IDSTAROD PIONEER
Published Every Sunday Morning at Tditarod, Alaska.
FRANK E. BECKER, EDITOR
lUf I Coo. M. Arbuokle, Publisher No. 25
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
One Year. .$10.00
Six Months . 5.00
One Month. 1.00
Single Copy. 25
Advertising Ratos on Application.
WHERE IT WILL DO THE MOST GOOD
Today is the day of the “good will” stuff. Today is the
day when the spirit of generosity goes rampaging around
in the human chest and the physiognomy of every individual
beams like a full-blown moon scattering sunshine. In other
words, it is Christmas, and our old friend Eggnog, moves
himself aright in the bowl.
In some of the old books will be found ancient narra
tives to the effect that Christmas was first observed as the
birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, that gentle philosopher, who
left the mark of his genius upon the ages. The words of
the Master gave the keynote to this anniversary for Ho said,
“Let there be peace on earth, good will toward men,” and
some remnant of that spirit has been preserved even to this
day.
Since those early times, however, the idea has been con
siderably warped and has ingrown in a number of places.
It has been twisted and pulled and shot full of holes till it
looks like a piece of Mexican drawn work. It has bulged
and counter-sunk until now it is scarcely more than the
season cleanup for the merchant and the poorman’s night
mare.
However, in spite of the maceration of years, there still
remains some slight elation of holiday gladness, and in
spite, of himself, the man with the costive grouch may
loosen up the trace of a smile and give three cheers for the
poor.
In the big cities, church bells will be ringing, and
little children will sing Christmas carols, the while they
wonder how much pounding the new drum will stand, or
what kind of stuffing is in the new doll.
Here in Iditarod we will stuff ourselves with turkeys,
give away a silk muffler which no one ever uses and a few
convivial individuals will tip over one highball too
many. After that, Night will spread her sable pinions,
the good housewife will store away the emaciated frame of
the festive bird, little children will lay tired heads on an
unwilling pillow, and old man Good Will, tired and cynical
will trudge wearily forth into the defiles of the darkness.
nattier a cynical view all around, you say < Well no,
it isn’t meant to be a pessimistic picture of the gladsome
Christmas time. It is merely a preliminary to the main
event, as the "pugs” say.
There is one thing about this Christmas business we
would like to present. It comes at the psychological mo
ment, being, so to speak, an fait and la paloma. It is right
in our midst ; it attends us this day in everything we do.
Instead of presenting your best friend who has been
eating regularly, with a nugget chain that he don’t want,
buy a side of bacon and take it around to some old pros
pector who is down on his luck and is denying himself to
feed his dogs.
You may know that there are men right in this city
today who have blazed the way for civilization in Alaska,
and who are down to the last bean because of the prevail
ing quietude. You may know that men who once possessed
fortunes, wrestsd from the unwilling gravels, are dead
broke today and are wondering where the next meal is com
ing from. Poverty is practically unknown in this country,
because such men as these won’t admit that they are up
against it. The "stew” bum is the only one who asks
charity, but the percentage of this class is so small when
compared to the deserving majority as to be practically
neglible.
Times are quiet now because there is no gold coming
from the giound. Many of us are unable to give but little,
but of that little put it where it will do the most good,
don’t waste it in foolish fripperies designed to dangle in
dainty dalliance from some damsel’s digits.
And while you are doing it, spread that glad smile
around and spread it regardless. Don’t be afraid of offend
ing anyone. Remember, that though times be quiet now,
the promise of the spring is excellent, and who is entitled
to the rakeo ff, well—some say, The Sourdough.
WILL THIS DO ANY GOOD?
The following telegram was carried by Contractor
Snow when he left on his last trip to Nulato. It was to be
wired to Chief Clerk Randalls at Tanana, and there is a
reasonable hope that an answer may be received when the
mail comes in again about the fifteenth of January.
The message is in the nature of a mild protest against
the rank injustice that is being handed out to the Iditarod
by the post office department. In it, we call nobody names,
but it isn't because we can’t. We wished to be calm and
dispassionate and set the matter in a clear light. Dispite
that fact, we are so het up we would like to see the Post
master General dragging in a thousand pounds of mail by
the neck and no mittens.
We have a large quantity of mental lyddite in our
thinktanks which will be unloosed in the shape of tele
Red Cross |
Drug Store;
opticians |
Your Eyes Tested Free (
'Telephone I |
| LOWNEY’S GANDY MANICURE SETS SAFETY RAZORS j
I' Fancy Packages 13e5t makes, in Ivory and Pearl, Ever Ready and Gillette >
$1,00 to $20.00 $10,00 to $40,00 $2,00 to $12,00 j
FRENCH PERFUMES BEST BRANDS OF CIGARS HAND AND TRIPLE MIRRORS, I
s In Fancy Packages, By the Box Prices ranging from
j $3,50 to $25,00 $2,00 to $18,00 $1,00 to $20.00 j
i Red'Cross
I Drug Store
I Prescription Druggists
Prompt Attention to
Telephone and Creek Orders
Prepare for the Coming Festivities!
FULL LINK OF
LADIES’ AND GENTS’ FURNISHINGS AT
GOLDSTEIN’S
Agants for Ladies’ Utz & Dunn’s Shoes.
Z. J. LOUSSAC, PROP.
RICHARD’S
WILLOW STREET
C. J. Hurley, President J. P. Gleason, V ce President A. Pruning, Cashier !
Corner First Ave, and Richmond St.. Iditarod
CAPITAL $50,000,00, FOLLY PAID 111 GASH
General Banking Business Transacted Upon Libera!, But Conservative 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
your account may be large or small.
Wa r n i Co m for tei ble
RADIATOR IN EVERY ROOM
GOOD, WARM DOG HORSES
WILLOW ST, AND SECOND AVE.
I. NYHOLM, PROP.
graphic bombs should we get no answer to this message.
These will be dropped in convenient places around the head
offices at Washington, and if their explosive force be mild,
we can certainly make them carry a quantity of stink.
Money is being raised to pay for getting in extra mails,
but we believe that much of it could be used to better ad
vantage by hitting the wires and telling some of those
Washington highbrows what we think of them.
Here is the first message :
Iditarod City, Alaska, Dec. 16, 1910.
Randalls,
Chief Clerk U S. P. O. Dept.,
Tauana, Alaska.
Iditarod mail is accumulating at Nulato at the late of over
one thousand pounds a month. Thirty-five hundred people
are waiting for it but are allowed only four hundred Nearly
all Iditarod mail can be brought in up to April at an additional
cost of about $850 Can you not make such representations
to the department as to secure an emergency appropriation to
cover this amount, or at least share the expense with the citi
zens of Iditarod who are willing to subscribe their money.
Direct answer to Iditarod Pioneer.
INNOKO TRADING CO.
N. C. COMPANY
M. & M. BANK
E. C. COMPANY
IDITAROD PIONEER
ID IT A ROD NUG ET
IDITAROD TELEPHONE CO.
KEMP & CO.
JOHN F. BAIRD
E W GRIFFIN & CO.
C T. SU PER
AMERICAN BANK
John Klonos Is Now
Ready lor tire Strike
Incoming mushers from the upper
IditarocI report that John Klonos is
now hot on the scent of a paystreak.
John lias but recently completed bis
winter quarters and gotten his boiler
on the ground and in working order.
He only claims one-cent dirt on the
rim, but has really done but little work
to demonstrate what Rainey creek car
ries. From this time forward, how
ever, the air will be full of flying
gravel in that vicinity, and the an
nouncement of a paystreak can be
looked for with reasonable confidence.
You’ll miss the time of your life if
you fail to get a seat at the big New
Year festival at the Merchants cafe.
Manuel sells Bock cigars.
TWO VIEWS OF
RECENT EVENT
Delegate Wickersham was the speaker at a mass meeting in
Juneau recently while enroute to Washington. It is amusing to
read the accounts of this affair in the newspapers of that place
The Record has this to say about it:
“Delegate Wickersham, holding a combination dance and polit
ical meeting last night at Elks hall, secured a crowd, denounced
Alaska officials and the President, declared the Alaska press was
subsidized, and proposed Val for governor of Alaska-” That’s all.
Nothing more from the Record.
The Dispatch, however, gives its readers a full account of the
event as follows:
The largest gathering in the history of Elks hall greeted Hon.
James Wickersham, delegate from Alaska, when he was introduced
by Mayor Valentine last night to make his address. Every seat
was tilled and those standing,were massed in the rear of the hall to
the outside steps. Among those present were large numbers from
the Island, Silver Bjvv basin, Nevada creek and other outside
camps.
In introducing the delegate, Mayor Valentine said he was not
a “gum shoe” appointee, but the elective appointee at Washington
of the people and for the people.
Delegate Wickersham in his address which was continually ap
plauded, told of the attempt to defeat his re-election, headed by
the “Gumshoe Governor, Tinhorn Politician and Weeping Major.”
How a letter had been published broadcast, signed by the Presi
dent of the United States, and two members of the cabinet had
toured the territory, but it had only resulted in arousing the people
to a public duty, and his election was the result. A corruption
fund of $40,000 was raised and subscribed to by every large inter
est in the territory.
The speaker said he was a ‘‘R rasevelt InvtrgeV, R‘public in,”
voted for Garfield as his first candidate and had always voted for
the Republican presidential candidate, was proud of the Republi
can party as founded by Lincoln, but he was an American before
he was a Republican, and when any branch of that party went
against principle for the Interests, then he ceased to be affiliated
with that branch of the party. He yielded this principle to no man
or set of men.
Referring to the joint debate with our distinguished townsmen,
Mr. Shackleford, at Fairbanks, it was like the Johnson Jeffries
tight. In the center was the stage and around it gathered the po
litical fans. “But,” said the speaker, “when the last round closed
the Pride of Gastineau channel was hanging on the ropes, his
tongue sticking out and lie never got it back in bis mouth again
until the vote was counted and it was all over.” This sally set the
crowd wi'd with applause which continued several minutes.
Referring to the debate at Nome, the speaker said he faced a
different sort of an opponent; Fink did not get mad and lose tem
per, and was a good talker, but the result was a clear majority for
Wiekersham at the polls over both the other candidates.
Referring to his trip to Washington, the delegate said the fight
was not over, but just begun. That the “Weeping Major Richard
son had declared the Interests were going to put the Beveridge
bill through in the last QOdays of the present congress. He wanted
every true Alaskan to write some member of congress protesting.
The speaker recited the history of the seal, the salmon, and
now the attempt to take the copper and coal and give nothing in
return in the way of permanent development of the territory. He
said that Alaska was getting about the same deal as “Windy Bill's'’
dog. Out in a blizzard and starving “Windy Bill” cut off the dog’s
tail and made soup. The dog was rewarded by getting the bone
from the end of tail used for soup. That, said the speaker, was
what Alaska was getting from the seal and salmon and would get
from the copper and coal, if the Morgan syndicate did not face
laws checking their greed.
The speaker wanted railroads built by these people, but he
wanted them regulated by laws. He favored the opening of the
coal lands, but wanted no monopolies. He was against conserva
tion which locked up the coal and forests from the people of Alaska,
but favored all conservation which says the big Interests can not
gobble our resources.
Following the address of Delegate Wiekersham over 500 peo
ple shook hands with him, and nearly 300 remained for the dance
which continued until midnight. The reception and dance was one
of the most successful events ever held in Juneau.
Shot Himself in Ann
Far From Doctor’s Dare
While trying to punch a porcupine [
out of his hole on Pyramid creek, a j
tributary of the Kuskokwitn, Ole Hoff- \
seth shot himself in the forearm about
two months ago, inflicting a nasty j
flesh wound that laid him up for several j
weeks.
Ole and Morris Hoffseth and Tony j
Freeman, partners who have been j
prospecting on the upper Iditarod, were j
hunting just across the divide on Pyra-1
raid. They treed the porcupine, or j
rather ran it to earth and wanted to.
catch it alive. Ole tried to prod it out !
with the butt end of his 22, and the gun :
went off, the bullet ranging the length :
of his left forearm along the bono. Be
ing too far away for medical assistance
they fixed him up as best they could,
and fortunately prevented infection of
the wound.
OLD BUT GOOD
A German addressing his dog,
said: “You vos only a dog, but I
vish 1 vas you. Ven you go mit de
bed in, you shust durn round dree
times und lay down. Ven I go mit
the bed in I half to lock up the
blace und vind de clock und put de
cat oud und undress myself, und my
vife wakes up und scoles me. Den
de baby cries und I haf to valk him
up and down; den maybe ven I shust
go to slepe, it's time to get up
again. Ven you get up you shust
scratch yourself a couple of times
and stretch, und you vas up. I haf
to quick lite a fire, und put de kittle
on, scrap mit my vife already, und
maype get some breakfast. You
play all tay und haf plenty of fun.
I haf to vork all day und haf plenty
of drouble. Ven you die, you's
dead; ven I die I haf to go to hell
yet.”—Anon.