: Hemard Bnily Gattunan
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOLUME, XXI, NUMBER 38
SEWARD, ALASKA, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1926.
PRKP'.TEN CENTS
ANDREWS TO INVESTIGATE NARCOTIC SITUATION IN ALASKA
Nominations Confirmed
WASHINGTON, D. C, Feb. 16. (AP Flash)—The Sen
; ate late this afternoon confirmed the nominations of Judge
Lomen for the Second Division; Fred Harrison, as District
• United States Attorney, Second Division; Harvey Sullivan,
United States Marshal, Third Division, and Lynn Smith, Mar
shall for the Fourth Division. The first three mentioned suc
ceed themselves in office.
The Judiciary Committee held up nominations of Judges
Ritchie and Reed; also District Attorney Shoup and Albert
White for Marshal of the First Division.
YOUTH’S PRANKS
TAKEN SERIOUSLY
BY COLLEGE GIRLS
PEORIA, 111., Feb. 16. (JP)—A youth
was found tied to a tombstone in a
cemetery here with a tattered sheet
at his feet. He told the police that
girl students at the Bradlet Institute
tied him up after he had tried to
freighten the girls, who were being
initiated into the sorority. He said
his ghost-like attitude and fearsome
groans didn’t faze the girls a bit.
Stolen Checks Float
Ashore Kodiak Island
, Word from Kodiak, regarding the
recent mail robbery, is to the effect
that the checks which were stolen
from the mail pouch and which it was
at first said by Walter Spurvaloff, who
■was arrested and charged with the
theft, he had torn up and thrown away,
were picked up on the beach some
days ago. It appears they were thrown
intact over the side of the small mail
boat and, in due time, floated ashore.
Two or three hundreds of dollars in
currency was taken, which, with the
exception of a small amount was re
covered.
Spurvaloff has been bound over to
the grand jury. The robbery took
place on the boat plying between Ko
diak and Afognak. The pouch was slit
open and registered mail stolen.
Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Shonbeck left
for fheir Anchorage home yesterday
morning.
Mrs. Jerry Perry returned to Anch
orage yesterday.
BLAMES TAXES AND FREIGHT
RATES FOR SLUMP MIDDLE
WEST AGRICULTURE
WASHINGTON. D. C., Feb. 1G (iP)
—Representative Shallenberger, Dem
ocrat of Nebraska, said in a radio ad
; dress the political revolution of the
• Republical party portends thruout the
middle west, which is the result of
I thecondition of agriculture.
He based his assertions on the
| “grand chorus,” and protests against
| the high tariffs, taxes and exorbitant
UPHELD NAVAL
OIL LE ASES
WASHINGTON. D. C., Feb. 16. (/P)
—The District of Columbia Supreme
i Court upheld the indictments charg
I ing former Secretary Albert Fall, Har
; ry F. Sinclaire and E. H. Doheney of
! conspiracy in connection with the ua
i val oil leases.
Noel W. Smith, Head of
Railroad, In California
Noel W. Smith, general manager of
the Alaska Railroad, who has been at
Washington for the past two months
on official business, has returned to
the Pacific Coast, it is reported, and
at the present time is sojourning in
California. It is thought that Mr.
Smith will return to Alaska about
1 the middle of next month.
The city girls basketball team have
! wired Latouche for a series of games
but to date have received no word in
j reply.
_
JUDGMENT OF FAIRBANKS COURT
IS UPHELD BY COURT OF APPEALS
When a Postmaster Fails To Change Combination of His
Safe Upon Assuming Charge, He Is Guilty of
Negligence—Court of Appeals.
BONDING COMPANY STUCK FOR HUGE SUM
Case Grew Out of the Big Fairbanks Postoffice Robbery
In 1921, When $9,900 Were Stolen from Reg
istered Mail Packages—Never Found.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 16. (AP)—When a
new postmaster does not change the combination of the
office safe upon assuming his post, he is guilty of negli
gence, according to the United States Circuit Court of Ap
peals, which held in upholding the judgment of the Fair
banks trial during the last term of court. _ Registered mail
packages were rifled of nine thousand nine hundred dol
lars and magazines substituted in the pouches for curren
cy at the Fairbanks postoffice five years ago.
Postmaster T. H. Deal and the bonding company lost
their suit which was brought against them by the Unit
ed States Government to recover the missing money which
was deposited with Deal at Fairbanks, on Sept. 15, 1921.
Deal and the bonding company sued the United States
on writ or error but during the trial the court’s judgment
was upheld. Julien Hurley, District Attorney for the
Fourth Division, presented the case to the Court of Ap
peals in San Francisco, three months ago. Mr. Hurley
was confident of the ultimate decision of the higher court.
4c
OLMSTED TRIAL
SEATTLE, Wn„ Feb. 16. (Ip)—G. H.
Behneman, private investigator, denied
he had accepted a thousand dollar
bribe, but admitted he told Roy Olm
sted that his telephone was being tap
ped. Behneman said that the many
conversations testified to by Prohibi
tion Agent Fryant had not taken place.
He told of listening in with Fryant
and said Fryant had admitted to him
i the only voices he could identity was
I that of Police Lie'utenant Comstock, !
head of the dry squad, and that many
times Fryant asked him who was
talking.
Behenman testified he volunteered
as a defense witness because he had
been informed Fryant gave false evi
dence regarding the whispering wire
conversations, and that two persons
overheard it. He said he put the ori
ginal tap on the Olmsted telephone for
the Government.
Comstock and Patrolman Christy de
nied the conversations attributed to !
them by the Government’s witness.
Asserting the evidence “could not j
be used in either apprehending or pun- ■
ishing the law violators,” District At-1
torney Revelle refused today to give
I Mayor Brown’s evidence against cer
tain policemen. Revelle said he was
contemplating other prosecutions.
It was announced as the last wit- \
ness, E. J. Hutmaker was called to the I
stand at the request of his own law-!
yer, and testified upon examination j
that he knew liquor was stored at the
Velie ranch. He was looking for a ]
place to raise chickens, when Herbert
Fletcher, defendant, employed him as
a caretaker. This was in 1924.
He also declared that Tony Naka- !
gawa, an employe of Olmsted drove
truckloads of liquor from the ranch, j
Olmsted, himself, on July 4, 1924, came |
to the ranch, loaded a big automobile j
from the stock in the basement, Hut- j
maker said. Until this, he didn’t know j
liquor was stored in the basement, he j
admitted. In the summer of 1924 he.
remembered telling Whitney that he
didn’t know the owner of the liquor
found under the floor of the garage
on the ranch, he testified and added
“but there is no doubt in my mind
it belonged to Olmsted.”
Hair Seal Is Caught
Trap Columbia River
LONGVIEW, Wash., Feb. 16. (Jf>)
—Clyde Bush yesterday caught a
young hair seal weighing 70 pounds,
in a fish trap in the Columbia River.
The seal is the first one caught in
this locality, alive, for many years. It
j was brought here for exhibition pur
poses in a bathtub and put in a de
partment store.
Eskimo Keeps Telephone
Line Open on Mt Rainier
SEATTLE, Feb. 16. I/P)-For the
first time in history, the telephone line
[between Longmire and Paradise, Mt.
Rainier, has been kept open by an Es
kimo and his dogteam hauling his re
| pair outfit on a sled. Heretofore trucks
have been tried which were unable to
get over the roads.
Alaska Railroad Is
Given Time to Build
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16—The House
Territories Committee has approved
the Sutherland bill to allow the Alas
ka Anthracite Railroad three years
from passage of the act to complete
its main line and branches.
s
Mrs. Ollie Gray, Anchorage resident
who has made two trips back to the
Mayo brothers hospital at Rochester,
during the past six months, left Sew
ard yesterday on her way to her home
the Inlet town. Mrs. Gray returned
to Seward from the States on the
Northwestern.
WILKINS’ ADVANCE
PARTY STALLED IN
HUGE SNOWDRIFTS
ON TANANA RIVER
HEROIC EFFORTS BEING MADE
TO RELEASE SLED FAST
FREEZING IN ICE
MEN SUFFERING FROST-BITE
Injunction, Restraining Outside Pho
tographers from Taking Pictures
Dissolved By Court.
NENANA, Alaska, Feb. 16. (£>)—
The supply party has been stalled
in snow drifts on the Tanana river,
near Minto for the past thirty-six
hours. They have succeeded in re
leasing five sleds which were frozen
in. The men are making heroic ef
forts today to free the remaining five
sleds and hoped to reach Campbells
roadhouse on the Nenana-Tanana trail
tonight.
Several men have suffered frostbite
caused by the high winds, with a tem
perature ranging around 15 below zero.
FAIRBANKS, Feb. 16. (JP)—T h e
District Court dissolved the injunc
tion restraining other photographers
from taking pictures of the Wilkins
expedition: holding that the undertak
ing was a public enterprise.
The plaintiffs were given five days
to file an amended complaint. The
defendants were Suratt and Merl La
voy, Pathe and Fox Film photogra
phers, respectively.
Vaudeville Performance
At Liberty Tomorrow
Song hits, dancing and a comedy
sketch will compose the vaudeville acts
which will be presented tomorrow eve
ning at the Liberty theater. The pur
pose of the special acts, which will
be given between the comedy and the
feature film, is one of raising suffi
cient money to cover the expenses of
the Anchorage high school basketball
team which will arrive in Seward to
morrow evening. They will play three
games with the local high school girl’s
team, returning to the Inlet town, next
Monday. Owing to the long stop
over the expenses will be greater than
the usual inter-city games.
TEN CANDIDATES
HAVE FILED FOR
THE PRIMARIES
hTe filings of candidates, with the
Clerk of the District Court, for the
primary election Tuesday, April 27,
are as follows:
For Delegate—Frank A. Aldrich, R.
Dan A. Sutherland, R., Juneau; Harry
G. McCain, R., Ketchikan; Gilbert A.
Adams, D., Nome; Frank A. Boyle, D.,
Juneau.
For Territorial Senator—Arthur
Frame, R., Anchorage; A. J. Dimond,
D., Valdez.
For House of Representatives—W.
B. Dean, R., Ben A. Grier, R., Martin
Leckwood, R., Anchorage; Jos. H.
Murray, R., McCarthy; Thomas S.
Scott, R., Cordova; Sumner S. Smith,
R., Anchorage; John F. Coffey, D., of
Kodiak; J. S. Hofman, D., Seward;
Thomas C. Price, D., W. A. Sherman,
D., Anchorage; C. H. Wilcox, D., of
Valdez.
In the Fourth division there were
five filings for the House of Repre
sentatives, all Republicans, as fol
lows: J. H. Groves, Fred B. Johnson,
Thomas J. McCroskey, Hosea H. Ross
and Joseph Ulmer. There are no par
ty candidates for the Senate, nor are
there any Democrats seeking election
from this division.
There is considerable conjecture as
to who will file independently. So
far there has been but one declared,
John Dunn of Ruby, who will seek
re-electicn as senator from the Fourth
division. The holdovefr Senator is
Harry E. Pratt, Democrat.
I
Bristol Bay District
Reeks In Noxious
Odors of Narcotics
Blames Judiciary Systems In Alaska for Non-Enforcement
of Laws Governing Illicit Traffic—Says Agents
Are Helpless In Running Down Dope Addicts
$15 BAIL SET FOR THOSE CAUGHT TRAFFICKING DRUGS
When Protests Ensued Over Nominal Figure Placed As
Bail, Sutherland Said That the Courts Raised the
Sum to $7.500—Andrews Answers
WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 16. (AP)— Delegate Dan
! Sutherland of Alaska said today that the judiciary system
is responsible for the laxity of enforcement of the prohibi
tion and narcotic sales in Alaska. He told Secretary An
drews that enforcement agents connected with the In
ternal Revenue department were not responsible for vice
conditions, and that “apparently nothing can be done.. I
simply told Andrews/’ the Delegate continued, “the ob
i stacles his agents must overcome in the enforcement of
the law in Alaska.”
Narcotic smuggling was quite extensive in the
Bristol Bay district, and last fall, fifteen smugglers
were arrested. The Commissioner placed their bail at
$15 each, but after a vigorous protest the amount was rais
ed to $7,500 each. He also said he was not contemplat
ing having an investigation made of the judicial system
as he doubted if it would accomplish any benefits.
It was later learned that Delegate Sutherland, late
yesterday, requested Chief Andrews to use more string
ent measures in preventing narcotics being distributed in
Alaska. He was quoted as saying that “narcotics were
a menace in two districts,”—evidently alluding at the
| Third and First Divisions.
In answer to the above, Dry Czar Andrews said: “I
am prepared to investigate the narcotic situation in Al
aska as presented by Delegate Sutherland,” but added
that he was uninformed as to conditions except through
the Delegate’s representations.
CHARGES ANTI-SALOON LEAGUE
HAS UNDUE INFLUENCE OVER
PROHI AGENT APPOINTMENTS
WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 16. (/P)
—Charging the anti-Saloon League
with exercising “insidious influence”
over the Treasury department in the
appointment of prohibition officers,
Representative Britten, republican of
Illinois, introduced a resolution to in
vestigate the activities of he league.
SENATE DEADLOCK
WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 16. (/P)
—The Senate and House conferees on
the Tax Bill, deadlocked after a two
hour session.
Bystander Is Shot
During a Quarrel
Following a shooting affair near
Burkhart Alley, Cordova, a few days
ago, Alice Johnson, known as Mae
Jones, proprietor of a bath house in
the alley, was bound over to the
grand jury on a charge of assault
with a dangerous weapon. Bail was
fixed at $1,000.
A complaint was also sworn out
against Jack Lopez charging assault
not been located by the time the pre
and battery,, but the defendant had
liminary hearing was called before
United States Commissioner Boyer.
Officers are now seeking him.
Paul Cortelli, a bystander, was shot
in the calf of the leg this morning
when the battle took place and is now
in the hospital.
Lopez and the woman are said to
have endeavored to settle an argu
ment by force on the street. Lope2
is alleged to have beaten the woman
whereupon she drew a revolver and
fired. The shot went wild and struck
Corgtelli.
SON OF SHIPPING
j MAGNATE SHORT
IN HIS ACCOUNTS
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 16.
(JP)—Officials of the Honolulu Plan
tation company filed a charge against
Walter J. Matson, son of a shipping
magnate of this city. The son is said
to be short $300,000 of the company’s
account. He had held the position as
secretary and treasurer of the com
pany for the past year.
HUBBY NORTH; WIFE SOUTH
Mrs. Gordon Harding of Anchor
age, and baby, were among the south
bound passengers on the S.S. North
western, out of Seward Saturday nite.
Mrs. Harding is the wife of one of the
men selected by Malcolm Smith, to
drive a tractor to Point Barrow. Mrs.
Harding is en route to Linden, Wash.,
where she plans making her future
home.
Scouts To Camp Out for
Period of Three Days
The Seward scout troop decided at
their last regular meeting to hike out
to the Orlander cabin, at Mile 7, which
has been kindly turned over to them
for a few days, on Friday evening. One
of the assistant scout masters will
be in charge of the troop. The boys
plan remaining at the cabin site un
til Sunday evening. Hikes will be
made each day and wood craft taught.
But one gun will be taken along and
that will be in charge of the scout
master.
Low-bush moose were seen hopping
around the street near the depot yes
terday morning.