THE fKHTAROD PIONiEEf? j
£vf') S*.twr<S** Morffli**! nt tGftnroe, Afcosti-'.
Voi. 7 CHAHJ.ES A, BE3PY, Editor Jvn. 51
AK8UCK1.E & PERKY, Publishers_
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THE ROAD QUESTION
The question of good roads is one in which every
resident of the Iditarod district is interested, and
naturally the discussion of the matter in last week’s
Pioneer was the subject of much comment. It seems
to be the consensus of opinion that steps should be
taken toward securing appropriations from federal
and territorial governments to assist in furnishing this
necessary adjunct to the development of the district
of which Iditarod is the center.
The Alaska road commission is now committed to
the policy of building a road from the \ukon river
at Ruby to connect with the Seward trail at the kus
kokwim, and it is expected to develop that trail into
a road on the same plan as that between f airbanks
and Valdez. Such a road would be of inestimable
benefit to this section, and as it is understood that the
plans also contemplate a road from the Iditarod dis
trict to connect with the proposed road at the kusko
kwim. there is hope of a through trunk road to the
coast at some time in the distant future. But it is
characteristic of such enterprises that they are not
piessed to a successful conclusion with celerity un
less the people of the districts to be benefited show
interest in the projects. And further, the districts
which do show an interest in the work and put for
ward their claims to recognition are the ones most
likely to be benefited. The enterprising residents and
operators of the Ruby district made known their
wants in no uncertain tones, and the result was that
an extensive plan of road building is centered there,
ll is quite probable that had Iditarod been first in
the field this enterprise would have been started from
this point. However, it is up to the people hereabouts
to put forward their demands and to interest those
who are in position to further their plans.
While the trunk road to the coast would be a great
advantage, the pressing need of this district at pres
ent is communication with the various surrounding
creeks. Development should be no longer retarded,
but assistance should be given in building highways
over which mining supplies can be moved at a mini
mum of cost. What are we going to do about it?
a.
AN UNDIGNiFIED EX-PRESIDENT
The Outside newspapers of the pre-election period
are just now beginning to make their appearance in
our midst, and we are able to realize the ferocity and
passion with which President Wilson was assailed on
all sides during the campaign. It is a reminder of the
“good old days" in American history, when duels
frequently were the outcome of political differences.
In those days it was taken as a matter of course, ap
parently that opposing candidates should berate one
another, and no word was too harsh to apply to a
candidate for office of an opposing political faith. In
these days, however, one can hardly reconcile such I
utterances as those used by ex-President Roosevelt,
for instance, in his attacks on President Wilson, with
the present stage of development of American so
ciety. It is difficult to believe that the utterances of
Mr. Roosevelt at Cooper Union, New York, on No
vember 3 were those of a man who had the best in-1
terests of his country at heart, and one is rather in-!
dined to believe that they were prompted more by
hatred and passion than by patriotism. At any rate
it is a rather undignified spectacle for an ex-president
of the United States to be indulging in language but
little more refined than that of the Billingsgate fish
wife. The statement that “the President’s whole j
record has consisted in turning back at every point
where he was bidden to do so either by fear or self
interest” is particularly inexcusable, coming from
Mr. Roosevelt. Mr. Roosevelt is quoted in part by
the Associated Press as follows:
President Wilson has linen claiming credit because in the case
<;f Belgium he has preserved a neutrality that would make a
Pontius Pilate quiver with envy, and yet in his speech last Thurs
day he said that “never again must we be neutral.” President
j Wilson has kepi us absolutely unprepared, yet he <*>w says we
; urns* ■eater the »«s» war. President Wilson has looked on with
| xag a sbogte tferrf> of hi* cold heart, without tiie least quickening
j of his tepid pulse, while Bdgiutst was tramiled in the bloody
i mis*; while the Turk# inflicted on the Armenian and Syrian
I Christians wrongs shat would have blasted the memory of Atiila.
' * * Mr. Wilson. now- dwells at Shadow Lawn. There should
j be shadows enough at Shallow Lawn. There should bo the shad
| ores of the men. the women and the children who have risen from
the ooze of the ocean’s bottom and from the graves in foreign
iraids; shadows of she helpless, whom Mr. Wilson did not protect
lest he might have to face danger; shadows of babies gasping piti
fully as they sank under the waves. There should be shadows of
women outraged and slain by bandits; shadows of Captain Boyd
l and Lieutenant Adair and their troopers who lay on u Mexican
; desert with black Hood crusted around their mouths and their
j dim eyes looking upward because President Wilson had sent them
i to a task and had then shamefully abandoned them to foes who
; km no mercy. Those ore the shadows proper for Shadow Lawn.
' ihe shadows of deeds never done, the shadows of lofty words that
■ were followed by no action, the shadows of the torturer! (lend
' Very properly, this undignified tirade caused
j much indignation, and Vance McCormick, chairman
i of the Democratic national committee, characterized
1 it as “unpatriotic, and outrageous,*’ and again quoted
j from Mr. Roosevelt’s article in the Outlook for
1 September 23, 1914, which has been the subject
of much explanation which did not explain, and
which was as follows:
Very probably nothing we could have done would have helped
Belgium. We have not the smallest responsibility for what has
befallen her. Only the clearest and most urgent national duty
would over justify us in deviating from our rule of neutrality and
non interference
Editor Thompson of the Fairbanks News-Miner, in one of hi?
“heart-to-heart talks’ with his readers, tells tr un that although
the News-Miner is Democratic, and has fought the Democratic
battle up and down the line, his own vote was cast tor the foil >w
ing candidates: Sulzcr. McGowan. He.-s, Dorns, Norland and t 1
lins. It will be noted that ail of his selections were I'airbanks
men, and that he bolted the Democrats living outside of hi- own
home town. Which seems to be a characteristic of i airbanks
voters, and this trait will be a strong factor in bringing about the
dir-trioting of the territory for legislative purposes, but Fairbanks
in a district : 11 by herself and let her vote only for her own can
didate?, sav we.
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KUSKOKWIM BRANCH RAILWAY SYSTEM
< Anchorage Time.-'
The Ala-ka engineering commission need not imagine that
their work will be ended with the rnmplcium oi t ■ trunk i'nc
railway system loading from the .-outhorn coa-i of Ahi-mi to »-.c
Interior, work upen which is now veil under way, became v
have another big job mapped out for them when tin.- i no i- c<
pleted. We refer, of course, to the branch hue leading from t ;
main line to the vusk »kwim river.
The construction of this branch railway system is second only
in importance to the major project now under const ruction. Wiid
tlu- tvo great Intern r waterways in Ale-k: tapped by the iron
horse, the territory w.li be pretty well supplied with radway trans
portation. so far as tiunk lines are concerned. When the tnina
i ne sv tern now under construction is c mipl oed the eummi'-i. u
will have adequate equipment and have its orcanizatnm t.. t
work could immediatdy be inaugurated mi the branch line. 1:
funds were appropriated fc»r tiie purpose, n' get the nece.- . y
appropriate n, roughly speaking, ten mdlion dollar-, wdl be tv
job that lies before the people concerned in the opening ?■» j
fullest degree of the resourcs of Alaska. v\ e do not bdu. '. s im.1
there will be any difficulty at all in -ecurim: tint man --arv . p;
priation. We believe that the building of the major project "'dl
prove so beneficial toward th? c'vtiopment if tue i.Pn
- mrces which it will ’ p, that U e <• ngrt ■ will rt adily appro] r u
the funds necessary for the enlarged dev dopment scheme < >m
prehended bv the Kuskokwim branch line.
To those who may not bo lamuiar wun me gcn;:ranuj o; i. •
country through which the proposed Ku'kokwuu branch v ;i
[lass, we shall briefly outline the route. - taken from . recs n
nuisance men drawn by J. 1- M?Pher*..n. who, under the Taft
administration railway commission, v •• " lot to invy-tiante tht
region.
The branch road wor.lt! leave the main 1 ne at me ; mt be
tween Willow creek end Little Will; w creek, wt uld cross l te hit
sitna river below the mouth of Little \\ it ov. ero. - the Kahh.n.i
river and Lake creek, thus tapping the t she creak gold I la r
camp, fellow the Squentna and II:.; • y rivers to llsttij' 1 ’l; '
through Ruint pass to the Kuskokwim eoimtry. Mid fhei.Lt pro
ceed in a northwesterly direction to McGrath, a trading post on
the Kuskokwim river.
much a railway system would give transportation to the known
, "ips of Cache Creek, the upper Kuskokwim limoko. Iditarod,
Ruby and Marshall City, and along its course other gold camps
would undoubtedly spring up. A fine freight and passenger traflic
would be developed.
Of course, Anchorage would be the chief construction base of
the Kuskokwim branch line, as it is now of the major project.
Hence, we who live here have more than a passing interest in the
beginning of this important construction work.
Ail that is needed to bring about this additional construction
work is to get the Interior camps that will be benefited to work
in conjunction with us in the matter.
"RILEY'S DEAD!"
(Felix Rhay in The Fra)
I have read “The Old Swimmin’-Hole,” “Knee-Deep in June, ’
“Out to Ole Aunt Mary’s,” “When the Frost is on the Pumpkin.”
and more than that of James Whitcomb Riley’s poems. My criti
cal literary sense tells me they are goldarn rotten poems -as I
poems. Yes, sir! They’re off in rhythm and meter; they count
wrong, and their feet have rheumatics.
But Land o’ Goshen! that Hoosier’s chiaroscuro sure does blur
the eyes and squeegee the tears out of a fed; r.
The night Riley died I came home at 10 o'clock; took his book
down from the shelf to read again “That Old Sweetheart of Mine.
An hour later the little wife tiptoed down the stairs to call me to
bed. I told her, “Riley’s dead!”. She said, “Oh, please No!”
Then I had to read that poem again, aloud, and for an extra
hour we sat close and talked of her home and my home and cur
home. We agreed that homes and hearts and happy memories
were the most important things in all the world. We agreed that
Riley knew, and Riley wras ail right—and a great poet, sure
enough. _ _
Germany can now shoot in almost any direction and feel sure [
she will not hit a friend.—Newark News. I
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s |j / Including Substantia! Trains §
| Rubber Balls, American Model Builders made of Steel, Dolls, §
g Teddy Bears, Ete., Etc., at Reasonable Prices, also t
1 Christmas Candy 50c i
N. C. Co. Sole Agents for AJaska j "*j N. C. Co. Sole Agents for Alaska
WE’RE GETTIN' CIVILIZED
TC Edward Cone)
! Down in the good old U. S. A.,
I’m told, they think us queer.
They put us down for savages
Ariel think our country drear.
But tie I guess, if they should come
And see us as we. are,
They’d find the people livin' here
To be about on pur.
They’d find surprisin' things up here
Of which they little guessed;
So just to wise ’em up a bit
Pm goin’ t' do iny best
To show the tilings we’re doin’ here
Arc not to be despised,
An’ that we’re cornin’ up to date
1 An’ gettin’ civilized.
j
Now, then, perhaps they think that we
Have not yet learned to dance;
But you bet we could fool them some
About that “tango” prance!
They have their “fox trot,” “kitchen sink,”
And several kinds of slide;
But then they’d have to come up here
To learn the “gee-pole glide.”
But dancin's not the only thing
With whi-ch we are in line;
There’s other things we’re doin’ here,
You bet, and doin’ fine!
We cast our votes on ‘Section day,
An’ they would be surprised
To see how sane we’re doin’ it
Whip1 gettin’ civilized.
There is no ballot stuffin’ here.
Nor colonizin' schemes;
But then we know some Pricks of which
The “States" man never dreams.
Now', then, how many in “the busies”
Would guess the how or why
] That when we voted on the “booze”
| We ’most ail voted “dry”'/
t Our women sJ.-< hm'S die
: Which . r-n . P. i
But a • fa- od
1 h - . . 1 . .<? .s’si!
: 1 Vc r : -1 - lege
e iv prized,
■ rely that we
iN THE DAYS OF YORE
(Anchorage Times)
Dir apprehension of gentlemen of ‘.he
artrn d th t.y oirl.ers ui the law in An
t , ;.g< • utl or day recalls the early days
f t!u> Northland, when gambling end kin
; vice- the rule rather than the
exception, as now. We do not propose
,. oi.-eus. il.c moral a.pect of this sub
(c;, oilier thail to say U at it is well for
.A., kthat public gaumi ng, especially with
j■ra. anlia e..ipl ycd therein--ouch
t.s the roulette whe >1, the faro table and the
I kc aim the dance hall, are no longer per
mitted within its coniines. But being in
1 reminiscent mood, we wish to bark back
the old days when everything was “wide
open,” with the ‘ ceiling as the limit.'
Scarcely l .tecaue ha- pa -cil since gam
bling of ::I1 hinds an ! descriptions nour
ished a- the grpen bay tree throughout the
cast doit.a u < 1 the Northland. Who among
he d-t timers dots lt d vitidlv reel’ll Lee
Hut brie's B rd of Trade and the Packtratn
. ahjon. the popular gambling resorts of
.■Lawny, “(he worst town in the world,"
as it was termed? Who ha- not seen
Brooks, the packer, after completing a trip
ever the White Pass summit, come into a
resort there, delve into his pockets for a
half dozen “twenties,” and with the prodi
gality of a “Cot-1 Oil Johnnie” invite “every
..civ in the house” to take a drink with
him? And about everybody would take
something, too. So dense was the crowd
that packed these resorts, in the days of '98
. nd ’99, that one would have to push his
way through the mass of humanity to get
a seat at the games of chance.
In the early days of Dawson, Nome and
Fairbanks, as well as the lesser towns and
communities, the same conditions existed,
save that in the big gold camps the wagers
laid were larger. At Nome, for instance,
it was not uncommon to see some plunger,
or fool, according to your viewpoint, risk
a thousand dollars on the turning of a card
it a faro table. All Nomeites, of course,
• ecall Tex Packard's Northern saloon and
mining han.se, the most popular resort in
that camp. Tex was an accommodating fel
low in the matter of gambling, and you
Could go as strong as you wished to. The
stronger you went the sooner you were
broke, because in those days the gambling
houses employed light fingered gentlemen as
dealers, whose business it was to see that
you didn’t win. Faro is held up by the
gambler as the fairest of games of chance.
He tells you that the only percentage
against you is the “splits.” As a matter of
fact, all a faro dealer requires to know is
what “system” you play, and he can put
you out of business at his whim or caprice.
That's what he is well paid for. Gambling
paraphernalia and gaming devices are made
to win, and they do win, as many an un
sophisticated individual has found to his
sorrow.
\V hue Tex Rickard s place enjoyed the
run at Nome, other gambling resorts were
well patronized. The Second-Class saloon
Wyatt Erp’s Corner and “Lucky” Baldwin’s
tough den—all were crowded with patron
and spectators.
And in those early days in Alaska there
was the dance hall, the side partner of the
saloon and the gambling resort. The more
pretentious towns had from one to a half
dozen of these resorts, where maids—young
and old—with manufactured complexions
and with none too much wearing apparel,
flitted about from man to man among the
spectators, asking each in turn to have a
dance with her, or buy some liquid refresh
ments, or both—usually both. Every year
was leap year in those old days that have
passed away. You didn't have to ask a
woman if you could have the pleasure of a
dance with her, in those public dance halls.
She always asked you. and whether you
could dance or not mattered not at all to
her. She’d drag you around the hall some !
■>ow once or twice and call it a fine dance
and tell you you were a swell dancer. Who
has not heard of the “Hurrah” block at
Nome, so called because there was a solid
block of buildings, located right in the I
center of town, devoted to gambling, drink'
ing and dancing? The like was never seen
before. It will never be seen again.
The unknowing might ask, What we^e
■ he public officials doing while this condi
tion existed? The public officials of the
early days of Alaska were doing what every
body else was doing. They participated in
the games, danced with the maidens, and
drank with the thirsty. It was not uncom
mojj to see deputy United Ktafces marshals
seated at the faro table, a stack of chips in
front of Ovesa- It was wore uncommon not
to see them.
A staid and stern Easterner might
imagine that a veritaMe reign of terror ex
isted in the Northland during the early,
romantic period of its history. Not at all.
fhe moral code was not rigidly adhered to,
as must be evident from this brief sidelight
> n the situation- Major crimes were pun
; i.-jhed then a- now. And when the lawless
j element got too presumptuous, as instance
■ the “Soapy” Smith crowd at Skagwav. the
j peo|Je call g halt, and '“Soapy” Smith died
with his boots on
But the old days me gone, never to re
turn. And it i.s Ivetier so. An individual
rarely rises above his environment. He is
what most of the other people about him
arc. In the mad and excited lust for gold,
ordinarily good men mixed with the law
1\.-. drawn thither by lack of other and
more wholesome amusement The period of
this unlicensed liberty in Alaska was an
epoch in its history. Not an epoch or period
of time upon which we sourdoughs may
j look with pride or anything of that sort,
j but still an epoch, nevertheless. The past
j is but a Heeling memory. It is possible that
! the lessons of life that were learned in this
i >chooi of experience wre not wholly losf on
j lie most of us.
] POPULAR VOTE FOR WiLSON
IS LARGEST EVER CAST
j According lo a XVw York dispMeh of*
: Vovember 11, nearly complete return* Jryrn j
! he recent election make it apparent that
re. idfnt V/ibon's popular vote will be
nearly 8,600,000, almoin a. million more
han was ever cest for a candidate for
President in the history of the United
tales, and nearly a million more than were
east for President Taft and former President
loafpeveit combined four years ago.
The total vote cast for President Roose
;It when he ran against Judge Parker in
'904 was 7.623,000. The total vote for
Taft in 1908 was 7,678.000. The total
le for President Taft and former Pre.-i
j ent Roosevelt combined in 1912 was J
i .604,000. The vote for President Wilson |
n the latter mutest was particularly small. J
n account of the circumstance that the j
, -ult vv-j* foregone conclusion in so many j
| irdes that there was no attempt made to
: .ft the vote out.
J. P. Tumulty, the President’s secretary,
ent n message V> Preside nt Wils' n today in •
vhich he said:
‘ More eomj lete returns show th.it you j
•:ve received the L.rgest vote ever cast for j
* candidal? L-r the presidency. You have j
eecived nearly one million more votes than
vere ca t for both President Talt and for j
: i'rosicextt Roosevelt in 1912. ^ our j
1 gain over 1912 i three times rs much as?
! ever C:iinc :.v a President running for]
i - th'. lion. Tie J- ;-t i- n was the most eni- ,
j politic ird. : em- nt that the American peo- .
j pie ever gave a President or ail adminbtra- ;
I ‘irr.."
! I- is c. timated that the Socialists prob* .
!,Jy c: -t 500,900 nr 000,00.» votes in the ;
I ■- untry. anil that the Prohibition vote has ;
! decreased.
i CONTRABAND FURS SEIZED
—
Furs, some of them very rare, valued at
i note than $10,000, have been seized by
! customs men who have been examining th?
! .aggage of fishermen coining in from Alas
an waters, says a San Francisco dispatch
j f September 20. The seizures are of furs
sken from animals either protected from
killing or which have been shot out of
-eason. Otter, beaver, brown bear, marten,
1 ermine, mink, red Alaskan fox and other ;
varieties are among the seized furs.
WHAT’S THIS?
A recent issue of the Seward Post is re
sponsible for the following:
“A new industry has been started at Idit
arod. Last summer two parties of pros
pectors brought in a Ford car and a Buick.
They were stored in an old outhouse for
he summer, and this fall when the parties
returned for their cars they found the old
Buick had ['resented the Ford with a brand
new runabout.”
FAMOUS EVANGELIST DEAD
CANADIAN, Texas, Nov. 7. -Charles T
Russell, known as “Pastor” Russell, an in
dependent minister and editor of The Watch
Tower, died on an Atchison. Topeka &
Santa Fe train en route from Los Angeles
to New York. Heart disease was given
a# the causf.
-♦
For steam baths, go to the Snyder House,
Flat.
I> rofe ssio n a l
Ml'Cfiig-an, «88f Mm*», ltl%
Kentucky, t s 9
George Woodruff Albrecht
COUNSELOR AND LAWYER
IOITARGD, ALAS*A
Tiit Pionctr Attomty of MitaroA
E, M. STANTON
Attorney at Lav/
Office: Comer Willow and Second Su.
lditaro'1 Pioneer Building
CM AS. E. TAYLOR
Attorney at Law
BANK BLOCK
First Avtr.us iditaro#
DR. MOORE
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON
DR. H. E. AUR!sMGER
Physician and Surgeon
OWee: Flet C:ly FU! City
Consultation Hours :n Forunuon* *nd t r
Appointment
FLAT KRUG STORE
DR. E. T. MAUM,
Chiropractor ami Masseur
Di-ra^es Cured Without Drug*
Chr.r.ic Ca*'C' a Spwialtv
Office: GeU St., Flat
Best of Everything
Ar t. THE TIME AT THE
Arcade Cafe
FLAT CITY
Open Day and Night
FiNE WATCH REPAIRING
NUGGET JEWELRY TO ORDER
J. L. SALE, Flat City
PI AfARPl^ big' aR<J printed *>u
rLH-rtnUj paper, cardboard or cloth,
on short notice, at Iditaroil Pioneer office
! OPEN DAY AND NIGHT
FLAT CITY HOHBACK & DURAND
Bet. the Grand and Bagoy's Bar*
THE BEST ALL THE TIME
WE ARE HERE TO STAY
French Joe's Roadhouse
SOUTH FORK KUSKOKWIM
DOC BACON AND FISH
FOR SALE
Big Stocks of Fresh Goods
Everything for the Miner and
Prospector
MAX SI MEL r„E"
Stores at Cripple City and Mouth of Tolstoi
FINNEGAN & CAMERON
FLAT CITY
Agency for Edison Diamond Disc Phonographs and Records
TOBACCO CIGARS STATIONERY
CONFECTIONERY AND BILLIARDS
C. R. Cameron Jas. F. Finnegan
i'i- §£ ' -J a rry s & W. CANNED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
QnlV &QOC&S SWIFT'S PREMIUM HAMS AND BACON
, * GOLDEN GLOW BUTTER
CillG PETALUMA EGOS
Highest L,PT0N TEflS
Standard of royal gray and white
ENAMELED KITCHENWARE
Quality. STETSON HATS FLORSHEIM SHOES
ST"NFIELD'S AND MEDLICOTT UNDERWEAR
OREGON CITY WOOLEN MILLS MACKINAWS, LOGGERS' SHIRTS AND WOOLEN
OVERSHIRTS
LEVI STRAUSS OVERALLS
Rubber Pacs, Arctics, Moccasins, Socks, Gloves and Mittens
Stoves, Tents, Tarpaulins, Windows and Glass
Mg MAH ON
General Merchandise
FLAT CITY