Sty? Sailg Proapprtar
• PtfbUaKBD ST
PROSPECTOR PUBLISHING CO.
H. B. SELBY, Editor and Proprietor.
VALDES. ALASKA
Published Dally Except Sunday
Entered as Second-Class Mall Matter.
July 21. 1912, at the postofflce of Valdes.
Alaska, under act of March 2, 1979.
Business Office and Editorial Rooms,
TEL. 161
Advertising Rates on Application
Food will win
the War;
don’t waste it!
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3. 1018
THE FIR8T BIRD NORTH.
WHA” Impulse stirred your breaal
Eif :e tl.o rest?
What r silnsr sent you forth
The first bird north?
DID fellows bid you stay
And make delay,
Declare that you would fall
In storm and hall?
- VAT, you came not In vain
■i-’ Though winter slain.
Tour foTn so stark and chill
la prophet still.
—McLandburgh Wilson.
SHIPS
Despite the reassurance of British
admiralty officials, echoed by Ameri
can leaders, the U-boat is reaping a
terrible toll. It may be "held” to use
the expression of Sir Eric Geddes, first
lord of the British admiralty, but the
situation is not encouraging, and Sir
Eric’s admission that it is not "mas
tered” is more accurate. The fact is
that it is still the most serious weapon
with which the allies have to deal.
The official report of England on
submarine losses are always indefnite
—deliberately indefinite—so that the
exact losses of each week are not cal
culable. But it is significant tbat the
course of sinkings which showed a
great downward sweep a few months
ago, again is on the upward trend.
For instance, the latest report shows
that eighteen ships, of which fifteen
were over 1,600 tons, were sunk last
week. The last preceding report show
ed that eighteen were sunk with a to
tal of twelve of more than 1,600 tons.
The aggregate is not the highest re
corded by the Germans since subma
rine war was declared by the aver
age is high.
It has been officially admitted that
last year about three times as much
tonnage was destroyed as was built.
Frankly, that is a score for the enemy.
The average was approximately 600,
000 a month, it is estimated, so that
the total for the first year of ruthless
U-boat warfare must have been in the
neighborhood of 7,000,000 tons.
Anti-submarine devices have been
improved by the allied navies, but
the German output of submarines
6eems to have increased also. The
British and American navies are using
depth bombs, dirigible balloons, sea
planes, destroyers and all the other
weapons of offense so effectually that
the diver’s chances of getting home
from a cruise to English waters are
only about 20 to 25 per cent. But the
U-boats are working in groups, and
the vessels themselves have been in
creased in size and efficiency so that
they wreak much havoc before they
are bagged. In the Mediterranean, ac
cording to a prominent Japanese nav
al man, the enemy practically controls
the situation, submarines being ship
ped from Germany to Trieste and as
sembled there for operation against
the allied shipping.
Sir John Jellicoe, former head of
the British navy, is quoted as saying
the U-boat will be brought under con
trol by August. One hopes that his
forecast is accurate, but the dates fix
ed for successes by Germans as well
as by allied leaders at various times
have been so far amiss that prophecy
of that character i£ hazardous.
Undoubtedly the allies are perfect
ing their anti-submarine devices.
Warm weather is expected to operate
to their advantage, an unprecedented
building program also promises en
couragment, but a program is only a
program. The able head of our ship
ping board says he "hopes” for an
output of 6,000,000 tons of shipping
this year in American yards. But it
seems doubtful that actual produc
tion will be half that total, even tho
the prospects for shipbuilding are
brighter now than they ever have
been. It la no secret that we have fail
ed miserably in our shipbuilding ^ef
forts—by reason of lacic of proper or
ganization, personal squabbles, and
labor troubles—and' yet t£e demand
for ships is increasing rapidly with
America’s entry into the conflict on a
grand scale.
The nation’s highest duty is to pro
duce ships. Ships are needed even
more than soldiers. Without main
taining a 3.000-mile line of communi
; cation we are isolated from Europe,
j Whatever stands in the way of the
maximum output, whether it be a sel
fish labor union or a profiteering cap
italist, must be swept aside. The coun
try must build the ships.
CENSORING CASUALTY LISTS
Something of a controversy has
arisen as a result of the war depart
ment's new rule regarding the issu
ance of casualty lists. At the request
of General Pershing the names of men
killed or wounded are given out by
the war department but their addesses
are withheld. A resolution requesting
information as to the reason for the
order has been adopted by the sen
ate.
On the face of it, the new rule does
not seem to be necessary, and yet if
there is any adequate military reason
for it, no real objection to its enforce
ment will be made. It is recalled that
England and Canada publish com
plete casualty lists. Germany issues
no list at all at present, it is said,
while France has censored its lists in
the same way as the United States is
now doing. In fact, it was at the sug
gestion of France, according to one
version, that Pershing was prompted
to request the expurgation of Ameri
can casualty lists.
A sound reason for such precau
tion on the part of France might be
advanced, because France, or a con
siderable part of it, is a battlefield,
whereas the United States is 3,000
miles away and, like Canada, a some
what difficult field for operation for
the German spy. Moreover, it is an
nounced that under the three-line sys
tem being introduced into the army
the units will be bo ‘‘scrambled’' that
a man from Washington may be
found fighting beside a soldier from
Maine and a regular beside a selected
man. If that is the case it is difficult
to understand how the publication of
soldier’s address in this country will
be of any great military value to the
German high command in Belgium or
France. England, which is only a few
miles from the fighting line, takes a
different view of the matter.
The casualty lists as they are now;
authorized are virtually meaningless
and in many cases—where John
Smith, for instance, is killed—are the
source of much unnecessary anguish
on the part of the mothers and hun
dreds of men who are in the army.
SERVING ALL THE PEOPLE
Before discussing postal rates there
should be settled the fundamental
question of the sort of relation the
postal function sustains to the peo
ple. Is the post office a huge commerc
ial enterprise upon which profits must
be shown in every department, or is
it to be conceived as one of the ways
in which the Government is to serve
all the people in a manner impossible
to a mere money-making organiza
tion?
In its origin and development the
postal function has proceeded along
the latter lines. The great aim of the
Post Office Department is public ser
vice, exactly as is the case with the
Department of Agriculture, of the
Interior, of Commerce, and of Labor.
The Department of Agriculture, for
example, gives the farmer Instruction
upon the soli, how to prevent gland
ers, hog cholera and other diseases
among his stock, and in countless
other ways gives free of charge the
results of costly research and experi
mentation. This sort of service adds
to the prosperity of individual far
mers and billionB to the national
wealth. In the same way the Post Of
fice Department should render a ser
vice to the inhabitants of the remot
est parts of our country that we
should not even try to measure in
terms of cost. Suppose it does cost
more than the value of a stamp to de
liver a letter to the Philippines or Al
aska, that is part of the nation’s ser
vice to its citizens.
It is just in this sense that news
papers and other periodicals are some
of the finest instruments of national,
social and economic service. Hence
the delivery, free of charge in the
county of publication, of the local
newspapers. Periodicals are the great
est of popular educators. As creators
of business they are worth to the
country vastly more than the millions
of dollars of advertising they carry.
It is because the postal increases,
ranging from 60 to 900 per cent,
would throttle the circulation of
newspapers and periodicals, and thus
defeat the public service function of
the Post Office Department, that the
zone postal scheme should be repeal
ed by the present Congress before it
goes into effect—Leslie’s.
PROFESSOR INDICTED
ON ESPIONAGE CHARGE
' Hew VbRK: Professor ScottNear*
ing, formerly of the University of
Pennsylvania and of Toledo univer
sity, was today indicted by the fed
eral grand jury on the charge of vio
lating the espionage act.
| The American Socialist party, with
| which he is connected, was indicted
Ion the same charge, both being accus
ed of distributing a pamphlet en
! titled "The Great Madness."
* * '
DAILY FISH IK’LLKTI.N
KETCHIKAN, April 3.—Ketchikan
1 prices at noon April 2. Halibut firsts,
thirteen cents; halibut seconds, nine
and one-quarter cents; sable fish, four
cents, red rock cod, two cents.
_ ^ .
KETCHIKAN, April 3.—Ketchikan
prices at noon April third. Halibut
firsts, thirteen cents; halibut seconds,
nine and one-half cents; sable fish,
four cents, red rock fish two cents.
DAILY WEATHER REPORT
April 2, 1918. April 3, 1918.
8:00 p. m. 8:00 a. m.
29.510 Barometer 29.308
30 Temperature 30
32 Maximum 30
30 Minimum 29
31 Mean 29.5
.77 Precipitation .85
34.5 Snowfall 14
34.5 Snow on ground 101
Cloudy, calm Cloudy, calm,
snowing. snowing.
—Myrtle F. Billings, Obs. ■,
TRAIL WEATHER REPORT
Fairbanks,' 25 above, cloudy, windy.
Salcha, 20 above, cloudy, light
wind, snowing, 34 inches Bnow, trait
heavy. 2 dog teams north yesterday.
Richardson, 12 above, Calm, snow
ing, 32 inches snow, trail bad. Johan
sen with double ender south to Ten
derfoot yesterday.
McCarty, 20 above, cloudy, calm,
trail heavy, 30 inches snow.
Donnelly, 20 above, north wind,
snowing, trail drifted, heavy, 5 Inches
new snow. 30 inches snow on ground.
Stage south 7 a. m. no passengers.
McCallums, 10 above, snowing with
north wind, 72 inches snow, trail
blocked between here and Miller’s
six feet water on trail Casey’s Cache.
Paxson, 12 above, 2 feet new snow.
Snowing trail heavy. Southbound
stage arrived yesterday.
Hogan, ,5 above, cloudy, snowing,
snow 5 feet, trail very bad.
Gulkana. 30 above, 45 inches snow,
cloudy, calm, trail heavy.
Copper Center, 29 above, cloudy,
calm, 40 inches snow, trail soft.
Stages north bound six a. m., 14 pas
sengers. Southbound 6:45 a. m. no
passengers. Rowbottom and Krupitza
arrived yesterday p. m.
Tonsina 23 above, part cloudy,
calm, 39 inches snow, trail bad.
Teikhell, 23 above, part cloudy, 4 0
inches snow, calm, trail bad.
Beaver Dam, 30 above, cloudy,
calm, 2 feet new snow. 8 feet snow,
still snowing, no trail.
Wortman, 38 above, clear, calm, 58
inches snow, trail closed.
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
CHAS. A. SULZER
Candidate For Re-election
As
DELEGATE TO CONGRESS
From Alaska
"In deciding to enter the primaries as a candidate for Delegate to
Congress from Alaska, I feel impelled to make a brief statement to
the people of the territory. It is now nearly a year since I was seated
in the House as Alaska’s representative to congress. During the most
of this time the United States has been engaged in a world wa*. and
every resource of the nation, including money and- man power is be
ing devoted to the single purpose of winning this great war. Every
member of congress in considering legislation for the nation, has
placed the country's war needs above all needs and requirements and
has subordinated his desires to the military establishment of the
United States.
"Alaska has responded nobly to the nation’s call. She has given
her share willingly and unstlntlngly. When the democratic party
went before the people of Alaska in November, nineteen sixteen, it
stood for a certain constructive program which embodied as its prin
cipal elements a wider measure of home rule for the territory, and a
sane and rational policy in the development of natural resources and
every possible aid to the pioneers of the country.
"I have Introduced among others the following bills in congress
which I am pressing for passage As opportunity affords:
"Granting Alaska full territorial form of government with home
rule the dominating principle.
"Regulating the fisheries of Alaska along UneB that will be fair
to all, and the protection of the salmon supply from depletion.
"Making changes in the homestead laws by abolishing the eighty
rod reservation.
“Authorising free surveys of homesteads in isolated sections.
"Changing the game laws so as to give the people a better oppor
tunity to use the game of the country without its being slaughtered.
“Extending the federal farm loan act to Alaska.
"Providing for the care of Alaska’s insane within the territory.
“At all times I have endeavored to keep constantly in mind the
needs of the territory and the people of the territory. In spite of the
war some measure of progress has been achieved. I have assisted in
passing a law which helped the prospector by suspending assessment
work on claims during the years nineteen seventeen and nineteen
eighteen. The extension of the wireless and cable system in Alaska has
been accomplished with bright prospects for a further extension.
"Recognition has been forced for Alaska in the matter of appoint
ments to the second series of training camps for officers. Contracts
which prevented the farmers of the interior from supplying army
posts with their vegetables are cancelled.
"Suggestions and requests that I again go before the people of
Alaska have come *to me from Alaskans all over the territory. Reit
erating my desire to serve the best interests of Alaska I am submit
ting my name as a candidate for the democratic nomination for
Delegate to Congress."
_ __.____-_-__3L — — -
'Ladie's fWalkover Shoes
w E have just received a
portion of our Spring line
of Ladie’s Shoes including black,
tan and white.
Most of these have' nine inch
tops in both Military and Louis
Heel.
Priced at $5.50 to $11.00.
S. Blum & Co.
' Member of the U. S. Food Administration
License Number 648525
Cut down on pie and cake. Use
cornmeal in making them. The wheat
flour you save will keep a soldier in
the trenches.
The launch Shamrock, Capt. D. D.
Stewart, arrived from down sound to
day.
LAUNCH DELLA
Capt. H. L. Rider
Weekly trips from Valdez to
Ellamar, Eandlock, Fldalgo and
nay ports. Passengers landed
at all points.
Carrying freight and passen
gers.
For rates apply on. board.
CAPT. H. L. RIDER
FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS
F. and A. M.
Valdez Lodge No. 168
REGULAR communications, flrBt
Wednesday in each month in Mar
sonic Hall. Visitors always wel
come.
WALTER ELLIOT, W. M.
C. C. REYNOLDS, Sec.
L 0. 0. F.
Valdes, Na, «
Meets every Monday night at 8:00
o’clock p. m., in Odd Fellows’
Hall. Visiting members cordially
invited to attend these meetings
OTTO ELFSTROM, N. G.
R. D. NICHOLLS, Secretary.
_________________________________________ I
Fraternal Order Eagles
Valdez Aerie No. 1971
Meets every Friday night in Eagle
Hall. Visiting Members cordially In
vited to attend these meetings.
ED. WOOD, W. P.
C. J. TODD, Sec.
Order of Eastern Star
Valdez Chapter No. 5
STATED communications, first and
third Tuesdays of each mouth at
Masonic Hall. Visiting members
always welcome.
RENA E. CRAWPORD, W. M.
J. A. SILVERMAN, M. D. Sec’y.
Valdez Minis Union No. 188
Western Federation of Miners
Frank Gustafson, President,
Valdes Alaska.
GEORGE M. BARRY Secretary,
Veldes Alaska.
Arctic Hotel
All Warm, outside Rooms
Transient Trade Solicited
Special Rates by the Week or Month
Baths In Connection
PHONE 133 MRS. STRING. Pie*
LOVE & MEALS
Insurance
Fire-Surety Bonds-Life
SAFETY FIRST
Travel On The
“SHAMROCK"
Prompt Service
D. D. STEWART Matter
PROFESSIONAL CARDS.
JOS. A. SILVERMAN Ph.G., M.D.
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON
Contract Surgeon U. 8. Army
A. A. Surgeon, U. a Marine Hospital
and
Public Health Service
OFFICE HOURS:
1 to 4 P. M. 7 to 8 P. M.
Sundays by Appointment
TELEPHONES
Office No. 19 Res. j^*0
Boyle Block, Valdez, Alaska
DR. H. COCKERILLE
Graduate Natloaal lalverattr
Waahlagtaa. D. C.
DENTIST
In Valdez Since 1808
PHONE 110
Office Rooms Above Louie’s Cafe
DONOHOE & DIMOND
t
attorneys-at-law
oa“ Coart Boas*
Pkaaa M VALDBL ALASKA
JOHN LTONS . ■ RITCHIS
LYONS & RITCHIE
ATTORJf BTS-AT-LA W
OBeca to aiaUac BaUSIa«
,M VALDBL ALASKA
HOTEL SEXTON
Seward Alaska
Geo. Sexton, Proprietor.
The traveling public's
home.
European Plan.
HOTEL SEXTON
J. E. WILSON
Freighting to all points
in the third division.
Horses bought and sold.
Phone 166.
VALDEZ HOSPITAL
Equipped for the Treatment
of all Surgical and Medical
Cases. X-Ray
Private Rooms
Jot. A. Silverman PL G. M. D.
| Proprietor