MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOLUME XXII. NUMBER 43. SEWARD, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1927. PRICE TEN CENTS
Rainstorm Deluges
Southern Part State
Coast to Mountains
I
SIXTEEN KNOWN TO BE DEAD AND TWENTY
ONE INJURED—ELEVEN KILLED IN DOUBLE
AVALANCHE WHICH SLID OVER EDISON COM
PANY BUILDING—RESIDENTS OF ENCINO MA
NNED AND ALL TRAFFIC SUSPENDED—BUS
ii>_.dS SECTIONS COVERED WITH SEVERAL
INCHES OF WATER .
WATER SIX FEET DEEP FL0WIN9 THROUGH VALLEYS
San Diego Cut Off From Rest of Wbrld—Washouts on
Railroads Halts all train operations—raging Flood
Waters Puento Creek Undermine Steel Railway Tres
tle, Cars Plunge Into Torrent
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 16. (IP)—The greatest storm
that ever swept over the Pacific slope to mid-ocean con
tinued with diminishing force with the known dead 16 and
21 injured. ^Eleven persons were killed in a double ava
lanche in Southern California at the Edison company
plant, 75 miles east of Fresno. The first slide crushed the
bunk house and ten men. As the rescuers worked, a
second slide killed another man.
NO TRAIN SERVICE
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 16. (/P)—The city is cut off from
the rest of the world as far as train service is concerned
to and from the east over the San Diego and Arizona
railway, which stopped running Monday because of bad
washouts. The Santa Fe offices reported today that no
trains could enter or leave the city over its lines between
San Diego and Los Angeles until further notice.
HUNDREDS AUTOS STALLED
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16. (jP)—Row*
boats from a small lake in a Los An
geles park was commandeered by the
police to be used to rescue more than
a hundred persons marooned in the
suburban towns of the San Fernando
valley, caused by floods from a rain
storm deluging Southern California
from the sea to the mountains. The
waters are reported six feet deep in
low parts of some of the valley towns.
Communication is either broken or
difficult over the highways, electric
lines and railways.
The wrecking of two small cottages
which were undermined at the beach
near Santa Monica, was one of the
principal effects of the storm.
The weather bureau predicted that
the rains will continue.
Sixty-five residents at Encino are
marooned in their homes. All traffic
is suspended to Van Nuys, and sev
eral inches of water covers all parts
of the town. Persons in the business
district are unable to reach their
homes. The Pacific Electric company
tracks are under water and several
hundred automobiles are stalled in
the valley. Part of the Southern Pa
cific tracks between Glendale and Val
ley are endangered. All the high
ways except four are cut off.
Merchants on several of the lower
streets of Los Angeles built dams of
sand bags across their doorways to
prevent water which filled the streets
from sweeping into the ground flors.
ENGINEER GROUND TO DEATH
WHITTIER, Calif., Feb. 16. (&)—
Raging flood waters of Puento creek,
five miles north of here undermined
a steel railroad trestle and a locomo
tive and two cars of the Union Pa
cific crack flyer plunged into the tor
rent last night. It is believed persons
were trapped in the dining car which
is standing upright in midstream.
Charles Ireland, engineer, was ground
to death. He attempted to leap from
the cab as the engine plunged into the
water. Six of the injured are in hos
pitals.
UNDER HEAVY GUARD
MANILA, Feb. 16. (5s)—Hugh Dau
tremont left on the army transport
Thomas for San Francisco heavily
guarded to prevent suicide.
JOIN
COOLIDGE PROPOSAL
FOR DISH
FOUR POWER NAVAL CONFER
FERENCE AT GENEVA LOOMS
WITH FRANCE AND ITALY
ELIMINATED — POSTPONMENT
TO IMMEDIATE FUTURE BE
SERIOUS BLOW TO COMPETI
TIVE NAVAL BUILDING, STATES
KELLOGG
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16. (^—Possi
bilities of a move toward a four-power
naval conference at Geneva with
France eliminated loomed with the
receipt of the French reply declining
the suggestion of President Coolidge.
The French communication said the
American proposals “risk compromis
ing the success” of the preparatory
disarmament commission created by
the League of Nations and already at
work. The Geneva commission, in
the French opinion, affords the place
'where the “American proposal can be
effectually examined.”
Secretary Kellogg, commenting on
the French reply, said there appeared
to be “several points in it which must
be caused by misunderstanding of the
full purpose of the Coolidge pro
posals. It seems to me that to post
pone to an indefinite future all efforts
to grapple with the problem of com
petitive naval building would -strike a
serious blow to the whole cause of
disarmament. I very much hope be
fore the Geneva conference is ended
the French government lends its aid
toward the consummation of such an
agreement.”
WILL DELIVER NOTE TODAY
ROME, Feb. 16. (£>)—Italy will fol
low France in rejecting President
Coolidge’s disarmament proposal, and
sent a semi-official communique which
announced that the Italian reply would
be ready and probably be delivered
today.
REJECT U. S. PROPOSAL
SHANGHAI, Feb.j 16. (£>)—'The
American proposal for exemtping
Shanghai from fighting was rejected by
Sun Chuan Fang, the city’s defender.
The Cantonese previously indicated
disapproval of the plan.
Hundreds Quakes
in Balkan States
Structures Ruined
—
INHABITANTS PANIC STRICKEN—UTTER CON
FUSION COVERS QUAKE ZONES OF BOSNIA,
HERZOGOVINA AND DALMATIA—COMMUNICA
TIONS HALTED — NINETEEN TREMORS IN
TWENTY MINUTES STRIKE WITH TERIFFIC
FORCE
VIENNA, Feb. 16. (/P)—A dispatch from Belgrade said
the casualties from an earthquake which rocked Bosnia,
Herzegovania and Dalmatia yesterday are estimated at
600. The tremors were renewed last night. The hotel
at Rugusa is reported to have collapsed and many guests
1 killed. A row of houses at Popovopolie fell into the Tre
bisnica river, drowning and crushing the inhabitants.
Doctors and medical supplies are being rushed into
the stricken zones. An absolute check of casualties is
impossible because of utter confusion which covers the
country. Troops are working desperately to restore
railway communications to allow the passage of trains
bearing relief supplies. Thousands are homeless.
There were 19 tremors in 20 minutes of such force
that seismographs were thrown out of order. All tele
phonic and telegraphic communications were disabled.
HUNGRY UNO AFRAID
GO HOME LAD KILLS
N. Y. STOREKEEPER
WHEN FACED WITH PISTOL IN
HAND OF YOUNG GANGSTER
TURNS BACK AND LAUGHS
NEW YORK, Feb. 16. (^—Because
he -was hungry and afraid to go home
Michael Ponkracsow, aged 12, shot
and killed a storekeeper. The lad
went into the store and asked to be
shown a leather belt. When the store
keeper turned around after getting
the belt he faced a pistol in the lad’s
shaking hand. The storekeeper
laughed and turned his back. The
boy shot. He explained that “he was
awful hungry and only wanted enough
money to buy something to eat.”
GETS MANY PROPOSALS
LONDON, Feb. 15. (IP)—Offers of
miarriage have been showered upon
Mis® E. Beesley, since it became
known that she had been appointed,
manager of a London insurance com
pany at a salary of 10,000 pounds a
year.
WAS NOT PEER
NEW YORK, Feb. 15. (IP)—Clara
Sylvia Guthrie has served annulment
papers on Edward Charles McKenzie
Martyn, who married her under the
pretense of being a British peer, but
who turned out to be only a wandering
minstrel, a male gold-digger.
136 ON ADMIRAL WATSON
SEATTLE, Feb. 16. (£>)—'Tbe S. S.
Admiral Watson sailed at 10 o’clock
this morning and carried 136 passen
gers. Seward psasengers included
M. A. Boyle and wife, C. Clausen, Al
bert P. Martin, S. M. Brewster and
two steerage.
LITERACY BILL GOES
ID SENATE. HIS JOKER
VOTERS QUALIFYING IN LAST
GENERAL ELECTION NOT IN
CLUDED IN TEST
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16. (£>)—'The
House passed and sent to the Senate
a bill permitting only those who speak
and write the English language to
rote in Alaska. The restriction does
not affect citizens who qualified by
voting in the last general election.
The literacy test includes writing a
legible signature.
MORNINGSIDE DOCTOR DIES
GLENDALE, Calif., Feb. 16. (£>)—
Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, aged 70, owner
of Morningside hospital at Portland,
Or., died in a sanitarium here after a
brief illness.
STILL EXPLODES, TWO KILLED
.OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 15. (£»)—
Two men were killed yesterday near
here when a still located on a ranch
near town exploded. The still had a
capacity of 3,000 each 24 hours.