Sty* BatUj PrnHpfrtnr
PUBLISHED BT
STEWART * SELBY, Proprietor*
VALDEZ, ALASKA
Published Dally Except Sunday
Entered as Second-Class Mall Matter,
July 23, 1912, at the postofhce of Valdes,
Alaska, under act or March 3, 1879.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Dally PnapMln.
By carrier, per month .9 1.00
By mall, per annum .$10.00
The Weekly Miner.
The Dally Prospector and Weekly
Miner, by mail, to one address
onP) per year .$12.SO
Qinftness Office and Editorial Rooms.
,'jgf carrier, per month .$ .40
my mail, per annum .$ $.00
The Daily Prospector and Week
ly Miner, by carrier, to one ad
dress, per month .$ 1.3C
TEL,. 152
Advertising Rates on Application.
MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 1017
THE POWER OF PRAISE.
A little word of praise, what joy it
brings.
And how it cheers the very soul of
things,
’Mid starless night and sunless day,
’Mid dust and thorns along life’s way,
A word of praise, and lo!
About us lilies blow!
A little word of praise, how quickly
said,
How far its kindly influence is shed;
The pain, the grief, corroding care,
Life’s loneliness; so hard to bear.
A word of praise—and then
The world is glad again!
A little word of praise—we cannol
know
The bounds of which the spoken
thought may go:
For words have wings of woe or weal,
And thoughts have power to haim or
heal;
A word of praise—a gem
In Fortune’s diadem!
A little word of praise—so short the
time
Ere it will be too late to heed this
rhyme;
Go forth and find a weary soul
Where raging seas of sorrow roll;
A word of praise—and Peace
Shall bid the tempest cease!
—Contributed.
DRIFT OF POPULATION.
According to the federal census bu
reau the population of the United
States still is shifting toward the cit
ies and 40.9 per cent of the people
in this country live in towns over
8,000 or more inhabitants. In spite
of the back-to-the farm propaganda
the drift for the past ten or twenty
years has been toward the urban cen
ters, largely, no doubt, because of the
conveniences afforded, the greater
sources of pleasure, the more numer
ous luxuries, the larger advantages—
and the more money.
The farmer has benefited little by
the present high price of his prod
ucts. While he raises the staple the
price is set by the Chicago Board of
Trade and the speculator, and by the
the time the food reaches the con
sumer it has probably passed through
dozens of hands, each one getting a
larger share than the man who pro
duced it.
But it is impossible to say when
there will be a reaction, although it
is bound to come. The cities, with
their congested centers and daily
grind will not always possess a lure
tor the young. The free and inde
pendent life of the farmer is an at
traction to the sturdy man who de
sires to live in the open. The city
man gets but a scant living, and must
be a marvel of punctuality and obe
dience to hold down a present day
job. While the farmer’s lot is a tatrd
one the improved machinery and
many useful appliances make his
work and his wife’3 work much light
er than in former days. Electricity
has done more than any one thing to
lighten the labor of the farmer than
any one thing with the possible ex
ception of gasoline. The sturdy Ford
trui k has replaced the plodding team
on the road. The tractor has replac
ed old Dobbin, with much greater
capacity of work at less expense. The
electric washer and patent milker and
electric iron has taken a great bur
den from the shoulders of the house
wife. The wonder is that the im
provement in conditions surrounding
farm life during the last decade has
not drawn all the sturdy population
from the cities.
Thomas A. Edison is quoted in a
recent number of Collier’s magazine!
as saying that the one greatest prob
lem before the world today is to light
en the burden of labor and he cited
as the two most far reaching develop
ments of science, now under way, the
perfection of the Ford kerosene trac
tor and the process of extracting ni
trogen from the air.
In other words, the nation, in Mr.
Edison’s opinion, must make farm
life easier— and is by way of doing
it. It is claimed for Ford’s tractor
that it can do anything that a horse
or six horses can do, and some things
they cannot do. Thus, if perfected,
it will lighten the drudgery of the
farm and at the time time will pre
vent many young men who prefer the
automobile to the horse or who are
attempting to escape the toil of the
country for the bright lights and un
certain wages of the city from leav
ing the old farm. If nitrogen can be
extracted successfully and cheaply
from the air, as the electrical wizard
Bays, another great boom will have
been conferred in making the farms
more productive.
While Alaska is receiving much
favorable comment on her mines and
fisheries, her value as an agricultural
region Bhould not be overlooked.
Her broad, fertile valleys can pro
duce as fine wheat and root crops as
an place on earth. There are mil
lions of acres of these sheltered spots
available for the taking. In no other
State or Territory are the laws so
lenient to the homesteader. Every
chance is offered by a paternal gov
ernment for him to make good. In
a few years hence farming will be in
dulged in on as large a scale as min
ing, with the difference that while
each day sees the mine nearer to the
point of exhaustion in production,
the farmer will be building up values
for the future. With the great de
mand for his products there in no
reason why the farmer should not
come into his own.
“A NATIONAL LENT.”
“Let the nation as a wnole place
its comforts, its luxuries, its indul
gences, its elegancies on the national
altar consecrated by such sacrifices as
these men have made! Let us pro
claim during the war a national Lent.
The nation will be better and strong
er for it, mentally, morally, and phy
sically * * * * for it is not what a
nation gains but what it gives that
makes it truly great.”
These words are taken from the
address of David Lloyd George, pre
mier of England, before the House
of Commons in reply to Germany’s
peace proposals. They are an appeal
for greater self-denial and imply
something of the tragedy as well at
something of the resolve with which
the war is being waged. If the strug
gle goes on for another year, or two
years, it will rage more fiercely than
ever and on both sides there will be
greater determination if not less
noise than has marked the seemingly
incredible efforts of the past.
It is the intention of Great Britain
to mobilize the labor of the empire.
Germany already has done this and
England is following the German sys
tem in its general aspects. The
movement shows on what a scale the
war is to be fought out.
During the first week of January,
Canada will begin an inventory of
the man-power of the dominion be
tween the ages of 16 and 60 years
for the purpose of utilizing it in what
ever manner may best serve the pur
pose of the empire at war. This will
be done under the direction of the na
tional service board and the results
will show how many men are fit for
active service, and how many can be
used in maintaining the industries
of the dominion on a war basis. Can
ada is resolved to play her role to
the last act, and the country, -i-ke
England, will be run on a scientific,
efficiency basis—solely in the inter
ests of victory.
These things show that the Allies
are determined, even if somewhat
tardily, to match the German empire
in war organization. They are try
ing to beat the German at his own
game. Already a “national Lent ’
has been proclaimed and conscription
is practically if not actually in force
in the colonies as well as in England.
There is a grimness about it that is
meaningful.
ALASKA HAS TALENTED WRITER.
IN a recent issue of the Saturday
Evening Post, Helen Van Campen,
the talented Alaskan writer of La
touche, gives a pen picture of Alaska
mining life that is a jewel. Mrs. Van
Campen has the rare gift of accu
rately describing her Alaska, a fail
ing all too common with other writ
ers, she having lived here in touch
with her subjects for many years.
As a writer of short Action Mrs. Van
Campen has few superiors; as a writ
er of Alaskan Action she stands head
and shoulders above the most noted
fiction writers, with the possible ex
ception of Jack London, who also
studied his subjects at close hand.
The Luck of a Sourdough” is a ra-e
bit of fiction, with the scenes laid in
the Interior along the Valdez trail.
Mrs. Van Campen has written a
number of stories on Alaska, but we
believe “The Luck ot'i Sourdough”
is her best effort.
FOREIGN CRITICS OF THE U. 8.
European critics of the United
States have two grievances which
they.persistently exploit. One is that
we are a greedy, mercenary people,
who have capitalized the war for our
own profit. The other is that we are
a sentimental and impractical folk
who would like to stop the war be
fore it has been fought out to a defi
nite conclusion.
Nobody attempts to reconcile these
conflicting criticisms. Nobody tries
to explain how it comes about that a
mercenary people whose unprecedent
ed prosperity is stained with blood
should at the same time be so eeger
to end the bloodshed. That is not
the way mercenary people usually act.
What prosperity has come to this
country out of Europe’s war calam
it> Is not of our seeking. We did not
want the war. It is not our war. l£
it had been possible for us to have
prevented it, there would have been
no war. When it came and America
was demoralized and disrupted, we
adjusted ourselves to the new condi
tions and took care of our own.
The American people have never
sought good fortune in the misfor
tune of others. Any prosperity that
comes to them out of Europe's devas
tation and suffering they would in-1
ctunlly forego if they could thereby
establish people.
The American people do not think
of this war in terms of prosperity,
’i hey think of it, to use the language
of President Wilson, ‘‘in deep sympa
thy with the stricken peoples of the
world upon whom the curse and ter
ror of war has so pitilessly fallen.”
They think of it as the greatest curse
that has been inflicted upon the mod
ern world, and a curse for which there
are no compensations.—New York
World.
i m i
Announcement.
S. Blum & Co. wish to announce
that all their books and records which
were in the vault of the First Bank
of Valdez were unharmed and in per
fect condition. tf
ARGUMENT MADE FOR
A UNIVERSAL SERVICE
WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 8.
Howard H. Gross, of Chicago, ami
Edward Harding, of New York, rep
resenting the Universal Military
Training League, argued in favor of
universal service today before the
senate committee considering Sena
tor Chamberlain’s bill for that pur
pose.
Mr. Gross told the committee com
pulsory training could not be secur
ed through the schools because they
were under control of the states, and
declared it would not be desirable be
cause a school training would not
get men at the best age to teach then
military lessons. He argued compul
sory service would increase the spir’t
of democracy by causing the sons of j
rich men and poor alike to serve in j
common. He believed a compulsory I
system would reduce the standing |
army 50 per cent. Neither he nor Mr. j
Harding was able to tell the commit j
tee how much the system proposed |
would cost.
_ / _ _ !
WILSON PAYS $2,500
CAMPAIGN DEFICIT!
_
WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 8.—
As his contribution toward meeting
the deficit in the committee’s cam
paign fund. President Wilson has
sent a check for $2,500 to Treasurer
Marsh, of the Democratic national j
committee.
_—_
FIND IS WORTH $10,000
IF REALLY AMBERGRIS’
ABERDEEN, Jan. 8.— Countv
Commissioner Phil Locke, is in pos
session of what is believed to be am-1
bergris worth $16,000, found on the!
beach near here recently. Specimens [
have been sent to Seattle and New \
York to make certain that it is am
1 ergris.
Ambergris is a wax-like morbid
secretion from the intestines of the
sperm whale and it is wholly volat
ilized as white vapor at 212 degrees
Fahrenheit, and is highly valued in
the manufacture of perfumery.
Men and women 'are alike in one
respect. The more you argue witn
them the less you convince them.
Heavy Fighting at YTerdun.
PARIS, Jan. 8.—Heavy fighting
continues at Verdun, the war office
announces.
It is safe enough to tell a bunch
of single men that your wife lets you
do as you please. But don’t try to
spring it on a bunch of married men.
—
Riley’s Christmas Message^
JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY, pass
ing a winter In Florida, sent the I
following Christmas message to j
the people of Indiana:
“Christmas means love. We cannot !
picture It without seeing the spangled j
Christmas tree girt with the faces of j
gleeful youngsters, glad parents and (
happy bodies returned home from town
or far metropolis,
“It sounds like bells and crackling
logs and shouts of children, and even
our old, round shouldered, sorrow rid- j
den planet, with his eyes knocked out
on his cheek, pauses to smile from sea
to sea, and love Is everywhere rejuve
nated.”
' "X
Yule Log and Boar’s Head.
As Sat as any one can see backward
Into the history of the English, or, in
deed, in any of the northern nations,
the Yule log and the boar's head cut
very important figures in the Christ
mas celebrations. The singing of car
ols or songs essentially fitted for the
season also dates back for its origin
to the old days. The bringing in and
lighting of the Yule log was the im
portant ceretnony which marked the
opening of the revels. This event took
place on Christmas eve.
Xtra Large, Sterile, Fresh
A Guaranteed Egg That We Ask You To Try.
We will pay twenty-five cents for any Holly hurst egg
that is not absolutely perfect.
Fresh On This Boat
POTATOES
CARROTS
PARSLEY
SWEET SPUDS
RED CABBAGE
ONIONS
* TURNIPS, ETC.
LETTUCE
TOMATOES
GREEN PEPPERS
,FLA. GRAPE FRUIT
APPLES
ORANGES
S. BLUM & CO., Inc.
WHITE HUNTING SUIT
SAVES MANY LIVES
WINNIPEG, Man., Jan. 8.—No fa
talities have been recorded so far in
the big game hunting season in West
ern Canada due it is believed to the
wearing of white hunting suits in
stead of brown leather as in past sea
sons.
Nearly all of the eighty-six fatal
ities occuring in the Northwestern
states this season were caused by mis
takes made in taking persons in
brown suits for animals.
Farmer Traps Swindlers
SPOKANE, Jan. 8.—Approachel
by a number of men here yesterday
c-n the sale of his farm, George Lym
a farmer of Clearwater, Idaho, was
taken to dinner at a fashionable hotel
to discuss the deal but became sus
picious when the matter of betting m
a horse race in Texas was suggested.
He got out immediately on the plea
of urgent business and going to the
police station he reported the matter.
Five men and a woman were arrestei
as the result and police here say that
t^e prisoners tally with the descrip
tion^! a gang that operated in Poca
tello, Idaho and Butte.
It is reported that H. W. Vance has
sold the launch Elvira to W. S. Pay.
of Latouche.
MRS. J. SERGEANT CRAM.
New York Society Woman With
Daughter; Aids Bayonne Strikers.
Photo by American Preee Aeaociatto*
PROFESSIONAL. CARDS.
DR. S. WICKES MERRITT
Offices over Valdes Drag Co.
Phone ’18 McKinley Street
Contract Surgeon, U. S. Army
A. A. Surgeon, U S. Public Health Serv.
(Marine Hospital)
I
-j
DR. H. COCKERILLE
Graduate National University.
Washington. D. C.
DENTIST
Fourteen Years in Valdez.
PHONE 110
Office Rooms in Whaling Building
J. L. REED |
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW
Phone 3:m VALDEZ. ALASKA
EDMUND SMITH
LAWYER
Suite 1212 American Bank Building, I
SEATTLE, WASH.
Special Attention Given to all Alaska ;
Business.
ASA C. BALDWIN /
CIVIL ENGINEER
U. S. Mineral Surveyor
McKinley Street opposite V. M. Store.
Valdez, A)a*ka
Try the Cottage Dining Room for
good home-cooked meals. Mrs. M.
Rucker, Phone 13X. tf
A new assortment of silk waists in
Crepe de Chine and Taffeta, just re
ceived at E. Winter’s. tf j
Why not a VICTROLA? We have i
them from $16 up. Valdez Drug!
Co. tf
After a man has been married long
enough he dosen’t have to sit down
and worry every morning over which
suit of clothes and which tie he will
wear that day. (He has only one of
each).
_ I
I
If you live long enough you'll find j
that a day will come when your hair I
will grow faster in your ears than j
it will on your head.
Any time you find a women who
wears a No. 6 shoe it is almost a
safe bet that she has a No. 12 brain.
The reason why a man keeps his
grouch under cover until he gets
home and then takes it out on his
wife is because he doesn’t want peo
ple downtown who are absolute
strangers to know how mean he is.
There was a time when the wo
men folks were satisfied to play the
Harp and the Piano. But the Suff
movement has given them the idea
that they should be playing the
Trombone and the Bass Drum.
We have all outside rooms, well |
lighted, and well ventilated at the
ISt. Elias. tl[
The Best Place in Valdez to *
Stop at is the <'•
Arctic Hotel
Wua, light Rooms--The House ef Comfort
RATES REASONABLE
BATH ROOM Special Rates By the Month
PHONE 133 MRS. SYRINC, Prop
ATLAS JUNK CO.
Wholesale and Retail Dealers in
ALL KINDS OF JUNK
Buyers of Metal, Rubber, Ma-/
nila Rope, Sacks, Machinery,
Pipe, Hides, Furs and Bottles.
1043 Railroad Avenue, So.
SEATTLE, WASH.
Candy Kitchen;
E. W. HUNT—la Owl Drag Store. ,
FOUNTAIN DRINKS
HOT-COLO |
LOUIE’S CAFE
Everything First class
Open Day and Night
ANDY MAROVICH, Prop.
Valdez Miners Union No. 188
Western Federation of Miner*
W. H. GARNER. President,
Granite Mine
CBAS. McCALLUM, Secretary,
Valdes Alaska.
When In Seward Stop at the
COLEMAN HOUSE
GEORGE SEXTON. PBor.
STRICTLY FIRST CLASS
Fourth Ave, Seward. Alaska
VALDEZ LODGE
NO 168
Free and Accepted Maaoua
Regular Communications first Wed
nesday in each month’ in McKinley
Hall. Visitors always welcome.
y. M. BROWN, W. M.
ED WOOD, Secretary.
Banquet Steei Ranges, plain and
polished tops, at Mead’s. tt
A full line of pyralin ivory at Owl
Drug Co. tf
old-fashioned Hoarhound lum f
at Hunt’s Candy Kitchen. tf
- ■■
All kinds of cocktails. At the
Candy Kitchen. tf
Two Hundred of the latest Colum
bia Phonograph Records just receiv
ed on the Alameda. Owl Drug Co. tf