The Chitina Leader
CHITINA, ALASKA.
Entered as second-class matter, November 12. 1910, at the postoffice at
Chitina, Alaska, under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879.
ONLY NEWSPAPER IN CHITINA
Published every Saturday by
WTT.T. A. STEEL—Editors, Managers and Proprietors—HABBT O. STEEL
Office: Hotel Chitina Building. Cordova Office: Daily Alaskan
Seattle Office: 551 Colman 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 .
Six Months .
One Year . 8-8®
v/CHITINA, ALASKA, SATURDAY, MARCH 23,1912.
/ ■ -
THE ALIEN CONTINUES TO RULE
Some of the residents of the Chitina precinct are becoming
alarmed lest the business transacted in the office of the present
United States commissioner and recorder shall be declard un
lawful. Thy are seeking advice in Seattle. The fact that
Judge Healy is a confessed alien is now being considered se
riously with reference to the effect it may have on dcisions of
the commissioner’s office. True, he declared his intentions 21
years ago to become a citizen, but that declaration bears the
impress of fraud, as this subject of Great Britain was a resi
dent of his mother country, in Dawson, in 1899 and there
abouts, serving on the mounted police force and casting his
vote at election. And with his brazen insolence this foreigner
insists upon remaining in a position of honor where he can lord
it over good American citizens. And who will declare that the
people of Alaska are not patient and law-abiding citizens!
They certainly are demonstrating it in the present instance of
U. S. Commissioner Healy.
-oooo
ONE OF OUR GREAT NEEDS
As the days are fast approaching for the holding of the
various party conventions in this territory, and the naming of
candidates for delegate to Congress, it behooves everyone in
terested in the success of Alaska to evidence a concern as to
the men who shall be put forth as standard bearers. If all par
ties were to name good strong characters who might be relied
upon to get results, the verdict of the August election might
not be a matter of much concern. The Fairbanks Citizen takes
rather a gloomy view of the past and future, although it un
doubtedly can suggest ways for improvement. In discussing
the subject, among other things, it says:
“And yet, in spite of the delegates having been at work for
the past five years, there has been practically nothing accom
plished in a constructive way. True, if we are to believe what
we have been told, we have numerous times been saved through
the gallant efforts of our $7,500 Jack the Giant-killer, from
mastication in the ravenous maws of bad trusts that have es
sayed to gobble us, but we are not as much impressed with the
“narrowness” of our escape as we would have been had we
seen even a moving picture of the wicked ogres.
“In spite of the fact that mining is our principal industry,
and it is universally recognized that the laws pertaining there
to are pernicious, there has been no single correction of them
made, nor have our game or liquor laws been so rewritten as to
make ordinary common sense. Our delegates have known and
made campaign thunder of the total inadequacy of the statutes
and have been sent to Washington on the strength of promises
to correct them, and they have promptly injected themselves
into personal squabbles and forgotten their real mission.
“Their plea that Congress will not listen is not to be ac
cepted, for it is not the truth. Congressmen are elected from
the best of Ameircan citizenry and they go to the council cham
ber to give of their best to the nation. They have many times
indicatetd a wish to help Alaska and would undoubtedly do so
could they only be shown the way.
“Utner congressmen nave secured legislation lor Aiasaa.
Similar steps could have been taken with equal success by the
delegate with regard to the mining law, and other matters of
moment upon which practically the whole territory is united,
if he had not cultivated his penchant for getting into personal
squabbles and then setting out to earn a reputation as a fighter
on the strength of them. But these fights have so absorbed
his whole time that matters of real economic importance put
up to him by the constituents he is supposed to represent have
been disregarded entirely.
“And, unfortunately, there appears at this time a consid
erable likelihood of there being a continuance of this kind of
thing, even if the present delegate decides he already has had
enough or is defeated at the polls. For there is good reason to
believe that the bickerings that have been so ably maintained
at Washington, to the hindrance of everything useful, will be
continued just so long as we have a partisan politician there.”
-oooo
The Cordova Chamber of Commerce is preparing to make
itself heard in the halls of Congress. And all because our peo
ple insist that the government should make an appropriation
sufficiently liberal to build a summer road between Chitina
and Fairbanks, so that the United States mail and passengers
can go from Seattle to the interior of Alaska without the loss of
weeks, during the summer time.
-oooo
An automobile road from Chitina to Fairbanks means that
during the summer all the passenger traffic to the interior of
Alaska will come via Cordova. A liberal appropriation upor
the part of Congress will enable the Alaska Road Commission
to construct such a road as will prove a great boon to the in
terior towns and also greatly add to the prosperity of Cordova
and Chitina.
---oooo
Having decided what whisky is, the official authorities
have tackled the question of beer. The results shut out rice as
a component, which South Carolina and Louisiana will regard
as sectional prejudice. But no official has yet been bold enough
to declare what constitutes a straight Republican or Democrat.
THE PLATITUDES OF PINCHOT
At length the Hon. Gifford Pinchot has defined the creed
of the movement in which he is engaged. In a recent speech in
New York Mr. Pinchot said the movement is an effort to make
this country the best possible place for men, women and chil
dren to live and work in, and he added: “In its essence it is a
great moral movement. ’ ’
Of course. But what moved "Washington and Jefferson?
What stirred and nerved the American soldiers at Saratoga, at
Bunker Hill, and New Orleans? What light cheered, wliat
hope strengthened the fathers at Philadelphia? What inspira
tion was it that reached the great, warm heart of Lincoln at the
noonday of our first century? Have we been waiting, like beg
gars, at the outer gate of the prophet, Pinchot, for an explana
tion of the reason for our existence as a nation? Are not the
yellowing tomes within our reach rich and radiant with the
stories of sacrifices and heroisms, all reminding us that the
struggle from the beginning has been to make this country
“the best possible place for men, women and children to !:ve
and work in?” But hear the prophet again:
“It recognizes the rights of the poor are more sacred than
the privileges of the rich, and that human welfare is better
worth working and fighting and living for than property and
profits. ’ ’
The law recognizes no distinction between the rights of the
poor, and the “privileges” of the rich. And what normal man
is inclined to raise his voice or his hand against “human wel
fare?” Is not “human welfare” also a part of the heart of our
dream? But Mr. Pinchot proceeds:
“The movement is stronger than any party, greater than
all its leaders, higher than personal motives and animosities,
larger than anything except the whole people, for it believes
in the Golden Rule and is founded imperishably on the moral
law.”
Fine, fine! But, after all, what does it mean? Why, there
is not a political party on the face of the habitable globe that
does not stand for the creed defined by Mr. Pinchot.
But the sinister thing about the Pinchot pronunciamento
is the manifest effort of Pinchot to make it appear that “a
great light,” like unto that which fell upon Paul, has fallen
upon him, and that it is now his mission to make this country
I ‘ ‘ the best possible place for men, women and children to five
and work in.” As we have already succeeded in doing that.
Pinchot need give himself no further worry on that score.—
Post-Intelligencer.
-oooo
Congress is considering a bill to make it unlawful for an
alien to fish in Alaskan waters. Wonder what the patriotic
ones there would say if they knew an alien was holding a ju
dicial office in the Chitina precinct, where the liberty and the
property rights of American citizens are in the hands of an
unprincipled official who is a citizen of a foreign country.
--noon
ACCORDING TO ORDERS
Every once in a while the methods of the government
agents or officials in Alaska are sharply criticised for sins of
omission or commission. A recent issue of the Fairbanks
Times has the following dissertation on discipline:
“One thing we must have, cost what it may, and that is
discipline. A sergeant of the signal corps, who was formerly
stationed at Copper Center, was court martialed recently for
trying to save money for the government. The sergeant had
taken an old whip-sawed boat at Copper Center and descended
the river as far as Taral, below Chitina, in search of a sergeant
who had left Copper Center on a raft, and who was believed to
have been drowned. Failing in his object, he returned to Cop
per Center, but without the boat. Thereupon a lieutenant at
Valdez ordered him to return to Taral and get the boat back to
Copper Center. The sergeant wired back explaining the nat
ural difficulties in the way of carrying out the order, and was
told again to fetch the boat, taking a wagon along to transport
it. With a four-horse team, a private and a packer, the ser
geant started after the miserable boat over such roads as are
typical of Alaska in the summer time. They could not make
the gap from Chitina to Taral, and accepted the offer of the
railway to carry the boat free over that stretch. When this
transaction came to light, the Valdez lieutenant demanded that
the railroad present a bill for hauling the boat. Altogether, it
cost the government $500 to get back that boat, which could
have been replaced for at the most $60. Needless to say, the
sergeant was vindicated by the court martial and returned to
duty. Also the lieutenant is wiser on the subject of transpor
tation in Alaska—at the expense of the American taxpayer.”
-oooo--—
Illinois and Missouri are disputing as to which originated
the “hound dawg” song. It would be equally to the point if
they should quarrel over the ownership of a single hound dog.
-oooo
Let the government give Alaska just and generous treat
ment, conserving its resources, but in such a manner as not to
prohibit its progerss, not to forbid its growth and developments
Let it have a square deal.—Cincinnati Enquirer.
-oooo
IMPOSITION OF IMPOSTORS
The Grand Juries that have recently held sessions in Alas
ka have expressed their disapproval of aliens being permitted
to have the same rights in this territory as good American citi
zens. In November last the grand jury sitting at Cordova
placed its stamp of disapproval upon Judge M. R. Healy for
oosing as a citizen and securing a judicial office when he knew
ihat he was ineligible. He declared his intention twenty-one
years ago and then nullified that in 1899 by again taking up his
residence in his mother country and voting in Dawson. The
Grand Juries at Ketchikan and Juneau have recommended that
aliens be not allowed to fish in the waters of Alaska, “whether
j fishing on his own account or as agent or employe for any per
son, firm, association or corporation.” After a time these sol
diers of fortune who travel around the world under the protec
tion of two or three countries, and entitled to the protection of
none, may be, branded as a man without a country, so that they
may no longer impose upon a patriotic public.
DEVELOPERS AS WELL AS PROSPECTORS
Grubstaking prospectors bids fair to have as popular a
run in mining as the initiative, the referendum and the recall
have in the political world. Colorado seems to be pleased with
the results of her experiment of last year, and Utah and South
Dakota are preparing to imitate the example. The first seri
ous rebuff was met in Los Angeles, where the Chamber of
Mines and Oil decided that such a scheme would destroy the
Chamber’s character as a purely civic organization, and would
bring it in direct competition with commercial development
companies. However, the idea seems to be spreading over the
entire mining area of the United States, and will undoubtedly
be given a thorough try-out.
What any mining district needs first is prospectors. With
out prospects there can be no mines. To that extent the scheme
of grubstaking prospectors is a worthy one, and if a commer
cial organization can stop with that, and refrain from trans
forming into a development company, the plan is as safe as it
is worthy. But the mining industry also needs men who are
willing to take hold of prospects with merit and to take a
chance in developing them. They are quite as necessary to the
prosperity of a mining camp as the prospector, and a civic or
ganization such as a commercial club should exert as much ef
fort to secure mine developers as it should make to secure the
mine hunters.
Mines are made, not found. The prospector frequently
does put in thousands of dollars in labor in the effort to make
a mine out of a prospect, but when we consider that it costs
from $10,000 to $1,000,000 to make a mine, the task is too great
to expect of a person whose only resources consist of labor.
Neither do we want particularly the class of investor who in
sists upon having his pay blocked out on four sides before he
puts a cent into it. Such men are not mining men at all. We
must never lose sight of the fact that mining investment be
longs to the speculative type, and must not be compared with
investments in government or municipal bonds.—Fairbanks
Times.
4 .jA • ILL Jl
-0000
WHAT JUNEAU WANTS
We were under the impression that all Juneau wanted was
to have Mayor Valentine run the affairs of Alaska, without the
assistance of Seattle or any other locality. But from the Dis
patch we learn that the capital city wants a few other things,
as for instance:
“Juneau wants what almost the entire territory asks—
Home Rule with an elective legislature.
“Juneau wants the honorable board of road commissioners
to authorize construction of a wagon road from Juneau to
Sheep Creek.
“Juneau wants the government road now complete be
tween the capital and Salmon Creek, completed as far as Men
denhall and the Bar.
“Juneau wants permission of the department of justice to
place felons in Southeastern Alaska jails at work on all roads
under construction.
“Juneau wants early construction work on the executive
mansion.
“Juneau wants a first-class mail service from Seattle.
“And last, but not least, Juneau wants aud needs har
mony, with every citizen placing his shoulder to the wheel of
progress. ’ ’
WHEN COMING TO CORDOVA REMEMBER
Cordova Steam Laundry
THE ONLY REAL LAUNDRY' IN TOWN
Let ns wash and clean your canvass covers, blankets, clothes,
overalls, etc.
If you are in a hurry 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. JONES, Manager Second Street
l Alaska Coast Co. I
❖ “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. ^
^ JEANNIE1—March 10th.
^ The JEANNIE carries explosives for Southwestern Alaska, anr ^
^ goes to Kodiak. ^
^ Right reserved to change steamers and sailing dates -without <A>
❖ ALASKA TRANSFER CO., Local Agents. ^
^ B. F. WATSON, General Agent. ^
❖❖ ❖❖ »»»»»»»» ^
t 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 16.NORTHWESTERN.March 24 ^
❖ March 24.• ALAMEDA.April 1 ^
❖ April 1.NORTHWESTERN.April 8 ^
^ This company reserves the right to change schedule of steam- ^
^ ers without notice. ^
^ Tickets on sale at np-town office Alaska Steamship Bldg. ^
^ Baggage or freight will not be received at dock later than one ^
^ hour before sailing time. ▲
❖ F. B. TRACY T. J. TALLENT, ^
Ticket Agent. ^
*4441 IIHinill « | >♦»+
Horse Shoeing ::
:: and Repairing :i
! J.O. PEARSON jj
At Chamberlain’*’ feed & ‘
•ale stable.
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Chitina {
I; Pharmacy I
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4 " X
4 " X
:: Spring is Here |
Also |
Snow Glass ♦
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Time x
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:: We have them x
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;; A. G. MOREY, Prop. |
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PUBLIC LAND AND MINING
CASES.
If you are interested in any contest
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.
Chltlna, 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 j;
«
° 4 4
;: GESSNER & STANGNETH ;;
’; Proprietors * >
FRESH BREAD
;; Cakes and Pastry ■;
4 ► 44
• ■ Always on Hand ..
'"
• > MAin Street, — Chitina. '
■ > «i
+4444444444444444 4-44444444
Pete’s Lodging
House
AND ;
SECOND HAND 8TORRE
FREB COOKING HOUSE ,
CHITINA HEIGHTS
Bunks 25c; Beds 50c.
d PETER CORDES. Prop. j j