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FOURTH YEAR.
CHITINA, ALASKA, TUESDAY, APRIL, 21, 1914.
NUMBER 27
NEW YORK, April 17.—At attempt to assassinate Mayor
John P. Mitchell occurred this afternoon. As he was leaving
the city hall a shot was fired by an elderly man. It just missed
Mitchell, but the bullet took effect in the chin of his com
panion, Corporation Counsel Polk, causing a serious wound.
The assailant sought to make his escape but he was caught
and soon overpowered. At first he refused to give his name
but later stated that it was David Rose and that he was
sometimes known as David Soloshein. He says he is 70 years
of age. He refused to give the motive for his attempted
killing.
WASHINGTON, April 17.—Regulation of the whale
fishing business in Alaska was the theme of a bill introduced
in the Senate yesterday afternoon by Senator Knute Nelson.
The bill provides that no two persons or corporations engaged
in whaling shall locate stations or factories within 75 miles
of each other, and that any station or factory that has not
been used for two years shall be deemed abandoned. The
senator believes that the latter clause will have the effect of
opening up much territory that is now being held without any
oprations being pursued. The distance limit has been urged
by Alaskans.
WASHINGTON, April 16.—Delegate Wickersliam con
siders that he can improve on the bill' recently offered by
Senator Chamberlain, providing for the organization of. the
Alaska Development Board. Yesterday afternoon the delegate
introduced a new bill that contains most of the ideas in the
Chamberlain bill, but with some differences. The delegate
proposes that the board shall administer the land laws and
interior affairs of Alaska and that the board shall be composed
of five members. His bill provides that the governor, the
-surveyor general and three additional residents of Alaska be
appointed by the President, at a salary of $7,500 a year. The
bill also provides the salary of the surveyor general, who now
receives fees, shall be $6,000. The delegate also makes other
minor changes.
The creation of a development board for Alaska is the
original idea of Secretary Lane, who has secured the support
of President Wilson in the effort to have a bill passed. The
measure introduced by Senator Chamberlain was prepared
after consultation with Secretary Lane and President Wilson
and met with their approval. Among other things, it provides
that the board shall be composed of three numbers, to be
appointed by tTie President for a term of seven years. The
chairman is to receive a salary of $8,500 and the other two
members each $8,000. Not more than two of the board shall
be of the same political party, and the board shall maintain its
principal and branch offices in Alaska.
The Chamberlain bill further provides that the board shall
have jurisdiction and control over the care, use and disposition
of all reserved and unreserved public lands, including forests
and waters and resources therein, over fish and fisheries, seals,
reindeer, mines, minerals and mining, Indians, Eskimos, and
other Alaskan natives, toll roads, and over all other matters
or things now subject to national ownership, care, disposition,
control or regulation within the territorial limits of Alaska,
except with respect to rates, regulations and control of I
railroads, steamship lines, and other common carriers, which
shall remain subject to the jurisdiction of the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
SEATTLE, April 15.—It now looks as though the people
in the vicinity of Juneau might soon have a railroad to the
interior country. The Taku Railroad & Navigation Company
has been formed, with a capital of $3,000,000. Articles oi*
incorporation have been filed at Olympia, the incorporators
being: William B. Herr, Frank S. Baylev and Woorral Wilson.
They propose to build a railroad from Taku Inlet, near
Juneau, to the British Columbia boundary. There it will
connect with a road to run to Lake Atlin. The latter was
recently chartered by the Dominion government, and it is
said that the same interests are back of the project to build
both lines mentioned, and that it would be the intention later
on to continue the line into the Dawson country.
WASHINGTON, April 15.—Representative Rotliermel,
of Pennsylvania,.chairman of the House committee which lias
been investigating the fur seal conditions in Alaska, submitted
a report that recommends that the department of justice take
action in the matter. The committee urges that the attorney
general start proceedings against officials of the Nortu
American Commercial Company and agents of the govern
ment, who are held to be responsible for the ruinous killing of
the seals on Pribiloff island. The committee charges that the
testimony clearly shows collusion between government agents
and the lessees, to kill the young herds, with the result that
the herd is almost ruined commercially. Former Secretary of
Commerce Nagle is criticized for his lax methods that per
mitted the condition complained of to exist. David Starr
Jordan is also accused of using a false translation of the
Russian record, which enabled him to assert untruthfully that
the Russians had killed the males and females alike.
WASHINGTON, April 18.—Late this afternoon the state
ment was issued from the White House that unless Huerta
salutes the flag before 6 o’clock Sunday evening the President
will go before Congress in joint assembly on Monday and ask
authority to take such measures as may be necessary.
Champ Ciark denies splitting his party, and the vote
ffceems to bear him out. He only splintered it.
A coal leasing bill is being con
sidered by Congress, with the hope
that some definite measure may be
passed by both houses before the
session ends. The Senate committee'
on public lands, after many confer
ences with Secretary Lane and
friends of Alaska, and after hearing
the report of a subcommittee, re
ported to the Senate practically a
new bill. In submitting the amended
bill Chairman Henry L. Myers of
Montana, made the following report:
As thus amended the committee
recommends that the bill do pass.
The bill provides for the leasing
of coal lands in Alaska that are not
expressly, by the bilt, reserved to the
government. The committee favors
the disposal of the coal lands by
lease rather than by sale for the
following reasons: (1) Because it
will require less capital to engage in
mining and will offer an opportunity
for the poor man, the prospector,
and the miner to engage in the
business of producing coal; (2) it
will encourage a greater number of
people to engage in the occupation
and tend to a greater production of
coal and a consequent reduction in
the price; (3) it offers the most
effective method of protection
against monopoly and waste and in
sures the protection of the life and
health of the miner; and (4) an
adequate and economical production1
of coal is essential to the develop
ment of the territory and the auc
cessful construction and operation of
the government railroads, and It is
therefore reasonable that the gov
ernment should retain control over
such mining opeations.
Classification of Coal Lands
The bill provides that the Secre
tary of the Interior shall classify
the coal lands and survey them in
blocks of 40 acres and multiples
thereof up to 2,560 acres, a person
or corporation to be interested in
only one lease and no lease to be for
more than one olock of such coal
land. The reason for having some
of the blocks of only 40 acres is so
that miners without the necessary
capital to engage in mining on a
large scale may be able to lease and !
mine such blocks. In the classifica
tion, the 40-acre blocks will be
selected with a view to favoring the
small miner and carrying out the in
tention of the provision. The corpor
ation or big operator will be dis
couraged in seeking a lease on a 40
acre block, as such quantity of land
would tye inadequate for large oper
ations and to take over a lease on
such block would be a bar to a
lease on a larger block.
Protection Against Monopoly
To protect against monopoly, the
bill prohibits any lessee from acquir
ing or holding any interest, directly
or indirectly, in another lease, and
violation of this provision is pun
ished not only by forfeiture of the
lessee’s interest, but by fine and im
prisonment. Stock in a corporation
holding a lease is considered an
interest in such lease. The officers,
directors, or agents of a corporation
acting for a corporation in the vio
lation of such provision are punished
by fine or imprisonment, or both.
May Consolidate.
With the approval of the Secre
tary of the Interior, lessees may con
solidate their leases if the consoli
dated areas do not exceed 2,560
acres. This provision is intended to
allow rnniers who have taken up
small blocks to consolidate such
blocks for the purpose of raising
caital or otherwise facilitating the
mining operations in such consoli
dated areas.
The Period of the Lease
Leases shall be for not more than
50 years. This does not mean that
the Secretary of the Interior shall
execute a lease for 50 years, but
that he has the power. In granting
a lease he will naturally be gov
erned as to the period by the par
ticular conditions existing. If a
large investment and equipment are
required, the lessee will naturally
require a longer lease than if such
investment were small. It would
be difficult to obtain the investment
of any large amount of capital in
mining operations in Alaska unless
the lease were for a long period of
time. The government can obtain
better terms on a long lease than on
a short one and has the power to
protect itself fully by the terms and
conditions of the lease with regard
to the amount of production and the
manner of mining.
Royalties.
The royalties shall be not less
than 3 cents nor more than 5 cents
per ton for each ton mined. This
is a small royalty by comparison
with charges in the United States
proper, but the committee believes
that the principal object of the gov
ernment Is to stimulate the output
of coal rather than to make a protit
out of royalties on the operations.
Such royalties are about half the
royalties charged in the various
states of the Union. The Secretary
of the Interior will naturally vary
the royalty between the limits as
the conditions may require.
It is impracticable to charge a
percentage on the value of the coal,
because under the varying conditions
In Alaska affecting both the trans
portation and the sale of coal it
would be very burdensome and ex
pensive, if not impossible, fairly 10
arrive at such value,
l imited License Without Royalty
The bill authorises the Secretary
of the Interior to grant limited
licenses to mine coal for strictly
local or domestic purposes without
the payment of royalty. Such a
license is limited to 10 acres and a
period of 10 yean. This provision
is largely intended to meet the re
quirements of the miners living In
the interior or away from transpor
tation.
It—d by the flonrawnt
The land rs—rved not exceeding
5,120 aerea in the Bering field and
7.620 acres in the Matanuska field,
constitutes about one-third of the
available coal in each of said fields,
and is considered by the Department
of the Interior to be adequate for
governmental uses.
It will be observed that the coal
is not to be mined by the govern
ment until It becomes necessary by
reason of an insufficient supply of
coal at a reasonable price. In mak
ing the reservations It is not the. in
tention of the committee that the
government shall unnecessarily- en
gage in the business of coal mining.
Protection of Existing Rights
In Section 3 of the bill it is pro
vided that the leases shall be let
“subject to any prior existing rights,
which said rights may be perfected
under the laws in force at the time
the same were initiated." It is not
the intention of the committee to
deprive anyone of his valid existing
rights by legislative enactment.
Existing rights must be determined
by the proper tribunals.
The bill further provides that any
person who is the owner of a claim
may surrender the same to the
United States and thereupon shall
have a prior right to a lease on such
tract. While there may have been
many frauds committed in connec
tion with the coal lands in Alaska,
there are probably many who have
in good faith and lawfully acquired
rights, and such persons should be
given at least a prior right to lease
on such tracts.
Easements.
The bill provides for the necessary
easements over leased lands and the
public domain.
Conclusion.
The committee realizes that there
are some provisions in this bill that
are objectionable to some senators,
but the subject has been unde.r dis
cussion and consideration for many
years and it has been found almost
impossible to harmonize the differ
ent opinions. A subcommittee con
sisting of Mr. Pittman, Mr. Robinson
and Mr. Smoot were appointed by
the committee to consider in con
nection with S. 4425 other bills that
had been introduced in the Senate
in relation to the same subject and
to recommend to the full committse
such amendments to S. 4425 as they
might deem advisable or to substi
tute an entire new bill. The majority
of the subcommittee, consisting of
Mr. Pittman and Mr. Robinson,
made a full report recommending
certain changes in the bill, which
recommendations were accepted by
the full committee. The bill on the
one hand may not be sufficiently
radical for the extreme conserva
tionists, while on the other hand :t
may be considered too radical for
the extreme reactionaries. The
people of the country want the coal
lands in Alaska, which have been
locked up for bo many years, opened
and made to produce, and the com
mittee has attempted to frame a bill
that will be least objectionable to
those representing the extremes of
both pollute*.
WASHINGTON, April 20.—The House and Senate
met in joint session this afternoon at 3:30 o’clock.
President Wilson appeared in person and delivered a
short message on the Mexican situation. He asked
that he be permitted to use the army and navy for the
downfall of President Huerta. In part he said: “I
have come to ask your approval that I should use the
armed forces of the United States in such ways and
to such extremes as may be necessary to obtain from
General Huerta and his adherents the fullest recogni
tion of the rights and dignity of the United States,
even amdist the distressing conditions now unhappily
obtaining in Mexico.
WASHINGTON, April 20.—There was intense
but suppressed excitement existing when the Presi
dent appeared before Congress this afternoon.
Immediately after the President delivered his message
Cogress manifested its hearty approval for the use of
armed forces by the passage of a volunteer bill. This
will call into service the militia of the country and
paves the way for the passage of a bill appropriating
$50,000,000 or as much of it as is needed, for war
funds. Resolutions authorizing the President to use
extreme measures were taken up by both houses and
rushed through.
WASHINGTON, April 21.—The Senate is still debating
the Mexican situation, and seems reluctant to make Huerta tln>
one big figure. The President’s spokesmen insist that a
general resolution would mean a complicated war. On the
other hand Senator Lodge expressed his views thus: “We
must stand behind the President, but T cannot join in any
resolution which puts one murderer and cut throat above
another murderer and cut throat.”
W ASHINGTON, April 21.—After considerable discussion
of the proper method to treat tin* Mexico situation the House
at !) o’clock last night passed a resolution, which among other
things declares that “The President is justified in the employ
ment of the armed forces of the United States to enforce
demands upon \ ictoriana Huerta for unequivocal amend 1#
the government of the United States, for affronts and indig
nities committed against our government by Huerta and his
representatives.”
A\ ASHING!ON, April 21.—The Senate was in session Iasi
night and considerable objection was evidenced to the form of
the lesolution passed by the House. Manv expressed the view
that action should be aimed at the Mexican government rather
than at Huerta. After considering the matter until 10 o’clock
the Senate decided to adjourn until 10 o’clock this morning
without taking any positive action.
WASHING TON, April 21.—A code message received late
this afternoon at New S ork states that marines have landed
at Vera ( ruz. I lie navy department cannot verify it. however.
MLX1( () ( 1 1 i, April 21.—Huerta is preparing for war
and is marshaling his forces at Vera Cruz and Tampico. lie
says that he will have 40,000 fighters ready to meet any attack.
WASHINGTON, April 21.—Secretary of War Garrison
announced that in the event of hostilities General Leonard
Wood would be placed in command of the American forces.
The joint a my and navy board, headed by Admiral Dewey,
met yesterday.
WASHINGTON, April 21.—\esterday orders went to
Admiral Fletcher to seize the customs house at Vera Cruz. The
plan is to get hold of a great amount of ammunition consigned
to Huerta on a German ship.
W AS1IIXGTON, April 21.—A wireless this morning from
the flagship Arkansas states that the Atlantic fleet will reach
Tampico at 8 o’clock W ednesday morning.
CHIHUAHUA, April 21.—Generals Carranza and Villa
met formally last night for the first time in four years. They
decided to take no part in Huerta’s troubles but to remain
neutral so long as the rebel territory is not invaded or
threatened.
MEXICO CITY, April 21.—It develops that after Presi
dent Huerta had given his final decision declining to fire
salute, he ordered out the military band and passed a couple
of hours listening to the playing of military strains.
MEXICO CITY, April 21.—Last night Huerta dictated the
following statement, which he issued to the press: “President
Huerta offers and guarantees protection to all foreigners,
including Americans. lie will improve this opportunity to
show to the world that his government and Mexico are moral
and civilized.”
WASHINGTON, April 21.—This afternoon Secretary
Bryan announced that before nightfall he would give all tin?
powers notice of the blockade. lie summoned all the
ambassadors in the capital to meet him late this afternoon.
VERA CRUZ, April 21.—British Admiral ('haddock has
ordered the British steamer Elgeorra, which is carrying
ammunition from Vera Cruz for Huerta to Tampico, to stop
at once and discharge.
WASHINGTON, April 21.—Secretary Daniels admitted
that the President might take summary action at any moment
to enforce the blockade. He is desirous of preventing the
landing of arms by a German vessel due tomorrow at Vera
Cruz.