OF EFIEE IMITM
Cordova, December 23
The Rainier-Grand hotel will send
out on tomorrow’s train 20 live tur
keys as Christmas presents to the
section crews along the line. This
is a custom which has been fol
lowed since Harry Thisted and Geo.
Dooley took charge of the hotel and
one which “the boys” look forward
to with pleasant anticipations.
The Seward .Gateway claims to
have information from reliable
sources to the e.ffect that the Gug
genheims have acquired large hold
ings of quartz properties in the
Broad Pass district, including those
of the Wells boys.
The annual report of the second
assistant postmaster general for
Alaska shows that the appropriation
for the fiscal year was $450,000.
The amount expeended to September
30, 1914 was $249,094.42, leaving
an unexpended balance of $200,
905.58, out of which unsettled ac
counts must be paid. The large part
of the balance is due. that more
money was allowed for transporting
. parcels post than was needed.
The appropriation for the fiscal
year of 1915 is $304,000. The
amount estimated as necessary for
the fiscal year ending June 30th,
1916, is $350,000.
The contracts for service on star
routes in Alaska expired on June
30, 1914, and during the past year
new contracts have been entered
into for four years from July 1,
1914. The annual rate of expendi
ture on July 1, 1914, under the new
contracts was $239,393.50, an in
crease of $68,576.12, or 35.93 per
cent over the annual rate of expen
diture on June 30, 1914, under the
expiring contracts. The new con
tracts cqver 20 routes, representing
4,454 miles of length and 246,631.10
miles of annual travel on July 1,
1914, a decrease under June 30,
1914, of 37 miles of length and 222
miles of annual travel. The rate i
of cost a mile of travel on June 30, |
1914, was 92 cents. Under the new
contracts it was $1.05 on July l,
1914, an increase of 13 cents, or
14.13 per cent. Increased service
on certain routes and higher cost of,
service on other routes under the |
new contracts account for this in-,
crease.
During the winter season of 1913- ]
14 the department provided addi
tional facilities to the interior of
Alaska by authorising the dispatch
of not exceeding 27,000 pounds of
mail additional to Fairbanks via
Cordova and the Coppej River &
Northwestern Railway to Chitina,
thence by stage. The cost of this
additional service, including the de
livery at points beyond Fairbanks,
was $16,096.10.
Coraova, December 24
Here, briefly stated, are some of
the, amazing results and good things
for Alaska to follow the recent i'av
erable naval test of Matanuska coal:
The end of the Pocahontas naval
coal monopoly, fostered by Gifford
Pinchot.
The saving of millions of dol
lars to the government.
The probable sale, annually on the
Pacific coast of Alaskan ccal valued
at 845,000,000.
The maintenance of a fleet of
American battleships on the Pacific.
The establishment of a line of
colliers, similar to the. ore carriers
of the Great Lakes, between Alaska
and Seattle.
The installation of steel works on
the Pacific coast.
The assurance that the Alaska
railroad will be constructed immedi
ately.
The return to the government in
about six years of the entire cost of
construction of 1,000 miles of rail
road in the territory.
_ %
‘ Heretofore the. owners of East
ern coal fields have been able to
maintain their grip on the throat of
the navy department and force the
government to pay any old price for
coal for its warships. The test of
the Matanuska coal from Alaska will
end all this, and it will end the prac
tice of carrying coal from the At
lantic to the Pacific at tremendous
expense to this government.
“Misnamed conservation is dead
so far as Alaska Is concerned. Now
begins the era of real conservation
—the development and use of nat
ural resources.”
This is what two members of the.
naval committee of the House told
a newspaper correspondent at Wash
ington, D. C. This fact that the
government was being held up for
millians of dollars each year in this
ifsval coal supply business, was first
pointed out three aud a half years
ago when it began its fight for the
opening of the, Alaska coal fields to
development.
It was on the facts that the gov
ernment was being harassed and the
Pacific coast left subject to attack:
that the fight began.
For many years the Pocahontas
Sales Company has been selling
coal to the government for use ot
the navy on the Pacific coast at
rates ranging between $8 and 511
the ton. This coal was brought
around the Horn in foreign bottoms,
in defiance of the coastwise laws. A
similar grade of coal could be de
livered at the naval stations at a cost
of approximately 55 the ton. There
is at least a strong suspicion that j
the movement to conserve the
Alaskan coal for future generations
was made in behalf of the monopoly
held by the Pocahontas Sales Com
pany.
The test of the Matanuska coal
has changed all this. Within a year
or two at the most, naval coal,
domestic coal, blacksmith coal and
coke use.d on the Pacific coast, will
come from Alaska, says a Seattle
paper.
The government will make a sav
ing of at least $3 the ton on its
naval fuel, and, as Secretary Daniels
figures that, under present con li
tions. the government will use 2,
500.000 tons of fuel annually, this
will mean a saving to the govern
ment of $7,500,000 per year. In
five years it will save the cost of
constructing 1,000 miles of railroad
in the territory, the estimate for the
work being $35,000,000.
With this urgent demand for
naval fuel on the Pacific coast there
can be no reason to doubt that the
construction of the proposed gov
ernment railroad in Alaska will be
commenced as soon as the snow
leaves the ground next spring.
Another effect of the opening of
the Alaskan coal fields will be the
burning of anthracite coal in the
cities of Puget Sound and Califdr
nia, a commodity now held at such
high prices that only wealthy citi
zens can afford to use it.
According to estimates made by
Alfred H. Brooks, head of the geo
logical survey in Alaska, who, in
his modest scientific way did more
than any other man to refute the
statements of the conservationists
in regard to Alaska, and who has
made a most exhaustive study of
Alaskan resources covering a period
of seventeen years, the following
markets for Alaska coal are possible
of development:
The Pacific Coast states and ter
ritories, including Hawaii, want
more than 4,500,000 tons of coal
annually.
The United States navy wants 2,
300.000 tons of coal.
The development of a steel in
dustry on the Pacific coast will use
more than 2,000,000 tons of coal in
the form of coke.
Dr. Brooks estimates that this
coal can be landed at Seattle at ap
proximately $5 the ton, making a
total of $45,000,u00 per annum.
Long delays i.t repairs to that por
tion of the government cable in
Alaskan waters, will soon end, as
the Kultui, a lighthouse tender
equipped for the laying and repair
ing of cable, is to be transferred
from Hawaii to Alaska. The Col
umbine, a much smaller and slower
vessel than the Kukui, is ordered to
Hawaii. The latter is now due at
Ketchikan, where it will be sta
tioned.
Among the passengers on the
steamer Mariposa sailing from
Seattle Thursday night for Alaska
ports is Governor J. F. A. Strong,
who is returning from a trip to Cali
fornia.
W. S. Wilmot, a passenger from
Chitina on yesterday’s train from
the interior, said the Mother Lode
mine had ten tehms employed haul
ing ore down to the railroad at
McCarthy.
E. E. Kerwood, associated with S.
Blum & Co., received a telegram late
this afternoon announcing the death
of his wife Mrs. L. D. Kerwood in
Seattle this morning. Mrs. Kerwood
spent the spring and summer here,
visiting her husband and son
Richard and only returned to Seattle
a month or so ago.
Alex. Chrighton, an old sourdough
pioneer of Dawson, Fairbanks and
other northern camps, died at Chit
ina Thursday, of cancer of the
stomach. The. funeral will take place
there tomorrow with Rev. James
McBride of Cordova officiating.
Alex. Creighton, the old sour
dough who died at Chitina last week,
was buried there yestejday. Almost
every adult in the place turned out
to pay their last respects to the old
pioneer. Re.v. James McBride of
Cordova officiated.
NEW YORK, Dec. 23.—It Is easy
to find the reason for the vote of
the minor leagues recently at
Omaha to remain loyal to organized
baseball. During the four seasons
of 1909, 1910, 1911 and 1912, when
the Federals weren’t cutting up such
didoes, the major leagues shot into ]
the coffers of minor leagues mag
nates a total of $1,553,220 in ex
change for players. Some of these
men were gold bricks, but the money
stayed in the bushes just the same.
Last year these same minor
leagues received $224,305 or $61,
000 less than the yearly average for
the four preceding years. This
money doesn’t include sums that
were spent by certain big league
magnates from ‘‘war funds” to
save some of the minor league clubs,
especially those of the International
League from being engulfed com
pletely.
Minor league magnates- also re
member that throughout all of last
year the magnates gathered a five
per cent tax on the. gate receipts ot
all major league clubs, the money
to be used to provide means of
harassing the invading Federals and
to keep the minors intact.
Some industrious person has fig-!
ured it out that Harvard took ia ■
exactly $197,000 at football during;
the season just closed. Total expeu- ]
ditures, including $10,000 to Percy]
Haughton. amounted to $20,065, j
leaving a net profit of $177,000 in;
the Crimson coffers. If we were I
asked for the best way to spend th.s i
surplus we’d say without hesitation,
“Raise, Coach Haughton’s salary
$177,000 a year.”
t
I
Butcher-boys, caustic fans and
easily riled umpires to the contrary
notwithstanding, T. Raymond Geor
gia Peach Cobb, be it noted, belted
out enough basebits to flash across
the American League batting pan
some 24 points in front of his near
est competitor, E. Collins, of Phila
delphia, who hit for .344. * If Cobb
ever gets through a season without
running afoul of anyone his average,
at this rate, ought to stand for ail
time.
Abe Attell in his stage debut cut
out the time-worn sparring contest
and did some real dancing and mon
ologue stuff.
As far as we have been able to
learn Jimmy Gilmore, Johnny Ward,
and Charles Weegman have not yet
received invitations to the 40th
birthday party of the National
League, which will be celebrated
some time next spring.
It will take every bit of victory
that the enormous Yale bowl will i
hold to quench the Bulldog’s thirst |
when things do finally come his way. j
It has now been five long, parche.d,1
dusty twelvemonths since the God-;
dess of Victory has perched over the
ramparts of a Blue eleven after a
Harvard game. Imagine a drought
of five years.
Harvard has a track wonder on
its football team named Wilcox. He
is a sophomore. Last spring he
turned a quarter in 48 4-5 seconds, j
being the sensation of the track j
team season. Wilcox is quarte.rback. j
NEW YORK, Dec. 23.—Without
attempting any explanation of the
why or wherefore, a comparison ol
the respective batting average of
eight baseball players before they
jumped organized ball and after
they jointed the Federals, is of in
terest. With one exception, the
men whose names are given farther
down made better records with their
bats in the Federal League than
they did before becoming "outlaws."
The one exception is “Runt" Walsh,
but here’s the list:
Yerkes, with organized ball, battel
.267; with the Feds his average was
.400. Evans batted .249 with the
St. Louis Nationals, and .365 with
the Feds. With the Yanks and
White Sox, Hal Chase batted .267,
and with the Feds, .342. Against
National League twirlers. Bates,
formerly of Cincinnati, hit for .278;
against Fed pitchers. Bates batted
.318. Doc Crandall's record was
.306 against National League
moundsmen and .310 against Fed-’
eral tossers. Oakes, erstwhile St.
Louis National Leaguer, swatted
.293 in the old league and .316 i
among the Feds. Walsh’s average j
while with the Yanks and Athletics ;
was .307, but after the. leap to the 1
outlaws he dropped four points.
It seems a pity that Harvard
turned down the offer of Illinois to
play a post season game, the receipts
to go to the relief of Belgium suf
ferers. True, post season football
contests drag the season out pretty
long, and means a great deal to the
men who have played the game
throughout the season. In such a
case, however. Harvard could have
heaped a lot more glory on herseJt
by agreeing to the plan.
Yale undoubtedly would have
donated her great new bowl for the
occaison, which would have meant
something like $140,000 for stricken
Belgium. It would have given foot
ball the biggest boost in the bistory
of the sport, and put an end to any
argument on who is king this fall
on the gridiron.
It is probable that as a result of
the postponement of the Interna
tional yacht races at San Francisco
next year from April to August, a
larger number of Eastern entries
will be made. In fact the change
will benefit American clubs intend
ing to enter, and permit several
boats to participate. The foreign
clubs for whose benefit the earlle.r
date has been chosen, are more or
less eliminated from consideration
by the European war.
Harvard. Yale and Princeton will
play three games with each other in
baseball next spring, according to
an agreement recently reached by
the authorities of the three univer
sities. The championship of the
three institutions will be decided on
a percentage basis under the new j
arrangement.
The rumor will not down that
Rube Oldring may be dropped from
the Philadelphia Athletics as the re
sult of his bad play against the j
Braves in the world’s sejies. It is
freely predicted that he will be suc
ceeded next year by Jimmy Walsh,
who was with the Yankees early
this season.
ilr. Robert Marshall left Monday
for the new diggings at the head of
the Chitina River, accompanied by
Fred Cope and others, who are. going
back to look after their interests
there.
Mr. Fred Young, who accom
ranied Mr. Ira Hurd and Mr. A. S.
Johnson on their trip into Chisana,
lost his life on the glacier. The
men were travelling after dark and
had been warned to make camp and
not travel any further that night.
They decided to go on further before
making camp and not being able/to
see the. stakes of the trail, stepped
over in the crevasse instead of
making a right angle. Mr. Johnston
succeeded in getting Mr. Hurd out
and Young managed to get out by
himself, but collapse.d after he got
out and death overtook him before
the other two could get him to the
roadhouse. Mr. Young’s relatives
are in Sweden. He was burie.d at
McCarthy on Wednesday afternoon
Guests at the Hotel Golden in
clude: Phil. McCallion, Pete Mille.
L. Wick, R. M. Clark, J. Warnald
Valdez; J. M. Ste.el, Bonanza; H. A
Stantice, Carl Whitham, J. S. Ken
yon, Sam Sanderson, Ole Berg, A. S.
Johnson, Ralph Rothe.
December 22, 1914.
Manley Mayhood, a young mine.r
working on Cleary Creek, fell 20
feet to the bottom of the shaft and
sustained serious and possibly fatal
internal injuries, one day last week.
In falling he. imprisoned himself and
his companion, John B. Parquette,
in the shaft, which was 45 feet deep,
as his fail was caused by the giving
away of the bucket rope with which
Mayhood was lowering himself from
the surface. As the, shaft was with
out a ladder, Parquette was several
hours working his way to the top by
cutting notches in the ice with his
pocket knife and using the two
thawing points as foot rests. He
obtained help from Cleary City, to
which point the injured man was
conveyed.
The body of Mr. Johnson, tele
graph operator at Donnelly’s, cn the
Fairbanks-Chitina trail, 191 miles
from Chitina, was found on Decem
ber 23, on the trail by travelers
from Nome. He apparently had died 1
from exposure aftej his horse had ;
been drowned while crossing the I
Delta river. The travelers notified
Tom Gardner, the mail carrier, who
was at Rapids, and he. brought the
body to Rapids. Lieut. C. A. ;
Dougherty, in charge of the tele- ;
graph office at Valdez made arrange- j
ments to have the body brought in
by the mail carriers. j
Overland hotel
Dining Room
and Restautant
CHIT1NA, - ALASKA
THE BEST
of Everything in the Market
THE LEADING AND FIRST CLASS HOTEL
THE PLACE TO STOP IN CHITINA
HOTEL CHITINA
THOS. CLONINGER. Prop.
ONLY STEAM HEATED HOTEL IN INTERIOR
BAR AND CAFE IN CONNECTION
The Only Modern Hotel in Chitina
Steam Heated Rooms
Parlor and Bath
Commercial Hotel
John I’almer. I’ropr.
FIRST CLASS BAR AND DINING ROOM
CHITTNA.
ALASKA
Chas. Perry
HANAQER_«
Complete Services
IN THE HEART OF THE CITY
155 Rooms witfibatti-50 Sample Rooms
ALASKA
STEAMSHIP COMPANY
Fait and commodioai steamers sailing between Seattle, Ketchikan.
Wrangell, Juneau. Skagway, Cordova. Valdes, and Seward, via
INSIDE PASSAGE.
Balls from Seattle— Sails from Cordova—
December 24.MARIPOSA.January 1
January 1.ALAMEDA.January 9
Regular freight service for Ketchikan. Juneau, Sneep Creek,
Treadwell, Douglas, Cordova, Ellrraar. Valdez and Batoucke. Explosives,
S. S. Seward. S. S. Seward, 5th; S. S. Batouche, 15th; S. S. Cordova,
25tli of each month.
This company reserves the right to change schedule of steamers
without notice.
Tickets on sale at dp-town office Alaska Steamship Bldg. Bjggage
or freight will not be received at dock later than one hour before
sailing time.
F. B. TRACY,
General Agent.
T. J. TALLENT,
Ticket Agent.
I
i
Pacific-Alaska
Navigation Co.
ALASKA PACIFIC S. S. CO. ALASKA COAST CO
Puget Sound=Alaska Route
Steamer Admiral Evans sails from Seattle on
J ,-A- N U A R Y 5 T H
Via the INSIBE PASSAGE for Ketchikan, yuaeau, Vakutat, Katalla,
Cordeva, Valdez, Seward, Cook Inlet points and Kodiak Island.
Seattle-San Francisco connecting with steamers Vais and Harvard
for Southern California ports.
Schedule subject to change without notice.
ALASKA TRANSFER CO., Local Agents
Travel East
OVER THE
“MILWAUKEE”
The Newest and Shortest Line to the East _
Crossing the Cascade Mountains, the Kittitas Valley, the Colum
bia River, the Bitter Root Mountains and Montana Canyon, trav
ersing a country of surpassing scenic grandeur, historical interest
and wonderful development.
TWO FAST THROUGH TRAINS DAILY
“The Olympian” and “The Columbian”
The NEW ALL-STEEL TRAINS to
BUTTE, MILES CITY. SIOUX CITY.
MINNEAPOLIS. ST. PAUL, MILWAUKEE and CHICAGO
For further information regarding fares, train service, reservations, etc.,
call on or address
City Ticket Offices, Alaska Steamship Co. or Alaska Coast S. S. Co.
Cordova, Alaska,
City Ticket Offices, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway
443 Hastings St. West, Vancouver, B. C.
OR
Second Ave. and Cherry St., Seattle