DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME IN F1QURINQ WHY A BLACK HEN LAYS A WHITE EQQ—BUT GET BUSY AND GET AFTER THE BOO.
VOL. I.
CHITINA, ALASKA, SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1911.
NO. 24
CONGRESS DEADLOCKED
Washington, March 3.—Apart from
the question of the reciprocity agree
ment with Canada, the real cause
for the situation in Congress threat
ening an extra session is declared
by the leaders in the House to be
the change in the rules made by the
reform element in the House in the
last session and the want of leader
ship in the Senate. The astonishing
proposition was carried in the House
to place the matter of determining
just what legislation shall be con
sidered during the last few days of
the session in the House altogether
in the hands of Speaker Cannon.
This is declared to be the real mean
ing of the action of the House in
agreeing to a rule which will enable
that body to pass every measure un
der suspension of all rules with on
ly 40 minutes’ debate thereon.
In the Senate the congestion of
business makes it probable that even
the slightest consideration given to
the reciprocity agreement will result
in defeating necessary appropriation
bills. Senator Aldrich is absent in
Florida, and his guiding hand is miss
ed at this time. Senator Hale, long
an able hand in the attairs or tne
Senate, has been ill the past week
and all the appropriation bills which
come from his committee are receiv
ing no consideration.
The aspirants for Senate leader
ship, Senators Cummins of Iowa, and
Borah of Idaho, are giving no at
tention to the really necessary busi
ness of the Senate, but devote their
time to the resolution regarding the
election of senators by the people ‘
or to the Lorimer case.
During the past three weeks these
senators have been practically in
charge of the business of the Sen
ate, with the result that no progress
has been made on important legisla
tion pending before that body.
When the proposition was present
ed in the House for changing the
rules so as to provide for passing all
remaining legislation under suspen
sion of the rules, there was not suf
ficient opposition to the plan to se
cure a record vote. A few of the
insurgent Republicans, who were re
sponsible for the changes in the rules,
stood out against this plan, but the
Democrats voted solidly for it. The
reason for this course on the part
of the Democrats is that as all meas
ures passed under suspension of the
rules require a two-thirds vote the
Democratic minority is practically
given the power to veto any legisla
tion that may be proposed for the
remainder of the session.
In the face of all this, however the
TRAINS PLOUGH THROUGH
IMMENSE SUDES OE SNOW
For the past 30 days, according to
press dispatches and outside papers,
the storm king has ruled things with
a high hand all over the United
States, and the great railway systems
have suffered as never before in rail
road history. The Canadian Pacific
was tied up for three weeks west of
Winnipeg, the Southern Pacific had
an eleven-day tie up in the Siskions,
the Western Pacific at one place in
the Sierra Nevada mountains was
tied up for two weeks, and the train
crew and passengers were suffering
for food, while the Northern Pacific,
Great Northern and other trunk lines
also had their share of troubles.
That the Copper River & North
western train leaving Cordova on the
18 th of February and arriving at
Chitina on the 23rd of February, was
tied up or able to get through in five
days, reflects great credit on this
system, no one can deny, for the
storm which struck Alaska last week
was one of the worst that any of
the old-timers in this section of the
country can remember. The storm
a few weeks ago was really worse
from a point of wind and light snow,
but this was something unprecedent
ed at this time of year in the form
of a chinook or rain and heavy snow.
The thaw carried thousands of tons
of snow to slide from the moun
tains, burying the track for miles,
and the train crew had to buck huge
drifts from Abercrombie to Wood
canyon, one slide running as high
as 40 to 60 feet on the track and
nearly a mile in length. It took 24
hours’ steady work on this drift be
fore they were able to get through,
but the old rotary never faltered and
there wasn't an engine but what was
using every ounce of steam at all
times, and never once did any of
them give out or let up on the con
tinued bucking, which finally brought
them in triumph into Chitina four
days late, slightly battered and dis
zgured, but still in the game, and
ready in a few hours to make the
return trip south.
A relief train was made up in
Cordova on the second day and all
the available men sent out, which
overtook the train in the canyon.
Mr. Barry stated upon his arrival
in Chitina that the work of the train
crew and men could not have been
better, and cutting through the
drifts which were the largest he ev
er saw, was a revelation to him.
“You can say,” said Mr. Barry, “that
the Copper River & Northwestern
railway now holds the world’s rec
ord over all the trunk lines for cut
ting through snow drifts. Our ro
tary cuts 14 feet seven inches and as
some of the cuts were from 40 to
60 feet in height, we had to put the
men on the drifts and cut benches
with the shovels, throwing it under
the hood of the snow plow so the
rotary could handle it and the river
side of the cuts had to be shoveled
down before the plow could throw
the snow out. I believe the South
ern Pacilc holds the record of snow
cuts, the greatest being 39 feet, and
the cut at mile 111 to 112, was 49
feet, which beats the record at leasi
10 feet. Nearly six feet of wet snow
ell on Tuesday night, and we had not
only heavy slides to encounter but
plenty of snow all along till we pass
ed Wood canyon.”
As soon as the train reached Chit
ina some repairs were made to the
rotary and about noon, after tak
ing on all the available or extra men
in Chitina, the train started on her
return trip south. Mr. Hawkins
who bad come down from the front
to meet the train, expressed himself
as highly pleased, that the train got
through as soon as it did under the
circumstances. Mr. Barry stated that
the Katalla Company had over 200
men strung along the railroad now
for a hundred miles, including those
on the train, and it as the intention
of the Katalla Company to see that
the trains get through in spite of the
elements.
All things considered, such as the
newness of the road insufficient snow
sheds as yet, and the unusually se
vere weather conditions at this time
of year, this last triumph over the
elements, demonstrates beyond all
possible doubt, that railroading in
Alaska is a success, and shows up
better than the old trunk lines in the
states when fighting even worse con
ditions. Too much praise cannot be
given the officials and train crews,
who w’on a victory over the elements
which will go down for many a day in
the annals of railroading.
The district court today granted
a divorce to E. T. Thinius.
fact is not to be overlooked that
Speaker Cannon, for a brief period,
comes into more power than he ever
had under the former rules of the
House. It rests with the speaker
to determine who shall be recogniz
ed to move the passage of any bill
during the operation of this special
rule. This has been brought about,
through the failure of the reform
rules to meet the requirements of
the House and prevent the conges
tion of business in the closing days
of the session.
This situation in the House and
want of leadership in the Senate may
result in forcing an extra session, no
matter whether the Canadian reci
procity agreement is approved by the
Senate or not.
Washington, March 3.—The Phil
ippine assembly has petitioned Con
gress to recognize the independence
of the islands.
Lieutenants Orchard and Edger
ton and Supt. Ingram, of the Alaska
road commission, arrived at Chitina
from Valdez on Tuesday, and after
a couple of days in town returned
to the Glacier City again over the
trail. They had a party of five la
dies, w'lio made the trip with them.
They were Mrs. Ingram, Mrs. Orch
ard, Mrs. Carvey, Mrs. Wood and
Miss Drury. The party were eight
days in making the trip from Val
dez^ the ladies becoming nearly ex
hausted while having to mush over
six miles of bad trail through the
raging storm, and they showed great
courage in returning.
Lieutenant Edgerton is a young
army engineer who only lately suc
ceeded Capt. Pope. He states that
he expects to be kept busy on the
new cut-off wagon road from Chit
ina, the Valdez-Fairbanks trail and
the new proposed route from Seward
to the Iditarod, a 150,000 appropria
tion having recently been made by
Congress for the new trail.
Lieutenant Orchard stated to an
Leader representative that he had
recently heard from Major Rich
ardson, who was vVorking hard to
get a summer mail service and trail
from Chitina to the interior this com
ing summer.
Supt. Ingram has a gang of 30
men at work on the crossing at the
upper Tonsina, on the Valdez-Fair
banks trail, which they expect to
complete in about three weeks, after
which they will begin the construc
tion of the bridge on the new cut
off trail across the lower Tonsina.
This bridge is over 300 feet long
with the approaches, and will be
rushed to completion as soon as
Foreman Holland and his crew can
leave the upper Tonsina crossing.
With the installation of the bridge
at the lower Tonsina, old mushers
and freighters claim there will be no
trouble to make a splendid summer
trail from Chitina to Fairbanks, with
the necessary work along the bad
portions, and as there is money ap
propriated for it, there Is every rea
son to believe that the summer, as
well as the winter, mail may4go to
the interior through Chitina.
I
_
New York, March 3.—Mrs. Russell '
Sage has given $10,000 to provide li
brories for New York firemen. The j
books will be confined to subjects
upon which members of the fighting
force are examined by civil service
sommissioners for promotion. A gift
of $25,000 from Mrs. Sage for the
restoration of the rotunda of City
Hall has been accepted by the Munic
ipal Art Commission.
RAILROAD YARDS ARE
SCENE OP ACTIVITY
... .i.
On Thursday morning, after the ar
rival of the delayed train, all fore
noon the loop and yards took on a
metropolitan appearance, and had
any one recentyl from the states
waked from their dreams of “God’s
country,” and looked out the win
dows of their room in the Hotel
Chitina they would have thought
they were right at home. There
were seven locomotives in the
yards, a number of coal cars, box
cars, cabooses, cars of ties and con
struction material, besides the pas
senger coach, diner, cars for the
workmen and the big rotary. Sev
eral train crews were busy switch
ing cars, and workmen were hand
ling coal and getting tools and sup
plies ready for the trip south. It
was a most busy and pleasing scene,
our mind’s eye in the near future,
and reminds us of what we have in
when the Chitina yards will be full
of cars and train crews busy shunt
ing cars of copper ore from the great
copper mines a few miles above us.
We might just as well look a little
farther, too, and say, like the Cop
per River Indian: “May be so, come
two snows, plenty more railroad,
ketchum Matanuska coal, come
Chitina, hi yu cars, hi yu town, hi
yu big railroad.”
Every now and then we hear a
word from the train crew of our old
friend Deacon Jones, who is watch
man at the Kuskulana. The boys
say the deacon has again thought of
something new. We hope to be able
to chronicle it next week.
Job work at th* Leader office.
New York, March 3.—Mayor Gay
nor has registered his disapproval
of the sidewalk theater ticket specu
lator by signing an ordinance recent
ly passed by the Board of Aldermen,
prohibiting such traffic in tickets.
The ordinance will become effective
in 30 days.
TELEGRAPHIC BRIEFS.
San Francisco, March 3.—The dou
ble-tracking of the Harriniau system
will be pushed as rapidly as possi
ble so as to have it complete by the
time the exposition is held in this
city.
New York, March 3.—Suit has
been brought in the courts here by
the city of New York against the es
tate of the late Samuel L. Clemens
to recover personal taxes for several
years back based on an assessment
of about |15,000. Mark Twain in
his life time protested the assess
ment on the ground that he was a.
resident of Connecticut.
Cambridge, Mass., March 3.—Dr.
Owen Copp, who has just resigned
from the Massachusetts State Board
of Insanity to take charge of the
Pennsylvania Hospital for the In
sane, declared today that every one
at some time in life is bordering on
the verge of insanity.
“There are extremely few fami
lies which survive for three or four
generations without the outcropping
of some case of insanity,” says Dr.
Copp. Again tnere are few men or
women who do not pass through cer
tain times in their lives which are
so severe as nearly to drive them
out of their minds. All of us are
one the verge of insanity at one time
or another in our lives.”
Washington, March 3.—A House
committee reports that the charges
of graft in the sale of the Philip
pine friar lands to the sugar trust
is unfounded.
Danville, Va., March 3.—Edgar
Stribling, for five years chief of po
lice of this city> has been arrested
as an escaped prisoner from a Geor
gia prison.
Read the Leader for the news.
Price Nettieion, tne well known
fireman, is in line for hero medals
and kisses from the fair sex. He
had the window open on his side
of the cab, while the slides were com
ing down the canyon on his way to
Chitina, and an unexpected one
struck the engine, part of the snow
going tnrough the window, giving
Price an immediate “promotion1” to
a locomotive engineer. Anyway,
v.'hen he came to, he and the engineer
were tangled up on the same seat,
and the officials and trainmen say it’s
a case of the most rapid promotion
in railroad history. Price immedi
ately got busy with the “diamonds”
again as though nothing had happen
ed, but when even the elements rec
ognize his ability and put him on the
right side of the cab, we opine it will
not be long until the railway officials
will realize his worth and it will
soon be the throttle instead of the
scoop for him.
New York, March 3.—It la ao new
role for Nat C. Goodwin to stand
forth as an apostle of matrimony
but when he takes a firm grip on
his trusty fountain pen and starts
to write an exhaustive work on the
subject, culled from his own exper
iences of nearly 35 years. It's time
for the other members oT the ali
mony club to begin saving their pen
nies to buy a copy of the volume,
which will surely come to the stand
ard text book on the subject.
“Have I sworn off?" repeated Nat
Goodwin, “from the matrimonial
habit? Not in a hundred years.
Why swear off? Matrimony Is the
only state and I will never swear
off.”
“Have you any particular young
woman in mind as the next Mrs.
Goodwin?” was asked when the act
or was informed that the referee
would recommend a divorce for Kdna
Goodrich, h's latest wife.
“Well, no; hardly that," Nat re
plied. “Such an announcement would
be premature. I was speaking of
matrimony as a general proposition.
The very fact that I have alwayd re
garded the marriage ceremony as In
dispensable shows that I have al
ways tried to do the right thing. In
every case it was not I who went to
the divorce courts.”
Philadelphia, March 3.—Thefe la
no further need for worry on tht
part of the many artists throughout
the country—there won’t be any art
ists’ model strike. It has ended just
as quickly as it started, and all be
cause the militant leader of the wom
en artists had not confided to her
parents that she was a real model.
Instead she had led them to suppose
she made her living by working In a
department store.
Today the young woman, Miss
Dorothy McKey, told the whole story
and sorrowfully admitted that while
she thought she was perfectly cor
rect in the stand she had taken In
demanding 50 cents an hour for her
self and fellow posers, she could to
longer be a leader in the strike, ta
she would have to seek employmeht
in other fields.
Miss McKey admitted that she had
not thought of these things when she
broke so boldly Into type as the
champion of the downtrodden artist’s
model and proclaimed herself at the
leader of the movement to start a
“models’ union” throughout the
country.
Tanana men are out with wrest,
ling challenges for $100 a throw.
Chief Engineer E. C. Hawkins,
who has been up at the front for
several days, came down to meet
the delayed train Thursday morn
ing, and returned to the front again
the same day.
In a short interview with Mr.
Hawkins he stated that work was
being pushed at the front with all
possible speed and in less than 60
days the steel will be finished to
the Bonanza mine.
‘ Prom the way the work is pro
gressing now,” said Mr. Hawkins,
“I believe the steel will be laid to
the Bonanza mine by April 15th,
and from the record Bridge Supt.
O'Brien is making on the crossings,
the work may be finished before
that.”
As to the bridge across the Cop
per, upon which so many people in
and around Chitlna are speculating,
Mr. Hawkins stated that work would
undoubtedly begin on the big cross
ing this summer. At the present
time, however, it’s too early to be
gin on the work, as there is too much
trouble in keeping the road clear
for hauling heavy freight. Just as
soon as spring breaks good and
trains begin running regularly, a big
difference will be noted in Chitlaa
and all along tne line. When speak
ing oi ihe siides and trains being
held up, Mr. Hawkins stated that this
road already compared more favor
ably even with old trunk lines, and
that a week’s tie up was only a third
as long as some of the big lined
have already been stalled. Work will
soon begin on the big cells of the tun
nel at Chitina, the steam shovels will
soon be hoisting gravel for surfacing
the road bed, and when the steel
will have been laid to the mineB, the
biggest and richest shipment of cop
per ore ever taken out at one time
will go to the smelters, and every- J
one long the line of railroad will bs
busy.
J. L. Bucklear is now in the em
ploy of Mrs. Wallace in the kitchen
of the Katalla Company boarding
house, having taken the place of •
Clem Hurtel, who has been there
for the past three months.