SEWARD:—The Gateway to the Land of Opportunity—The Hunters’ Paradise—The Homesteaders’ Land of Promise
-1 The Gateway
The Gateway to the
tot the Kenai, Knik, Broad Pass
Great Coal Fields ot Qold pje|ds
Matanuska -L_
M FM B FR \SSO t I V I FI 1 I * FSS _ PUBLISHED DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY ____LARGEST ALASKAN CIRCLLA1IUN
Vo! No hO SEWARD, THE GATEWAY TO ALASKA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1H, I9H.______l«n Cents thr Copy
BERLIN CLAIMS GREAT VICTORY
FIERCE FIGHTING IS RENEWED IN THE WEST
WHOLE HESSIAN FINE
REPORTED FALLING BACK
'
-
Bombard Forts On
Turkish ( .oast
PURSUING THE RUSSIANS
BERLIN, Doc.—In Poland the German and Austrian
armies are continuing the pursuit of the Russians who
have been decisively defeated on all sides. 1 he war office
has given out no statement as to the intentions of the Ger
man commander in chief but the newspapers of this city
declare that our army will move direct on Warsaw and
lav seige to it if the enemy decides to hold it.
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BRITISH ANNEX EGYPT
LONDON, Dec. 18.—The British empire today form
ally annexed Egypt and the Soudan by this annexation
Turkey loses her last possessions in Africa. Formerly
Great Britain was supposed only to exerise sovereignty
over thes countries but she was really in possession al
though nominally regarding them independent countries.
The sultan was supposed to be the sovereign lord over
Egypt and the Soudan although the Khedive still remained
the nominal ruler of Egypt. The annexation really only
removes the fiction that Great Britain did not own those
countries before.
BRITISH BOMBARD SAROS
LONDON, Dec. 18.—A dispatch from Athens says
that British warships have bombarded the Turkish forti
fications in the Gulf of Saros and have inflicted severe5
losses on the Turkish garrison. It says also that the Turks
fied inland and abandoned the fortifications. The Gulf of
Saros in the north of the Dardanelles whose fortifications
were declared to be under the fire of the British ships some
time ago that much damage was inflicted on them.
CLAIM ENORMOUS VICTORY
LONDON, Dec. 18.—The official dispatches from Ber
lin and Vienna this morning claim an enormous victory for
Germany and Austria over the Russians. According to
the accounts the Russians are falling back along the en
tire front from the Baltic to the Carpathians with the
invading center less than thirty miles from Warsaw and
still advancing If these reports are true it can hardly be
denied that the greatest battle in all the history of war
has been fought and lost by Russia although she had mil
lions of men under arms at the front. The news is not
fully accepted here yet but there is only too much reason
to believe that it has very strong foundation and the re
ports which will probably come later in the day are being
awaited with great anxiety It is asserted that the Austro
German columns have advanced two thirds of the way
across Galicia and are nearing the fortress of Lemberg
which has been in the possession of Russia since a very
short time after the beginning of the war. This informa
tion if true would mean that the Russians have been
driven from Premysl which they had invested and that
they no longer threaten Cracow The Russians, however,
admit none of this. They dismiss the happenings in Galicia
with the statement that nothing has occurred there with
the exception of some unimportant engagements but the
unreliability of the reports received from Petrograd in
former times has rather discounted the value of other
dispatches from the same place. In speaking of the opera
tions to the west of Warsaw the Russians treat them
lightly as if they had not been decisive in any sense. There
can be no doubt that Russia will defend Warsaw to the
utmost as its capture by the Germans would mean the
acquisition of a most important base.
ALLIES PRESSING HARD
LONDON, Dec. 18—Foot by foot the allies appear to
be forcing the Germans out of the trenches in Flanders
and maintaining a strong pressure all along the other
parts of the front from the sea to Switzerland. The great
forward movement has apparently been started and with
the hands of Germany tied in Russia there is perfect confi
dence that the allied armies can drive out the invaders in
the west. No very definite information as to the result of
the movement had arrived this morning but important
news may be expected before evening.
LAUBNER LOTS
BRINGJ40,OOO
ROBERT ASHLAND CLEARS TEN
THOUSAND ON SEWARD
PROPERTY.
Robert Ashland who purchased the
Laubner addition in this city some
months ago for thirty thousand dol
j lars has now sold the same property
for forty thousand dollars. G. Ben
jamin Poindexter who received the
information regarding the sale states
that the Alaska Land company
is the purchaser although he
seems not to be quite certain. As to
the price Mr. Ashland says merey that j
he cleared ten thousand dollars on the
price he paid for the lots this year.
The number of lots in the addition is
:v>6. In the same mail Mr. Poindexter |
heard from Fred Laubner who was \
about to leave Seattle for a trip to,
Ohio.
SCHOOL TERM ENDS
The schools closed today for the
holidays and will re-open on the first
Monday in January. Curtis Morford
of the board says that both schools
did excellent work and everything has
been perfectly systematized by Mrs.
Forgy and Miss Root. It is probable
that the new school building will be
occupied at the beginning of the next
term.
EVANS AT CORDOVA.
CORDOVA Dec. 18.—'The Admiral
Evans arrived at Cordova at nine
o’clock last night after a fine trip.
The only remarkable circumstance
noted on the journey was that slush
ice was encountered in Valdez harbor.
Tte regular meeting of the Moose,
Lodge will be held this evening at
eight o’clock sharp. Final arrange
ments will be made for the ( hristmas
t ree.
See us before sending outside f)f
your job printing.
SAYS CONGRESS WILL ASK
ONLY FIVE MILLIONS.
Washington Correspondent of Post
Intelligencer Writes About Railroad.
In its issue of December 6 the
Seattle Post Intelligencer contains a
letter from its Washington correspon
dent in which he states that $5,000,
000 only will be asked for this year
towards the construction of the Alaska
railroad. This letter is probably the
foundation of the report telegraphed
to Alaskan papers. One of the
reasons, the correspondent says, why
no more will be asked at present is,
that a greater sum could not very
well be spent on the work in one year, j
and another reason is the necessity
for curtailing expenditures ow ing to j
the European war. The letter also j
goes into the method of construction !
and speculates as to whether the mem.
hers of the present commission will
bo placed in charge of the work or
whether it will be done by the en
gineering department of the army.
FINE PROGRAM TONIGHT
BY SCHOOL CHILDREN.
All the Young Hopefuls Will be Heard
at Their Best in the Casino Theater.
A splendid program has been ar
ranged for the school entertainment at;
the Casino theater. After the enter
tainment a dance will take place. The
following names are on the program;
Hazel Borgen, Gertrude Schalaben,
Alice Dagget, Merrit Eide, Beatrice
Baughman, Dorothy Baughman, Ida
Revell, Gladys Green, Lavonia
Stotko, Thelma Tallason, Katherine
Madsen, Marjory Daykin, Geraldine
Cook, Helen Romig. Margaret Romig,
Elsie Baldwin, Thelma Ellsworth,
Susie Guest, Blanche Daykin, Helen
Tallasen Leona Churchill, Mary Mc
Connell, Elizabeth Torrey, Elizabeth
Wil on, Aldoren Carlson, Emily Bor
gen, Forest Vaughan, Jack Sauers,
Harold Rudolph, Emmet Furman, Joe
Bradshaw, Arthur Atkinson, Harry’
Revell, Frank Revell, Werner Boe,
Robert Dagget, Robert Manthey, Vin
cent SeifTcrt, Tom Madsen, Francis
Baldwin, Jack Sullivan, Ed. Wilson,
and Jim Hawkins.
AUSTRIAN LOSS ENORMOUS
NISH, Servia, Dec. 18.—The losses sustained by the
Austrians in their recent defeat by the Servians are le
ported from the front to have been enormous. Innumer
able unburied bodies are lying along the line of the re
treat for miles and miles through the country as no time
was given for their interment. The Servian army has
reached the frontier in the pursuit but will probably not
cross the rivers dividing Austria from Servia until the
moment is ripe to renew the invasion of the enemy s coun
try.
BELGIAN EDITORS LOYAL
AMSTERDAM, Dec. 18—General von Bissing, Ger
man governor of Belgium, has made every effort to in
duce the owners of the newspapers of Brussels and
Antwerp to resume publication but they refused to do so
as long, they say, as King Albert is exiled from the coun
try and while the German censorship is enforced The ef
fort to have the publication of the papers continued is
supposed to be due to the desire of the Germans to have
a chance of showing how the actual conditions in Belgium
are and also to the desire to have Belgian life resume its
normal condition
CAIRO, Egypt, Dec. 18.—A British protectorate was
formally proclaimed today throughout Egypt. In all the
garrison towns in the kingdom salutes were fired and the
British flag was hoisted to show that Egypt is now under
the British crown.
PARIS, Dec. 18.—The British auxiliary cruiser Em
press of Japan has captured the collier Oxford with three
officers and forty men of the cruiser Emden aboard.
These are supposed to be the men mentioned in an earlier
dispatch who escaped from the cruiser when she was des
troyed at Cocos island.
NOW SLUICING
ON GROUNDHOG
PLACER MINING PROVEN TO BE
POSSIBLE IN MIDDLE
OF WINTER.
.
That placer mining may be carried
on during the winter in this section
' is now being fully proven by Messrs.
! Poindexter and partners who have
just begun, in the middle of the montn
of December, sluicing their property
| on Groundhog creek. They recently
I completed a fifty foot Hume on the
j creek and had everything prepared
for the starting of operations. The
ground at no place ever freezes more
than four inches in that locality and
when the snow falls on it even the
frozen places thaw out again. Ground
hog carries too much water in summer
for sluicing but the conditions are
perfect in winter. Mr. Poindexter says
that their experiment shows clearly j
that winter placer mining here is
perfectly feasible. The same parties
have also sunk 15 holes to bedrock on
Bench creek at the head waters of
Sixmile and have found prospects.
The mildness of the climate, they be
lieve, makes this section ideal for
dredging all the year round.
EASTERN RAILROAD CAN
RAISE FREIGHT RATES.
Interstate Commerce Commission Al
lows an Increase of Five Per Cent.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 18.—The In
terstate Commerce commission has
granted the application of the eastern
railroad for a five per cent advance on
freight rates. This increase will be
permitted on all except a few specified
commodities.
COMMERCIAL CLUB REQUESTS
PROTECTION FOR SHIPPING.
Recent Accidents Result in Strong Ap
peal for Aids to Navigation.
At a special meeting of the Com
mercial club held today it was decided
to make a strong appeal to Washing
ton urging appropriations for aids to
navigation along the Alaska coast.:
The recent accidents to shipping were (
pointed out as further proofs of the
need of a survey of the coast, the em-1
ployment of dragnets for the dis-,
covery of hidden reefs and the pur-,
chase of a lighthouse tender. A tele
gram was dispatched today by the
club to Congressman Fitzgerald,
chairman of the appropriation com
mittee of the house, and this tele
gram will be followed up by a letter
to Secretary Redfield of the depart
ment of Commerce.
--
COMING ON ALAMEDA.
SEATTLE, Dec. 17.—Aboard the!
Alameda for Seward are Samuel
Besserman, Rose Besserman, William
Nutter, Mrs. Baughman and one in the
steerage. Mrs. Helen van Campcn,
the noted magazine writer, is aboard
for I^atouche.
FINE PRIZE OFFERED.
A lovely quadruple plated tea set is
now offered as a prize by George the
Jeweller to his customers. Each per
son will receive a ticket for every
dollar’s worth purchased in his store
and these tickets will be placed in a
box until after Christmas when the
drawing will take place. The first
name picked out of the box will be the
winner. The tea set may be seen now
in the store and is well worth looking
at, not to speak of winning it.
ALLIES SAY GERMAN
LINE IS YIELDING
Both Sides Report Successes in
French and Belgian
Battlefields
SAY GEMANS ARE YIELDING
LONDON, Dec. 18.—'The German armies occupying
French and Belgian territory are now declared by the
allied leaders to be yielding before the attacks of the al
lied troops. It is stated, however, that their yielding is
very slow. Today’s official announcements report vic
tories for the French here and there along most of the
battle lines. The allies have also made further advances in
Belgium although the report that they had captured
Westende near Nieuport has not been confirmed. Several
German trenches have been taken although it is admitted
that the Germans have blown up the French trenches in
the Argonne forest region. The forward movement is re
ported to be increasing in extent and intensity gradually
and the belief is general that the whole allied force will
be launched against the enemy soon in one grand effort to
hurl him backward. The details of the fighting seem to
indicate that the present engagements are rather in the
nature of trials although important struggles are taking
place near the Belgian coast.
GERMANS CLAIM VICTORIES
BERLIN, Dec. 18.—It is officially announced that
heavy fighting is proceeding at Nieuport on the Belgian
coast and that it is going favorably for the Germans. No
decision has, however, yet been reached.
The French attacks between La Basse and Arras and
on both sides of the river Somme have resulted in failure
and in large losses for the enemy. On the Somme the
French lost twelve hundred men prisoners and eighteen
hundred killed while our losses were under two hundred.
In the Argonne forest our attacks were very successful
and resulted in the capture of seven thousand five hundred
prisoners in addition to war material. It is evident here
that the allied forces have begun the long talked of at
tempt to push forward but they have met with not the
slightest success. Their losses in these attempts are sure
to be very severe as our troops are strongly entrenched
along the whole line.
KAISER NEARLY WELL
BERLIN, Dec. 18.—It is unofficially reported that
Emperor William is on the road to recovery and will re
turn to the front this week. It is stated that his enforced
idleness is the greatest suffering undergone by him and
the doctors have found it necessary almost to force him
to remain in bed so earger has he been to rejoin the armies
in the field. This city is now looking forward to a tremen
dous victory in Russia which they believe will be the real
beginning of the end of the war.
EMDEN CREW CAUGHT
TOKIO, Dec. 18.—It is officially announced that Bri
tish warships have captured the members of the crew of
the German cruiser Emden who escaped after the destruc
tion of the vessel at Cocos island It was not given out at
the time but it has since been learned that when the
cruiser was driven ashore some of her crew got out and
seized a schooner in which they put to sea rather than be
taken prisoners by the British. For some time a search
has been kept up for this schooner and this search has
now been reported successful.
MANY BERLINERS DIE
BERLIN, Dec. 18.—A Berlin newspaper states today
that of the seventy thousand residents of this city who
went to the front as soldiers the majority have perished
already. Of six hundred and sixty one thousand organiz
ed workers in Germany thirty one per cent are in military
service. The same paper states that the German Federa
tion of Workers has given over three and three quarter
millions of dollars for the relief of the unemployed and
for the assistance of needy women and children.