« Heumrd Dnilg Gan-may
4 — -—
VOLUME 20. NUMBER 234
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS._
SEWARdT ALASKA, MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 1925
PRICE TJEN CENTS
REP. FREE WOULD ABANDON THE ALASKA RAILROAD
*
RAILROAD COSTS GOVERNMENT TWO
MILLION DOLLARS YEAR, AVERAGE
FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS A PERSON
Claims Tests Have Proven Coal Along Road Is
Too Poor To Use—No Industry Along the
, Right of Way To Warrant Tracks—
Suggests Pulling Up Rails.
WOULD ABANDON SOUTHERN DIVISION
Railroad Most Difficult In World To Maintain
—One Slide Cost Government $50,000—
• Wants Highway To Run Into Interior
from Portage Bay,
: -
SEATTLE, August 31. —Congressman Free of California, re
publican member of the house committee on merchant marine and on
fisheries, visiting in Seattle, today advocated the abandonment of the
Alaska Railroad, built at a cost of over sixty million dollars.
“Running from Seward to Fairbanks, the railroad serves five
thousand people, and the cost of maintaining it every year is approx
imately four hundred dollars per person of the population along its
line.” He declared that without including the payment of interest
on bonds or the sinking fund, the railroad costs the government two
million dollars yearly, with no prospects in the future for the reduc
^ tion of this cost.
NO INDUSTRIES AND NO COAL IN COUNTRY
“Along its entire length, there is not a single industry sufficient
ly large enough to justify the construction of a railroad. Government
tests have proven the coal along the road too poor to be used on ships
or in industries. The railroad does not tap a mine of any size; and
the country through which it runs could be more economically served
by highways and trails.”
“The railroad is one of the most expensive in the world to main
tain; one slide last year damaging the property to the extent of fifty
thousand dollars. It requires snow sheds, tunnels, trestles, which
are expensive and difficult to build, and many of which are carried
f ► away by rock or snow slides.”
When asked what remedy he suggests, he said, “pull up the rails
and make a highway of it, or build a highway from Portage Bay and
abandon the railroad from Seward to Anchorage.”
t
,y
GANGS ARE GREATEST MENACE TO FISHERIES
Free said his ten thousand-mile inspection tour convinced him
“Alaska is a country of mistaken policies.” Forestry and mining
regulations are other mistaken policies which should be altered. He
states these are unnecessarily stringent and are throttling industries.
The Salmon industry will be on a permanent basis within three or four
years; the greatest menace to the fisheries being organized gangs of
pirates who reap a hundred thousand dollars every year through the
bribing of watchmen employed to enforce regulations governing the
closed fishing period.
Free advocated that all road work in Alaska be carried out by one
bureau instead of under the forestry, war departments, and the terri
torial road commission; to halt political exploitation of Indians; urg
ed the literacy bill restricting the right of franchise to those who can
not read or write; development of the paper and pulp industry in
Southeastern Alaska, to be brought about by changes in forestry regu
lations, contending that at present capital is scared away by a clause
in the thirty year timber lease act which provides for revaluation
every five years. “The initial cost of developing water power and
installing a pulp and paper plant is very heavy and men cannot be in
duced to invest large sums without knowing what their future pros
pects are. At present there is a tremendous waste in Alaska’s forests.
There would be a revival of mining if profitable dredging were made
possible”.
Free, Congressman White of Maine, United States Commissioner
of Fisheries, Henry O’Malley, Lawrence Richy, secretary of Herbert
hoover visited Alaska to study the salmon regulations. The congress
men paid their own expenses, it was stated.
MESS BOY ARCTIC
SCHOONER TAKES
LIFE WITH CORD
Cabin Bov on Schooner Na
nuk Finds Novel Wav
Ending Life
USES CODFISH LINES
Buried in Arctic—Furs are
Plentiful in North This
Season—Little Ice
DUTCH HARBOR, Aug. 31. (£>)—
The schooner Charles Brower, oper
ated by Liebes of San Francisco, ar
riving here from the Arctic, reported
the mess boy on the schooner Nanuk,
one of the competitor ships of the
Brewer killed himself with a codfish
line.
The youth tied one end of the cord
to the top of a bunk, the other end
around his neck. He then stood on
the floor and turned round and round
until the string strangled him. He was
buried on one of the Arctic shores.
The Browser is one of the first trad
ing schooners to return and she re
ports a fine voyage, having encounter
ed little ice, with furs exceptionally
plentiful.
REMAINS OF LATE
CANNERY MAN AT
SELDOVIA HERE
BODY ARRIVES IN SEWARD ON
REDONDO—BEING PREPARED
FOR SHIPMENT SOUTH
The body of Wm. W. Hodgman was
brought to Seward yesterday on the
steamer Redondo, from Seldovia, and
was received here by D. H. Williams,
mortician of Seldovia and Anchor
age, who is preparing the remains
for shipment East- to Minneapolis,
where interment will be made. The
late Wm. Hodgman, who was one of
the principal stockholders in the Al
aska Consolidated Fisheries, Inc.,
died at the cannery near Seldovia,
August 28, from acute indigestion.
Wm. Hodgman is survived by his
wife, Mrs. W. W. Hodgman, residing
at Minnetonka Beach, a suburb of
Minneapolis, and by a son William,
Jr. According to Mr. Williams, a
telegram has been received from the
son, announcing he will meet the
body at Juneau, and accompany the
remains East. The son has been in
charge of one of the company's can
neries in Southeastern Alaska. A
special casket and pressed steel
vault was brought to Seward from
Anchorage last Saturday by Mr. Will
iams, wrho is preparing the remains
for shipment at his building on the
corner of Adams and Fourth street.
Merrymakers On Smack
Drown In Heavy Squall
PERIGNAN, France, Aug. 31 (g>)—
A dozen merrymakers were reported
drowned when a fishing smack, the
Mary Louise, capsized in a heavy
squall while returnipg from a festival
at a nearby seaport. The vessel's
master is the only known survivor to
reach shore after a three-hour swim.
Mrs. De la Vergne, wife of the phy
sician and surgeon at Fairbanks re
turned to Alaska on the steamer Yu
kon, departing yesterday for the In
terior.
Clearing Away Wartime
Wrecks In French Ports
| -
HAVRE, France, Aug. 31 (/P)—A
small British steamer of concrete,
employed in clearing away wartime
wrecks obstructing the approaches to |
this port broke in two, caught fire, i
and sank after an explosion. A French
watchman and his wife were the only
persons aboard and both perished.
The vessel carried explosives.
BABE RUTH OUT
OF BASEBALL FOR
BALANCE SEASON
FINED $5,000 FOR DRUNKENNESS,
MISCONDUCT AND BREACH
OF DISCIPLINE
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 31 (£>)—Babe Ruth
was indefinitely suspended from play
ing baseball, and was fined $5,000 by
Manager Miller Huggins today, with
the brief explanation that Ruth was
guilty of “misconduct in the field.”
When he was asked, does “miscon
duct off the field mean drinking,” he
answered, “Of course it means drink
ing, and it means a lot of other things
besides. Patience has ceased to be
a virtue. I have tried to overlook
Ruth’s behavior for some time, but
finally decided to take summary ac
tion to bring the big fellow to his
senses.”
Ruth early this morning was seen in
white flannels around his hotel, ap
parently without a care in the world.
He later appeared at the ball park but
left before the game.
Says Through With Yankees
CHICAGO, Aug. 31 (IF)—Babe Ruth
declared today that he is through with
the Yankees this year, and added, “I
: will not play in 1926 if Huggins is
! manager. I am through with the Yan
kees. I will not play for him. Either
he quits or I do. Huggins is making
publicity trying to blame me for the
team being in its seventh place posi
tion. The truth is that Huggins is in
competent. He has a, wonderful team
which in the past virtually managed
itself and last year lost the pennant
when it should have won by fifteen
games. It was Huggins fault. He did
: not get the most out of the team. I be
lieve we have the best team in the
League this year.”
Johnson Approves Suspension
CHICAGO, Aug. 31 (#>)—President
Ban Johnson said today, “I am hearti
ly in accord with the punishment
meted out to Ruth. The slugger has
the mind of a 15-year-old boy and must
be made to understand where he be
longs.”
Owner Endorses Punishment
NEW YORK, Aug. 31 (£>)—Colonel
Jacob Ruppert, owner of the Yankees
endorsed the suspension and fine of
Babe Ruth.
Naval Seaplanes Ready
To Fly to Honolulu, H. I.
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 31 (/P)—
Two navy seaplanes are ready to de
part today for Honolulu on a non-stop
flight. The PB 1, a Seattle built
craft, which is receiving a new en
gine will follow later. It is calculated
the flight will require slightly more
than 26 hours.
T. B. McGrath, special tourist agent
for the Alaska railroad departed for
the Interior yesterday.
mm
REP. FREE SAYS
ALASKA IS LAND
WRONG POLICIES
Returns to States After 3
Months Trip to West
ward Canneries
INCLUDES ALASKA RY.
I Recommends Literacy Law
to Make More Intelligent
Electorate
BELLINGHAM, Aug. 31. (£>)— Rep
| resentative A. M. Free returned here
! today, after a three months’ tour of
j Alaska, where he made an investiga
! tion of the fisheries with a party of
'other government officials. Repre
sentative Free calls Alaska the “land
of mistaken policies" and said these
mistaken policies include the building
j of the Alaska Railroad; government
regulation w’hereby only one mining
claim a month can be taken up; for
estry policies, whereby the forests un
der leases, are revalued every five
years.
Would Pass Literacy Law
Mr. Free further declared:
“The exploitation of Indians in
Alaska is the worst thing that
. could happen to the country. Cer
tain leaders tell the Indians if they
put up money they will get a dol
lar for their fish, thereby elimi
nating the traps, and that they
can dictate the policies of Alaska.
Thousands of dollars have been
collected under these promises.
“If congress would pass a literacy
law permitting only those who can
read and write to vote it would make
a more intelligent electorate and w'ould
remove the temptation to exploit the
indians.”
Voice of Alaska is Radical
The voice of Alaska is radical, de
clared Mr. Free, and the attitude of
the radical is to attack anybody want
ing to put money into Alaska. This is
evidenced by their attitude toward the
canneries who pay sixty seven per
cent of the taxes. Free also advo
cated conservation, as on the salmon
industry.
IMAUD ANCHORED
AWAITING ORDERS
SEATTLE, Aug. 31 (£*)—'The gas
schooner Maud is awaiting orders from
Amundsen before proceeding south,
Capt. Wiestling told the chamber of"
commerce today in a cable from Nome.
ANTHRACITE MEN
WILL STRIKE OUT
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 31 (/P)—
The anthracite strike ordered for Sep
tember 1 will mean the walkout of -
only 150,000 workers, excluding eight
to ten thousand maintenance men but
will also throw out of work ten thou
sand railroad men, officials of the an
thracite region reported.
Lightning Kills Man In
Wisconsin; Other Damage
STANLEY, Wis., Aug. 31 (£>)—Ira
Meyers was killed by lightning while
driving home with a load of lumber. -
Two persons were injured in build
ings which were damaged by wind and.
rain storms.