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FIFTH YEAR ;• - , CHITINA, ALASKA, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1914. NUMBER 8
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4.—That Secretary of the Interior
Lane will make a requisition for $5,600,000 in the general appro
priation bill for next year’s railroad work by the government
in Alaska, was authoritive information given out today. It
appears to be settled that the* construction base for the first
work will be established at- Ship Creek on Cooks Inht, frond
which work will be carried on along Turnagaih Arm and up
the Smsitna valley, as well as from Seward along the Alaska
Northern to meet new construction at Kern Creek. Shipcreek
was the main base of operations of the Alaska Engineering
Commission last summer, and is the surpmer tenhinus for
steamship traffic on Cooks Inlet. It is estimated that the five
millions to be asked will be suffifcient to buy the Alaska
Northern railway and build 100 riffles of additional track from
Kern Creek. Secretary Lane and Commissioner Edes believe
the railway will be completed from Seward to the Matanuska
coal fields by next fall. . 1
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7.—Secretary of the Treasury
McAdoo submitted to Congress, which convened today, his
estimate of government expenses for the next fiscal year,
which amounts to $1,090,000,000. David F. Houston, Secre
tary of Agriculture asked for $21,000 for administration of
the forestry service in Alaska.
The appropriation asked in the Rivers and Harbors bill
for Alaska follows: Roads and trails, $125,000; inspection
service, $7,000; education of natives, $200,000; reindeer, $6,000;
medical relief for natives, $75,000; protection of game,
$20,000; suppression of illicit liquor traffic, $15,000; care of
insane, $75,000.
LONDON, Dec. 8.—Berlin dispatches indicate that the
Germans took 100,000 prisoners during the fighting about
Lodz.
THE HAGUE, Dec. 8,—A Russian force of 270,000 under
command of Bulgarian General Radko Demitrief has arrived
before Kracow and commenced bombardment of the suburbs.
Opposing Austrian forces have withdrawn into Bartfield pass
in the Carpathian mountains. The battle line from East
Prussia to Kracow is 300 mlies long.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7.—An unidentified warship, the
victim of a 60-mile gale whiqh is sweeping the Atlantic, is
ashore on the Maryland coast below Atlantic City. Naval
officei’s here believe the vessel is a member of some foreign
fleet. Early reports were that the vessel was the American
battleship Kansas, but she could not have been in that locality.
LONDON, Dec. 7.—The Swedish steamships Luna and
Everilda struck mines off the Finnish coast today and both
vessels sank. All the seamen of the Everilda were lost but
those of the Luna, which was not so badly damaged by the
explosion, were saved.
VALPARAISO, Dec. t.— lhe British steamship Lharcas
was sunk off the port of Carrol, Chili, by the German transport
Prinz Eitel Frederick, and her crew was landed 40 miles north
of this port.
LONDON, Dec. 7.—The Berlin war office announces that
Lodz, the second city in Poland, has fallen, the Germans
occupying it on Sunday after almost two weeks of desperate
fighting. There was little apparent advantage on either side
until the last hours of the last week, when effects of the German
bombardment began to be apparent through the silencing of
the heavier artillery of the forts.
DUNKIRK, Dec. 7.—Ostend, one of the main centers of
war activities on the coast of Flanders, is reported to be
burning.
CONSTANTINOPLE, Dec. 7.—The war office has
announced that the Turkish forces have occupied Keda, au
unimportant place in Transcaucasia.
PETROGRAD, Dec. 7.—King Nicholas of Montenegro has
telegraphed that one-third of his army has fallen on the
battlefield.
GENEVA, Dec. 7.—The Journal De Geneva publishes a
dispatch from Bucharest stating that Roumania has definitely
decided to enter the war on the side of the allies, but hopes to
defer the necessity of mobilizing her troops until spring
because of adverse winter conditions.
LONDON, Dec. 5.—The British cruiser Venus ran ashore
in a storm today on the southern coast of England, and
striking full force her foremast and a portion of the bridge
were carried away by the enormous seas which swept over her.
Warned by a falling barometer she was running for the nearest
port when the storm broke, a fog perventing the lookout from
seeing far enough ahead to give adequate warning. No
fatalities were reported.
GENEVA, Switzerland, Dec. 5.—French troops fighting iu
snow two feet deep have begun a general advance movement
against the German Landwehr in both Alsace and Lorraine.
LISBON, Dec. 5.—The Portguese cabinet resigned today
in a body as a result of differences with the President as to the
proposed campaign against the German invaders in Africa.'
PETROGRAD, Dec. 5.—What has been termed the most
bloody and pitiless battle of the war has occurred southeast
of Lodz. While the Germans succeeded in uniting their line,
90 per cent of their officers were put out of action either by
death or wounds and many of their regiments were reduced to
less than 100 men.
BORDEAUX. Dee. 4.—Three hundred thousand youths
> 18 years of age, who under normal conditions would commence
service in the army next Qptober, have been called to present
themselves for examination December 20. They will go to,
regiments at the front which Rave been depleted since the last
call for men.
GERMANY’S GREAT GUN WORKS DAMAGED
:v THE HAGUE, Dec. 3.—One of the. aviators of the allies,
operating from an aeroplane, bombarded the Krupp arms
factory at Essen, causing considerable damage, the full extent
p.f which is not known here. . ‘ r -
The daring airman so timed his approach from the south
west as to arrive over the works just as the guard was being
changed, and"his presence was not known until the first bomb
exploded, dropping from a height which made accurate shoot
ing with small arms impossible. He was out of range before
machine guns, supposed to be kept in readiness for just such
occasions, could be brought into action.
Essen is about 200 miles from the nearest post of the
allies in the vicinity of Verdun, France, from which place the
aviator is supposed to have come. The attack Threw the great
army of employes at the works into a panic, which partly
accounts for his escape. Extra precautions have been taken
to prevent a repetition of this bombardment.
PETROGRAD, Nov. 25.—(Tly mail to New York)—How
Private Lavine distinguished hitnself near Lublin by capturing
single handed 19 Austrian soldiers is told by wounded
Cossacks arriving at Moscow.
Lavine had wandered off from his patrol to have a look
round in a neighboring wood on his own hook. He had just
entered the wood when he came upon a squad of Austrians.
Undismayed, he promptly resorted to a typical Cossack ruse.
Looking back he beckoned to some imaginary comrade and
shouted: “Come here! This way! Here they are.”
The Austrians followed the movements of his hands with
the greatest excitement. Believing he was the captain of a
full company, they promptly decided to surrender. Lavine
accordingly dismounted and advanced, sword in one hand
and revolver in the other. He ordered them to throw down
their rifles, which they did, and then directed them to march
ahead of them. He succeeded in bringing back to his station
the entire bag of 16 soldiers and three officers without firing.
PETROGRAD, Dee. 8.—The Bourse Gazette estimates
German casualties during the battle of Lodz at 200,000. These
figures include the losses sustained during the first retreat ot
the Germans from Warsaw.
LONDON, Dec. 4.—Petrograd advices this afternoon state
that another great battle is developing to the southeast o:
Lodz, in an attempt of the Germans to pierce the lines of the
Russian center.
PETROGRAD, Dec. 4.—Included among the German and
Austrian prisoners taken by the Russians at the capture of
Wieleczka, an outer fortification at Kracow, were 40 women
soldiers in uniform. Although it had been known that women
were fighting by the sides of their fathers, brothers and sons
in this part of Europe, these are the first to be taken prisoners.
LONDON, Dec. 4.—Having heard “Its a long, long, way to
Tipperary,” so frequently, the British authorities thought it
only proper that the Germans should ascertain for themselves
the exact distance. Five hundred German prisoners have just
lived at Templemore, County Tipperary, and were mightily
amused when they learned that they had reached the spot
made famous by Tommy Atkins.
“All the Germans seem to know the tune of “Tipperrary,”
said a non-commissioned officer in charge of the prisoners.
“Our advanced outposts heard them singiug it in the German
lines one day, and our fellows joined in as we went for them
with the bayonet.”
“We have either got to bid goodbv to home rule of help
England honestly in this war,” said William O’Brien, member
of the house of commons from Cork, writing to his constituents
who ha\e protested against conscription.
BERLIN, Dec. 4.—French troops in Flanders are
repeatedly attacking the German line, says an official state
ment given out today at the war office, which adds that these
assaults have been impulsed. The Emperor has returned to
Berlin for a brief stay, the statement ends.
LISBON, Dec. 4.—The premier has announced that four
expeditions are under arms for service in Portugal’s South
African possessions which have been invaded by the Germans
and it seems probable that the republic will be forced to join
the allies against the common enemy of Europe.
BERLIN, Dec. 4.—Including 19,000 prisoners taken
recently Servia’s casualties since the beginning of the war
amount to 100,000.
GLASGOW, Nov. 24.—(By mail to New York).—Passing
a building where some of the Belgian refugees were housed,
two young girls were overheard arguing about the language of
the guests, thus:
“A wish we’d been gettin’ French this year; we’d been
able tae speak tae the wee Belgians.”
“They widna understaun’ French, for A heard they speak
English.”
“Well, A heard the Belgians speak better French than
they dae in France, just the name’s we speak better English
than they dae in England.”
PRETORIA, Dec. 3.—General DeWett, hero of the Boer
war and leader of the present rebellion in South Africa, haa
been taken prisoner, according to an official announcement
made here.
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LONDON, Dec. 3.—Troops from Australia and New
Zealand are being disembarked in Egypt for training prepara
tory to joining the fighting brigades on the front in Europe.
LONDON, Dec. 3.—King George has gone to the European
firing line in France, according to dispatches in the Evening
News from its Calais correspondent. The presence of the king
is greately encouraging to the men in the trenches and behind
the big guns. “
ROME, Dec. 3.—Premier Salohdra at the opening of
parliament today, said nothing had occurred since the begin
ning of war to warrant Italy in changing its policy of
neutrality. Every effort of parliament, he advised, should be
directed towards preventing that country from becoming
involved.
BERLIN, Dec. 3.—Today’s official statement is summed
up in these few words: “In neither theater of war has any
thing important happened.”
BERLIN, Dec. 3.—Sanctioning the determination of the*
war lords to continue the war indefinitely or until Germany
wins, the Reichstag has voted a war credit of 1,250,000,000
marks.
BERLIN, Dec. 3.—Herr von Bethinann-Hollweg, the
German chancellor, addressing the Reichstag, said the
Emperor was absent with the army in the field and unable to
reply to the false charge made by England and Russia that lie
is responsible for the war. He also said that if the German
.empire was destroyed, Turkey would lose her rights as a
nation.
LONDON, Dec. 3.—For refusing to obey the police regu
lations concerning the lowering or extinguishing of lights,
Edward Nash, a west London saloonkeeper, was fined $25 and
costs. Police evidence showed that there were three big incan
descent lights in the saloon, and on the constable telling him
that he had too much light on the premises, Nash said he would
have as much as he liked.
The officer promptly turned two out, and Nash in a rage
shouted, “Are you the-Kaiser,” and relighted one. The
magistrate remarked that a certain section of the population
seemed to think they knew better than the authorities as to
the danger that might be expected from Zeppelin raids, and
intimated that future offenders would be severely dealt with.
London is a city of gloom after sunset, owing to the deter
mination of the authorities not to allow hostile aerial raiders,
to recognize particular districts bv the street lighting.
PETROGRAD, Nov. 24.—(By mail to New York)—The
way in which the Russian soldiers will risk their lives for
comparatively small luxuries is evidenced by the followinv;
story: During the fighting in East Prussia a corporal asked
permission to take a couple of his comrades and try to surprise
one of the German scouting patrols. When he returned and
reported that his effort had been successful, his officer asked
why he had volunteered such risky work. The corporal replied
that the previous night a friend had relieved a German officer
of a good supply of chocolate and a flask of brandy, and he
wanted to “try his luck” too. “And what did you get?” asked
the officer. The corporal grinned and showed two cakes of
milk chocolate and five cigars.
VlEiNiNA, Dec. 2.—Austrian troops today occupied Bel
grade after its evacuation by the Servians. The seat of govern
ment was removed last week to Uskub in the southern part of
that cauntry as the capture of Belgrade seemed inevitable.
LONDON, Dec. 2.—Today’s official dispatches indicate i
desperate situation for the Servians and that Belgrade, the
capital, is being evacuated.
BERLIN, Dec. 2.—A German official statement issued
today claims the capture of a strong French position in the
Argonne forest by Emperor William’s crack regiment. The
claim is also made that between November 11 and December 1,
about 80,000 Russian prisoners were taken by the Germans.
AMSTERDAM, Dec. 2.—German prisoners are being well
treated in England, according to a letter from one of them
printed in the Berlin Vorwaerts. “Don’t worry about my
being a prisoner,” he writes. “It isn’t as bad as it sounds.
We are at Aldershot, in a large field like Mulheimer Heath. Wo
sleep in tents, with good thick blankets. We are well fed,
receiving each half a pound of meat and sufficient quantities
of potatoes, tea, sugar, bread and butter daily, and we can buy
in the canteen tobacco, marmalade, cheese, etc. In short, we
are well treated.”
PETROGRAI), Dec. 2—The condition of German prisoners
captured at Lodz resfembles that of the French troops during
Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow. Many have frozen hands
and feet, and they endeavor to obtain a little comfort by
wrapping themselves in blankets and shawls taken from
peasants.
LONDON, Dec. 2.—A dispatch from the Petrograd Times
today says no definite decision has been reached in the great
battle still in progress in Poland, and that the Germans are
making frantic efforts to obtain reinforcements which can
only be done from the France and Belgium forces. The latter,
is it claimed, are unable to render assistance because of the
aggressiveness of the allies. Despite awful climatic conditions,
the Germans are holding their positions in front of Lodz and
Lowicz.
LONDON, Dec. 2.—Probably never before have there been
so many rulers of Europe on the battlefields at one time as at
present. King George of England is with his forces in France;
the Czar is at the spene of the great battle in Poland; the
Emperor of Austria is at the front and the Kaiser is at luster
berg. East Prussia.
THE HAGUE, Dec. 8.—It is stated that the Germans
have eleven army corps or about 4.')0,000 men in and about
Lodz.