VOL. 9. NO. 140.
BALTIMORE HAS
Five Firemen Killed and a Dozen
Injured When Union Abat
toir Burns.
Muilimorc, March -5.—The L li
lt m abattoir was destroyed yes
terday b'y tire and live firemen
killed and twelve injured when
the walls of (he building collap
sed. The loss is placed at half
a million.
The firemen were delayed in
reaching the burbling and it was
completely enveloped in flumes
upon their arrival. A second and
Iliini alarm were immediately
sent in. followed by calls for ex
tra engines, until the department
was ron -enlrated in the burning
district. For a short time it
looked as though the department
would he unable to confine the
blaze to |he Union abattoir, which
covers a complete block, and that
ij would spread to the surround
ing buildings.
The conflagration was in I he
center of Ihe manufncluring dis
trict.
Denies That Alaska Land Office
is at Fault and Asserts No
Basis for the Charge.
Ucgi-d “i- Walker, uf Hie genera1
land idl’iee at J'lin .i.u. lakes e\
ceptimi In I lie article of (ienrge
I-;. Baldwin dealing with the land
ntfiee nl Hie I'nited Stales, and
lias written In llepreseulat ive
Kelly in the mailer as follows:
The issue of. tile Daily Alas
ka Dispatch of the 13th instant
contains a copy of a communi
cation which, il is staled by the
paper, was ‘‘introduced yesterday
in the House liy the representa
tive from Knik." The article pur
ports to have been written and
signed by (ienrge K. Baldwin, of
Valdez, Alaska,, on .November- 1,
1012. It does not appear in the
Dispatch to whom Mr. Baldwin’s
communication was addressed,
nor do 1 know whether it has ev
er been printed before, as 1 nev
er saw it before yesterday. Amirtigr
other and many things of which I
have no personal knowledge, it
rodtains the following state
ments:
“Iii former days opinions eon- I
corning the validity "of applira- |
lions for patent were rendered by
l lie register and receiver of the
local land office, but it is a com
mon practice at present, espec
ially whyre adverse decisions are
In In* rendered, for the opinion
rendered by the local land officers
to ibe written by a special agent
of'the department. The prosecu- j
lor is also Hie judge and (In
jury."
Again:
“Cases are on record where the
opinion of Ihe local land office
and of the general land office
were written by the same special
agent.”
The necessary import of these
statements is nasty in the ex
treme. And the statements are
not true. I can not give you the
exact figures for the reason that
the record is now in the custody
of the receiver, who is serving as
a witness in Chicago, but 1 know
that I am approximately correct
in stating that since | have been
register of this office, but one of ;
tin* five or six cases in which the !
United States has been d. pgr tv i
and presented evidence,.in sop-*1
port of charges preferrod^by it,;
■ (continued on page 3). *■ t*
. V'*7**v« - *’.■ .'Vi''*-'
DEATH LIST GROWS AS RUINS ARE CLEARED
Rain Falls In Torrents and Extinguishes Fires—Looters Shot
Militia Arrives to Protect Property—Death List 140,
Wounded Number 240-Many Missing-Pres
ident Wires Offering Aid.
Omaha, Neb., Match ~’5.—The
tornado which struck this town
day hAfnrc yesterday, swept
}t swath through the city six
blocks wide ami eight miles long,
demolishing 1,200 buildings,
mostly residences, doing damage
to property estimated at $10,
000.000, killing 110, injuring - 10
and leaving the town a scene of
indescribable desolation.
Ruins Afire.
The ruins were alire in a doz
en different places and the de
partment was unable Ip reach any
*f the tires because of the heap
ed up wreckage in the streets.
However, (he torrential rains
which followed the tornado ex
tinguished the lircs. Refugees
were forced Io flee through, (lie
rain to public buildings, which
tiad been thrown open as hospit
als and places of refugi* for the
homeless.
The Convent ol I lie sacred
Heart was razed to the ground,
lull the rills and matrons escap
ed from the '.building before it
collapsed, fleeing for refuge to
other buildings out of the path of
the storm.
Brave Hello Girls.
The girls In the telephone ex
change remained at the switch
boards in order to allow commun
ication as much as possible in
order to render relief to the
stricken district. They were forc
ed to quit when the building was
praelically demolished.
MiliMa in Charge.
Two rdgimeiits* of the National
Stale (iuard are now in charge of
the ruins and have orders to pre-,
vent looting by ghouls, who have
infested the ruined district, rob
bing the dead and injured. Sever
al bodies have been found with
lingers severed, the robbers not
waiting to lake the rings from
the fingers, but cutting off linger
and all. The guards have orders
to shoot to kill any such suspic
ious characters lingering within
the wrecked area. Looting has
prac-tiea!l.\ ceased, as these vul
inies were handled with rough
and reads justice. State troops
.11. now in full control of the sit
uation and are ruling with an
iron hand under martial law.
Scenes Among the Rijins.
As the liremenl -and police
started to clear Hie ruins In re
cover Hie dead and injured the
scenes enacted bdggar descrip
tion.' Men and woifien looking for
'their loved ones, little children
weeping and moaning, some hys
terical and others calm. The
stoutest hearts were shaken at
the temporary morgue, where the
unidentified bodies of the recov
ered dead were taken and a pro
cession of tile living" passed all
day long to point out .1 heir dead. ‘
Families separated were reunited
again at the niorgue, where each
would be looking for the other,
fearing to tifnl them among the
dead.
Help Offered Stricken City.
The mayor id’ Omaha has re
ceived offers of aid from hundreds
of cities, and a committee of bus
iness men of the town has been
appointed to take charge of the
relief work in order that all may
In,- all ended to.
Doctors and Nurses Arrive.
: Hundreds of doctors and nurses (
have arrived here In assist the
injured. Churches and public
buildings have been turned in
to temporary hospitals, where
they are attended to. Medical
supplies, of which there was a
shortage, are now arriving as fast
as needed. The long distance and
wide swatli of the storm lias
made it hard to immediately re
lieve some of tile injured, who
first have to he carried for miles
on a stretcher before being ad
ministered to.
Communication Established.
Communication with this city
was established hy ttie superhu
man efforts of the linemen, who.
immediately after tile storm,
rustical work to make conned inns
with the outside in order to got
relief to the stricken city. Addi
tional wires will he strung as fast
as possible1, as the present ar
rangement can not handle tin1 ex
Irc'ine press of business. Only
o IT id a I messages arc1 being re
ceived.
President Offers Aid.
Washington, l>. C.. March —
"President Wilson has telegraphed
lo the stricken city oH'eriag such
aid as is within the power of the
federal government. Congress
will he asked to make an appro
priation Ini’ Hie sull'erers. The
tied Cross Society has dispatched
nurses and supplies lo the cities
in distress, hut the two storms,
coming so close together, their
funds are exhausted and a call to
the public has been made and is
receiving prompt response.
Many Dead at Terre Haute.
Terre Haute, Iml.. March -5.— •
Twenty bodies have been recov
ered. I5(t injured are now in the
hospitals and many more are be
lieved to be in the ruins. Four
hundred buildings were destroy
ed, the tornado sweeping every
thing in its path, and nothing
could slay the winds. The tierce
rains alone saved the wreckage
of the town from being destroyed
by lire, the rain literally falling
in sheets and extinguishing the
lire. Help has arrived here and
the injured are being cared for.
belief is also being provided for
the homeless.
Many Towns llnreported.
Moidjunnory, Ala., March 25.—
Scores of towns have reported
that they have been it it by the
tornado, but no details can he se
cured. as the wires are down in
every direction. Automobiles
have betui pressed into service
and help is beinj,' dispatched to
tile scene as fast as possible.
OllnVrs have been sent to every
town from which no communica
tion has been received. It is
feared that many lives were lost
and a heavy properly damajie to
towns near here.
Yutan, Nebraska, Hit.
Yulaii. .Yah.. March ‘7>. 'l'hc
I■ ■ i nailn nf day lie fore yesterday
slrurk Ihis inwn and Ilia kimw:.
d-*ad arc Ir>, Iml I he lisl will in -
•i"a»'“ as the wreckage is rleir
•d i a Inwn was prael ieally •
i n I I'licil. and I lull I lie deal h lie
was mil a fireat deal larger II,an
il is is ennsidered marvuloii'.
The mayor has appealed for help, ,
as no medical supplies are avail- j
aide and are imperatively needed.
NOT Will JOB
Refuses to Take the French Am
bassadorsh ip—Pres ident
is 8orry.
Washington, l>. 0., March ii5.—
William F. iVfcCpombs, chairman
of the National Democratic com
mittee, today declined fo accept
the ambassadorship offered him
by President Wilson. President
Wilson has expressed his regret
at I lie determination of his cam
paign manager not to take a for
eign post.
At the time of the announce
ment of llie cabinet much sur
prise was caused when MeCoomhs
name was mil among the list of
the president’s official family, and
i) lias been stated that some fric
tion has caused a rupture.between
the head of llie party and the
president, and that President
Wilson intended, to attend to the
political'end of his administra
tion and not allow the chairman
of the national committee to con
trol the party, as was the case'
in the Taft administration. .. ■ ‘
Much adverse comment has
been caused by the failure of the.
president fo Teward rtDt effo.rls'pl;
MyGoonibs for 'iiis.itbdfi,,‘vyoTh in
the recent campaign: -»• '
rj’.‘;".Vvvr/V «a lu.V<*3i?Y> 8
HILDRETH TESTIFIES TO GRAF T—JUDGE ORDERS BOOKS TO
;; BE SEIZED ARD OpWERRIEERT^ORJECJST-CqURT Tp PROBE
AFTER ERD OF THE^ PREpERT TRIAL,
•V
' Chicago, Maroli 25.—Bookkeep
er Waiiilke testified yesterday that
Heceiver Zward, of the Frost Com
panies, had given orders that tin*
names of Ballinger and others
should -he erased from all the
company's records. The evidence
caused a stir in the Court room
and Judge Landis immediately
ordered the hooks seized and they
will he held. The government at
torneys strongly objected, but the
judge intimated he would order a
probe into tin* charges made by
Attorney Fink, of tin* defense,
that Itie Guggenheims' arc* work
ing tin* courts in order to pre
vent the independents from min
ing coal in Alaska. Fink charg
ed that tin5 Syndicate cTmtrotted
tin* Department of the Interior
and trle/I tff'fnrcp' #11 the coal
cla’iniaiits Id sell to them.
judge Landis, m reply to l ink s
ehai‘jr& of siiWjf<Ji<!|n of fraud,
Said:, “%$>u friJtr'We the assist
ance of; tti(sf eus«'i in hfinging
ttr/lnessspg'$ti-'as will t$nej
f;.' k(rten‘n
ai^WtiiJ^fc&aglpfefflF delaying the
trialfoi- thr«s*y«ars ■tH'-MTilee t hat*
«•* > ^ VfF
I he incoming adminisl .ration
might be forced to retain the spe
cial attorney employed, as the
department would not “caret to
swap horses while crossing a
stream.”
Former Commissioner Hildreth,
of Seward, testified that while he
was administering tin estate
Which owned some of the
coal claintj* in the Matanuska, he
was tof,Thy Watson to ask
ooff fpr. I he claims. Frost, \V.al -1
son and Fabaree were to engineer
the sale to others and he was In
rolBiit <>m‘-quarter ol the money.:
and tlu* balance was In be divid
eil between l.abaree. Hie receiv
er of lb»* road, Frost. Hie former
president, and Watson.
Hildreth Instilled that In* had
Kept his quarter of the !?'i5,000
nnd had passed the balance to
Watson. Fink, on cross-exami
nation, asked Hildreth why he had
resigned and he replied that
former Judge Wickersliam had
.requested him to.
FOR , UJ&NIP*-Small fppr-rtjom
furBisiieflOibfise. fnquire of Mrs.
W.^Grary. Phone 41.
*4 • .1».*» ■*<*.> T * *'ap ?. •’•** ■
j
Eight-hour Law Brings Big Em- |
ployers of Labor in the ppen
v Against the Bill.
I
. — —_
I
j
Juneau. March 25.—The big j
crowd attending the sessions of
the joint committee of the legis- |
lature, before whom they spoke I
against the Roden labor law, by
which tin* employment of men
working in the mines more Ilian
eight hours, would be illegal.
The bill was drawn by Senator '
Roden, of Iditarod, and introduc- .
ed by him in the Senate and in
the. House by Representative (iatf
ney, of Nome. Many operators in
Fairbanks and Iditarod are light
ing the measure, and are also be
ing aided by the corporations of
Southeastern Alasfcy. Maoy oper- ;
ators from t he interior have wired |
a protest, claiming it will injure j
the interior mining camps. Scv- j
e.ral of the . Iditarod and Fair-!
banks claim owners are here and j
appeared in person against the !
bill and also retained counsel.
Jerry Scanlon, a Fairbanks
miner, testified that all tIn* infer- !
i'or miners wanted the law pass- >
ed andbelieved if would be a pood ;
- i
Subscribe for the Prospector, j
WHIPPING POST
FOR SLAVERS
Would Stop Joy Riding and the
Rag Dances, and Tax Bach
elors Also.
spring Held, in.. March g'5.
The witnesses who appeared yes
lerday before the O’llarra vice
com mill ee advocated tlie whip
ping' post for white slavers. The
Hann ad, they claimed, did not
go far enough in its punishment
of men and women who secured
women for a life of shame.
The whipping post, they said,
would slop it ipiieker than the
passage of laws providing for jail
sentences. The Mann act only
provides for inter-state traffic in
girls and they urged an addition
al slate law providing a whip
ping post. •
Stop Joy Riding.
They also asked the commillee
to recommend the passage of a.
law to prohibit joy ridinp. as they
asserted I tint many pirls had
been ruined while takinp joy rides
(Continued on pap.? 2)
Former Valdez Promoter Now Op
erating In Philadelphia—Has
Many Companies.
Seal lie. .March -jr>. An Alas
kan who rerenl ly relurneil from
Hie East reports t Inal I a -1 sum
mer II. 11. Reynolds eslalii jslieiL
himself in Philadelphia, al l(i,T7
< heslnul slreel, where his odice
door indicated llial lie was al the
head nf ten dilVerenl eompaiiies,
as follow >:
Reynolds-Alaska I,umber Co.
Reynolds-Alaska Mines Co.
Reynolds-Alaska Railway.
lleynolds-Alaska Shifts Co.
Reynolds-Alaska Smelters Co
Reynohls-Alaska System, Inc.
Reynolds. H. A., hanking.
Reynolds, H. f). & Co.
Reynolds. Henry I).. hanking.
Reynolds, Martin, banking.
It will be remembered that
Reynolds wound up in the bank
ruptcy courts in 1907, and was
adjudged insane December 8,
1908, in the slate of New York,
thereby escaping prosecution for
alleged fraud jn the federal
courts. Ilowcxer. he was soon
able to gel clear of the asylum
al King's Park. [,. I., and for a
time engaged in the real estate
business at Brooklyn.
. Reynolds later promoted a line
of 10 cent stores in the East,
many of them in New York, but
Igter sold out and went in the
Mexican | ro'inotion business. He
is now apparently working the
Alaska promotion scheme.
At Home at the Valdez Mercantile
Company.
For (he past fq\v weeks the la
dies of the Epiphany (Utild have
been industriously plying their
needles, modeling caps—dusting
caps, automobile nr traveling
caps, boudoir .caps, parly caps,
caps In suit all tastes and needs;
or if the caps in stock arc not just,
wtiat yog.want the (Utild will very
gladly make others In order.
The Valdez Mercantile Co. have
kindly allowed the ladies floor
space in their store for the sale,
Which will he oil Thursday af
ternoon and Friday.
Dougherty & Ferguson receiv
ed on the steamer Sampson a
supply of fresh groceries, fruit
and vegetables.
Dougherty & Ferguson receiv
ed on the steamer Sampson a
supply fresh groceries, fruil
and vegetables.