The largest circulation
of any newspaper in tho
£nd. 3rd. 4th Divisions of
Alaska
“ALASKA’S HOME NEWSPAPER"
The Seward Weekly Gat*
wny Is the best lB-pafiW
Weekly in the Territory
of Alaska
VOLUME XXVII. NUMBER 260.
SEWARD, ALASKA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1931.
PRICE TEN CENTS
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
I
HORACE MANN OF TENNESSEE!
IS THE DIRECTING
HEAD
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11. (Jf) —
Almost under the windows of the
Whitehouse an erstwhile aid of
President Hoover set up an or
ganization seeking to defeat the
renomination of Hoover by Re
publicans- It is Horace Mann, of
Tennessee, whose directing work
in the Southern States had much
to do in swinging big chunks of
Dixie into the Republican fold at
the last presidential election.
Mann established headquarters
4 yesterday claiming a nationwide
organization, which is thoroughly
grounded by months of prepara
tions
The real strength of the new |
machine is unknown. Mr. Mann j
did not name his associates nor
pick out any candidates. The or
ganization is composed of party
‘Regulars”. Governor Pinchot, of
Pennsylvania, Ambassador Charles
Dawes, and Senator Hiram John
son of California are mentioned as
the most likely candidates but
Senator Johnson is believed to be
the choice.
• RKLPH GAPONE IS NOW
PRISONER IT Mill
MO PENITENT*
TACOMA. Dec. 11. (/P) — Ralph
Capone, brother of Al, changed his
street clothes for blue flannels and
a number at McNeil Island peni
tentiary Thursday and began serv
ing three years for Federal income
* iax evasion.
He came to McNeil Island from
Leavenworth, having been trans
ferred under tl*e government policy
of confining convicted Chicago
gangsters in widely separated in
* stitutions.
He will work as a common laborer
unless he shows he is adapted to
something else and worthy of pro
motion, Warden Finch Archer said
Al Capone was also convicted on a
tax evasion charge.
PRINCE'S COMMON
WIFE ITTEMPTS SUICIDE
BUCHAREST, Dec. 11. (#)—Th<
common wife of Prince Nicholas o1
Roumania, over whom a royal dis
pute wages between King Caro
and the Prince, yesterday attempt
ed to commit suicide, it was re
ported in capitol circles.
The common wife attempted U
kill herself by taking an extra larg<
dose of sleeping powders. She wa;
almost successful in her attempt
She had left a note saying that she
did not wish to stand in the wa]
of Prince Nicholas.
another inflation period
WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 11
■JP)—The beginning of anothe:
period of inflation early next yea;
was predicted by Virgil Jordan
New York economist.
mail vessel m. s. discoverer
MADE 336 PORTS OF CALL
SEASON 1931
Again the staunch little motor- j
»hip Discoverer rides at her berth!
ifter her fifth year of maintaining i
iason between the dwellers on Cook j
[nlet, Anchorage and Seward. Itj
s like enjoying a well-earned rest, j
for the Discoverer has had her
many battles with treacherous wa- |
ters, withering gales and blinding j
snowstorms. But nothing Neptune I
has reared up against the staunch j
51-footer has made her miss her j
schedules, although, she has shared j
her portions of delays because her;
skipper, Captain Heinie Berger, ob- ;
serves the motto hanging above!
his wheel: “Safety First.”
A summary of the Discoverer’s
season’s work indicates the demand j
made upon Captain Berger in main-;
taining mail, passenger and freight j
service. He sailed out of Anchor
age 41 times, Seward 19 times, made
336 ports of call, carried 472 pas
sengers and 342 tons of freight. The
total number of miles covered dur
ing the season of 1931 is 21,185.
Thus, one begins to understand
what this service means to those
*rho are separated from the re
mainder of the Territory by the
*reat roadless wilderness between
the Alaska Railroad and Cook In
let, and the long and treacherous
reaches of “the most dangerous
waters in the world”—those of up
per Cook Inlet, with their miles of
treacherous mud flats, racing tides,
narrow channels and few shelter
ing harbors enroute, and the im
mense tiderips in Knik Arm above
Fire Island, where only the most
intrepid skipper dare poke the nose
of even a 61-footer when the fog
banks hang low and a 34-foot tide
challenges.
jjiKe i/iie gcuaAy ui vcwiaji sea
farers who have blazed the water
trails of the North Pacific and
have supplied, some of the greatest
sagas of the seas, Captain Berger
has emerged entitled to take his
place as one of the best skippers
sailing out of Seward.
The Discoverer was practically
made to order for the work she is
called on to perform. With fore
»and aft lifeboat model, her weight
{set well astern, she challenges any
I sea. Her 60-horsepower semi-die
sel engine drives her over the heav
iest seas, when waters smoke from
gales sweeping the turbulent North
Pacific and lash its rugged coast
line like glistening wolf’s teeth.
Throughout his season’s work
; Captain Berger has had at his el
bow, Chief Engineer Jack Wilkin
son, who in addition to his ability
in the engine room, is an able sea
man.
The Discoverer is something
more than a means of transporting
’ passengers, mail and freight. I
' might be likened to the errand boj
• of all of that portion of Cook Inlei
• from Portlock to Anchorage. Pos
! sibly no skipper has more difficul
r responsibilities thrust upon him
Someone desires an advancec
household article, shown only in i
catalogue. It is up to Captain Ber
• ger to pass judgment, make th<
: purchase and assure himself tha
■ it comes up to specifications. 1
> good housewife must have a rem
(Please turn to Page Eight)
mm in i
IS RES JOY RISE'
ON WHITE ROUSE
MORE THAN 1,000 CARS AND
TRUCKS IN PARADE AT
CAPITOL
WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 11.
(iP)—The Secret Service revealed,!
its investigations have disclosed
that Communists were behind the!
National Council of Unemployed, (
14 of whose members were arrest
ed Friday for trying to stage a dem
onstration in front of the White
House.
At the same time it was made
known that the so-called “hunger
march” on the capitol, which took
place December 6, was in reality
a sort of “joy ride” for the Reds,
who invaded Washington in 1,144
automobile trucks and 92 private
automobiles.
For weeks the White House has
received numerous letters from
all parts of the country en
dorsing the National Council of
Unemployed. On their face, these
communications apparently came
from legitimate labor organizations
and charitable organizations, but
inquiry revealed that they all
originated in ultra-radical quarters.
Herbert Benjamin, one of the
most prominent of Communist
leaders in the United States, was
discovered to be the organizer of
the council. He also thought up
the “hunger march” and organ
ized special squads of protectors
to ride with the cars and ward off
! police.
IS
I SHANGHAI, Dec. 11. ffl—Anti
! Japanese demonstrators in Chim
i have grown to a figure where the:
i now number about 60,000 and the:
! are rapidly becoming a problem al
| most as serious as the Sino-Japan
|ese conflict itself.
I The demonstrators at Nanklni
were joined by 5,000 from Peipini
and the combined numbers parad
ed before the offices of Presiden
Chiang Kai Shek and demandei
that he lead an army with all pos
sible haste to the Manchurian fron
and that he continue war unti
the Japanese withdraw from th
Manchuria territory.
No interference can be mad
with the demonstrations of th
students who demand that Chin
throw away its “puny” resistance
and engage in actual combat wit
the Japanese. Officials who liav
tried to interfere and break up th
demonstrators have found them
’ selves summarily at the mercy c
; the demonstrators.
' in one case where a police chic
had leaders of demonstrators ai
i rested the rest of the demonstratoi
! called upon the mayor to dismu
the police chief.
1 SPIES EXECUTED
1 GRODNO, Poland, Dec. 11. (/P)
’ two Russians, convicted of espior
' age in Poland, were hanged, brin?
ing the number of such executioi
^ within the week to 10. Two mw
cases are pending.
ILLE0ED MURDERER it
OF FIVE 1 TRIAL I
“MAIL ORDER’’ MONSTER AC- 1
CUSED LURING TWO WO
MEN, THREE CHILDREN
CLARKESBURG, W. Va. Dec. 11. |c
(JP)—The trial of Harry F Powers, j v
alias Cornelius O. Pierson, w h ic h j a
opened here yesterday, reveals one j t
of the most diabolical chapters) c
ever written into criminal history, c
according to evidence being pro-1
sented by the state. ; i
Powers, known as the “Mail Or j j
der” monster, is accused of luring | j
two women, Mrs. Dorothy A. Pres- j«
sler Lemke, and Mrs. Asta BuicK' t
Eicher, and her three children ?{
Greta, aged 14; Annabel, nine; and j
Harry, 12, from their homes at <
| North Uxridge, Mass., and Park j
; Ridge, Chicago, to a lonely garage i
, five miles from Clarkesburg, and (
i where all were murdered and bur- ]
,ied in a drain leading from the .
garage to a creek. ;;
; ACUOlUlllg W tt njtvoo ui (
! unearthed by the police Powers
I conducted a mail order matrimon
ial business, and through this he
lured the women into his clutches,
I after which he imprisoned them
,ln a specially constructed charnel
I house below his garage, after
; which he strangled them and the
|children and disposed of their
i bodies by burial,
j in searching the garage police
found the clothing of the victims
together with other personal be
longings and thousands of letters
| secured through a matrimonial ag
ency, and written by women who
| answered his perfervid love mes
sages picturing himself as a civil
I engineer with a big income and a
j lonely heart
How many other women were
j victims of P o w e r s’ diabolical
I scheme may never be known.
’i Acting upon clues supplied by
L suspicious parties in Park Ridge,
r the Clarkesburg police arrested
r Powers, exhumed the bodies, and
' after 10 hours questioning secured
' a signed statement from the “Blue
beard” in which he confessed to
5 slaying of Mrs. Richer and the
’ three children.
iU. DAMfOfC
t
1
t
1
e
e
e
i
s
i
e
e
f
f
s
£
IS
e
ACCUiUUlg W me Ful*'-Vi * v"”—
described the method employed in
dispatching his victims- He starv
ed them in a series of cells con
structed beneath the garage and
then strangled them one by one
by hanging them to a gallows con
structed over a trapdoor leading
to the celler of the garage.
In the confession, which the po
lice secured, and which is signed
by Powers, he is alleged to have
said that he intended to have the
Eicher boy witness the execution
of his mother and sisters, but
that he fought back compelling
him to kill him with a hammer.
Each of the women were pos
sessed of small fortunes, much
of which it is alleged Powers se
cured after their death by forg
ing their names.
The crime for which Powers is
on trial was committed sometime
in June, 1931, and his apprehen
sion was made September last in
Clarkesburg, where he was living
with his wife, who conducted a
small store, and where he was
(Pleaea turn to Pag« Eight)
■ESS MIIS
HCTId OF FRANCE
TOWARD 10 DEBT
FERES MESSAGE BRINGS GEN
ERAL, FAVORABLE
REACTION
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11. (/P) —
Congress Is going to wait and see
'hat France will do with disaxm
ment reparations before it listens
o President Herbert Hoover’s re
quest fo a reconsideration of war
iebts.
Capitol Hill leaders arc distinct
y cautious over the Presidential
jroposal of “temporary adjust
nents” of debts owed America.
Some are antagonistic, until it is
ividcnt or until Europe ha^s show
;d good intentions toward arms
eductions at the approaching
Geneva parley in-February
Until France has indicated how
;ar she is willing to go in slicing
German reparations there is no
rope of Congressional action Sen
ator Borah, whose words go a
ong way in the impending dis
cussion, said.
Senator Borah said: “I am not
in favor of recreating the World
Foreign debt commission as there
Ls no business to transact. I do
not see any evidence in Europe
for a proposed reduction of arms
or she would have proposed to
adjust reparations upon a proper
basis.”
Sentiments., somewhat similar to
Borah’s, were voiced in the House
by Democratic leaders.
Hoover’s message brought, gen
erally speaking, a favorable reac
tion in Germany, England and It
aly but French newspapers gave
little attention to it. Parliament
ary circles of London accepted the
message as a sign of hope in the
economic difficulties of the world
and the belief was expressed that
it indicated that the United States,
while not committing itself, recog
nizes the debt question’s life as
the root of world economic
troubles.
SOCIETY ‘BUCKET’ BY
GERTAIN PUBLICATIONS
FLOURISHES IN N. Y.
NEW YORK, Dec. 11. (/P)—A so
ciety magazine racket, by which
fashionable and near fashionable
families are forced to subscribe to
stock in publications through spe
cies of high pressure salesmanship,
based upon implied threats of un
favorable publicity, is flourishing
again, investigation shows.
Some persons high in society
have purchased as much as $2,500
worth of stock to avoid unfavorable
mention in magazines while so
called climbers have subscribed to
shares to win favorable notice in
the columns of society magazines.
Salesmen who work over tele
phone, avoid direct threats but by
skillful hints, cause victims to buy
stocks.
35-HOUR WEEK
WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 11.
(iP)^-The American Federation of
Labor’s president proposed a five
day, 35-hour working week here.