VOL. 2. NO. 115.
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 1917.
PRICE TEN CENTS.
L
Committee of Duma Assumes Control of the Government
MHWCAIl
GEfCRAl R. ft STRIKE
KMMM6 PI
1
NEW YORK, March 16.—Representatives of the four rail
way brotherhoods announced today that a general railway
stiVike had been called, to take effect Saturday evening at 6
*• \
o’chbck. The strike will be effective on all of the great rail
way systems of the country. This official announcement was
made, a)fter the rejection, by the railway brotherhoods, of a
countejf proposition made by the railway managers, on behalf
of the' railway-companies. The only thing that can prevent a
great railway strike now is for the railway companies to yield
to the demands of the brotherhoods, which demand is based
on the inauguration of the eight-hour day with a ten-hour wage
scale
SUPER-DREADNAUGHTS AND SCOUT
CRUISflS AR&IO'BE BUILT AT
ONCE FOR UNITED STATES NAVY
WASHINGTON. March 16.—Secretary of the Navy Dan
iels today formally awarded the contracts for the construction
of battleships and cruisers for the United States navy, which
will cost, in the aggregate, $196,000,000. Five battleships, each
costing $10,000,000, are to be constructed just as soon as the
shipbuilding plants can turn them out. These battleships are
to be of the super-dreadnaught type and when completed will
be the finest-most up-to-date warships afloat They are to
be equipped with all the latest war appliances. Six scout cruis
ers are to be built at once. These warships will be employed
in combating the activities of submarines and will be employ
ed in coast defense work. They are to have a speed of 33 knots
an hour. The Seattle Dry Dock and Construction company will
build two of these speedy cruisers and the Union Iron Works,
£)of San Francisco, will build two. Each will cost $6,000,000.
FULTON SAYS IF GRAFTING GOING
ON, BROTHER ATTORNEY SURE IN IT
SEATTLE, March 16.—John Pielow, the transfer man,
self-confessed bootlegger, created a mild sensation in his tes
timony yesterday, when he said that Walter Fulton, of coun
sel for Gill, et al, who is doing most of the cross-examining,
was formerly his attorney; that when acting in this capacity
he had told the witness that if there was any grafting going
on among city officials, George F. Vanderveer was mixed up
in it, and that he (Pielow) should keep awaiy from him. Van
derveer was formerly county attorney and is a leading member
of the Seattle bar.
Fred Billingsley, who went on the witness stand for the
government late yesterday afternoon, testified that he person
ally paid Chief of Police Beckingham '$1,200 for protection.
The witness gave the dates, the places and how the bribe was
paid.
DR. GRAYSON GAINS CONFIRMATION.
WASHINGTON, March 16.—The senate has confirmed
the appointment of Dr. Cary T. Grayson to be rear-admiral in
the medical corps of the United States navy. Grayson is Pres
ident Wilson’s private physician and the confirmation was in
the nature of a personal favor to the president.
TWO AMERICANS KILLED.
ELr PASO, March 16.—A Mexican mining man from Du
rango, who arrived in El Paso this morning, says the Villista
forces entered Magistral recently and killed two American cit
izens—Lou Zeigler and C. A. Winn. ,
STEEL FREIGHTER LAUNCHED.
SEATTLE, March 14.—The 7,500-ton steel freighter Gold
en Gate was successfully launched from the ways of the Seat
tle Dry Dock and Construction company this forenoon.
CZAR NICHOLAS ABLATES IN FAVOR
OF SON, AND GRAND DUKE MICHAEL
ALEXANDROVICH BECOMES REGENT
LONDON, March 16.—Czar Nicholas of the Russian em
pire has abdicated his thi-one in favor of his only son, Prince
Alexis, aged 12, and the czar’s brother, Grand Duke Michael
Alexandrovich, becomes regent iitider the hew order. The ab
dication of the czar is a direct result of the successful revolu
tion, in which the pro-German party in Russia was overthrown.
The entire Russian army is supporting the new government,
which is vested in the Duma, acting through an executive com
mittee. Andrew Bonar Law, chancellor of the exchequer and
spokesman for the cabinet in the libuse of commons, in a speech
yesterday afternoon with respect to the Russian situation, de
clared it wras comforting to know that the newly established
government was not in favor of making peace with the Teu
tonic powers, but would remain loyal to the allied powers.
PROGRESSIVE ELEMENT IN CONTROL
OF GOVERNMENTAL MAHERS AND
NICHOLAS TOHERS ON HIS THRONE
PETROGRAD, March 16.—A successful revolution has
taken place in Russia. The reactionary party, as represented
by the bureaucratic ministry, which has been in control of gov
ernmental activities, has been overthrown, and is succeeded by
a provisional government, at the lw$«d of which is an executive
committee selected bv the Russian Duma. The executive com
mittee has proceeded to take the reins of government; has caus
ed the arrest of all ministers of the former Russian govern
ment and has placed them in close confinement. Czar Nicholas
who is at the front with the armies, has been warned that the
fate of his dynasty depended entirely upon his acquiescence
in the plans of the provisional government. At the head of the
executive committee that now holds the reins of power in Rus
sia is L. Rodziankis, who is the president of the Duma and who
is a man in whom the masses have complete confidence. The
army is backing the executive committee.
At the request of bureaucratic ministry, Czar Nicholas, on
March 11, issued an imperial ukase dissolving the Duma, but
the Duma kept on holding meetings; paying no heed to the or
der for dissolution. This brought the internecine crisis to a
climax, resulting in a three-day battle between supporters of
the ministry and the adherents of the Duma, in which the rev
olutionists were successful. Five hundred people were killed
in the battle that waged day and night. It is reported that M.
Protopopoff, minister of the interior, was among the killed.
The remaining ministers were taken prisoners and are being
kept in close confinement. During the battle, the palace of
the czar was besieged by revolutionary troops, but the emper
or was at the front at the time. Order has now been restored.
The executive committee which heads the provisional govem
mnt, has the situation well in hand. The new government does
not mean that peace will be made-with the central powers; it
rather means that the war will be prosecuted with greater vig
or and intelligence than ever before. The masses want the
war to continue, but they had no faith in the bureaucratic
government, which they held responsible for their sufferings
from lack of food and other necessary supplies.
The rapid rise and fall of minis
tries, the assassination of one of the
“dark forces,” namely, Gregory Ras
putin, and the rumors—which, how
ever, have passed from being rumora
to being statements of ascertained
facts which are not contradicted in a
way that carries conviction—of ef
forts by high Russian personages to
effect a peace with Germany, have
tended to arouse apprehension among
the peoples of Russia’s western allies.
The struggle has appeared to be an
internal struggle between Slavism
and Germanism going on in the very
rear of the Russian armies, which for
two years have fought so gallantly
against the greater material resour
ces of their German opponents. It is
not realized that in spite of its tre
mendous importance as affecting the
entente cause in general, the issue is
(Continued on page 2.)
SCHOOL BOYS OF FOREIGN EXTRACTION
MUST SALUTE THE STARS AND STRIPES
BALTIMORE, March 15.—Six boys of foreign extraction,
attending the public schools of Baltimore and who refused to
salute the United States flag, will be compelled to do so, or be
expelled from the schools. The matter was reported to the
school board, who ordered that the six boys not only salute the
Stars and Stripes, but that while doing so they should recite
“The Star Spangled Banner,” and “My Country ’Tis of Thee,”
before their school mates.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TERL70RIAL
TREASURER SHOWS ALASKA’S FINANCES
ARE IN SOUND, HEALTHY CONDITION
JUNEAU, March 15.—The report of Territorial Treasurer
\\ alstein O. Smith, submitted to the Alaska legislature, shows
the balance in the territorial treasury ou January 1, 1914, at the
end of his first year as treasurer, to have been $73,000. The re
ceipts for two years, ending January 1, 1917, were $347,000.
The disbursements for the same period of time were $203,000.
The balance in the treasury January 1,1917, was $217,000. Un
official receipts since January 1 amount to $70,000. The report
states that the big copper and gold mines of Alaska have not as
yet paid the 1910 tax. The big fishing companies have paid
practically no taxes, except on fish traps. The total amount
due from the big fishing companies for the past four years is
about $330,000. The First division paid in territorial taxes for
the past two years up to January 1, 1917, $51,000; the Second
division, $8,500; the Third division $113,000, and the Fourth di
vision $25,000.
Attorney-General Grigsby declares that his predecessor,
Cobb, was without authority to agree to waive penalties for the
non-payment of fish taxes and to refrain from prosecution dur
ing the pendency of test cases, though he was empowered to
waive penalties in the case of the actual payment of the taxes.
Grigsby says the territory will probably force the payment of ,
taxes, even though the test cases are still before the U. S. su
preme court on a writ of error.
FEDERAL SHIPPING BOAPHTO
EXPEND $50,000,000 FOR SHIPS
WASHINGTON, March 16.—The federal shipping board,
created by recent act of congress, will expend $50,000,000 in
the building of ships to aid the transportation facilities of the
United States. The board may seek to purchase some steel
bottoms, but if none are available, construction on wooden
ships will be started without delay. It is believed that most
of the wooden ships will be built on Puget sound, where ade
quate ship timbers are available.
GROUP OF HINDU PLOTTERS HAVE
SCHOOL TO TEACH BOMB-MAKING
WASHINGTON, March 15.—From a confession of Her
amba L. Gupta, a Hindu, arrested in connection with a plot
being hatched in the United States to create a revolution in
India, the federal authorities have learned that somewhere in
the state of Washington there is a group center of Hindus that
are conspiring to bring about a revolution in India; that this
group of revolutionists maintains a school that gives instruc
tions in the making of bombs and other high explosives. Gup
ta declined to give the location of the community that harbors
these revolutionists, but sufficient information has been gained
to trace it down. Instructions have been sent to federal agents
in Washington state to locate the Hindu colony.
HOUSE COMMITTEES AT WORK WHILE
SENATE SCRAPS OVER THE RULES
JUNEAU, March H>.—The house held a 40-minute session
yesterday, and then adjourned to permit the committees to
work on bills that have been introduced. Representative Mur
ray introduced a joint resolution providing for the appoint
ment of a committee of three from the senate and three from
the house to formulate rules for the session. The resolution
was passed. Representative Allen, of Nome, introduced house
bill No. 9, providing for a 75 per cent contribution from the
territory for municipal schools, payment to be made in a lump
sum, based on the previous year’s expenditures for school pur
poses. The bill was referred to the committee on education,
which is headed by Representative Snow, who is seeking to
gain a favorable report on his own bill—a fifty-fiftv measure.
— IN THE SENATE.
The governor’s message was presented to the senate. Up
on motion of Guasted, the reading was deferred for the time
being. The governor transmitted the annual report of the ter
ritorial mine inspector, William Maloney, the reading of which
was likewise postponed. The senate is in a scrap over the
rules.