L. VALDEZ, ALASKA, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1915. NO. 39.
VOL. 18. ,
SEARCHING TITLE
OF SEWARD ROAD
Believed Action Is Forerunner of Ac
tion for Cancellation of Ti
tles To Lands.
WASHINGTON. Feb. 16.—George
Rubbles, who was appointed counsel
for the Alaska Engineering commis
sion, is here making a thorough ex
amination of the titles of the Alaska
Northern Railroad company, whose
line extends from Seward to TUrn
again Arm over a portion of a route
under consideration by the commis
sion.
The examination will cover the
right of title of the company’s right
of way, terminals, docks, junction
points, townsites and all lands claim
ed by the Alaska Northern railroad
company.
The railroad company has been
granted several parcels of land by
'he government for railroad purposes
but failure of the company to use the
land for the purposes for which they
were granted, it is believed, will be
taken advantage of by the government
, aj,o cancel the titles to the lands
which the company claims is vested
in it.
BEER AND PORK
GO UP IN GERMANY
Cost of Labor Presses Brewers—
Price of Hogs Nearly Doubled
.
Since War Began.
BERLIN, Feb. 16.—The sale of
bread under the new regulations con
tinues normal, no measures having
been adopted as yet to enforce the
ruling limiting purchases to two kilo
grams (about 4% pounds) a week for
each person. The magistrates are
still considering what procedure will
be followed. Meanwhile there was no
rush to buy and the volunteer su
pervisors installed by the trades un
ions, to regulate traffic and keep the
expected crowds in order, find little
'occupation.
Swine were selling today at 95 to
100 marks ($24 to $25) for fifty kilo
grams, contrasted with 57 marks at
the outbreak of the war. The price
is expected to show a further rise
despite the number ready for slaugh
ter, now that feed has been cut off.
An increase in the price of beer
is also looked for. The National
Brewers Association has adopted a
resolution to the efTect that this is
unavoidable owing to the high cost
of labor and all the constituents of
beer except hops.
MRS. DR. CHASE
SEVERELY BITTEN
The many Valdez friends of Mrs.
Dr. Chase, of Cordova, will regret tc
learn that she is suffering from
wounds in the face inflicted by hel
dog “Dodo.” She was playing with
the animal when he suddenly attack
ed her. biting her through the cheek
and tearing her lip so that several,
stitches were necessary to close the
wound. The dog also knocked out
two of her teeth and otherwise bruis
ed her face. The animal had always
been extremely friendly and no cause
can be assigned for his sudden attack
^ltpon his mistress.
♦ ___
Weather Report.
Valdez, Feb. 15, 1915.
Barometric pressure .29,500
Temperature at 7 p. m. 14
Maximum temperature.35
Minimum temperature . 13
Mean temperature . 24
Partly cloudy. Fresh gale 45 miles
northeast.
GERMANY WILL SOW CHANNEL WITH MINES
BERLIN, Feb. 16—All the daily
newspapers here print leading editor
ials in which the German government
is urged not to recede from its posi
tion that England must rescind the
blockade against the importation of
foodstuffs to Germany as a means of
securing immunity for shipping in the
waters of the English channel.
Believe England Will Sink Ships.
The editors express the belief that
the British government will cause the
destruction of a few neutral vessels
for which German submarines will re
ceive the blame, in order to create an
ill feeling among the neutral nations
against Germany.
Will Mine Channel.
The German government has an
nounced that unless England rescinds
the foodstuffs blockade order before
February 18 that the admiralty will
proceed to carry out the decree ex
tending the military zone and that
the waters surrounding the British
Isles and the English channel will be
sown with mines.
German Victory At Mazur Lakes.
BERLIN. Feb. 16.—General Hinden
burg has scored another triumph ov
er the Russian forces which Invaded
the Mazur lake district, East Prussia,
and is reported to have captured 40,
000 Russians before they were able
to re*reat to the border.
Winning In Carpathians.
The Austro-German forces fighting
the Russians for possession of passes
in ihe Carpathians are reported to
have driven the Russians from their
positions. The Russians were forced
to abandon their fortifications and
TER BILLIONS
FOR THE WAR
Lloyd George Tells House of Lords
Great Britain Will Require
That Amount.
LONDON, Feb. 16.—Lloyd George,
Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the
House of Lords today declared that
Great Britain must be prepared to
spend $10,000,000,000 during the pres
ent year to carry on the war in
which she is now engaged with Ger
many, Austria and Turkey.
; It 's believed that the chancellor in
furnishing his estimates of the cost
of the war to the House, included
the money which it is believed will
be necessary to finance the nations
allied with Great Britain. Russia is
known to be short of money to finan
ce the tremendous campaign in which
she is involved and must of necessity
be furnished with both money and mu
nitions of war to carry the war to a
successful issue.
France is also in an embarrassing
position financially and will require
■to place loans which the British gov
ernment must see are not allowed to
go begging.
The chancellor expressed the opin
ion that Great Britain would exper
ience no great difficulty in raising the
enormous sum which would be re
quired to carry the war to a success
ful issue even if Lord Kitchener prov
ed correct in his estimate of a long
drawn out war.
NO FULL MOON IN
FEBRUARY 1915
The present month, February, 1915,
will go down in history as being the
first full month since 1864 in which
there was no full moon. On January
30th occurred a full moon, last quar
ter on February 7, new moon on Feb
ruary 13 and first quarter on February
21. On March 1 the moon will again
have reached the happy state. Febru
ary is the only full month in which
it is possible for a “full-moonless"
month to occur.
PEOPLE DEMANDING THAT GOVERNMENT MAINTAN POSITION UN
LESS ENGLAND RESCINDS ORDER BLOCKADING FOODSTUFFS
TO GERMANY—HINDENBURG REPORTED TO HAVE CAPTURED
FORTY THOUSAND RUSSIANS IN NORTHERN EAST PRUSSIA
GERMANS ON OFFENSIVE ALONG WESTERN BATTLE LINE—
AUSTRIANS REPORT LAST OF RUSSIANS DRIVEN FROM PRO
VINCE OF BUKOWINA.
are hampered by the heavy snows In
the mountains.
Bukowina Clear of Invaders.
Advic s from Vienna state tha* the
Astrian army has driven the Russians
from their last position in the prov
ince of Bukowina by the recapture of
the city of Nadworna, an important
railroad center.
German Offensive In West.
LONDON, Feb. 16.—The Germans
have started an offensive movement
along the western battle line through
northwestern France and Belgium.
Many important engagements are re
ported to have taken place along the
line with several changes in the po
sitions of the forces. The Germans
have retaken *he positions lost dur
ing the past month.
Germans Gain At Ypres.
The most important change occur
red near Ypres where the German ar
tillery subjected the French trenches
to terrific fire compelling the French
troops to evacuate a half mile of
trenches. The retiring force moved
back and the trenches were immedi
ately occupied by Germans.
British Repulsed At LaBassee.
The German offensive against the
British at LaBassee resulted in their
recovering the trenches lost to the
British during the charge last Sun
day. The fighting is reported to have
been of the most desperate nature as
the British attempted to hold the
trenches against superior numbers at
the point of the bayonet.
French Hit Hard At St. Mihiel.
Reports from Paris state that the
Germans have struck a terrific blow
against the French positions near St.
■Mihiel and have forced the Fench
from the protection of their wire for
tifications. The German advance in
the St. Mihiel district is considered
serious and reinforcements are being
sent to recapture the positions.
FIGHT SMS IN HOUSE OVER THE
COMPROMISE SHIP PURCHASING HILL
* ___________
DEBATE HAS BEEN LIMITED TO SIX HOURS TO PREVENT DEAD
LOCK—SENATE INVESTIGATING REPORT THAT SECRETARY Mc
ADOO IS FINANCIALLY INTERESTED IN, PASSAGE OF BILL.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.—The fight
■on the compromise Ship Purchasing
bill has started in the House, but an
agreement has been reached where
by the members participating in the
debate will be limited to six hours
and thereby avoid a deadlock such
as occurred in the Senate and result
ed in the defeat of the original meas
ure.
The Republican members of the
Senate who were instrumental in pre
venting the Ship Purchasing meas
ure from coming to vote in the up
per House, and which action caused
the compromise measure to be origi
nated, have announced that they will
continue their opposition to the bill
in any form. The Senate today ap
poin*ed a committee to investigate
the charges that Secretary McAdoo
and other supporters of the measure
were financially interested in the
passage of the bill.
The Democratic caucus held at the
White House last night was well at
tended by members of the party and
all pledged themselves to support the
Compromise measure. Many Demo
crats who had (been indifferent in
their support of the original measure,
fearing the government ownership fea
ture of the bill, have offered to exert
their utmost efforts in securing the
passage of the compromise measure
whereby the government relinquishes
the ships to the Navy Department
within two years after the close of
the European war.
The adherents of the measure are
hopeful of having the measure pass
.both houses during the present ses
sion as an emergency measure and
avoid President Wilson's avowed in
tention of calling an extra session if
the measure is hot passed before
March 4, when the present session of
congress "loses,
TOY BALLOONS
Relieved Citizens Are Laughing At
Scare But Appreciate Action
of Authorities.
OTTAWA, Feb. 16.—Investigation
of the report that hostile aeroplanes
were approching the city with the
intention of dropping bombs on the
capital buildings, causing the city to
be plunged into darkness, has disclos
ed the fact that the supposed aero
planes were toy balloons sent up by
a party of merrymakers at Morrison,
N. Y.
The whole city is laughing at its
scare, but appreciates the prepared
ness of the authorities in meeting any
emergency as Indicated by the prompt
manner in which the lights were shut
off and the guns for driving away
hostile aviators were manned,
PLOODS ADD 10
ITALIAN MISERY
Earthquake Shocks Still Continue and
Floods Hamper Work of Relief
To Stricken.
ROME, Feb. 16—The Tiber river
continues *o rise and has flooded
many sections of the country which
were devastated by the recent earth
quake which resulted in the deaths
of thousands of persons. Reports
have reached this city that scores
of persons have been swept away by
the floods.
Violent earthquake shocks continue
dally and add to the sufferings of the
stricken people. The high water has
hampered the soldiers and relief par
ties in their work of caring for the
injured and destl'ute people of the
earthquake zone.
Rome Protests Against Blockade.
ROME, Feb. 16.—The decree issued
by the German admiralty extending
the military zone so as to Include the
waters surrounding the British Isles
and the English Channel has been
protested against by the Italian gov
ernment It Is declared that the ac
tion of the German admiralty will re
sult in the destruction of many ships
and lives of neutral nations which
will serve to draw other nations in
to the conflict.
Has Stirred Italians Again.
The German admiralty’s decree has
.again stirred the war spirit in Italy
to fever heat, which the employment
of the soldiers in affording relief in
the earthquake stricken zones bad
served to allay for the time.
SAYS END OF WORLD
IS COMING PRONTO
Juneau has a preacher, Rev. Fred
erick H. Brown, who believes that the
war in Europe is the beginning of the
end of the world, and that the sec
ond coming of Christ, the time when
it was prophesied that “peace would
be taken from the earth,” is near at
hand. He believes that the "great
tribulation” referred to in the Bible
has commenced with the great wars
now going on in Europe. He expects
the war will spread until all the na
tions of the earth are involved in the
struggle.
Senator-elect O. P. Hubbard, Mrs.
Hubbard and their daughter Della are
passengers on the Mariposa for Ju
neau.
SIMPLIFY CHANGE
OF CONSTITUTION
Adoption of Any Proposed Change By
Two-thirds of States Would
Ratify Measure.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.—Repre
sentative James W. Bryan, of Wash
ington, has introduced a resolut'on in
the House which, if passed, will rev
olutionize the prevailing methods of
securing changes of the constitution
of the United States.
The western member’s resolution
provides that when a majority of con
gress favor a proposed amendment
to the constitution and the question
is submitted to the different states
for ratification that the adoption of
the measure by two-thirds of Ue
states only will be required.
Joe Dieringer is among the passen
gers on the Mariposa en route to Ju
neau.
Mrs. W. W. Harvey, who has been
engaged in business in Valdez for sev
eral years, has disposed of her stock
and Is a passenger on the Mariposa
en route to California, where she will
visit her family before returning to
Alaska to join Mr. Harvey, who is
now in business in McCarthy and
Chisana.
Mil
FROMJfESTWARD
The steamer Mariposa returned
from Seward at 3:30 o’clock this af
ternoon and will sail again for Seat
tle after a short stay. She will car
ry a number of passengers from Val
dez, among the number being sev
eral legislators going to Juneau to at
tend the session of the territorial leg
islature. The list of outgoing passen
gers follows: F. F. Porter, Seattle;
B. P. Gustad, E. B. Collins, Mr. O. P.
Hubbard, Mrs. Hubbard, Della Hub
bard, Joseph C. Dieringer, Juneau;
D. F. Phillips, B. V. Stockwell, J. G.
Moulton, C. M. Frazier, Cordova;
Mrs. W. W. Harvey, C. E. Nichols,
Mrs. Nichols, Seattle.
IS nil HARD BLOW
Federal Court Orders Company To
Abandon All Water Power
Sites In the State.
SALT LAKE, Utah, Feb. 16.—The
case of the Utah Power & Light Co.,
a $15,000,000 corporation, versus the
United States, which was tried here
before a federal judge, has been de
cided against the company. The de
cree orders the corporation to imme
diately abandon all its water power
and mill sites in the state, which,
♦ he government declares, are on gov
ernment land illegally.
The case has been before the
courts for more than three years,
having been appealed from the lower
courts. The order of the court will
be far-reaching in its results as the
Utah Power & Light Co. occupies
many of the finest water power sites
in the state and furnishes light and
power to a number of cities and
tqwns.
BELGIUM ARE BAD
Estimated That $6,000,000 Monthly
Will Be Required To Prevent
People Starving.
NEW YORK, Feb. 16.—The com
mittee of the Rockefeller Foundation
which is active in raising funds for
the Belgian Relief committee, has es
timated that $6,000,000 will be requir
ed monthly until spring to keep the
stricken people of Belgium from
starving.
Agents of the Foundation who have
recently returned from Belgium state
that the operations of the American
Relief Commission, which is in charge
of the distribution of the foodstuffs to
the Belgians, has not been able aa
yet to reach all the outlying dis
tricts of Belgium and that many have
starved to death. Wherever the work
of relief has gone thousands of lives
have been saved and untold misery
lifted from the destitute women and
children.
The Germans are reported to bs
scrupulously refraining from hamper
ing the distribution of foods or par
ticipation in any of its benefits. In
•cases where German soldiers are
quartered with Belgian families who
participate in the relief prompt pay
ment for the food is forwarded to
the American agents of the commit
tee. Two free meals are given away
each day to the women and children
where the committee is operating.
WANT BIG SMOKE
TO SERVESENTENCE
CHICAGO, Feb. 16.—The district at
torney has announced that Jack John
son, the colored hampion boxer of
the world, will be extradited from
Mexico if he visits that country to
fight Willard and will be brought back
to the United States to serve his sen
tence for white slavery.
Federal Court Notes.
In the federal court this forenoon
Maggie Berg was given a divorce from
Oscar Berg, and Irene J. Larsen was
given a divorce from Theodore Lar
sen.
Orpheum Pictures.
Tonight’s program:
"The Winner,” a great race feature
with Fritzie Brunette, Glen White
and the world ramous jockey Harry
Stafford.
“The Black Sea,” Russian war life.
“Valentine Day,” a scream comedy.