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VALDEZ, ALASKA, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1915. NO. 44.
VULi lO. _ ___ . _ _ .
ITALY RIOTING 10
ENTER THE WAR
Populace Fear That German Agents
Are Bringing Influence To
Bear On Government.
HOME, Feb. 23.—Serious rioting is
reported from a number of Italian cit
ies where mass meetings were held
yesterday to discuss the war situa
tion. The advocates of peace for the
Italian people were declared by the
masses to be hired agents of the
German government who were at
tempting to win Italy over to fight for
Austria, her^ ancient enemy.
The r’ots assumed such serious pro
portions that troops were sent to the
cities, where the disturbances were
most active and effected the arrests
of the leaders. The police had great
difficulty in keeping the mobs from
attacking German subjects who at
i ended the mass meetings as specta
tors.
BOLD THIEVES GET
MONEY AND JEWELS
Wealthy Visitor To Los Angeles Loses
$50,000 When Her Apartment
Was Robebd.
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23.—The
apartments of Mrs. A. P. Smith, wife
of the president of the New York
Central railroad, in this city were en
tered last night and money and jew
elry to the value of $50,000 stolen.
The thief entered the apartment while
Mrs. Smith and her guests were din
ing.
The entire police force are trying
to round up the thief as Mrs. Smith
has offered a big reward for the re
covery of her jewels. The police are
keeping strict tab on the brokers as
they believe the thief is probably un
aware of the real value of the jew
els and will attempt to dispose of
them here. The officers of all cit
ies have been notified of the theft and
instructed to keep a close watch for
the missing jewels.
GOLD INTERFERES
WITH DOG DERBY
Annual Dog Derby Race Set for Today
If Weather Will Permit—Many
Teams Entered.
NOME, Feb. 23.—The annual dog
derby race which was to have been
made today between Nome and Coun
cil City has been postponed on ac
count of the intensely cold weather
which has prevailed for the past two
days. There are a numeber of en
tries and should the trail be in fair
ly good shape it is expected that all
previous records will be broken.
During the Moose-Burden handicap
race from Nome to Solomon, which
took place recently, there were twen
ty-four teams entered. The event
proved one of the most exciting
events of the season. G. Kassen, car
rying a young lady passenger, won
the race, covering the distance in 2
'hours and 41 minutes. He was only
three minutes ahead of Harry Bloom
field, also carrying a passenger.
Joe Baxter, the well-known Demo
cratic organizer, left for Juneau this
morning. Joe says he has nothing in
sight, but it is rumored that he Is
to receive a reward for his efforts
in the interests of the party.
BELIEVE DARDANELLES WILL SOON BE FORCED
ROME, Feb. 23.—The fleet of the;
French and British are keeping up a
constant bombardment of the forts
guarding the Dardanelles. Several of
the forts are reported to have been
rendered useless as their guns have
been dismounted by the fire of the
warships. I* is predicted that the
Dardanelles will soon be forced. The
Russian Black Sea fleet is also re
ported to be preparing to' bombard
Constantinople.
English Coast Again Raided.
LONDON, Feb. 23.—German aviat
ors again raided several cities on the
English coast but the bombs did lit
tle damage. The German airmen vis
ited Essex, Chichester and Braintree
before being driven off by the arriv
al of British aviators. Reports from
the cities visited fail to report any
deaths caused by the bombs of the
i Germans.
Intensfies Hatred.
The German raids by aircraft on
defenseless English cities where no
troops are stationed are regarded by
Englishmen as barbaric and has serv
ed to intensify the hatred of the na
tion against Germany.
Irish Steamer Sunk.
LONDON, Feb. 23.—A German sub
marine entered the Irish Sea and tor
pedoed an Irish steamer on Satur
VIENNA REPORTS THAT FLEET OF ALLIES ARE WORKING DE
STRUCTION OF FORTS AND TURKS MUST SOON ABANDON EF
FORTS TO KEEP STRAITS CL OSED — BRITISH COAST CITIES
RAIDED BY GERMAN AIRMEN—NORWEGIAN SHIP SUNK IN THE
NORTH SEA—GERMANS REPORT RUSSIANS CHECKED IN RUS
SIAN POLAND—TREMENDOUS BATTLE FORMING NORTH OF
WARSAW—DUTCH ANGRY AT GERMANY.
day night. The submarine escaped.
A portion of the crew of the steamer
were saved.
Zeppelin Bombards Calais.
LONDON, Feb. 23.—A German Zep
pelin last nigh;t pasesd over the
French coast city of Calais and drop
ped a number of bombs, killing five
people. The giant aircraft disappear
ed in the darkness before it could be
attacked by aviators. It is believed
that the Zeppelin was waiting for war
ships and turned its attention to the
city when the battleships failed to
materialize.
Dutch Angry At Germany.
THE HAGUE, Feb. 23.—Intense in
dignation is expressed throughout
Holland through the failure of the
German government to respond to the
protest of Holland against Germany’s
blockading the English Channel. The
situation is very grave as the peo
ple are demanding that the govern
ment take steps to force the Germ -.n
admiralty to abandon the blockade
which has resulted in destruction of
a number of neutral vessels and the
cessation of Holland’s shipping.
French Claim Vosges Successes.
PARIS, Feb. 23.—The Germans
were driven back in their attempts
to capture the French near Arras and
In the Argonne district. The French
have also gained, decided advanta
geous positions in the Vosges.
Germans Capture British Trenches.
Near LeBassee the Germans cap
tured a line of trenches from the
British troops by mining and blowing
up the trenches. The work of de
struction wrought by the mines is
reported to have been terrific, not a
single British soldier in the first line
of trenches escaping unhurt. The
Germans now occupy the destroyed
trenches.
Austrians Claim Dukla Pass.
VIENNA, Feb. 23.—The situation is
unchanged in the Carpathians and in
Galicia. The war office claims that
the Petrograd report that the Rus
sians are in possession of Dukla pass
is untrue. It is asserted that the
Austrians still hold the pass and have
repulsed the Russians with heavy
losses.
War Office Bulletin Brief. '
BERLIN, Feb. 23.—^he bulletin is
sued by the German war office today
is very brief and announces that the
Germans have made several gains on
[the western battle line. The French
attack against the German positions
near Parthes were repulsed with loss
es to the French. The town of Vos
ges has also fallen into German hands,
the French troops having evacuated
the position owing to the heavy bom
bardment by German artilelry.
Poland Situation Favorable.
The situation of the eastern bord
eh is satisfactory to the war offi e.
The Russian advance through Rus
sian Poland from Grodno is reported
^Continued on page 2.)
TWO AMERICAN VESSELS SUNK IN NORTH SEA
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.—Two
American merchantmen have been
sunk by striking German mines dur
ing the past two days. The steam
er Evelyn, having a tonnage of 1,963
tons, struck a mine in the North Sea
and sunk almost immediately after
the explosion. The crew of the
steamer were saved. The Evelyn
was loaded with cotton for Bremen
and had not entered the war zone
when she encountered the floating
mine laid by the Germans.
Carib Is Sunk.
The second American ship to be
sunk by striking a mine was the
steamer Carib, 2,087 tonnage, which
was sunk off the coast of Germany In
the North Sea. The Carib was load
ed with cotton from Texas to Ger
many. It is reported that the cap
EVELYN AND CARIB LOADED WITW COTTON FROM TEXAS FOR
BEMEN SUNK IN NORTH SEA BY STRIKING GERMAN MINES
—SECRETRY BRYAN WILL NOT PRESS MATTERS.
tain of the Carib refused to accept
the services of a German cruiser to
act as a convoy, believing that by so
doing he would be violating the neu
trality of the United States. The
crew of the Carib were picked up by
the German cruiser.
German Ambassador Explains.
Count von Bemstorff, German am
bassador to America, waited upon
Secretary Bryan soon after the news
of the sinking of the Evelyin was
confirmed. He explained that the loss
of the steamer^ was due to an acci
dent which was greatly regretted by
Germany. He declared that Germany
was in sad need of the cargo with
which the Evelyn was loaded and
would therefore necessarily have tak
enany and all precautions possible to
Insure her safe arrival at a German
port.
Page and Gerard Demand Inquiries.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.—Both
James W. Gerard, United States am
bassador to Berlin, and Walter H.
Page, United Spates ambassador to
England, have asked the State De
partment to institute an exhaustive
inquiry as to tlie manner in which the
American vessels Evelyn and Carib
were sunk.
Germany Not Responsible.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.—It is re
ported, in semi-official circles that
Secretary Bryan will not officially in
vestgate the sinking of the American
ships in the North Sea by striking
floating mines. It is declared that
he holds that the German admiralty
had given sufficient warning to the
shipowners to keep their vessels out
of the war zone after the date set
by Germany when the blockade would
begin. Both vessels were loaded with
cotton destined for Germany and that
they were lost by striking German
mines was a matter of the owners of
the ships to settle with Germany
through the international courts.
COMMITTEE PASSES RAILROAD APPROPRIATION
NEW FREIGHTER
FOR ALASKA TRADE
The Alaska Steamship company
has purchased the steam schooner
Redondo which has been in commis
sion on the Gray’s Harbor and San
Francisco run and will operate the
boat in serving the canneries along
the Alaskan coast. The steamer was
built in 1902 and is 188 feet long,
breadth 38 feet, depth 11.5 feet. She
has a gross tonnage of 679 tons.
relieTshipIo
SAIL THURSDAY
SEATTLE, Feb. 23.—The schoon
er Bender Brothers, which is under
charter to the federal government to
carry-supplies to the starving natives
on Pribilof Islands, will sail next
Thursday with the relief expedition.
The party is thoroughly equipped
to meet all conditions should the
schooner be unable to approach the
islands.
Chinese noodles and chop suey at
Valdez Cafe after 7 p. m. tf
ADVOCATES OF GOVERNMENT PURCHASE OF SEWARD ROUTE BE
LIEVE PRESIDENT FAILED TO ASK FOR LARGER AMOUNT AS
HE PERSONALLY OPPOSES BUYING COPPER RIVER ROAD
WASHINGTON. Feb. 23.—The $2.
000,000 item in the Sundry Civil bill
for the Alaska railroad was passed
by the Senate Appropriations commit
tee. It was believed that President
Wilson, in the absence of Secretary
Lane, would ask the committee to
raise the item to $5,000,000 as de
sired by the secretary of the Interior
Department.
It is also reported that President
Wilson purposely failed to try to se
cure the larger appropriation in the
Senate because he is not in favor of
the government purchasing the Cop
per River road from the Morgan in
terests. The president is asserted to
be in favor of the western route from
the coast to interior Alaska by the
possible purchase of the Alaska Nor
thern from the Canadian bondholders
and extending the line from Seward
t into the interior. Secretary Lane
is believed to have been favorably
impressed by the Copper River route
and desired the $5,000,000 in order
'that the government might make a
payment down on Its purchase.
The report of the Engineering
Commission was handed to President
Wilson on Saturday but it Is believ
ed that the report will not be made
public nor even sent to congress be
fore the appropriation is passed by
the Senate. It is contended that
should the report become public that
the commission had favored the pur
chase of any particular road before
negotiations for its purchase had
been completed that the owners would
take advantage of the circumstances
to raise the price of their holdings
an<J render the conclusion of negotia
tions difficult.
Advocates of the Alaska Northern
route now in the city believe that
through President Wilson’s failure to
ask for the $5,000,000 appropriation
with which Secretary Lane was be
lieved to favor the purchase of the
Copper River road means that he is
In favor of the Seward route. No
news of the' commission’s findings
have been permitted to leak out and
all rumors as to the intentions of
President Wilson and Secretary Lane
are being treated as mere rumors.
After finishing their report the
members of the Engineering Com
mission immediately left for their
homes. Commissioner Riggs is now
in New York, but his hasty depart
ure from the capital after finishing
his labors is not regarded as of special
significance.
The Prospector office for job work.
BLIZZARD SWEEPS
OVER IOWA STATE
—
SIOUX CITY, la., Feb. 23.—A terri
fic blizzard has been sweeping over
this state for the past twenty-four
hours. Traffic has been demoraliz
ed and trains are reported stuck in
snow drifts everywhere. Telephone
and telegraph wires are down in all
parts of the state and this city is
isolated with the exception of one
line.
DIVINE Mfiiir
LOSES RIGHT LEG
_ I
BORDEAUX, France, Feb. 23.—
Sarah Bernhardt, the noted actress,
was operated on yesterday afternoon
and her right leg amputated above
•the knee. The aged actress, who is
70 years old, stood the shock won
derfully well and the surgeons be
lieve she will fully recover despite
her advanced age. It is stated that
the knee had become affected with
tuberculosis of the bone in an ad
vanced stage and that there was
no hope of saving the limb.
SEWARD WILL GET
Impression Prevails In Washington
That Seward Route Will Be
President’s Choice.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23,—It has
been announced here that Mrs. J. B.
Harriman will build a memorial li
brary to her deceased husband at
Seward, Alaska. Mrs. Harriman is
also reported to be interested in
the Harriman Bank which is soon
to be opened in the Alaskan town
with a capitalization of $250,000.
The impression prevails here that
Seward will be the choice of Presi
dent Wilson as the terminus of the
first government railroad from tide
water to interior Alaska. The im
pression is largely based on the ac
tivities of the Harriman and other
eastern interests in Seward.
NAVAL COMMITTEE
WANTS TOE MONEY
Sinking of American Steamer Taken
Advantage of By Committee To
Increase Appropriations.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.—The sink
ing of the American steamer Evelyn
has aroused the senators to the un
prepared state of the country's de
fenses should America be called up
on to use force in the protection of
her shipping.
The Senate Naval committee has
■recommended that nearly all the ap
propriations for increased naval equip
ment to be increased over the ap
propriations as passed by the lower
House. It i- recommended that $1.
000,000 be appropriated for the avia
tion department instead of $300,000
as allowed by the House. The num
ber of submarines are also asked to
be increased from twelve to eigh*een,
all of the latest models.
The Senate committee has approv
ed of the pension appropriation and
recommended its passage by the up
per House.
THE BIG FIGHT
BEEN POSTPONED
_*
Johnson Unable To Reach Juarez In
Time To Fight Willard Before
March 6th
EL PASO, Feb. 23.—The champion
ship boxing contest between Jack
Johnson, the colored champion, and
Jess Willard, the white hope, which
was to have taken place at Juarez,
Mexico, has been postponed on ac
count of Jphnson being unable to
reach Juarez before March 6.
The officials of the United States
Department of Justice have stated
that should Jack Johnson appear in
Juarez that they w'ill ask Mexico for
his extradition on the charge of wrhite
slavery. Johnson has been convict
ed of the crime but evaded justice
by jumping bond and making his es
cape to Canada, later going to Eu
rope.
General Villa, the Mexican leader,
has declared that he will not only
sanction Johnson's fighting in Mex
ico but that he will make every effort
to be in Juarez to witness the con
test. He has given Johnson a guar
antee that ne will not be molested
•by the Carranza forces nor any other.
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