VOLUME IS VALDEZ, ALASKA, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1915 NUMB1
GENERAL DIAZ
STARTS UPRISING
Itoported to Have Organized Band of
Indians and Is Receiving Mu
nitions from Vancouver.
EL PASO, Nov. 29.—Felix Diaz,
the Mexican rebel general who fled
from Mexico to escape execution at
the hands of General Huerta, after
the murder of President Madero, is
plotting another revolution against
President Carranza.
General Diaz is reported to have
mobilized 8000 Oaxacan Indians and
will begin his march upon Mexico
City when expected reinforcements
from the north join his command. It
4e said hundreds of Yaquis are desert
ing General Villa and are joining Fe
lix Diaz’s army.
L It is reported from Mexico City
^Y^at Diaz agents in the United States
1 have purchased a ship at Vancouver,
B. C., and have sent her south load
ed with munitions and provisions for
the new revolutionary army. The
American government will be asked
to intercept the vessel and prevent
the landing of the munitions on the
Gulf of California.
Mexican federal officials in Mexico
City assert that the revolution is be
tng financed by the Catholic party,
who are receiving support from the
Catholics in the United States, owing
to President Carranza having forced
the priests from Central Mexico, be
lieving that they were giving, support
to the rebels while he was provision
al president of the republic.
MRS. LEWIS WILL
ADDRESS VALDEZ PEOPLE.
Mrs. Lena Morrow Lewis, the So
cialist worker, who has been to the
westward where she addressed big
audiences in Seward and Anchorage,
will arrive on the Alameda and will
remain in Valdes until the next boat
from the westward. Local Socialists
have arranged for her to deliver sev
eral talks to Valdez audiences and as
she is a forceful and fluent speaker
she is assured of crowded houses.
Mrs. Lewis is well known in Valdez,
having been here on a tour before
the last territorial election. She was
formerly editor of the Juneau Sun
day Post but resigned in order to take
up the field work.
DISTRICT COURT RULES THAT MUNICIPALITY
HAS NO JURISDICTION OVER WATERFRONT
In the district court this morning
Judge Fred M. Brown handed down
his decisions in the Valdez Dock com
pany’s case as well as the appeal
cases from the decisions of the board
of equalization of the Valdez City
council.
The Valdez Dock company's case
was an appeal from the city magis
trate’s court in which the company
was fined $50 for violation of Ordi
nance No. 90. The findings of the
court reverses the ruling of the city
magistrate and holds that the muni
cipal authorities have no jurisdiction
beyond the corporate limits of the
city.
The decision is very lengthy and
goes exhaustively into the questions
of the right of incorporated cities in
Alaska controlling waterfront prop
erty and ruled that the ordinance
was of no effect as it was not sus
tained by law. Counsel for the de
fense had contended that the muni
cipal authorities had no jurisdiction
over the waterfront unless such au
thority had been expressly granted
by the territorial legislature or by
congress. The decision also disposes
of the tax assessments against the
STEAMER TYONIC IS
IN SHIP CREEK.
Passengers on tne Admiral Parra
gut state that the steamer Tyonic,
formerly operated on Cook Inlet by
the Alaska Commercial company, but
now owned by the Herbert Coal com
pany, of Seldovia, is frozen in at An
chorage where she went to deliver 85
tons of coal. The vessel is well up
Ship Creek and can be protected from
the ice in the spring.
(XJRDOVA CHAMBER OF
. COMMERCE ELECTS OFFICERS
CORDOVA: At a meeting of the
Chamber of Commerce held last week
the following officers were re-elected
for the ensuing six months.
President, George C. Hazelet; vice
president, Dr. W. H. Chase; treasur
er, H. C. Feldman; executive commit
tee, M. Brock, A. J. Adams, Caleb
Corser, H. A. Slater, A. E. Lathrop,
H. C. Feldman and Dr. W. H. Chase.
The secretary is elected by the board
of directors.—Cordova Times.
COMMANDER OF TURKISH
SUBMARINE SPARES LINER
AMERICAN WOMAN TELLS OF COWARDICE SHOWN BY PASSEN
GERS AND CREW OF BRITISH SHIP BARULOS WHEN SUBMARINE
APPEARS OFF CRETE—SAILORS CUT ROPES AND DROPPED
LIFE BOATS INTO SEA—MOTHERS THROW CHILDREN FROM
STEAMER HOPING SAILORS WOULD RESCUE THEM—CREW OF
SUBMARINE ASSIST IN SAVING LIVES OF DROWNING PASSEN
GERS—MISSIONARY ONLY CALM WOMAN ABOARD.
•
NEW YORK, Nov. 29.:—Eleanor
Egan, an American misisonary who
has been in Turkey, arrived on a Med
iterranean liner yesterday and brings
news of the capture and release of the
British steamer Barulos by a Turkish
submarine.
Miss Egan was a passenger on the
Barulos when the steamer was fired
upon while off the island of Crete in
the eastern Mediterranean sea, by a
Turkish submarine. She says the ap
pearance of the submarine caused
the passengers and crew of the steam
er to become panic stricken and re
sulting in the death of fourteen chil
dren, seven women and four men.
fyhen the submarine fired upon
the Barulos to cause her to stop the
sailors of the vessel cut the lines to
the Ufa boats and jumped into the
sea after them. Frantic mothers, be
lieving they would be left to perish
«n the steamer, threw their children
into the sea in the hopes that they
would be saved by the lifeboats.
Miss Egan states that when the
steamship had com>e to a stop that
the commander of the submarine ran
his vessel close to the liner and shout
ed, “We are not murderers, do not
leave the vessel.” She also states
that the crew of the submarine res
cued many of the passengers of the
Barulos who were struggling in the
water and would have perished as the
boats of the steamer had capslzecf
when they dropped into the sea after
the sailors had cut the ropes.
The'Turkish commander of the un
dersea craft stated that he merely
wished to ascertain the identity of the
vessel and to learn if she was carry
ing troops. After aiding the officers
of the Barulos in recovering their
lifeboats and transferring the pas
sengers they had rescued back to the
liner, the vessel was allowed to pro
ceed.
Dr. E. F. German, the dentist, re
turned to Valdez on the Admiral Far
ragut, and has resumed his practice
at his old stand over the Owl Drug
store. He has been in Anchorage for
the past several months but prefers
to spend the winter in Valdez.
Capt. Wm. Callaghan who has been
overhauling his launch, the Viking,
at Shoup Bay, has completed the job
and brought her to Valdez yesterday.
DECISION OF THE CITY MAGISTRATE AGAINST THE VALDEZ
DOCK COMPANY SET ASIDE AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTIES
OUTSIDE CORPORATE LIMITS NULLIFIED — ASSESSMENT ON
APPROACH TO DOCK IN CORPORATE LIMITS STANDS— DIS
CRIMINATION AGAINST STOCKHOLDERS OF FIRST BANK OF
VALDEZ CONDEMNED—ASSESSMENT AGAINST VALDEZ BANK &
TRUST COMPANY REDUCED ONE-HALF.
lumber, coal and hay of the company
on the dock.
In the tax appeal cases in the cor
porate limits the court in most cases
sustained the board of equalization,
but declared that he was opposed to
property being assessed beyond its
value.
The appeal case of J. M. Lathrop
vs. Town of Valdez against the as
sessment of the building occupied by
the Prospector office was decided in
favor of plaintiff. The city assessor
had put a value of $1500 on the
property which the court reduced to
$500 as two-thirds of the property is
outside the city limits.
The assessment against the Geo.
C. Treat property on Alaska avenue
was allowed to stand although the
Court believed It was too high, but
not exorbitantly so.
In the case of Thos. Donohoe vs.
Town of Valdez, appealing from the
assessment against his office building
md law library the court reduced the
amount from $2000 to $1000. The
assessment against Mr. Donohe’s real
estate on Court street was allowed to
stand.
The assessment of $2000 against
the approach to the dock which is in
side the corporate limits was sustain
ed.
FIVE ESCAPED
FROM THE WRECK
I Survivors Picked Up on die Coast of
I Vancouver Island from the
|
Chilian Ship Carul Mapu.
VICTORIA, B. C., Nov. 29.—The
captain, one passenger and three
members of the crew of the Chilian
ship Carel Mapu, which was driven
on the rocks off the coast of Vancou
ver Island, were rescued by the life
saving crew sent to the ship’s assis
tance.
Soon after the vessel struck she
j went to pieces and the, survivors
drifted to shore clinging to wreckage.
The bodies of many of the crew and
passengers have been picked up along
the beach. The survivors had nearly
perished before assistance reached
them and all are in the hospital here.
The captain states that the wreck
was caused by the vessel becoming
unmanageable through defective
steering gear.
Vessel will Be Repaired and Re flitted
by Seattle Construction A
Drydock Company.
SEATTLE, Nov. 29.—The Seattle
Construction & Drydock company
has secured the contract for repairing
the steamer Mariposa of the Alaska
Steamship company’s fleet, at ,a cost
of one hundred thousands dollars. It
is stated that when the steamer
leaves the drydock her hull will be
practically new.
It is not expected that the Mari
posa will be ready for service before
early next spring as every portion of
the vessel will be thoroughly over
hauled and refurnished.
The steamer Victoria, it is stated,
will take the run of the Mariposa to
Southwestern Alaska while the Kan
sas City is being overhauled. The
Kansas City will be rechristened the
Alaska and will be finest vessel on
the northern run.
j/i 1 m '
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Stanton will
leave on the Alameda for the States
wher4 they will spend the balance of
the Winter before returning to Val
des te' occupy their new home on
Keystone avenue.
PARACHUTE DROPS
NEARLY TWO MILES
British Officer Solves Device Which
Will Render Aviation I^ess
Dangerous to Airmen.
LONDON, Nov. 29.—Col. Maitland
has perfected a parachute which will
enable aviators to effect a safe land
ing should their machines become
unmanageable while at any-altitude.
The device was tested before army
officers Saturday afternoon when Co'
Maitland dropped ten thousand feet
fr ■ an aeroplane, and landed safe'
The parachute worked perfectly the
operator being fifteen minutes inalc
i)n the descent.
The parachutes are light and pj
uit of each passenger on aeroplar. s
being equipped with the devices and
will be of inestimable value in saving
the live'- of army aviators whose ma
chinee are brought down by the fire
of the enemy’s guns or from imper
fect motors.
CANADA SEIZES
HIGH GRADE WHEAT
All Grain in Elevators East of Lake
Superior will Be Sent to
Italy to Food Base.
—
OTTAWA, Nov. 29.—The Domin
ion government has seized all high
grade wheat in the elevators from
Prince William, on Lake Superior, to
the Atlantic coast. It is estimated
that more than twenty million bush
els of wheat is in the elevators, much
of which belongs to American ship
pers.
It is officially announced that most
oT the wheat will be sent to Italy,
where a serious shortage of food is
reported and where a food base will
be established for the Allies armies
in the east. The government, it is
stated, will pay the present market
price for the wheat.
The Dominion government has es
timated that there are still one hun
dred and fifty million bushels of sur
plus wheat In the grain elevators of
western Canada.
«
The laudch Elvira, Capt. Otto Elf
strom. arrived in Valdez yesterday
after having made the trip to Naked
Islands with supplies for Fred Lilll
gren’s fox ranch.
Jn the appeal case from the assess
ment of personal property, in which
! Meyer Blum, E. B. Wheat and John
i
T.yons were assessed for shares in the
First Bank of Valdez, the appeal was
sustained. The Court criticised the
assessor for listing these stocks
while no great effort had apparently
been made to assess other stocks, al
though it was well known that other
stocks of considerable value had not
been listed^
'the Valdez Bank & Trust com
pany’s appeal from the assessment of
$25,000 was sustained and the as
sessment reduced to $12,500. The
assessor had lumped the real estate
and capital stock of the bank at $25,
000 but the court ruled that the cap
ital stock was worthless as the bank
had suspended.
The case of the First Bank of Val
dez vs. Town of Valdez is before the
court this afternoon. The plaintiff
appeals from the fixtures of the bank
being assessed separate from the cap
ital stock of the bank on the grounds
that they are part flf the capital
stock and therefore being subjected
to double taxation.
FIVE MURDERED BY
INSANE FARM HAND.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J., Nov. 29
—Samuel Weithman, a prominent
farmer living near this city, his wife,
daughter, son-in-law and a farm
hand were brutally murdered in their
beds late Saturday night by another
farmhand. The murders are report
ed to have been the most cold-blood
ed killings in the history of this
state, the bodies being literally hack
ed to pieces.
The murderer has been captured,
and is believed to be Insane, as he
had been recently liberated from an
asylum, as cured.
55 Below at Nulato.
The weather bureau reports 5 E be
low at Nulato, and 55 at Birches.
The coldest weather on the Richard
son trail is 36 below, at McCarthy.
The coldest weather Valdez has ex
perienced so far was 2 below, on
Thanksgiving morning. Most of the
time the thermometer has stood a
little below freezing.
EVIDENCE LACKIf
AGAINST DO)
Reported that German Gover
Will Ask Secretary Lansing
Apologize for His Charges
WASHINGTON, D. C.. Nov
It is reported in diplomatic <
that Ambassador Bernstorff, G*
representative to the United S
is preparing to ask Secretary La
of the State department, to ri
the statement of the federal [
cutor that Captain Boy-Ed, nav;
tache, had been involved in the
spiracy to assist German war
while engaged in raiding the
merce of the Allies.
During the trial of the Haml
American Steamship company
cials in New York, charged with
ing secured clearance papers for
seis by making false affidavits,
government prosecutor told the
he was prepared to prove that '
[tain Boy-Ed had distributed $2,0
000 of German money in organi
conspiracies.
me American newspapers i
[closely identilied the German ofl
with all reports concerning the <
spiracies and it is believed that .■
ibassador Bernstorff will probably
mand an apology from the govt
ment of the United States as the i
resentative of the department of J
tice has been unable to produce t
dence to substantiate the charge.
Secretary Lansing has frankly
mitted that he is puzzled to und
stand why the prosecutor mention
Captain Boy-Ed's name in connecti
with the conspiracies if the evider
against is was insufficient to pro
the charge.
Ambassador Bernstorff is report
to have laid the entire matter befo
the German government and h
been instructed to take diploma!
steps to clear the German officer
the charge of violating Americt
neutrality and if the charges are n<
substantiated to demand an offici.
explanation.
The committee of the Congregi
tional church who are arranging fc
the “Get Together" picnic dinner tc
morrow evening in the church hav
announced that some good speaker
have promised to address the crowd
BERLIN REPORTS THAT KING
PETER’S COUNTRY CONQUERED
ONE-THIRD OF SERBIAN ARMY HAS BEEN CAPTURED BY TEUTON
IC ALLIES AND BALANCE OF KING PETER'S FORCE SCAT
TERED IN OTHER COUNTRIES—SERBIAN CAPITAL IS LOCAT
ED IN MONTENEGRO—LONDON BELIEVES TEUTON8 CANNOT
HOLD SERBIA IN SUBJECTION WHEN BULGARIAN INVASION
BEGINS FROM NORTH AND SOUTH—GREEK MINISTER IS BE
LIEVED TO BE TEMPORIZING FOR TIMF—SLAVS IN BULGARIA
BERLIN, Nov. 29.—The reoccupa
tion of the Serbian city of Rudnlk,
from which the Teutonic troops with
drew while awaiting reinforcements,
has completed the conquest of Serbia.
Three thousand Serbian' troops were
made prisoner when Rudnlk was re
captured. It is announced that more
than one third of the Serbian army
have been taken prisoners and that
the balance have fallen during the
fighting or fled to Rumania, Monte
negro or Greece. The Serbian capi
tal has again been removed from the
borders of the country and has been
established at Cettinje, Montenegro.
The railroads and factories have
been seised by the Teutonic troops
and many of the Serbian munition
factories are now turning out muni
tions for the Turkish armies. It is
stated that enormous stores of ma
terials for the manufacture of mu
nitions were found by the Germans
in the Serbian forts.
0 m ii
Russians Threatening Bulgaria.
LONDON, Nov. 29.—British mili
tary authorities believe the Teutonic
allies will be forced to leave Serbia
In order to repel the threatened in
vasion of northern Bulgaria by the
Russian army which has been mobil
ized at the Black sea ports. Gen.
Kuropatkln is reported to have ef
fected a landing from the Danube
river and on the Black Sea coast
near Varna.
Greek Ministry Dilatory.
LONDON. Nov. 29.—A new com
plication has manifested itself in the
diplomatic relations between Greece
and the Allies whereby Greece is to
permit free use of Macedonia by the
Allies in their campaign against Bul
garia from the Mediterranean The
Greek ministry has refused to sign
the agreement until military experts
of Greece can discuss the plans of
the Allies to prevent Greece from be
ing Invaded by the Bulgarian and
Teutonic troops. The situation is re
garded as serious as it is believed
Greece is temporising for time to per
mit of the Teutons organising forces
to come to feer assistance should the
Allies declare war upon her. It la
reported tha( Lord Kitchener will re
turn to Sa^piki from Rome where
he conferredwith the Italian minis
try—