VOL 13. VALDEZ, ALASKA, THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1915. NO. 104.
BRITISH CRUISERS
WATCH NEW YORK
Three of the Largest Ships of Eng
land’s Navy Now Seen Daily
Off Gotham’s Harbor.
NEW YORK, April 22—Masters of
incoming steamers report that the
British guard ships at the entrance
to the harbor have been changed and
three of the fastest ships of the Brit
ish navy now watch each boat that
comes into or goes out of the harbor.
By night the ships are held under the
glare of the big searchlights until the
British commanders are convinced of
the nationality of the steamer.
Just why the fast cruisers have
been substituted is not known, but it
is thought that the British admiralty
fear that the fas German merchant
vessels now in this harbor may make
an effort to put to sea and menace
the commerce of the Allies.
GERMAN CONSULS
GEI IRE AXE
One Wanted American Soldiers To
Desert, the Other Wanted Evi
dence Neutrality Violations.
WASHINGTON, April 22—Baron
von Loehneysen, former German con
sul at Seattle, Wash., Is no longer
connected with the German diplomat
ic service, the announcement having
been made by the German ambassa
dor, who apologized to the State De
partment for the misconduct last
February of the consul, who had tried
to persuade soldiers of the American
army stationed at Fort Worden, to
desert and join the German army.
The American State Department
called the attention of the German
government to the fact that von Loeh
neysen had attempted to induce the
troopers to desert, and they forward
ed evidence of the fact which con
vinced the kaiser’s government which
in turn directed its ambassador here
to make amends and to notify Sec
retary Bryan that von Loehneysen
was no longer connected with the
German diplomatic service, having
been dismissed for his indiscretion.
Vice Consul Mueller, who took over
the Seattle office on February 9th,
Is also to be removed because of his
efforts to secure evidence that the
Seattle Drydock and Construction Co.
was sending to Vancouver submarines
in sections, which is in violation of
the international neutrality laws, the
conspiracy charge against him having
been proven to the satisfaction of
both the American and German gov
ernments.
Mueller tried to induce a clerk in
the Seattle shipbuilders employ to
steal the records and give them to
him, for which he was to receive a
sum of money. The plan miscarried
and Mueller was exposed and arrest
ed, but the case was later dropped,
while the State Department requested
the German government to investi
gate and act upon the findings made.
The result is today’s announcement
that both consuls have been dismiss
ed.
AVIATOR KILLS
GERMAN BABIES
** * BERLIN, April 22.—A Russian avi
ator dropped bombs upon the German
city of Instersburg, in Prussia, and
killed one woman and four small chil
dren, who could not escape the bombs.
German air scouts endeavored to
bring down the invader, but falldd,
and the aeroplane reached the Rus
sian lines in safety.
BERLIN AGAIN REPORTS MORE VICTORIES
BERLIN, April 22.—The war office
announces that the military opera
tions of the Germans in the La Petre
district, where the French have been
holding the strongly entrenched po
sitions, have been very successful and
the German line has been advanced
several miles, capturing a number of
prisoners, occupying the enemies
trenches and also taking some mili
tary supplies. The fighting has been
in the heavy wooded district and
many French wounded have been
found hiding in the woods.
Heavy Fighting Near St. Mihiel.
All about St. Mihiel the fighting
the past two days has been desper
ate. The efforts of the French to
drive out the German wedge which
has held a position at St. Mihiel since
last September has been in vain.
They have made attack after attack
on the German line only to be beaten
back with heavy losses in killed,
wounded and prisoners. The Germans
have cement-lined trenches, well con
cealed guns and hold the commanding
positions which block the French ad
vance. Gen. Joffre has lost 60,000
men since last September in the ef
fort to dislodge the Germans from
the heights which block his way to
Metz and an invasion of Germany,
although he is admitted to have a
superior force at his disposal, while
the German commander has only a
thin line to block him.
French Licked In Alsace, Say Ger
man*.
The war office also publishes a
statement to the effect that the
French have suffered a repulse in the
attacks and also in the fighting in the
Champagne district, where they at
tempted yesterday to push forward
but were blocked and driven back.
In the Vosges mountains the French
offensive has been weak and was eas
ily disposed of.
GEN VILLA LOST
FULLY 10,000 MEN
His Army Defeated and In Retreat Is
Report From Vera Cru*—Evac
uated Monterey.
VERA CRUZ, April 22.—General
Obregon, commanding the Carranza
troops, is closely pursuing the defeat
ed Villa army which is now near
Traputo.
Gen. Villa’s command lost fully 10,
000 men in the recent engagement
and .-his forces were routed and are
now falling back in disorder. Anoth
er engagement is expected in a day
or two, as the Carranza forces are
endeavoring , to force Villa and his de
feated qrmy to stand and give battle.
The Villa ‘ forces have evacuated
Monterey and have abandoned ail
hope of taking Tampico.
Mary Pickford “In the Bishop’s Car
riage” at the Orpheum tonight. Ad
mission 25c.
EXPECT TO RAISE
WTOMORROW
HONOLULU, April 22.—A fourth
cable has been attached to the sunk
en submarine F-4, which lies at the
bottom of the ocean off the mouth
of this harbor. The engineers In
charge of the work of salvage expect
to hoist the sunken craft from the
ocean bottom to the surface some
time tomorrow. The strain placed on
the cable Indicated that they were
all fast and that the work of raising
can be started as soon as the big
lighters are in place. The Navy De
partment have enough coffins ready
to receive the bodies of the men who
went to their doom when the sub
marine dove to the bottom and fail
ed to come to the top again.
KAISER’S WAR OFFICE ANNOUNCE GAINS IN LA PETRE DISTRICT,
ALSO AT ST. MIHIEL, WHERE FRENCH EFFORTS TO DRIVE
BACK GERMAN WEDGE HAVE AGAIN FAILED—ASSERT FRENCH
LOST 60,000 MEN IN ATTACKS ON GERMAN WEDGE—INSIST THE
FRENCH REPULSED IN CHAMPAGNE DISTRICT AND RUSSIAN
ADVANCE IN CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS—RUS8IANS CLEAR BUK
OWINA—BRITISH SUBMARINE SUNK OFF HELIGOLAND.
Russian Carpathian Advance Stopped.
Military experts here state that as
a result of the fighting in the Car
pathian mountains between the Aus
trian-German troops on one side and
the Russians on the other, that the
czar's forces have been blocked ef
fectively and cannot push through the
mountains into Hungary. The sudden
stiffening of the Austrian forces has
been surprising and the Russians
have been the most surprised of any
at the wonderful recuperative pow
ers of the Hungarian forces.
Russian Defeat Near Tarnow.
The Russians have been defeated
near Tarnow, in western Galicia by
the Austrian forces. The superior ar
tillery work of the Austrian army en
abled the commander to push the Rus
sians back for miles, turning the de
feat into a rout and considerable loot
was taken and many prisoners fell in
to the hands of the Austrians.
Russians Claim Gains In Bukowina.
PETROGRAD, April 22.—The Aus
trian province of Bukowina has been
practically cleared of Austrians and a
civil government for the province will
be established by the czar in a few
days.
Russians Admit Austro-German Of
fensive.
The war office admits that the Aus
tro-German offensive in the Carpath
ians has been surprisingly strong and
that as a result the gains in the pass
es may be lost for a short time.
The most severe attack has been
made on the forces at the entrance
to the Uszok pass. The Austrians
have brought up heavy artillery, plac
ed it on commanding heights and
have shelled the Russian line night
and day. The Germans have sent
ITALY TAKES ALL STEAMERS
BOATS NEEEED AS TRANSPORT
HOPE OF PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF AUSTRIANS TALI AN DEAD
LOCK IS GIVEN UP BY ALL BUT FEW DIPLOMATS—GERMANS
AND AUSTRIANS WARNED BY THEIR GOVERNMENTS TO LEAVE
ITALY AT ONCE—SWISS FEAR INVASION AND MOBOLIZE BIG
FORCE ON BORDER AND HAVE BUILT BORDER FORTS TO STOP
BELLIGERENTS—MOBS PARADE STREETS OF ROME DEMAND
ING WAR DECLARATION.
ROME, April 22—The government
today ordered all trans-Atlantic
steamers now in Italian pdrts to re
main in the harbors until further or
ders. The Italian steamers in port
are being unloaded with all dispatch
and it is taken as indicating that
the government needs the boats for
transports to send troops to Monte
negro and Serbia.
War Seems Certain.
Nobody in the city expects that it
is possible for the differences between
Italy and Austria to be settled peace
fully. The mobs are parading the
streets cheering for the British and
French and urging the government to
start the war going. Strong detach
ments of troops guard the German
and Austrian ambassadors and the
mobs are forbidden to enter the
streets upon which they have their
residences.
Diplomats Still Working for Peace.
; While It is admitted by the diplo
mats of the foreign governments now
in this city that the negotiations be
tween Italy and Austria have reached
a deadlock and that war seems prob
able, yet some of the agents of neu
tral governments hope to avoid the
break and are working constantly to
that end.
German-Austro Subjects Warned.
GENEVA, April 22.—The German
diplomatic representative in Italy
has advised all Austrian and German
residents in Italy to leave the coun
try at once and to abandon all they
possess in an effort to secure safety
in the fatherland. War is certain be
tween the Italians and Austrians.
8wiss Fear Invasion.
The people of Switzerland will be
called upon again to mobilize a large
military force on the Austrian-Italian
border to protect the neutrality of the
country. Constant movements of
troops were made today to the bord
er forts and huge entrenchments have
been erected along the frontier and
barbed-wire entanglements will op
pose any Invasion of the republic by
the opposing countries. Switzerland
will then be surrounded by the bel
ligerent nations—Austria and Ger
many on one side, and France and
Italy on the other. The effort to pro
tect the republic from invasion will
be costly but the people are a unit
and are backing the government in
its efforts to present a large force
against all invaders.
SEWARD FAILS
TO GET CAPITAL
JUNEAU, April 22.—The bill intro
duced by Representative Jack Noon,
of Seward, to have the capital of the
territory moved from this city to his
home town, was killed by a large
vote. The terminal town is not to
have concentrated at that point all
the government operations if the leg
islature can help it.
Civic League Meets Saturday.
The Valdez Civic League will meet
next Saturday at the city hall and
the matter of the building of a play
grounds for the children of Valdez
will be taken up and considered.
The members are all urged to attend.
RAILROADS ASA
BATE REDUCTIONS
WASHINGTON, April 22—Rate re
ductions, instead of the usual Increas
es, were sought today by transcon
tinental railroads before the Inter
state Commerce Commission. They
sought permission to reduce freight
rates on commodities from Chicago
and the middle west to the Pacific
coast to the level of water rates
from the eastern seaboard through
the Panama canal. The railroads
want to m/eet water competition, to
avoid losing immense traffic through
the canal. The proposed reduction
would affect the entire trade between
Chicago and the Pacific coast Btates
and would re-establish a competitive
rate market.
strong reinforcements to the Austri
ans and the fresh troops are deliver
ing constant attacks but are expect
ed to wear themselves out in a short
time.
Germans Sink Submarine.
BERLIN, April 22.—The admiralty
reports that in the battle in Heligo
land bay on April 19th, when the Brit
ish submarines attempted to reach
the German fleet that the British suf
fered the loss of one of their sub
marines and the others were forced
to seek safety in flight.
Turks Ready To Meet Allies’ Army.
ATHENS, Greece, April 22.—The
Turks have mobilized a large force to
meet the land invasion of the Allies
in Turkey with the object of reduc
ing the forts guarding the Darda
nelles. The Turks will make a des
perate fight to protect the forts and
the opposing forces have already met
in several slight engagements. The
fleet of transports taking the British
and French forces to the Gulf of Sa
ros are very active and It is expect
ed that 100,000 men will be landed
within a week and that reniforce
ments will be constantly sent to the
scene as the military operations are
extended.
Hot Fight for Hill No. 60.
LONDON, April 22.—The hottest
fighting in the west today is about
Hill No. 60, in northern France, where
the British are holding the captured
hill against the most desperate at
tacks of the present conflict. The
kaiser’s men seem determined to re
take the hill at any cost and have
sent in assault after assault. The
force holding the hill has also been
subjected to a terrific artillery bom
bardment.
CRUISER FOLLOWS
ADMIRAL LINER
Admiral Farragut Reaches ’Frisco Af
ter Being Followed and Trail
ed By Cruiser.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 22.—The
steamer Admiral Farragut, of the
Admiral Line, reached here this morn
ing and the commander of the ves
sel ha3 reported to the government
that his ship was followed almost in
to the harbor by a fast cruiser, pre
sumably a British boat.
The warship kept a searchlight
playing on the American boat and re
mained some miles away, but did not
attempt to stop the ship, nor would
the commander of the cruiser reply
to the wireless messages sent him
by the captain of the Admiral Far
ragut.
It is not expected that the matter
will be taken up by the State De
partment as no interference with the
American ship has been reported.
HANGING eiLL IS
UP TOJMNOR
JUNEAU, April 22.—The Sulzer bill
to abolish capital punishment in
Alaska is now ready for the signa
ture of Governor Strong. The meas
ure has passed both houses. The vote
yesterday showed representatives
Coombs, Day, Heckman, Driscoll, Mo
ran, Noon, and Collins as opposed to
the repeal of the present statute,
which allows juries to decide upon
punishment with or without hanging.
Seward fails
A vote is now being taken in Sew
ard and Cordova to see if the two
railroad towns are to be "wet” or
“dry” from July, 1915, to July, 1916.
The commissioners of the two towns
have named men to make the canvass
as directed to do by Judge P. M.
Brow of the district court.
PLAN WORK ON
Just As Soon As Government Railroad
Is Built and Supplies Can Be
Taken In Cheaply.
SEATTLE, April 22.—Seattle and
Alaska capitalists, and among the lat
ter are Senator B. F. Millard and
George Baldwin,', have organized a
company to install a large mining
plant on the tipper reaches of the
Susitna river as soon as the govern
ment railroad can transport the big
machinery to the mine.
The company propose working the
ground on the upper Susitna, which
is not workable now because of the
high cost of transportation of sup
plies and machinery, but with the
building of the government railroad
and the cheapening of transportation
the ground could be worked with
considerable profit.
TEDDY ON STAND
FOR FIVE HOURS
Trying To Prove Statements Made By
Him In Last Campaign
Against Barnes.
SYRACUSE, N. Y. April 22.—For
live hours yesterday ex-President.
Theodore Roosevelt was on the stand
in an effort to prove the libelous
statements made by him during the
last campaign against Republican
State Chairman Barnes, of Albany.
Roosevelt went into the history of
political deals which he had had with
Barnes when the two were friendly
and tried to show that the Republi
can leader was a crook.
Roosevelt was In a good humor ail
through the examination and seemed
to enjoy himself telling of the mis
deeds of the Republican party, which
had so signally honored him, and de
nounced the methods which had made
possible his own election to the pres
idency, and which were the same
methods he used to force the nanii
nation of ex-President Taft upon the
Republicans in 1908.
Opinion here is that unless Roose
velt. can bolster up his case consul
erably, he is in for a judgment, as
so far he has failed to prove the state
ments made by him. Attorneys for
Barnes say they will win a verdict.
SYRACUSE, April 22—Ex-President
Roosevelt was placed on the stand
today and given a terrible cross-ex
amination. A hot fight developed be
tween the opposing attorneys as to
the right of Barnes’ attorneys to show
by questions to Roosevelt that he
had made the campaign utterances
because he was inspired with malice
and with no other purpose.
The Valdez Socialist Union have
passed resolutions declaring for the
passing of a law lo make Alaska
“dry.” The resolutions are published
in full in the Alaska Tost, of Ju
neau, the Socialist organ.
INDIANS TO HOLD
A BIGJOW WOW
TACOMA, April 22.—The Indians
of the northwest are to hold a big
pow-wow, or convention, in this city
some time in July. The date has not
yet been decided upon. The redmen
will consult upon best methods to
improve the race now living on res
ervations and lands allotted them by
the government. Several high gov
ernment officials are expected here to
talk to the Indians.
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