Heu-arti Dale Gatewsty
VOLUME XVIII. NUMBER 195
SEWARD. ALASKA, TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1923
I'klCE TEN CENTS
.S.C..
CITY PRIMUS
POPULAR PASTIME IN THE SOLID
SOUTH CAUSES TROOPS TO
BE CALLED OUT
CHARLESTON, S. C., Aug. 7—Four
companies of (he South Carolina Na
tional Guards stood In readiness for
emergency today while the voters of
Charleston cast their ballots in a bit
terly contested mayoralty primary.
Two military units are at their ar
mories here while troops in Orange
burg and Walterboro have received
orders to stand by.
NORTHWESTERN OUT OF
KETCHIKAN YESTERDAY
SEATTLE, Aug. 7.—The steamship
Northwestern sailed from this port
northbound at 4:30 P- m. date.
IISBARMENT PROCEEDINGS
AGIST FORMER JUDGE
SEATTLE, Aug. 7—Disbarment pro
ceedings were instituted today against
William R. Bell, former judge of the
superior court for converting thirteen
hundred dollars belonging to a client,
to his own use.
PITCHED BATTLE NEAR LAKE LA
NAO BRINGS DISASTER TO
INSURRECTOS
MANILA, P. I., Aug. 7—Fifty Moros
were killed and a number wounded,
and three members of the Philippine
constabulary were wounded in a hard
battle near Lake Lanao, on the island
of Mindano yesterday.
Concluding Chapters on Building the Alaska
Central Ry., and Its Purchase by the Govt.
(Continued from Monday’s Paper)
“The President by Executive Order
created the Alaska Engineering Com
mission to carry the provisions of the
Alaska Railroad Act into effect. That
Commission has no relation to the
former Alaska Railroad Commission.
It is purely a creature of Executive
Order, and can be changed or abolish
ed any time by Executive Order.
“Partisans of the different routes at
once began a spirited contest to in
fluence the President in locating the
^ mail line from the coast to the inter
ior. It was a contest that engrossed
National attention from Alaska to
New York for the next year.
“Delegate Wickersham worked to
have him name the route from Valdez
through the Copper River valley to
Fairbanks, and was ably assisted by
delegations from Valdez.
“It fell to me to present and defend
the merits of the Seward-Susitna
route, which I did single handed.
“The Morgan-Guggenheim people
carried on a most energetic and spec
tacular campaign in support of the
route irom Chitina through the Cop
per river valley to Fairbanks, connect
ing with their Copper River & North
western. They offered to sell the Cop
per River & Northwestern, the part of
it from Cordova to Chitina, 130 miles,
themselves retaining the branch to
the Kennecott copper fields. Their
cause was trumpeted every day thru
a string of newspapers they controll
ed.
“Chief among their newspaper or
gans which advocated the Cordova
Chitina-Copper River route was the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, under the
editorial management of Scott Bone.
It had frantically supported the bill
backed by Falcon Joslin and his co
workers, representing the Morgan
Guggenheim properties, to continue
the Alaska Railroad Commission,
which both Committees unanimously
rejected, in preference to the railroad
bill that did pass, which both Com
mittees favorably reported with prac
tical unanimity.
‘K is an interesting side light to
know that the Post-Intelligencer soon
afterward went on the financial rocks,
largely through loss of prestige in
flicted by its Alaskan commitments.
Mr. Hearst bought it, and wholly
changed its management and policies.
“I may appropriately digress here
slightly from the thread of my story
to throw another interesting sidelight
on the situation. It involves Portage
Bay as a possible terminal for the
Alaskan railroad which Congress had
just authorized. The final passage of
the railroad bill centering all author
ity in the President, which I had sup
> ported, seemed to forecast that the
President would naturally, as the next
logical step, designate the Seward
Susitna x'oute. The Seattle Post-In
telligencer and the rest of the string
of Morgan-Guggenheim newspapers
then began a concerted campaign,
which they carried on day after day
for months, to find some other termi
nal than Seward on Resurrection Bay,
in the event that the Susitna route
should be chosen.
“Accordingly, the Post-Intelligencer
started with a sensational news arti
cle, telling about the discovery of a
wonderful new harbor, called Portage
bay, which led over a low pass to the
head of Turnagain Arm. It closed
with the significent statement that if
the Susitna route should be adopted,
this would cut out Seward as the
ocean terminus. For months that
kind of propaganda was carried on by
the Morgan-Guggenheim press and
workers.
“To the public at large, who knew
nothing about the geography of Alas
ka, it was accepted as solemn truth.
But to me and others who knew the
inside facts, it was highly amusing
fiction. I promptly informed Presi
dent Wilson of the true situation, and
left official data with him to verify
my statements. The result was that
the Portage bay propaganda seriously
damaged the interests that were back
of it, and helped the cause of Seward
as the terminus finally selected.
“The official data I left with Presi
dent Wilson showed that Portage Bay
had been well known since the time of
Capt. Cook’s voyages in 1777, that the
route leading over the pass from it
had been traveled by thousands of
miners since the Cook Inlet gold
stamped? in 1S96, and that the Alas
ka Central had made a complete sur
vey of that route in 1902, as shown by
maps then in the Interior Depart
ment, which the Alaska Central had
rejected as physically impossible.
“The plain facts were and are that
a tunnel 13,000 feet long would be re
quired to pass under the mountain
range between Portage bay and Turn
again Arm. The route then emerges
into a valley a mile wide and would
cut through another mountain with a
tunnel of 5000 feet. Portage glacier
comes down for twenty miles from
the southeast, a mile wide and from
500 to 1000 feet deep, forming a bar
rier across the valley which the rail
road would have to cross between the
two tunnels. Periodically that gla
cier jams up against the mountain on
the west side of the valley, making a
complete dam. A lake then forms
behind the glacier and over the dis
cussed railroad route, seven miles
long and 300 feet deep. Such a lake
filled that valley all through the years
1896 to 1900, as hundreds of Alaskans
know, and as maps prepared by the
\\ ar Department expeditions of 1898
and 1899 show. Many times since,
that lake has formed and continued
for months at a time, until the im
pounded waters would slowly wear a
channel between the glacier and the
western mountain wall. Those condi
tions are obvious at a glance to ev
erybody who sees them. At no time is
the glacial wall of solid ice, a mile
wide and 500 feet high, more than 20
to 30 feet from the mountain, the riv
«i flowing in a canyon between the
perpendicular wralls of mountain and
ice.
But that is not all, impossible as
it is. Portage bay has two glaciers
discharging at its head, almost into
the water, with only loo acres of
glacial moraine between the. head of
the bay and the perpendicular moun
tain enclosing it. Mountain walls rise
all around. At its entrance hundreds
of icebergs often float out from the
Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Harri
man glaciers that discharge into Port
Wells, and Government charts show
numerous sunken rocks there. In the
winter months, the thick snows and
dense fogs make navigation of those
waters extremely dangerous if not
impossible. All storms from Prince
William Sound sweep through the
pass from the southeast, and all
storms from Turnagain Arm cross
over from the west, making it the
worst storm driven center on the
Alaskan coast.
“From any one of these combina
tions singly, it is impossible as a rail
road terminus or as an open seaport.
Taken all together, no place in all the
world, in Alaska or elsewhere, could
be more impossible.
“President Wilson verified these
statements, through surveys and ex
aminations he caused to be made, and
found them exactly as described. He
rejected it. The Navy Department
later investigated, with the same defi
nate findings. It rejected Portage
bay as impossible for any Naval pur
pose whatsoever. Still, we occasion
ally hear yet about Portage bay, but
always from people who don’t know,
or from interests bent on making the
Alaska railroad ridiculous.
“Coming back to the thread ot my
story, President Wilson in 1914 sent
crews of engineers under the Alaska
Engineering Commissrcm to check up
on the data and the arguments I had
submitted to the House and the Sen
ate Committees and to him, with the
result that every detail of my data
and statements was verified in full.
He accordingly, in April, 1915, official
ly designated the route for the Alas
ka railroad to be from Sew'ard as the
ocean terminus, following the original
Alaska Central survey mile by mile
through the Susitna valley to the Tan
ana river at Nenana and on to Fair
banks.
“The President rejected both routes
through the Copper River Valley, the
one from Cordova and the other from
Valdez, on the ground that the Cop
per River Valley offered no resources
of any kind to support a population or
provide traffic.
“Every disinterested man in Alaska
today frankly acknowledges that the
Seward-Susitna route is the one logi
cal and rightful route, from the stand
point of resources, central location,
and all natural advantages.
“The Government bought the Alaska
Northern as the first section of the
Alaska railroad under its own appraise
ment, by a provision in the Alaska
Railroad Act giving it power of ap
praisal and condemnation, which I
myself wrote and had incorporated in
the Act. The Canadian owners asked
$6,000,000 for it, but the Government
set the price at $1,150,000, which is
the amount it paid. That is $16,000 a
mile for a railroad that originally cost
$4,125,000 to build, or an average of
$60,000 a mile. It was 25 cents on the
dollar. Far from being an ‘exorbitant’
price, it was a pick-up. But the Cana
dian owners had frozen out all inter
ests in it except those held by the de
funct Sovereign Bank of Canada, and
consequently the Government did not
feel in a philanthropic mood in deal
ing with them.
Although the Alaska Northern sec
tion traverses the heaviest work be
tween Seward and Fairbanks, it stands
the Government less in cost per mile
than the level work through the Susit
(continued on page 2)
88888888888888888
PROCLAMATION
8
8
- 8
JUNEAU, Alaska, Aug. 6.— 8
8 Office of the Governor, Juneau, 8
8 To all the people of Alaska, by 8
8 National proclamation, Friday, 8
8 August 10th, is set apart as a day 8
8 of mourning and prayer through- 8
8 out the United States and Ter- 8
8 tories. 8
8 The mortal remains of the be- 8
8 loved late President of this re- 8
8 public, Warren G. Harding, will 8
8 on that day be interred at Ma- 8
8 rion, Ohio. 8
8 Deeply mourning the loss of a 8
8 great and good friend, Alaska 8
8 will sorrowfully, affectionately, 8
8 wholeheartedly and universally 8
8 observe the sad event. He round- 8
8 ed out his fine career by service 8
8 to Alaska. His final message to 8
8 America, his last public utter- 8
8 ance was a tribute to Alaska and 8
8 an expression of faith in Alas- 8
8 kan citizenship and Alaska’s fu- 8
8 ture. His beautiful visit to the 8
8 Northland was epochal and the 8
8 memory and benefit of it will en- 8
8 dure for all time. 8
8 In conformity with executive 8
8 orders at Washington, all Federal 8
8 and Territorial offices will be 8
8 closed at and after 1:00 o’clock 8
8 p. m., on August 7th until Sat- 8
8 urday morning, August 10th, and 8
8 flags will remain at half mast on 8
8 public buildings until the close 8
8 of Monday, September 3rd, 1923. 8
8 SCOTT C. BONE, 8
8 Governor. 8
88888888888888888
PARIS, August 7—Premier Poin
care in a recent note to London in
formed the British government that
France could not negotiate with Ger
many until passive resistance in the
Ruhr was ended and that evacuation
could not be considered until a final
agreement was reached and repara
tions payments made or assured. The
substance of the note was made pub
lic last nigiit after the premier had
press accounts of the British prime
minister's statements in which Great
Britain’s proposals were discussed.
The French note raised the question
of what might be gained by once
more appraising Germany’s capacity
to pay the estimation of the Reich
stag’s capacity to pay the note. The
premier expressed a wish that the
American unofficial member of the
commission could take a more active
part in its deliberations.
RUM SCHOONER SEIZED
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7.—The Brit
ish rum running schooner Pessaquid
was taken into Norfolk by a U. S.
coast guard cutter. The Pessaquid
was off Hatteras inside the three mile
limit.
The steamship Alameda arrived in
port about midnight and sailed about
2 p. m. for southbound ports. Outgo
ing passengers were J. L. Reed, Val
dez; J. W. Booth, P. E. Zharoff, Adam
Petrich, for Latouche; Dan Vander
ford; L. C. Rogers, Cordova; Dr. E.
Olivia White, C. M. Handfey, J. E.
Crutchley, John D. Hall and wife, I.
G. Anderson, Warren S. Harding, Ju
neau; John S. Delahide, Juneau.
Seattle passengers were M. P. Ro
sin, Jos. H. Hutchinson, E. J. Peacock,
E. N. Hanscom, H. S. McGraw, E. D.
Elliott, Volney Richmond, Mrs. Wm.
Hughes. Mrs. F. H. Parker, Mrs. H.
H. Frasee, Alice K. Breevort, Mrs. G.
B. King, B. F. Coffman, Henry D. Tur
ney, Robert A. Sullivan, C. F. House,
Miss Pauline Schwartz, Miss May Cal
kins, Miss Ruby Miller, Miss Beulah
Miller, J. M. Horton, E. B. Miller,
Lulu Neal, Frances Day.
For Ketchikan—L. L. Maurer, Mrs.
C. H. Ritter, G. B. Leghorn, Mrs. G.
G. Leghorn, Margaret, Marion and M.
R. Patterson, Harris A. Reynolds.
GREAT BRITAIN
AND FRANCE ARE
DRIFTING APART
COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL OCCU
PATION TROOPS ONLY WAY
TO APPEASE BRITAIN
LONDON, Aug. 7.—Great Britain
and France are drifting farther apart
each day in their attitude over the
occupation of the Ruhr, and only ab
solute evacuation of the Ruhr district
by the French will appease Britain, j
This is the conclusion drawn by
the remarks of Prime Minister Bald
win and Foreign Secretary Curzon
befox-e the Houses of Parliament.
Ministers revealed that the latest
communication from France and Bel
gium furnished no material for an Al
lied answer to the German repai’a
tions proposals and they brought to
light a surprising situation between
the two nations.
CAPITOL NOT BE DRAPED
WI"H MOURNING FOR HARDING
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7—The Capi
tol will not be draped with mourning.
An act of congress, March 3, 1793 pro
hibits this because it discolors the
buildings. The President’s room and
the capitol however, will be draped,
i as well as the rotunda, last draped
; November, 1921, for the body of the
| “l'nknoArn Soldier.’4’
CORINNE GRIFFITH SUES
HUSBAND FOR DIVORCE
_ •
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 7.—Corinne
Griffith, popular movie actress, said
i she had instructed New York attor
neys to file suit for divorce from Pe
: ter Campbell, movie director.
*
WILL ENTER COTTON MARKET
CAIRO, Egypt, Aug. 7.—It was an
nounced that the Egyptian govern
ment has decided to enter the cotton
market with a view to maining the
price.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7.—There was
a striking parallel between the cir
cumstances which led to President
Harding’s illness and death and those
which preceded the collapse of Presi
dent Wilson during his western trip
in 1919. Wilson had left Washington
with the avowed purpose of carrying
the gospel of peace to the people. In
this case Harding went westward to
explain to the people the conception
of world peace as hanging upon Amer
ican participation in World Court.
When Wilson cancelled the remain
der of his trip at Wichita, Kansas,
he had traveled 8,200 miles in the
heat of late summer, delivering more
than forty speeches. When Harding
surrendered to the order of physi
cians he had traveled 7,500 miles and
made upward of sixty speeches.
ATTEMPT TO LAUNCH
BOOM TOO JOHNSON
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 7.—An at
tempt is being made to launch booms
for Hiram Johnson for president is
already under way in California, Ore
gon and Washington, Johnson having
indicated he wanted these delega
tions.
MILL11ES NOW MADE
EDO ONE 0. S. DOLLAR
BERLIN, Aug. 7.—The mark drop
ped today to two million for one good
American dollar.
WIFE OF PHILIPPINES VETERAN
KILLS HERSELF AND SON
SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 7.—Mrs. Ju
lius Lunderstruth, 36, wife of Major
Lindenstruth, formerly of the Philip
pines, shot and killed herself and her
son of 13.
She left a note which authorities
said indicated she was mentally de
ranged.
PROFESSIONAL SWIMS LAKE ERIE
LORAIN, Ohio, Aug. 7.—Crabis
Walker, long distance swimmer, swam
across Lake Erie from Point Pellee,
Ontario, to this city. He made the
distance of 33 miles in 21 hours.
DIAL PASSES SAFETY BILL
DUBLIN, Aug. 7.—The Dial passed
a public safety bill whereunder the
government may continue to hold
prisoners who are charged with act
ively opposing the Free State govern
ment.
BODY OF Hi .
WILL ARRIVE SI"
CAPITAL TOM!
TRAIN FOUR OR FIVE HOURS BE
HIND SCHEDULE—TWENTY
MINUTE STOP IN OHIO
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7.—The body
of President Harding will arrive here
tonight in cloudy weather and proba
bly a thunderstorm, predicted by the
weather bureau. The train is four
or five hours behind schedule.
Miss Abegail Harding, sister of the
dead president, and Mrs. Carl W. Saw
yer Marcon, boarded the train at
Willard and went at once to join Mrs.
Harding.
Ten persons who had stood since
early dawn awaiting the presidential
special silently paid their tribute dur
ing a 20-minute stop, the only one in
Ohio.
Postoffices Be Ciosed Friday
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7.—Postmas
ter General New today ordered all
postoffices in the United States and
possessions will be closed between 3
and 4 p. m., Marion, Ohio, time, Aug
ust 10th, the day of the burial of the
late President.
Large Demonstration in Chicago
CHICAGO, Aug. 7.—Harding’s fu
neral train passed through here this
afternoon attended by the greatest
demonstration the city ever witness
ed, compared only with the reception
according the body of President Lin
coln in 1865. A dense throng over 15
miles long witnessed the passing of
the train.
Wilson Accepts Invitation
\\ ASHINGTON, Aug. 7.— TerminS
his invitation a gracious courtesy,
former President Wilson wrote Presi
dent Coolidge this evening announcing
his intention of attending the Hard
ing funeral. The letter in part fol
lows: “I shall esteem it an honor to
take part in the funeral procession.
It will be with a feeling of the utmost
solemnity and reverence that I will
attend. I regret to say that my lame
ness makes it impracticable to attend
the exercises in the eapitol.”
Million Pay Tribute to Dead
WILLARD, O., Aug. 7.—Mrs. Hard
ing requested that the speed of the
funeral train not exceed 50 miles an
hour on its way to Washington, and
that a speed of only ten miles an
hour be maintained through towns and
villages. Secret service men accom
panying the body estimated today
that more than a million persons
turned out in various towns and cit
ies thus far to pay tribute to the dead
President.
Widows of Presidents Number Four
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7.—The wid
ows of various Presidents of the Uni
ted States now number four: Mes
dames Harding, Cleveland, Harrison
and Roosevelt.
RUTH HOMERS 25TH RUN
NEW YORK, Aug. 7.—Babe Ruth
today homered his 25th run in the
ninth Inning of a game with the
Cleveland team.