TOM POWERS WRITES
OF BIG OUTSIDE
The following iff the advance install
ment of a sorties of letters from the
pen of that widely known old timer
Thornas A. Powers of Unalakleet,
v him incisive co mments on men and
c’ i gs have he*"i freqr.eefi/ presented
in the past. Mr. Powers writes this
lime from the big Outslre. to which
he has been a stranger for many
years. (Ed.) )
Seattle. Wn. Nov. 3. 1920
Nugget, Nome.
The dejttrturo of the Victoria fron
Nome this year was truly reminiscem
of the early days—the crowds, th«
meetings of old friends, the rush foi
accomodations, the quiet gambling m
the steerage passengers who could not
owing to the crowded condition of tin
boat, secure a first class passage, and
the consequent scramble to obtain bet
ter accomodations were all very much
like th< conditions in the rush days.
\bov- all. the ruinous cry of the gam
blers as they advertised their wares
with Sol as master of ceremonies,
keenly seizing up the possibilities *c
the c latter of chips, the chink of coin,
and the ‘seven, come eleven” and other
• •Minds pregnant with the feel nc of
the players, savored decidedly of the
"old days, the gold days, the day.* >f
Sh'*”—to paraphrase the song. \nd
then ther- weic others vitl> a bottle
'f It >ish. . i in which the - drowned
Tie 'age to the pa-..- w-s with
out a roll from the ship and the soun l
of music and the merry laughter of
lh« diners could he heard up to mid
night. Hut when the Victoria struck
the broad waters of the Pacific- an
other sound was heard, for aid Nep
tune. with a touch of his magic wand,
spedily turned strong republicans into
meek democrats again and one and
all. rich and poor, proud and humble,
paid uniwling tribute to the sea god.
No more was heard of the merry voice
of youth. th< gay laugh and the gl id
voices of the gamblers were dull and
some tones of the piano. Even the
listless while not a few conertved the
idea that death would be welcome as
n change from the jpiseries of mal do
We had to put in to T-atouch for
oil and there the passengers, young
and »*ld. gladly hit the shore again,
where the wandered through the cop
per mines, wondered at he vast min
eral wealth in the nearby hills and
vainly tried to compute what cannot
he computed—namely the values of
Alaska's’ mineral wealth to the pres
ent and yet unborn generations And
meanwhile they devoted themselves
to criticising the laws retarding her
development and progress.
Con Kelly and the members of his
f: mily left the boat at Tatouche ow
ing to his son. Con junior, having a
touch of pneumonia. A soldier also
remained there for a similar reason.
Captain Gotwals of the Alaska Float]
Commission also left the boat for rea
sons connected with his work.
The trip from I«atouche to Seattle,
particularly the latter part, was pleas
ant enough for anyone and sea sick
ness was a thing of the past.
<>ur arrival here was greeted by
what to ‘.he writer seemed to be mill
ions of people. He was assured later,
however, that it was only a couple of
thousand. Tie heard bis name men
tioned by someone but couHT-nof locate
them in the throng and struggled thru
the gathering alone. Rut when a
snorting taxicab nearly bit him In the
leK. he decided discretion to l»e the
beP.er jKirt of valor, hailed another
Uxi and headed for the tall timber.
Ho is now camped close to Lake Wash
ington and expects in the course of a
couple of weeks to make a trip down
town again—accompanied by u chap
The presidential election is over and
as far as “here" is concerned, went
olT very quietly, the people apparently
accepting the result as a foregone con
clusion. Business men claim times
are dull and not much doing, tin* they
expect things to he better from now
on. Wages are good, the streets
crowded, and *he places of amuse
ment seem to be geting the stray
nickles and dimes at a rapid rate. But
oh. the cost of such commodities as
clothing and shoes!
The dosing down of the shipyards
and other industries *hrow manv
thousands out of employment and hurt
the city badly in a business way. Most]
of the released workers have now left
here hut a sprinkling remained and
most of them are as yet unemployed."
THOMAS A. POWERS.
SCHOOL BOARD MAKES CHANGES
IN SCHOOL SYSTEM
At the regular monthly meeting of
li e Nome School Board and ‘.caching
staff Thursday, it was decided to
cluing* the morning o(>ening hour from
recess to one hour, opening the after
noon session at 1 p. m. instead of
1:15 i> m. The mu in reason ascribed
for the change are tha* under the sys
tem heretofore in vogue pupils were
c.oiui>elled to leave home before day
light during th short days. The old
system also comp. 11s the' pupils to
study longer nours by artificial l:glit.
This is believed to be a severe strain
| on the ♦ si n and injurious to the eyes.
| The Board also decided to extend
I the holiday vacation period another
week, until January It and will add a
I similar period at the c lose of the term.
| which under this titling wil£ nd .Tone
lie-solutions were also passed en
dorsing proposal to induce the ter
torial legislature to pass laws provid
ing for dental observation and care of
the teeth >>f school children at public
health of the school childre^ s now
looked after. The resolution is di
iceded to Territorial School Commis
sioner Henderson and reques's that he
Like steps to recommend to the legis
lature the passage of the necessary
enactments, including the amount of
compensation of dentists making ex
aminations and for giving treatment
in oases where treatment is necessary
and parents are unable to provide the
MARSHAL JORDAN
ON WAY HOME
•Seattle, Dec. 24—Emmet It. .Tor
<kin, (Tnited States Marshal for the
Second Division of Alaska, arrived
hare this evening from Washingt on
D. C. >n his return journey to Nome
over the winter trail.
Marshal Jordan will pick up his
team, of 14 dogs and proceed home v.i
Seward and Fairbanks.
The Nome Nugget delivered by car
rier or mailed. Per Month SI.00
TAX DIFFICULTIES
ADJUSTED DT COUNCIL
Tax disagreements and their ad
justment formed the features of Mon
day night's meeting of the City Coun
cil. An understanding was arrived at
between the Council and the Wiki
Goose Mining and Trading Co., and
also with the representatives of the
I‘rouser estate and C. C. Crooks
The council met at the usual hour,
with acting Mayor Tarnutzer in the
chair. The first item to crop up after
the roll call and reading of minutes
was a communication from 1‘aul Ul
rich offering $10 for a shack situated
in the east end, which he wished to
convert into firewood. 'Hie request
was denied, however, as it was point
ed MUt that some one else has offered
*15 for the structure and also that
the committee appointed by the coun
cil to appraise the building some time
ago hail placed upon it a valuation
of $20. The council then took up a
communication from .1. Mc.Smith of
fering $100 for the Milroy property on
Steadman Avenue. McSmith stated
in his communicuition he would pay
$50 down and the balance in sixty
days. The offer was promptly turned
down on the score that the council
does not desire ‘‘to do business on the
installment plan." as one of the mem
bers expressed it.
An offer made by \Vm. Webb '.n
purchase a certain piece of property
near the milk ranch for $15 was then
taken up and City Clerk GrIniton was
instructed t<> make the sale.
• >n arriving at the order of business
under which bills against the city re
ceive the attention of City dad's, t
was found that no new bills had been
presented. Old bills approved by the
Finance Committee were read and
paid by warrants on the general fund.
Under the heading of new business
the disputed Wild Goose Company
taxes were brought up. It was ex
plained that the whole disagreement
li id been due to a misunderstanding
r»n the part of both company and conn
oil regarding the increase tin the an
nual assessment of the company and
a motion was passed to accept $500.
the same amount as assessed in pre
vious years. Clerk Crtmsn eras In
structed to rebate the difference after
the taxes are paid.
The taxes of the ETosner estate.
$811.80, were next cleared up on mo
tion to accept $550 in full pnyment of
city claims. The committee appoint
ed to investigate the protest of C. C.
('rooks against the assessment on his
second ha ml stock, next recommended
that the council accept the $70 ten
dered in payment by the owner. A.
motion was passed instructing Mr.
C.rimm to settle for the stated
amount.
The council then devoted consider
able time to discussing the coal short
age and the resultant fuel question.
•' s'«ggestlon was made that the city
clerk advertise for sale as fire wood
all of the numerous old shacks owned
hv the municipality which are unfit
for habitation. It was declared that
several of these buildings are a nuis
ance. Stray dogs and horses we-e
said to have occupied some of them
and others are in a general state of'
delapidation. with no locks on the
doors, windows broken, etc. It was
the belief of several eouncilmen that
it would be a benefit to the town to
get rid of the unsightly aggregation
of wrecks by selling them to those in
need of fuel. The talk waxed and
waned for some time but no action
INFORMATION. WANTED
Will A. Wendler, who returned ti
I'. S. A. from Europe in 1909, of
anyone knowing his whereabouts,
kindly* write to Rox 185 Rorlar.d
Agency Etd.. 16 Regent Stro ♦. 1 on
don. England.
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Finest line of Soft Drinks,
Cigars, Cigarettes, Tobacco
Meet your friends at the Nevada
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TRANSFER INI FRElINTIRR
Dealer in all kinds of Lumber
Horses For Sale
GOLDEN GATE HOTEL
JAS. SWARTZELL, Prop.
Besl-Attoniodatlons in Alaska
STEAM HEATED. ELECTRIC LIGHTED
BATHS IN CONNECTION.
Nome Tailoring Co.
Wishes you all
, A Happy and Prosperous
NEW YEAR
NORTH POLE BAKERY
ANVIL BAKERY
Bread 15c loaf straight
CHAS. CAVEY. Prop.
FIRST AND UNIVERSITY STS. SEATTLE
ARLINGTON HOTEL
The Home of the Pioneer.
ThisHotel is not and never has been owned or controlled by Japanese
$1.00 ONE DOLLAR ROOMS $1.00
BUSS MEETS'ALL TRAINS.
J. J RYAN. Prop. ROBT. KELLY. Mar.
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