Keep Your Friends In
formed by Sending Them
The Chitina Leader
THE CHITINA LEADER
Opening of Bering Coal
Means Smelters for
Cordova
Ore Shipments From Copper River Valley Are Over $2,000,000 Each Month
FITH YEAR.
CHITINA, ALASKA, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1915.
NUMBER 55.
FIRE DESTROYS
HOTEL
FAIRBANKS, Nov. 1—'The Colum
bia hotel in this city was destroyed
by fire Saturday evening. The ex
treme cold hampered the firemen in
fighting the flames and it was im
possible to save the building. One
of the firemen. Jack Hansen, fell from
a ladder and was injured. The loss
is estimated at $5000 none of which
was covered by insurance.
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 4—Before
leaving for New York this morning
the president announced the appoint
ment of a new batch of postmasters.
The appointments are recess appoint
ments and will be sent to the Snate
for confirmation next month. John A.
Herbert was appointed postmaster at
Seldovia, the only Alaska office af
fected.
TWELVE 11DIES
MARSHFIELD, ' Oregon, Nov. 4—
The twelve bodies recovered from the
wreck of the Santa Clara have been
indentified, all of them being residents
of this state. Nine other passengers
have not been accounted for and it is
felt that they have perished. The
survivors have all been taken care of
and those suffering from exposure
have been given medical treatment so
that nearly all have recovrd from the
effects of their experience.
ATTEMPTS TO
SEATTLE, Nov. 5—A terrible cal
amity was visited upon a Seattle
early this morning when George
Roberts, a plumber went insane and
practically exterminated his whole
family. Roberts apparently arose
early actuated by his mad impulse
and went to the wood shed, where he
secured an axe. He returned, en
tered his wife’s room without awaking
her and killed her with a blow of the
axe on the head while she slept. He
repeated the performance on one of
his daughters. By this time the noise
of the madman had awkened his son
and daughter, but before the daughter
could escape he had shot her down,
and then when his son tried to disarm
him, be assaulted the young man with
the axe, and fatally wounded him.
Finding nobody else to kill Roberts
then shot himself in the temple and
expired instantly. The son is not ex
pected to live, but the daughter who
'was shot will recover.
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Injured by a Fall.
Mrs. Thomas A. Cloinger, of Chitina,
had the misfortune to fall on the ice
and severely hurt her back. She
came to Cordova on yesterday’s train
-and Is registered at the Alaskan hotel,
Or. W. H. Chase being the physician
In charge.
>
Delegate Wickersham. who has
spent the past week in Cordova, will
leave on the Admiral Evans for Val
dez and Seward, before returning to
Washington to attend the opening of
Congress Monday, December 6.
Federal Building for Cordova.
The bill which Congress passed ap
propriating $100,000 for a federal
build at Cordova, was introduced by
the Delegate and he has promised to
make every effort to have all objec
tions removed that early construction
will be started. He will also endeavor
to get money appropriated for public
buildings at Fairbanks, Juneau and
one or two other towns in Alaska.
Additional Power For Legislature
Mr. Wickersham will work to give
to the Alaska legislature additional
powers, particularly in reference to
the fish and the game. There were a
few limitations in the Home Rule bill
as it passed the Congress of the United
States that were not in the original
bill. They were offered as amend
ments and they had to be accepted by
the delegae or the bill would have
been defeated entirely. It is to remove
these amendments that he is going to
work to grant to the Alaska legislature
the power to fully protect the game
and the fish of the territory. He will
use his every effort to restore to the
bill those original provisions which
had to be sacrificed.
Harbor At Nome.
The construction of a suitable har
bor at Nome is considered by Dele
gate Wickersham to be one of the
utmost importance, as there is much
loss of life and property there annual
ly. At the last session of Congress he
got the money necessary to survey the
harbor at Nome and the Wrangell
straits. The money came out of the
Rivers and Harbors appropriation. A
report will be rendered by the sur
veyors and if these reports are favor
able the delegate will fight to have
money necessary for the carrying out
of these two necessities appropriated.
Land Law Amendment.
According to his statement Dele
gate Wickersham will seek to have
Congress enfict a law that will permit
men who have used their homestead
privileges in the states to have a
second right in Alaska, that is, if a
man has staked 1G0 acres of land in
the states, to allow him to stake an
other 160 in Alaska, or at least to
make up the difference between the
number of acres he filed on in the
states, and 320 acres, which, under the
law, he is entitled to homestead in
Alaska.
Statehood for Alaska.
A bill will be introduced in Con
gress by the Delegate granting state
hood for Alaska. Of course a consti
tutional convention would be neces
sary. Congress would have to appro
priate the money to hold such an elec
tion. and the money to take the duly
elected delegates to the scene of the
of the convention would also have to
be appropriated by the Congress of
the United States.
Local Development Board.
The Cordova Chamber of Commerce
and other commercial bodies of Alas
ka have endorsed Secretary of Interior
Lane’s plan of a “Development Board”
for Alaska and Mr. Wickersham will
be a supporter of this measure.
In addition to the governor of Alas
ka and the territorial secretary there
would be five members of the board,
three of whom would be bona fide
residents of the territory of Alaska.
A great deal of waste, a great deal of
time, a great deal of money, a great
deal of unpleasantness would be
avoided, and, above all, a greater .un
derstanding and a closer knowledge or
the needs of the country would result
if this bill were passed.
Although Secretary of the Interior
Lane is heartily in favor of the pas
sage of the bill, there are many who
oppose it, and who will oppose it to
the bitter end. These are the forest
service men, and the men whose de
partments or business would have no
more say about the affairs of Alaska.
Money for Trails and Railroad.
The Delegate will co-operate with
Secretary Lane to get as large an ap
propriations as he feels that is need
ed for the construction of government
railroads in Alaska, as he desires to
the rails extended so as to open up all
the resources of the territory.
The appropriation for roads and
trail should, in the opinion of Mr.
Wickerssham, be handled through
the territorial legislature, the same as
the forestry fund was used by that
body. He believes that by the ap
pointment of the proper persons as
superintendents or over-seers that
better results can be obtained, and in
a way that will be satisfactory to the
residents of the territory.
chitI Tod g e
ELECTS NEW
CHITINA. Nov. 5—At a well attend
ed meeting of Camp Chitina, No. 31.
Arctic Brotherhood, the following offi
cers were elected for the ensuing
year. Arctic Chief. Oscar Fish; Vice
Arctic Chief, Fred Walters; Recorder,
W. J. Feaster; Keeper of Nuggets, A.
i G. Morey; Chaplain, Caleb Berry;
j Trustees. F. M. Schaupp, Henry
Gessner “German." Charles Spangler,
M. J Healey “Irish,” J. S. M. Nelson.
It was decided to purchase a History
'of the World for the library and the
last indebtedness of the Camp in the
shape of five bonds given during con
struction of the hall were paid. There
was some talk of raising the initiation
fee. as the new members would parti
cipate in the benefits of a good hall,
well furnished and free from debt. It
was decided not to raise it before the
first of the year so as to give those
who had been slow in joining an op
portunity to come in on the same
basis as the present members. Mike
Johnson made a very interesting talk
about his experiences on the trail, and
j Bobbie Sheldon told about the diffi
culties of switching the stage line from
horses to autos.
O. A. Nelson is engaged in driving a
tunnel in the hill on the opposite side
of the railroad from town, with the
intention of using the water from the
lake to develop power for an electric
plant which, however, will not be
ready for use this winter.
Jim Doyle has leased the Gakona
Ranch from James Fish and expects
to settle down as a good old fashioned
farmer.
Last week a daughter was born to
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson McCrary at Mc
Carthy, Dr. Bunch being in attend
ance. Nelson came to Chitina to meet
the family returning home, and got
so excited about being a happy father
that he bought Jim Rockefellow’s au
tomobile and in one day was a full
fledged driver and took his family
home in style. The McCrary’s have
decided that if the population will not
come to the Copper River valley, they
will populate it themselves.
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SOULMATES FOR
ONLY tit
EACH
SEATTLE, Nov. 6—Dr. Overton,
a psychic soo'.hsayer with offices in
this city was arrested by the police
today charged with using the mails to
defraud, and obtaining money under
false pretences. Overton preyed upon
the public by advertising to secure
soul mates for men and women who
were leading lonely existences, and
for this interesting service charged
the trifling amount of $11.00 per soul
mate. The doctor had many victims,
and complaints have been coming in
to police headquaters about his activ
ities for some time.
ALAMEMIM
TRIP WHY TO SEATTLE
SEATTLE, Nov. 6—The steamship
Alameda arrived from Alaska last
night with a full list of passengers,
after experiencing a rather rough trip.
The Victoria left Nome yesterday and
will be the last boat arriving here
from the Seward peninsula this year.
WILSON'S PUNS
DEFENSE
NEW YORK, Nov. 5—President
Wilson spent most of today here with
his fiancee Mrs. Galt. The morning
was passed by an automobile ride out
Into the Westchester hills and back
again, after which the two of them
had luncheon together at the house of
a friend. Wilson left here this after
noon for the capitol. Mrs. Galt remain,
ing behind, as she is busily engaged
here selecting her wedding trousseau.
The president's speech at the Man
hattan Club last night was well re
ceived, and he was accorded an ova
tion at its conclusion, the diners rising
en masse and singing America. In
explaining the policy of the administra
tion for a larger army an 1 navy Wilson
said he wanted it to be.clearly under
stood that the government had no ag
gressive plans, but that the improve
ments contemplated were only part of
a scheme for adequate defense.
“The United States” said the presi
dent. “must be fully prepared to de
fend itself against attack from any
possible enemy, in order that the peo
ple of the country may be assured of
a continuance of their present en
joyment of liberty, and provide for
the necessary future self development
He added “We have siding wnth us in
this great matter all the peoples of
the western hemisphere for we wish
not only the people of the United,
States to enjoy the fullest freedom,
but desire the same thing for them
also, and they should have the same
independent growth and fredom of ac
tion that we want.” Wilson spoke
particularly about Americans who
seemed to have greater love for fore
ign countries than for the country of
their adoption or birth and said that
it was high time to call a halt and
have a reckoning with such men “as
they seem to have forgotten that their
chief allegiance should be to the
country in which they live."
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5—Wilson's
ex-secretary of state William Jennings
Bryan, gave a statement to the press
today in which he comes out squarely
in opposition to the plans for in
creased national defense proposed by
the present administration. Bryan
said "The views of the president are
a radical departure from the traditions
and history of this country, and an out
and out reversal of our hitherto ac
cepted national policy.”
He went on to state that if Congress
put the president’s proposals into law
that they would constitute a serious
menace to the peace and safety of the
United States and would serve as a
challenge to that spirit of Christian
ity which teaches us to influence
others by setting an example in up
righteousness and not by exciting fear
in those we wish to help or influence.
Bryan’s statement is regarded by
leading editors and publicists as the
opening gun in a fight which the
Nebraskan will inaugurate against the
adoption of the president's program
by the Congress which meets next
month. Bryan said that he read the
speech made by the president before
the Manhattan Club in New York
last with sorrow and genuine concern,
and that while he believed that the
president was sincerely advocating
that which he believed to be right,
he, Bryan, must dissent from the
views of the president, not from any
motives of injuring the chief execu
tive by arverse criticism but because
Bryan's own conscience compelled
him to what he could to prevent such
a mistaken policy from being put into
effect.
NEW TONNAGE FOR 8HIPS
SAILING 80UTH FROM ALASKA
Vancouver, B. C.. parties have open
ed up a deposit of silicate of magnesia
in the Atlin district of Yukon terri
tory which be shipped from the Ameri
can port of Skagway and will repre
sent a new southbound tonnage which
is of first Importance to steamships
operating in the north. This, with
the recent additions to the copper
shipments and developments in antiy
mony and tin, will represent a most
valuable tonnage from this territory.
THE m TO
SEATTLE, Nov. 1—The steamer
Admiral Evans left here this morning
for Southwestern Alaska. Her Cor
dova passengers are W. Nearby and
wife, Mrs. James Brison, Joe Emperlyj
Peter Vaehon. Mrs. Maitland, A. C.
Johnston; for Katalla. Charle Auer;
for Knik, Judge Munley, who will be
the new assistant district attorney at
Anchorgae. having been transferred
Valdez.
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JUNEAU, Nov. 2—Colonel Richard
son and a committee representing the
citizens of Juneau have agreed to a
plan for the construction of a bridge
between Juneau and Douglas. The
completed bridge will cost $75,000 and
the work will be done by the Road
Commission under the direction of the
Colonel. The Commission will ad
vance the money for the structure and
tolls will be collected until the full
amount has been paid. Colonel Rich
ardson left for Washington yesterday.
1DEZITE GETS
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2—The gov
ernment today published the official
lists of those who were helped by the
United States to return to America
when the war broke out a year ago
last August, and who failed to repay
the money advanced to them by the
United States Consular and diplo
matic officials abroad. The govern
ment in this manner advanced over
a million dollars to its citizens, prac
tically all of which was repaid by the
borrowers when they got home. The
list today is not a pleasant one for
those who refused to repay the loans
as their names are being made public
throughout the whole country. Among
those who failed to meet their obliga
tions to the government appears the
name of Mark Graden of Valdez, Alas
ka.
MISSIIMH
TURNS UP AT ST MICHAEL
A launch party of twenty left Idita
rod on October 6 for St. Michael. An
invalid and some women were in the
party. The rest presumably able
bodied men. The Iditarod Pioneer
wired eight days later that the launch
had notjeached St. Michael and asked
that help be dispatched. This appeal
was perfectly proper, for. although
there are camps all along that portion
of the Yukon that had to traveled, it
was well to provide against the possi
bility of accident, especially as the
telegraph stations below Nulato were
closed and the boat was out of com
munication.
As was expected, the party has been
found to be perfectly safe and the
occurrence to have had no extraor
dinary features. All of the voyagers
were prepared for emergencies and
there was no suffering. Such trips
are commonplace and only morbidly
sensational could see in them occa
sion for heroics.
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J. R. R.eed. who is working on the
north branch, came down from Cbitina
yesterday to spend a few days with
local friends. _ i
NEW RAILROAD ROTARY
ARRIVED ON THE GORBOVA
The freighter Cordova is in port
and Capt. J. Flynn reports an excep
tionally fine voyage north until Cape
St. Elias was reached and from there
to Hinchinbrook rough weather was
encountered. In order that the ship
would not be too deep in the water
to unload the new here for the Copper
River & Northwestern railway Chief
Engineer Duke only had enough
oil on board to last for the up-trip.
The rotary weighs 185,500 pounds and
Capt. Flynn called it his “baby carri
age.” The other cargo discharged
here consisted of a car of dynamite, a
car of gasoline, 500 tons of coal for
the railroad and 200 tons of coal for
town.
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II FEDERAL
SEWARD, Nov. 1—The friends of
Judge Wickersham are making great
preparations to welcome him on his
arrival here. There are many ques
tions of importance that our people
want to take up with the Delegate
from Alaska. Among them is a fed
eral building for Seward and he will
be asked to have a bill for an appropri
ation presented before congress at the
next ssesion.
The best that Seward can expect
will be a building within two or three
years after such an appropriation is
passed, is the statement of those In
terested in the project. The money
for Cordova’s building was appropri
ated four years ago and yet the work
of construction has not been com
menced.
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The Seward Commercial Club has
cabled the following protest to the At
torney General at Washington against
the removal of the assistant district
attorney from Seward to Valdez.
“Informed District Attorney recom
mends transferring permanently office
assistant district attorney at Seward,
removing Whittlesey Valdez. We
charge action Attorney based on per
sonal prejudices without regard to re
quirements public service. Wholly
opposed interests public justice. Re
sepctfully ask investigation by de
partment as to competency of Attorney
partment as to competency of Attrney
fore deemed necessary by former at
torney-general. We submit past re
cord matters handled through Seward
office sufficient argument against re
ported plans Attorney Spence.
This office maintained several
years, reason Seward centrally located
most accessible point third division,
especially now Seward terminal Gov
ernment railroad.”
philotTpist
IS DEAD
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 6—Peter A.
Brown Widener, one of the richest
men in American, died in this city last
night. P. A. B. Widener, as he wa9
known to the American public was one
of the leading financiers of the coun
try and had earned a large fortune in
street car lines in this city, where he
was bom almost 81 years ago. He
was a liberal giver to philantropic
movements, several years ago donat
ing to the city of Philadelphia, his
private residence, valued at (600,000
for a free public library. His son was
a victim of the Titanic disaster, and
he built the famous Widener library
at Harvard at a cost of several million
dollars la oo,.„„,o„ll., o. tl. a...
DIED SUDDENLY
On Sunday morning at 8 o'clock
George Van Tassel was found dead in
bed at his hotel. He had retired
about 10 o'clock Saturday night, and
in failing to answer the call next
morning the room was entered and Ilf*
found to be extinct. Coroner Medley
was notified and an inquest held, the
jury consisting of Clark Byers, S. B.
Cochran. Hub Bollinger, J. V. Carter,
Art Holt and Walter Warner, who ren
dered a verdict that death resulted
from apoplexy.
Mr. Van Tassel was an expierenced
boiler maker, having been employed
for a couple of years at the railroad
shops. He was about 40 years of age
and a brother-in-law of Red McGee at
Chitina. Henry Van Tassel, a well
known merchant of San Francisco, Is
a relative of the deceased and he has
been communicated with as to what
disposition shall be made of the re
mains.
CLUBS MUST PAY
LICENSE SELL
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 2—The
Federal Court of Appeals today hand
ed down a decision denying the peti
tion for a rehearing in the case of the
Enl Club of Nome, Alaska, which had
appealed from a decision of Judge
Tucker of the Second Division requir
ing the Club to take out a $1000 liquor
license if it wished to sell intoxicants
members. The decision has been
awaited with a great deal of interest
throughout Alaska, as the Tilikum
Club in Valdez, and the Tanana Club
in Fairbanks were similarly effected
by the ruling of Judge Tucker. The
attorneys for the Eni Club pleaded
that the men in Alaska outnumbered
the women five to one and bec&UM
of the lack of home life and ties, the
men needed the recreation afforded by
clubs of this character, for without
them they would patronize the
saloons, and the morals of the com
munty were better preserved In •
club. In its decision the court said
that the lack of women in the Terri
tory had nothing to do with the mat
ter as the judges were bound by the
law and could not consider the social
aspect of the case, and that on legal
grounds there was no error in the
decision of Judge Tucker which must
be upheld.
MARIPOSA TAKEN
SEATTLE, Nov. 4—The salving
company working on the Mariposa has
succeeded in floating the boat, and the
ship has been taken into McLaughlin
Bay where temporary repairs will be
made so as to take the vessel to Seat
tle where it will be put into dry dock,
and a full examination of the dam
age made to see If It would not be
possible to put the ship back Into
commission. It is now thought that
the vessel can be saved and will be
again seen upon the Alaska run.
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According to the Ketchikan Pro
gressive “there is only one man with •
the necessary qualifications for dele
gateship who could bring in and hold
together most of the factions, thus
insuring success, and that man is John
Rustgard, the former United States
District Attorney of Juneau."
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A train left thiB morning for Chltlna