| ID1TAROD PIONEER |
Published Eveuy Saturday Evening at Iditakod, Alaska.
Val J Coo. M. Arbackie, Publisher A'o. 5
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DUTIES. OF A OKA AD JURY
What part should a grand jury play in the, administra
tion of justice? What are its duties, the scope and limita
tion of its powers? These questions probably have never
been answered, nor could be answered in toto and to tin
satisfaction of all concerned. There lias always been a
notion that a grand jury is an extraordinary body, havint
wide latitude in dealing with things that pertain to tin
public weal, and that it is more or less independent of the
set rules and modes of procedure followed by the regular
officials in charge of the administration of justice. Viewed
in this light a grand jury may perform a wholesome and
necessary function by striking a balance between raw pub
lic opinion on one hand, and straight-backed, inflexiblei
rules of action by court officials <>n the other. Incidentally,
it may be said that a coroner’s jury has been supposed to
partake largely of the nature of a grand jury, the differ
ence being that its duties do not extend beyond tlie limits
of the particular case it has been summoned to investigate.
The Pioneer is not in position to lay down the law in
these matters. The best-informed lawyers might find in
such a task room for important differences. One thing i.~
obvious, however: if a grand jury has no purpose to sene
except to carry out the wishes and instructions of the dis
trict attorney, then it is a useless piece of machinery a no
ought to be relegated to the scrapheap. Twenty-four men
assembled to act in a merely peifunctory capacity is useless
ness exemplified two dozen times.
Having proceeded thus far into the subject, the lies'
thing in order is to inquire what the different grand juries
in this division have done to justify themselves as public
institutions. If they have ever taken the initiative in
bringing violators of the law to justice the public is una
ware of it. Their indictments are of parties first proceede<
against by regular officials and coming before the grant
jury through official routine. It may well be believed il
the district attorney says indict, they indict; and if he say
dismiss, they dismiss. It may be even admitted that ii
most instances the district attorney directs them rightly an<
well. But wherefore the grand jury at all if its view is t>
lie narrowed to the focus of one man’s sight ? For instance,
why did the grand jury feel justified in indicting one Ion
house for selling a bottle of whisky, when dozens of house
right under the jury’s eyes were engaging in the same kiiif
of traffic under the same kind of license ? The contentioi
is logical that if the jury indicted one it should have in
dieted all who equally and openly were engaged in the sam
acts. It was not incumbent upon the grand jury to aesis
the district attorney in trying an experiment upon a dog—
(to use a homely figure of speech impersonal in relation),—
the outcome of which it may take several more seasons t<
determine. It may turn out that the district attorney if
correct in his interpretation of the retail liquor law—a no
then it may not. But what business of the grand jury is i
to allow itself to be used as a flail to thrash out must}
heaps of legal straw?
This particular liquor case that originated under the
directions of the district attorney in the spring of 1910, h
is freely admitted, is the reason for the foregoing remarks.
While C. A. Munro and others were being proceedeu
against and prohibited from selling liquor by the bottle a
Tanaua, at Fairbanks, under the nose of the district attoi
ney, the same kind of sale under tlie same kind of lieenst
was uninterfered with, and advertisements in show win
dows and in newspapers gave the prices of liquors by tin
bottle. Not only that, but large quantities of liquors won
bought at Fairl auks and sold under no license at all along
the Tanana and Yukon rivers. One scow left Fairbanks
with two or three barrels of whisky which was sold on tln
wav down stream. This was matter of general knowledge.
Officials at least heard rumors of it. If the district attor
ney was entirely unknowing to it it argues an aloofness on
his part from the every-day life of his resident city. Mem
bers of succeeding grand juries, sc,me of them, must have
had an inkling of the truth. There was an instance where
a grand jury could at least have called attention to a
wrong, but did not.
Grand juries in this division have not done their full
ALL BAD EYES DO
NOT NEED GLASSES E
Some Eye Troubles ere Beyond Use Help of Lenses— ss, for Instance, if There
is Organic Disease cf the Eye
I’ll be honest with you, if \ou !et me “look you in the eye.” You can’i
buy spectacles from me if spectacles are not needed. I can diagnose and
correct your case without asking you a question, if necessary.
ROBERT SIMPSON, OPTICIAN
NOTICE
GENERAL LINE OF GROCERIES AND PROVISiONS
Men’s Underwear, Sox, Mittens, Rubber Shoes, Felt
Shoes and Pacs, Mackinaw Coats and Pants
SHELF HARDWARE
Nails. Building Paper. Dog Fish
We solicit Inspection. Every ariicle guaranteed.
FAIRVlEW~TRADiNG CO.
MAX SIMEL, Diskakei and Opiiir Pity.,,.
Miners’ Supplies and General Outfitting a Specialty
— ■ '« HI -»•.. .. . .. . ■ ■» '■ " ».. ■ ■■■ - —-— -T-». f. ■•?->»*
C. J. Hurley, President J. P. Gleason, Vice President A. Bruning, Cashier
Corner First Ave, and Richmond St., Iditarod
CAPITAL 150,000,00, FULLY PAID 111 GASH
General Banking Business Transected Upon Liberal, But Cor,serialise Lines
GOLD DUST PURCHASED UPON ASSAY VALUE
And we guarantee our assays against any of the government assay offices.
Clippings from your gold furnished you for the purpose
of obtaining check assays if desired.
We solicit your business, and assure you of our courteous, prompt and
careful attention combined with fair treatment, whether
ycur account may be large or small.
Don’t CaSve Way to the Blues
SMOKE UP!
Pipes Pipes Pipes
Wellingtons Chesterfields Palmyras Petersons
Mission Cobs Conroys Rudolfs
SNYDER HOUSE
SMiceSy Furnished Rooms enclosed dog kennels
DRAUGHT BRER, DOMESTIC CIGARS
Good Music Every Evening
--■■■=Flat City===^.
GOOD STOCK CIGARS AND LIQUORS
Large Stables, Warm Dog Kennels Open Day and Night
ZEHNOER?S t
osv Vi S! IS 5S gg ®*8«
sshh &._, ._ s §5 a %-?
•*£&&
PASSENGERS FREIGHT EXPRESS
Leaves Griffin’s Store, Flat City at 8:.*>0 a.in-; leaves Biuiweiser corner,
Iditarud at 15 p.m., daily except Sunday.
Goods consigned to upper Fiat and Otter Greeks delivered
same day as received for shipment
GRAND HOTEL, FLAT
fjlca'y ‘ urflis.'iBd asms Fi: si-CUss Cafe Liquors aod Cigars Pool and Bi: Lards
N. GLANTZ AND MRS. SWANSON
duty—or if they have a grand jury here i.-i very nearly
sup e.r fl u o u 3. _
BLYTHE SAYS TAFl CAN'T VAIN
Will in hi Howard Taft will tie renominated next June if lie continues
n Its present attitude and demands rio un i sat ion ior Pie-ident
William Howtiid Taft will not he le-en-cted President next Novem
ier unless the Democratic party is guiity of 'lie incredible poli ical stn
aitiity of nominating lor President some man for whom tite hundreds of
housands of dissatisfied Republicans will not vote.
Such is the existing political si'ua'ion as sized up In Samuel G
Blythe, the Washington political cot respondent and at present special
writer for the Saturday livening Post, i.i an at tide in a recent issue of
fiat petiodical.
Blythe’s conclusions were reached after a personal tour that cor
e ed more miles than the President’s and embraced every state in the
union with the exception of three oi four of the less important in a po
lilies! way.
Blythe says the old line Republicans have hut one hope of success,
rltd that is based on the slender thread. “It is a year before election
tnd a lot of things can happen in that time.”
He asserts the dissatisfaction of the Republican patty among the
people which found expression in the election of a D.mociatic house of
representatives in tgio is greater now than it was then, and that even
alter that warning nothing has been done to rehabilitate the Republican
party.
“ i'lie Republican party has been supetior to the Democratic party
in organization, in discipline and in leadership,” says Bly the. “Demo
crats grew used to bolting and splitting' and protesting in i8g6, and
have done more or less of all three since; hut dining that time the Re
publican party has lost its cohesiveness.”
KENNEL CLUB MEETING
A meeting of members of the Idita
rod Kennel club will be held at the
Budweiser parlor tonight (Saturday,
February 3) at 8 o’clock. All members
ara urgently requested to attend this
i meeting as matters relating to the
proposed Inaugural-day race will be
acted upon. Don’t fail to put in an ap
pearance. ______________
ln&nito, Humboldt, Cuerte Rev, Op
timo, Lovera, Bock and a fine line of
Puerto Rico Cigars at Empire Com
mercial Co.
The Pioneer for Job Printing.
I
In his delightful book, “The Call of
the Wild,” Jack London has paid a
fitting tribute to the noble animal
without whose aid mankind would never
have achieved the conquest of tlie
North. London’s character were all
drawn from life. Long before he wrote
his famous book he had lived in the
North and mushed across tho Chileoot
and down the long trail that leads to
Dawson. He saw history in its making,
and to him belongs the honor of having
been tlte first to recognize the part
which the dog played in the taming of
iho North.
Buck was no creation of the author’s
imagination, though the name might
have been. Buck still lives, and when
tlte steamer from the Outside comes to
anchor just out beyond where tlte surf
begins to break on tlte sandy beach at
Dyea, the great, shaggy St. Bernard
may he seen gazing mournfully out
across the tumbling wastes and think
ing— who shall say of what? Perhaps
of that wonderful land in the Santa
Clara Valley, where the sun shines
most of the year and the breezes blow
only to temper the sun-kissed wind
from the south.
Pike, Dave, Sol-leks, and tlte rest of
the huskies still live, though perhaps
they answer to other names when they
hear the crack of tlte long, thin whip.
Francois and Perrault still carry the
j government mails, and when the long,
i hitter nights have come and the cold,
I biting wind is sweeping down from
i the frozen North, we can still hear the
echo of their muffled voices along tho
trail, as with words of encourage
ment they urge the weary dogs on to
where a light glimmering through a
frost-covered pane points the way to
the roadhouse where rest, warmth,
comfort and food await tho weary
traveler.
London lias portrayed to us not dull,
graven images of the clay worker’s art,
but living, forceful creatures through
whose veins courses the good, red
blood and the joy of living. His dogs
ate real dogs, and their drivers are
real men, aud wherever one goes,
through the length and breadth of the
North, he will find Perraults and Bucks
and Sol-lelcs and John Thorntons.
He who has not wintered in Alaska
can hardly realize the part which the
dog plays in the lives of the people oi
the North. With the cursing of win
ter transportation becomes impossible
! iu many districts except by dog team,
I aud until the sno v disappears in the
; spring and the ice breaks up in the
i creeks, these men are absolutely de
! pendent on their dogs lor the move
, taent cf their supplies, their machinery
| acid themselves." It is therefore not to
be wondered at that tho men have
grown 10 Ice. e their dogs and to take a
deep pride iu their accomplishments,
j Nor is it to he wondered at that the
l must intense rivalry sometimes exists
between the owners of teams over the
merits of their respect :ve [lacks. Thorn
ton was only human when lie wagered
his ali that Buck could do what no
other dog had ever done before—per
haps will ever do again. He loved his
dog. He had lived with him, arm was
he to stand quietly by and hear others
boast of their dogs and he not say a
word ior Buck? Thornton would not
have been a true man of tiie North had
he lacked faith in Buck and been un
willing to wager his poke on the out
come of the corniest, nor would the
Skookum Bench King aud the rest of
the sourdoughs have been, had they
felt the thrill that comes when one
witnesses a contest of skill and brawn
and not bet their hard-won gold on the
result.
Conditions have changed in the!
North since the scene with the dog
and sled in front of the Eldorado, but
the same old spirit of rivalry exists
among those who own dog teams, aud |
it is a healthy rivalry and one that has |
dune much good for the country.
Anything which will Lend to improve
the speed, the endurance and the carry
ing capacity of the dog is a gain to the
country, Ever since the North was
settled, and the first dogs brought in
from the Outside, dog racing has been
a favorite sport, and tales of some of j
these races, were they told, would rival
in interest those of the heroes of pagan
Rome.
The All-Alaska Sweepstakes is an
annual event which is run from Nomt
to Candle aud return, a distance of 412
miles, and every inch of the way is
across a frozen, wind-swept race. The
teams consist of nine dogs hitched to a
sleigh and a driver. Accidents to the
dogs are of frequent occurrence, and to
provide against them extra dogs are
taken on the sleigh to replace those
injured or warn out. The driver is the
only one who cannot be replaced. He
is compelled to make the entire trip.
The sleighs used are somewhat differ
ent from me usual type.. They - vary
from 9 to 12 feet in length; have a
width of 22 inches and a clearance
beneath the cross-bars of 8 to 10 inches.
They are constructed of either oak or
hickory and combine all of the ele
ments of strength, flexibility and light
ness usually found in racing sleighs.
Each one is equipped with a light
Seward, Jan 29.—The gold train with $500,000 in dust from tiie
Iditarod arrived here last Fiiday, J an. 26. The journey occupied 45
days.
I;i charge of Norton & Gtiffi-, who were taking the gold out for
the Wells-hargo Express Co., and with Teddy Heaeock and J. B.
Mitchell :is guard-, the train left Iditarod December 14. The going
was hard throughout, hut apart from that the trip was without itrei.
dent. Clnistmas day was spent at Body & Ainge's place on the Salmon
river!
About twenty days out Bob Griffis began to suffer from stomach
trouble,and a man had to he secured at Susitna to assist with the dogs.
When the Coast range was struck heavy rains were falling, and
the party had to stay over lor five days. Veiy poor tune was made
after this, the trails being too soft.
Near Seward the party had a rather exciting experience. Driven
from its wilder ictreat by a snow -1 i<Ie, a big brown bear savagely
attacked the party, but was shot dead by Norton be lore it could do any
harm.
Agent Busch of the Weils Fargo company was (.11 hand to receive
tlie gold, which will he shipped to Seattle this week by the Alameda.
Tile Norton & Giiffi-- nartv am leavi’v f r Tditarnd immediately.
springboard brake, without 1 inches in!
widtli.
A great many misstatements have,
been made regarding the size of tin
purse. It was reported in some of tiie
papers that last year it amounted to j
$50,POO, which was said to be one-halt
of what it had been in previous years.
As a matter of fact the purse 1ms never
exceeded $10,000, and last year it was
but $6,000.
Four races in all have been run. Tiie
first race was run in 1903 and was won
by Albert Fink’s team, driven by ILg
ness. The second was won by Jack
Berger’s team, driven by Scotty Alien,
who drove the winning team in last
year's race. The third race went to
Fox Ramsey's team of Siberian wolves,
driven by John Johnson, who made the
distance in record time, 74 hours, 14
minutes and 22 seconds.
Last y ear’s race was won by Mrs. C.
Darling s team of huskies, Allen driver:
time 81 hours and 4 minutes. Condi
tions on tiie trail were very unfavor
able during this race, because of a
blizzard which raged the greater part
of the time while it. was iu progress.
This will explain why the time was so
much longer than tiie previous year.
The danger which hovers over those
who participate in the race was shown
in the case of John Johnson, the win
ner of iOlO, who was stricken with
snow blindness last year when only 22
miles from Nome, and who was com
pelled in consequence to retire when
he had an even chance to win.
vv hen the great stampede to Daw
son took place some 14 years ago, the
price of dugs soared to a figure that few
will believe. Thornton refused $1.2 ).)
for Buck after his wonderful feat, and
there are many who will always be
lieve that London drew on his imagin
ation when he set such a value on the
dog; but the price was not an exces
sive one. _
Old Lacey, Tyler, Monogram, Ather
ton and Cedarbrook, also tine old Port,
Sherry and Olartts at Empire Com
mercial Co.
Location blanks—Pioneer office.
TO CREDITORS
Fait banks, Dec. 28.
Editor. Dear Sir: I will feel under a
debt, of gratitude if you admit me space ,
in your paper to inform any person that
I owe any money to in the Jditarod,
any wages 1 owe to anybody who worked '
for nte personally during the lime 1 was!
operating on the Glen association, or
any bills contracted personally, I will
pay all my bills as soon as they arc pre
sented to me in Fairbanks.
Respect lullv,
PETER MAT .ONE.
Select Outside Lumber, corrugated
iron and rooting paper at Ross & Nes
tor's.
Dr. Heinrich Wortrnann,
Office at City Drug Store. Tel. lift
First Ave.. Bet. Widow arid Rich run
Office* Hour - - - i i to i, 3 to 4. 7 to* S
CHAS. D. CARTER,
Beni is f
Offices, Pioneer Drug Stores,
Flat Creek
DR. F. W. HER MS,
Dr. Wortrnann's Office,
First Avenue and Willow gut**. :
DR. H. BEHLA.
Dentist
Gold St., Flat City, Opp. Grand Hv/.i*1.
Phone 4
ALFRED E. MALTBY,
Attorney at Law
Notusv Pouch ■
Office Simpson BUI?, First ;,m! Wi!'••••%•
J. S. HARDING,
Attorney at Law
Ituoni 1. 1 Hotel
IDITAROD. AI.ASK \
CHAS. E. TAYLOR,
Attorney at Law,
Notary Public, Conveyancing,
Richmond St., Id it a rod
Wiekersham & Roden,
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
IdiiaroiJ, Alaska
GEORGE WOODRUFF ALBRECHT,
Attorney at Law
HieliltsR, '81 AluHc. '10 Knhieiir. '91
The Pioneer Attorney i thi- Camp
Films Developed
And All Kinds of Photographic
Work Done.
MISS TJERNSTROM, MCDONALD HOTEL
sf! j3|4J Corn-Fed Turkeys,
11 Fresh Eastern Oysters
--— Fresh Veal and Mutton
Milk-Fed Broilers and Roasting Chickens
mnmod m eat go.
Second St. Phono 15
First Class in Fact First Ave., iditarod
BERTTIE HOUSE
Furnished Rooms, Bath Rooms, Spring Cots Good Stables Adjacent
Drill*- Eastern Beer
MJne£9s_ Home Saloon}
THE HOME OF THE “QUAKER MAID" J
Foot of Willow St., Iditarcd «
& A A. a. . .***