THE NOME DAILY NUGGET
VOLUME XVII. NO. 56. TELEPHONE MAIN *6 NOME. ALASKA FRIDAY. MARCH 2, 1917. ' TELEPHONE MAIN 46 PRIwE 26 CENTS
CONGRESS TO BACK PRESIDENT
POWER AND MONEY VOTED FOR EMERGENCIES
HUGE NAVAL BILL
PASSED SENATE
WITHOUT ROLL GALL
International News Service.
WASHINGTON, March 2.—At five
thirty o'colck this afternoon the sen
ate passed the huge naval appropria
tion bill without roll call.
The bill carries the sum of three
hundred million dollars.
Of this sum two hundred and nine
millions are for naval construction
which includes three battleships, one
battle cruiser fifteen destroyers, three
scout crlusers and sixty eight sub
marines.
The senate’s action places at the
disposal of the president to enable
him to get quick action at a time
when It Is needed the sum of fifteen
million dollars in the navy depart
metn alone.
Cl.e srnate bill as passed provides
lor fifty more submarines, in addl
tioi to those now under construction
than H e house measure.
To di fray the extra ocst of these
.m...Marines and for a further general
mcigeney fund at the option of the
president, the senate authorized a
bccd issue of one hundred and fifteen
million dollars.
lint was no strong opposition to
any measure in the senate this after
noon.
Visiting Cards at ths Nugget Office
GERMAN RETREAT
ON SOMME HALTED
TERRIFIC FIGHTING
International News Servic®.
LONDON, March 2.—Announcement
is made that the Germans have har
ed in their retreat towards Bapaume
and are fighting fiercely at the pres
ent time. They yielded ground for
several miles under Britsih artillery
fire along the Ancre valley and were
closely followed by strong British in
fantry.
It is believed here that the Ger
man stand is only temporary and has
been made in order to prepare posl
tions in the rear for a more deter
mined resistance.
Artillery of all sizes is now being
directed against the German line with
such fierceness that they cannot long
withstand it.
Casualties on both sides have been
heavy during the past twenty four
hours owing to terrific clashes of in
fantry In which there \yas vicious
hand to hand fighting.
Calling Cards at the Nugget Office
TURKS DRIVEN BACK
FIFTY MILES FROM
KUT BY BRITISH
•
International New* Service.
LONDON. March 2.—Official news
has been received from Mesopotamia
that the British forces are crowding
hard on the Turks who have retreat
ed from Kut-el-Amera to Asisleh
which la fifty miles north of Kut-el
Amera.
The Turks have been badly worsted
in every action and are partially de
moralizated according to the dis
NATIONAL CAPITAL
TO OE DRT
Irternational Now* Servic®.
WASHINGTON, . March 1.—All
hope has departed that the District
of Columbia will remain wet and the
advocates of the public sale of liquor
are known to have lost their fight
while the prohibition boosters are Ju
bilant.
Announcement was made this morn
ing that President Wilson will 3ign
the prohibition bill for the district
tomorrow. The bill having passed
both house* the liquor men held to
the falpt hope that the president who
pt'cthes.
Popular enthusiasm has been great
ly stimulated by the news from this
theater of the war whore one of En
gland's greatest reverses was sus-i
tained when General Townshend was
taken there. The close approach to
Bagdad Is welcomed by experts as a
i'll rust which if continoud long enough
enough will put the Turks on the
defensive to a great extent.
uses liquor occasionally might not uf
fix his signature.
The bill provides that the District
of Columbia will go dry on the first
of November of this year so far as
saloons are concerned. It is not a
bone dry law such as his been pro
vided for Alaska and Washington
recently.
FOUR SHIPS DESROYED
YESTERDAY BY SUBS
lidcrnatlonal News Servic®.
PARIS, March 2.—There were four
vessels sunk by submarines yesterday,
one of which was a Nroweglan, ac
cording to an authorized statement.
The great majority of ships are reach
ing there destinations In safety.
No. DRes soOTS aLLoWD S»T.
War* YuR OvrALLS A GinGuMS.
ZIMMERMAN SPEAKING IN REICHSTAG
SAYS GERMANY WONT BACK DOWN
FIGHT TO A FINISH AND VICTORY
International News Service.
BERLIN, March 2.—Foreign Secre
tary Zimmreman spoke in the reich
stag expressing the government atti
tude towards the world situation
which now confronts Germany.
He said that new enemies may soon
he aligned against the fatherland and
her splendid allies. But this could
make no difference in the policy that
now must he followed. Even if many
other nations joined with the enemy
to battle against the central powers
no other course would remain than
the one now being followed.
It was not of Germnay’s choosing
that the slaughter must go on. The
entente allies had the alternatives of
an honorable peuce without suffering
their full share of loss of territory
for defeats on a thousand fields or
of a continuation of the struggle.
They cho3e the latter and therbey
forced Germany and her allies to in
augurate a ruthless warfare.
Now that the issue ha3 been sharply
defined Germany can never recede.
The only course, to be followed is to
fight on to victory or complete anni
hilation.
That victory will come to Germany
is assured. Tile submarine campaign
which was begun last fall has caused
serious distress to England which Is
the heart of the enemy and the real
center of th< alliance against us.
The submarine warfare has been
made even morn compelling in the
last month anil England’s growing
helplessness is manifested in her at
tempts to influence America, Holland,
Spain, and Sweden to lend the as
sistance of their national forces
SENATE AND HOUSE BACK IN LINE
READY TO GRANT POWERS ASKED—
I ZIMMERMAN NOTE CHANGED ATTITUDE
I
I
It.'trnational News Service.
WASHINGTON, March 2.—The sen
ute and house are hack in line for a
whirlwind finish of pending legisla
tion. It required only the nation-wide
publication of the Zimmerman letter
to von Kckhanlt and the resulting
public indignation to convince con
gressman of the impending danger
and the necessity of concentration of
power in the hands of the president
for U3e as soon as required.
The Zimmerman note served also
u> convince members of congress that
the present situation is so delicate
that many facts in possession of the
government cannot be divulged to
congress without precipitating trou
' ble tlmt might have been avoided.
Congressmen have been brought to
see that, although not at war this
government's plans and negotiations
must be made secretly us Is now the j
case with European countries with
whom we may bo engaged.
The senate has agreed to vote on
the huge naval bill before four o'clock
this afternoon.
All fear of filibustering has been
dissipated by the disclosures of yes
terday.
It is now unquestioned that con
gress will give the president the pow
er he asked for. The bill as recom
mended In the senate is satisfactory to
the White House but Mr. Wilson has
let it be known that he will not ac
cept the house restrictions which vir
tually give him power only to arm
merchant vessels fur defensive pur
poses He will Insist on a bond issue
o raise funds and the right to use
all instrumentalities of the govern
ment to uphold tie rights of Ameri
cans. And he insists on this power
being unrestricted. He must be able
to use it as he sees fit.
Office and Residence of J. F. McAl
lister, ireighter and transfer, Elite
B,ths. Phone Red 157.
ARRANGEMENTS TO ARM SHIPS
CAN RE COMPLETED IN HALF HOUR
AFTER PRESIDENT GIVES ORDER
International News Service.
WASHINGTON, March 2.—All the
time that congress has been backing
and filling on the question of giving
power to the president to act In any
emergency various government de
partments have been going ahead un
der direction of the president in prep
aration for what the admniistration In
tends to do.
Mr. Wilson's calm assurance that
ho would obtain from congress what
he demanded was not understood by
outsiders until yesterday when he
played his trump card which was the
Zimmerman letter. Kven before he
addressed congress and stated his de
mands he knew he had in readiness
the means of convincing the members
of the advisability of granting him
the desired powers.
It was made known today by the
navy department that In less than half
an hour from the time the president
issues the order to arm all American
merchantmenl every arrangement to
do the work will have been completed.
The navy has the guns ready and
the ammunition. Every detail of the
Installation of the guns has been
worked out to the last bolt.
Ounners and experts are in wait
ing for order3 to proceed to what
ever stations they may be ordered to.
This preparation by the navy de
partment is the only one made public
but it is known thut work in the
shipyards has been greatly speeded
up. Other war measures as well are
under way but without publicity.
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ing by sending the Weekly Nugget to
your friends on the outside—60c mo,
SWISS MINISTER DENIES
ANY CONNECTION WITH
GERMAN INTRIGUE
International News Service.
WASHINGTON. March 2.—Dr. Paul
Hitter, after a conference with Secre
tary Lansing today, issued a state
ment in which he declared that he
had not been connected in any way
with the German, Mexican, Japanese
intrigue.
As some of the German interests
were left In his charge as Swiss min
ister when Bernstorff was handed his
passports and before the Austrian
ambassador presented hi3 credentials,
he said he deemed it proper to say
i that the note to von Eckhardt had
not been in his possession, nor had
he possessed any knowledge of It
prior to its publication in the press
yesterday morning and its corrobora
tion on the floor of the senato cham
ber by authorization of President Wil
son.
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JAPANESE STATEMENT
EXCITES COMMENT
BECAUSE UNUSUAL
'nternational News Service.
WASHINGTON, March 2.— The de
nial yesterday by the Japanese em
bassy that Japan had taken any part
In the Gertnan-Mexlcan plot and the
strong assertion that Tokio would
spurn any such suggestion has ex
cited wide comment because of many
unusual circumstances connected with
It
In the first place, it is pointed out,
thl3 action by the Japanese embassy
1b without precedent. Japan was com
nected with the intrigue only In the
Zimmerman letter. The United States
vouched for the exactness of the text
of the note and responsibility for the
' contents of the note was placed
squarely on the shoulders of the Ger
• man foreign secretary.
A second noticeable feature of the
' Japanese statement was its posltive
i
ness. As a voluntary statement, the
assertion that Japan would turn down
flatly any advances by Mexico and
Germany is almost without diploma
tic parallel.