vo, s " SKWAKD. ALASKA, WKhNKSDA \ I:VKN1N(1, DKCKMItlOK :i, N°‘^°
•J
Washington, D. C., December 2, 1913.
Seward Commercial Club, Seward, Alaska, via Sitka
Radio Station:
President Wilson has just read his message before
a joint meeting of congress. He strongly urges the pas
sage of a bill authorizing government construction of rail
ways in Alaska. My bill was favorably reported in the
house Friday and has right of way on the calendar.
Hurrah for Wilson and the opening to development
of Alaska! James Wickersham, Delegate.
CONFUSION
MAY RESULT
United Suites District Attorney
Kodey, of Nome, a while before his
ressgnation was called for, gave out
the following opinion of the laws pas
sed uy t he territorial legislature:
“The organic acts by which Alaska
was given its legislature provides that
no “ne holding a commission as office
holder from the United States in Alaska
should hold any offiiee under the terri
tory, yet the legislature lias passed
several laws imposing additional duties
of clerks of courts, commissioners and
others, and the question arises, is such
a law valid or should the territory
create officials for itself. I he organic
act also restricts the local legislature
from meddling with certain national
license laws, etc., now in force in Al
aska and among them the laws provid
ing for taxes on business and trade, hut
it also states that this proviso shall not
operate to prevent the legislature from
imposing other or additional taxes or
licenses. The legislature went on and
imposed many new taxes and additional
taxts and sometimes on the same things
on which congress had already irapos
ed taxes without sa\ing whether they
are separate or include the congress
ional ones, and provides that the
clerks of the court shall collect them
as they collect other licenses. All this
has resulted in grave doubt as to the
validity of some of ihe iocai laws and
is puzzling not only the local district
attorneys but the department of jus
tice itself and the latter will have to
advise the customs officials about the
tonnage tax and other matters.”
The high school and grammar grade
pupils are rehearsing a playlet, under
the direction of their teacher, Miss
Peterson, to be rendered at Christ
mastide.
See the beautiful Xmas Cards at
Oordon’a. _
Pabsts blue ribbon beer at The
Branch. ______
Budweiser beer at the Branch.
NO FAITH IN
DIVINING ROD
The use of the divining rod in locat
ing water and metal deposits is due to
a superstitious delusion and will grad
ually be abandoned in the opinion of
Dean Mil nor Roberts of the university
of Washington school of mines. Bea
ton officials have recently taken up the
use of the V-shaped twig to locate
water and seem to be firm in the belief
that the theory of the divining rod is
si'll firm. “I have no faith in the di
vining rod,* said Dean Roberts. “A
man will obtain a V-shaped branch of
hazel wood or willow and grip the two
ends with his thumbs down. When
the terminal ends dip they swear that
it is because the water is below, and
that these water loving woods have a
natural affinity for it, consequently
they dive down. I think the real
cause for the stick to dip is purely a
muscular action, and that when you
grip the wood hard you unconsciously
cause it to vibrate up or down. There
is no question that a divining rod
will point. The idea is that it is not
the water that is attracting the stick,
but simply the unconscious muscular
movement of your arm."
C. W. DeHotT plead guilty to the
1 charge of hunting without a license
before Commissioner Conroy yesterday
afternoon, and was sentenced to pay a
tine of $25.
W. A. McNeiley, voluntary U. S.
i weather observer, says the barometer
fell lower than ever before recorded in
Seward Monday. It got below' 28.
James Woodaman, who has been
spending several days in town, de -
parted for Hone this morning.
11 .
S. E. Casler of Kodiak will carry the
mail on the Cold Bay Nushagak route
this wincer.
The M. E. Sunday school is prepar
ing special Christmas exercises.
Meet me at the Branch *
Field glasses at J. L. Graef >9.
'WORLD IS
! NOT SO BIG
The smallness of the world can be
brought home to mind by the thought
of the extent of the country which 1 i
nearest to tins part of Alaska-—Russia.
From Bering straits one need travel
just through that one land and reach
China, Persia, AustriaandScandinavia.
That one country connects, one might
say, our own famed Kotzebue sound, or,
anvway, the* Diomede islands, and their
walrus hunting Capsenicks and Peluks,
with the land of Omar, the dominion of
Conlucius, the home of the Goths and
Huns, and the race that discovered
Anvil creek. Around that one country
are the civilizations of the Orient and
the Occident. Across a strip of water
to the south may be seen the glimmer
of the lights of the mosques of Con
stantinople and the Sublime Porte and
the Turkish gunboats in the Dardan*
elles, while nereis a strip of water to
North can be seen the igloos of Teller
city and Shismareff and the lights of
Mary Sachs that went through more
vicissitudes than any old Turkish gun
boat, by the way.—Nome Nugget.
The governor’s office requests in
formation concerning the whereabouts
of James Scofield, formerly of JefTer- 1
son, Ohio. Last heard of five or six i
years ago, when around Peavey and
Fairbanks. He lias also spent some
time at Nome, Tanana and Circle City. ;
Described as beingsix feet, four inches I
tall, rather slender, smooth face and j
dark brown hair. Relatives are anx-j
ious to hear from him.
President Evans, of the local igloo j
of Pioneers of Alaska, announces an
important meeting at the usual place
this evening and urges all memoers to
attend. _
Col. Revelle, as usual, will carry the
Seward-Hope-Sunrise mail this winter,
service to begin on the 11th of this
month._
Community silver, Sheriton.La Rose
and De Luxe patterns. George the
Jeweler.
San Francisco, Nov. '20. --Correspond
ence Four t h«»us;md men are at work
on file 1 ’anamu-l\ncilic International ,
Kxposirion grounds.. Croat piles of
lumber, huge beams ar d girders, and
hundreds of teams are spread over tin*
three mile expanse at Harbor View. (
A lleet of thirty-two steamers is de
livering timber at thegfrounds. Thirty
million feet of lumber have already
been unloaded on the site and are in
piles or in place in the budding's. Al
together 7(1,000,000 feet of lumber will
be used in the liugre exhibit section
covering two hundred and thirteen
acres.
One year ago President. Charles C. |
Moore of the exposition made the1
definite promise on behalf of the ex* j
position management that all exhibit!
places would lx* completed by .Tidy 2;>, j
1914, eight months before tbe opening |
nay of the exposition on February 20,
1915. “The work," said President
Moore, “will lx* undertaken on a deli-'
nite schedule with time contracts for
each main exhibit palace, and the
schedule will he followed so that at no
time will the work be lax nor will
there be any undue congestion.”
Today, so closely has tins schedule
I been folh wed tb it Director of WorKs
llari is H II. ConnicK bus announced
that the building coinracts are eleven
! per cent ahead of the schedule called
for, and not only will lx* buildings be
completed eight month.- in advance of
the opening day, but there is every
• prospect that the main exhibit palaces
will Ik ready to receive exhibits in
May, 1914. or nine months before the
formal opening. 'Tins arrangement
will be of tremendous advantage to
i exhibitors and will assure a fully com
! pleted and perfected spectacle when
| the exposition swings its gates open
to t he world.
; Ten huge main exhioit palaces are
now under construction as follows:
Palace of Fine Arts, 149,000 square
feet: Palace of Education, 208.000
square feet: Palace of Liberal Arts,
242,000 square feet: Palace of Manu
factures, 225,000 square feet: Machin
j erv Hall, 340,000 square feet: Mines
land Metallurgy, 254,000 square feet:
Transportation. 314,000 square feet:
Agriculture, 328.000 square feet; Food
Products, 230,000 square feet. The
contract for the construction of the
1 Palace of Horticulture has been let.
This building will cover 207,000 square
feet, almost live acres, and will be
built largely of glass.
Practicalh all the Mooring of the
exhibit palaces is in place and in many
eases the towering walls of some of
them are being raised to towering
heights, from eighty to one hundred
and thirty feet from the ground level.
Progress is so far advanced on the
Palace of Machinery, which is morel
than 80 per cent completed, that the j
outer cornices are already decorated
with the imitation Traverine stone
which is used to cover all the palace
walls. The Palace of Machinery is the
largest wooden frame bnilding in the
world and it has taken 7,500,(XX) feet
in its construction. More than 1,070,000
f»*et were raised in the passed month.
The timber that remains to be put in
place in thss palace consists of stud
ding, sheathing and light flooring
with, here and there a few patches on
the immense roof, which, in three
transepts crossed by three higher ones,
reaches to a height of one hundred and
thirty-live feet. During the passed
month 25,000 square feet of Travertine
stone surfacing has been set, which is
a fair indication of the rapidity with
which the work is being executed.
Ice creepers and ice skates at J. L.
Graef’s. __
For reliable informal on write Can
*
non, Pioneer hotel, Knik, Alaska, f
Paris, Dec. 2. The action of the
Pniied States in ordering naval ves
sels to Mexican \n iters finds hearty ap
proval at the hards of the Krench gov
ernment, which hold* that America is
well within if* rights in seeking to
give American !if»* and property in
Mexico adequate protection.
Nearly all of tie* powers have en
dorsed the attitude assumed by the
Wilson administ rat ion.
EIGHT-HOUR
LAW VALID
San Francisco. Dec. 2.—- The woman s
eight-hour law. passed by the state
legislature, i> upheld hy a decision ot
the state supreme court..
Similar progress has been made with
the plumbing, high pressure and
sprinkler systems in the building.
Next in order of completion is the
| palace of Educat ion, which is about
half completed, all the lumber to he
used in its construction having been
! received. Since August ’iiNt when the
erection of the frame of tint palace ot
I Edwertion was started. .'*7->.(H)0 feet ot
lumber have been placed in position.
| Bolh the pal ace of Horticulture and
! the palace of Fine Arts are It) be of
j steel struct! tv. The pile driving for
11he later has been completed and the
! erection of the steel frame will be be
gun shortly.
The foundation for the million dol
j las auditorium, whico is to be erected
1 In the Exposition on a site presented
hy the city in the new Civic (’enter,
has been laid and the great building
will he fully completed hy the begin
ing of the Expesition year. The audit*
orinm will be used in 1915for the meet
ings of conventions and congresses,
eeld under the auspices of the Exposi
tion. Festival Hall is another large
halt to be built for the same purpose
in the Exposition groundi adjacent to
the palace of Horticulture.
Vet another distinctive building will
be the California Building, plans for
which have been approved. Built in
the old mission style of architecture,
! the California Building will be one of
the most imposing of all the structures
in the central portion of the Exposi
tion. Preparations are already being
mace for the gardens that are to sur
round the building. Inside the court
yards hedges of clipped cypresses will
be left standing and great care is
being taken of Ihese remnants of the
davs when the Harbor View baths, the
site of the California Building, was a
favorite resort
Henry Dohrman, Grit i'oltnan and
Krank Whitney will leave tomorrow
morning, bound for the Nelchina dig
gings. __
J. C. To 1 man expects to spend the
winter traveling in the eastern states
and will depart on an early steamer.
The steamer Northwestern, enroutt
here, has on board an accumulation of
thirteen days’ mail matter.
Meet meat the Brancn
The Seward News company is dis
playing some nifty Christmas and New
Year decorations.
Twenty-gauge, 1913 model shot guns
at J. L. Graef’s. J
Sleds for boys and girls; sleds for
men. At J. L. Graef’s. *
Long distance telephone booth at the
Branch. *