The largest circulation
of any newspaper in the
2nd, 3rd, 4th Divisions of
Alaska
“ALASKA’S HOME NEWSPAPER”
The Seward Weekly Gate
way ia the beat 16-page
Weekly in the Territory
of Alaska
MEMBER AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEMBER NATIONAL EDITORIAL ASSOCIATION
VOLUME XVI. NUMBER 193.
SEWARD, ALASKA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 1931.
PRICE TEN CENTS
NOTHING ME WITH
LOCAL AVIATION FIELD,
DECLARES NOMT ACT
•‘Elsewhere, I heard that to land
on the Seward landing field was
the same as writing a ticket in the
suicide' club,” remarked Vic Ross,
aviating ace of the Northern Air i
Transport, who is still alive
and kicking after making a beau- ;
tiful landing on the local field—!
on wheels—and still had half the
length of the field before him.
Ross flew from Nome to Seward,
with a brief stop at Anchorage,
in the remarkably fast time of
seven hours, bringing as passen
gers, Dr. Rex F. Swartz, Mr. and
Mrs. Havercamp. Mrs. Haver
camp was to undergo a major op
eration this morning in the Sew
ard General Hospital, by Dr. A. D.
Haverstock, assisted by Dr. Swartz.
“The field is one of the smooth
est I have ever been on in Al
aska,” remarked Dr. Swartz, which
statement R o s s substantiated.
Golfers, who were on the field
playing a foursome when the
Nome plane arrived, said Ross
brought his monoplane to earth
as gently as a feather; that prior
to dropping onto the field he
came in low from the northern
end, clearing the tall trees with
an ample safety margin, hit the
dirt well close up, taxing about
half the length of the field, then
gave her the gun, racing the
length of the course to No. 1 driv
ing tee where he dropped his an
chors and hove to.
The Stinson monoplane, a six
place job, powered with a 300
horsepower Wright Whirlwind, is
perhaps 200 pounds lighter than
the average Alaska heavy type of
flying craft, thereby relegaitng to
the discard the previous impres
sion that it would be almost im
possible for a heavy plane on
wheels to land on Seward’s new
field. Ross had plenty of room
to spare. In fairness to predic
tions, however, Ross did say that
he believed it would be wise to
lengthen the field to the end of
the present slashing and from
tha point cut down a few tops of
high timber.
Another suggestion made by
Ross, who since 1926 has been fly
ing the Nome country, was that
the light barbed wire fence on
the southern end of the field be
so erected that it could be low
ered to the ground while ships
were using the field; also, that a
gentle slope would be a fine
thing leading from the field to
the roadway in case a plane drop
ping in from the north and should
over-shoot the field. By such an
incline and removal of obstruc
tions, a pilot would have a chance
getting back into the air without
undue danger. A sort of a sock
et, or box-like affair, could be
built for the fence-posts to slip
into. In other words the entire
fence could be laid on the ground
in a few moments. When the ships
are away, up would go the fence
again to keep the cows out. What
ho! Ross also suggested that the
well known “sock,” the wind guage,
should be straightened out instead
of being wrapped around the post.
Later in the afternoon Ross and
Dr. Swartz inspected the former
landing field alongside of the ra
dio station, took a slant at the
beach and absorbed information
relative to winter conditions and
SAME OLD JACK
RENO, Aug. 20. (A1)—Jack Demp
sey, returning to the ring after an
absence of four years, kncoked out
Jack Beasley of Oakland in the
second round of a four round ex
hibition bout Wednesday night.
FOREIGN LEGION IS
HIDING CUBHN REVOLT
HAVANA, Aug. 20. (/P) — It is es
timated 200 to 300 men were kiled
and wounded in the first import
ant clash of the revolution when
federate surrundered t othe rebels
o nthe north coast of Oriente at
Gibara.
Three of the federal’s 10 planes
were shot down. The rebels are aid
ed by a foreign legion of 1,000 Am
ericans, French, German, etc.
A counter ofensive is planned.
PLANE SEEN IS
cun ship
HALIFAX, N. S., Aug. 20. (£>)—
The North German Lloyd liner
Bremen reported by wireless that
it .had catapulted a mail plane
from its deck to carry mail to
Boston.
This was believed to be the
German plane sighted at Cape
Race which it was at first thought
might be the one in which Wolf
gang von Gronau is flying to
America by way of Greenland.
MORE POWER GIN
SPEC! COMMITTEE
NEW YORK, Aug. 20. </Pi— Gov
ernor Franklin D. Roosevelt, called
the legislature into special session
to consider giving more power
to the committee whose investiga
tion of the New York City govern
ment was branded as a crucifica
tion of the Democratic party by
the chieftain of Tammany Hall.
The governor’s action was a
quick answer to a request made
by the Hofstader legislative com
mittee for a bill giving the inquiry
board the right to grant immunity
to witnesses.
BASEBALL
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis 2, Philadelphia 3.
Chicago 4-3, Brooklyn 1-5.
Cincinnati 5, New York 6.
Pittsburgh, Boston, rain.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Philadelphia 4, Chicago 2.
i Washington 5-8, Cleveland 10-10.
I New York 3, St. Louis 7.
| Boston 9, Detroit 8.
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE
Sacramento 5, Missions 2.
Oakland 1, Hollywood 4.
San Francisco 0, Seattle 5 .
i Los Angeles 1, Portland 13.
landings, both on pontoons and
skiis.
Pilot Ross and Dr. Swartz were
| to take off early this afternoon
on the return flight to Nome.
Overnight, they were guests at
the Van Gilder Hotel.
ALASKA'S VOICE
WILL BE RECORDED
ON SOUND FILMS
bull sea lions* bellows and
ROAR OF ROCK SHORES
ARE RECORDED
Three hundred million people in
this world will soon know more
about Alaska than they ever ex
pected, and they’ll have to sit and
take it whether they like it or
not. They will like it, however,
because that’s one of the jobs of
Eric Mayell and Oscar E. Darling,
cameramen for Hearst Metrotone
News and Fox Movietone News.
They’ll select only the best Alaska
has to offer and that will be
plenty. I
Here in Seward, at the present j
time, Pathe and Paramount news!
reels are shown. One theatre can’t
take ’em all.
Today the cameramen, whose
job carries them about the globe,
left by auto for Mile 18 where
they take a motorboat to Cooper’s
Landing, thence by auto to the
end of the road, hiking the re
mainder of the way to Russian
River where the world-famous
trout stream will be “shot” for
the edification of Izaak Waltons
the world over.
This expedition is purely one
of commercial importance and is
not promulgated by the Depart
ment of the Interior. However,
Colonel O. F. Ohlson is extending
every courtesy and assistance and
to that end has placed his car and
a flat car, from w'hich scenes
along the railroad will be taken
as the train rolls on to Fairbanks.
If any particular Alaska town
happens to be “shot” it will be
because it just happened, for pri
marily, the cameramen are in the
North, for the third time since
last June, to obtain pictures of
I real news value or interest. A
stop will be made in McKinley
National Park where they will re
main until they have got every
thing worth photographing. Then
on to Fairbanks for big mining
pictures and after that, a picture
of the caribou migration. Per
haps, if arrangements can be
made, a trip into the Kenai Penin
sula, Seward’s back-door, will be
made for moose pictures. The
photographers are also thinking
of returning to the coast over the
Richardson Highway.
Mayell and Darling arrived in
Seward yesterday by plane, Pilot
Alec Holden, of the Pacific Inter
national Airways, from Valdez and
enroute “shot” Columbia Glacier.
Mr. Mayell said he had flown over
some beautiful terrain and scen
ics in various parts of the world,
including the Alps, but never did
he ever see anything more won
derful than Columbia Glacier.
The cameramen have visited
Seward Peninsula and the Pribilof
Islands. On the first voyage of the
steamship Victoria from Seattle to
Nome this season, they took pas
sage to Seward Peninsula. They
obtained sound and motion pic
tures in the neighborhood of Nome,
of reindeer herds near Teller and
of the Catholic mission near
Mary’s Igloo.
Board Cutter Shoshone
Returning to Nome/ they board
ed the United States Coast Guard
cutter Shoshone for the Pribilofs.
(Please turn to Page Eight)
DARING GIRL
KAZAN, Soviet Republic, Aug. 20.
(/P)—Marga Von Etzdorf, the first
German girl licensed as an aviator,
who made flights to Africa and Tur
key, took off for Sverdlovsk, en
route to Tokyo from Berlin.
Mill INSISTS HE IS
HUNTED, Mill THEFT
SEATTLE, Aug. 20. (/P)—Insist
ing he was wanted on a mail theft
charge John P. Greenwood, 52 years
of age, a miner, gave himself up
to the U. S. Marshal.
. He told officers he heard he was
wanted on a charge of stealing
mail at Nome seven or eight years
ago but said he had lost some of
the letters. An acquaintance hadj
given him the mail, it is under-,
stood, and in one of the letters was
the money. Greenwood is booked
on an open charge while Nome is
being queried.
RATIONING FOODSTUFFS
RUSSIA OF ABOLISHED
l
MOSCOW, Aug. 19. {JP) — Insist
ent rumors that the system of ra
tioning foodstuffs in Soviet Rus
sia is to be abolished, reached a
stage at which it may be said on
good authority that such an action
is a possibility in the near future.
The possible effect of such an
action probably would be to reduce j
Rusian grain exports by increasing j
the domestic demand for bread. j
The government inaugurated the i
food rationing system in the spring j
of 1929.
UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20. (/P) —
President Hoover appointed Walter
I. Gifford, president of the Ameri
can Telephone and Telegraph Co.,
to form an unemployment relief
organization. He said “the whole
force of the administration will be
at his disposal.” Hoover is to an
nounce the advisory committee at
some later time.
The Stock Market
SEATTLE, Aug. 20. (A*)—Yester
day’s stock quotations:
Alaska Juneau .17%
American Can .
Borden .59%
Canada Dry .35 %
General Motors .37 %
International Nickle Can .13 Vs
International Tel. & Tel.29
Kennecott Copper .17 V4
Radio ..20
Reynolds Tobacco (b) .50%
Richfield Oil . 1%
Standard Oil of Calif.*1%
Standard Oil of N. J.42
Standard Oil of N. Y.20%
Union Oil of Calif.137/s
U. S. Steel .89%
Cities Service .10%
Durant Motors . 1%
Bancorporation .17%
FIRST SINCE WAR
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany,
Aug. 20. (IP)—The German dirigible
Graf Zeppelin returned from Eng
land making the first flight over
Belguim since the war.
SEWARD SKIES Mill
PUKES; FOUR VISIT
TOWN IN ONE MV
All local aviation records were
shattered Wednesday when four
commercial planes visited Seward.
Pilot Vic Ross from Nome; Pilot
Harry Blunt from Dillingham;
Pilot Alec Holden from Valdez,
and the fourth—well, he was too
high in the sky to ask him, but
it is believed it was Pilot Gene
Meyering flying from Cordova to
some destination in the Interior.
He didn’t stop but plowed straight
through at about 10,000 feet more
or less.
Pilot Ross, of the Northern Air
Transport, bf N o m e, brought
an old friend back to Seward,
Dr. Rex Swartz, a former associate
of Dr. A. D. Haverstock, Seward’s
own; Dr. Swartz brought a patient,
Mrs. Havercamp, who was accom
panied by Mr. Havercamp; the
flight from the Bering Sea city
took slightly more than seven
hours. Dr. Haverstock and Dr.
Swartz were to operate this morn
ing; Mr. Havercamp is remaining
with his wife. Dr. Swartz and
Pilot Ross expected to take off
early this afternoon on the return
hop to Nome. Mr. and Mrs. Hav
ercamp are members of the for
mer Bureau of Education which
recently was taken under the wing
of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Pilot Blunt flew Mrs. M. Lowe,
the well known Westward trader
who operates a string of trading
posts throughout the Bristol Bay
area, and Mrs. Lowe’s sister, mak
ing the flight ih four hours. Blunt,
known as the “Bering Sea Eagle,”
ace of the Pacific International
Airways, Inc., took off in his pon
toon job at about 5 p. m. for the
Anchorage base.
Pilot Alec Holden, of the same
company, came in from Valdez
| with Eric Mayell and Oscar E.
j Darling, cameramen for Hearst
j Metrotone and Fox Movietone
News. Holden returned to Valdez
early in the afternoon for his
Valdez base.
Everybody awoke this morning
with stiff necks.
LINDBERGHS ARE STILL ,
001KETOI ISLAND:
FOG, MOTOR TROUBLE
NEMURO, Aug. 20. (VP) —Motor
trouble and fog held the Lind
berghs on Ketoi Island Wednesday
night, radio reports said.
Weary, the couple spent the night
in the cramped quarters of the
plane and with little sleep started
to taxi to Muroton Bay, 15 miles
away, but engine trouble developed
later and treacherous currents be
gan to take charge of the plane
which was then towed to another
anchorage by the Japanese steam
er Shimushiru Maru.
The Lindberghs went aboard the
ship after its arrival for breakfast,
and have been invited to sleep on
the ship tonight, but Lindy may
stick to the plane. He is working
on the motor and hopes to hop off
in the morning.
Yoshihara’s cache of supplies at
Muroton Bay was placed at his dis
posal.