LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD
IN A TERRIBLE TANGLE
A muddle has followed the annual school Inard election, held in
Tatiana Oct. 30, and the preliminaries thereto, the end of which 110
man knoweth.
The old board consisted of A. G. Vachon, clerk; Charles Chanquist.
treasurer, and G Ii. Tiffany, director.
Up to the time of the election the impression seems to have been
general that everybody was loth to assume the honors and responsibili
ties belonging to membership in the board. It was believed that the
old board was unanimous in gladness at the prospect of its official death.
When the morning of election came little bits of printed paper
Were thrown around, reading—
VOTE ion
GEORGE J MILLER, for Treasurer
FRANK SMITH for Director
J. RUSSELL WALLE for Clerk
And people hugged themselves because. three such capable and
acceptable men had, presumably, consented to be elected. Most of the
t’lii tv-nine citizens who took the trouble to vote did as they were ad
vised by the printed slips, and Messrs. Miller, Smith and Walle piled
tip a plurality proportionate!}' greater than that that authorized Mr
Roosevelt to bust the trusts and conserve the coal, wind and water of a
great nation, and they were duly declared elected.
But there is a big difference between being duly declared elected
and being declared duly elected, as later developments denoted.
Ol the old board Messrs, Vachon and Tiffany had served full yearly
terms, but Mr Cbanquist had been chosen to fill a vacancy and had
only served some three months. Very soon after the election it be
came known that Mr. Cbanquist was nettled because, it appears, the
printed slips had entered into the situation without his knowledge or
consent. As iime went on apace the printed slips brought on more
talk and the fact was very generally commented upon disapprovingly
that but a scant two days’ notice had been given before the election
was held A good many people declared that the election was an at
tempt to take snap judgment and was illegal.
Meanwhile, the newly elected members of the board not having
qualified, a notice calling for another election to be held Nov. 20 was
published in the Leader of Nov. n. This notice also included a call
for a meeting of citizens interested to take place at the po.-,toffice
building Thursday evening, Nov. 18.
When the time had come for this meeting to be called to order H.
L- Hedrick was prevailed 011 to act as chairman and the oratorical skir
mishing began, with the insurgents in the majoiity but firing mainly
in the brush to see what kind of a bogie they might be able to scare
our. It was but a few minutes before they stirred up more than they
had bargained for; for Commissioner Phil G.illaher opened up his bat
tery and bit the bull’s eye by announcing that all the members of the
new board bad qualified and were in possession of the official citadel,
and it would take money and :t fight in the courts to oust them. Thus
taken by surprise the insurgents called for a reading of the law, and
through their interpretation of the same declared the election was ille
gal because of insufficient notice; but the commissioner held that under
the wording of the law no notice is required for a regular annual elec
tion such as this. An effort was made to get a vote as to the sense cf
the meeting whether the election held Oct. 30 was legal or not, but
not many answered either aye or nay. The meeting finally adjourned
with the insurgents apparently having the worst of the engagement.
Further reconnoitering has been going on, however, as is evident
from the following telegram from the district attorney:
Fairbanks, Nov. 20, 1909.
Joseph Delin, Fort Gibbon, Alaska:
Act Jan. 27, 1905. par. 5, p. 618, vol. 33. pt. 1, Statutes
at Large, requires ten days' notice of election members school
board. Crossley.
It is in doubt whether the old or the new board is now in office,
and what steps will be necessary, and by whom, to remove the kinks
from the tangle. Of course 110 election was held Nov. 20 following the
swearing in of the members of the new board. It has been suggested
that these men could relieve the situation by resigning; yet if it is a
fact that they are not legally in office they have nothing to resign, and
if they are legally in office they don’t have to resign—and there the
matter goes again.
Mrs. R. M. Sherburne (formerly Miss Ruth Howard, the pio
neer woman barber of Dawson', now in the mercantile business on
Vault creek, having received a telegram to the effect that her hus
band, recently operated on in a Los Angeles hospital, was not ex
pected to live, started from Fairbanks, Nov. 17 with a horse and
double-ender for Valdsz, alone, and expected to make the trip in
seven days. Hers is a race with death.
Falcon Joslin, president of the Tanana Valley Railway Com
pany, arrived in New York from Seattle yesterday. He will spend
the greater part of the winter in Washington in the interests of
coal claimants in Alaska.
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Thanksgiving
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for sale
WORLD NEWS
Following the growing rest,
lessness among the families of
the victims of the terrible mine
disaster of Nov 13. when nearly
400 men were entombed in the
drifts of the Cherry (111.) mine
after a, fire damp explosion, it is
learned that an attempt was made
upon the life of President Earl
ing, of the C., B. & Q. railroad,
the company that owns the mine
and from which the coal supply
of the road is drawn. President
Earling has been at the mine
since the day of the accident, and
has been unsparing in his efforts
to aid the hapless ones in the
burning mine—all of whom are
believed to have perished. Since
the accident which caught the
men in the galleries underground
the families of those who are be
lieved to be dead have been grow
ing more violent, and two com
panies of militia have been or
dered to the scene to prevent
threatened disorder. Talk of
negligence on the part of the op
erators is heard, and it is feared
that riots will result when the
bodies are taken from the mine.
Contemplating the immediate
outfitting of an expedition for
Arctic exploration, Capt. Amund
sen, the discoverer of the North
west passage, arrived in New
York on Nov. 17 from Christiana,
on his way to San Francisco.
Amundsen is representing the
Norwegian government in this
expedition, the plan being to
start in 1911 and spending five
years in Arctic waters gathering
scientific data. For this trip he
will refit the Fram, the boat used
by Captain Nansen on his famous
trip. He will also refit his old
vessel, now at San Francisco, for
a separate expedition, to be
started as soon as the arrange
ments can be completed.
Having undergone an opera
tion for intestinal trouble, John
G. Carlisle, former speaker of
the national house pf representa
tives, United States senator from
Kentucky and secretary of the
treasury during Cleveland’s sec
ond administration, of late years
a practicing attorney in New
York, is reported to be dying in
that city. He has been a sufferer
for some time, and in his weak
ened condition is believed to have
no chance for life. Mr. Carlisle
is nearly 74 years of age.
At the meeting of the cabinet
on Nov. 16 the impending in
vestigation of the sugar trust
was discussed. It is understood
that it was determined that the
probe will be one conspicuous for
its thoroughness, and that it will
extend to all parts of the coun
try. Scores of weighers at dif
ferent customs houses through
out the country are said to be im
plicated in the sugar scandal, and
it is likely that at any time now
the government will commence
commence to make arrests.
A dispatch from Floyd, la.,
Nov. 17 says: There is grave
danger that the local bastile may
be stormed before night and Syl
vester and Albert Owens, the
sons of a prominent local minis
ter, taken out and lynched. The
boys are charged with shooting
and killing Clarence Compton and
his 12 year old daughter. The
citizens here are infuriated and
many threats have already been
made.
Genera] Booth, leader of the
Salvation Army, makes the state
' ment that^iever in the modern
history of England have labor
conditions been worse. Hundreds
of thousands of skilled workmen
are unemployed, and their fam
ilies are starving. The prospect
of immediate relief is anything
but encouraging, and the ques
tion deserves the sole attention
of the government during the
present winter.
It is reported from Washington
that Gifford Pinchot has written
a lengthy letter to the President
requesting to know exactly his
status in the administration. The
chief forester puts it squarely up
to the President, and asks him to
declare himself either for Secre
tary Ballinger or for Mr. Pinchot.
The Western Union Telegraph
Company has been absorbed by
the American Telephone and Tel
egraph Company, with a capital
ization of $1,000,000,000. The
big trust now controls 10,000,000
miles of wires. The aim of the
corporation is to absorb all the
telegraph and telephone wires in
the United States.
Field Marshal Yamagata has
been appointed president of the
privy council of Japan, to suc
ceed the late Prince Ito.
Thanksgiving
Proclamation
TERRITORY OF ALASKA.
Juneau, Alaska, Nov. 16, 1909.
In accordance with a proclamation of the President of the
United States, and in recognition of a custom observed by our
people since earliest times, I, Walter E. Clark, Governor of
the Territory of Alaska, do hereby appoint Thursday, the 25th
day of November, 1909, a day of Thanksgiving, and I recom
mend that upon that day all the people of Alaska, refraining
from their usual employments, give thanks to Almighty God
for the manifold blessings of the year.
Asa people we have reaped the season’s reward of Heaven,
assisted enterprise and industry, and now enjoy the abounding
fruits of prosperity and peace. While we give thanks for these
blessings, which have come to our people as a whole, let us not
forget those individuals less fortunate who may be in need of
that cheering succor and helpfulness which true charity affords.
Given under my hand and the great seal of the Territory
of Alaska in Juneau, the capital, this 16th day of November, in
the year of our Lord, one thousand nine hundred and nine, and
or the independence of the United Stales the one hundred and
thirty-fourth.
WALTER E. CLARK,
By the governor: Governor of Alaska.
Wm. L. Distin, Ex-Officio Secretary of Alaska.
The secretary of Commerce anrl Labor will ask congress in
his annual report for an appropriation of $80,000 to provide addi
tional aids to navigation on the coast of Alaska. The necessity of
a lighthouse tender is also pointed out.
These Coats are made of genuine Australian Calfskin Fur, are
splendidly made, warm, look good and will wear well; posi
tively the best values ever offered in Tanana, Call and exam
ine them—they'll not last long at these low figures.
Long
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Short
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Tanana Commercial Co.
THE HOUSE OF QUALITY
THE MINERS’ NE WSPA PER
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
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