The Terminus of Alaska’s Thirty-five Million Dollar Government Owned Railroad System
“ _ . * The Gateway
The Gateway * I
| ll ' Kenai’ Knik’ Broad PaSS
. rvrpoT CI,vniv LARGEST ALASKAN CIRCULA TION
ADVERTISEMENTS WING RESULTS _I't HI.LsIILI) DAILY IA< LIT SI NDA\ _________
V„|. 9, \„ 195 SEWARD, THE GATEWAY TO ALASK A, TUESDAY; JUNE I, 1915._T,,» i''111* *»«• 1 "i-y
CHAIRMAN EDES ARRIVES
AND TAKES IIP HIS DUTIES
OUTFIT COMING
FROM PANAMA
<u 1TK A LOT or WORK ON AL
\SK \ NORTHERN SI RE
THIS \E\R.
Seward became the headquarters of
the Alaska engineering commission in
fact as well as in name this morning
when William C. Kdes. chairman of
the commission, formally took posses
sion of his office in the railroad build
ing.
Mr. Edes arrived with Mrs. Edes
yesterday afternoon on the steamer
Mariposa. As the ship pulled in the
dock was crowded while the Seward
band played in honor of the man in
whose hands the work of constructing
the great government railroad system
has been placed. The afternoon was
beautifully line, the steamer was
crowded with stampeders that re
minded oldt inters of the days when
Dawson and Nome were in their hey
day and everything seemed to combine
to give a really gala appearance to
the day when Seward began its act
ua1 existence as the occa ; terminal of |
the ..uak line that is to open Alaska
to the world.
Early this morning Mr. Edes enter
ed his office in the railroad building
and with his secretary, A. G. Estes,
was so on engaged in the commence
ment of the great work Ik* fore him.
As usual he was found courteous and
obliging but exceedingly careful about;
making any statement that might be
misunderstood or that might mislead
either those who expect employment
or anyone else.
In answer to a question as to now
much work will be done on the Alaska
Northern railroad this summer he
said he “presumed we shall do quite a
lot of it.’ Then thoughtfully he ex
pressed the desire that men seeking
employment should be cautioned j
against coming as. in the first place,
the road will not be turned over to;
the government for a few weeks and.
in the next place, the appropriation is
so small at present that the work will i
LINE PI TS QUIET! S
ON FOOLISH RUMOR.
Says Litigation Will Not Affect Build
ing of Government Railroad
In the Least
WASHINGTON, June 1.— Secretary
of the Interior Franklin K. Lane stat- j
ed today that the litigation started by
some parties in connection with the;
Seward townsite will not affect the j
building of the railroad. The state
ment was made in answer to a ques
tion which had for its foundation rum
ors that had been started with an ap
parent view of creating the belief that
the railroad work would be delayed or
interrupted. The secretary’s answer
is regarded as putting a quietus for
all time to such misgivings.
BALLAINES BEGIN
CLEARING ANI) GRADING.
John and Frank Ballaine are get
ting bids for clearing and grading
Second Avenue from Jefferson street
to the north line of the orginal Se
ward plat, and for clearing and grad
ing Third Avenue from Madison to
the same line.
Part of the property on both
avenues is to be put on the market as
the choice residence district of Se
ward.
Long distance telephone booth at
The Branch.
For some months Seward has been looking for
i ward to the establishment of the head quarters of the
| railroad engineering commission at Seward. We ;j;
l'j have, for some reason or another, which cannot be
; now recalled to mind, expected this most important |i
event to take place about June the First. And now on j
the first dav of June exactly Chairman William C. id
Files of the commission entered his headquarters of- i d
lice and officially announces that Seward, and Seward j
alone, is the headquarters of the commission for the ; :j
work of constructing the great government railroads 1
in the Territory of Alaska.
be necessarily limited this year. In
I deed, as to how extensive the work
will be on this road this year Mr. Edes
would give no positive opinion. He
; did say, however, that the Alaska
Northern would not be connected up
with the new portion of the railroad
until next year. Locomotives and
other equipment will be shipped from
the Panama canal this year to Seward
but he has found that very extensive
repairs will have to be made on the j
wharf here before the heavy equip- j
meat can be unloaded. These loco
motive.- and other equipment will
come this fall. He states that he
must Kok into the situation more
thoroughly before saying anything of
a r illy positive ' dure. That it will
be found necessary to erect some
•> V* v •> ♦ ❖ ❖ ❖ V ❖ <• ♦
❖ COMMUNICATION OPENS *
❖ WITH KERN CREEK. •>
❖ - ❖
Telephone communication was op
ened through to Kern creek last night
from Seward. Another indication of
the opening of Seward’s great sum
mer came this morning when the rail
road car started out filled with pas
sengers and freight on its first trip
for the season.
buildings for the accomodation of the
employees he believes but even on this
matter he says nothing definite.
The sum and substance of all that
Mr. Edes is prepared to say just now
is that Seward is the headquarters of
the railroad commission, that “quite a
lot" of work will be done on the Alas
ka Northern road this summer and
that he has now buckled down to pre
pare the way for his labors. He will
remain here all summer, except dur
ing the time that lie will find it neces
sary to visit other places where work
is going on. He expects to have to
spend some time in Washington next
winter but in the meantime he will
delve into all the matters relating to
the construction and will soon bo in a
position to speak more directly.
❖ WILSON WILL ASK ❖
❖ MEXICANS TO QUIT. *
❖ - <•
WASHINGTON, May 31.—Presi
dent Wilson has decided to ask the
Mexicans to disarm. The request will
be almost in the nature of an ultimat
um. He sent a sharp note to the
heads of the different factions in Mex
ico today telling them that conditions
there must change or that the United
Sates will intervene.
SITUATION VERY GRAVE
WASHINGTON, May 30.—As experts have reported
that the Nebraskan was torpedoed and not hit by a mine
the situation of affairs between this country and Germany
lias become graver than ever Matters were really grave
before but the report on the Nebraskan as well as the
knowledge now gained that the Lusitania was not armed
and did not carry explosives has made matters infinitely
worse. President Wilson has decided to withold com
ment on the German answer until the official text has been
received. It is known that we are prepared to controvert
every statement made by Germany. Before the protest
was sent it had been found that the Lusitania did not car
ry explosives and was not armed. Evidence was also
gathered that no British vessel leaving American ports
for several months was armed. We even hold that ships
carrying munitions or contraband of any kind should be
regarded as neutrals, even when they carry prospective
soldiers, and all those aboard should be removed before
sinking. The evidence now coming in shows clearly that
a German submarine sank the Nebraskan and nothing
else.
WASHINGTON, June 1.—(Later) After two hours’
conference Wilson and cabinet agree to send a short note
asking Germany if it intends to disregard the principles
of international law. If the answer indicates an unwill
ingness to comply diplomatic relations between the two
countries will be severed- BernstorfY will confer with the
president tomorrow.
WILSON TO REPLY AT ONCE
WASHINGTON, June 1—It was learned this after
noon that President Wilson will send a speedy reply to the
German answer. The language to be used has not been
made known but the cabinet is discussing the situation
now.
SAY GERMANS EVADE
SEATTLE, June 1.—The press all over the United
States today almost unanimously declares that the an
swer of Germany to the American demands is nothing
but an evasion and all the papers call for determined
1 measures.
BIG EXPLOSION
SHOOK SEATTLE
I _
BARGE LOAD OF DYNAMITE
WENT OFF SI NDAY WITH
A TERRIFIC CRASH
SEATTLE, Bay :?0.—A terrific ex
plosion broke the windows of two
thirds of all the business houses and
shook the city to its foundations early
this morning when eighteen tons ot
dynamite on a barge in the harbor
went off from some unknown cause.
The dynamite was consigned to Russia
and was due to leave next Tuesday.
The police believe that Germans are
responsible.
SEATTLE, May .‘tl.—The damage
caused by the great explosion of dyna
mite yesterday morning has inflicted
damage that is estimated at one
hundred thousand dollars. The shock
was heard for fifty miles around and
thousands of the people of the city
rushed out to the streets believing
that a terrific earthquake had been the
cause.
TACOMA, May ::i.—A mysterious
stranger bought four hundred feet of
fuse here last Saturday and this pur
chase is believed to be connected with
the explosion of the barge load of
dynamite in Seattle harbor. The
cause of the explosion is still a
mystery, however.
* ❖ * ❖ ❖ ❖ •> * * * * *
❖ SCHOOL EXEKCISES AND ❖
❖ EXHIBITION THIS WEEK. ❖
❖ - *
An exhibition of school work done
during the past nine months will be
open to the public Wednesday even
ing, June 2nd, and Thursday after
noon and evening Juno 3rd, at the
school building.
On Wednesday evening, June 2nd,
the exhibit will open at eight o’clock
with a comic mock trial given by the
pupils of the Commercial Law Class.
The graduating exercises will be
held in the Casino Theatre on Friday
evening, June 4th, at eight o’clock. A
very pleasing number on the program
is a folk dance by the children of the
primary department under the kind
direction and efficient training of Mrs.
Win. Zwink, and those who have seen
it say that this exercise could not be
excelled by children of the same age
in any school in the states.
NOTED DREDGE
MAN ARRIVES
PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN
DREDGE CO. COMES TO
INSTALL DREDGE.
That large mining interests are be
coming deeply interested in this sec
tion since its choice as the district to
be served by the government railroad
is the information given by Ben Ber
nard, president and general manager
of the American Dredge Building &
Construction Company, who arrived
on the Mariposa yesterday. Mr. Ber
nard came chiefly to look over th<s
country which he believes is about to
become a great dredging field but he
also made the trip to personally sup
erintend the installation of the Her
ron-Barnes dredge at Sixmile Creet:
which his company sold to the operat
ors. The American Dredge company
is probably supplying the machinery
to take out more gold in Alaska at
present than all other such companies
combined. Mr. Bernard left with Mr.
Herron this morning to start the
dredge going at once. It is a double
flume screen conveyor dredge with
buckets of two cubic feet capacity
(Continued on Page Six)
ZEPPELINS ATTACK LONDON
AND BOMBARD EAST END
BIG BUILDING
OUTFIT COMES
J. P. MANTELL SAYS HE CAN
BIT LI) ANYTHING FROM BUNG
ALOW TO SKY SCRAPER.
A great building contractor’s outfit,
weighing fifty tons, arrived on the
Mariposa yesterday for J. P. Mantel!
who declares that he is ready now to
build anything from a bunaglow to a
skyscraper, that he believes Seward is
about to become a great city and that
he has come to stay to aid in the big
building operations. The outfit is for
general building construction. It con
sists of a derick, pile driver, concrete
mixers, portable power saws, building j
hoist and innumerable small imple
ments for the work. Mr. Mantell was
in Seward when there was nothing
here but a few shacks and he return
ed to live and work and remain the
rest of his life. He has been contract
ing business for twenty years. On the
Mariposa yesterday also came his wife
and child.
•> •> ♦ •> ♦> ♦> %• •> •>
❖ MORE THAN SEVENTY *
❖ ON THE ALAMEDA. •»
❖ - <•
SEATTLE, June I.—The following
are passengers for Seward on the
Alameda which left Sunday:
Chas. Johnson, Lee Harrison,
Andrew Stevenson, John I)arey, C. T.
Stanley and wife, Mrs. B. Steele, J.
VVermus, J. Dixon, F. Daniels, J. Task,
G. Campbell, Mrs. C. Frank, Mrs. W.
Sauter, J. Kowes, H. Grant, 0. Han
son, Miss Sarah Stout, A1 Sullivan,
W. Martin, R. Barret, G. Reed Jessie
McKillop, Mrs. Ed. Honohaue, W.
O’Brien and wife, W. Barbour and
wife, E. Erickson, E. Kenney, Hy
Chartit, J. Galbraith, Alvis Had
strund, J. Howells, G. Chase, S. Lar
sen, Chas. Williams, Ned Henry and
thirty-four steerage
MORE THAN NINETY
CAME ON MARIPOSA.
More than ninety people
came to Seward on the Mariposa,
twenty-six of whom were steerage.
The number for the Anchorage was
eighty-nine, sixty of whom were steer
age. The vessel arrived at 5 o’clock
p. m.
WALSH ACCUSES YOUNG
ROCKEFELLER AGAIN.
KANSAS CITY, June 1.—Chairman
Walsh of the Industrial Relations
commission stated today that Rocke
feller has been proven to be entirely
responsible for the condition which
prevailed some time ago in the Colo
rado coal fields.
VILLA THREATENS.
El PASO, June 1.—General Villa’s
representative here has issued a state
ment that Villa will declare war
against any foreign power attempting
to interfere in Mexico. He also de
clares that the only solution of the
difficulty is to recognize Villa’s gov
ernment.
TANANA WRECKED.
DAWSON, May 30.—The steamer
Tanana enroute from Whitehorse hit
a rock and sank in shallow water on
Thirty Mile river. The steamer Daw
son has gone to the rescue. The,
water is very swift at that place but j
the passengers are believed to be safe.1
LONDON BOMBARDED
LONDON, June 1.—The attack from the air on Lon
don which has been so long looked for occurred at last in
the early hours of this morning. The attack was made
by a Zeppelin which hovered over the east end and drop
ped bombs that set lire to several buildings and burned
them. For a time in the immediate neighborhood some ex
citement prevailed but the city as a whole remained quiet.
The only persons injured wa re two women but the blaz
ing buildings created a period of some sensation. The ex
plosion of the bombs was heard over the whole city. The
Zeppelin is supposed to be the one sighted over the sub
urbs previous to bombardment. The full story of the re
sult is not yet published. The admiralty made a statement
today to the effect that the total number of British mer
chant ships sunk since the beginning of the war is one
hundred and thirty.
ZEPPELINS NEAR LONDON
LONDON, June 1.—Zeppelins have ai last been seen
over the suburbs of London and the feeling is present that
we shall soon have an attack on the capital itself. Once
more precautions have been taken to throw the city into
darkness at the first sign of attack- The press of London
is as one in declaring that the answer of Germany to the
American protest is nothing but an evasion and an at
tempt to prolong the argument. It is also taken as an in
dication of Germany's intention to continue the sub
marine warfare.
LONDON, June 1.—(Later) Four people were killed
by the Zeppelin raid and many were injured. Ninety
bombs were dropped. The anti-German feeling is running
high and rioting has begun again.
STRUGGLE AT DARDANELLES
ATHENS, June 1.—The fighting around the Dardan
elles is continuing and is now raging savagely. The Turks
lost two thousand men in a fierce night attack levelled by
them two days ago. The relative positions of the antago
nists remain practically the same, however, so far as can
be ascertained here.
ITALIANS STILL GOING.
GENEVA, June 1.—The Italians are still continuing
their advance in the province of Trent. They have invad
ed Austrian soil in three different places and at all points
have managed to maintain their forward movement al
though it is admitted that the Austrians have not yet fac
ed them with a full force.
ITALIANS RAID POLA
ROME, June 1.—An Italian dirigible ballon raided
the great Austrian naval base of Pola last night and drop
ped several bombs which set fire to a depot and arsenal
which are reported to have been destroyed. An Italian
destroyer flotilla also bombarded Montelacone shipyards
and inflicted considerable damage.
AUSTRIANS ATTACK
GENEVA, June 1.—The Austrians have launched
savage attacks in the passes of the Alps but the Italians
have repulsed them. Severe fighting took place during
the attacks and the casualties were heavy.
MADISON, Wis., May 31—The circuit court has re
fused the petition of the governor to restrain the Allis
Chalmer company from manufacturing and shipping
shrapnel to Europe.
PARIS, June 1.—The press of this city speaks of the
German answer to the American protest as a diplomatic
blunder. The French papers generally declare that only
one course is open to the United States government and
that is to insist on the granting of its demands.
GERMANS RUSH PRZEMYSL
LONDON, May 31—The news from Galicia today
shows that the Germans and Austrians are now putting
forth everv effort to rush the battle around Przemysl
through so that they can detach some of their troops for
service against the Italians. So far as can be learned the
Russians' are holding the Teutonic allies in spite of then
desperate attempts to force the invading army backward.
RUSSIANS CLAIM VICTORY
PETROGRAD, June 1.—The Russians have assumed
the offensive and have won victories all along the entire
front. Seven thousand Austrian prisoners have been cap
tured in the fighting beyond the Dniester river.