IDITAROD PIONEER
Published Every Saturday Evening at Iditarod, Alaska.
Y il 4 Ceo. M. Arbuckle. Publisher
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FOR GOVERNOR OF ALASKA
J. F. A. Strong
MORE WORK FOR THE LEGISLATURE
Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson lias reported un
favorably upon the proposal to appropriate a sum of money
for improving the entrance to Kuskokwim bay, and as a
result one of the finest rivers in the world remains prac
tically closed to commerce. It is true that even without
the projected aids to navigation ships have in the past ar
rived at Bethel and departed therefrom without serious
mishap; but that does not alter the fact that such trips are
fraught with danger to life and property and only under
taken on rare occasions at irregular intervals.
Why the matter of improving the estuary of a national
waterway should be one for the secretary of war to decide
passes our comprehension; but that such is the case pre
cludes the possibility of purely commercial arguments for
the appropriation having much weight. The war depart
ment must carry on its business with whatever money
Congress may see fit to provide; therefore it is not to be;
wondered at that when strict economy is demanded distant,
helpless, bottled-up Alaska should be the first victim of
Congressional parsimony. The secretary is not responsible
foot- his attitude in the* matter; the blame must be placed
upon the system which permits a commercial highway of
such promise as the Kuskokwim to be neglected, and the
development of a wonderfully rich district to be retarded,
simply that funds may be reserved for other districts where
politicul pull demands the money shall be spent.
All who have visited the Kuskokwim valley declare
that not only in mineral wealth, but also in agricultural
possibilities, it is a land of infinite promise, retarded solely
on account of its present inaccessibility. But when a small
appropriation is asked for to make navigation safer and
quicker, in order to encourage heavier shipments and so re
duce freight charges, it is found no funds are available,
and harbor improvements and aids to navigation are denied.
Make Kuskokwim bay navigable and safe, so that ship
owners could send their vessels there with some degree of
confidence, and freight rates would fall and the trade of
the Kuskokwim valley would grow by leaps and bounds
until it rivaled that of the Yukon, But little can be done
in the matter of bringing in machinery for the develop
ment of the region until freight rates are reduced, and that
cannot be hoped for while navigation at the mouth of the
river is so hazardous.
Within a few weeks, the Alaska legislature will be m
session, and it appears to us that there can be no more im
portant matter for the legislators to consider than aids to
navigation on our waterways. If the legislature has no
means or power to deal with such matters, then a recom
mendation to Congress based upon knowledge of the facts
may get the needed appropriations, when appeals to de
partmental chiefs would be in vain. It is difficult to be
lieve that Congress would ignore such an appeal, especially
in view of the fact that increased trade would follow rap
idly, It is our confident belief that the next two or three
years will see a big influx of population into the Kusko
kwim valley, and steps should be taken now to deal with
the traffic which surely will ensue.
KENNEL CLUB FUNDS GROW
AS RESULT OF MASQUERADE
A meeting of the Iditarod Kennel Club was held at the Bud
weiser parlors last Saturday evening, for the purpose of receiving
the report of the board of directors on the handicap dog race and
the masquerade which followed.
Both events were eminently successful, the latter resulting in
a net’profit of. $145. This, with the balance already on hand,
brings the amount of money in the Kennel Club treasury up to
$175, which will be the nucleus for the prize fund to be raised for
the big St. Patrick’s day race.
The race of last Friday undoubtedly had the effect of stimulat
ing interest in the sport of dog racing, and the St. Patrick’s day
event has received a corresponding amount of advertising. Al
ready possible entrants are looking over their dogs, some of which
will immediately be put in training for the big event. At leas
All Hours Alike in This House
CARIBOU CAFE
COME ONCE AND YOU WILL COME AGAIN
FIRST AVENUE. SOUTAR & SUTHERLAND. Props.
I AGAIN IN BUSINESS 4T THE OLD SHNO_
Iditarod Saloon
| FRONT ST. Manuel Gularte, Prop.
i Home r% Cedarbrook and Old Lewis Hunter Rye
SNYDER HOUSE 'company Depot j
Nicely Furnished Rooms FLAT CITY Large Drying Room
The Restaurant formerly called The Rathskeller has been
turned Into "A PLAGE TO EAT” B> CBETRSS01''
| TlJWr IXfinMJF FLAT CITY,
& ElEL EM\JIw1EJ front street
| Furnished Rooms, Clean Spring Beds, Bath, Dry Rooms, a"d "'Vi,“,ou”ie"ct iu
Drink Eastern Beer - -
Miner’s Home Saloon
THE HOME OF THE “QUAKER MAID”
Foot of Willow St., Iditarod
j FRESH
Beef, by the side,.$ .40
Veal, “ 50
button, by the carcass.. .35
Fowl,, per lb. ...,.40
Halibut, “ .25
SDBTAROP RfgEAT CO,
j Second St.
Phone 15
three entries are assured to date, and more are expected to come
forward later. It is also hoped that other camps—Ruby in partic
ulai— will furnish teams to compete for the prizes, in which event
the race will be doubly exciting. The course wjll probably be the
same as last year, about 50 miles.
The prizes offered will be the same as la^t year—$300, $125
and $75; and in order to raise the necessary funds it is likely the
Kennel Club will organize one or two social events, but their exact
nature has not yet been decided upon.
It is also proposed to hold one or two short races before March
17, but that will depend upon the amount of local interest exhib
ited in the interim.
BEAUTIFUL THINGS
“ ‘HE beautiful things are the things w* do, they are not
the things we wear, as we shall find when the journey’s
through, and the roll call's read up there. We're illus
trating the latest styles, with raiment that beats the band; but
the beautiful things are the kindly smiles that go with the
helping hand. We burden ourselves with gleaming gems, that
neighbors may stop and stare; but beautiful things are the dia
dems of stars that the righteous wear. There are beautiful
things in the poor man’s cot, though empty the hearth and
cold, if love and service are in each thought that husband and
wife may hold- There are beautiful things in the lowest slum
where wandering outcasts grope, when down to its depths they
see you come with a message of help and hope. The beautiful
things that we mortals buy and flash in the crowded street,
will all be junk when we come to die, and march to the judg
ment seat. When everything’s weighed on that fateful day,
the lightest thing will be gold. There are beautiful things
within reach today, but they are not bought nor sold. — Walt
Mason.
CLUB ORGANIZED
ON FLAT CREEK
The Flat creek Social Club for
the promotion of goodfellowship
among the residents of the creek,
was organized last Saturday night
with 25 members. The meeting
was held in Dave Stranberg’s mess
house, which Mr. Strauberg has
kindly donated for the winter for
use as a club house. Mr. J. G.
Rivers occupied the chair.
After the objects of the club had
been outlined, the following officers
were elected:
President: J. G Rivers.
Secretary and Treasurer: Mrs. J.
F. Monkman.
Entertainment Committee: Grant
Murdock, chairman: Mrs. O. Gard
ner, Mrs. J. Brewis, Dave Stran
berg and J. Kettleweli.
The business of the evening hav
ing been transacted, progressive
whist was played. The prize
winners were Mrs. Dave Stranberg
(souvenir spoon) and J. Downing
(necktie). Dancing followed, and
a very enjoyable time was had.
The entertainment committee
will draw up a program for suc
ceeding Saturday evenings, which
will include vocal and instrumental
music, etc., in addition to the card
parties and dancing. The club is
intended for the use and benefit of
the permanent residents of Flat
cieek, the accommodations avail
able not permitting of a larger
membership.
DELEGATE EXPECTS LITTLE
FROM THE SHORT SESSION
Speaking to a representative ol
the Alaska Daily Empire as lie
was about to leave Juneau for the
States, Delegate Wickersham had
the following to say about future
work for the territorial delegate to
Congress:
‘‘I don’t expect much from the
short' session of Congress, but I
shall do the best I can. It will be
my purpose to push legislation
relative to the development of our
coal lands and for the construction
of railroads.
‘‘I hope to get some results from
the present Congress on these two
subjects, but I think very little
will be accomplished for Alaska’s
good until the new administration
comes in. Alaska must look to the
Democrats for the needed relief.
“Nothing can be done in con
nection with coal and railroad legis
lation, especially the latter, until
afier the committees report.”
Calling the delegate’s attention
to the problem of providing a place
for the legislature to meet and the
lack of contingent funds to pay the
hall rent and other incidentals,
brought forth the reply: “The bill
provides for all that.”
Fresh Olympia Oysters—delicious for
cocktails. Iditarod Meat Co.
Quitclaim deed blanks—Pioneer.
Th& Office Seeker GEORGE FITCH |
IN office seeker is a man who spends his life hunting for a good sub
stitute for work. lie can’t afford to loaf, and bo cannot bear to
- toil. What he desires with all his soul is to rest, at a good salary,
from the trials of a political campaign the rest of his life.
Most office hunters begin hunting immediately after the November
election, in whicli they Look a very prominent part, and practically elected
the President. They begin by asking for an ambassadorship and descend
by slow degrees to a job in the census bureau. After an otticeseeker be
comes chronic he doesn't care much what kind of an office he gets, All he
desires is to hop aboard the great government machine and ride blithely
from pay day to pay day, even if he has to ride the bumpers.
And yet an office seeker is not really as lazy as ho thinks he is. He
will toil night and day for months, inarching hundreds of miles by the
light of a tin torch and polling bis ward with the utmost fidelity every 10
minutes for lHe privilege of marching up to the incumbent in office and
saving: ‘‘ft was a hard pull, but we elected you”—and then of asking him
in a hoarse whisper if he has a fourth-assistant deputyship of any kind lying
around.
An office seeker is the most relentless species of humanity. An Indian
on the trail is trifling and uninteresting compared w ith him. An office
seeker will follow a President over four mountain ranges, through 100
miles of swamp and through 897 milesof hotel corridors withoutonce losing
scent. lie will meet him at sunrise as he steals forth for a mouthful of un
tainted air, and at midnight as the President steals down to the coal cellar
to bank the furnace the office seeker will arise from behind the ash [hie
and show him his indorsement for the post of substitute doorkeeper at the
Panama canal. Office seekers worried William Henry Harrison to death,
and after he had died many of them led better lives in the hope of meeting
him later and pressing their claims in a better land.
After a man lias sought office for a while lie isn’t good for anything
else, and after he has gotten the oflice he isn’t good for anything else
either. Many an office seeker after expending enough energy and genius
to build a l,(K)0-mi]e railroad has obtained a $l,300-a-year office and has
thereafter sat thoughtful through his life with his feet on the desk and a
sign on the door telling opportunity to call again.
LIEDT. ORCHARD
TO BE PAROLED
The Juneau Daily Dispatch is re
sponsible for the statement that Lieut.
Sam Orchard will be pardoned this
month The intervention of Orchard’s
aged grandmother has tended to se
cure a ratification of Orchard's appli
cation by the military board of prison
paroles.
Orchard was formerly lieutenant in
the Third Lb S. infantry. He was
stationed at Valdez in the capacity of
disbursing officer for the Alaska road
commission. Less than a year ago he
was courtmartialed, tried and con
victed of embezzling army funds to
the aount $37,000. He was sentenced
to three years in the military prison
at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
A fiisherraan is reported to have
picked up a life preserver stamped
S. S. Islander, at Oliver’s inlet, South
eastern Alaska.
Harry Yeager, who came in for the
Kennel Club masquerade, returned to
bis home on Flat Wednesday, after a
very pleasant stay in our midst.
White-meat grouse and ptarmigan,
Crowley & Porter.
Dr. Heinrich Wortmann,
Physician and Surgeon
Offices: Iditakod and Flat City
Telephones at each place
DR. H. BEHLA,
Dentist
Offices, Pioneer Drug Store,
Flat City.
Appointments by Telephone
Wickersham & Roden,
Iditarod, Alaska
Michigan, 1881 Kentucky, 1891 Alaska, 1910
George Woodruff Albrecht,
COUNSELOR AND LAWYER
IDITAROD, ALASKA
The Pioneer Attorney of this Camp
E. M. STANTON,
Attorney at Law
Office in Wickersham & Roden Bid;?,
Second Ave.
IN THE UNITED STATES COMMIS
sioner’s Court for ’he Innoko Pre
cinct, Fourth Division,. District j.of
Alaska.
Max Simel, Plaintiff, vs. G. P. Mar
shall, John Doe and Richard Roe.
master and owners of Steamer “Ben
Hur," Defendants.
SUMMONS.
To the United States Marshal of the
District of Alaska or any deputy:
In the name of the United States of
America no command you to summon
G. P. Marshall, John Doe and Richard
Roe to appear before the uudersigned,
a justice of the peace in Innoko pre
cinct in said district, on the 28th day of
March, 1913, at the hour of 2 o’clock in
the afternoon of said day. at our office,
at Ophir, Alaska, in the said precinct,
to answer the complaint of Max Simel,
founded upon a contract for the pay
ment of money, and wherein he de
mands seven hundred and, sixty-seven
and 65-100 dollars.
Given under my hand this 29th day
of November, 1912. W. A YINAE,
U- S. Commissioner.and ex-officio
Justice of the Peace.
The Iditarod Pioneer Printers ere Better Equipped
Than Ever Before to Supply Your Wants in
We Make a Specialty of Printing Big and Little
Cloth Signs
On High-Grade Muslin; They are Just the Thing
to Advertise Your Business Along Winter Trails.
WILL LAST FOR YEABS, AND GET THE BUSINESS