THE DOUGliAS JWINER
Entered at the Douglas, Alaska, Postoffice as Second
Class Mail Matter.
T. R. NEEDHAM G. M. HILL
JMEEDHPUM & HIED, Publishers
Subscription rates as follows, invariably
in advance.
One Year . . $3.00
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Address all correspondence to The Douglas Miner
DOUGLAS - - - ALASKA
DOUGLAS, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY.OCT. ai. 1896
It is decidedly within the realms of pos
sibility that all Alaska will sleep as peace
fully upon the eve of the coming great po
litical battle as will the most unaffected or
distant country upon the globe. The inter
est here taken in the outcome of the great
national event is by no means small but it
will not reach anything approaching a fe
ver heat until a number of days after the
successful presidential candidate has been
named, and then the arrival of the possibly
overdue steamer from the Sound may be
awaited, principally by anxious office seek
ers, with some great degree of excitement.
Yet the interest taken by the private in
dividual of Alaska in the coming election,
while the result may affect him happily or
otherwise, will not be half so great as it
might be under different circumstances.
Were this private individual to spend
the present month in some large city
in the United States and see each night
long lines of marching men carrying flam
ing torches and waving flags and banners;
the brightly blazing bonfires with flames
shooting skyward from every corner and
hear midst the roar of distant cannons the
words of loud-voiced politicians crying
from public squares in praise of their par
ty’s platform and of the saintly qualities of
their party’s candidates; and telling how, if
their candidates are but elected the working
man will roll rapidly along the smooth
and level road to prosperity and wealth,
and how the multi-millionaire will slide
gently down from his perch of affluence to
the pavement of poverty. He, the Alaskan
individual, might then display a more
than passive interest. It is the same thins
over and over again, and, even though to
all intents and purposes, the words of the
speaker might be likened to the cries of
some dime museum fakir, who seeks to
draw attention to his bewhiskered lady, or
that the miles of glittering splendor may
express to the onlooker but little more real
patriotic enthusiasm than would the line
of elephants, girafts and jackasses which
are paraded through the streets to make
known to the public that the greatest show
on earth has just come to town. Each and
all of these causes serve to create an inter
est akin to excitement, and which in far
off Alaska is either happily. or unhappily
lacking.
A GRAND SUCCESS.
The Douglas Amateur Dramatic? Club's
First Entertainment and Dance.
The first entertainment and dance given
on last Friday evening in Oilmans hall by
the members of the Douglas Amateur Dra
matic Club proved to be one of the best and
most enjoyable events of the kind ever
held in this city. The large hall, which
had been very tastefully decorated in hon
or of the occasion, was completely tilled
early in the evening with an appreciative
audience composed of the pleasure loving
people from both sides of the channel.
Bunting of patriotic colors draped in grace
ful curves extended along the walls of the
hall and over the stage and along the sides
of the room were red, white and blue
shields, bearing the cheerful word “wel
come” in bright gold letters. Brightly
colored pictures and here and there bunches
of spruce and fir had been carefully arrang
ed by clever hands and the scene was well
fitted to please either the spectators of a
stirring melodrama or the perhaps more
ardent worshippers of the pirouetting muse.
The program of the evening’s entertain
ment was the neatest little folders
ever printed in Alaska and they were
eagerly sought for and quickly disappeared
as everyone was anxious to obtain these
precious souvenirs.
The entertainment commenced with a
laughable little sketch entitled, “ All
Right.” Dan McKay as Michael O’Flan
nigan, (a would-be-actor) gained fresh
laurels in this little production and he
proved to the satisfaction of his audience
that as a promising young amateur he
was emphatically “all right.”
Next in order came overtures, recitations,
duets and tableaus. The participants in
turn all done exceptionally well. The
recitation by Miss Annie McCormack was
one of the best performances of the even
ing and is justly deserving of special
mention.
Tiie theatrical part of the program con
cluded with a frontier melodrama in two
acts and five scenes, entitied, “ l'lie Prairie
Waif.” In this production Dan McKay,
as Sandy Fremont again proved himself to
be “all right.” Mrs. A. McClellan, in the
character of Mrs. Fremont, acted her diffi
cult part splendidly, and portrayed in a
realistic manner the typical western wife
and mother. Fanny Fremont, (a chip of
the old block)was a character which re
quired some very clever acting and Mrs.
Omer Patton, proved herself to be fully
equal to the occasion. Mrs. Rufus John
son, as Jessie M—(a waif) did some very
excellent acting. O. S. Clark, as a hungry
nigger and W. B. Clark, as the villian
were both characters decidedly well por
rayed. Messrs. J. Egan, and Robert Birch
were the names of two of the players who
were not announced upon the program but
whose efforts were called upon and who
helped to make the entertainment the sue
cess it was. The other performers Miss
King, ,Mr. Prather and Mr. Clark did
some acting that was more than creditable
considering the very limited time in which
they were permitted to memorize their
lines.
The theatrical part of the evening’s en
tertainment which commenced promptly
at 9 o’clock ended shortly after n. The
room was then cleared of chairs and a row
of benches were placed along the sides of
the hall, and to the excellent music fur
nished by Messrs. Jessie L. Cook and Wil
liam Rugg, the flying feet of many merry
couples kept time.
The following is the complete program:
“ALL RIGHT.”
CAST
Joe Cartwright (an actor) . . C. Brooke Clark
Michael O’Flannigan (a would-be actor)—Dan McKay
Overture
Recitation.George Anderson
Duet . . Miss Mamie King, Mrs. J. Ross
Recitation . , , A'iiss Annie McCormack
Tableau.C. Brooke Clark
Tableau .... Miss Mabel Falconar
Overture
“THE PRAIRIE WAIF.”
CAST
Sandy Fremont (a pioneer . . Dan McKay
Mrs, Fremont (his wife) . Mrs. A. McClellan
Fanny Fremont (a chip of the old block . . .
Mrs. Omer Patton
Jessie M-(a waif) . Mrs. Rufus Johnson
Carry Fremont (in love with the waif)—J. B, Prather
Nettie Bailey (a neighbor) . Miss Mamie King
Bill Lynd (a villian) . . . Win. B. Clark
Mr. Frank Shermer (a lawyer from the east
.C. Brooke Clark
Samson Snowball (a hungry nigger)—O. S, Clark
W(iat*f Improvements
The work of widening the People’s wharf
at Juneau along with the making of pre
parations for other extensive improvements
is now going on. The wharf which was
formerly but eighteen feet wide from its
commencement on Front street to its shoul
der will now be made to considerably
exceed those demensions at the upper
end. At the coal bunkers the wharf will
be widened twenty-five feet from which
point the addition will gradually taper
down to a width of but seven feet at the
shoulder. It is the intention of the Wharf
company to do away with the present sys
tem of unloading coal from vessels upon
the wharf and then having it wheeled in
wheel-barrows to the bunkers, and instead
gravity cars will carry the coal from an
elevation above where the ship lies to the
top of the coal bunkers. The cars will be
drawn up the tramway to the elevated
platform where they will be loaded with
coal as it is hoisted from the hold of the
vessel. They will then descend by gravita
tion to the top of the bunkers. The tram
way from the platform to the bunkers
will be 118 feet long.
It is expected that there will be an Epis
copalian church ready for service by the
middle of November. The new building
will probably cover an area of 20x50 feet.