VOLUME XXI, NUMBER 291. SEWARD ALASKA, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18,1926.
k _:_-—.— ---------..
PRICE TEN CENTS
Deputy Marshal Staser
4 Dismissed on Order by
U. S. Attorney General
ONLY CHARGE CITED AGAINST ANCHORAGE OF
FICER IS HE GAVE STATEMENT TO PRESS WITH
MAJOR JOSEPH KEMP THAT MORE THAN THIR
TY PLACES FOURTH AVENUE WHERE WHITE
MULE WHISKEY WAS BEING OPENLY SOLD
Without setting forth any charges, but upon peremp
ory order, presumed to have been issued by the U. S. At
torney General to U. S. Marshal P. Sullivan, Deputy Mar
shal Harry I. Staser has been relieved of his duties at An
chorage to take effect December 15.
Deputy Marshal Staser, who arrived from Valdez
last night, and is stopping over between trains, attributes
his dismissal to his political differences with Delegate Dan
Sutherland, whom he did not support in the recent elec
tion, plus his friendship for Judge Ritchie, whom Suther
land fought bitterly in the campaign against Thomas
8 Marquam.
BREWERS COUNSEL TELLS COM
MISSION LIQUOR MEN HAVE
NOT VIOLATED LAW
VANCOUVER, Dec. 18. (£>)—dom
^ mission counsel Rowell urged that the
commissioners recommend to padlia
ment to amend the Canadian customs
laws and make shipping of liquor
through Canada to foreign countries
unlawful. He recommended liquor
shippers, including Manitoba refiner
ies, British Columbia and the Joseph
Kennedy Company, Consolidated ex
porters, which made admittedly false
declarations regarding intransit ship
ments be punished and the licenses
of many Vancouver customs brokers
^ handling the legal details of the liquor
exporters business be revoked.
VANCOUVER, Dec. 18. (£>)—'The
brewer’s counsel J. W. Faris told the
commission that liquor exporters have
not violated the law under the Cana
dian law as the ultimate destination
of liquor. It does not matter and is of
no importance to the government. Ex
porting alone satisfies the law. Tes
timony showed British-Columbia dis
tilleries gave Billy McArthur, a Van
couver business man and Liberal par
ty supporter, $7,500; gave Glen C. Ry
att, a broker, $42,000 for the Liberals.
PRISONERS LOCI WILL
WARDEN UP; SHE'S MAD
r
FORT MEYERE, Flor., Dec. 18. (JP)
—Mrs. W. B. Maynard, the sheriff’s
wife, led a possee which held at bay
three prisoners who escaped last night
^from the Everglades jail. The prison
ers plugged the plumbing and flood
ed the jail and locked Mrs. Maynard
in a cell when she came to investi
gate. The sheriff said “She’s mad
clean through and she’ll get them.”
I
Mr. Staser announced last night
that, as far as the position wa3 con
cerned, he did not care, but question
'd the fairness of dismissal 'without
stated charges and without opportun
ity to make answer. All he knew of)
the ground cited for his dismissal was
reference to a dispatch from Anchor
age quoting Major Joseph Kemp, then
in command of the Anchorage military
post as saying that there were 30
places on Fourth #venue where white
mule whiskey was being openly sold.
And. that Deptfty Marshal Staser had
remarked that “the major did not get
them all, but under the search war
rant interpretation it was impossible
for officers to enforce the law.”
The case is unusual in that the or
der did not originate with United
States Marshal Sullivan, but came to
him peremtorily, and therefore he was |
not consulted in the premises. On the
contrary, Marshal Sullivan, who is a
guest at the Van Gilder, gave Mr. Sta
ser the following letter: t
Valdez, Alaska, Dec. 15, 1926.
H. I. Staser, Esq.
“Anchorage, Alaska.
Dear Harry:
“Since your service as deputy
United States marshal, at Anchorage,
Alaska, terminates on this day, I
think it proper, and only just to you,
to state that I greatly regret the
severance of your connection with
this office. During your service as
Deputy United States marshal, I have
always found you to be a very faith
ful and efficient officer and a man
whose honesty and integrity are be
yond question. I sincerely wish you
well in whatever you undertake in th s
future, and I believe that you are
deserving of success.
“Yours very sincerely, j
HARVEY P. SULLIVAN
“United States Marshal”
Immediately upon receiving notice
of his removal Mr. Staser cabled the
U. S. Attorney General, asking that he
be provided with specific charges as
to the cause of his dismissal. To date
no reply has been received, and all he
knows about the situation is the re
ference to the press dispatch.
“It does not seem reasonable or
evidence of either justice or fair
play,” said Mr. Staser last night, “that
an officer of the law should be per
emptorily ordered removed from his
position without charges being prefer
red and an opportunity given for de
fending them. If this i§ possible,
then any man might be dismissed
overnight merely upon the word of
(Continued on Page Four.)
COUNTY UNDER MARTIAL LAW;
FORMER PRESIDENT SMETONA
AND ARMY IN CONTROL; PRES
IDENT KASMIR GRINIUS AND
MINISTERS UNDER ARREST
RIGA, Dec. 18. {JP)—A Latvia Kov
no dispatch said former President
Smetona and his army overthrew the
Lithuanian government. President
Kasmir Frinius, who was elected last
June and all of his ministers within
reach were arrested. The coup was
bloodless and Lithuania is nov under
martial law. Kovno was besieged
with placards in the city which read
“The government is selling tlje coun
try to Bolsheviks and foreigners,
therefore the Lithuanian military
forces are temporarily taking over the
situation.” On September 28, the Li
thuania Russian soviet signed a non
agression neutrality treaty.
MOST FAMOUS DIVIDEND CUT IN
RECENT HISTORY; WAS f
UNEXPECTED
NEW YORK, Dec. 18. (JP)—Bulls
swept Wall Street following the $200,
000,000 United States steel dividends.
It was declared yesterday the first
sale, a block of 40,000 shares of United
States steel sold at $158.50 to $160,
the highest ever involved. Over $6,
000,000 in industrials and railroads
sold in large blocks gaining one to
four points on common stock. Divi
dends on the Sharon Steel Hoop Com
pany was resumed after seven years
with 50 cents disbursement per share.
Crucible steel announced a dividend
and an increase from five to six dol
lars.
Chairman Gary said he will recom
mend to stockholders at the April
meeting the necessary increase in
capital stock and intimated the pre
sent seven per cent dividends will be
maintained.
Gary with J. P. Morgan, George F.
Baker and other steel chiefs appeared
exultant after the announcement. At
one time steel was selling as high as
157, which is very near the record
price, and later easing off to 155.
VOTE NON-CONFIDENCE
BERLIN, Dec. 18. (JP)—'The Reich
stag on motion made by the Social
Democrats, voted non-confidence in
Marx headed and which was succeed
ed by the Luther ministry last May
the Bourgeois coalition cabinet which
an the Marx cabinet resigned.
BANKER’S SON, ENERGETIC
NEW YORK, Dec. 17. (JP)— Roger
Wolfe Kahn, son of a banker and own
er of ten fashionable orchestras and
night clubs, will enter the intellectual
field by collaborating with Ben Hecht
in writing Greenwich show “Hearts
and Flowers.”
NOTED FINANCIER.
CENTENARIAN WAS ONCE ASSIST
ANT SECRETARY OF TREASURY;
WAS OLDEST, ACTIVE FINAN
CIER IN WALL STREET AND
PERHAPS IN THE COUNTRY;
FOLLOWED RULE OF MODERA
TION FOR KEEPING IN GOOD
HEALTH
NEW YORK, Dec. 18. (/P)— John
Aikman Stewart, aged 104, Wall Street
financier and once assistant secretary
of the treasury, died at his home here
of pneumonia.
When he discontinued making regu
lar trips to his ofTice in Wall Street
several months after he had passed
his 88th birthday anniversary, John
Aikman Stewart insisted that he had
not retired, but merely was acting up
on the advice of his physician.
Mr. Stewart was the oldest active
financier in Wall Street, and perhaps
in the country. He contended there
was no secret about the good health
he had enjoyed so many years and
attributed it to abstemious habits
since his youth. He had not used
tobacco in any form since he was 20.
“I heljeve that is ^one of the reasons,
I have kept my health,” he declared.
“The only rule I have is moderation
in everything. Eating too much is just
as bad as drinking too much. I do
not live differently from other people
but I eat and drink carefully.”
Mr. Stewart often recalled with ap
parent pleasure the intimate friend
ship he enjoyed with many presidents
of the United States. Born during the
administration of James Monroe, he
would recall the first president he
saw was Andrew Jackson on an oc
casion when the president delivered
an address at the City hall in New
York. From Jackson’s time he had
seen nearly all the presidents and was
personally acquainted with most of
them. He was one of Lincoln’s close
advisers during the Civil War, and
entered the service of his country in
1864 as assistant treasurer of the
United States. Afterward he took part
in the councils of leading financiers
and participated in plans to fund the
national debt. He came to the gov
ernment’s aid again in 1894 during
the second administration of Grover
Cleveland, at a time when the coun
try’s gold reserve was dangerously
near depletion. He was influential in
obtaining the resumption of specie
payments and took a leading part in
financing the needs of the govern
ment. President Cleveland in his
book ‘‘Presidential Problems,” said of
him: “He rendered most useful and
patriotic service in making this and
the previous offer of bonds success
ful.”
He was the last survivor of the ori
ginal board of trustees, which includ
ed Peter Cooper, John Jacob Astor,
Joseph Lawrence, John J. Phelps,
John J. Cisco, William E. Dodge, Roy
al Phelps and William H. Macy.
COMPANION MEASURE, BILL
WASHINGTON, Dec. 18. (jP)—Sena
tor Fulmer, South Carolina Democrat,
introduced to the House a companion
measure to McNary’s farm relief bill.
Ill LOS DELES;
MO OF WAITING
PHANTOM RADIO OPERATOR
TURNS UP IN CALIFORNIA;
WAIVED EXTRADITION
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18. (/P)—'The
Examiner said Ormiston was arrested
at Cajon, on the Los Angeles and San
Bernardino County line, when he left
a Union Pacific Limited from Chica
go and brought to Los Angeles in an
automobile. Los Angeles Examiner
representatives accompanied h i m.
Ormiston said he became “tired of
waiting to be arrested in Chicago."
He waived extradition and came to
California “to find out what it’s all
about."
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18. (£>)—Ken
neth Ormiston, phantom radio opera
tor of Aimee Semple McPherson ap
peared in Los Angeles yesterday while
all eyes were supposed to be on him
at Chicago. He surrendered to police
as a fugitive to justice. He is charged
with conspiracy to defeat justice with
Aimee Semple McPherson as a result
of an alleged gigantic kidnapping hoax
in which the two are said to have
tried to cover a trip of ten days to
a Cartael cottage by the sea.
EMPEROR'S DEATH IS
EXPECTED AIRY TIME
NURSE AND MINOR OFFICIAL AT
TEMPT SUICIDE DUE TO
ILLNESS EMPEROR
TOKYO, Dec. 18. (JP)—'The condi
tion of Emperor Yoshihito of Japan
is unchanged and death is expected
at any time.
TOKYO, Dec. 18. (JP)—Four Japan
ese warships were sent to the resort
were Mikado lies on his deathbed as
the whole nation prepared for the rul
ers death. ,
TOKYO, Dec. 18. (JP)—Grieving over
the illness of the Emperor, an Im
perial nurse attending him attempted
to commit Harakiri.
TOKYO, Dec. 18. (^—Newspaper
men watching Emperor Youhihito’s
chamber were told to expect “an im
portant announcement.”
SEATING OF SMITH POSTPONED
WASHINGTON, Dec. 18. (JP)—'The
fight over the seating of Senator
Smith was postponed when Senator
Ashurst declared he would not call
up his resolution until Smith presents
his credentials.
NORTHWEIERN SAILS
WITH IIS ON BOARD
SEATTLE, Dec. 18. (JP)— The S. S.
Northwestern of the A. S. S. Co., sail
ed at 9 o’clock this morning with 115
reservations. Seward passengers are
E. G. Lohnes, J. Lairie, Capt. A. D.
Haverstock, V. Ebright, A. Talbot,
Mrs. C. G. Fenger. One name could
not be published. There are also two
steerage for Seward. , *