V
yOL 8“ SEWARD, ALASKA, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 26, 1914 NO. 120
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Last night we had a talk with John
\Y. Swift at the Hotel Seward. Now
this is the same John W. Swift that
there lias been so much in the papers
about in .connection with the mining
and transporting of the Matanuska
coal to salt water, and we naturally
feit a bit shy about tackling Mr. Swift
for an interview, because in the past
we have written some t hings about him
tha* certainly could not be construed
as a boost. But we went in and as
soon as we saw Mr. Swift we telt that
we had a wrong impression of the man.
We felt more so when we were intro
duced and shook hands with Air. Swift,
because he does not shake hands like a
man that would do some of the things
that he has been accused of, and again
he don't look like mat kind of a man.
We told him that we represented the
Gateway and that we wanted the real
truth on the coal matter anil he gave
it to us. We asked him to go back to
the beginning and he old, to the place
where he got his appointment, and this
is what he said:
“As you are probably aware, I am
a special disburcing agent, appointed
by the Secretary of the Navy, and
have been empowered to emplos all
men, and handle all of the business and
in the matter of mining an i look i g
after the transportation of toe coal to
salt water and finally to see that tin*
coal is loaded on barges and delivered
to any ship that the navy department
sees fit to send up here after the coal.
I came up to Alaska last spring with
Mr. Evans, a coal expert employed
by myself and went into the Chick
a loon and then went outside and with
his cooperation employed a mining
crew and purchased an outlit to be
used in the mining of the coal. This
was all attended to in good shape and
the coal sacked and made ready lor
hauling to tide water. In the Fall I
went out with Dr. Homes and made
arrangements'foi* the hauling of the
coal out to some point on Knik arm
where it would be possible to load it
on barges. Mr. Dalton was employed
to look alter this end of the business
and Dr. Homes laid out a program of
operations and a scedule of expenses.
We outfitted with a complete equip
ment of horses, feed, tents and supplies
and all that was neeesaary to carry on
the work. According to the schedule
we were allowed in round numbers
$4,200.00 per month and to employ 34
men, exclusive of Dalton and myself.
When the supplies were landed at
Goose bay, on account of the danger of
extreme high tides which were soon
due, Dalton hired about 75 men and
put them to work in building trail and
gettingche outfit up to Knik. Once
there I advised him to keep within the
limit as allowed by our schedule, as
instead of the $4,200.00 we were allow
ed, our expenses were running in ex
cess of $8,000.00 per month and right;
there occurred the only friction that
ha9 been between Mr. Dalton and my
self* It is absolutely false that any
blows were exchanged by us, and the j
entire matter has been greatly exa
gerated by both press and public. He
ignored my instructions and said that
he 'would do as he d— pleased’ and he
did,
MHe built a trail from Mile 25 on the
Willow creek , road,* to the motob of
Kska creek and established a camp
there. Approximately 900 tons of coal
were landed at Kska creek over the ice
of the Matanuska river and from that
point about 150 tons have been freighted
down the Matanuska on the ice to Pal
mer’s canyon, about sixteen miles
! below. On February 14 the first load
of coal was landed at salt water at the
mouth of the Matanuska river, about
j four miles above Old Knik, where it
w ill be possible to load it onto barges
when it is needed. Trail and weather
conditions have been very favorable all
winter and the Matanuska has been in
the best condition for hauling that has
ever been known. With reasonable
j luck the entire shipment of coal should
! be delivered at the mouth of the Mata
! nuska t>y the middle of March. There
are a few things that I want to say,
and you cannot make them too strong
i for me. One of them is that I want it
j distinctly understood that 1 have never
j since 1 have been on this job done any
i thing or tried to do anything that
| would tend to obstruct the moving of
! this coal. It is to my interast to move
• it as quickly and as cheaply as pos
sible, and all that I have ever tried to
do is to keep within the limits of the
| appropriation and to carry out the
I schedule as laid down for me by my
chief officer. I have never dismissed
a man from the job and have not tried
to put any obstacle in the way of Mr.
Dalton. The only difference that I
! have had with Mr. Dalton was my
i effort to keep within the appropria
tion as 1 have stated before. At this
time I am in Seward wiring to the
navy department, for enough funds to
complete the transportation of the coal.
We were allowed by me navy depart
ment the sum ot $75,000 for the mining
and transporting oi the coal. This
money was exhausted or obligated by
February 5, and 1 was forced to serve
notice to the men employed that the
funds were exhausted. Not one man
«
quit, and all are working today. 1 hope
j that more funds will be available soon
and it will take about $12,000 more to
complete the work. 1 have wired for
this amount and will remain in Sew
ard until 1 hear ir.m the navy depart
ment, and will tnen return to Knik
and stay there until the coal is all on
board a government vessel.
*’l am very sorry that the reported
trou )le in connection with the moving
of this coal has been so greatly ex
aggerated, and J want to say right
here that J anticipate no further
trouble of any nature. The coal will
be moved all right and will be availa
ble in the spring and in good condition,
and 1 hope and trust that it will test
out in a satisfactory manner. I con
sider that the action of the Knik Com
mercial clnb was hasty and ill advised
and caused more misapprehension of
facts than anything else.
“I also want to state that I have
done nothing that I would not do again
under the same circumstances, and
will say that the navy department is
fully informed as to my actions and
that I have been sustained by them in
each and every instance.”
Mr. Swift then paused and smiled,
and said: “Now, if there is anything
that you would like to know that I have
omitted, I will be pleased to answer
any questions that you may wish to
ask.” But we hadn’t any, he had told
it all, and in such a manner that we
were.convtnced that ha^ld the truth.
I
i Washington, Feb. 26.—As a result of the first meeting of the
I conferees, appointed from the senate and house to arbitrate the
'differences in the Alaska Railway bill, it is now expected that the
i bill will be presented to President Wilson for his signature next
Saturday.
The conferees have agreed to most of the points in the house
amendments. The one relating to a standard guage was stricken
out. It was agreed to leave this question to the judgement of the
j engineers.
; The Fitzgerald amendment, which was added by the house,
; requiring a direct appropiation from the federal treasury instead
i of a bond issue, will stand but the amount of the appropriation
has not yet been determined.
Delegate Wickersham has returned from Michigan, where he
has' been lecturing, but leaves today for Baltimore where is to
lecture tonight.
HOBEN RETURNS
AND REPORTS
H. V. Hoben of the Alaska Transfer
Company, who made the trip up to
the Chickaloon coal fields on the Mat
anuska, in the interest of the Seward
Commercial Club arrived in Seward
yesterday after a month spent around
| Knik and Chickaloon. Mr. Hoben
1 says that there could be no iraprove
• ment in the manner in which the haul
I ing of the coal is being handled at
i present, and is of ihe opinion that
i the alleged friction supposed to exist
j between some of the principals is
largely imaginary. The equipment,
according to Mr. Hoben, is all that
could be desired, and the coal will be
landed at tide water in good time.
Pat Keeley, formerly of Seward, now
employed by the coal party, states that
the last load will be landed at the
mouth of the Matanuska by or before
the middle of March. The funds for
the payment of the crew hired to move
j the coal were exhausted early this
} month and when the men were so in
formed they decided that they would
keep right on the job and move the
coal and take a chance that the govern
ment wijl pay them their wages
although the disbursing agent was not
empowered to make them any prom
ises. On the day that Mr. Hoben left
Knik, the first load of coal was landed
at tide water at Esi point near the
mquth of the Matanuska, from this
point it will be an easy matter to load
the coal into barges to be transferred
to any deep sea going vessel.
The Gold Bullion mine, at Knik,
has a crew of freighters engaged in
freighting in their next season’s sup
plies from Knik thi9 winter and will ;
have all the frieght landed on the
property by spring.
1 Semple and Rowe,two teamsters,who
have been employed in the moving of
the Matanuska coal from Chickaloon
to tide water, arrived in Seward yes
terday with the Hoben party, and will
leave* for their home in Juneau on the
next boa,t
Don’t let yourself be forced to eat
what yon don’t like, when yon can
order what yon Uke at the
' Commerce Gale. ‘
SAMPSON SAILS
FOR SEWARD
Seattle, Feb. 26.—The steamer Ad
miral Sampson sailed for Southwestern
Alaskan ports last night at i) o’clock.
Passengers for Seward are: W. Mc
Donald, Minnie McDonald, Cashier
Ellinger G. Chase and Felix Charlton.
Seldovia—John Davidson and Mrs.
Morris. Kodiak—Dennis Winn and
Thomas Rogers. Tliarnna—J. Walker
ann Stephen Moore.
E. A. Thede of Seward has begun
suit against the Alaska Steamship
Compauy for live thousand dollars
damages, for the loss of the Uncle
Sam, which was thrown on the beach
| at the same time that the Dora went
i ashore in the big blow last winter.
The case will come before the court
in Valdez early in April.
For reliable information write Can
non, Pioneer hotel, Knjk, Alaska, t
Snow glasses of all kinds for sale at
J. L. Graef’s J
_
Budweiser beer at the Branch.
Meet me at the Branch *
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j Your Spring Suit i
j N£W |
I Latest Spring Styles I
* iust arrived
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