Ore Shipments From Copper River Valley Are Over $2,000,000 Each Month
Keep Your Friends In
formed by Sending Them
The Chitina Leader
V,
THE CHITINA LEADER
Opening of Bering Coal
Means Smelters for
Cordova
FIFTH YEAR
CHITINA, ALASKA, TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 1915.
NUMBER 44.
Dispatches from Reno, Nev., tell of
the shooting there on July 28 of Geo.
Geiger, assistant superintendent and
trainmaster of the Southern Pacific at
Sparks. Geiger was formerly superin
tendent of the Copper River & North
western road, with headcjuarters at
Cordova.
The following details are given:
Geiger was shot four times by Ruth
Reed, a San Francisco woman, at the
Collins ranch four miles west of
Reno, about 1:30 this morning. Gei
ger is at a local hospital and is said
to have a fair chance to recover. The
woman has not been apprehended,
and Geiger is reticent about giving
information that may lead to her ar
rest.
They had spent some time at a
roadhouse and left there about 1
o’clock to go to Laughton’s. At the
Collins ranch the woman got out of
the machine and disappeared behind
some haystacks. Geiger says he went
to look for her and was confronted
with a revolver from which she fired
four shots. One bullet went through
his hip, another through his shoulder,
one through his right arm and an
other entered the mouth, emerging
near the nose. Geiger walked and
crawled to the roadhouse and from
there Sheriff Ferrell was called. Gei
ger has been at Sparks eighteen,
months. His wife died about three
months ago.
NEW GOAL LEASE
LANE
The surveys or the Bering River and
Matanuska coal fields will be com
pleted by the end of the season, it is
indicated. Frank M. Johnson, super
visor of surveys of the general land
office, who is now in Alaska, has re
ported by telegraph to Commissioner
of the Band Office at Washington that
he will be through by the end of the
summer, and that George W. Evans,
who is blocking out the coal areas,
will have this work completed by fall.
The committee which had in charge
the framing of the form of lease and
regulations under which areas of Al
aska coal land could be leased for com
mercial development has completed
its work and Secretary Lane has sub
mitted a draft of the form to several
practical coal men, for criticism.
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ANCHORAGE DISTRIBUTING
Anchorage is to be the chief distri
buting point for all mail matter des
tined for the surrounding country and
for the Iditarod region. This is the
statement of Postoffice Inspector Neil,
who reached here this week, remain
ed a couple of days and departed for
Susitna on official business.
The winter mail service accorded
Anchorage will in no wise be lessened
over the summer service. The full
quoto of mail matter will continue the
year round, regardless of whether or
not it has to be transported by dog
team from Seward for a few months
during winter time. The Iditarod,
Knik and Susitna mail will come to
this point for distribution. The Hope
Sunrise mail will come here for dis
tribution during what is termed the
open season, and if navigation is found
feasible during winter time, it will
likewise come here.—Anchorage Pio
neer.
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Your friends in the states are in
terested in Cordova. Keep them post
ed by sending them the Times, either
dally or weekly.
For plumbing and heating see Ben
Elliott. Phone 104.
TERM OF COURT SET
FOR VALDEZ SEPT. 14
A grand and petit jury have been
called for September 14th. The juries
will be drawn upon the return to Val
dez of the district judge and the other
court officials. A number of criminal
cases are to come up at the term and
also many civil cases. The term of
court is expected to last a month.
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SEEMS TO
NEED
“To an Interiorite who, after years
of confinement makes his escape to
wards the “Badlands," what Cordova
seems to need most today is a big
family potlatch,” said a Fairbanksan
today. “It would be an easy propo
sition for Cordovans, although an Im
possibility for Fairbanksans, and you
would find it a paying proposition in
the long run.
“Hope deferred maketh the energy
ache, and it looks to me, from the num
ber of Cordovans who are wearing
spectacles and eyeglasses that this
watchful-waiting proposition Alaskans
are mostly all the time up against has
gotten on your nefves, just at it has on
ours. You might find the remedy in
resolving into one big excursion com
uany, chartering enough boats to
take all the heads of your business
concerns South, together with their
families; rent a big hotel in the just
right climate near San Diego and
spending the next six months there
allowing the sunshine to soak into you
and storing up energy for another start
at watchful-waiting. Those of you
who can’t get away could afford to
help finance the proposition, for the
financial good the vacation would do
the rest of you living for six months
away from the scenes of your doubts
and struggles, among the people who
can see nothing which bears the brand
of hope or prosperity, you would come
back home with a paint brush in one
hand and a barrel of paint in the
other, dig in your clips and go to it
again in a manner which would pick
your camp up and put it on the map of
hopefulness and expectancy again as
you could never do without a big rest
“In wandering about your city for
the past few days, I note that most of
your empty buildings seem to have
been built for saloons or occupied by
saloons. Before you leave on the,
winter’s trip, you ought to pass an
ordinance through your city council
limiting the number of saloons in
Cordova to those which are here now.
That would insure, when your greater
prosperity comes, sufficient and not
too-many saloons. Too many saloons
for a town spoils the game—it is the
players who spoil any game. Limit
your saloons to a reasonable number
and the saloonmen will play the game
with honor to the town, and for its
advancement. Next year you are go
ing to be guessing whether the saloon
is not a vanishing proposition, and the
less-offensive and less numerous the
saloon proposition is the better chance
the players have of keeping the game
running.
“The chances for Cordova are just
as great today, if not greater than they
ever were. It is the people who make
a city, and when a city’s people go
stale it is up to them to take a vaca
tion and revive. All over Alaska the
need of a vacation is apparent in the
population, and the city which grasps
the fact first and acts upon it will be
there with development work and the
growing time for the next two years.”
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SURVEY CORDOVA BAY
HAS BEEN POSTPONED
Captain A. R. Ehrnbeck, of the En
gineer corps of the U. 8. army has
received orders to go to Nome and
survey the harbor and make a report
upon the advisabilty of building a
breakwater. Captain Ehrnbeck had
expected to make a survey of the
naval reservation near Orca, but the
planB of the war department were al
tered and the Nome work will be
done first.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17—The suit
by the Chicago bondholders, against
the Canadian vendors of the Alaska
Northern Railroad has been dismissed
by agreement. The suit was filed in
the Supreme Court of the District of
Columbia last June, and on a hearing
before Justice Stafford, the plaintiffs
were refused an injunction to prevent
the United States from paying over
the purchase price to the vendors.
The last obstacle to the government
purchase of the road has now been re
moved. It is understood that the
compromise was effected through the
Chicago bondholders, being compen
sated in proportion to their interests
in the company as compared to the
indebtedness held by the Canadian
bondholders.
ADRIFT AT SEA
NEARLY THREE
WEEKS
(From Thursday’s Daily)
Weak and exhausted and almost
| famished for want of food and fresh
I water the crew of the twelve ton
schooner Favorite of Cordova beached
their boat between Point Bentwick and
Hinchinbrook, after drifting at sea
in a storm for nearly three weeks.
On July 28 Capt. Bing Hal'.eck, K.
Lawrenze, D. E. Fuller, Fred Hast
ings and a man known as Chris left
Douglas on a trip to Warm Springs
Bay, which is not far from Sitka.
They lost their course and since that
time the schooner has been at the
mercy of the sea. For tweleve days
a severe storm raged and at times the
little craft was completely submerged
by the high waves. Twice during this
terrible experience did they drop their
anchors at where they believed was
a point off Yakatage beach, but both
anchors were lost and it wa3 impossi
ble to get ashore. For nine days the
men were without a drop of fresh
water and their rations consisted
principally of onions.
Last Monday a landing wa3 made
between Point Bentwick and the lfin
chinbrook lighthouse where the
schooner was beached. The men were
suffering from thirst and hunger and
it was several days before any of them
were in condition to seek assistance.
Finally Lawrenze and Fuller started
out and walked to Strawberry Point,
where they found an old canoe and
started in it for the wireless station at
Whiteshed, arriving there at 9 o’clock
last night. Here Manager Gillis cared
for and fed them, later sending them
to Cordova in the navy launch, where
they today got in telegraphic com
munication with relatives and friends
at Douglas, advising them of their ex
perience and condition.
The lighthouse tender Kukui left
this afternoon to pick up the balance
of the members of the ship-wrecked
crew.
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CORDOVAN TREASURER
ANCHORAOE SCHOOL BOARD
Five hundred votes were cast at the
election to choose directors for the
newly created school district at An
chorage. There was but one ticket In
the field, hence the vote is remark
able In that it shows the interest taken
by the residents of Anchorage in the
matter of school facilities for the town.
The ticket was:
For director—Mrs. W. T. Normile.
For treasurer—M. Finkelstein.
For Clerk—A. J. Wendler.
The board will immediately take up
the question of a public school and the
plan is to begin a school terra this
coming fall. A corp of three teachers,
it is figured, will be required to ade
quately perform the work, due to the
number of children of school age now
living there.
MANY BUILDINGS
GOING UP AT
ANCHORAGE, Aug. 16—The new
town has a record achivement to
ward building progress that has never
before been attained in an Alaska
town. The permanent townsite has
been open to settlement but a month,
and yet along Fourth and Ffth avanues
and on side streets substantial, well
built business houses adorn the town,
indicating a faith of the inhabitants in
the future of Anchorage.
Captain Austen Lathrop enjoys the
distinction of erecting the most com
modious building in the new town.
It is located at the corner of Fourth
avenue and H. street and contains five
fine roomy store spaces, already leased
for various businesses. The building
is substantially made. The floor is the
best ever placed in an Alaska build
ing.
Finkelstein & Sapiro have about
completed the erection of a handsome
roomy store.
Carrol & Co. are erecting a fine store
building which will be a credit to the
town. The entire 50-foot frontage will
be plate glass. The owners will oc
cupy a part of the building and Sydney
Laurenee will occupy the remaining
part as a photograph gallery.
McGown, Raich, Rasevich are erect
ing another fine, big business block.
The corner will be occupied by a
restaurant; the center will be a pool
hall.
C. C. Bush has a neat, comfortable
business place.
The Montana Pool Room Is another
swell structure which adds to the
town’s improvement.
Mike Reilly’s resturant is a place
that would adorn any community and
W. L. Balch was the builder.
Good hotel accommodations will be
supplied by substantial buildings be
ng erected by F. W. Redwood, Mrsl.
Martha White, Geo. Crist, E. Richter,
the Riverside and others.
Nearing completion are the splendid
structures ot Carl W. Bolte, the hard
ware merchant; C. W. Johnson, the
tent and awning man; McCullough &
Carlson’s store and the Ship Creek
Meat Co's, building.
Polley Brothers are already occupy
ing a well appointed roomy store ad
joining Reilly’s restaurant.
The McCain studio has a swell lo
cation and a fine structure is in course
ot building.
Ground is being broke for the Knik
Hardware Co.’s store, which is to be
another substantial, neat building.
The post office is doing business in
a nifty, well constructed building suit
ed to the purpose.
Deputy Marshal Wardell expects to
commence building the local bastile
within a short time. He has several
large piles of logs in the rear of his
prospective building, which look
threatening to wrong doers.
The bank to be established here will
build on lot 6, block 41.
Brown & Hawkins have erected a
massive warehouse on the waterfront
on Ship creek and contemplate ’he
erection of a big store building on the
corner of Fourth avenue and E street.
L. O. Nyberg, who bought the first
los offered for sale in new town, is
erecting a substantial building with 60
foot frontage on Fourth avenue.
Wiseman & Finley have nearly com
pleted a neat store building 24x40.
A large number of people have ap
plied for building permits from the
townsite manager, and in most cases
the buildings are under construction.
Cordovaites figure prominently in the
list as follows:
Block 28—Lot 7—Camille McGown,
Matt Raich and Andrew Masevich,
restaurant and pool room; 50x60
frame.
Lot 8—M. Finkelstein, clothing and
gents' furnishings; 25x50 frame.
Lot 11—A. Laska, tailor shop.
Block 29—Lots 11 and 13—Capt.
Austen Lathrop, five stores in frame
building 48x100; also storage 24x46.
Block 30—Lot 10—Frank Ackles,
boarding house; tent structure tem
porarily.
Block 40—Lot 4—C. W. Bolte, gen
eral hardware store; 20x50 two story
frame.
Lot 4—R. W. Frodenberg, fruit and
FAMOUS WRITER
ALASKA
Frank G. Carpenter, the well knowr
journalist, is now to the westward and
will arrive at Cordova on one of th<
next boats. He is writing a series 01
fifty-two articles on Alaska, which will
be published by about forty of leading
newspapers of the country, having a
circulation in the neighborhood of 5,
000,000 copies.
His syndicate writings cover every
nation in the world, but it is his first
trip to Alaska, and after keeping out
of the writing game several years, he
has chosen Alaska as his theme for the
next series of articles. He has made
arrangements with the Boston Globe,
Philadelphia Press, Chicago Tribune,
Cincinnati Inquirer, Washington Star,
Oregonian, St. Louis Republic, Post
Intelligencer, and other leading papers
in the United States.
The first of the articles will appear
in the first Sunday of the new year.
They will be illustrated with Alaska
views, which will be secured by Mr.
Carpenter on his present trip.
THE RAILROAD
“What de we expect from the gov
ernment railroad in Fairbanks? Not
much. We are not building upon the
proposition—we look upon it as a
wild gamble, just now,” said a Fair
banksan now in town.
“The way it looks to us of the In
terior, the government railway is a
piece of Alaska’s chief feature—poli
tics. If the Wilson administration
was sure of another term, we would
feel sure of a government railway.
From what we read and hear, the Wil
son administration is NOT sure of
another term, and we are no surer of
the railway. Should the administra
tion let contracts for the building of
the railway, obligating the incoming
administration to go thru with it, then
the railway would seem a certain
ty to us. If the administration begins
active construction work in the In
terior next year, as it threatens to
do, a new administration might feel
called upon to connect up the two ends
of the road, in order to prove or dis
prove the Wilson theory. In case of
no contracts, no Interior construction
next year and a change of administra
tion, Fairbanks would never expect to
hear the engine whistle into Fair
banks, for we know nothing of Repub
licanism which stamps it in any way
as a believer in government owner
ship.
“Had the government taken over the
Copper River & Northwestern railway,
as we hoped they would and built
from it inland, we would have felt
sure of our railroad and would have
built accordingly. As things turned
out, not a shack or house has been
erected in Fairbanks upon the
strength of the coming railway, and
none will be until we have more rea
son to expect the road.”
-:o:
Two Indians were drowned two
miles above the Kuskalana bridge.
The bodies were recovered. The
names of the natives are Gallagher
and Malardy, and both of them are
well known to the miners and pros
pectors in the copper country.
-:o:
Norman Leopold came over from
Valdez last night’s steamer nnd will
remain in Cordova for a time.
confectionary store; 16x34 frame.
Lot 8—Price & Bennett, sheet metal
works and blacksmith shop.
Block 114—Lot 7—Inlet Soda Com
pany’s plant
! SCARCITY OF WATER
FOR SLUICING PURPOSES
Louis Dahl, who is operating in the
Chisana district, arrived in Cordova
Monday. He reports that on account
of a scarcity of water there is no
sluicing being done by the miners and
everything is very quite in the camp.
There has been no rain there this sum
mer, and while some of the claims
have produced considerable gold it
has been impossible to make a clean
up.
Billy James and partners are build
ing a ditch, which, when completed,
will furnish water to work over the
ground on their properties which
yielded rich returns.
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TAKES DROP
NEW YORK, 16—In the New York
money market today, the English
pound sterling fell to the lowest
American value within the memory of
mortal men, and threatens to go still
lower unless the present abnormal ex
change conditions are remedied and
at once. The English pound sterling,
which has for years been the standard
value in international exchange, usual
ly is quoted at $4.85. Today is opened
at $4.67. French money is also de
clining rapidly and today was notice
bly weaker. It now takes about six
francs to equal the purchasing power
of an Amorican dollar.
LONDON, Aug. 16—The English
pound sterling today closed for |4.64
in American money. The exchange
situation is becoming serious as the
American manufacturers, who have
secured huge war contracts are de
manding their pay for the goods which
have been sold and delivered. The
rapid lowering of the foreign ex
change, which the last few days has
seen, presages difficultities ahead,
which may result in the dethronment
of the English pound sterling. If this
is done the American dollar will be
come the world’s standard of value.
NEW YORK, Aug. 16—J. P. Morgan
returned to his office In this city today
for the first time since the attempt to
kill him made by the assassin Holt.
Wall Street welcomed the financier,
and he was the recipent of many con
gratulation on his splendid appear
ance. The difficulties arising in the
exchange situation are what brought
the financier to his office today, and
he immediately began the considera
tion of plans for the relief of the man
ey market from the abnormal condi
tion now prevailing.
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FAIRBANKS MURDER
SUSPECTS ARE REID
Miller and O'Connor, the two men
suspected of the murder of Mrs. Rowe,
near Fairbanks, have been held with
out bail to await the action of the
grand jury The marshal’s office an
nounces that investigation has dis
closed the fact that blood has been
found the garments of the two men,
who cannot prove where they slept the
night of the murder.
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WELL KNOWN CORDOVAN
PUBLISHES VOLUME
Rev. S. Hall Young, a well known
Alaskan missionary has just publish
ed a very interesting and attractive
volume entitled “Alaska Days with
John Muir.” Dr. Young is at present
a member of the Presbyterian Board
of Home Missionaries with headquart
ers in New York and was formerly
pastor of the Presbyterian church at
Cordova.
The volume contains many beauti
ful cuts of Alaskan scenery which is
closely related with the work of John
Muir and discusses his many experi
ences in this country in a very inter
esting fashion. Flemming H. Revel,
the New York-London publisher, is
sponsor for the book.
my MINES ARE
BASIS
The Ellamar copper mine, owned
by the Jordon interests, is shiiplng
ore on nearly every boat and expect
an exceedingly prosperouj year. The
high price of copper Is keeping the
mine crew working to its limit capa
city.
Will A. Dickey, who owns a cop
per mine in Landlock Bay, is shipping
ore, and is emplying about ten men at
the present time.
The Rystrom brothers, also operat
ing in Landlock Bay, who have been
doing extensive development work on
their property this year, expect to
make their first shipment of ore with
in a short time.
The McIntosh property in Fidalgo
Bay, a copper fine, is now working
and expect to ship ore this month.
That Galena Bay mine, in charge of
Supt. Baldwin is confining Us opera
tions this year to assessment work.
F. M. Cockerill, a Texas capitalist,
has a bond on a property In the Port
Wells country, and a crew of men is
at work carrying out extensive de
velopment program.
Messrs. Murgerman and McDaniels,
representing capitalists of Tonopah,
Nevada, recently completed an exam
ination of copper property on Knights
Island. They have returned to Neva
da to file their reports. They are
expected to return to the property
this summer, as it was indicated that
the report on the property would ha
favorable.
H. W. Vance, representing Martin
Welch, a Spokane mlllionarie, has
taken a bond on a property in the Tie
kholl district, on the Valdez-Fairbanks
trail and work is to be started short
ly The property has shown outcrop
pings of gold quartz. Mr. Vance has
bonded a copper property on Knights'
Island.
Robert J. Cole, a mining engmeer
of Butte, Mont., is making an exten
Teikhell district, for Seattle capital
ists, who are with Mr. Cole on his
examination trip.
The Ramsay-Rutherford property in
the Valdez district, of which Henry
Deyo is manager, is being operated
and from all reports. 1b doing exceed
ingly well.
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FAIRBANKS NOT
“They tell me that Secretary Mc
Pherson. while here said that Fair
banks has put in with the Seattle
plans for holding a semi-centennial In
1917, with Seattle as the Big Show and
each town in Alaska on the main
traveled trail as a sideshow. He’a
fooling thee—Cordovans ought to
know Fairbanks better that that,"
said one of the Falrbanksana who ar
rived yesterday by auto from the In
terior metropolis.
“McPherson came to Fairbanks with
his made-ln-Seattle idea and said that
he had come to find out Just what we
did want. We told him. We told
him that Alaska had so long been used
to advertising Seattle that such busi
ness did not appeal to us; that Fair
banks no longer considered Seattle all
of Alaska; that Fairbanks considered
itself competent to give an Alaska
show, and proposed to do so. In 1917,
railroad or no railroad; that If Seattle
desired to advertise the fact we would
be glad to have Seattle do so, but that
a chain of sideshows throughout Alas
ka with the 3-rlng circus in Seattle
was not the Fairbanks Idea, never had
been and never would be. Since he
left Fairbanks, McPherson has evi
dently forgotten the lesson he learned
there.”
--:o:
Postofflce Inspector Neil arrived on
the Watson last night from the west
ward and after spending a couple of
hours continued on the same boat to
Katalla.