---~-- VALDEZ, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1915. NO. 10.
VOL. 13. ^————, .i,.I -.i- i ■ ■■——■
GENERAL ENGAGEMENT IN EAST
FROM TILSIT TO CRACOW GERMANS ENGAGE RUSSIANS
AUSTRIANS REPORT RUSSIANS CHECKED ON VISTULA
GERMANS CAPTURE FRENCH TRENCHES AT PORTHES
GET $S 000,000
FOR ALASKA R. R.
Fitzgerald .Says Administration Will
Get What It Wants, Which
is $5,000,000.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13—Chairman
Fitzgerald, of the House Appropria
tions Committee, denied today that
enough opposition to the Alaska rail
road appropriation had developed and
that it would fail because of the re
fusal of congress to pass the neces
sary appropriations.
Congressman Fitzgerald stated that
the administration will get what it
wants to continue the work in Alas
ka and to start the construction of
the raUroad. He stated that prob
ably $5,000,000 would be all that
would be needed for the present and
that other appropriations would fol
low as needed.
The work of construction will start
in the spring as soon as the climatic
conditions allow for work in the
north.
WILSON MIT NOT
BE I CANDIDATE
Denies That His Speech In Indi
anapolis Was Hint As To
Candidacy.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13.—President
Wilson today denied that his Indian
apolis speech was a hint as to his
intentions regarding renomination.
The Presid nt refuses to state at this
time if he will be a candidate for re
nomination by tlie Democratic party
and reelection by the people.
Friends of the administration are
anxious, however, that President Wil
son run again, as they insist bis ad
ministration has been one of the best
in the history of the United States
and that more constructive legislation
has been passed by the present con
gress, the request of President
Wilson, than by any previous con
gress.
The anti-trust bills, the reserve bank,
the new tariff and other measures are
pointed to with pride by the friends
of the administration.
MORE BATTLESHIPS
FOR THE NAVY
ai
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13.—The
House Naval Committee today recom
mended the appropriation of sufficient
money for the construction of two
battleships of the largest and latest
model and such smaller warships as
should be added to the naval strength
of the country with each'large battle
ship.
Two German Submarines Reach Dover But Are Sunk Says Unconfirmed British
Report—Germans Renew Fight for Paris By Continuing Hostilities At Sois
sons, 60 Miles From Paris—More German Troops Ordered To Colors.
BERLIN, Jan. 13.—The army of the
East, commanded by Field Marshal
von Hindenburg, has started the long
expected general engagement and
•from Tilset in East Prussia, to the
Nida river, in southern Poland, the
German forces are engaged with the
Russians, while further south the
Austrians are making every possible
attack upon the czar’s troops so that
no relief can come to the grand duke
at Warsaw. The fight will last sev
eral days and maybe weeks. The
rivers are now frozen and the Ger
mans have been able to bring up
many of the big heavy siege guns
.which have not been used heretofore
against the Russians. The enemy
have no guns which they can use to
combat the big Krupp siege guns.
Russians Claim Checked Germans.
PETROGRAD, Jan. 13.—While ad
mitting that the Germans have re
sumed the offensive at all points from
the Baltic to Galicia the war office
states that the German troops have
been checked and that the offensive
has only resulted in great loss of life
without any material advantage to the
enemy. Little news is being publish
ed here regarding the war about War
saw, which city the Germans have
been trying to take since the war
started.
More German* for Armies.
PETROGRAD, Jan. 13—Information
has reached here that the kaiser has
ordered to the colors every man over
the age of 16 and under 60. The new
troops will be used to relieve the
troops now guarding railroad bridges
and to guard the prisoners. The need
for more mien has impressed itself up
on the kaiser since the failure of his
Poland campaigns.
German Attacking Soissons. '
BERLIN. Jan. 13.—The Germans
at Soissons have launched a terrific
attack at the French line and have
made some gains. The' concentration
of German troops was made at night
so that the enemy’s air scouts could
not report the movement of soldiers
to the new point of attack. As a re
sult the enemy were unprepared for
the assault and lost heavily.
Fighting 60 Miles From Paris.
Soissons is only 60 miles from Pa
ris and the success of the German
troops threatens the French line
along the Aisne.
Allies Lose At Nieuport.
At Nieuport the terrific cannonad
ing of the Germans has forced the
Allies holding the trenches near the
coast to evacuate them and the Ger
man line has been moved forward
several miles. The work of the Ger
man artillery is far superior to that
of the enemy.
French Line Broken At Porthes.
At Porthes the Germans have
crushed a way through the line of
French trenches and have broken the
line. The enemy suffered heavy loss,
leaving a number of field batteries be
hind them when they fled.
Rumania In War February.
LONDON, Jan. 13.—The dispatches
received from Sofia, capital of Ruman
ia, indicate that the government has
decided upon February 15 as the
date on which Rumania will declare
war against Austria in an effort to
secure Transylvania as part of the
Rumanian empire. The invasion of
Austria will follow immediately.
Report Two German Submarines
Sunk.
An unconfirmed report has been
circulated here to the effect that two
German submarines had been sunk in
Dover harbor by the warships station
ed at that point to protect the coast.
The fact that the enemy have again
been able to evade the warships
guarding the coast and have been able
to enter the big naval harbor at Do
ver, where the big battleships gather
and the outfitting point for the navy,
has caused great consternation among
the people, who fear that more war
ships will be lost through the in
ability of the patrol fleet to discover
the approaching underwater fighting
craft. It is reported that because of
fear of a raid the British fleet of
dreadnoug' ts is now stationed in
Bristol Channel, where they are safe
from attack and that only second
class ships are patroling the coast of
the North Sea.
Submarine* for Canada.
MONTREAL, Can., Jan. 13.—Work
has commenced here on the building
of twenty submarines. The plates are
being brought to Montreal from the
United States and the boats will be
built here and then sent across the
ocean for use near the British Isles.
The new plan will avoid the ship
ment in sections as at first contem
plated by the admiralty and as the
new boats are to be exceptionally
large they can easily cross the ocean
when convoyed by naval ships.
Italians Preparing for War.
MILAN, Italy, Jan. 13.—A large
committee has been appointed to
start the work of organizing in the
different sections of Italy so that the
country will be prepared to enter the
war. It is almost certain that Italy
will be in the war in a short time.
Russians Checked In Galicia.
VIENNA, Jan. 13.—The Russian
force which tried to make its way up
the banks of the Vistula have been
checked and the advance on Cracow
effectively blocked. The Russians
have not only be stopped but have
been thrown back some distance, suf
fering heavily In the forced retreat.
The new Austrian troops are now
reaching the front and are expected
to turn the tide in favor of the Teu
tonic allies.
Heavy Snow In Carpathians.
VIENNA, Jan. 13.—The heavy snow
of the past few days has stopped all
military operations in the Carpath
ians and will check the invading
force. The Russians are suffering
greatly because of lack of shelter and
many have frozen to death.
British Using New Howitzers.
PARIS, Jan. 13—The Allies in the
western field are about to take the
general offensive against the Ger
mans. All British and French sol
diers on leave have been recalled.
Word has been sent to the hospitals
of Paris and the vicinity to prepare
to receive great numbers of wounded.
British ^reinforcements are arriv
ing in the north, and it is understood
that they will be in position by next
Friday. With the fresh troops are
many of the new 15-inch British how
itzers which will go into action for
the first time against the Germans.
They ar believed to be much more
powerful than the German mortars
and to outrange them.
Gen. Joffre and Field Marshal Sir
John French have been waiting for
two months for the moment to ar
rive to make«a generajl and sustained
attack. The Germans are no longer
throwing themselves against the posi
tions of the Allies and appear dis
posed to hold their positions in the
west and concentrate their efforts up
on the east.
Immense reserves of shells and. am
munition have been accumulated by
the Allies in preparation for a gen
eral forward movement. The allied
troops appear to be considerably
more numerous than at any time
since the opening of hostilities. Their
equipment, their transport, and mo
rale are judged by neutral military
vContlnued on page 2.)
STOP NEPOTISM
IN MISSOURI
Appointment of Relatives To Positions
In State, County and City Of
fices Be Prohibited.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Jan. 13.—
A bill has been introduced in the
legislature making nepotism punish
able with a fine of fl.OOO and a sen
tence of six months in jail. It has
been found that many state and city
officials have the belief that election
to office means the appointment of
every relative they have to a good
■state or municipal job and in conse
quence the service is not what it
should be.
The bill *!s introduced prohibits any
officer of the state, county or city,
from appointing a relative, up to the
sixth degree, to ail office. If the bill
passes a third of the men and women
now holding positions will be dis
missed.
Shonts and Fellow Officers of New
York Street Railroad Failed
To Obey Law.
NEW YORK, Jan. 13.—The coron
er’s jury which was called to inves
tigate the death of the two persons
killed in the subway because of the
fire three weeks ago, today returned
a report holding Theodore Shonts and
other officials of the Interborough
Railroad Company guilty of man
slaughter in that they had failed to
obey the order of the state public
service commission, which had direct
ed that the wooden cars in use on the
subway be taken off and steel cars
substituted.
The order for the change was made
Dec. 1 and the officials paid no at
tention to the order, but continued
to use the wooden cars.
FARMERS BLAMED
HIGH PRICE WHEAT
President of Chicago Board of Trade
Says They Are Holding
Back Wheat.
CHICAGO, Jan. 13.—The president
of the Board of Trade today appear
ed as a witness before the federal
investigating commission and charg
ed that the farmers were to blame
for the present high price of wheat
and not the brokers of the produce
exchange.
“The brokers have made but little
money as a result of the raise in
price, while the farmers have been
^reaping a: big harvest by holding
back the supply at its source and
forcing the price upward,” is the
statement of the president of the ex
change to the investigators.
The investigation will be continued
and many brokers will be examined.
Blow Up Bank Vault and Make Get
away With Small Fortune
No Trace of Bandits
ENID, Okla., Jan. 13.—Bank rob
bers entered the bank at Enid last
night and blew open the big bank
vault, secured $75,000 in currency, a
small amount in gold and have
disappeared. The police can find no
trace of the robbers. The detectives
of the American Bankers Association
are here investigating and the city
police are also hunting up clues.
The work was done by men who
knew their business well. The big
yault was opened without much trou
ble and the big money safe in the
vault was blown open by a charge
of nitroglycerine.
Imported Japanese baskets at Val
dez Drug Co. tf
COPPER MINERS
OUT ON STRIKE
Arizona Workers Insist Upon a Closed
Shop and Quit When Non-union
Men Are Employed.
GLOBE, Ariz., Jan. 13.—Six hun
dred miners went on strike here to
day following the employment by the
company of a number of non-union
miners. The fight for an open or
closed shop is on and both sides are
determined to fight to the bitter end.
The local unions have received word
from other locals that they will be
supported by money in the fight and
to keep it up because only in union
ized mines are the miners and muck
ers paid living wages.
The mining properties are closed.
The engineers are still on duty, but
the underground work has stopped.
The manager has wired to the east
for strikebreakers and to Governor
Hunt for militiamen to protect the
property from any violence by strik
ers or their sympathizers.
CANUCKS DETAIN
BIG STEAMERS
Japanese Steamer Mexico Maru and
Ameridan Ship Governor Are
Held At Vancouver, B. C.
VANCOUVER, B. C., Jan. 13.—
The authorities here have detained
the Japanese steamer Mexico Maru,
one of the big trans-Paciflc liners, and
also the Pacific Coast Steamship
Liner S. S. Governor, which are both
charged with carrying contraband of
war for reshipment to the enemy.
Both boats were brought here by the
warships patroling the coast and the
cargo is being unloaded. Details of ■
marines from the ships in the bay
have been placed on the two steam
ers and the crews are held prisoners
of war for the present until the ad
miralty decides the fate of the steam
ers.
No intimation is given of the des
tination of the contraband cargo nor
how the American steamer Governor
In the trade between San Francisco
and Seattle could be handling con
traband. The Governor makes Vic
toria a port of call to and from Cali
fornia ports to Seattle.
ROME REPORTS
BAD mQUAKE
ROME, Jan. 13.—A terrific earth
quake was felt in this city today.
Eighteen lives were lost and many
historic buildings have been wrecked
by the shock. The damage is esti
mated at many millions of doH&ra.
'ft'