunct in the operation of
the canal and many of the bus
iness activities on the Isthmus
connected with the canal are
conducted with the funds of the
railroad.
The total trackage operated by
the Panama Railroad is 153
(Please turn to Page Seven)
flim FLIERS
HEMS COAST
BRITISH ISLES
U. S. ARMY OFFICERS DUE TO
REACH ENGLAND BE
TWEEN 4 AND 5 P. M.
CROYDEN, England, Oct., 10, [
(/P)—Officials of the airdrome af- j
iter calculating the position of;
| the transAtlantic plane Colum- j
bia carrying Captain Boyd and
Lieutenant Conner, from Harbor
' Grace, Newfoundland, said they
believed the plane should land
here between four and five p. m.
today.
Orders have been given that
if the fliers have not arrived
by sunset for the airdrome to be
lighted as a beacon.
Control officers are checking j
with meteorologists as to the j
j average speed, tailwinds and
! other bits of information.
The latest report was that the
' plane had been sighted by the
SS Virginia which said; “Air
| plane flying low in easterly di
I rection." The position was given
| as about 200 miles off Land’s
Ends. England.
!
BOSTON, Oct., 9, —'The
American Legion selected Detroit
i for the 1931 convention city by
' a vote of 658 to 570 for Los An
! geles.
' Admiral William S. Benson!
urged the Legion airs to study
and eradicate the causes of
crime.
William R. Green, president
of the Federation of Labor, warn
ed against forces attempting to
break down the government.
“We will not pull down the Na
tional structure for those repre- j
senting a visionary remedy but j
will work out our problems in
accordance with American trad- j
ition.’’
RALPH T. O'NEIL,
ELECTED COIM
BOSTON, Oct., 10, (/P)—Ralph
T. O'Neil of Topeka, Kansas was
elected commander of the Amer
ican Legion at the annual con
vention here.
O'Neil is a lawyer and served
as a captain with the 11th in
fantry, 5th division. He was cit
ed for bravery. 1
Among the resolutions report
ed by the legislative committee j i
and adopted by delegates was!
the proposed opening of Alaska |
lands for settlement by veter- j
ans.
COMMUNISTS BLOCKED
BOSTON, Oct., 9, (ZP)—An at
tempt of 50 communists to en
ter the American Federation of
Labor convention was halted
when police aided federation of
ficials.
PROPOSAL DEFEATED
KETCHIKAN, Oct., 10, (/P)—
The tax payers of Ketchikan de
feated the proposal to bond the
city for $1,000,000 to buy the
public utilities of the local com
pany’s light and power plant.
The vote was 172 against and 91
for. Sixty-five per cent of the
vote was required to pass it.
BRITISH EMPIRE
MOURNS. BIER OE
DIRIGIBLE BEAD
PEOPLE FROM EVERY WALK
OF LIFE ATTEND CATH
EDRAL SERVICE
LONDON, Oct., 10, (/P)—The
historic St. Paul’s Cathedral be
came the shrine for the British
Empire at noon while the na
tion mourned those who died in
the dirigible R-101 disaster.
Envoys from every nation
joined in the great memorial
service. Ambassador Dawes rep
resented the United States.
Mourners from every walk in
life from the far outposts of
the Empire were present. The
Prince of Wales attended, also
members of the House of Com
mons and noted statesmen, er
rand boys and shop girls; all
took time, the latter from their
lunch hour, to enter Westminis
ter Halls.
It was a simple service but
the hymns, prayers and music
created a profound impression.
Bronzed reserves of the R-101
ivept without restraint and out- i
side tens of thousands waited
reverently during the services.
All morning the gueue passed
before the catafalque of Wes
minister grew in length.
TOTAL NOW 48
BEAUVAIS, France, Oct., 9, (A5)
—The dead from the R-101 dis
aster increased to 48 when Sam
uel Church, a rigger, succumbed
from burns.
AM OFFICERS HOP
OFF OVER ATLANTIC
HARBOR GRACE, Newfound
land. Oct., 9, (/P)—Captain Errol
Boyd and Lieutenant Harry
Cooner hopped-off at 8:20 a. m.
Pacific Standard time, in an
airplane for England.
The hop-off followed a week’s
preparation and waiting for
favorable weather.
The plane, the Columbia, is
the same used by Levine and
Chamberlain in their hop to
Germany.
SPEAKS ON FISHING
NEW YORK, Oct. 9. (/P) — Presi
dent Hoover’s two speeches on fisti
ng in which he is represented in a
gently humorus mood have been
published .
DORBANDT AND COPE
SEATTLE, Oct., 10, (/P)—Frank
Dorbandt and Alonzo Cope, Alas
ka aviators and heads of the
International Airways of Alaska,
arrived here and left imme
diately for California by plane.
They plan to buy two more
planes for their rapidly growing
Alaska service.
POLITICAL MEET
HEARS GRIGSBY
DEMOCRATIC ASPIRANT DEL
EGATE TO CONGRESS
MAKES VOTES
ANCHORAGE, Oct., 10, (Spe
cial to The Gateway—George
Grisgby, Democratic nominee at
the general election next month
for Delegate to Congress from
Alaska, . addressed one of the
best attended political meetings
ever held in Anchorage, in the
Empress theater on Wednesday
night.
He briefly reviewed the Dem
ocratic party’t attitude toward
home rule giving his party cred
it for construction of the Alaska
Railroad.
He assailed the Republican
administration for laying off
hundreds of men in the Alaska
Railroad belt while at the same
time speeding up employment
in the states to create an arti
ficial prosperity in order to car
ry the next congressional elect
ion.
He vigorously attacked Wick
ersham's position on the fish
trap question and directly ac
cused him selling political in
fluence to canneries and exploit
ing the natives with fake law
suits against the government.
The speaker was well applaud
ed and made votes. Mr. Grigsby
leaves Friday for Seward where
he will address the voters of
that city (tonight at 8 o'clock*
in the Liberty theater.
KLIESEO CROOK IS
HESTEO 08BBERY
OE IIOO'S ROME
CHICAGO, Oct., 9, (/P)—Sam
Battaglia, 25, is held as a sus
pect of the robbery from Mayor
Thompson’s wife but considera
ble doubt as his being the right
one, is manifest.
Battaglia is a minor hoodlum
and racketeer and was arrest
ed as he left court where he was
freed from the charge of as
sault upon Peter O'Malley, Mrs.
Thompson’s chauffeur and a
policeman.
No positive identification was
made though “he looked like
one of the robbers and I’m al
most sure of it but I won’t say
positively he’s the man,” the
driver said.
Battaglia was taken to Mrs.
Thompson’s home last night
but it is not known whether
or not he was identified by the
victim.
ADVOCATES DEATH
HOME, Oct., 9, (/P)—Premier
Mussolini advocated the death
penalty for speculators who
bring on acute business depres
sions.
FORBIDS MARRIAGE
ROME, Oct., 10, (A*)—Foreign
Minister Grande introduced to
the Italian chamber a bill which
forbids marriage between Italian
consular officials and foreign
women.