VOLUME XXII. NUMBER 46. -
SEWARD, ALASKA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1927.
PRICE TEN CENTS
Grandson Noted
* American Dead;
E.Thomas Gerry
DEVOTED MUCH OF HIS LIFE TO PUBLIC SERV
ICE—WAS PROMINENT LAWYER, BANKER AND
YACHTSMAN—WAS INJURED IN FALL LAST
MONTH WHEN SUFFERED BROKEN HIP—END
CAME WHILE SLEEPING
NEW YORK, FEB. 19. (/P)—Elbridge Thomas Gerry
died at his home here yesterday. He had been invalided
a month by a fall in which he suffered a broken hip. Phy
sicians said he was out of danger, but would never be able
to walk again. Death occurred while he was sleeping.
The grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Inde
pendence and the father of a United States Senator, El
bridge Gerry established his own fame along lines outside
national politics. Much of his long life, however, was de
voted to public service. Besides becoming widely known
as a lawyer, banker and yachtsman, he served on many
important commissions in the State of New York, and
energetically to improve the condition of the children of
New York City.
UNIVERSITY MONTHLY
MAGAZINE SUSPENDED
DUE TO LINCOLN STORY
HUMOROUS SAJIRE OF LIFE OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN PROMPTS
SUSPENSION
SEATTLE, Feb. 19. (^—Publica
tion in the columns of the monthly
magazine of the University of Wash
ington student body of a humorous
article on the life of Abraham Lin
con, caused its suspension indefinitely
by the faculty and committee of stu
dents’ affairs. The faculty said an hu
morous article on the life of Lincoln
appearing in the February number of
the magazine prompted them to order
suspension. Mark Sullivan, editor,
and Glenn Dexter, author of the art
icle, were declared ineligible for par
ticipation in student activities for one
year.
HALIBUT SCHOONER VENUS
ALMOST SUNK IN STORM
KETCHIKAN, Feb. 19. (£>)—'The
halibut schooner Venus narrowly es
caped sinking off Kodiak when heavy
seas and strong winds stripped the
boat down to the deck. The crippled
vessel reached Kodiak safely.
WILKINS PLANES ARE
LOADED ADOARD SHIP
ALGER GRAHAM OF DETROIT SE
LECTED AS THIRD PILOT FOR
EXPEDITION
SEATTLE, Feb. 19. (£>)—‘Wilkins’
two Stinson Detroit planes were safe
loaded aboard the steamship North
western - which sailed today. Alger
Graham of Detroit, third pilot of the
expedition, is accompanying the ma
chines.
t Mr. Gerry, born in New York City
on Christmas Day, 1837, was a
grandson of Elbridge Gerry of Mass
achusetts, who was a signer of the
Declaration of Independence, and the
fifth Vice-President of the United
States. He was graduated from Col
umbia University in 1857 and was
admitted to the New York bar in
1860.
He held his first public position in
[1867 when he was a member of the
New York constitutional convention.
He served as chairman of the New
York commission on capital punish
ment which in 1886 substituted the
| electric chair for hanging as the
ipenaley for murderers in that state.
In 1889, he was chairman of the
: executive committee for the celebra
tion fo the centennial of the inaug
uration of George Washington and in
1892 he was chairman of the New
York City commission on insanity.
Ever since 1886 he has been
known to his friends as Commodore
Gerry. He had been interested in
yachting for some time and in that
year he was elected commodore of
the New York Yacht Club, a position
which he held for seven years. His
flagship, the steam yacht Electra,
became, familiar to residents of the
leading ports of this country and
Europe.
(Continued on Page Seven)
NORTHWESTERN COMING
WITH 1SS PASSENGERS
SEATTLE, Feb. 19. (£>)—'The S. S.
Northwestern sailed at 9 o’clock this
morning and carried 135 passengers.
Seward passengers: W. E. Manning,
G. S. Herman, George Potter, R. E.
McDonald, A. Cope, Mrs. M. Wratten,
J. MoMason, A. Baumberger, J. Flow
er, D. Contur, Anna Morris, A1 Gra
ham, Mrs. Gray, Mrs. V. Hill, A.
Mathewson, Mrs. R, S. Strand, B. Ja
cobson, M. L. Adams, John Calburg,
t ■ . - ■
R.Richardson and four steerage.
SCHE
HI
LOOTED THE MAIL
GOVERNMENT’S STAR WITNESS
NESS TESTIFIES SIX HOURS
IN FAIRBANKS COURT
HIS MENTION OF SECOND WOMAN
IN CASE FIRST INTIMATION
OTHER INVOLVED
FAIRBANKS, Feb. 19. (^—Relat
ing how he and two women looted a
government mail sled of more than
$33,000, William Schermeyer, the gov
ernment’s star witness, testified for
more than six hours in the Federal
court against Nellie Bates, known as
“the Black Bear,” in the Interior. His
mention of a second woman in the
case was thd first intimation that any
one other than he and the Bates wo
man was involved in the robbery.
Schermeyer said that late in the
evening, while other guests in the
roadhouse were drinking and playing
cards, he, “the Black Bear” and anoth
er woman, whose identity remains un
disclosed, removed the pouches from
the sled and hid them near the dog
kennels. Next morning they removed
■the loot, which was in the form of new
bills, and burned the pouches.
FAMILY HACKED TO
DEATH ON N. Y.FIRM
MAN, WIFE AND FIVE CHILDREN
KILLED WITH RAZOR AND
KNIFE
UTICA, N. Y., Feb. 19. (JP)—Guy
Taylor, wife and five children were
found dead in their farm house. They
had been hacked to death with a ra
zor and knife about a week ago. He
had been out of work since February
4. The police expressed the belief
that Taylor killed his family while
they slept and then committed sui
cide. *
KILLS MIN WHO LEFT
HER LARGE FORTUNE
PARIS, Feb. 19. (£>)—Ingratitude
still stand in the French law as ade
quate reason for a court to annul
a will.
■Madame Du hot de Talhouet, ac
quitted of the murder of a million
aire G-reek, M. Basilionidis, with
whom she lived for yeans, shot him
because of neglect. She learned aft
erwards that the man who cast her
off had left her his fortune. The
will was clear but the court invalid
ated it because the woman proved
herself “ungrateful” by killing her
benefactor—and betrayer.
WARSHIPS ORDERED TO CHINA
TOYIO, Feb. 19. (/P)—One Japanese
cr iser and four; destroyers have been
ordered to proceed to Shanghai and
wr.ll probably leave Sasebo naval base
tomorrow.
WILKINS POLAR
PARTY ARRIVES
FOR ARCTIC DASH
OBJECTS OF EXPEDITION GATHERING OF SCIEN
TIFIC DATA WITH RESPECT TO LAND, OCEAN
DEPTH, TEMPERATURES, CURRENTS, ETC.;
WILL JUMP OFF FROM BARROW MARCH 8 OR 10
* ' _
Bound upon a mission which may bring a wealth of
scientific knowledge to the world and the answer to the
question of what lies beyond those precincts already pene
trated by man—the great blind spot surrounding the
! North Pole—Captain George H. Wilkins and Carl Ben
jEielson, accompanied by their aides and newspaper cor
respondent, arrived in Seward on the S. S. Alaska last
| night. They will be guests in the city until Monday, when
they will entrain for Fairbanks, the first base from which
they will begin operation in preparation for the dash
into the Arctic.
In addition to Captain Wilkins and Mr. Eielson the
: party is composed of A. M. Smith, representative of the
Detroit News, which is sponsoring the Wilkins expedi
; tion, as special correspondent; Howard J. Masoit and Wal
! ter Hemrick of Seattle, radio men, and Orval H. Porter of
Detroit, mechanician.
Following the advance party is’
Alger Graham, aboard the S. S. Norfh
| western, with two Wright Detroit
Stinson biplanes.
I
Upon the arrival of the planes at
Fairbanks, they will be tuned up and
with the great Fokker plane be used
in conveying the entire party to Point
Barrow, where final preparations wull
be made for the dash into the blind
spot of the Polar regions.
The party expects to get away from
Fairbanks between March 8 and 10,
and consume betwreen five and six
hours in the trip to Point Barrow.
Preparations made at Point Barrow
last year, when Captain Wilkins and
his party were at Point Barrow, are
expected to expedite the hop-off. There
will be awaiting them 3,500 gallons of
gasoline and other supplies essential
to successful flights.
According to Captain Wilkins, seven
fights will be made into the Arctic,
four of which will be made with the
Stinson Detroit whirlwind biplanes in
a northwest and southeast direction
for distances of about 600 miles. The
Stinsons are capable of 110 miles an
hour, having been remodeled espe
cially for the work, having enclosed
accommodations for four passengers,
and will be equipped with skis for ice
and snow landings.
If the single-engine Fokker proves
satisfactory, Captain Wilkins and Ben
Eielson will then prepare for the ma
jor operation of exploring the* blind
spot with this machine. A cruise of
1,000 to 1,500 miles and return is con
templated, during which time they
hope to make landings and take
soundings of the waters for scientific
purposes, securing records of depths,
temperatures and currents, all of
which will be valuable for meteorlog
ical purposes.
In explaining the objects of his ex
ploration Captain Wilkins said that
while search of land believed to lie
north of Point Barrow was the pri
mary interest, if it was not found it
would in no wise affect the general re
sult from a scientific standpoint.
The explorers will carry with them
(Continued on Pace Four)
STAGGERING WEIGHT ADVANT
AGE OF BOSTONIAN WAS TOO
GREAT HANDICAP
TWENTY THOUSAND PACK GAR
DEN—NEW CHAMP IN LINE
FOR BOUT WITH TUNNEY
NEW YORK, Feb. _19.(^P)—Within
the shadows of the heavyweight cham
pionship gateway Jack Delaney, king
of the light heavyweights, same to the
turning point in his long march of
pugilistic conquest when aggressive
Jimmy Maloney of Boston took the de
cision from him after ten of furious
rounds before a record throng of 20,
000 which filled Madison Square Gar
dens. Bending under a shattering
two-fisted attack, Delaney was able to
save two rounds as he fell back in
steady retreat before the powerful
Bostonian’s staggering weight advan
tage of 31 1-2 pounds with which De
laney contended and which was ap
parently too great a handicap to over
come. Critics awarded Maloney six
rounds, Delaney two and two were
even. *
TO HOP OFF FOR S. A.
PORTOPRAYA, Cape Verde Islands,
Feb 19. (JP)—Italian Commander De
Pinedo arrived here and plans to hop
off tonight for South American. He
expects to make the flight in 15 hours.
SPEECH INFLUENCED
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19. (5*)—A
New York investment banker testi
fies in the Ford Tax suit that Wood
row Wilson’s speeches in the 1912
presidential campaign were a bear
ish influence in the stock market.
j®