I he Chitina Leader
CHITINA, ALASKA.
Enter- d as second-class matter, November 1-’, 1910, at the postoffice at
Chitina, Alaska, under tiie Act of Congress of March 3, 1879.
ONLY NEWSPAPER IN CHITINA
Published every Saturday by
■WIRR A. STEEL—Editors, Managers and Proprietors—HARRY G. STEER
Office: Hotel Chitina Building. Cordova'Office: Daily Alaskan
Seattle Office: 551 Coiman Building.
ADVERTISING RATES
Made known upon application. They will be found reasonable for the service
given. Official publication for legal advertisements pertaining to mineral lands
of the Copper River district.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
One Month ...5 -50
Six Months . 2.00
One Year . 3.50
CHITINA, ALASKA, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1912.
WORK OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Cordova Chamber of Commerce excursion to the in
terior mining district cannot but result in much good to all in
terests concerned. The visiting delegation came into contact
with the miner and operator, who were impressed with the fact
that the Cordova organization seeks to learn the true facts and
to spread the gospel of knowledge about one of the greatest
known mineral belts in the world. And they go on the assump
tion that what benefits the interior will benefit the sea port ter
minus. It is the desire to set forth the resources of the Copper
River country and to induce small capitalists to come here and
assist in the development of what will undoubtedly prove to
be mines of exceptional value. The prospector and operator
can assist much in securing desired results by keeping in close
touch with the secretary of the Cordova organization, and giv
ing him information about new strikes and discoveries. The
facts will then be exploited in all sections of the states.
-oooo
“SQUARE DEAL”PRIMARIES
Fairbanks had a lively and exciting Republican primary
on Saturday. The principal opposition to a ticket composed
of straight-out Republicans, who are in accord with the na
tional administration, was upon the part of men who in the
past have voted for Mr. Wickersham, and who are likely to
give him their votes in the future, should he be a candidate.
All elements were permitted to vote at the primary, but the
members of party organizations, other than the straight Re
publican, almost succeeded in electing their mongrel ticket. Iu
Cordova this' contingency was eliminated by permitting onh
bona fide Republicans to participate iu their party affair. As
a result the primary was harmonious and conducted in good
order. Those who believed in a “square deal” that permits
participating in any old primary, gathered together in an
other room and held a nice quiet little primary all to them
selves. It is now said that the bosses who engineered it are
uncertain whether they will have these delegates, or thii
proxies, a:tend tire Republican, Democratic or Wickersham
conventions. But why not let them atttend all three?
_Annn
A WORKING DELEGATE FOR ALASKA
The Fairbanks Citizen devotes a column and a half to a
disseration < :i those things needed for Alaska, and which oui
delegate s to > or.gress have failed to secure. And then oui
worthy contemporary gives evidence of a firm belief that the
millenium is fast approaching in submitting the following sug
gestion:
“There is only one course that the Citizen can suggest,
and that is for organizations combining the mercantile, min-j
ing and professional interests of all the towns in Alaska tc
agree on some non-partisan candidate who would pledge him
self to go to Washington, relegating his jjolitics throughout toj
the background, and work on a platform prepared for him
even to the extent of the outlining of the bills to be introduced.
As regards the distribution of patronage, some equitable ar
rangement satisfactory to both parties could be agreed upon.
“Such delegate could go to Washington assured of no op
position except such as he created himself, and there is no
reason why he could not accomplish in one term all that his
predecessors have failed to do in half a dozen. His platform
would be a Constructive one calculated to build up instead of
to destroy, and, while we might not hear so much of the num
erous railroad schemes that had been spiked, we might reason
ably hope to get some laws adapted to the country and to have
removed the impression that Alaska is peopled by a lot of
mossbacks who are determined to prevent capital from getting
a foothold in the country, although they are unable to develop
their own resources unaided.
“With any kind of unanimity this scheme to get a work
ing delegate is practicable. Think it over!”
—-oooo
Pure Democracy in the Tanana valley seems to have be
come tainted, if the following from the Fairbanks Citizen can
be taken as gospel:
“At the Democratic primary held last Tuesday crooked
work was resorted to such as would, had the primary been con
ducted under state or municipal jurisdiction, have rendered
the perpetrators of it liable to a prison term. As the election
conducted here was a go-as-you-please affair with only honor
limitations placed on the participants, those who worked the
frame-up will have only to answer at the bar of their own con
sciences, but it is none the less necessary that the light of day
should be let in on the deal so Democrats of this district may
know to what lengths some of the would-be bosses are prepared
to go.”
-oooo
Poor Judge Healy. He looks as though a hangman’s noose
was about to be put around his neck. He is an object of abject
despair. He realizes that the end cannot be far off, but instead
of resigning and simplifying matters, he holds on like grim
death and seemingly prefers additional disgrace. His mental
make-up just simply won’t permit him to do the right thing.
ALASKA POLITICAL MIX-UPS
Possibly no other town in Alaska has more petty and per
sonal jealousies than has Cordova. And they always find an
outlet when any matter of political import is to come before
the people. Business and social affairs are indiscriminately
mixed up with political issues, with the result that some com
binations are brought forth that are remarkable to behold.
And issues are so clouded that at times an observer is impelled
to wonder what it is all about. But we find that the spirit of
unrest, dissatisfaction and ingratitude that is evidenced here
is not altogether unknown in other sections. And, then, men
will do some strange things in the name of politics. Last week
they had Republican primaries in Valdez. A ticket was agreed
upon that it was thought would be acceptable to all interests.
But at the last minute the United States marshal’s office in
jected itself into a nice harmonious party, and sought to win
the favor of a political boss, when he need not have been made
an issue in any way, and this led the Prospector to say, on the
day of the primaries:
“The Republican primaries today are not the tame affair
which was promised up to the eleventh hour. For the past few
days there has been rumors of a possible second ticket being
placed in the field, and just before the polls opened it was evi
dent there would be a contest. The contest is to elect Shackle
ford or anti-Shackleford delegates to the Cordova convention.
The entrance of the second ticket, which is said to have been
promoted by Harvey Sullivan, caused the politicians to get
busy rustling votes, and those who are in a position to know
say the contest will be close. The judges were fair in their
treatment, permitting all to vote except those who had partici
pated in the Democratic primaries last week.”
Then again, our neighbors up in the Tanana are not all
harmonious. The other day the Fairbanks News-Miner sought
to draw a lesson from the tactics of the Cordova disturbers.
But the article was scarce written before a little affair at home
swerved the trenchant pen of Editor Thompson to matters of
ingratitude at home that concerned him more directly. The ar
ticle in question follows:
‘ ‘ The way of the politician in Cordova is full of sensation
and trouble. The little town by the sea, the only product of
which is politics, joins whole-souledlv in a rough house when
ever politics sticks it head up, and all that can be said for them
is that it don’t make any difference to them what brand of poli
tics it may be, they start the rough house. Party lines are
dropped when it comes to political activity, Republicans
dropping their personal work to help the Democrats disagree,
and the Democrats joining the Republicans whenever a Repub
lican meeting is to the fore, in the interests of disagreement
and trouble.
“Those Cordovans will make of the name of their town a
byword for all that is undesirable in Alaska, unless they either
get together in some way or remain apart all the time, in the
interests of peace. As it is now, the remainder of Alaska looks
upon Cordova as a town peopled with men who do not know
what they want, fighting among themselves all the time and
opposing each what the other proposes. No town or communi
ty ever reached any desirable consummation along those lines,
and Cordova does not appeal to us for that reason.
“Later—Since the foregoing was written, the Democrats
of Fairbanks have held their primaries, and while they were
characterized by no such disagreements or scandals as those
which characterized the Cordova primaries, the result is a
blow to Democratic principles in the interior.
“Since the day upon which ‘Fergy’ was the only known
Democrat in Tanana, the two men who have been foremost in
the Democratic ranks in this precinct, working and spending
their money to promote the interests of Democracy in the in
terior, have been R. F. Roth and John Moe. They have never
failed to stand up for Democracy, when other Democrats were
working for Republican and other candidates, and they have
been consistent and hard-working Democrats all the time. Yes
terday they aspired to election as delegates to the Valdez con
vention—an empty honor which they would have taken no per
sonal advantage of had they been elected—and they were de
feated by their fellow-Democrats, while men who have never
before been known to be Democrats were elected in their places.
“If that is all that good, hard work for Democracy can
win in Tanana what’s the use of being a Democrat? What re
ward is there, and what glory, in working for a party which
has no more gratitude or courtesy than that?
“Also, in this morning’s Times is an anonymous call for a
meeting to form a Roosevelt Republican club. The fate of
Alaska depends upon the disposition of the administration, and
a knock for the administration is a knock against the best in
terests of Alaska. Roosevelt is not the Republican candidate,
and there is strong probability that he will never be. It would
be time enough, after he is nominated, to form a Roosevelt club,
and the effort to form one in advance of his nomination, when
there is no possibility of a Roosevelt delegate being sent from
Alaska to the Republican national convention, is a gratuitous
knock to the interests of Alaska which is fool sense and rotten
judgment.
“In the face of yesterday’s local developments, one is in
clined to ask the question: How much better are we than the
people of Cordova? When it comes to actual results, have we
anything over them ? ’ ’
-oooo
As the returns come in from many sections of Alaska it
appears that party politics are in somewhat of a jumble and
jangle. But with time these little affairs are usually either
forgotten or work out to a fairly satisfactory conclusion.
-oooo
There is a sharp jolt to the American steel rail manufac
turers in Mr. J. J. Hill’s declaration that his railroad is using
Krupp rails of the manufacture of 1890, and they are in better
shape than American rails bought in recent years. American
steel rails ought to be as good as the best, especially at the
present spread between the prices of rails and pig iron.
-oooo
The fact that Mr. Bryan spoke kindly of Mr. Roosevelt’s
recent speech is gladly hailed by the ex-President’s enemies aa
another proof of his utter unfitness.
The Seward Republicans have declared in favor of the nom
ination of Judge Cushman for delegate to Congress, providing
he can be induced to make the run. Republicans from practi
oally every section of Alaska would like to have an opportunity
to vote for him, but he has privately declared to his friends
that he is not a candidate. If he is placed on the ticket it will
surely be a case of the office seeking the man, and a mighty
good man at that.
-oooo
If the Democrats insist on putting up the tariff on perox
ide, silk stockings and laces, it is evident that they do not pro
pose to support “votes for women” in the east.
-oooo
Yuan Shi Kai and Sun Yat Sen may never have heard of
Gaston and Alphonse, but they seem to be doing the act with
eminent success. It is indeed a part of the Chinese etiquette
that each should insist that the other take the precedence.
-oooo
If the Ohio constitutional convention adopts all the advice
given it, the people of Ohio will have to spend all their time
for the next few years deciding whether the provisions of the
constitution are all constitutional. But if the ultimate deci
sion as to what is constitutional is to be decided by popular
elections, why need the convention bother with framing any
constitution at all, since the people are to make or unmake any
of its provisions at the ballot box!
-oooo
It behooves all public-spirited citizens to attend the meet
ing of the Chamber of Commerce tonight. And if there are any
who have not yet allied themselves with the new organization
it is time to “get in.”
-oooo
Even the Outlook has to sidestep. It cannot endorse either
the recall of judges or the recall of judicial opinions, and so
dismisses the troublesome topic on the principle that “the least
said the soonest mended.”
-oooo
Russia finds much difficulty in recognizing the Chinese
republic. It is entirely visible to the naked eye, but republics
in Asia are something with which the Czar or the Tchinoviks
have had no acquaintance.
-oooo
There is already considerable interest manifested :n the
approaching municipal election. There will likely be two or
three tickets in the field, and out of the number put forth suf
ficient good timber should he selected to satisfactorily run the
affairs of the municipality during the ensuing year.
-oooo
■a New York theatrical managers have devised a way of beat
ing the ticket speculator by selling tickets at a premium and
pocketing the proceeds. Which leaves the ultimate consumer
of theater tickets to get in the usual place.
-oooo—
Considering what the Chinese people have accomplished
since opium was banned, the Manchu crowd will be disposed
to register a vow that if ever they get their grip again, they
will never issue another anti-opium edict,
WHEN COMING TO CORDOVA REMEMBER
Cordova Steam Laundry
THE ONLY REAL LAUNDRY IN TOWN
- I i .
Let ua wash atfd clean your canvass covers, blankets, clothes,
overalls, etc. j
If you are In a burry we can do your work in an hour's time if
necessary.
Leave your work at any hotel, rooming house or barber shop
and It will receive prompt attention.
’PHONE 57 F. A. /ONES, Manager Second Street
Alaska Coast Co.
“THE INSIDE ROUTE.”
To Juneau and Prince William Sound Ports and Southwest
ern Alaska.
Seattle Sailing dates:
BERTHA—March 20, April 20, May 20.
SAMPSON—March 27, April 15, May 5.
JEANNIE—March 10th.
The JEANNIE carries explosives for Southwestern Alaska, anr
goes to Kodiak.
Right reserved to change steamers and sailing dates without
ALASKA. TRANSFER CO., Local Agents.
B. F. WATSON, General Agent.
ALASKA STEAMSHIP COMPANY
Fast and commodious steamers sailing between
Cordova and Seattle, via INSIDE PASSAGE, stop
ping at KETCHIKAN and JUNEAU.
Sails from Seattle— Sails from Cordova—
March 8.ALAMEDA.• •_March 16
March 16.NORTHWESTERN.March 24
March 24.• ALAMEDA.April 1
This company reserves the right to change schedule of steam
ers without notice.
Tickets on sale at up-town office Alaska Steamship Bldg.
Baggage or freight will not be received at dock later than one
hour before sailing time.
B. J. BABBY, THOMAS TALLENT,
General Agent. Ticket Agent.
Horse Shoeing
and Repairing
J. 0. PEASON
At Chamberlain’*’ feed &
•ale stable.
Pharmacy
Spring is Here
Also
Snow Glass
Time
We have them
A. G. MOREY, Prop.
PUBLIC LAND AND MINING
CASES.
If you are interested in any content
or any matter before the Interior De
partment, write to Clark & Wright,
registered land lawyers, 902 F Street
N. W. (opposite Gen’l Land Office),
Washington, D. C. Free information
about contests and where to obtain
scrip, locatable upon public lands,
without residence or cultivation.
D. A. GRIFFIN,
DENTIST
All work guaranteed. Prices reason
able. In Tibbs’ Building.
Chitina, Alaska.
LUMBER
Hay & Grain
We can give you lowest
rates in carload lots or less
0 A. NELSON & COMPANY,
Chitina, Alaska.
Chitina Bakery
& Coffee House
GESSNER & STANGNETH
Proprietors
FRESH BREAD
Cakes and Pastry
Always on Hand
Main Street, — Chitina.
Pete’s Lodging
House
AND
SECOND HAND STORRB
FREB COOKING HOUSE /
CHITINA HEIGHTS
Bunks 25c; Beds 00c.
PETER CORDES, Prop,